Isn’t Being A Wicked Woman Much Better? - Chapter 84

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————

Chapter 84
* * *
Why were my ears itching so much?
As I tapped my ears and furrowed my brow, the Young-sik nearby flinched.
What on earth had I done?
The rumor that Louis Gazel had become impotent had absolutely nothing to do with me.
I felt absurd and cast my gaze toward the blackboard. The lecture ended with the political science professor’s announcement that this semester would include discussion classes. I stood from my seat and checked my pocket watch.
Today was that day—the one specified on the tea time invitation.
Shortly after, a small afternoon tea party was held at the Epsilon Frat House.
Finally, I was having a tea party with the young ladies.
Why was I so nervous about this?
Simply sitting among the chattering young ladies seemed like it would be enjoyable. I preferred listening to speaking, after all.
I would finally hear the ordinary daily stories of Empire noble ladies.
Not academic papers like the comparative evaluation of the mana purity measurement method recently announced by the Mana Material Research Institute and its practical field applications.
I didn’t dislike studying with the Fifth Princess, but I wasn’t a genius who enjoyed scholarship the way she did.
I just wanted a break from studying.
How many times had the semester started now?!
But why was no one here?
I had anticipated the social gathering so much that I briefly confused the meeting time. I wondered if everyone had fled because I, a walking landmine, had shown up, but Margaret, standing beside me, spoke carefully.
“Young Lady. The afternoon tea party begins at four o’clock.”
“Ah! W-well, I wasn’t particularly expecting the gathering. I was planning to view the paintings. The Epsilon Permanent Exhibition Hall displays works by new artists every month.”
“You make excellent use of even your spare moments to cultivate your artistic sensibilities.”
She viewed me so positively that my conscience ached.
“Y-yes, exactly that.”
Ugh! This bothersome conscience.
“Very well. Please take your time appreciating the works.”
“Y-yes.”
She stepped aside so as not to disturb my contemplation, and I entered the Main Mansion feeling awkward.
The interior of the Epsilon building was elegantly decorated. Above the arched windows were delicate sculptures depicting animals, and the floor was intricately patterned with geometric designs that flowed gracefully.
As I was viewing the oil paintings hanging in the interior permanent exhibition, my footsteps stopped without my realizing it. A piano melody drifted from somewhere in the distance.
They played quite well.
It was a gentle accompaniment with a lyrical quality. Drawn by the serene and beautiful sound, I found myself walking deeper into the labyrinthine interior of the Main Mansion.
The building’s structure was quite unusual.
As I walked toward the door on the left, the keyboard sounds grew louder, then suddenly ceased.
“Thierry! Are you really just peacefully playing piano right now?”
Soon after, an urgent male voice came from where the corridor turned once more.
So the pianist was Thierry Orgo.
“I’m always in the Music Room there.”
Now that I thought about it, he had mentioned before that if I wanted to see him, I should come to the Music Room.
He had quite an impressive talent.
I had thought him a carefree wastrel, but for a moment he seemed something altogether different—if only the words that followed hadn’t immediately dispelled that impression.
“What are you going to do about that pocket watch you left at the Pawnshop? If you can’t retrieve it, my life is forfeit. You said you could win it back with dice!”
“Why are you acting so desperate, as if you’re the one who pawned it? Besides, Guillaume, your father is the Minister of Administration. My father is a Sword Master. If we’re caught, I can bid this world farewell in a single second.”
“Is this really the time for jokes?”
The emotional resonance of the piano performance evaporated in an instant—the conversation was so absurd that my jaw dropped.
Those two had undoubtedly pawned family heirlooms to finance gambling. It seemed wastrel sons of wealthy houses who squandered their fortunes at games of chance existed everywhere.
“We’re in the same predicament, so why are you so composed? Do you have money stashed somewhere? You said your allowance was cut off too.”
“I have a way to overcome this crisis. Lean in close.”
I was listening to their melodramatic saga with rapt attention when Thierry Orgo suddenly lowered his voice, and my disappointment was immediate.
‘I can’t hear what he’s saying.’
I inched my body closer, moving cautiously.
“What?! This madman is forging a Hatching Stone?!”
But Young-sik, who was called Guillaume and was Thierry’s conversation partner, suddenly burst out loudly and leaked the secret.
‘A Hatching Stone?!’
He was talking about a Holy Water Egg.
I clamped my mouth shut at this unexpected revelation. If it was a Hatching Stone in the Orgo House, it might be connected to the white turtle Holy Water Egg that Miya received as a gift from Diera Orgo in the novel.
“Are you insane? Lower your voice!”
“It was so ridiculous that I wondered if I’d misheard you.”
“Just be careful, will you?”
“What other Young-sik would come to this secluded Music Room besides you? The young ladies are all at the Women’s Salon for their gathering.”
‘Oh no.’
I glanced around urgently and quickly hid my body between a pillar where a sculpture stood and the wall.
“Just listen to what I have to say first.”
Thierry whispered something again, and I couldn’t hear the words clearly.
“…It’s been sealed away for nearly seventeen years.”
“…”
“It’s no different from a common stone rolling about.”
“…Hmm. Is that so?”
Apparently convinced, Guillaume’s rough voice grew gentler.
‘To think of forging a Holy Water Egg that couldn’t be hatched for seventeen years without an Artifact.’
I immediately grasped the situation.
Thierry had a clever mind indeed. Creating a crude stone-like counterfeit rather than an intricate jewel or timepiece was comparatively simple work.
“By the way, it seems Diera hasn’t been coming home much lately. I suppose losing at the Horse Racing Track wounded her pride deeply. What a predicament—hehehehe!”
“After all that posturing and showing off, she lost to Isidore in three seconds. Kehehehe!”
What kind of despicable characters were these?
It seemed they were discussing how Diera, the owner of the Holy Water Egg, hadn’t been coming home recently, making it the perfect opportunity to swap the genuine article for a fake.
‘I really did win the lottery.’
That iron sword I obtained from the Auction House held before the black pottery stall during the Spring Flower Festival—I had been uncertain, but it was definitely a Hatching Artifact. Because I won the bid on that sword, the novel’s plot had twisted in this direction.
In the novel, the white turtle Holy Water Egg that Diera hatched and gifted to Miya still remained as an egg, and now Thierry was conspiring to use it for his scheme.
‘If they plan to swap the forged egg, what do they intend to do with the genuine one?’
This was my greatest concern. I wanted that white turtle artifact that appeared in the novel. The light-attribute turtle artifact possessed the ability to detect Barrier fractures, which meant I could prepare for sudden disasters.
“And then?”
“The Black Market.”
“But there’s no way you’ll recover the pawned items. On top of that, they’re charging interest. Those vicious bastards….”
It seemed the Pawnshop where Thierry and Guillaume had mortgaged their belongings to borrow money was engaged in loan sharking. Even secretly selling artifacts wouldn’t be enough to cover their debts.
‘Well, without an artifact to incubate it, the artifact won’t fetch a high price anyway. As Thierry said, right now it’s nothing but a stone with only a 0.001 percent chance of hatching.’
“That’s why this race is more important than ever.”
Thierry muttered in a hushed tone.
“This race? Don’t tell me you’re planning to go to the Horse Racing Track?”
“Honestly, if we’d just avoided dice gambling, we wouldn’t be in this mess. Things were going well before that.”
“….”
“That red horse is the real deal. And I had a really good dream recently. A golden rose appeared, and the feeling was extraordinary.”
“Well, when it comes to horse racing, I can trust your instincts.”
‘Madmen.’
Learning of their reckless plan to use the money from selling the artifact as seed capital, multiply it at the Horse Racing Track, and then reclaim their pawned belongings, I felt my skin crawl.
‘They’re planning to gamble again in the middle of all this?’
Beyond the headache their recklessness caused, if Thierry handed that egg over to the Black Market, things would become troublesome.
‘The Black Market isn’t called that for nothing.’
There was a possibility it could flow secretly into another country, like the Pink Diamond.
‘What should I do?’
Since those gamblers might sell the artifact I was after today itself, I anxiously chewed my lip and, with the mentality of someone taking a gamble, approached the Music Room.
“Gasp. W-what a fright.”
Thierry stared at my sudden appearance as if he’d seen a ghost.
“D-Deborah S-Simour?”
“H-how did you get here?”
“Didn’t Thierry tell me before to come to the Music Room if I wanted to see him? Don’t you remember?”
“D-did I?”
Thierry, who had widened his eyes in bewilderment, soon remembered the perfunctory greeting he’d given me, and roughly swept back his jet-black hair.
“Thierry, is that true?”
“It seems I did.”
“I already knew you had audacity, but not to this extent…. D-did you not hear me?”
“I didn’t think you’d actually come.”
I watched the two of them murmuring with clouded eyes before opening my mouth.
“Your piano skills were quite impressive, Thierry. Your plan to forge incubation stones was also remarkably impressive.”
When I emphasized the word “forge,” the eye of the large man presumed to be Guillaume twitched slightly.
“Eh? M-Miss, what are you suddenly talking about?”
“You clearly said it before. Forged incubation stones. In an incredibly loud voice.”
“It seems Miss is under a misunderstanding. We were talking about a close friend. Surely you don’t think we, prominent officials of Epsilon, would do such a thing?”
I stared at Thierry, who spoke so brazenly in a leisurely tone, and nodded.
“Right. You’re absolutely planning to do exactly that.”
“…What?”
“Aren’t you planning to swap Diera’s holy water egg with a counterfeit, then secretly put the genuine one on the Black Market?”

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————