CHAPTER 26……………………………………………….
<We’ll send a carriage to your side, so please come riding in it.>
The next day.
After checking the letter Lady Odilon had sent, I hummed to myself and took a bite of bread.
‘That takes care of one thing, at least.’
The board was already set. Lady Odilon was even sending a carriage. Now all that was left was to focus on sneaking in unnoticed.
“Miss.”
At that moment, Sophia—who had gone to the archive—came back carrying several thick ledgers.
She stacked them neatly on the desk and stretched her shoulders.
“These are all the ledgers you asked for! I scraped together everything that was in the archive.”
“Good job.”
I grinned and picked up the ledger lying on top.
<Total Gross Revenue, Last Quarter>
‘No way they only siphoned off the family’s money.’
Scummy people never stop at just one crime. They must have had their hands in the merchant guild as well.
‘If I’m going to take them down, I need to pull them out by the roots.’
Even if it meant taking a loss now, in the long run it would definitely be a gain. When you add up every single coin that had been bleeding out to those leeches, the total would be enormous.
‘I need to scrape up every last bit.’
Still, there was one thing that worried me. Dealing with Xavier himself was easy enough—but what about the other nobles connected to him?
Among them, there were probably quite a few with real prestige.
If someone truly high-ranking was involved, they wouldn’t have acted directly. They’d have used their retainers to form those connections.
‘If they cut off the tail, I might never know…’
It would be one thing if they pulled out immediately—but if they waited until Renesty was rebuilt and only then tried to claim their rights, that would be a massive headache.
There was a limit to how many nobles a mere count’s family could stand up to.
‘I need some backing.’
Taking down Xavier wasn’t the end. After that, I’d have to rebuild the collapsed merchant guild and restore the finances.
‘This is where connections really matter.’
I should start by revisiting the families we’d worked with before. If I was going to ask for new investments, I’d need suitable business ideas too.
‘I can’t believe I’m doing business of all things.’
And not just any business—reviving one that had already gone bankrupt. That was far more complicated and difficult than starting from scratch.
‘Still… things are getting better.’
Once everything was rebuilt properly, I’d just rake in the money and get out.
‘There’s a reason the term “figurehead” exists.’
I planned to hand over actual management to someone trustworthy and quietly collect profits from behind the scenes.
I wanted to deal with Xavier and bolt, but more people’s livelihoods were tied to me than I’d expected.
Just looking at the servants living in the mansion made that obvious.
‘So I can’t even run away now.’
No matter how I looked at it, the conclusion was the same—I just had to work like a dog for now.
“Sophia.”
“Yes, miss?”
“I’ll give you a document later. Can you finish it by today?”
“Today?”
“Yeah. It’s not anything difficult, though.”
Sophia tilted her head in confusion but nodded without arguing.
I set the ledger down with a soft thud and leaned back in my chair.
‘If I’m going to be a figurehead or whatever, I need to crush that bastard first.’
To do that, I needed as much evidence as possible.
‘So there’s no way he can wriggle out of it.’
I grinned.
It was time to squash some bugs.
Creeeak—
With the sound of the door opening, blunt shoe heels stepped into the room.
Xavier entered, taking a deep breath, his teeth grinding against his lips.
‘Damn it. I have to find them by today!’
With only one day left until the auction, he absolutely had to locate the rest of the former countess’s relics.
Only then could he sell them directly to nobles and skim off a larger commission.
If they went through the auction, his cut would be pitiful.
But if he sold them himself? Offloading them to foreign nobles or merchant guilds that were hard to trace would bring in unimaginable sums.
‘I’ll just put a few decent-looking items up for auction.’
That way, he could pad his performance record and sell everything else under the table.
He’d said he would auction off the blue diamond set he’d obtained earlier, but in truth, he hadn’t even added it to the internal inventory.
If Aria asked later, he could just say that items of that caliber were usually shown privately to distinguished buyers.
If he stalled long enough and later offered her a small amount of money while claiming it couldn’t be helped, she wouldn’t be able to say anything.
The Aria Renesty he knew was that kind of useless, foolish niece—someone who couldn’t do anything even in situations like this.
So now was his chance.
He’d make more money than anyone else and finally escape this pathetic group.
‘Here—here it is!’
Xavier beamed as he rummaged through an empty room and spotted a tightly shut jewelry box. He swallowed hard and hurriedly opened it.
Inside was a handful of accessories made from all kinds of gemstones.
‘That little brat…!’
Hiding something this valuable without even telling her uncle!
Grinding his teeth, Xavier snapped the box shut.
Greed now fully ignited, he began tearing apart drawers, beds, tables, even window frames—searching everywhere.
All the while, completely unaware that he was walking straight into a trap.
Creeak—
Xavier froze mid-search, startled.
It sounded like someone might come in at any moment.
He slammed the drawer shut and hurriedly opened the door leading to the adjoining sitting room.
Just as Xavier slipped into the next room—
“Hmm~.”
Humming lightly, Sophia entered and placed a vase filled with freshly changed water onto the table.
A moment later, Aria—who had supposedly been in her office—stepped over the bedroom threshold as well.
“Phew…”
Safely hidden in the adjoining room, Xavier let out a breath of relief.
It was a shame he couldn’t search more, but—
‘This is enough for now.’
Cradling the box as if it were his life, Xavier snickered.
‘I’ve made it. I’ve really made it!’
Late that evening.
Smiling quietly, I looked over the fake accessories spread out on the table.
I’d deliberately sent out the real ones to secure solid proof of Xavier’s crimes.
‘Perfect.’
Long story short—the plan was a success.
‘She really is insanely talented.’
Unless you were a true expert, even seasoned nobles would be fooled by the quality.
Selina’s craftsmanship was simply unmatched.
Not only did she meet the deadline perfectly, but even side by side, it was nearly impossible to distinguish them with the naked eye.
The texture was subtly different from the real thing, making it almost impossible to tell without several days of professional appraisal.
‘He’ll probably only put some of them up for auction.’
He’d need internal performance results, so swallowing everything outright would be risky.
He’d prioritize the ones that looked decent and would sell well.
‘And pocket the rest.’
It was obvious without even seeing it.
That was exactly why I’d prepared identical fakes to the accessories Xavier took.
‘It almost feels like a waste to stop here…’
Her skill was far better than I’d expected, to the point that I found myself wanting more.
The auction began late in the evening.
“Please be really careful, miss!”
As I prepared to head out, Sophia bounced anxiously on her feet, eyes wide—like I was heading into a battlefield.
“If anything even a little dangerous happens, just swing it right away!”
“…Swing what, exactly?”
“Your sword, of course! You brought one for self-defense!”
I glanced sideways at the dagger resting on the table.
I wasn’t sure I could use it properly, but it was better than having nothing, so I decided to bring it.
“That’s a last resort.”
Only if my life was truly in danger.
Pulling it out recklessly and messing things up would be a problem.
‘And I’m not taking Mathias with me today.’
Honestly, I wanted to—but if Xavier or his accomplices noticed him, it would be disastrous.
“Aria…”
So no matter how pitiful he looked, I absolutely couldn’t waver—
“No? Really?”
“……”
Wow. I really am weak to good looks.
People are instinctively drawn to beautiful things, but this was on another level. I felt like I might actually get enchanted.
‘I feel like I’ll agree without even realizing it.’
Feeling a sudden sense of danger, I turned my head away. Mathias called my name again, his voice desperate.
Ignoring it with great effort, I looked out the window instead.
The sky had grown dark—perfect for moving quietly.
“Looks like it’s time to head out.”
The trap was already set.
Now it was time to gather everything up.
