The Villainess is a Millionaire Solver - Chapter 13

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 13

The servants residing in the princess’s quarters were very skilled at serving the Young Lady. Therefore, I just had to leave everything to them.

After eating delicious food until I was full, bathing in the luxurious bathroom, and receiving a fragrant massage, I lay rolling around on the crisply rustling bedding while organizing my thoughts.

Then I suddenly sat up.

“…!”

I could see the servants startling in surprise.

Did they think I was going to sleep?

But all this rest was just a means to gain momentum for work.

The servants hesitantly approached and asked.

“Young Lady, was there something uncomfortable about your bedtime? Please let us know and we’ll correct it immediately.”

“There was no problem. I got up because I want to start doing something now.”

“Ah, I see. Then what shall we prepare first? A change of clothes? Jewelry? Cosmetics?”

“None of those.”

I cut off their words.

“I want to receive reports as a princess.”

“Pardon?”

The servants were flustered.

‘As expected.’

I nodded inwardly.

While receiving luxurious service befitting a princess’s status, I had been feeling a sense of unease on the other hand.

Apart from the working servants, no one else was visible.

Even if she couldn’t have a staff like Duke Carnel, there should be someone like a butler to bring news to the princess….

‘There’s no one to tell me anything even if I want to ask.’

Though surrounded by all kinds of luxury, Aristina was like a kite with a broken string in the Duke’s Mansion. A precarious position that would fly away with a gust of wind.

I knew her standing was a mess, but seeing this treatment made me suddenly alert.

I said to the servants.

“If there’s no one suitable to give reports, bring one of the aides from this Duke’s Mansion.”

“The aides?”

“Why? Anyone receiving a salary from the Duke’s family should obey me, the princess. Am I wrong?”

“Gasp! No! Not at all! How could that be! We’ll bring one immediately!”

Two servants rushed off like the wind and shortly brought back a middle-aged aide.

“A major incident in our family has concluded, yet the so-called aides of the Duke’s family haven’t reported anything to the princess who was a party to the incident! Must I personally call and ask like this?”

Well, the princess never showed interest in such things….

The aide looked somewhat wronged, but since my words were correct anyway, he immediately stood at attention.

“I apologize, Princess. Please forgive me. What would you like to know?”

“First, the fate of the criminals. I mean Charlotte Remiel, the main culprit. If a family in poor circumstances could prepare gold to bribe a maid, the parents probably had some involvement too?”

“That’s correct. Investigation revealed that Count and Countess Remiel also actively participated while hiding behind their daughter. All three clearly intended murder, tried to harm two ducal families of the Empire, and nearly affected even the Imperial Court, so they couldn’t escape execution.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yes. I understand the execution date has already been set. The accomplices also clearly knew that you and Princess Hyperion would die but were blinded by money and committed the crime, so they also received the death penalty, however….”

The aide shrugged.

“Noah Meyer, who had infiltrated as a gardener, died falling while trying to escape, and Brienne Evans, who was the maid, was found dead this morning from the same poison.”

I see.

Since I’m quite a common citizen, talk of people dying is somewhat chilling.

But keeping vicious criminals alive only to be stabbed in the back later is one of the classic death flags, isn’t it.

I was already worried about the existing death flags lining up, afraid more might be added, so I checked…. It was fortunate for me that they paid for their crimes properly.

“And didn’t two of the gardeners disappear?”

“Ah, yes… Actually, there was a report that two gardeners were found collapsed in the material warehouse. They were nearly dead from not having a drop of water for so long.”

“Good heavens! They ran away as if they were going to flee in the night, but ended up hiding there for days? And then?”

The aide glanced at me and rolled his eyes around.

“I don’t know what happened, but… His Grace personally interviewed them, then held his forehead calling them foolish idiots. But he said they still had merit, gave them some money and reinstated them.”

“I see.”

I nodded once. This resolved another curiosity. Of course, the most important thing remained.

“That’s enough. I’ll look into the rest myself. The aides are organizing this incident, right? Bring me those records.”

“Yes, understood.”

The aide went downstairs and brought back a thick copy of the records.

‘Let’s see.’

I read through it carefully.

The purpose of the crime was clear, and the process was clear. There was nothing suggesting another mastermind hiding behind the Remiel family who caused this. Or that some suspicious third party was involved. It was just their crime alone.

‘The one who killed Aristina had no particular connection to them, and simply took advantage of the confinement situation to commit murder….’

They could have been executed anyway, yet someone deliberately killed her with their own hands. Who could it be?

A grudge relationship after all?

Either they were worried the Imperial Court might not order execution, or they needed to kill her personally to be satisfied.

Or perhaps it was a case where the sooner Aristina died, the greater their benefit?

‘Or maybe a serial killer’s pleasure killing?’

A thought suddenly occurred to me, so I reached deep into my pocket and pulled out the silver fragment.

A piece of silver in a ‘U’ shape.

Both ends gleamed sharply. It must have originally been ‘O’ shaped before being cut, right?

After staring at it for a while, a hypothesis suddenly came to mind.

‘Could that mud-covered Holy Knight who returned to Ruellian earlier have been searching for this in the forest?’

When he reported that it was nowhere to be found despite searching everywhere, didn’t Ruellian’s gaze become even sharper?

Because of suspicion that I, who encountered them in the forest that day, might have picked it up after seeing the glittering light.

‘That’s not impossible.’

It’s just a hypothesis for now, but their actions did fit that situation perfectly.

‘If this scenario is correct, it’s likely an important item.’

I feared him. But precisely because of that, I had to hold something in my hand. Something that could be a weapon.

After thinking for a moment, I put the silver fragment in the safe and locked it with a password.

Looking around, I noticed a crescent moon-shaped brooch on the bear doll’s cloak. It was roughly the same size as the silver fragment.

I removed it and put it in a small pouch.

‘If he’s looking for this, I might be able to use that fact to backstab him at least once.’

My mind felt much more at ease.

After touching the pouch briefly and securing it firmly, I sat at the desk and spread out papers.

“There’s a lot to do.”

Though Aristina’s memories remained in my head as information, some were clear while others were hazy.

Especially the memories from the time of murder were completely blank, so I had no choice but to learn everything from scratch.

‘First, I need to organize a list.’

I immediately picked up a pen and began work. Information about various people I knew. Knowledge from gossip overheard in the courtroom.

Using every means and method available to me, I diligently created the list.

As night deepened.

Even as other lights in the Duke’s Mansion went out one by one, the light in my study did not go out.

* * *

“Clear it away.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

The servants quietly removed the dishes with muffled footsteps.

In the lingering bitter scent of medicinal herbs floating in the air, Duke Carnel wiped his clean hands with a handkerchief while looking down at his desk.

【Emergency Contingency Plan】.

This time he really thought it was the end, and tried to hand everything over to the Duke’s family’s branch family and cleanly settle matters. He himself would spend his life in penance for raising his daughter wrong.

But how did it get resolved so well?

The Duke still couldn’t believe it.

‘Good grief. I was certain that scoundrel had done it.’

But perhaps his daughter’s character wasn’t quite that hopeless after all?

‘Still, she’s below standard anyway.’

He shook his head bitterly.

His only legitimate heir was in that state, but fortunately the collateral heir had ability.

‘That’s what matters. Ability.’

For the family’s sake, he had to look at the big picture. Even though that child was a posthumous son of his cousin, he was quite useful.

‘I’ll have to make a decision soon.’

The Duke leaned back against his chair.

But then…

Just before closing his eyes, a brilliant light flashed across his vision.

“Hmm?”

He opened his eyes.

A mysterious veil-like radiance, aurora-like in nature, was gently draped all around.

“What?”

The Duke’s eyes widened.

This was the light of the ancestral spirits who had protected the family for generations.

Others might not see it, but to his eyes as the family head, it was clearly visible.

He immediately stood up and knelt down.

“Descendant Carnel receives your revelation.”

But nothing happened.

Looking carefully, the radiance wasn’t directed toward him but was gently spreading outward.

What’s this?

The Duke thought it strange and followed the light upstairs. He walked around looking about until at one point the radiance gathered in one place.

‘Here?’

He gestured “shh” to the guards watching the corridor and opened the door.

And at that moment he froze.

His daughter was lying on the sofa, sleeping.

That in itself wasn’t particularly surprising… but around his sleeping daughter, the faint forms of the family’s ancestral spirits were gathered in a circle.

They were murmuring and nodding their heads. Making gestures as if stroking his daughter’s hair.

They looked as if they had discovered some praiseworthy descendant.

Duke Carnel frowned.

‘Now I’m seeing things.’

Whether it really was a hallucination or not, the ancestors’ phantoms suddenly disappeared.

He looked down at Aristina lying alone on the sofa.

“Mmm…”

Finding it uncomfortable to sleep with nothing covering her, his daughter reached out in her sleep, groping around.

‘Foolish thing. The blanket is right next to you.’

If he just pushed it slightly, the blanket would reach Aristina’s hand.

“…”

The Duke silently looked down at it.

‘Should I push it over? Or should I cover her with it?’

A strange thought suddenly occurred to him.

He didn’t know why such an odd thought had come to him.

He could cover an aide, employee, vagrant, or hunting dog with a blanket ten times over, but he absolutely couldn’t do it for his daughter…

While he stood there dumbfounded.

“Duke?”

A voice came from behind. It was Eunice, his chief aide.

“What brings you here at this hour? Were you perhaps watching over the Young Lady?”

The Duke was tremendously flustered.

“N-no! Let’s go!”

He hurriedly turned and left without even properly looking at his aide.

‘Right. Sleep all you want. Not knowing what news awaits you tomorrow…’

One envelope with the Imperial seal on it, currently sitting on his desk.

It came clearly to mind before his eyes.

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