CH 1.04

“……”

The sun seeped through the wide window and lightly touched his blonde hair. A strange light flashed through his icy blue-grey eyes, then he opened his mouth again.

“If you have nowhere to go, you may stay here for a while.”

Oh, this. This was a scene from my recollection of villainess no. 4 in the original story.

I searched my memory for his next line and recited it in my mind.

“I want you to testify against the criminals involved in the slave auction house. When the testimony is over, I will send you wherever you want to go.”

It was perfectly delivered with a stiff and business-like tone. It really happened exactly like the description from the original.

Lacius’s eyes were dead cold. That aspect matched his appearance and made him look even more attractive. However, the Lacius, whom I saw in person, seemed exhausted which wasn’t included in the description.

“Well, good. I also need to recuperate anyway.”

“Okay.”

At the end of the conversation, Lacius quickly left the dining room.

It was obvious he didn’t want to talk to me any longer, but I didn’t feel offended because I knew Lacius detested attention.

The male lead of this work has been stalked for almost his whole life. That’s why he hated it when someone looked at him or talked to him for an extended period of time. The female protagonist in the original was the only person that such a male protagonist kept in his heart.

‘Looking at your face for a long time is also annoying to me.’

I waited for the butler, staring blankly at the direction where Lacius went off.

“Oh, he already left.”

Soon after, the butler returned with a paper and a pen.

I took it, wrote a brief statement, and asked a subtle question.

“By the way, butler. I have a question.”

“Yes?”

“What kind of job makes a lot of money here?”

“Pardon?”

“Money. I want to know the quickest and most non-illegal way to rake in a lot of money.”

The butler’s eyes widened, but I was firm. I have to make a living. I’ve no desire to be poor even here.

‘I’m going to be rich!’

My whole body, with my fists clenched, overflowed with determination.

* * *

“… I told her that becoming a leader of industry, establishing a clothing brand to sell clothes specially to noblewomen, or building entertainment facilities are the best ways to make money. ”

“Money.”

“Yes. She seems to really like money.”

Crackle, crackle. 

Even today, bundles of letters and gifts slowly burned to ashes in the fireplace. Lacius looked at them with emotionless eyes as he received Theobalt’s report.

“So what’s your judgment? Do you think she’s reliable?”

“Pardon my frankness, but she didn’t walk around at  night looking for your bedroom.”

“What about my hair?”

“I’ve never seen her bend her back to search for any. Other than that, she didn’t seem to be particularly interested in your highness. Rather, some money…”

“She only wants money?”

“Yes. That seems to be the case.”

If this is true, then it’s good news.

Maybe this time.

Hope flashed through Lacius’s dead eyes, as he stared at the awful objects in the fireplace.

“Really, hair dolls keep on coming without a hitch.”

“It’s because of the magazines spreading that superstition.”

Piles of dolls made by young ladies by cutting their own hair and stuffing it inside were being burned, dispersing a noxious smell. He didn’t care about what they did, but the superstition that love can be achieved only when his hair was put together with theirs was the problem.

And that was already three years ago, he can’t believe these are still being sent to the mansion.

Schweiden does not accept any mail except for those coming directly from the imperial family. This was the work of wizards, hired personally by those ladies to connect the space and throw them in here.

They don’t know that this was a form of harassment to the recipient. 

“It would be easier if money could buy a fake relationship. Would 10 billion gautes be enough?”

“I think it will be enough.”

“I hope she doesn’t fall for me.”

“Test it.”

“Test it you say.”

“Yes, she’s from a foreign country, so maybe she won’t be affected by your highness.”

At Theobalt’s suggestion, Lacius quietly pondered with an expressionless face. Theobalt had a point. The woman who identified herself as Shay is clearly different from the young ladies he had met so far, but he still wasn’t sure.

There used to be a woman who insisted she had no feelings for him. But the results were always the same.

An irrational obsession with him.

Life is bound to be led by the sun, so it’s something that happens naturally. He had the blood of the God of the Sun.

Life is mostly driven by light. Therefore, his family was born with the fate that was bound to be loved by many people. It’s obvious that by ‘people,’ meaning the opposite sex. 

Unlike his predecessors, the public interest in him only grew stronger and stronger as the days went by. After his father passed away and he ascended as the Archduke, it became impossible for him to have a comfortable daily life at all. Perhaps it was due to not getting married sooner. 

“I don’t want to get married without love, so I’ve been delaying it, but it seems like it only exacerbated the problem.”

“I don’t think it’s wrong.”

Theobalt always took his side attentively, even in his self-mocking remarks. Lacius sighed and nodded his head.

“It wouldn’t be bad to think of this as the last time and try it out.”

“Who knows, we may even find a Madam.”

“You’re overly optimistic.”

“Even so, it could still be a defense, so you won’t get linked to Lady Crisiona anymore.”

Lacius frowned at the butler’s calm words.

Yes, there was also that problem.

One of the two duchy aside from the archduchy.

The Duke’s daughter, Crisiona, didn’t love him; however, she embodied a larger problem, since she treated him like a decorative trophy. The lady had consistently argued that it was her right to marry him. Even if he refused, his words would only briefly hold her off. 

After all, Lacius so far had just barely prevented her efforts by going to war whenever the talk of marriage came up.

However, this was only a stopgap measure, a method that would be ineffective in the future, since the gentle emperor doesn’t want war anymore.

“Oh, right. I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“The lady is in the bathroom.”

Theobalt winked. Lacius then nodded with a dim look.

‘Although I’m reluctant.’

He couldn’t help it anymore.