chapter 20
Whether people stared with their mouths open or not, Ruelian approached me with a gentle smile and started talking.
“I thought you’d be in the ballroom, naturally, so I went there first. I searched for quite a while, Lady.”
“You were looking for me? Why?”
“I can’t tell if you’re pretending not to know, or if you really don’t. Why do men come looking for women, Lady? It’s because they’re interested, of course.”
A faint smile rose on his face, his violet eyes lifted with arrogant ease.
A warning siren blared in my head.
So, this is how you’re going to play it, huh?
In some ways, it was the obvious move. Faced with one of the rare obstacles in his life, he’d likely always dealt with it this way.
Just flashing that smile and pretending to show a bit of interest probably always got him whatever he wanted.
But I had no intention of falling for his magic. I could see right through those eyes of his.
His words said one thing, but his gaze was cold as ice.
Not a chance.
All right then, shall I play my own game too?
“To think Your Grace would show interest in someone as lowly as me. I must buy a lottery ticket today. If I even have any cash…”
Feigning casualness, I opened my bag and pulled out my wallet. Deliberately, I let a pouch—tucked on purpose—fall to the ground.
To draw attention, I even exclaimed loudly.
“Oh no!”
Ruelian reached out to pick it up and asked,
“A valuable item?”
“No.”
I snatched it up faster than him and shoved it back into my bag.
“It’s just a small piece of silver I picked up on the road. It looked valuable, so I figured I’d have it appraised.”
I didn’t even look at him as I spoke, throwing the words out with a tone that made it clear it was nothing special.
“But Your Grace is awfully attentive to the smallest things, isn’t he?”
“I thought it might be a rival’s gift. Or not.”
Ruelian replied.
So he figured out I really did pick it up and kept it? Oddly calm tone for someone who just made that realization… but then again, he’s sly as a fox.
I glanced at the pouch string barely peeking through my bag flap.
Whatever. If he bites the bait, fine. If not, no loss to me either way.
While pretending to casually straighten my clothes—thud. I heard a sound.
…Huh?
My brain stopped. Ruelian had naturally taken the seat right next to me.
…!
People who had been stealing glances at us looked stunned.
It was rare for him to get this close to someone.
And especially me. The notorious villainess everyone scorned.
Gazes poured in from all directions. But the moment Ruelian looked around, they all turned away, pretending they saw nothing.
He can shut their mouths just like that, so he acts boldly without worry.
Still, I was surprised.
Based on the information I’d gathered while narrowing down the list of suspects, this kind of move could be risky for him.
While I was lining up with other suspects like they were drawing numbers, noble ladies were drawing numbers just for a chance to talk to him…
But according to doctrine, the divine agent isn’t supposed to lay eyes lightly on anyone unless they’re a fated partner—or destined to become one.
So apparently he wasn’t allowed to flirt even as a joke.
He’s trying to seduce me even at the risk of overstepping a line. Too bad. I’m not the type to be swayed by that.
Still playing innocent, I spoke.
“Even sitting on benches like this. You’re surprisingly down-to-earth.”
“This is a private setting. I wanted to sit and have a proper talk. Lady, I’ll speak casually from now on. You can do the same with me.”
His voice came from just above, slightly over my head.
“From what I can tell, you’re short on shopping money and fretting over it. But don’t worry. Because…”
He reached his hand out, so close it nearly brushed me, and held up a paper in front of me.
I had planned to react indifferently, no matter what he showed me—but my eyes widened involuntarily.
It was an investment certificate—issued under the name of our Black Rose Trade Group.
“You were the one who invested in our trade group? Is it even okay for a divine agent to invest in worldly business?”
“Of course I used another identity for matters like this. And I told you, you can speak freely.”
“I can’t possibly do that. It makes me feel incredibly uneasy.”
I feigned ignorance of his intentions.
“Oh dear, I don’t know who leaked the info, but you’ve been conned. We’re ranked 94th in the trade guild hierarchy. Plus, we’re currently fielding buyout offers.”
“You’re being very honest.”
Ruelian let out a soft laugh.
“But that doesn’t matter. The reason I invested was for you, Lady. Or more precisely—for this chance to talk with you. To be honest, I haven’t stopped thinking about you since that day. You’re the first criminal to slip through my hands like that.”
“I’m honored to have made such a strong impression. But unfortunately, I’ve messed up my business so badly, I’m about to get kicked out of my house. So I can’t really focus on what you’re saying. I need to get back to work.”
I stood up abruptly.
Maybe I was imagining it, but Ruelian looked a little flustered.
Probably the first time anyone reacted like this. He even sat next to me himself—who’d dare get up first?
His eyes, lit by the garden lamps, turned darker. As if saying he would not let this end here.
He suddenly asked,
“Do you know what the 2nd Prince’s top-secret business is?”
“I’m not really interested in that sort of thing…”
“I know. Didn’t they say Zikren was injured?”
My steps froze mid-motion.
Ruelian didn’t miss my reaction. His eyes said, Got you.
“If you want information, I can share it. But on one condition.”
“What is it?”
“A date.”
Unbelievable.
I stared at him and opened my mouth.
“Oh… I get it now.”
“You’re accepting?”
“No. I just understand now why you’re doing this. You lost a bet with the Holy Knights, didn’t you? Something like ‘whoever loses has to ask the villainess on a date.’ Sorry, but I’m not some pawn for your game.”
I turned away, pretending to be offended.
Maybe it was too absurd, because Ruelian was at a loss for words for a moment.
“My date offer was that unappealing? Now that hurts my pride.”
Among everything he’d said today, that might’ve been the only honest thing—his eyes had a sharp edge to them.
But I didn’t care. I was just going to walk away.
“The conference is starting soon. I’ll be going now.”
Ruelian frowned slightly and looked at me.
“Fine. I guess you still don’t realize just how important this business is. Then I’ll tell you one more thing.”
He offered a piece of information he would’ve normally used to slowly reel me in.
“The secret project is the supply of stabilizers to counter the Crown Princes’ curse.”
“…?”
I was puzzled at first…
But since it involved the Crown Prince, a flood of encyclopedia-level knowledge I’d stored came rushing to mind.
The Curse of Balance.
When a being too powerful resides on the surface, it disrupts the balance—so a severe restriction is placed upon them.
That is, those with awakened dragon blood suffer spiritual instability.
So the stabilizer suppresses that.
If I connected this to the bait Ruelian had dangled earlier…
Was Zikren injured because of that?
“There must’ve been an issue with the stabilizer supply? Even this bag was once out of stock due to supply issues. So they’re secretly looking for a new trade group leader?”
“Exactly.”
To think I’d stumble upon information like this just by visiting an injured person. I’m practically a spy now.
He did all this just to bring up a topic that would catch my interest?
Sure enough, Ruelian offered,
“I can help you craft a plan to approach the 2nd Prince and win the deal, based on the intel I’ve gathered.”
“In exchange for a date, right?”
“If you don’t like that, we can just sit together and talk like this. What do you say? Not a bad deal, is it?”
The fact that he had to go this far… must’ve been humiliating.
Thinking that, I replied,
“Doesn’t seem like a bad deal.”
Though I kept a straight face, I caught a fleeting trace of victory in his eyes—like a predator who just caught its prey.
“Anyway, Your Grace, I really must go now. The meeting has already started.”
“True.”
Ruelian pulled out a mask and put it on. Instantly, his hair and eyes turned brown—likely thanks to holy magic.
I led the way back to the assembly hall. Thankfully, we weren’t too late.
“Things are heating up tonight! All right, all right! As requested, we’ll begin with a discussion on the business opportunity!”
Seems the commotion from earlier—centered around Zikren—had been ongoing. Everyone must’ve been desperate to get in on the Crown Princes’ secret business.
Almost every merchant leader had lined up to hand over their business cards.
As I returned, they nudged each other and gestured.
“She’s here! She’s here!”
“Move faster! We have to finish before she gets in!”
“Don’t let her cut! Tell them no cuts allowed!”
Even the aides from Duke Rozen’s house, who were in the 2nd Prince’s line, looked tense.
They needed to land this deal and earn the Duke’s favor—and clearly didn’t like that I might mess up their plans.
As the tension thickened, I strode toward them.
And then…
“Go to the back! Even if you’re a noble lady, no cutting in line!”
Ignoring the shouting, I passed them and stood in a different line on the other side.
“What the…?”
The host, the participants, and the aides from the Duke’s house were all dumbfounded.
Even Ruelian, hidden among the crowd, looked confused.
Amid all those puzzled stares, I opened my mouth.
“Dear investor, I only said your proposal didn’t sound too bad. I never said I accepted it. I hate to repeat myself, but I have no interest in the Crown Prince’s secret contracts. I really don’t want to be involved with him anymore.”
I lifted my chin proudly.
“I just want to make money, that’s all.”
