Chapter 49
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I possessed the body of a homebody villainess locked away in a desolate tower.
Chapter 49
Huh? My thigh?
"I-I-I didn't fumble around!"
Before I could help myself, a sharp, shrill voice burst from my lips.
How on earth had he interpreted my desperate plea for help in such a way?
"You didn't fumble. You were toying with a man unrelated to you."
"What? No, that's not it!"
"It most certainly was. In fact, your touch grew increasingly bolder, pressing deeper inward."
"I-I-I didn't know."
"You didn't know?"
His green eyes gleamed with unmistakable disbelief.
"Someone who claims ignorance, yet their hands grew increasingly sticky..."
"S-Stop!"
If I let him continue, the explanations I'd need to make would spiral beyond my control, so I hastily silenced him.
Barely clinging to my sanity, I stammered out an excuse.
"It was a request for help. I had no choice but to..."
A heavy sigh escaped me.
As I recalled last night's events, all strength seemed to drain from my body.
I'd been meaning to tell the Grand Duke about this anyway, so wasn't it fortunate that we found ourselves alone like this?
"Actually."
I took a short, deep breath and glanced around cautiously.
Then, lowering my voice as much as possible, I whispered near the Grand Duke's ear.
"I met Crown Prince Lyden Cletan yesterday."
"...What?"
Click.
In that instant, the Grand Duke's movements froze.
I watched his expression carefully as I continued at length.
"I was genuinely startled too. I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd take a walk, and who would have guessed I'd run into the Crown Prince?"
"Where did you encounter him?"
"In the g-garden. It's not far from the palace where we're currently staying."
"That's a place Lyden Kletan has frequented since childhood."
Damn it all.
So I'd willingly walked straight into the tiger's den.
I smoothed out my furrowed brow, but his voice reached me once more.
"Did you have a separate conversation with him?"
"Well, that's..."
I wasn't sure where to begin with the specifics.
After briefly organizing the situation in my mind, I revealed the most crucial detail first.
"We talked about the weather."
My explanation that followed was nearly a direct recreation of yesterday's situation.
I'd mentioned the weather because it looked like rain, and when the Crown Prince asked further, I'd answered diligently—that was the gist of it.
"Hmm."
Yet as I spoke, the Grand Duke's expression grew increasingly rigid.
My anxiety, which had been rippling beneath the surface, deepened in tandem.
Eventually, I blurted out the words that had been circling in my mouth.
"That was... an interview, wasn't it?"
"...An interview?"
His question carried a note of bewilderment, but it wasn't a denial either, so I made no effort to hide my dismay.
"It felt like an interview. He kept asking such strange questions... What if the Crown Prince decides to plant me permanently in the Cletan Imperial Palace?"
On the other hand, I wondered if I was simply overthinking things.
But having conducted a detailed analysis of Lyden's personality while reading the original work, I couldn't ignore the creeping sense of dread that kept surfacing.
The fact that he'd just bombarded me with questions moments ago meant he was genuinely interested!
'I don't want to leave this space I've only just grown comfortable with.'
Leave the warm, cozy Blaire Grand Duke Residence—no, my chamber?
For someone like me, who had already (mentally) scouted out a residence in the heart of the Grand Duchy, it was a future I absolutely did not desire.
'And the Imperial Palace simply isn't suited to my nature.'
The homebody's genes carved deep into my bones instinctively rejected unfamiliar spaces.
Especially crowded ones.
Just as my imagination was spiraling out of control in a panic,
"Sigh..."
the Grand Duke exhaled a deep breath.
I looked up at him, my thoughts abruptly severed, and saw his expression had grown considerably more relaxed.
After a brief pause, he pressed his fingers to his temples in a habitual gesture and spoke.
"First, from now on, don't wander around pointlessly on your own."
The word "pointlessly" carried an unmistakable emphasis—I was certain it wasn't my imagination.
Feeling rather guilty, I nodded obediently.
And what came next was...
"Even if the Crown Prince really did conduct an interview, it doesn't matter for now. After all, the princess is bound to me by contract."
"A... contract?"
At those words, a memory surfaced in my mind.
"Before that, princess. Shall we settle our outstanding accounts?"
"Outstanding accounts...?"
"You're well aware of how expensive the items used by high nobility are. If I were to bill you for all of it, that would be at least 10 million Tris per month, and adding the artists' fees, it would come to around 80 million Tris."
Ah, so the contract meant...
"Room and board?"
"Didn't you already confirm the contract terms? It stated that the princess must remain in the Blaire Grand Duchy until all her debts are settled."
"R-right, of course."
I hadn't examined it properly at the time due to the chaos, but such a clause had indeed existed.
'So in conclusion, this is actually good news?'
Though it felt oddly like I was getting the short end of the stick, the Grand Duke's words sounded remarkably convincing to my bewildered ears.
While I was nodding inwardly, he smoothly shifted the conversation.
"In any case, it's fortunate that you didn't eat anything harmful."
"Ah, yes."
"...But what were you thinking about so intently?"
He asked, taking a step back from me.
"Oh."
Only then did I remember my original purpose and opened my mouth.
I had been planning to return to my chamber as quickly as possible and ask Bonita about minerals suitable for the tumbler's material.
But thinking about it...
'Wouldn't the Grand Duke know this best of all?'
The realization struck me like a flash of lightning.
It almost felt like fate that I'd been dragged away by the Grand Duke before I could do anything else.
Since arriving at the Imperial Palace, I'd rarely had the chance to face the Grand Duke, so I seized this opportunity to broach the subject.
"By the way, about the item creation project I discussed with the Empress yesterday."
"...A work matter?"
I nodded, as if answering an obvious question.
After all, ever since meeting the Empress, my mind had been filled with nothing but merchandise ideas.
"What I've conceived is something called a tumbler—a type of cup. So..."
I briefly explained the concept of merchandise and the tumbler's function to the Grand Duke.
Upon hearing my explanation, the Grand Duke initially couldn't hide his skepticism, but soon leaned in with apparent interest.
It was likely because a cup with such a peculiar function—maintaining the temperature of its contents—was entirely unfamiliar to him.
Before long, he set aside matters concerning Lyden Kletan and simply listened intently, then offered a clear answer.
"Wouldn't the princess know such materials best?"
"Me? Really?"
My eyes widened in complete bewilderment, and the Grand Duke shook his head and continued his explanation.
"Yes. In fact, you even destroyed the Magic Tower's core with that material."
The Magic Tower's core?
In that instant, I couldn't contain my brightening expression and cupped my cheeks with both hands.
That's right—Partanium!
I remembered obtaining similar information when I read a book about Partanium in the Grand Duke's Library.
Partanium possessed high resistance not only to magical power but also to temperature and corrosion. As such, it required extremely difficult processing methods.
Difficult processing methods meant enormous costs in the manufacturing process.
But that wasn't a problem for me now. Why?
'Because my patron is none other than the Empress of Kletan!'
Then, remembering that a Partanium mine was located in the Magic Tower Territory, I silently cheered.
I still had two wish tokens remaining from the title "Ear of the Magic Tower," so obtaining the Magic Tower's cooperation was as good as guaranteed.
Having quickly calculated everything, I stepped closer and eagerly grasped both his hands.
"Thank you so much!"
"What are you thanking me for?"
"It's all today's work!"
I flashed the Grand Duke a genuine smile, my eyes crinkling at the corners.
I'd even stood in to face off against the Crown Prince on his behalf (?) and provided the crucial clue that led to the tumbler's creation.
If that wasn't helpful, what on earth was?
Having settled my thoughts, I shook the Grand Duke's hand up and down a couple of times before pivoting on my heel and dashing away.
"I'll head inside now. I'll see you at dinner later!"
'Hmm?'
Why was the Grand Duke's gaze fixed on his own thigh?
Well, surely he wasn't under the impression that I was thanking him for touching his thigh. Ha, ha, ha.
Preoccupied with thoughts of the tumbler, I quickened my pace, dismissing the stray notion from my mind.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org