Chapter 92
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I possessed the body of a villainess locked away in a desolate tower. Chapter 92 —A few days later.
"Huff, gasp...."
Abandoning the path I had been walking, I slipped into the bushes and desperately tried to steady my ragged breathing.
"M-Miss...."
"Shh!"
I pressed a finger to my lips, gesturing for Bonita to be silent as she tried to speak, and strained to listen to the voices drifting through the air.
"Hehehehe, Your Highness the Grand Duke speaks wisely."
"Then let us handle the weapons transaction with the Plate Company by agreeing on a price freeze."
"By the way, the person in charge of the Embrose Trading Company is..."
At that moment, a group of men rushed past right beside the bushes. I waited for the familiar cloak of the Grand Duke and the trailing figures of the Administrators to disappear, then finally released the breath I had been holding as complete silence enveloped the surroundings.
"...Phew."
As I stood up, the grass leaves clinging to my hair and body fluttered away. What on earth was I doing right now? Simply.... 'Avoiding the Grand Duke.' As I glanced nervously over my shoulder to check if he might return, Bonita's voice reached my ears.
"Miss... your dress has become quite disheveled."
"It's fine. Haha, hahaha."
As I soothed her troubled expression and returned to the garden path, I could not hide the bittersweet feeling in my heart. Ever since I realized the Grand Duke was developing an inappropriate interest in me, I felt the necessity to correct this situation. For his sake, I needed to give him time to reflect on himself! But where was I? This was the Grand Duke's Residence—his home, where he could appear anywhere without suspicion. So ultimately, the method I chose was to unilaterally avoid him—to hide from him—like this. Sob. Even when I had separate matters to discuss due to work, I exchanged documents with him instead of meeting face-to-face, and I repeatedly declined his dinner invitations with excuses about feeling unwell. But when we happened to encounter each other like this, there was nothing to do but throw myself away like a wrestler! That was why I had already ruined several dresses today alone. ...I'm sorry, Bonita.
"Um...."
While I was engaged in what could only be described as either a stroll or wandering, Bonita carefully opened her mouth.
"Is something wrong between you and His Highness the Grand Duke?"
"Huh? No!"
I stiffened like a wooden doll in an instant and spilled out words at machine-gun speed.
"T-t-t-there's no way! N-n-nothing's wrong at all?"
In my panic, my arms and legs were moving out of sync, and instead of a proper response, a strange sound escaped from Bonita's nose.
"Hmm...?" ...Had I overreacted in my answer? Bonita's gaze as she looked at me seemed rather suspicious. Ah, now that I think about it, Bonita was no ordinary maid. I had overlooked that crucial detail. To deflect suspicion, I hastily began fabricating an excuse.
"W-well, I've just felt terribly sorry lately for burdening you so much! And since I only talk about work, I worried that His Highness the Grand Duke might find himself thinking about work while conversing with me, which would naturally lead him to overexert himself. After all, he's not invincible—what if he collapsed like I did? And then what would happen? Not just the Grand Duke's Residence, but the entire Blaire Grand Duke Territory could be thrown into chaos! Since I've entrusted myself to this place, I simply hoped the situation wouldn't spiral so catastrophically...!"
Listening to my rambling nonsense, Bonita posed a single, cutting question.
"Young Lady, is that truly the reason?"
Ugh, her perceptiveness is truly unparalleled.
"Y-yes, of course! Oh, look at the time! We should hurry to Ashley!"
"Hmm. Y-yes, understood."
Deliberately ignoring Bonita's suspicious gaze, I made my way toward the Annex Building where Ashley was. Shortly after, I spotted Ashley among a gathering of painters who were murmuring amongst themselves. Yes, this was the true reason I had ventured out since morning, risking an encounter with the Grand Duke. It was because of...! This article that had just been published this morning.
"Young Lady!"
"Let me check the contents as well."
Taking the newspaper from Ashley, I began reading through it slowly. And as expected, not only was the headline striking, but the contents were equally so.
"Ha ha."
Tearing my eyes from the text, I let out a hollow laugh. Why had they deliberately published this scoop today? The answer was painfully obvious. Today was the day the latest issue of "On the Safety Protocols of Goedam Duchy" would be released. And the second issue of "On the Secrets of the Monster Duke" had been published just yesterday. The Stefan Marquis House's magnum opus, "On the Secrets of the Monster Duke," had soared off the shelves like it had sprouted wings, inheriting the original's momentum. Even the merchandise sold alongside it—the 'Silk Curtains'—drew such fervent reader interest that they sold out each time. It was obvious without investigation that the trading company operated by the Stefan Marquis House was raking in money hand over fist. But.
"This is absolutely ridiculous."
Ashley, who had read the article as thoroughly as I had, let out a cold scoff.
"No matter how much money is involved, how could they tell such lies? I never imagined they would betray the painters who had worked so hard alongside them."
"Indeed. We poured all our efforts into supporting them so they could showcase their talents without discrimination...."
I stepped forward toward the painters, whose sorrow was evident in every line of their faces.
"Please don't be too disheartened."
"But...."
"If I were in your position, I'd be raising a toast instead."
At my words, a peculiar sense of relief washed over the faces of Ashley and the painters. Do you know why they could find such reassurance? It was because...
"The latest issue of 'On the Safety Protocols of Goedam Duchy' has arrived!"
The painters who had left mentioned in interviews that "plagiarism would be exposed to the world once this issue is published," but... The issue we had actually prepared was unfolding with an entirely different story from what they had published this time.
"Hehehehe."
Bonita was the first to let out a chilling laugh.
"The content is so different—I'm curious how they'll take responsibility for that interview! Hehehehe!"
That's right. Wouldn't the Stefan Marquis House have prepared some countermeasure against doing such baseless, endless wrongdoing? This was the truth behind how we managed to get through this situation so smoothly. It was just before the Stefan Marquis House published their manga—the last time I had met with Baroness Fabron. Already knowing that the young artists who had fled had been absorbed into the Stefan Marquis House, I discussed the situation with the Baroness, feeling uneasy.
"Baroness Fabron, the Stefan Marquis House is using dirty methods, so we need to be even more careful."
"...What should we do going forward?"
"If it seems like information has leaked, please send me a completely nonsensical story until we can prepare a proper method. I'll handle the rest."
"That sounds good. Then shall we work out the rough outline of the upcoming episodes right now?"
"Sounds good."
Just as I'd anticipated, the manga the Stefan Trading Company released copied our manga's content wholesale. So Baroness Fabron sent me this issue's story with absolutely ridiculous content, and I crafted the actual story without even looking at it. I had already gone through countless meetings with Baroness Fabron discussing the subsequent developments, and the supplementary details we'd added that day were quite thorough, so creating the next story wasn't particularly difficult for me. And so this issue's manga was able to come out without incident, and in conclusion... 'You bastards are screwed. You damn fools!' The Stefan lot would reap what they had sown. Why? Because I'm going to make sure of it from here on out!
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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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