Chapter 107:
“Greetings, Your Majesty.”
No noble lady would meet the emperor as often as I do.
How many times have we met?
Even after a long time, I still couldn’t get used to it. The emperor welcomed me with a big smile.
He’s smiling like that because he doesn’t know what kind of request I’m going to ask.
“Yes, you must be feeling better now.”
“Thanks to your majesty’s consideration.”
The emperor had a twinkle in his eye. He’ll know from the story that was already in the newspaper.
“What I will ask for is a very simple matter.”
“Simple.”
He seemed to already know what I was going to say. Either way, the emperor would not be able to refuse.
What’s the use of doing it?
Everyone in the world has already found out.
“I would like you to legalize my engagement to the master of the magic tower, Leon Davis, by the Royal Court.”
“It’s not like you don’t know.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I denied the accusation. It didn’t matter whether it was true or not. Nevertheless, the emperor might want to check.
“You know that the princess has a pattern.”
“Yes, I know.”
“You didn’t know that Leon Davis was her companion, right? He was your family knight, so there’s no way you didn’t know.”
“I am just making a request, wasn’t Your Majesty the one who didn’t care about the patterns of companion?”
At my words, the Emperor put on an unknown smile.
He can’t refute it. He didn’t believe in patterns more than anyone else.
That’s why he embraced Defeloa as he wanted.
“Good; I will legalize it but this is the only time I’ll do Lady Elle’s request.”
Of course. If I was not the winner, I wouldn’t be able to ask for this.
It wasn’t that difficult for the emperor to allow other nobles to get engaged.
It’s hard because I’m from the Velois family.
“Thank you.”
If the corruption of the royal family is revealed anyway, the emperor’s era will end.
‘It’s not long.’
The day was approaching to cut out the corrupt royal family.
I tried to get out immediately after saying goodbye.
“Welcome back to the capital.”
“……Yes, thanks to you.”
“I will see you more often in the future.”
“It’s an honor, Your Majesty.”
A fake smile was no longer difficult.
The emperor will think that Leon will return to Janice as long as he has a companion imprint anyway.
I said I didn’t care about the pattern, but putting Leon, who has power, on my side was something else.
I can’t completely give up on Leon.
The engagement with me may just be a good choice.
Engagement was not a complete relationship that could break at any time.
But it didn’t matter.
What I want is Leon’s safety and the cracks in the royal family.
This will cause Janice to lose trust in the emperor. No one will trust him.
Even if she becomes a saint, she can’t ignore public opinion and pursue an engagement with Leon. She’ll know that for sure.
I walked out of the room with more ease.
* * *
“How can this be…”
Janice was shocked when she checked the newspaper.
She didn’t expect to be stabbed in the back like this. Even so, she held a small hope.
“It’s all right. It’s the emperor’s order.”
So it’s nothing more than a scandal.
Nevertheless, she was constantly anxious.
Eventually, Janice left. She thought she would feel at ease if she went to her father and got a definite answer right away.
Her steps became more and more urgent, and she was out of breath.
If she hadn’t met Elle on the way to the audience room, she wouldn’t have given up hope.
Elle’s face, looking straight at her, had a smile of victory.
“…Lady Elle Natasia.”
“Princess, it’s been a long time.”
Janice’s expression hardened in her smiling eyes.
“…What brings you here?”
“I’m here to tell you what I want because I won the hunting competition.”
As expected, she should have won the competition. Delther and her couldn’t join forces because they had different wishes.
For that reason, winning points alone was the cause of her defeat.
“What kind of request did you make?”
“You’ll find out later, so wait for the banquet.”
“I guess it’s about Leon. I read the newspaper. What on earth are you thinking…!”
Janice clenched her fist.
How can she use the media? She hated herself for not thinking about it.
“What am I thinking? I was caught by chance, too.”
“…Ha!”
She took her breath. When she saw Elle calm in front of her, her anger soared.
“How long are you going to stay with Leon? You’re not even his companion.”
“Princess, if you don’t have only one companion, how can you hang yourself on to a companion?”
“…Don’t tell me, Father.”
“Don’t worry, I haven’t told him yet.”
Janice clenched her lips when she said not yet.
She didn’t like holding onto her weakness in itself.
She, too, just needs to know that Edgar called her out to tell her the story. But that wasn’t a good move.
Janice was angry at her disadvantaged position.
“I’ll see you at the banquet in a few days. Oh, and I think I’ll see you often in the future.”
“…Often?”
“I’m back in the capital today.”
At Elle’s words, Janice saw her world fall apart.
Coming to the capital from the outskirts meant that she would come and go with Leon more often than now.
“Well then, goodbye.”
Elle walked past Janice, who was standing with a dazed face.
Trying to hold back the blur in front of her eyes, Janice turned her steps.
Because she realized it was useless to go to her father.
* * *
“Wow, this is so nice.”
“Do you like it that much?”
“Of course! I can go home right away without having to teleport.”
El looked at me and nodded.
We have a mansion in the capital, so it’s not too far from the royal palace, how nice it is.
This made El a bit busy, there were so many people in the palace who wanted to kill me that I needed protection.
It’s too obvious to be accompanied by a lot of escorts.
“What about my father?”
“He’s already there.”
“Did he like it?”
“Yes, he didn’t say anything, but he was satisfied.”
Then I was relieved. He must have had high expectations since I paid 30 million gold.
If he didn’t nag, that means he liked it.
“Oh, by the way. There’s a guest at the mansion.”
“Guest?”
Leon is the only guest who will come to visit me.
“By the way, how’s the information guild?”
“Everything has been brought in. You don’t have to worry about that.”
Well, the capital will earn more money than on the outskirts.
There are a lot of people and they are already known, so the demand will be higher.
“I should stop by Verden Jewelry Shop first.”
El nodded.
It wasn’t far from home anyway, so it didn’t matter if I stopped by for a while and went home.
After riding the carriage for a while, I saw the Verden Jewelry Shop.
“Hmm? Why are there so many people?”
Putting on my hat, just in case, I cautiously entered through the back door.
“Lady Elle!”
Verdin cried and ran to me.
“I haven’t been able to contact you because I don’t think you’re feeling well.”
“I’m sorry. I had a situation. But why are there so many people at the door?”
“It’s…We’ve reduced the supply, and there’s so much demand that they’re complaining about it.”
“Well, the price must have gone up a lot.”
Verden nodded.
The income earned from this alone was enormous.
I thought hard and told Verden.
“Make a reservation system and release it a little at a time. The price is higher than before.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I don’t mind now.”
The Duke of Sen is dead, and the pattern on my wrist is gone.
There was no evidence to point me out as the culprit.
Only then did Verden’s face light up. It seems that he had a lot of pain in the past.
“Say you’re offering a discount on the repair costs instead so that you can soothe their mind.”
“Yes, my lady!”
“Now that I’m in the capital, if you have an urgent need, you can call me right away.”
“…Are you sure?”
Verden smiled broadly at my nod.
“Well, Lady Elle, we’re getting a flood of inquiries from other parts of the country. What should we do?”
“It was hard to do it alone, right? It’s time to open another store.”
“That means…”
“Sir Verden must recruit talent. I hope we can sign a contract and send them the goods so that they can replace the sales.”
“I see.”
“You can get as many helpers as you need; I’ll pay for them.”
“Thank you so much.”
Verden bowed his head over and over again.
I was the one who made him famous.
“Please keep working on your work besides our business. Your work is beautiful.”
I looked at Verden’s accessories and started pulling them out one by one.
“And please send all of this to my house.”
“This, all of this?”
“Yes, I think I’ll need it for the banquet.”
“Then may I make a necklace for you?”
“Oh my! Then it’s such an honor.”
It would be a good gift, but if I did it, it would be a promotional effect.
Since the bracelet business has also succeeded, orders will flood again if I wear Verden’s necklace.
Verden’s partnership with me grew stronger.
I’ll have a lot of money in my bank account again.
I left the jewelry shop with a satisfied look on my face.
