Chapter 25
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How to Survive as the Villain's Younger Sister
Episode 25
* * *
Some time later.
Word arrived from the Spy.
"His Grace the Duke wishes to continue operating the Trading Company even if it means taking on more debt. He believes that's the only way forward."
Dain also sent word requesting a secret meeting with Father.
Alexis intended to borrow money.
An astronomical sum—the very amount listed in the report I had submitted.
'Is she really going to borrow such a massive sum? For all her pretense of cleverness, she's still just a naive child.'
Alexis would fail in operating the Trading Company.
With the debts already incurred and new ones piling on top.
'When that happens, she'll have no choice but to surrender the Parkision Dukedom.'
It was truly an enormous sum.
To secure the funds to lend to Alexis, even Jenin had to scramble for money.
Roel stepped forward as well.
He requested loans from the members of the Noble Circle he led.
"Roel, so you're borrowing from us now."
One of the Noble Circle members, a young nobleman, remarked.
The Noble Circle consisted of the children of retainers to the Parkision Ducal House—nobility, in other words.
"His Grace the Duke requires it."
At Roel's words, the others let out derisive chuckles.
"So he's planning to throw such a massive fortune into thin air!"
"Of course—she's just a little girl who doesn't know any better."
"Roel, the day you become the Duke's successor isn't far off."
The members lavished praise upon Roel.
As his standing within his own house had recently diminished, they had begun to distance themselves from him.
The flattery, tasted after so long, was sweet to his ears.
"I'll ask Father and lend whatever money we have."
"I'll scrape together every coin I possess and contribute as well."
"Just don't pretend you don't know us when you become Duke later."
* * *
"Remarkable. I never thought Roel would actually fall into the trap."
Alexis remarked as she reviewed the report.
It was the 'Trading Company Operating Funds Report' that Roel had given to Dain.
Beside Alexis came the crisp sound of someone munching on pastries.
"And all orchestrated by this little one who can barely score fifty percent on her exams."
Alexis glanced at Cyrilia sitting beside her.
Cyrilia was seated in a child-sized chair.
It was Alexis's thoughtful arrangement.
Thanks to this arrangement, Cyrilia was able to sit at the same height as Alexis and enjoy sweets to her heart's content.
Though she looked every bit the child doing so.
'When I gave her the opportunity, she revealed her true nature.'
It was surprising, yet not entirely unpleasant.
Currently, only Alexis, Cyrilia, and Dain knew about the Night Spirit Stone.
Dain was aware of the mining situation, but he didn't know the specifics of the plan—particularly that Cyrilia was involved.
The rest were merely tight-lipped laborers engaged in the excavation.
Alexis had insisted that the Night Spirit Stone must be mined in secret.
'If word gets out, vultures will swarm before mining even begins.'
It was Cyrilia who had suggested they pretend to be reclaiming the Wasteland instead.
Though she had phrased it differently, of course.
"Let's pretend we're digging up the land to plant wheat and rice! Then the Archbishop will be fooled too."
"Specifically, why does Jenin need to be deceived?"
"Because if he thinks we're still poor, he'll lend us more money."
"You want to borrow more money from Jenin?"
"No! He'll try to burden us with more debt to torment us. The Archbishop is a bad person, after all."
Cyrilia spoke with indignation.
Her actions were utterly childish, yet her words were sharp.
"So you're saying we should pretend we need to borrow money from Jenin, but then not borrow it at all and leave him empty-handed?"
"Yes, sister! We'll act like we need an enormous amount of money, so the Archbishop will struggle to gather it all together. And then we just won't borrow it! Only the Archbishop will suffer!"
Alexis felt a chill run down her spine.
It was not an unpleasant chill.
She spoke with meticulous cunning while grinning innocently, like a child playing with dolls.
'A child with such scheming ability—that's why she fought me as an equal in my past life.'
Now, however, she was using that mind for Alexis's benefit.
"Very well. Then we'll pretend the Wasteland reclamation failed spectacularly."
"That's not enough!"
"Then what else should we do?"
"The Trading Company! Let's pretend we failed because of the Trading Company. Father lost a lot of money with that venture, after all."
The Parkision Trading Company.
The venture the late Duke had bungled badly, suffering significant losses.
If news spread that they were now trying to revive it, Jenin would be eager to lend money at usurious rates.
'Because he'd think that's the only place to borrow from.'
Charging exorbitant interest, naturally.
'But what if we pretend to borrow like that, yet never actually do?'
What if we instead use the money from selling the Spirit Stones to pay off the debts we've already incurred?
'Then Jenin, who took on massive debt trying to lend us money, will find himself in a bind.'
The creditors Jenin borrows from are loan sharks with considerable backing.
To borrow large sums from them, one must provide substantial collateral and bear exorbitant interest rates.
'They know Jenin won't be able to repay all that money. Yet they'll lend it to him anyway.'
Because the moment Roel and Jenin's plan succeeds, they become trusted aides who have "helped" the new Duke of Parkision.
Roel and Jenin will hand over what little remains of the family's interests and honor to him.
'All for their own advancement.'
But what if Roel and Jenin's plan fails?
What if Roel and Jenin never become Duke of Parkision?
'Then they'll demand every collateral and interest written in that contract. If they can't get it in money, they'll take it in blood.'
Then Roel and Jenin would be ruined.
This was Cyrilia and Alexis's plan.
And so far, that plan was proceeding flawlessly.
'By turning Roel's recruitment of informants to our advantage, I've been feeding him false information.'
Word had spread that Jenin and Roel were borrowing funds from every corner.
Staggering amounts.
Half the credit belonged to Cyrilia.
'In my first life, they attacked me with schemes like this, and defenseless as I was, I had no choice but to fall victim to them.'
Alexis flinched at the thought that had crossed her mind unbidden.
Noticing her sister's troubled expression, Cyrilia tilted her head with a bright laugh and held out a pastry.
"For Dain."
"Mm...?"
As if she'd grown accustomed to such dismissals by now, Cyrilia promptly offered the pastry to Dain.
Unlike Alexis, Dain's reaction was explosive.
"Young Lady, are you truly giving this to me?"
"Yes! Here you go."
"Ahhh."
Even though it was being given instead of to Alexis,
"When you give it to me, Young Lady, it tastes all the better. It's a pity the Duke doesn't know this particular touch."
"Nonsense."
"You've missed out on one of life's great pleasures."
Dain seemed deeply moved to be even a second choice.
Alexis turned away from the sight and tossed Roel's report into the waste bin.
'I'm sorry I didn't tell Maran about this plan. But with his hot-blooded temperament, there's no telling when he might let the secret slip.'
Besides, Maran disliked Cyrilia.
If he learned that Cyrilia was involved in this, he would become uncooperative.
'Once this is over, I'll need to explain things properly to Maran.'
As she was thinking this, Dain spoke.
"But it was truly unexpected. That suspicious Roel actually fell for it. He seemed to believe that you were cornered and your judgment clouded. And what manner of person is our Duke?"
"It's Roel who's cornered!"
Cyrilia crunched down on a pastry and stamped her foot.
"Pardon? What do you mean by that?"
"Right now, Roel doesn't have many friends in the Dukedom. Nobody really plays with him. So actually, it's Roel who's cornered. He believes your judgment is clouded, but the truth is he's the one like that, so he fell for it."
Cyrilia was exactly right.
Roel's standing within the Parkision Dukedom was eroding by the day.
Alexis's reaction to the debt was also more subdued than I had anticipated.
With matters spiraling beyond my control, she must have been growing increasingly anxious.
"How did the young lady come to know such a thing?"
Dain asked in admiration.
"Cyrilia has been cornered many times before, so I know well."
Cyrilia answered with a bright, innocent smile.
Though her tone was playful, the atmosphere among the adults grew solemn.
Dain looked at her with helpless pity.
Alexis stared at the radiant Cyrilia with eyes as deep and blue as the abyss.
'She grew up being abused by Julia. That's why even the servants tormented Cyrilia. And I... I turned away from this child who followed me so devotedly, simply because her sister adored me.'
From childhood, Cyrilia had followed Alexis with unusual devotion.
Perhaps that had been a desperate plea for help from a cornered little girl.
'And I coldly turned away from it.'
At that thought, her parched heart began to ache with a dull, throbbing pain.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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