The Villainess is a Millionaire Solver - Chapter 17

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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 17

“….”

The two men seemed caught off guard and couldn’t say anything for a moment. Really? Could it really be true? They still looked half-convinced.

Well, I knew that would happen, so I had prepared something.

‘Look at this. This is how serious I am.’

To show them that, I pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from my dress pocket and unfolded it.

“My overall financial situation is in a major crisis, but the most urgent issue among them is the guild problem.”

On the paper was one clear line drawn.

A straight line that started from the upper left and plummeted mercilessly to the lower right.

“Do you know what this is?”

“Hmm….”

Aldensis pondered with his characteristic gentle yet indifferent expression.

“Abstract art? It seems to express something plummeting without the slightest hesitation. Ah, there’s a title at the bottom. 【Guild Performance Graph】?”

“Yes, Your Highness. That thing plummeting without the slightest hesitation is precisely our guild’s performance.”

I answered.

Below the graph was a list of all the businesses I had ruined so far.

Luxury fabrics, premium tea and confectioneries, art troupes, gemstone cosmetics, ateliers, rare book stores….

These businesses had something in common. They were all established companies that had been handed over to me.

Businesses with a steady base of regular customers.

What do they call this? A ‘cash cow’? Like a dairy cow on a ranch that produces milk for life just by being raised, these were low-risk, stable-profit businesses.

They had given me those precious cash cows. Even if I had just sat there doing nothing, the family would have spoon-fed me good results….

‘But I was distracted by other things and ruined even those one after another.’

This problem was really serious.

Not only was it a laughingstock for everyone, but the performance was so poor that it stood in stark contrast to the branch family’s guild, which was performing so well they were playing in heaven. It was eating away at my reputation and standing as a princess.

“Given this situation, my eyes lit up when I saw the general meeting article. Coincidentally, the date overlaps exactly with this Imperial Palace ball. I heard the date was set by the royal elder who will be visiting as an honored guest at this meeting?”

Since most of the big shots in the business world would attend the Imperial Palace ball, the guild masters’ general meeting would be relatively quiet?

The article described this as dark clouds gathering, but for me, it was a ray of hope. If I had any brains, I should seize this opportunity.

‘Not getting involved with the Crown Prince anymore, and landing one useful contract.’

This general meeting was perfect for catching these two birds with one stone.

By boldly setting aside the ball, I would show that I have something more important than the Crown Prince.

At the same time, I would look for new business opportunities for our guild at the meeting. Even if I couldn’t hope for a huge success, I would show that I’m working hard.

‘It’s absolutely perfect. Perfect.’

I thought this while looking at the two men in front of me.

“Hmm….”

Duke Carnel made a sour face and started to say something but stopped.

And Aldensis…. After a moment of silence, he said gently.

“I see. Do your best. I’m looking forward to it.”

Then he gave me an incredibly bright smile.

In the past, I would have been mesmerized.

But now I only felt chills.

‘To think he can mechanically give such a smile even to someone who’s the target of cold indifference….’

I wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. Following them as they stood up, I quietly took a step back.

“Well then, I need to move quickly to normalize the guild.”

And I escaped the audience chamber as fast as possible.

Once outside, Duke Carnel, who had followed me out, stared at me intently.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t returned this yet.”

He handed me a small pouch. When I opened it, there was a ring inside. Numbers were densely engraved along its surface.

‘Ah, an account ring!’

Knowledge and memories came flooding back mixed together.

This was a personal account ring manufactured and sold by the Magic Tower. By linking it with a bank to open an account, cash could be conveniently stored.

Also, money transfers were simple. Duke Carnel had confiscated this ring when he confined his daughter. If she were to be executed, he planned to bury it in the ground.

“Anyway, there isn’t a single penny in this, so I forgot about it. You also seem to know well that you’re penniless? That was truly surprising, but in any case, there will be no support from the family.”

“Ah, yes, of course. I wasn’t expecting any.”

“Really? I thought you were secretly hoping for it, but it’s fortunate that you know your place. Then manage to do it with your bare hands. Or don’t, whatever.”

The Duke said this and turned around sharply.

Cold. So cold.

He seemed to have no interest whatsoever in my business. But several business advisors from the guilds Duke Carnel managed would also attend this general meeting.

How hard I was working—that fact would naturally reach the Duke’s ears through them.

‘I calculated that too.’

I smiled triumphantly to myself as I put the account ring on my finger.

Now, shall I try putting some money in here?

Since no crazy person would want to do secondhand deals with a wastrel princess, I had failed at selling household items….

But instead, I had found two coins while searching through my winter coat.

‘I should go to the bank and make a deposit. Oh right, I shouldn’t look suspicious, so let me practice first. I heard that biometric information is stored, so I just need to tap it like clicking….’

Following the memory information, when I tapped the ring with my fingertip, a voice flowed out.

「Please enter your 4-digit password.」

Could it be my birthday? I entered 1031, which was our shared birthday.

「Activated.」

A diagram resembling a magic circle appeared in the air, and numbers appeared within it.

But…. I stared blankly with my mouth open. Unexpectedly, it wasn’t just ‘0’.

1,000,000,000.

A whopping 10-digit number was showing off its magnificence.

‘One billion?’

I thought my eyes would pop out.

Duke Carnel, you….

How is this penniless and broke? With this much, I could start a business wearing golden gloves instead of bare fists! What the hell is wrong with this family’s sense of money?

I was glad I checked. In front of the number one billion, unprecedented confidence surged up.

‘Let’s see.’

I flipped over the 【Guild Performance Graph】 and looked at the memo I had written on the back.

According to the information I had gathered in advance, this general meeting would be held at the Imperial Palace Guesthouse. Since a royal elder would be participating, they had decided to lend the venue.

So to solve everything at once, I had written down information about registration on the back of the paper. Quick and decisive. Fast, fast. That was my motto.

‘This shows how sincere and diligent I am.’

Being very conscious of others’ gazes, I went straight to the guesthouse to register for participation.

For not knowing the way, I found the destination quite quickly…. But there I ran into an unexpected barrier.

“Your Highness does not have the qualifications to enter the general meeting.”

…What?

I was stunned by the official’s words.

It turned out there were entry qualifications for this place.

Since I had never attended before, I had no memories related to this and was completely unaware.

‘Is that why Duke Carnel was looking at me sourly?’

The official tried his best not to make eye contact with me as he explained.

“Not all guild masters can enter the general meeting. I’m sorry, but please understand. If we let anyone in just because they run a guild, wouldn’t even peddlers all come in?”

“But I’m not a peddler….”

“I know. Your Highness is of course not a peddler. But guilds ranked below C-grade cannot enter according to regulations.”

“So anything below C-grade is treated as peddlers?”

“That’s not what I meant….”

“What grade is our guild?”

Instead of answering, the official handed me a piece of paper imbued with magic.

“If you write your officially registered guild name on this paper and put it in the measuring device, you’ll find out.”

I took the paper and wrote the name.

【Black Rose Trade Guild】.

When Aristina wrote down the name she had carelessly made up because it was bothersome and put it into the measuring device, my grade appeared on the black window installed above the door.

“F-rank?”

“Yes. Your Highness’s 【Black Rose Trade Guild】 is officially ranked 94th.”

So that’s how he knew the rank without even looking.

Rank 94.

Even though I had expected it, it was a shocking number. But I tried not to show my shock and spoke calmly.

“Still, there are 6 other guilds below mine.”

“No. There are 95 total, so there’s only 1 directly below you.”

“…W-well, at least I’m not last? Who’s the 96th ranked guild master?”

“Coco.”

“That sounds like a dog’s name?”

“That’s right. Coco is a dog. Countess Mariana created a guild under her pet dog’s name. She ties papers to biscuits and scatters them around the manor, then invests in whichever company is written on the biscuit that Coco brings back first. The Black Rose Trade Guild and Coco Trade Guild fight back and forth for 95th and 96th place.”

Sigh… I shouldn’t have asked. Last among humans, and sometimes last among mammals.

“…”

With the letters ‘F-rank’ still blazing large as a door, I slumped onto the bench in a daze.

‘Am I really unable to even enter the general meeting?’

This won’t do.

Setting aside the ball, I need to land one contract to distance myself from the Crown Prince and improve my position.

Dark clouds are gathering over this sound plan, aren’t they?

‘That’s just like you.’

The mocking expressions of Aldensis and Duke Carnel vividly appeared before my eyes. I shook my head vigorously.

‘I can’t back down like this.’

It might be nothing to others, but for me, it’s a matter of survival.

I pressed both hands to my temples and agonized earnestly, then agonized some more.

This is unfair.

Suddenly, I thought there was a huge loophole in this system.

I jumped up.

“…!”

The official was frightened by my appearance as I glared at him deadly before finally striding toward him.

“Your Highness!”

Toward him, who unconsciously defended his face with the thick regulation book, I said.

“No matter how I think about it, don’t you think the entry criteria are too rigid? S-rank, A-rank, B-rank… It’s always a party of the same people. Doesn’t that make it hard to respond to the rapidly changing market? Stagnant water always rots! You’re the main culprits causing the Empire’s commercial world to regress! As a Princess of the Empire, I absolutely cannot stand by and watch!”

The official lowered his book.

“Oh? You’re quite sharp, aren’t you?”

“What? Are you really confessing to causing regression?”

“Ah, no! We’re the ones obsessed with making money. We’re constantly worrying day and night for the prosperity of the Empire’s commerce.”

He rubbed his nose and said.

“Do you think we wouldn’t notice such a loophole? We can’t control entry based solely on existing rankings. It would be completely inefficient since it would deprive new guilds that may not have results yet but could grow in the future of their opportunities. That’s why that exists.”

The official pointed to a machine placed next to the entrance. It looked like a casino game machine.

“What is that?”

“It’s an ‘Attention Measuring Device’ developed with the cooperation of the Magic Tower.”

He explained.

“If you write down a commercial item that your guild will introduce to the market and put it in the machine, it measures the grade by predicting how much attention it will receive at this general meeting. Even lower-ranked guilds can enter if they score C-rank or higher here. Though it would be temporary seats in the corner…”

Even that was a grateful opportunity for me. It finally seemed like a way out had appeared.

‘But I don’t have any items.’

Our guild has already ruined everything that existed. It’s a perfect ruin itself.

“Hmm…”

I stood in front of the official and thought hard. After racking my brain for a while, something did come to mind.

“Anyway, I just need to pass the criteria of that ‘Attention Measuring Device,’ right?”

“According to regulations, yes, but…”

Perhaps sensing something strange in my tone, the official looked somewhat frightened.

I told him my plan.

“…Pardon?”

The official looked at me with a face that doubted his ears.

“Let’s try it once anyway.”

I began writing my ‘item’ clearly on the magic paper.

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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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