Chapter 23
“So that’s why you refused to meet the Princess.”
“…I’m truly sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
His calm, matter-of-fact forgiveness made me blink in surprise as I looked up. A neat smile rested on Killian’s lips.
“It seems the issue arose because Miss Diel doesn’t trust me very much.”
Damn it. That wasn’t forgiveness at all…
I’m being subtly reprimanded right now. From my past life until now, my long-trained social instincts were telling me exactly that.
“N-no, that’s not it. It’s just that my perspective was narrow, so I assumed the Princess was directly involved. I’m sorry.”
At my answer, Killian’s smile shifted ever so slightly.
“Paradoxically, that statement gives me certainty.”
“…Pardon?”
“That despite foreseeing all of this, you still chose to take the risk.”
What does that even—
“With your level of eloquence and quick thinking, you must have considered this possibility as well. Well, putting that aside.”
He let out a soft chuckle and continued.
“How did you find out? That formula.”
“…Trade secret.”
“I don’t like asking the same question twice.”
So that’s the first thing he openly admits he dislikes.
If I said I discovered it through my own research, he would pour all his resources into uncovering whatever secret I was hiding. Which meant I had to make sure that secret could never be discovered.
“Stella told me.”
“…Stella Adelheit, you mean?”
His brows lifted.
Sorry, Stella. Your sister needs to survive…
I continued calmly.
“Yes. Before she died, Stella saw the future and told only me the formula so that no one else would suffer from the same illness.”
His gaze softened slightly, as though half-convinced. I drove the final nail in.
“The ability to see the future is usually a power that manifests in saints.”
“Figuring out the formula for a cure to her own illness right before dying… That’s quite the coincidence.”
“…It really is.”
For some reason, my throat tightened as I said that.
Why did I only remember my past life after Stella died?
If only—just a little earlier—if I had remembered the original story sooner, maybe Stella wouldn’t have died.
“Stella Adelheit also suffered from mana overload syndrome, so she likely had the qualities of a saint.”
He spoke as if reviewing facts. Yes, that’s it!
Killian Orpheo.
He might be a demon, but he’s also a grand mage.
Someone like him, with deep understanding of such formulas, wouldn’t dismiss this as some personal scam of mine.
“Then did you decide to produce the cure in order to fulfill Lady Adelheit’s last wish?”
“Well… something like that.”
“That’s not it.”
Killian immediately saw through my half-hearted answer and smirked.
“You’re right. I decided to continue making the cure because I want to survive.”
If I revealed a bit of honest intent here, the earlier lie would gain credibility. Calculating carefully, I spoke.
“So… does that make you want to cancel our partnership?”
He once said he finds it more interesting when evil defeats good, rather than evil being punished.
Then in front of him, I would position myself firmly as the villain. If that’s what it takes to survive.
“…Having seen this formula, the partnership will continue.”
The corner of Killian’s lips curved into a graceful line.
That smile felt a little ominous.
“But before that, don’t you think we need to revise the contract?”
“…The contract?”
“It seems this one has quite a few loopholes.”
The smile vanished from his face. He tapped on the coachman’s window.
“Not to the Evan estate—take us to the Grand Duchy.”
After being practically dragged to the Grand Duchy and rewriting the contract,
I realized something new as I got back into the carriage.
The Grand Duke Orpheo has… a lot of lawyers.
It was certainly a rare experience, drafting a contract in front of nearly a hundred lawyers.
The original contract at least looked equal on the surface, even if the contents weren’t.
But the new one? My position had clearly been downgraded to that of the subordinate.
Especially the clause stating that I couldn’t begin developing the cure without Killian’s permission.
Ugh… still, I should be thankful I wasn’t buried alive.
Getting off this lightly was practically a miracle.
With his personality, he was actually being quite lenient.
So he doesn’t intend to blow up a gold mine with his own hands, huh.
That’s the best guess I can make. Or maybe… he just finds it entertaining to watch me struggle to survive.
Fine. Even if I’m just entertainment, stay on my side for now.
Letting out a small sigh, I quickened my pace.
The largest bank in the Empire—Wintor Bank.
As soon as I arrived, I went straight to a clerk.
“I’d like to deposit 1,000 gold under the name Edith Diel to Sir Phillips of the Imperial Knights.”
I transferred the entire compensation I received from Duke Adelheit to Phillips. I hadn’t forgotten my promise to pay him for delivering the letter to the Princess.
At the mention of my name, the clerk briefly looked at me with curiosity before quickly returning to a professional demeanor.
Hmm, the compensation is all gone.
Phillips will probably retire immediately and open a dessert shop. I should visit it sometime soon.
I never intended to be satisfied with mere pocket change from Duke Adelheit anyway.
What mattered most was the business rights now in my hands. Without a concept of patents, these rights were even more valuable.
Since they were recognized by the Imperial Family, no one could easily interfere. It was practically equivalent to a patent.
Looks like Duke Adelheit can be useful sometimes.
I hummed lightly to myself.
All things considered, the profitability wasn’t bad.
Now I just need to gradually pull their business over to my side.
This time, I learned clearly—if they prosper, I will fall.
After Edith left, inside the office at Orpheo Castle,
only Russ Marty and Killian remained.
“This is truly astonishing. To deceive Your Highness like this…”
After quickly grasping the situation from the revised contract, Russ Marty couldn’t hide his shock.
Edith Diel was no ordinary bold individual.
Even Russ Marty, who rarely voiced personal opinions, couldn’t stay silent.
But even more surprising was his lord’s behavior. Normally, instead of rewriting a contract, he would have made sure the other party never existed again.
“…Your Highness, did you foresee this from the beginning?”
Russ Marty asked cautiously. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say all information in the Empire lay in the Grand Duke’s hands.
“To some extent.”
Killian did not deny it. Russ Marty was inwardly shocked by that admission.
Then why didn’t he terminate the contract?
Considering his usual temperament, he would have immediately voided it and buried Miss Diel entirely—financially, mentally… perhaps even physically.
When the lawyers suddenly flooded in and he saw Miss Diel and the Grand Duke drafting a new contract face-to-face, his heart nearly stopped.
Another poor soul is about to meet the gods today…
He had prayed silently while watching in anxiety. Fortunately, what he feared didn’t happen.
It was a relief—but it only made him more curious why.
Meanwhile, Killian recalled Edith leaving the office slightly pale, a faint smile forming on his lips.
Finding out that Edith had approached Phillips, a knight of the Imperial Palace, was as easy as watering a flower.
By the time he learned that the letter had been delivered to the Princess, he had already deduced everything.
That the letter must contain information about the cure for mana overload.
Before a trial, there was only one reason Edith would contact the Princess.
As expected, the letter he confirmed today contained partial clues about the formula.
So Stella Adelheit left the formula as her last words…
For someone who had lived an eternity, seeing through human lies was effortless.
There were always signs—eye movements, gestures, subtle temperature shifts.
Edith had lied to him. But not everything she said was false.
“I decided to continue making the cure because I want to survive.”
Most people hide their true intentions.
But she was the opposite.
She laid her motives bare, yet her actions remained full of questions.
Suddenly, he recalled what happened during the trial.
“My, it seems Miss Edith was quite displeased with my statement.”
“…Pardon?”
At first, she seemed lost—but in that brief instant, she caught on.
“Yes, I was a little displeased.”
She had seamlessly played along with his act.
That level of composure was not something expected from someone barely an adult.
Interesting.
For the first time in a long while, his dull life gained a spark of amusement.
