Chapter 98
---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
---------------
I possessed the body of a villainess locked away in a desolate tower.
Chapter 98
"Well, about that..."
I observed the atmosphere of those around me before slowly opening my mouth.
"Could a mere commoner or small trading company really orchestrate something as massive as distributing counterfeit tumblers?"
The first to react was the Embrose Marquise.
"How intriguing. What do you mean?"
"From my own investigation, the volume of counterfeit tumblers and thermos bottles distributed this time reached five times the quantity of genuine products."
"Hmm, so the scale was larger than expected?"
"Yes, but since the genuine products had equally high order volumes, it took considerable time to ship them across the nation and overseas."
"That's right. Even I had to wait a week to receive my order through the Embrose Trading Company."
Many noblewomen, including the Kettler Countess, nodded in agreement.
"Yet the counterfeit tumblers flooded the market in a remarkably short timeframe with substantial quantities. Surely such volume would be too much for an individual or small trading company to handle, wouldn't it?"
"A reasonable deduction. Then..."
With the Embrose Marquise's agreement, I whispered with a more subtle tone.
"Yes, I suspect there may be a powerful backing force capable of investing significant capital in this operation."
This was precisely what I wanted to say.
Honestly, until now I had assumed the counterfeit products were made and distributed by greedy individuals, small-scale trading companies, or some third party operating from abroad.
Back in 21st century Korea where I came from, whenever something sold well in our country, we'd import knockoff products manufactured in countries with cheaper labor and sell them as genuine.
But thinking deeper into the matter, the inconsistencies quickly became apparent.
It simply didn't make sense for such quantities to flood the market simultaneously like this.
Just considering the effort I went through to arrange a meeting between the Golbro Trading Company and the Embrose Trading Company and establish dealings with the Embrose Marquise proved my point.
That meant either internal forces within Cletan had facilitated the counterfeit distribution, or the fakes were manufactured and released from Cletan itself.
And the only "powerful backing force" capable of such an operation could only be... nobility, no matter how I thought about it.
"That's quite a rash assumption."
The Stefan Marquis's Wife, who had remained silent until now, interjected.
She clearly understood that public opinion wasn't in her favor, yet she couldn't easily back down.
"Are you unaware that your words could constitute suspicion against the honorable nobility of Cletan?"
"Ah..."
The old me would have found it troublesome, disliked unnecessary confrontation, and would have apologized and retreated by this point.
...But that was the old me.
However, having endured that filthy corporate life at Jocho Enterprise, I had learned one thing quite thoroughly, and that was...
"Since you freely assumed the manufacturers secretly distributed them to extinguish an urgent fire, I thought I could comfortably make this level of assumption as well."
The necessity of returning the same words someone spoke back to a person practicing such double standards.
'People really are cunning creatures.'
Once someone sees you backing down without rebuttal, they'll treat you as easy prey and plan to trample you again,
just like the unfortunate Manager Park who wanted his name on team reports without contributing a single drop of effort.
"Manager Kim, I think my name is missing from this report... it was an oversight, right?"
"No, it wasn't an oversight."
"...Excuse me?"
"Not once, not twice—when everyone else was stuck working late, you never showed your face, so I thought you didn't need anything. Well then, do take care."
People like that rarely dared to provoke someone again after being hit with unexpected force.
It was something I'd only learned after being shattered countless times myself.
And sure enough.
Stefan Marquis's Wife's face flushed at my words, but she fell silent as if at a loss for a response.
Just as she was gathering herself to mount a rebuttal, an elegant voice drifted from behind.
"How unusually tumultuous today."
The Empress, Oriana Kletan, had approached.
She swept her cold gaze across each of the gathered noblewomen, then fixed her attention on me last.
Faced with an atmosphere entirely opposite to the boundless favor she'd shown at first, I lowered my head respectfully without a word.
Yet my own feelings toward the Empress had changed considerably.
'At first, I'd simply thought of her as an avid reader of the manga.'
Of course, having seen the original work, I wasn't entirely ignorant of the Blaire Grand Duke's relationship with the Empress.
But when I first met the Empress, I hadn't approached her while considering her connections to others. I'd thought it was separate from my own affairs.
So I'd focused more on her first impression, and especially since the Empress had been so favorable toward me—even funding the merchandise production—I'd let my guard down.
My feelings began to shift from the moment I heard about the Blaire Grand Duke's past.
That is, from the moment what I'd read in a book became the actual past that someone close to me had lived through.
'I couldn't treat someone who'd harmed family—or even a close friend—with indifference.'
True, once the Blaire Grand Duke settled quietly into the Blaire Grand Duchy, the Empress's blade had dulled and she'd withdrawn from the center of power, but even so.
I could no longer separate the Blaire Grand Duke and her in my mind.
'Pure give and take.'
A transactional relationship—receiving what I should receive, giving what I should give.
I'd already made up my mind to regard the Empress in exactly those terms.
"...Why is the Princess sad?"
Because that person mattered far more to me.
Though admittedly, it felt a bit awkward to rank priorities between people like that.
Kaian Blaire—no matter how much I reconsidered, no matter how much I tried to calculate gains and losses—
He inevitably stood far ahead of the Empress in my heart.
So this was only natural.
"Audrey."
Then the Empress, who'd been silent all along, turned her head toward Stefan Marquis's Wife.
A respectful reply flowed from Stefan Marquis's Wife, who straightened as if she'd only just lifted her head.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"You, who typically refrain from unnecessary disputes—what brings you to interfere now?"
"...There was a conversation that disturbed the atmosphere, and I simply couldn't remain silent. If I've overstepped, I beg your pardon, Your Majesty."
Though phrased as a question, the Empress seemed aware of the exchange that had just occurred and asked nothing further.
"I'm aware that both you and the Young Lady have been facing difficulties of late, so I shall overlook this. But there's no benefit in drawing attention for long."
"...Your words are most wise."
Fortunately, the Empress turned away matter-of-factly, showing no further inclination to intervene.
And Stefan Marquis's Wife, naturally mingling among the attendants departing with the Empress, seemed to be taking her leave as well.
What is she doing, leaving the atmosphere so unsettled like this?
Unwilling to let her depart without a word, I opened my mouth toward the Marquise's rigid back.
"I was shortsighted in my thinking."
She stopped.
Sensing that my words were directed at her, she halted her steps.
"As you said, Marquise, my suspicion could amount to doubting honorable nobles. After all, it's unthinkable that someone dishonorable enough to distribute 'counterfeits' would be of noble birth."
"...Hmph."
Though she never turned to face me, I could tell she was deeply irritated.
Her fists were clenched so tightly that the veins stood out prominently.
---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
---------------