Chapter 32
Cecile finally made a difficult decision.
‘This won’t do, Nibelung. I’m going to borrow some of your mana.’
[What? But Cecile, if you do that—!]
Nibelung cried out in worry, but he had no choice.
Cecile focused her mind on the place inside her belly where Nibelung resided and began to draw out and use his mana.
It was mana tainted with the sinister aura of Nibelung, an ancient black magic artifact.
Instantly, a horrific pain swept over her.
It felt as though flames of malice were burning through her entire body. Every muscle, every cell screamed as if being consumed.
Voices like hallucinations exploded in her head, as though her skull would split open.
Rage and hatred for everything in the world began to scream at her.
Destroy it all, harm everything.
Don’t let anyone be happy.
And yet, all of it felt far too familiar to her.
‘I used to live feeling like this all the time… I forgot.’
Cecile had to desperately squeeze out her mental strength just to keep herself from attacking her detestable older sister right then and there.
While Susanna wasn’t looking, dark and evil energy gathered and dispersed in Cecile’s hand several times.
“Here you go, it’s all done.”
Susanna handed over the signed check. Cecile accepted it politely and tucked it away.
“Thank you for the generous deal, Your Highness. I will never forget the favor I’ve received from you.”
“The fact that your invention ended up in my hands, and not someone else’s, is the greatest fortune of your life. Your invention will now shine forever beside the stars.”
Cecile bowed respectfully and turned to leave. As she exited the parlor and crossed the corridor to leave the palace, her steps remained composed.
Only once she was certain that no one was watching did she collapse in place. At that moment, the disguise spell broke, and she returned to her 8-year-old form.
“Haah, haah, haah…! Urgh, bleegh! Bweeegh!”
Cecile fell to her hands and knees on the dirt and began to vomit everything out of her stomach.
[Cecile! Are you alright?]
Nibelung called out urgently, but Cecile didn’t even have the mind to respond.
Only after completely emptying her stomach did she regain her senses.
Though Nibelung’s evil energy had dissipated, the lingering pain and the echo of those voices remained, leaving her head numb and hazy.
“Did… did I do well…?”
[What? What did you just say, Cecile?]
“I said, did I succeed? I… sob… I didn’t get caught by anyone, right?”
She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. Tears kept leaking out on their own.
‘Crying over something so minor… Before regression, I lived ten years like that. That’s what it means to have the weak body of an 8-year-old.’
Though she thought that in her head, the tears wouldn’t stop.
As Cecile began to sniffle, Nibelung spoke gently.
[You did very well, Cecile.]
“……”
[Not only did you successfully strike a deal with the princess just as planned, but no one saw through you either. I guarantee it, Cecile. You’ve done something no one else could have.]
Being comforted by Nibelung bruised her pride, but she couldn’t deny that his kind voice brought her comfort.
Cecile hugged her knees and sniffled, listening to his voice.
[And Cecile, what you just went through wasn’t something minor. Anyone would cry after suffering that kind of pain.]
“You’re the one who caused that pain, and yet you talk big.”
[That’s why, Cecile… I understand how you feel, but from now on, please refrain from using my power. I don’t want to see you suffer like that.]
As Cecile dusted herself off and stood up, she snapped sharply.
“You think I used your power because I wanted to feel like that? If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have had enough mana, and my disguise would’ve broken right in front of Susanna. Do you have a better idea?”
[Well… no, but…]
“This was the only way to succeed in the deal and get out of Susanna’s palace safely.”
Cecile’s face was cold as she spoke, but she looked exhausted.
“And from now on, if I have to do something—no matter how painful—to survive and reach my goal, then I’ll do it. If the price is just my own suffering, then it’s cheap.”
[Cecile…]
Nibelung called to her painfully, but Cecile deliberately ignored him.
“Let’s go home. It’s late. Anne’s definitely going to scold me.”
[…Yes. Let’s go.]
The day after she made a massive deal worth 60,000 gold coins—
‘I need to set up facilities to mass-produce and sell this new and unique tulip breed.’
‘And tonight, I’ll host a salon where I’ll unveil my new business idea to everyone. I’ve already invited a ton of journalists, so by tomorrow morning, the entire capital will know about this special tulip. Everyone will be dying to get their hands on it.’
Dressed in all her finery, Princess Susanna stepped out of her bedroom and headed to the reception room to check on the goods from the trade.
‘There’s sure to be overseas demand, too. I should start planning export routes…’
She inserted a large, thick key and opened the door—expecting a breathtakingly beautiful display of exotic, never-before-seen tulips to fill her vision.
But what entered her view was not a mystical new tulip species that seemed out of this world…
It was just 1,100 perfectly ordinary red tulips.
Susanna couldn’t believe her eyes.
She blinked once, twice, several times—and looked again.
But no matter how many times she looked, the plain red tulips didn’t change.
“AAAAHHH! AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!”
Her hysterical scream rang so loudly it shook the entire annex.
In that moment, 60,000 gold coins melted down to a pitiful worth of just 800.
After realizing she had been scammed, Susanna tried to cancel the check immediately—but it had already been cashed.
The handsome con artist had vanished with the massive sum of 60,000 gold coins.
For several days after that, newspapers and magazines were filled with headlines about the Fourth Princess and the bold con artist who had swindled her.
Thanks to the very journalists she herself had invited to unveil the new tulip breed, the news spread even faster.
Queen of Commerce, Outfoxed – The Tulip Rebellion
Commercial Star, Fourth Princess, Loses 60,000 Gold in Massive Scam
Who Is the Mysterious Scammer Who Tricked the Genius Princess?
The tale of how Susanna’s fortune of 60,000 gold coins had instantly plummeted to a value of 800 served as a wake-up call for many.
“So that’s what happens with speculation.”
“I knew she was overreaching with all that expansion. I saw this coming.”
“If she had just focused on solidifying her foundation instead of chasing wild investments, this wouldn’t have happened. Tsk tsk.”
The incident had such an impact that public perception of tulip speculation itself began to shift.
“Come to think of it, tulips are just flowers. Why are they being sold at such ridiculous prices?”
“These days, so many exotic flowers are being imported. There’s no need to obsess over tulips anymore.”
“The idea that tulip prices would always go up? That’s ancient history. I saw this coming and sold all my tulip stocks already. I even warned my uncle and in-laws to cash out.”
Tulip prices—having soared to unreasonable heights compared to actual demand—had finally hit their peak and now began to plummet with fierce momentum.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣…. cool!