The Villain is Being Suspiciously Kind

Hours later, inside Duke Pietros office.

I heard earlier that Princess Iana and Citrina became close. Theyre already talking about it in high society.

Its a good thing for Rina.

But its a bit strange. Although spiritists are rare, its not the sort of situation where the princess would personally ask for her aid. Does she know that you two are close, brother?

She wouldnt have known.

Did Princess Iana know about the relationship between Citrina and Desian?

Since she had been at the academy all this time, Ianas information network was poor.

She was an avid fan of romance novels. A woman with no desire for the throne.

He couldnt quite recall what her face looked like either. He thought she had a strange expression every time they passed each other by.

Shes definitely overdoing it.

Desian said coldly.

Isnt it too much? What is she up to?

Aaron picked up a snack from the table.

You would know if you saw her. It should have been clear to see.

Thats right, we were both at the academy. She read books instead of sparring.

Aaron tilted his head.

She was just a princess who quietly read books. She didnt seem likea particularly bad person.

That remains to be seen.

Aaron glanced over at his brother.

Desian intended to manipulate the princesss mind if any harm came to Citrina. He didnt make exceptions for an imperial princess.

Aaron had a twins intuition about how things would play out.

does Rina know youre good at mind control?

Desian had gone from a boy to a man in the space of four years. He had learned in that time how to cheat and hide things more skillfully.

Rumors about the Pietro Dukedom are being neutralized.

Then Citrina might like Aaron better. Even though they were like a family, Citrina always seemed like she was ready to take off.

Without saying it out loud, Aaron blinked and laughed. Desian spoke in a cold tone as he watched him.

Thats good news to hear.

In the face of Desians impeccable defense, Aaron picked up a cookie from the table and bit into it. The chocolate chips crumbled sweetly in his mouth.

Aarons eyes were as innocent as ever, but he had learned a lot of interesting things over the past four years.

Then see you at the ball! Ill be late!

After Aaron left, Desian slowly took care of the dukes duties. There were not many tasks that needed the dukes approval.

Desian put down his fountain pen with a blank face.

There was not much to laugh about in this dark place.

At that moment, a messenger bird was heard flying through Desians window. It was a very light sound, but he picked it up easily.

He opened the tiny note attached to the messenger birds leg.

Lady Phantemang took care of the store owner, Feinmann.

No sooner than he had checked the contents, the note spontaneously burst into flame. Desian gleefully watched the flames burn.

He enjoyed it.

With a slight amount of oil applied, it came to an end rather beautifully.

The Phantemang family would self-destruct as the gentry grew. Everything was elegant and perfect.

Desian coldly laughed. It was fun to see everything fit into place like pieces of a puzzle.

He thought of only one thing, the one and only variable in his life.

Would shefind out about this?

It was the day after the princesss party, inside Citrinas atelier.

Our names were even printed side-by-side in the gossip column. Really Im so excited, Citrina!

Adilac held the gossip pages tightly in her hands.

while Im not in there, its amazing!

Litas ears were visibly drooping. Citrina comforted Lita with a pat on the back.

Anyhow, Im upset, Citrina! Why didnt you tell me? Its a spirit! A spirit! I like it so much! I want to go to a jewel-sprinkling spirit party too!

-What to do with these two idiots, Citrina

-Theyre upset.

-I think my ears are going to bleed because of it!

First of all, Im sorry, Adilac,

Adilacs eyes filled with tears at Citrinas apology. Then Lita spoke cautiously to Citrina.

By the way, master!

Yeah?

Well, theres a line of people outside, so what should we do? A few people were snooping around, but the line is awfully long

Seriously. There was a line of attendants stretching outside the glass doors. She didnt know if it was the gossip article or Gemmas flawless magic that had brought them here.

Everyone is waiting outside because they want to buy ready-made jewelry

S,seriously?

It seemed like Adilac hadnt looked out the window because she was so focused on the gossip article, Citrina and the princess, and the jewel spirit.

Wow! This is our chance to get rich by selling all of the jewelry on the shelves, Citrina!

Adilac-nim is right! Congratulations, master!

The fox person, Lita, said with a big smile. Just hearing that word made her feel a little bewitched.

Wait a minute, master? It felt like he had been calling her that since a while ago.

Anyway, that wasnt important right now. Citrina came to her senses.

No. I wont sell it.

What? Why? We need to sell it as soon as possible! Its a chance to make a name for ourselves!

If we sell it all now, everybody will be satisfied.

Isnt it a good thing if everyone is satisfied?

Adilac.

Yes?

Adilac paused in taking the gemstones off the shelves.

Adilac, you like salmon, right?

Yes!

Arent there times when you can eat salmon until your stomach is full, and times when you cant eat it because you dont have any?

Yes, so?

When is the time that you crave salmon the most?

Uhhwhen I cant eat it.

Thats right. With that same logic, once youre satisfied, you wont look for it anymore.

Ohh, is that so?

Adilac was rarely silent. She seemed to be thinking of something.

What Citrina was doing at present was limited edition marketing.

Buying ready-made jewelry was not for the nobles. It was for the gentry class that yearned for the luxurious consumption of the nobles.

If you sold them a limited edition jewelry item, the price would go up to a premium. Then the value of the brand name and the atelier would go up even more.

Come to think of it, there were some messenger birds from nobles too.

There were not many letters, as predicted. The aristocracy was relatively conservative.

It was natural not to ask directly because it was not a part of noble culture.

However, it was satisfactory even if it was only to this extent.

First of all, the gentry class we are a high-end atelier that follows dwarf Oslo-nims instructions, so we can respond by saying that if there is not enough stock, we wont sell.

They were different from the jewelry stores that had been in business in the capital for a long time and attracted regular customers.

However, since it was a spiritists shop that had attracted the attention of Princess Iana, they could grow their power bit by bit.

For the time being, Citrina decided to enjoy the scorching popularity.

I think well only release enough ready-made jewelry to satisfy half of the demand.

Citrina took out several jewels from the display case. Ruby-embedded rings and platinum thread rings left the shelves one by one.

Adilac looked inside the display stand with curious eyes.

Well, this should be enough to set the trend.

Okay, Citrina.

Adilac laughed heartily. Citrina smiled at her.

Master, Ill explain it to the people outside.

Yeah, explain it so theyll understand, and ask them to come back next time because we dont have enough supplies.

Yes!

Litas big eyes narrowed. Talking was a fox persons specialty. But Lita had never tried to bewitch anyone with his words until now.

But for now

The master had saved him, a person who loves jewels. So it was an important task to give these people a proper explanation.

He went outside reluctantly.