IATVWAMOLS 66

66. The World’s Greatest Stalking Competition (1)

【Administrator: So, will Cayenne bring snacks again today?!】
【Administrator: ꉂꉂ(^ᗜ^*)】

After finishing breakfast.

Since I had no particular plans today, I was idly chatting with the Administrator.

Lately, the Administrator’s main interest had been Cayenne.

“Eh, surely he won’t bring something again? Three days was long enough.”

At first, it was to repay me for helping him, but if I keep receiving more, I’ll just feel guilty.

【Administrator: No, no.】
【Administrator: My vote’s on him bringing something again today.】
【Administrator: ( •⌄• )✧】

“Want to bet on it?”

【Administrator: Okay, bring it on.】

Just as we were passing the time leisurely, the butler knocked on my door.

“Excuse me, my lady.”

【Administrator: Gasp.】
【Administrator: ( • ༝ • )】

The Administrator vanished in a flash, while I opened the door as though nothing had happened.

“My lady, the arms dealer will be visiting this afternoon.”

“The arms dealer?”

I hoped it was an ordinary merchant, but my instincts gave me an uneasy jolt.

“Yes, Count Vermont will be coming.”

“…….”

Why is it that ominous premonitions are never wrong?

I rubbed my forehead.

Count Vermont.

In the original story, he was a villain who stalked the heroine, Seraphine, and was thoroughly “educated” by the male leads.

But in my 5th life—

That was when I had been born with overwhelming Charm.

Count Vermont had fallen for me at first sight instead of the heroine, and he persistently courted me until he was slapped with a restraining order.

Cornered, in the end…

“He kidnapped me and blew himself up with a magical bomb.”

Even remembering it now sent a chill down my spine.

In this life, he should have no reason to fall for me, but I still didn’t want to risk even accidentally running into him.

‘Wait, then shouldn’t Seraphine also avoid meeting him at the ducal estate?’

Having received all the correspondence from Icart the day before, I had sent Seraphine a reply—an affectionate invitation for a tea time at the duke’s mansion.

But if Count Vermont was going to be coming and going here, that changed everything.

‘If Seraphine happened to visit and ran into him, that would be disastrous.’

I’d either need to change the meeting place or postpone it.

The butler spoke carefully.

“Count Vermont has a scheduled meeting with the young duke regarding the supply of military goods to the monster zone, but the young duke asked that you attend this meeting as well.”

“Why me?”

“He said he’d like to prepare some protective magic tools for you, my lady.”

Protective trinkets, my foot.

It would be safer not to meet Count Vermont at all.

“Is Lady Roselia really not coming?”

That afternoon.

Philip, who had arrived early at the drawing room, whispered to Icart.

Icart only nodded silently.

“Could it be that she’s very angry with you? Young duke, you did go too far, didn’t you?”

“Ahem.”

“No matter how close you are as family, there are lines you shouldn’t cross…”

Having endured much under Icart, Philip poked at his conscience without mercy.

Just as the heavy conversation lingered in the air, Count Vermont entered the drawing room.

Several attendants followed behind him.

“It’s been a long time, Young Duke.”

Count Vermont had slicked his black hair back so not a strand fell forward.

His complexion was sallow and his frame scrawny, yet his face gleamed with oily shine.

His eyes were long and narrow like a snake’s, making it impossible to tell exactly where he was looking.

From head to toe, he was dressed in the latest fashionable attire.

His arms jangled noisily with gold bracelets, clattering with each step.

It was such an obvious display of vanity that it was almost laughable.

“Thank you for inviting me, my precious client.”

“It’s been a while,” Icart replied coldly.

The chill in his tone made Vermont’s attendants bow their heads, but the man himself was shameless.

“So, where should I sit? Here?”

He plopped into the seat across from Icart.

The Vermont family had expanded its power by supplying weapons during the Empire’s aggressive territorial wars.

After the wars ended, they sought out conflict zones and border disputes instead.

Enemy or ally, it didn’t matter—if there was war, they profited by supplying arms.

They readily supported unethical violence in the name of business. They were notorious for fattening themselves on the blood of suffering commoners.

Regardless, Count Vermont’s business was thriving.

“You want me to double the weapon supply compared to last year? Hm. I’m afraid that’ll be difficult.”

Looking over the contract, Count Vermont spoke with feigned coyness.

“Since last year, the raw material supply has sharply decreased. Honestly, I’m not sure I can even match last year’s volume, let alone double it.”

“I understand the situation. Since you’re going through such trouble to secure it, we’ll add extra compensation,” Icart said magnanimously.

The Sertaia dukedom held the upper hand in this deal.

With the Empire’s official conquest wars now over, demand for weapons had dropped significantly, making Sertaia one of Vermont’s few major clients.

Usually, he bent over backward to please them—he should be doing the same now.

But—

“Even I, as a mere merchant, am not so desperate as to haggle for a few coins.”

At the mention of extra pay, Count Vermont smiled slyly, his snake-like eyes curving.

“You know about the newly improved mana bullets we developed, yes? We’ve been granted exclusive patents for them.”

At his signal, an attendant brought in one of the new rounds.

“In efficiency and power, nothing compares. These days, you can hardly fight a battle without them.”

“And?”

“As long as we hold monopoly rights in the market, we don’t need to bow for a few scraps of profit.”

Count Vermont puffed out his chest.

There was a boldness in him that hadn’t been there before.

“Ha. After building your fortune on Sertaia’s back, you’re daring to betray us now?”

Indeed, as Icart said, Vermont’s family had relied on the duke’s patronage for stable business.

Thanks to that dependable demand, they had been able to make aggressive investments.

Even their recent success with the mana bullet had been possible only with loyal clients like Sertaia.

Count Vermont sneered.

“Betrayal? A merchant merely follows the logic of the market.”

Market logic.

That slippery excuse made Icart’s brow crease.

“Raw material supply is hard, but since you must be desperate, I can’t exactly refuse to sell you weapons…”

He raised four fingers.

“Four times. I’ll take exactly four times the original price.”

‘I wonder what Count Vermont and Icart are discussing right now.’

I gazed down uneasily at Vermont’s carriage from the window.

I had wanted to retrieve yesterday’s invitation I’d sent to Seraphine, but it had already been delivered.

‘No choice. I’ll just have to send another letter right away.’

[Dear Lady Seraphine,

Something urgent has come up, so I won’t be able to see you for the time being.

Thank you for your concern, but we’ll meet at the palace soon enough, and I’ll make it up to you then.

I truly apologize.]

‘First I invite her, then I cancel. What a nuisance I must seem.’

【Administrator: Oh, I know what this is.】
【Administrator: The essential stage of romance—push and pull!】
【Administrator: ( •⌄• )✧】

The Administrator peeked over my letter.

“Push and pull? This level of fickleness would just kill any budding romance.”

As I sealed the letter, guilt toward Seraphine weighed on me.

‘Still, it can’t be helped. According to the original story, Count Vermont isn’t supposed to appear until much later.’

In the story, the male leads rescue Seraphine from his stalking, but for now their favorability with her is still too low.

If the story strays and Seraphine were to actually suffer harm, that would be disastrous.

Just as I rose to send the letter—

“……What’s that?”

Another carriage was pulling up outside the window.

Meanwhile, at that very moment—

The drawing room was tense with chill.

“Did you just say four times?”

“Yes. That’s the minimum for me to break even.”

Count Vermont smirked.

“Young duke, this isn’t profit anymore—it’s outright extortion. At this point, calling you a merchant is too kind. You’re nothing but a swindler.”

“……”

Philip lowered his voice.

Icart too was furious with Vermont, but the problem was there was no proper alternative.

It wasn’t that there were no other arms dealers, but few could handle such large orders as reliably as Vermont.

And when it came to his monopolized mana bullets, there were no substitutes at all.

“We’ll discuss that matter again another time.”

“Well, I don’t think you have much time to spare.”

“……”

“Very well. But remember, there’s no guarantee the price won’t rise even higher next time. Think it over carefully.”

Snap.

Philip ground his teeth at the man’s mocking tone.

At that moment, one of the ducal attendants burst into the drawing room.

“Young duke, there’s a visitor asking for Lady Roselia.”

“What?”

“She says she is the young lady of Baron Blaine’s household.”

“……Who did you say?”