TVKHSM 06

Chapter 6

I got caught with the bruise on my wrist during dinner.

Tara muttered under her breath.

“Evelyn. What happened to your wrist?”

I tried to hide it with a bracelet, but of course, Tara’s sharp eyes couldn’t be fooled. Just by looking at her face, she looked like she’d take on not only Ulysses but even the Emperor himself.

Of course, if that happened, it’d be treason.

Before my life could meet an early end, I quickly waved my hands.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve already been compensated in another way.”

“How can I not worry!”

Tara’s shout hit like thunder. I flinched instinctively, and she quickly returned to her usual demeanor.

“…I’ll call for a healer right away.”

“…Okay.”

Seeing my family’s faces, I felt a bit guilty. I was their precious daughter, and yet I’d come home with injuries.

‘Not like I hurt myself on purpose.’

I can only hope that in exchange for my wrist, Ulysses ended up impotent. I finished dinner feeling like I was sitting on pins and needles.

And the next day.

As expected, a letter arrived from the Imperial Palace—but unfortunately, it wasn’t the content I’d hoped for.

I crumpled the letter and threw it on the floor, then stomped on it with my heel.

“She can’t believe the young lady forgot about her? What a joke.”

Your Majesty, I already let the wrist thing go in exchange for you keeping that bastard Ulysses in check.

But of course, he’s not the Emperor for nothing. A desperate plea from a mere subject gets ignored. Still, what made me even angrier than the Emperor was Ulysses himself.

“Can’t believe it? You were the one who told me to leave you alone, and I said fine. So now what? You can’t believe it? XX.”

Evelyn was humiliated in front of everyone. No sane person would fall for someone who humiliated them publicly.

‘Well, Evelyn wasn’t exactly normal either. But this is still early in the story, so maybe that side of her hasn’t come out yet. Still, the confidence on this guy…’

Does he think he’s some kind of homme fatale?

And the nerve to say that after being rejected—he really is something.

I’d been planning to go out today to find myself a fake fiancé, and now I needed to hurry.

‘The Emperor favored Evelyn because he saw her as a potential Crown Princess. The moment he realizes I lied, I’m screwed.’

Losing my head would be one thing, but the real problem was my relationship with the Emperor.

Even if things went horribly wrong with Ulysses, I had to stay on good terms with the Emperor. To do that, I needed to turn my lie into the truth.

“I need money.”

As I said before, Evelyn doesn’t have personal funds. Sure, the things in her dressing room are technically assets, but they’re meaningless until I turn them into cash.

‘I can’t ask Mom or Dad.’

All the things that had been delivered to my dressing room over the past three days were bought with their money.

That left me with one remaining source.

“Asil.”

I went to Asil’s room. He greeted me with a flowery smile that looked just like Henry’s.

“Evelyn! What brings you to your big brother’s room? Is your wrist okay?”

Asil exaggerated his concern for my wrist. I raised it to show him it was fine. Thanks to the healer’s treatment yesterday, the bruise was completely gone.

Asil’s expression brightened. I seized the moment to get to the point.

“Give me some pocket money.”

“How much?”

Even when I asked outright, Asil just smiled. I thought for a moment, then held up five fingers.

He asked brightly,

“500 goldens?”

…For reference, 500 goldens is equivalent to 50 billion won. No matter how much he dotes on his sister, just giving away 50 billion? That’s insane.

Barely suppressing my shock, I corrected him.

“No, 50 goldens.”

“Will that be enough?”

He asked with a concerned expression, as if he knew what I’d use the money for. That look made me feel strangely guilty, even though I hadn’t done anything wrong.

Without thinking, I said,

“Then maybe… 50 more?”

“Will 100 goldens be enough?”

“…Then maybe 50 more?”

“Will 150 be enough?”

“…?”

“200?”

“…”

“300?”

At this rate, we’d end up back at 500 again. I put on a serious face and stopped him.

“Enough. That’s plenty.”

“I’m not so sure…”

Asil still looked worried. How rich do you have to be to keep raising the number like it’s some kind of auction whenever your sister asks for allowance?

At this point, I needed to check if Asil had his liver and gallbladder in the right place.

‘Really puts that penny-pincher to shame.’

That bastard didn’t give me pocket money—he asked me for it. He never even bought me a single chicken meal.

Anyway, I sighed and stopped Asil from counting any higher.

“200 goldens will be enough.”

I was only paying a deposit today, so 200 should do.

“Are you sure that’s enough?”

But Asil still looked at me like a sad puppy. It was making me nervous too.

‘…Wait. Will this really be enough?’

The fake fiancé I was going to recruit today was Raphael, a supporting male lead in the original story and the head of the underworld.

Yeah, I know. I’m not just interfering with the original plot—I’m completely flipping it.

But no matter how I thought about it, there was no one more suitable than Raphael.

‘Luckily, he hasn’t fallen for Dalia yet.’

Anyway, Raphael doesn’t run the underworld for money. He started it out of necessity, and it just turned out he had a knack for it.

‘Ugh, seriously, the more I think about it, the more unhinged he seems.’

It’s creepy, but also reassuring. Only a crazy person can handle another crazy person. If it’s Raphael, he can definitely get rid of Ulysses.

Just then, someone entered Asil’s office.

“Asil. I need to talk to you… Evelyn?”

It was Douglas. He stared at the pouch of money in my hand with wide eyes.

‘Ah, here we go. Time for another lecture.’

I was sure he’d start nagging Asil for spoiling me again.

“Do you need money?”

But strangely, his reaction was different. Douglas asked with a rare seriousness.

‘What’s his angle?’

I narrowed my eyes and glared at him. Douglas, unbothered by my scowl, reached into his pocket and pulled something out.

“What is that?”

Didn’t need to ask—it was a key. But why was he giving it to me?

Douglas answered,

“Take whatever you need from my vault.”

“…What?”

“If that’s not enough, let me know. I’ve got some slush funds stashed away.”

…Is he serious? This guy used to call me unemployed trash, and now he’s offering me money?

I was so stunned I couldn’t say anything before getting kicked out—apparently he had something to discuss with Asil.

“…Is he crazy or something?”

I almost checked if Douglas still had his sanity intact.

‘I don’t know why he’s suddenly offering money on his own, but hey—money’s money.’

Just in case it wasn’t enough, and because I didn’t have time to waste, I used Douglas’s vault key to take out an extra 300 goldens.

* * *

In the capital, inside a modest mansion. The office, though simple, was impeccably tidy. A secretary knocked and entered, looking for the mansion’s owner.

“Boss, you have a visitor.”

“A visitor?”

At the word “boss,” the smile vanished from Raphael’s lips.

Not “sir” or “master.” Boss.

Raphael removed his monocle and asked,

“Why would someone be looking for the head of Pagrassium at a marquisate?”

Raphael was slightly annoyed. No one should know he was the one running the underworld organization Pagrassium. So how?

The secretary swallowed nervously before answering.

“She didn’t say anything to me, but… she brought a heavy pouch of gold.”

At the mention of goldens, Raphael’s eyebrows lifted.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Lady Evelyn Frabiche.”