Isn’t Being A Wicked Woman Much Better? - Chapter 85

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

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Chapter 85
“…!”
They’d made one slip of the tongue and then hushed themselves, never quite getting to the point. Yet I grasped the context of their conversation with remarkable speed—all because I already knew from the novel that Diera possessed a holy water egg, information that virtually no one else was privy to.
“Ah, no….”
Guillaume’s mouth moved soundlessly, his expression frozen, while Thierry let out a derisive snort.
“The Young Lady must have pieced it together from fragments of our conversation.”
“I don’t bluff. Rather than you fumbling about so clumsily, Thierry, why not simply sell me that holy water egg and become my accomplice?”
“Accomplice? That implies I’m already a criminal. What evidence do you have?”
He regarded me with an expressionless stare. The usual lightness vanished from his demeanor, leaving something decidedly sharp in its place.
Thierry’s sudden seriousness made me falter for a moment, but honestly, compared to the Master, he wasn’t frightening at all. So I continued in an unhurried tone.
“You’re the one bluffing here, Thierry. What will you do if I later pressure Diera to verify the authenticity of that incubation stone again?”
“….”
“Just hand it over to me. I’ll pay more than the Black Market. I have plenty of money.”
Thierry tilted his head slightly.
“An incubation artifact that’s never surfaced before—it’s basically worthless. So why would you pay more than the Black Market for it?”
‘Sharp, isn’t he.’
It seems he didn’t come to Epsilon for nothing.
‘If I keep fixating solely on the incubation stone, he might grow suspicious. If he discovers that the artifact from that stone is in my possession, it’ll become troublesome.’
I shrugged once.
“I enjoy the thrill of striking it rich, so I savor the possibility of a windfall. Isn’t life tedious without the occasional explosive surprise?”
“Impressive….”
Just as the rumors suggested, Guillaume let out a small exclamation, apparently convinced I was Simour’s reckless spendthrift. Fortunately, he was simpler than Thierry.
“I’m interested not only in the holy water egg but also in that red horse Thierry mentioned earlier. Is that information reliable?”
“Surely you’re not thinking of entering the Horse Racing Track?”
“Not just entering—if we’re accomplices, it should be at least this much.”
At my continued words, both their eyes widened considerably.
“Truly?”
“How on earth would you manage it?”
“If I tell you now, it won’t be fun. I’ll show you directly at the Horse Racing Track.”
* * *
‘…Ah, I really have gone all the way, haven’t I.’
In my past life, I was an ordinary citizen who’d never once stolen even a hundred-won coin from someone else’s pocket—and yet here I was, arriving at a Horse Racing Track.
The journey to the Horse Racing Track proved treacherously difficult. Despite his seemingly carefree appearance, Thierry possessed a surprisingly meticulous side.
He led me through the basement of a large pottery shop, then shared a map showing a back passage that connected through a deep corridor to the Horse Racing Track. Thanks to this, I was able to evade my escort and reach this place with ease.
I could already imagine how much trouble that man Thierry would cause the Orgo House. Standing before the Horse Racing Track with its ominous atmosphere, I steadied my pounding heart and forced myself to compose.
‘Yes, a place like this suits a villainess far better.’
The memory of the utterly ruined afternoon tea party surfaced, leaving me with a bitter taste.
Not long ago, while conversing with Thierry and Guillaume, I’d arrived about ten minutes late to the tea party I’d been genuinely anticipating. Since it was a small, informal gathering without rigid formality, the young ladies of Epsilon made no comment about my tardiness.
“P-please don’t worry about it, Miss Deborah Simour.”
“Of course! P-please sit here. It’s the spot with the best sunlight.”
‘Could it be that I didn’t point it out because I was afraid?’
Perhaps it would have been better to arrive later—or not at all.
“Hehe. Deborah Simour, your dress is absolutely stunning today.”
Now that I thought about it, that laughter had sounded rather forced.
“Y-yes, well, it’s simple yet elegant, wouldn’t you say?”
I’d only come to listen to the young ladies’ casual chatter, yet the conversation kept revolving around me, which felt suffocating.
‘I even found myself missing the Fifth Princess and her straightforward manner.’
Was I destined to abandon any hope of a normal tea party?
I hadn’t yet given up hope that if the Fifth Princess or an executive attended, things might improve.
‘With the Fifth Princess present, they’d think I have a superior to keep me in check, and the atmosphere would be better than this.’
I shook off my ambiguous feelings and clutched my pocket watch, glancing around nervously.
‘But why haven’t those two arrived yet? I told them countless times they needed to come well before the race started.’
“We’re here! My lady.”
Just then, I heard a familiar voice from behind. Turning around, I saw Guillaume waving his hand.
“I can’t believe you actually showed up.”
Thierry muttered softly as he looked at me. They appeared wearing robes the same color as their hair, just as promised. I too was dressed in a deep purple robe.
“The day of reckoning has finally arrived.”
Guillaume spoke in a grave tone.
“If we don’t win today, there won’t be a tomorrow.”
“We won’t see the sun rise again.”
‘I told you not to gamble in the first place, you fools.’
I regarded their unnecessarily solemn expressions with disdain and moved toward the entrance of the Horse Racing Track.
Since the race wouldn’t begin for quite some time, the betting window was quiet. Through the window of the ticket booth, horses scheduled for today’s races were actively training on the field.
Thierry, stripped of his usual lightheartedness, stood with his arms crossed, intently observing the horses’ training.
“What do you think?”
“The red horse is in far better condition than I expected. Both its coat and gait are excellent.”
“Is horse number three the one you’re confident will win, Thierry?”
“Yes.”
Thierry answered curtly. Ever since we’d become accomplices and decided to be in this together, he’d abandoned all pretense of chivalry and begun speaking to me casually.
“But I’ve never seen the jockey for number three before.”
Guillaume murmured as he flipped through the pamphlet listing the jockeys.
“I caught a glimpse of that jockey training last time, and his horsemanship was extraordinary. I’m confident he’ll win regardless of whether it’s an obstacle course or flat racing.”
“How can you be so certain?”
Guillaume answered my question instead.
“Swordsmen and horses are inseparable, my lady. Especially since the Orgo House operates an enormous horse ranch, Thierry has been around horses since childhood.”
“Then you must know which horse is the weakest.”
“Number one seems sluggish in its movements today.”
The moment Thierry finished speaking, I pulled a bundle of gold coins from my bag and bought up a large stack of betting tickets for horse number one.
“Nngh… three… horses… I can’t…”
Thierry gritted his teeth and muttered, his neck flushed and his fists trembling.
“Wait, hold on, Thierry. We haven’t handed over the goods yet, so that money still belongs to Deborah Simour. We’re broke.”
“Sigh.”
“Deborah Simour, surely you don’t doubt Sir Thierry’s judgment? We’re in this together—shouldn’t we be in sync?”
“I have my reasons. Just wait and see.”
About forty minutes later.
Five minutes before the race begins.
“There’s absolutely no way to win money on horse number one. We’re finished.”
“Deborah Simour, this is no time for jokes. We’re in a genuinely dire situation. You heard everything in the Music Room—you know that.”
“Right, I understand. Time to make my move.”
“…What are you planning to do?”
I began refunding all the betting tickets I’d purchased today. Then I poured every last coin—both the refunded money and what I’d brought—onto horse number three, the one Thierry had pointed out.
“If you were going to bet on number three anyway, why go through all this trouble? You just wasted money on fees.”
Thierry sounded slightly irritated.
“Look at the updated odds.”
The Horse Racing Track updated its payout odds every ten minutes. Now, five minutes before the race, the winnings for betting on horse number three had skyrocketed compared to before.
Everyone was betting exclusively on horse number one.
“I told you I’d turn what I won last time into double—no, triple the profits. Did that sound like a joke to you?”
Thierry’s eyes widened at my words.
“You created those odds, Deborah?”
“Exactly. I exploited crowd psychology. Everyone’s buying horse number one because I bought so much of it at the start.”
I explained patiently to the two bewildered men.

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

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