The Villainess is a Millionaire Solver - Chapter 24

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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 24

‘I’m screwed. I should have been caught when the advisors were still here. As expected, you can’t fool the eyes and ears of dragon bloodline.’

Though my vision went dark, I opened the closet door and came out.

Aldensis cast a contemptuous gaze at me.

The kind and gentle mask he usually showed in front of people was nowhere to be found. Cold flames burned mercilessly in his blue eyes, pouring out without restraint.

“I naturally don’t believe even a speck of what the Princess babbles about, but there was no need to prove that it was all lies this quickly, was there?”

“…”

A suffocating pressure crushed down on me.

He must know how much of a burden it is for an ordinary person like me when he releases his aura at such close range.

Yet is he unable to realize this because he’s filled with anger right now? Or is he doing this on purpose?

Either way, whether consciously or unconsciously, he must think it’s fine for someone like me to be crushed to pieces.

‘How could anyone have a one-sided love for such a person?’

What little affection I never had seemed to drop even further.

And I was afraid.

‘He could really kill someone with just a flick of his hand, couldn’t he?’

In that vague fear, I scraped together every bit of courage in my heart.

Because I had a premonition that if he discovered I was afraid of him, I would really crumble into a handful of dust right here.

‘I absolutely cannot be found out.’

I raised my eyes to meet Aldensis’s gaze. Then I opened my mouth.

“I won’t make excuses.”

“You can’t make excuses, you mean.”

“No. I said I won’t, didn’t I? Since you’ll just cover your ears and not listen anyway.”

After saying that, I got angry. I gained a bit more courage and looked straight into his eyes.

“Your Highness, do you know this? That you have a very serious illness? Prince disease… Oh right, you are a prince. No, that’s not it – axe disease. Axe disease. Do you know what that is? It’s a very serious illness where you believe every woman in the world has fallen for you.”

By this point, I trust he must have noticed that my attitude is different from usual.

Originally, I would try to curry favor with him, then get angry at his indifference and act out, but I had never been this defiant from the start.

Aldensis spat out as if dumbfounded.

“How can every single word and action of yours be so vulgar? You truly know no shame until the very end!”

“The one who should be ashamed is Your Highness the Crown Prince. You’ll be ashamed for a long time of this moment when you cornered me based on your own delusions.”

While speaking clearly without raising my voice as if I wasn’t scared at all, I inconspicuously made my escape bit by bit.

But then.

I almost bumped into someone standing at the door.

“Aldensis? Princess Aristina? Were you here?”

My body froze at the casually asking voice. The Crown Prince also hesitated.

“Ruellian?”

A tall man with black hair and purple eyes, standing askew with a jacket adorned with gold decorations slung over his shoulder. True to his specialty of appearing suddenly, he was already here.

“I thought you went home since you haven’t been seen after leaving the ball earlier saying it was boring. Were you still in the palace?”

The anger and contempt that had filled the Crown Prince’s blue eyes instantly disappeared.

The Crown Prince brothers and Ruellian originally had to maintain formal courtesy with each other.

But since they had known each other since childhood, they were said to treat each other relatively casually in private settings.

“I was just trying to check on something before leaving. But this person was looking for the Princess…”

Ruellian turned around.

A plump man suddenly popped out. I frowned.

“Isn’t that the jeweler from earlier?”

“Yes, yes.”

The jeweler paid his respects to the Crown Prince, then looked at me.

“About that lumber merchant you just asked me about. It turns out he was imprisoned on charges of trying to bribe the Ministry of Finance. There was a reason why you couldn’t find him even after turning the entire Imperial Palace upside down, Princess.”

The Crown Prince’s complexion changed.

Wait, my innocence is being revealed this quickly?

At that moment, the plump chatty jeweler looked very lovely to me.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince, did you hear that? Do you believe what I was doing now?”

“I misunderstood.”

The Crown Prince readily admitted it, but still shot me a cold look.

“It seems you two have finished your conversation well? I also have something to discuss with the Princess.”

And Ruellian said with a bright smile.

Aldensis in front, Ruellian behind. The pressure was suffocating. But thinking positively…

It’s still better than being alone with either one of them. At least I can try to use this situation.

I spun around and reached out my hand to Ruellian.

“Fine. Since you’re pleading so earnestly, I’ll stop being difficult and accept your date proposal.”

Ruellian’s expression changed slightly. He probably didn’t expect me to come out like this again so suddenly.

“Hmm?”

Aldensis looked puzzled.

“A date proposal?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. His Excellency said he wanted to get along well with me.”

“Princess, such tricks won’t work. Why would God’s Representative, who should only cherish and love their lifelong partner…”

“Ah! Right! That’s how it was?”

I interrupted Aldensis as if I had just remembered.

“No wonder it kept sounding like lies. Your Excellency was trying to drag me back to the Holy Order once again with such words. With the determination to make me repent no matter what, you even sat next to this scoundrel Princess so kindly! You really work frighteningly hard, don’t you? But now that I know your intention, I absolutely won’t be fooled.”

“No, I…”

“Don’t talk to me. I don’t want to repent.”

I pretended not to know his true feelings at all, while simultaneously putting up an impenetrable wall.

Hoping everyone would feel that I had become somewhat more difficult to handle.

“…”

A moment of silence flowed.

Then…

An enigmatic smile appeared on Ruellian’s face.

“Right. The Princess is completely correct.”

He said that and turned around sharply.

I could somehow sense leisure in his attitude.

Like a predator that had already filled its belly but was playing with prey purely for fun, then just abandoning it and turning away. He withdrew so readily that I was bewildered.

“Wait, Ruellian. Mother said she wanted to hear your opinion regarding the interpretation of the revelation…”

The Crown Prince, who had been watching us both with an expressionless face, also followed after him.

After persistently following me around all evening, they suddenly withdrew with satisfied faces?

‘Then perhaps…’

As soon as their figures completely disappeared, I immediately looked down at my bag.

As expected.

My pouch was gone. It was definitely there until I entered here, but suddenly disappeared.

Obviously, when I almost bumped into Ruellian at the door earlier, he secretly took it out. So he withdrew purely.

‘As expected, Ruellian was looking for that. As expected, he suspected I had picked it up. As expected, that was indeed an important item.’

All the ‘perhaps’ turned into ‘as expected.’

If you feel the pouch from the outside, it would feel exactly like that silver fragment. Only after going home and opening it would he realize he’d been deceived.

But what could he do about it?

‘I secretly swiped your pouch, but the item I desperately sought wasn’t inside.’

Would he confront me like this? What could he do? He couldn’t show any sign and would just be frustrated alone. I could just continue pretending not to know anything.

‘How satisfying. So satisfying.’

This way, I had once again escaped brilliantly.

I dusted off my hands and came outside. Though I encountered unexpected obstacles that delayed time, I still handled it quickly.

“Good work, jeweler. I’ll contact you soon.”

“Thank you, Princess!”

The lumber merchant, who was the only possibility, happened to be imprisoned tonight of all nights? If this isn’t someone’s conspiracy, even a passing dog would laugh.

But anyway, it’s not the worst situation. It’s not just me who couldn’t get it—everyone else failed equally. Instead of being discouraged, let’s find another way.

‘Everyone move aside! This music box business is mine!’

After exchanging fiery glances with the S-rank and A-rank merchants running around everywhere, I was just about to head back to the office when I saw someone pacing around waiting in the front courtyard.

Our guild’s only employee. It was Benjamin.

“Guild Master!”

He spotted me and came running over.

“I managed to find one more lumber merchant that has maple walnut wood in stock!”

“Oh, really? I knew Benjamin would earn his salary properly!”

“However, there’s a problem…”

“Tell me on the way!”

I climbed into the carriage Benjamin had prepared in advance. The carriage departed immediately.

“What’s the problem?”

“Well, several other Guild Masters besides us already went there to try to make contracts, but the owner absolutely refuses to sell.”

“Why?”

“His personality is too stubborn. He says he can’t bear to use carefully processed lumber for making useless luxury items like music boxes. Apparently, some Guild Master tried to deceive him with lies to make a contract earlier, but got kicked out without even recovering his initial investment.”

“What’s wrong with luxury items? I’m seeing all kinds of strangely twisted people.”

“This is just a waste of time, right? Should I just turn the carriage around?”

“No!”

What choice do I have? Right now, that’s the only supplier where I can get the materials. I have to go and try something.

Inside the carriage, Benjamin and I prepared the contract together.

The carriage that raced through the roads like a gale finally arrived in front of the problematic lumber merchant’s shop.

“Here we are.”

Just as Benjamin and I opened the door and entered, something flew through the air and hit my head.

“You bastards! You cause chaos again the moment I look away and then run off? Why can’t they catch you no matter how many times I report it!”

What the Elderly Lumber Merchant threw was a crumpled piece of paper. Benjamin kicked it away and said,

“Old man, we don’t know anything about that. We came to buy wood, so why are you acting like this?”

The old man turned around with a “Huh?” but his face immediately turned menacing again.

“You’re in cahoots with those Guild Masters from earlier, aren’t you? Get out! Get out right now! I’ve already decided not to sell to music box makers like you! Even if you offered 10 million perel for 1 million perel worth of goods, it’s useless!”

Did he get hit in the head by a music box and die in his previous life or something?

As I’d heard, the old man was completely stubborn. It seemed like money absolutely wouldn’t move him.

But what should I do? All I have is money.

‘Isn’t there some way?’

I took a few steps inside while looking around.

But then, something crunched under my feet. It was the paper the old man had crumpled and thrown earlier.

What’s this about?

I picked it up and unfolded it. It was a flyer promoting some religious group’s demonstration, and the words “Elven Faith” immediately caught my eye.

It’s not an unfamiliar name.

‘Ah, that cult?’

When I was on trial for picking the amaranchia flower, I saw them too. They were fanatics who argued I should be sentenced to death for plant abuse, then got pushed out by reporters.

They go around in groups wearing only tree leaves, claiming we should return to nature, randomly surrounding passersby and singing songs. They treat anyone who touches plants like murderers who killed their parents.

The Elven Faith wouldn’t leave a lumber merchant who processes wood alone. They’re definitely at the very top of the blacklist, so they’ve plastered this place with their propaganda.

‘Indeed, it’s understandable that the Elderly Lumber Merchant would tremble with rage and crumple it up to throw it away.’

I was also looking at it in disbelief for a moment…

Suddenly, a lightning-like idea struck my mind.

‘Maybe this could work?’

At the very least, it seemed worth trying. I confidently threw down the gauntlet.

“Old man!”

Among the lumber stacked everywhere, the figure of that famous villainess walking with clicking steps, her red eyes gleaming wickedly.

It must have looked exactly like that, so even the stubborn old man flinched slightly.

But he immediately hardened his expression again.

“It’s useless, I tell you! Even if you offer 10 million or 20 million perel for 1 million perel worth of wood, I absolutely won’t sell!”

“Then what if I offered 100 million?”

100 million perel for 1 million perel worth?

The employee who had been watching nervously started hiccupping. The old man also looked at me with a face that doubted his ears for a moment, but…

“Not a chance! When something’s not happening, it’s not happening! Even if you offered 100 million perel, I absolutely won’t sell to you people!”

I snorted and said,

“When did I ever say I’d give that 100 million to you, old man?”

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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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