Chapter 98
Edwin visited Joanna’s mansion carrying a large bouquet of flowers, hoping to lift her mood, as she had become unusually irritable lately.
“Joanna will be so surprised when she sees me, won’t she?”
He instructed the butler of the Becki Marquis household not to announce his arrival and went up to her room.
Knock, knock.
Edwin held his breath and knocked on Joanna’s door.
“What is it? I told you I wanted to be alone!”
From inside came Joanna’s irritated voice.
Edwin flinched for a moment but knocked once more.
The door suddenly swung open, and Joanna, wearing an angry expression, furrowed her brows as she faced him.
“Who is it! I clearly said I wanted to be alone…”
“Jo-Joanna. Ah… hi…”
Joanna’s anger flared even more when she saw Edwin holding a large bouquet and giving her a goofy smile.
“What are you doing here without letting me know?”
She gestured coldly for him to come in.
“Well, I came because I wanted to see you. We haven’t met often lately. Are you very busy?”
He handed her the bouquet and gave an awkward smile.
Joanna accepted the flowers, threw them aside carelessly, and glared at him.
“Who do you think I’m busy for? I’m putting in all this effort on behalf of the prince…”
Unable to contain her frustration, Joanna picked up the bouquet and threw it to the floor.
“What exactly is the prince doing? Instead of preparing flowers, he should be thinking about how to become the crown prince!”
“Joanna! What are you doing!”
Edwin shouted, looking at the flowers scattered across the floor.
“Listen carefully, Edwin! I’m not here to play love games with you. Don’t forget our goal.”
“Joanna. I’ve never given up on my dream of becoming emperor! But… don’t you love me?”
Edwin asked her with a disappointed expression.
Joanna was incredulous at his question.
Love? For a man who had spent almost a year like a wreck, unable to forget another woman, this question was incredibly selfish.
Moreover, their engagement was entirely a relationship established for mutual benefit.
Still, instead of scolding or mocking him, Joanna smiled sweetly.
“Edwin. Of course, I love you. But we have priorities higher than love, don’t we? You understand what I mean?”
Joanna stepped closer, gently caressing his cheek as she whispered.
“I know. I’ll try my best, too. So cheer up. How about spending tonight at my palace?”
Edwin placed his hand over hers as he spoke.
Even now, he kept saying foolish things, which exasperated Joanna, but she smiled and looked at him.
“…Alright. But there’s something you need to do first, Your Highness.”
“Something I need to do?”
“Build a relationship with Chancellor Duke Miller.”
“Isn’t he a moderate?”
Joanna’s comment made Edwin frown in confusion.
Sigh… But he is also the one the Emperor trusts the most. And he recently achieved a great merit.
Joanna felt her anger rising at Edwin’s foolishness again but tried not to lose her smile.
“Alright, if that’s what you want, I’ll do it.”
Watching Edwin respond confidently, Joanna couldn’t shake off her unease.
A little later, as Lucas had predicted, news came that Duke Miller would host a banquet to commend the Navid trading guild.
“Two months from now… there’s still plenty of time. But going with Lucas as a partner will be difficult now, huh?”
Lucy chuckled, placing the invitation deep inside the drawer and muttered,
“Finally, I’ll get to meet him… Edwin.”
And Joanna.
She didn’t harbor any particular resentment toward Joanna, but because she was Edwin’s fiancée, there would be many occasions where they would have to compete.
“Perhaps she will be the strongest rival I have to face. Can I handle her?”
She was the heroine of this world.
So far, Lucy had managed to cope because she knew the novel’s plot in advance, but she couldn’t imagine what would happen next.
“The best ending would be for her, the heroine, to discover Edwin’s vile past, feel disappointed, and abandon him mercilessly, right?”
But would such an ambitious woman really give up her dream of becoming Empress?
Lucy sat on the bed, lost in thought.
“There’s one more thing I’ve been missing… Did Joanna really not know about my past with Edwin?”
When they had met at a past royal banquet, Lucy had briefly suspected something, but lately, that doubt had grown.
“What if she approached him knowing all along that he was supposed to marry me? Then…”
Lucy pondered.
Would Joanna be a fitting heroine, or would she be better suited as a villain?
“The only way to find out is to face her directly.”
Lucy got up from her seat energetically, muttering to herself.
Baron Diallo felt a severe threat from Pablo Trading Guild, which had quickly monopolized the capital’s commerce.
“So, who’s supposedly in charge of the Magnus branch of the Pablo Guild?”
The baron summoned the mercenary in charge of investigating the guild to report.
“Currently, the guild’s operations are being handled by Nils Ernst, the aide to the branch manager.”
“So who’s the branch manager?”
The baron shouted, frustrated.
“Ah, the Magnus branch is being directly overseen in the capital by Lady Deputy of the Rayford family.”
“Lady Deputy of the Rayford family? And a woman?”
Baron Diallo tilted his head.
“Did the Rayford family even have any women left? Well, perhaps the Count’s wife or his son’s wife… Did you find any personal information on this Lady Deputy?”
The mercenary handed over a file as if waiting for his signal.
“What kind of woman dares meddle in my business…”
As the baron read the file, his words caught in his throat, and he froze.
“Lu-Lucy… Ra-Rayford? Lady Deputy Rayford?”
Memories of Lucy visiting his mansion and what she had said began to come back to him, line by line.
“I came here today to get an apology from you. Reflect on your past deeds and apologize to me!”
“You will experience hell. Feel the kind of pain that slowly dries your blood and makes you wish for death.”
“Lucy… So this is the ace up her sleeve!”
Baron Diallo crumpled the paper with her personal information and shook his fist in rage.
“This is serious. That girl knows my identity and wants revenge. But why hasn’t she reported me to the guards or sued me?”
He gestured for the mercenary to leave and narrowed his eyes, deep in thought.
“Could it be… she really expects an apology from me? How foolish!”
Recalling her words, the baron began to laugh, his shoulders shaking.
Considering Lucy’s previously naive and innocent nature, it seemed possible.
“An apology? That’s nothing! Are there any butlers outside?”
Having made up his mind, the baron called for his butler.
“Did you call, Master?”
“I hear some alley rats are skilled with poisons. Find the most skilled one.”
“P-Poison?”
The butler asked in surprise.
“Yes, poison! One that leaves no trace and doesn’t kill immediately.”
Baron Diallo muttered with a sinister expression.
