Chapter 7
“I’m sorry. Please, just this once—please forgive me. I was driven to it because of my debts… I lost my better judgment for a moment. If something happens to me, my family might be killed by the creditors. Please…”
Daisy, her face drained of all color, began to beg desperately.
Octavia, who had been looking down at her with only the corners of her lips slightly raised, turned her gaze to Lothaire.
“Lock her up somewhere no one will ever find her. She may be useless, but she still has her uses.”
After all, she intended to use her as leverage over Baron Ravish.
Once the servants dragged Daisy away, the people dressed in black swiftly erased any evidence that could work against Octavia and cleaned up the scene.
Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any witnesses.
Lothaire brushed off his coat as he spoke.
“I didn’t expect you to summon me in such a… extraordinary manner.”
“You weren’t coming no matter how many times I called.”
Octavia replied with composed elegance.
She had simply taken advantage of the protocol that allowed immediate action without reporting to superiors in cases where the principal’s safety was threatened or a major incident occurred.
“By the way, Lothaire. Do you know which man I absolutely must not let slip away?”
Lothaire draped his coat over Octavia’s shoulders as she sat gracefully on the bed in her nightwear, then answered,
“You mean the pickpocket?”
She had been about to seek his advice on how to “naturally” cross paths with Admiral Kelsedny—by conveniently staging a chance encounter—but upon hearing such a blunt, literal answer, she immediately gave up.
“My lady, I heard you attended the banquet last night and never returned home. I doubt you spent the entire night arguing with people.”
The bespectacled secretary, who looked better suited to a professional career, spoke in his usual calm tone.
Unfavorable Impression Increased [+5]
Judging by the numbers, however, it was clear he was silently criticizing her for causing yet another incident.
His primary role was handling the aftermath of her misdeeds—damage control, cover-ups, lobbying, and the like.
He neither particularly liked nor disliked Octavia, making him perfectly adequate as her secretary.
“I didn’t call you for damage control.”
“In that case, it must be another tiresome issue involving your lingering attachment to the prince. I’ll take my leave.”
“No.”
Octavia stopped the resolute secretary and placed a hand against her cheek, adopting a shy expression.
“I’ve decided I want a different man now. Not that… whatever-he-was. Something better.”
Lothaire’s eyes widened as if he had just heard the world turn upside down.
“In that case, you require a gift to build connections?”
“As you know, I currently can’t freely enter the royal palace or the temple.”
“So you mean a bribe for high-ranking members of the Holy Council and the royal family. It seems your target holds quite a high status.”
As expected of a capable secretary, he immediately understood.
“Using money is much faster and easier than using my head.”
In short—buying friendships.
Octavia had no intention of forming warm, genuine relationships; she planned to construct cold, calculated connections based purely on transactions.
With the fourth-ranked princess’s birthday approaching, winning her favor with a gift could grant Octavia free access.
“I heard a decent item has appeared at auction. Even if funding was cut off, shouldn’t there still be some budget left this month?”
“You mean the Luminous Stone? Unfortunately, we don’t have the funds. You’ve already exceeded your allocated budget—after crashing into five noble carriages and paying for all the repairs.”
It hadn’t been intentional.
She simply wasn’t used to manual driving after relying on autonomous systems.
“Then what can I buy?”
Lothaire opened his notebook, glanced at it, then snapped it shut.
“The only thing you can afford is last year’s calendar.”
In other words, she was completely broke.
Octavia, momentarily stunned, quickly regained her composure and began negotiating.
“Lothaire, do you have any money? I’ll pay you back with interest. Also, I have a business idea—profits will be split 80-20.”
“No.”
“Why? Explain logically.”
“I don’t believe you’ll repay me.”
He adjusted his glasses, his expression perfectly rational.
‘Even my most loyal, critically thinking subordinate doesn’t trust me. Is this really okay?’
Still, Octavia decided she had made enough of an effort and moved on.
“Based on our conversation so far, please deliver a clear yet emotionally persuasive message to my father that I am sincerely repentant, no longer attached to the prince, and willing to change.”
Lothaire took out his notebook and jotted it down. Though the brief scratching sound suggested it might be more for show, she had no choice but to trust him.
“And don’t tell my father about the dreadful and tragic incident I experienced today. I don’t want him to worry.”
“Understood. I’ll present it as a tear-jerking, melodramatic account.”
The secretary, impeccable in both perception and execution, nodded and closed his notebook.
With this much effort, even her father—who had declared he never wanted to see her again—might soften slightly.
“One more thing.”
Octavia smiled faintly.
“I have a scoop to leak to the press. It’s a scandal involving Admiral Kelsedny…”
“I have no desire to drop dead after provoking imperial royalty.”
Ignoring his firm refusal, she leaned in closer and added,
“The other party is me.”
Lothaire stared at her as if questioning her sanity, then slowly lowered his gaze.
“Is this to become a topic of conversation in high society and gain access to the royal family?”
“That’s part of it.”
But behind the scenes, negative public opinion would surely spread.
If it became a scandal between a noble imperial prince and a common-born woman, the blame would naturally fall on the latter. In other words, it would serve as a perfect, self-sustaining reputation-destruction machine.
“As expected, a perceptive man is quite appealing.”
“Please refrain from such troubling remarks… How do you plan to deal with the aftermath?”
“What aftermath?”
“Even if it’s reported as a rumor, the risk of it being false is significant. The responsibility will fall on us.”
“No—make sure it’s reported as fact.”
Seeing his puzzled expression, Octavia crossed her arms and lifted her chin.
“That’s why I didn’t come home after the banquet.”
At that moment, Lothaire’s expression finally lost all composure.
Thud.
The notebook slipped from his hand and fell to the floor.
“How could that possibly be true?”
he asked, unable to believe it.
This was the kind of incident that would force the head of the Ludovici family to summon his daughter without hesitation.
The next morning, at Admiral Kelsedny’s residence.
As usual, Brigadier Serkan delivered his report in a calm tone.
“And regarding the investigation you ordered on Octavia Ludovici…”
Admiral Kelsedny, who had been idly solving a cube while half-listening, slightly raised his head.
“There was an intrusion by an unknown assailant last night, but she immediately summoned her attendants and avoided danger. It appears she is not completely cut off from her family.”
Click.
Without responding, the admiral continued manipulating the cube, its colors shifting between his gloved fingers.
The brigadier added the most important point.
“Fortunately, she is unharmed.”
“And?”
Serkan hesitated, unsure what more he was expected to say.
Should he start listing her ideal type, horoscope, or birth flower?
Seeing his aide fall silent, the admiral pressed again.
“Has there been any unusual change recently? Or any new abilities?”
“She possesses no special powers, but one notable change is…”
He trailed off while flipping through the documents.
“Her spending habits. Instead of luxury goods, she’s begun purchasing flasks, chemical materials, thermometers, and books on magical dynamics.”
“I’m not interested in that.”
It felt like a guessing game.
Serkan desperately tried to think of an answer that would satisfy him.
At that moment, there was a knock, and another aide entered with a salute.
“Sir, you need to see this immediately.”
He placed a newspaper carefully on the desk and withdrew.
The admiral’s indifferent gaze shifted toward it.
“Imperial Prince and Daughter of a Leading Business Family in a Record-Breaking Scandal!”
The faint clicking of the cube stopped the moment he read the headline.
“On the night of the royal victory banquet, a secret meeting took place between the imperial prince—recently returned from naval warfare—and the daughter of a self-made business magnate of common origin.
The two left the banquet hall separately, and numerous witnesses claim to have seen the woman leaving the prince’s residence the following morning…”
Glancing at the article, Serkan’s eyes widened.
Even from a moving train, it was obvious—it was about Admiral Kelsedny and Octavia Ludovici.
“Sir, before the rumor spreads further, I will handle it immediately. The journalist who dared publish such baseless claims about imperial royalty should be summarily judged, and their superiors dismissed—”
“They only wrote the truth.”
“…Pardon?”
At the admiral’s flat response, Serkan froze stiff.
In truth, not a single detail in the article was incorrect.
They had both left the banquet early, and for reasons unknown, she had been at his residence until morning.
“Th-then…”
Serkan struggled to hide his confusion.
Had the admiral truly ordered the investigation out of personal interest?
While not typical, even imperial royalty could have preferences—and possessiveness.
‘I thought he wanted me to find out her favorite jewels or flowers… and instead I conducted a full investigation.’
He had never imagined that the first person to catch his superior’s attention would be a woman known as both the greatest villain and the standard of beauty in the kingdom.
“When you asked about her recent changes… were you wondering whether she had fallen for you, sir—?”
“That is not the case.”
The admiral folded his hands on the desk and shook his head firmly.
“Ordinary people cannot withstand the power of an Apostle when dealing with imperial royalty. There’s a high chance they would die.”
“By ‘dealing with,’ do you mean… in combat?”
At the brigadier’s innocent question, the admiral narrowed his eyes slightly, looking displeased.
“Do you take me for the kind of man who summons a civilian woman to his room in the middle of the night to spar?”
Realizing belatedly how foolish his remark sounded, Serkan stared at him, slightly agape.
‘Don’t tell me… it really was that kind of situation?’
It seemed the admiral’s true intention had simply been to confirm whether Octavia would survive or not.
The admiral let out a deep, reluctant sigh.
‘It seems I’ll have to meet her in person.’
