PSITAC 08

Chapter 8

After Nael left to find his own pet dog, peace returned to me once again.

Stadion was a paradise for me and the animals, and I spent my days without worrying about money or work because I had several mines and businesses that made money flow like water.

Today was no different. As long as I didn’t get tangled up with the protagonists, my whole life would be smooth sailing. I would cut off all social gatherings and live like a monk.

The plan was perfect.

“Mary!”

“Yip!”

Mary ran toward me on her tiny paws and clung to the hem of my skirt. They say dogs recognize their owners even when their appearance changes, and my smart Mary recognized me even after entering this novel together with me. Even though my appearance had changed completely.

Of course, I still had black hair. But the texture was silkier than before, and it now had thick waves.

And the biggest difference was the color of my eyes. They were no longer ordinary dark brown, but a deep violet.

As for my looks… villains are naturally beautiful, and Agatha was very, very beautiful.

‘It’s okay, Yuna. You’re only a little bit inferior. Well, a very little bit… maybe a lot?’

Anyway, my precious Mary.

There was absolutely no way this could not be Mary. She was still wearing the necklace I had made for her myself.

“Did you have fun?”

“Yip!”

I picked Mary up as she licked my face with enough force to wash it. Her ears stood perked up, clearly because she was excited. Her tail spun so fast it looked like a helicopter blade.

Oh, if she went a little more, she might actually fly.

Just as I was thinking that—

“Um, Your Grace.”

“Hm?”

Emma called me carefully.

“I have something to tell you.”

Emma said this with a troubled expression.

“What is it?”

“The Count of Damon, who lives right next door, has filed a complaint.”

Emma handed me a letter.

A complaint?

I immediately tore open the envelope.

If I wanted to live as quietly as possible, the best thing to do was avoid getting involved in any trouble. So someone filing a complaint against me was definitely not a good sign.

To put it briefly, the letter said that because of the sound of the animals I was protecting, they couldn’t sleep properly, and therefore I should “stop this madness,” and if I had “money and time to spare,” I should “go socialize instead,” and “how about arranging a match with my son?”

It was a roundabout way of saying it, but obvious enough. Someone with my level of social experience could read this kind of passive-aggressive language with no trouble at all.

Emma looked at me cautiously, so I handed her the letter and told her to read it. After reading it, Emma clicked her tongue.

“How shameless.”

“Why?”

“The son they want to set you up with is probably the Count of Damon’s second son. The eldest is already married. The second son is notorious for being a complete lecher. There was a huge scandal not long ago about an affair with Lady Kate, the viscount’s wife, but the whole thing was buried quickly because the two families reached an agreement!”

Emma lowered her voice and spoke quickly.

After spending more than half a year together, Emma had become a pretty good source of information. Apparently the maids had their own network that only maids could use.

Anyway, so they were trying to push some guy like that on me?

“In fact, they just want to covet Your Grace’s wealth. Unfairly! Rumor says he even has a hidden child?”

Heh.

This guy wasn’t just trash; he needed a pile of filth thrown on him. He was a huge garbage car, even worse than my ex.

“First, it is true that the noise may be causing problems, so I’ll need to eliminate any possibility of complaints. And as for the matchmaking issue… could I leave that to Sir David?”

“Yes, of course! That’s how it was done before too! Then… shall we prepare for a trip to the territory?”

When I first woke up here, I had considered moving to the territory. That feeling only grew stronger after I started taking in animals. But most nobles raised divine beasts in the capital and then abandoned them, so I couldn’t just leave the capital.

“No. Not yet. Besides… the scale is bigger now. How could I travel for days with all of them?”

“Then what should we do?”

“Bring in a mage. We’ll cast a soundproofing spell. Across the entire mansion.”

There were mages in this world.

However, because there were so few of them, the state managed them, which meant they had to be purchased with money. Sort of like semi-government employees? So when you needed one, you had to make a request.

“But… wouldn’t that be very expensive?”

Of course, mages were in short supply and in high demand, so buying their services cost quite a bit. But I didn’t need to worry about money.

“So what?”

I had what was essentially a black card I could swipe endlessly.

Since waking up here, no matter what I spent money on, my bank balance kept growing without limit. Should I say money attracts money?

So—

“Don’t worry about the money. Just do it.”

I waved my diamond spoon around casually.

Emma clasped her hands together and nodded, looking at me like I was some miraculous fairy godmother. Well, money really did work magic sometimes.

“Yes, Your Grace!”

That was true flexing.

The real life of a diamond spoon.

The Count of Damon gritted his teeth after receiving a letter bearing the Stadion seal.

“That insolent girl does not know her place and is refusing our proposal.”

“What do you mean, Father?”

“Oh, Chase.”

Count Damon handed the letter he had received to his proud eldest son. Chase checked the seal on the envelope and read the letter.

“You sent a marriage proposal to Stadion?”

“That’s right. Your younger brother was running around like that, so I thought it best to marry him off. I’m sure even your dead mother would have approved.”

“So you were aiming for Stadion…”

“Right now, all the men in the empire are drooling over the position next to the Duke of Stadion. I was going to secure it for us.”

Count Damon said this proudly.

Right now, Stadion was like a hot potato that looked delicious. Aside from Agatha’s bizarre behavior, Stadion still had an inexhaustible money bag.

And what about Stadion’s status? Even if Stadion was suffering a tragic downfall now, it was still unquestionably a family the Emperor himself could not handle lightly.

In fact, not even the imperial knights were allowed to step onto land bearing the Stadion banner without permission. The honor and wealth Stadion had built over the years were by no means something to be ignored.

Count Damon wanted that for himself. It irritated him that a girl like Agatha, who did not know her place and had no real ability, was holding it all. That was why he had sent his second son, Melison, to try to seize it.

The Count of Damon’s family was the one that produced the current Empress. Thanks to that, they could live in a townhouse on this expensive land, and their status rose even further the moment the Empress gave birth to a prince.

If Stadion were added to that?

“If this marriage is established, we can do anything. Then we could even push aside Crown Prince Nael and make our Prince Silas the Crown Prince instead. How pleased the Empress would be.”

Chase nodded quietly.

“Father is right. But Melison won’t be able to secure the duchess.”

“Even if Stadion is impressive, she’s just a girl who accidentally became a duchess! And Melison is the son of Count Damon! No matter how much she looks down on us, she can’t ignore our son!”

“She can, Father. The duchess was once mentioned as Crown Prince Nael’s fiancé. It was canceled when Prince Silas was born, but…”

To be exact, it had been derailed by the Empress. Once Silas was born, there was no way she would let Nael keep a card like Stadion in his hand.

“Besides, Melison’s conduct is too improper.”

“Then what should we do?”

Chase suppressed his contempt at Count Damon’s behavior of simply chasing after greed without a proper plan.

Empress Rosaline and Chase resembled their mother, the countess. The countess had taught them how to endure quietly and seize opportunities when they came.

Count Damon was the type who only knew how to spend money, not earn it. The reason Rosaline could become Empress was entirely thanks to her mother’s capability; Count Damon had done nothing at all.

How many empresses had ever received a love confession from the Emperor? It wasn’t even an arranged marriage—it had been a true love marriage.

But pregnancy was not something one could control by will alone. While the First Imperial Consort had given birth to Crown Prince Nael, Rosaline had failed to conceive.

Chase, staring at Count Damon’s fleshy face, let out a quiet sigh. Even so, a shield like Count Damon was always necessary.

“I am here, aren’t I?”

“You’re married!”

“This marriage is about time to end anyway.”

Chase said darkly.