Episode 74

“Hey, hey, isn’t this going too far, picking on kids like this?”

Grandpa Gordon finally stepped in, seemingly unable to hold back any longer.

But the headmistress turned her sharp gaze on him, raising her voice.

“Going too far? What are you talking about? You should’ve stopped her if you saw her bending the rules!”

“Pah! What rules? How were we supposed to stop Young Lord Kallios when he insisted on helping?”

“Oh, so now you’re blaming others?!”

“Yes, I’m blaming the Young Lord! What are you going to do about it, woman? Go ahead and report me if you dare!”

“You old geezer…!”

Unfortunately, Grandpa Gordon wasn’t much help.

As their voices grew louder, I couldn’t take it anymore and shouted.

“Enough―!”

I didn’t have time for this.

‘Every minute I waste here, I’m losing the chance to sell more…!’

If Marquis Barelotte had prodded the headmistress into causing this chaos, then he had half succeeded. I saw a few nobles approaching our booth, only to turn away because of the commotion.

Arguing any further would only hurt me.

With a deep sigh, I handed over the pouch of 50 talents I’d received from Madam to the headmistress.

“Now we’re talking!”

She snatched the pouch eagerly.

As she walked away with it, I calmly muttered.

“…I’ll be filing an official complaint with the temple after this.”

“Go ahead, Belze,” she scoffed.

“But do you really think the temple will take your side?”

“If I go with Duke Kallios, I think they might.”

“Ugh…”

She hesitated for a moment, clearly not having considered that possibility.

Still, she lifted her chin and responded confidently.

“Well, even if you do, what difference will it make? You did break the rules, didn’t you?”

I didn’t bother arguing further. There was no need to point out that I’d go over every detail later.

Taking my silence as a sign of defeat, she shook the pouch of talents mockingly.

“See? If you’d behaved more like Diana, this wouldn’t have happened. You’re still the same even in the Duke’s household. It’s incredible how different you two are, despite both being saint candidates…”

I had heard such remarks countless times, so they didn’t bother me. But Grandpa Gordon, on the other hand, clicked his tongue, visibly irritated.

“Talk about shameless. And to think they let someone like you run an orphanage. What a disgrace.”

“What did you say, old man?!”

“Did I stutter?”

“You… you old coot!”

The tension between the two crackled like sparks, and I could sense a second round about to start.

Quickly deciding to end this once and for all, I resolved to get rid of the headmistress.

Taking a deep breath, I prepared myself.

“Phew…!”

“Everyone! Listen up! The headmistress has constipation―!”

I shouted loud enough for everyone passing by to turn and look.

“Hey―!”

The headmistress, startled by my sudden outburst, yelled at me, but I paid her no mind and kept shouting at the top of my lungs.

“I saw it myself! Her stomach is full, full of poop!”

“Will you be quiet?!”

“In five seconds, I’ll reveal her nickname! Her nickname is… *Poop Queen*!”

“Alright, alright, I’m going! I’m leaving!”

Finally understanding that I wasn’t going to stop, the headmistress hurriedly fled the scene.

“Phew, problem solved,” I muttered with relief.

Then, I heard a voice behind me.

“…So, you’ve been treated like this the whole time at the orphanage?”

I looked up to see Grandpa Gordon staring at me with an unusually serious expression.

To be honest, this was nothing compared to what I’d gone through before.

At least now I had the satisfaction of fighting back.

When I was younger, unable to speak properly, the sudden change in the headmistress’s attitude and the bullying she encouraged had been much harder to bear.

The constant, baseless comparisons to Diana had crushed my spirit day after day.

I cried, begged, but no one paid attention.

It wasn’t until I started screaming, breaking things, pinching and hitting Diana and the other kids that anyone finally noticed me.

As I pushed away the painful memories that flashed before my eyes, I forced a smile.

“It’s fine.”

“Hm? What’s fine?”

“The headmistress will die from constipation anyway!”

I said it cheerfully, causing Grandpa Gordon to look at me in shock.

“What?! What kind of five-year-old says something so awful…!”

Shuddering, he scolded me harshly.

“Don’t go around saying things like that! With those big, red eyes of yours, people might actually believe it!”

“…Hehe.”

But it’s true, though.

I held back the rest of my thoughts and smiled innocently, turning my gaze away.

And then I spotted the headmistress not far away.

‘Just as I thought.’

It wasn’t hard to figure out who had reported me. The headmistress was now standing with Marquis Barelotte, chatting away with a bright expression.

After a brief conversation, the Marquis led her behind Diana’s booth.

Watching it unfold with cold eyes, I quickly grasped the situation.

‘So it wasn’t just a report—it was all orchestrated.’

No wonder.

Even with the Kallios family backing me, the headmistress had been eager to squeeze a hefty fine out of me.

It was clear now that the Marquis had bribed the headmistress to steal my talents, ensuring that Diana could stay ahead.

‘I must be quite the threat.’

Rather than anger, I felt a strange satisfaction.

In my past life, they treated me like dirt, barely acknowledging my existence.

But now, seeing them stoop to such petty tactics meant they saw me as a real danger.

That wasn’t such a bad feeling.

And despite their efforts, it wouldn’t be too hard for me to make up the 50 talents they took.

All I needed to do was sell one more bottle of Fairy Mist, even if it meant begging for it.

There was only one issue left.

‘How can I expose the relationship between those two?’

From that moment, I began plotting how I could make both the Marquis and the headmistress pay.

After all, I was someone who always returned favors twofold!

And as I mulled it over, an hour passed by in the blink of an eye.

* * *

As most of the invited nobles arrived, the event hall grew noticeably busier and noisier.

‘It’s about time they showed up.’

I stood there idly, watching the noblewomen gracefully stroll by, their parasols casting shadows and the scent of flowers trailing after them.

And then, as if I had summoned her with my thoughts, I heard a familiar voice.

“Child.”

Like a tiger appearing when you speak of it, a shadow loomed over me.

I turned around to greet the guest I had been expecting.

“Welcome, Madam… Oh?”

I froze mid-sentence.

It was Madam Cloud, as I had expected—but she looked at least ten years younger.

“Where have I seen you before… Who are you again?”

“Tsk! Flattery from someone so young!”

She scolded me, looking mildly exasperated, but the twitch at the corner of her lips showed that my flattery had hit the mark.

“Good grief, we saw each other an hour ago, and you’ve already forgotten?”

“Wait… Madam?!”

“Indeed, it’s me.”

Feigning complete surprise, I widened my eyes and gasped, which made her burst into a hearty laugh.

“I honestly thought you were someone else! I wasn’t just flattering you, I swear!”

Though it wasn’t entirely true, the transformation in her appearance was undeniable.

Her skin, which had shown signs of aging like liver spots, freckles, and age spots, was now drastically clearer. Even the wrinkles on her forehead and along her nose had softened considerably, making her complexion look brighter and more radiant.

She now looked at least ten, if not twenty, years younger—so much so that her beauty could easily outshine that of much younger women.

‘Incredible!’

My heart pounded with excitement.

I had created the product, but even I hadn’t expected such dramatic results. The younger women who had tested the product, like Tara and the other maids, hadn’t shown this level of change because they already had youthful skin.

“You’re so… so beautiful, Madam! Of course, you were already beautiful before, but now…!”

“Hmph. Do you think I’ll skip the refund just because you say that?”

She smirked playfully, her tone teasing.

Startled, I stammered nervously.

“A-are you here for a refund?”

“What do you think?”

“Uh…”

I assumed she wouldn’t ask for one. How could she, after seeing such undeniable results?

But the unpredictability of her expression stirred a slight unease within me.

Despite my confidence in selling to her based on Duke Kallios’s trust, I realized it was all still just a gamble.

Customers were fickle, and sometimes even with clear results, they’d still demand refunds. I remembered all too well how many times in my previous life I’d dealt with customers who simply changed their minds, for no reason at all.

‘What if I’ve completely misjudged her?’

What if she wasn’t a generous patron but rather a nitpicky, unreasonable customer?

As I waited anxiously for her decision, Madam Cloud suddenly let out a soft laugh, breaking the tension.

“Don’t be so nervous.”

With a flick of her hand, she gestured behind her, signaling to someone.

“Come here, Countess Prinen. And you too, Baroness Gamont.”

I watched in a daze as two noblewomen, similar in age to Madam Cloud, walked over, their eyes sparkling with curiosity.

The women quickly approached, and one of them asked eagerly, “Is it true that you’re selling something here that can transform our skin like Madam’s?”

“It is indeed true. Although she looks a bit young, this is the saint candidate officially sponsored by Duke Kallios.”

“Oh my goodness! How adorable…”

The women glanced at me with delighted expressions.

Then Madam Cloud turned to me and said, “Introduce yourself to the new guests. These ladies are participants in my tea party.”

TL/N: She’s a duchess… well im sorry but… ill edt it in old chaps