ODIBY 18

CHAPTER 18

To be precise, she was Priscilla’s niece.

“I’m Claire Lavello. This might sound presumptuous, but… there’s something I really want to say.”

“You can be presumptuous…”

Marie replied with a flushed face. Before her new muse, her heart was infinitely open, and her guard completely lowered.

Especially since Claire resembled her original muse even more.

“Huh? Oh, um… thank you.”

Claire looked slightly flustered, but quickly composed herself and spoke seriously.

“Quit that dress shop. Your talent is far too precious to rot in a place like that.”

“…I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

Marie hesitated with a gloomy expression before confessing honestly.

“Actually… I owe the shop money.”

Her unfortunate circumstances were as follows:

Abandoned at birth, Marie was taken in and raised by the owners of the dress shop. They worked her like a servant.

When she became an adult, they demanded payment for raising her and forced her to sign a loan agreement.

Marie had no choice but to work at the shop for a pittance in order to pay back the debt.

But the interest accrued faster than she could earn, and soon she was buried in massive debt.

“How much is it, exactly?”

“Eight million gold…”

“I’ll pay it.”

Claire said without hesitation. Marie’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Y-You will…? Why…?”

“Money should be spent efficiently.”

Not wasted on some trashy dress shop, but invested in someone like you—a real talent—to work under me.

Claire gently took Marie’s hand and said softly.

“But I have one condition. From now on, you’ll be in charge of all my clothing.”

“A-Are you sure about that? I have no experience, and… I only made clothes for the Duchess occasionally…”

“My aunt was satisfied with you, Marie. She wore your clothes until the day she died.”

Tears welled up in Marie’s eyes. Even if society gossiped about Priscilla after her death, Marie always thought well of her.

Just because someone is a bad person to others doesn’t mean they were bad to me.

“Sniff… I’m glad she was satisfied.”

Marie wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

Now, the relative of the first person who ever recognized her talent was giving her another chance.

She decided to seize it.

“If you give me the chance, I’ll work my hardest, Miss. I’ll repay the full eight million in value—more than that.”

“You will. I know you will.”

Claire smiled warmly and patted Marie’s shoulder.

She could do it. The talent Claire saw in her was worth far more.

And Claire kept her word.

She went to the dress shop where Marie worked, tossed down a bag of money, and said:

“Eight million gold. All in cash.”

The shop owners stared at her blankly, stunned, then began to protest.

Claire walked over and boldly grabbed Marie’s wrist, who had been mopping in the corner, and declared:

“She’s coming with me. I’ve paid her debt, so hand over the loan contract.”

The owners stammered but, realizing the money was real, quickly handed over the document.

Claire immediately burned it in a candle flame.

“You’re free now, Marie. Come work for me and unleash your talent to the fullest.”

“Thank you, Miss. I’ll work so hard! I’ll make you the finest clothes!”

Seeing the fire of determination in Marie’s eyes, Claire smiled with satisfaction. And as she returned home, she thought:

‘From now on, I’ll start recruiting the talented people I’ve been keeping an eye on.’

People were assets. And power.

If she wanted to succeed in her revenge, she’d need people to support her.

‘Which means I need to make money—faster and more of it than ever before.’

She suddenly recalled a newspaper article she saw a few days ago.

“Are Jewel Blossoms Going Extinct?”

The Jewel Blossom: a flower that produces gem-like fruits shaped like its petals.

The seeds were extremely rare, and the plant was notoriously difficult to cultivate—making it highly valuable.

Each gem from a Jewel Blossom sold for tens of millions of gold, but recent cultivation failures had drastically reduced supply. Prices had soared even higher.

With her power to promote growth, Claire could likely make Jewel Blossoms bloom.

But the problem lay elsewhere:

The Imperial Family.

The Empress’s brother monopolized the Jewel Blossom trade, and even Duke Muten—who ran the empire’s largest merchant group—couldn’t interfere.

So Claire, who had far less backing than Muten, couldn’t realistically enter the Jewel Blossom business right away.

‘It’s unfortunate… but Ron is managing the merchant guild well enough.’

She calmed herself, deciding not to get greedy in her haste.

Crown Prince’s Palace

A lavishly dressed noble lady ran out crying.

“Waaah, how could you!”

She had come to ask Theodore to be her party partner, only to be coldly rejected and all but thrown out.

Left alone in the drawing room, Theodore rose with a weary expression.

The reason he’d taken the time to personally reject a woman he had no interest in was simple:

She’d come carrying a letter from the Emperor.

“Haaah… Uncle’s extended another unwanted favor.”

The current Emperor of Tricen, Tobias, was Theodore’s uncle.

After the previous emperor and empress died in an accident, Tobias had conveniently taken the throne in his nephew’s stead.

Ever since Theodore came of age, Tobias had busily tried to find him a spouse—mostly noble ladies from families loyal to the Emperor.

‘Why would I want to marry someone he approves of?’

Theodore wanted to avoid becoming even more entangled in his uncle’s influence, so he refused.

The more he refused, the more persistent the Emperor became.

He feared Theodore might ally himself with a powerful noble house and become a real threat.

The pressure had become unbearable. Now, Tobias was even sending letters demanding he bring a partner to the party.

‘This is getting ridiculous. I need a plan.’

As he strolled down the hallway, he pondered seriously.

To fend off the Emperor’s marriage pressure, he needed to be in a relationship—even a fake one.

But with who?

‘Someone to act as my lover.’

Someone with backbone, who shared his goals and wasn’t swayed by social pressure.

‘Is there anyone like that?’

He didn’t care about their origin or family background—just someone he could strike a deal with.

He couldn’t think of anyone suitable when he returned to his office, where Jake handed him a document.

“Here is the list of unmarried noblemen from families above the rank of Count, as you requested.”

“Thank you.”

“If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to let me know.”

Jake gave his usual pleasant smile and left.

Theodore began reviewing the list. It only included bachelors with no fiancée or known romantic ties, so the pool was relatively small.

Still, there were quite a few names—but none stood out.

‘At this rate, I’ll have to assign her to some unworthy guy and call him a partner.’

That wounded Theodore’s pride. Even if Claire thought he was just a guildmaster, he was the Crown Prince.

Having gone out of his way to help, it would be disgraceful to pair her with some unimpressive man.

‘I need someone who will not only accept Claire’s illegitimacy but actively protect her.’

Theodore knew how illegitimate children were treated in noble society—as defective and shameful.

If the woman he’d taken a liking to was reduced to that status, he’d be extremely displeased.

‘If she were my partner, no one would dare touch her…’

The thought made him pause.

The Emperor wouldn’t stop hounding him until he showed up to the party with a partner—so Theodore needed one too.

In that case, Claire’s and his goals aligned. And getting an invitation to a Baron’s party was no trouble at all.

‘They’ll say I’ve lost my mind… but maybe that’s better for my uncle.’

A Crown Prince escorting an illegitimate noblewoman to a party? Tobias might actually approve, thinking it lowered Theodore’s standing.

The man was always afraid Theodore might take back the throne.

Without hesitation, Theodore wrote a letter to Claire through the Episteme Guild.

“I’ve found you a great partner. Don’t worry—I’ll escort you myself on the day of the party.”

He didn’t mention who the partner was. The vagueness made Claire uneasy, but both of them quietly prepared for the party.