Chapter 34
34
What did I just hear?
“At this point, haven’t you just been waiting to break up with the Crown Prince?”
It felt as though something had struck her over the head. Heat flared up from the back of her neck.
When she could only stare back, speechless, Noah crumpled the love letter and hurled it toward the floor.
“Aren’t you being a bit too reckless with that body, considering you aren’t its owner?”
“What?”
“Since the Winzer family isn’t actually yours, is that why you’re so comfortable dragging its name through the mud?”
What on earth was happening right now?
Dana couldn’t understand a single word coming out of Noah’s mouth.
However, she knew one thing for certain.
Right now, she was being profoundly insulted.
“On what grounds are you saying such things?”
“Why? Did you think no one would find out what you’ve been up to?”
Noah glanced at the newspaper with a heavy sneer.
“Everyone knows. They know you’re going around tarnishing the Winzer family honor.”
“What exactly do you mean by saying I’m boy-crazy? Me?”
Her emotions flared momentarily, and Dana swallowed hard.
“And what do you mean by saying I’m being reckless because I’m not the owner of this body?”
“Your secretary.”
“What about Rete?”
“Isn’t he your lover?”
What?
Rete?
“I knew it. I knew the moment you brought in some handsome man under the guise of a secretary.”
“What basis do you have for saying that?”
“I heard it all from Sister Alice.”
Ah….
Alice.
Dana exhaled a sharp breath. Alice.
Come to think of it, Alice had brought something like that up a while ago. Something about how she shouldn’t behave that way with a secretary….
‘I told her it was a misunderstanding.’
And yet, she was going around spreading it as if it were the truth?
“That is a delusion of Alice’s.”
“Don’t make me laugh. Alice said she saw the two of you acting depraved inside your room.”
Alice said that?
Depraved, in a room, me, with Rete?
And she told Noah all of that in such graphic detail?
Fury simmered up from deep within her gut.
Toward Alice. And.
And toward Noah.
“We were simply speaking at a close distance.”
“Oh, is that what you tell everyone else?”
“I am telling the truth, Noah Winzer.”
“Is that so? I wouldn’t know. I’ve only ever heard lies from you.”
“…….”
“You’re a liar, aren’t you? You enjoy deceiving me.”
Noah’s shimmering eyes looked as if they were engulfed in flames. Seeing that gaze—as if he were looking at a mortal enemy of a thousand years….
Dana’s spirit suddenly deflated.
‘Believe it or not.’
What did it matter?
Why was she even bothering to make excuses right now?
The thought left her feeling hollow.
Yes, what did it matter what that boy thought of her?
It truly didn’t matter at all.
“And Justin Lancaster is my classmate. When did you ever give my close friend an opening?”
Noah pointed at the love letter and spat out fiercely.
“I guarantee you, if Justin knew you were a depraved woman with a lover, he never would have sent a letter like this!”
A depraved woman.
“Noah. You.”
Dana faced the glaring Noah and gave a thin smile.
“Do you even know what that means?”
“What?”
“You keep calling me depraved. Do you even properly understand the meaning of the word you’re using?”
At those words, Noah clenched his fists tight.
“Are you… mocking me right now? Do you think I’m a child?”
“Yes. That’s exactly how you look to me.”
“I know everything there is to know! Stop treating me like a fool!”
“But if you actually knew, you wouldn’t be able to throw that word around so easily. Noah. Depraved, you say?”
Noah flinched and tried to step back, but she grabbed his shoulders.
“What that means is.”
She whispered into his ear.
Using very graphic words and descriptions.
“……!”
Sure enough, Noah’s face turned bright red in an instant. He shook off her hands and hurriedly scrambled backward.
“A-Are you crazy! H-H-How can you say such filthy things!”
“You’re the one saying I’m the one doing those filthy things.”
Dana spoke indifferently and shrugged her shoulders.
“The only reason I’m not slapping you across the face right now is because I figured you didn’t actually know what it meant. Because, Noah, you’re still.”
Scanning Noah from head to toe, Dana smiled brightly.
“Still a baby, aren’t you?”
“A-A baby? Me?”
“Yes. A baby whose whole body turns red just from hearing words of that level.”
By now, even the back of Noah’s neck was crimson, and his lips were trembling. Dana continued without much interest.
“And Noah. As for me.”
She leaned down and picked up the newspaper.
“I never once thought of the Winzer family as someone else’s family.”
Until recently, at least.
I truly thought of this house as my home. I thought of you as my family.
No, I wanted to be your family.
I feel foolish for thinking that now. You must have found it disgusting….
Swallowing all those words, Dana smiled.
“If you’re done with your business, leave.”
* * *
A short while later, the secretary entered.
He sighed and immediately began applying ointment to Dana’s cheek.
There was a thin scratch, likely from the edge of the newspaper Noah had thrown.
“I am sorry, My Lady. Because of me.”
“What do you mean, because of you?”
“It seems you are suffering through unnecessary scandal because of me…. I have no excuse.”
Dana gave a short laugh.
“What are you talking about? Don’t say things like that with such a stoic face.”
The secretary gazed quietly into Dana’s face before asking.
“My Lady.”
“Yes?”
“Should I scar my own face with a burn?”
“…….”
“If I do, perhaps those rumors will disappear.”
“…….”
This guy is serious.
“Rete.”
“Yes, My Lady.”
“Don’t say such stupid things.”
“Pardon?”
“You were born with such a handsome face; why would you ruin it?”
“But….”
“Don’t ever say that again.”
She wanted to pat Rete’s face as a gesture of comfort, but.
‘No.’
Her hand, which had risen toward his shoulder, hesitated.
‘Rete is an adult now, too.’
How old was he this year? Twenty?
He was a man now, fully grown. She couldn’t go around stroking him like he was the boy she first met.
Dana placed her hand on his shoulder instead of his face and spoke.
“Don’t pay any mind to what people whisper behind our backs.”
“I do not care about myself. However, for My Lady to….”
The secretary paused for a moment and took a deep breath.
“I hate that My Lady has to hear such dog-like nonsense.”
“…….”
He must have been truly angry. To hear him use such harsh language was unlike him.
Yet, strangely, Dana felt touched by the curse.
‘Rete truly cares for me.’
Yes. Rete was her person.
Not a person belonging to ‘Danae Winzer,’ but her person, whom she had discovered and chosen herself.
What would happen to Rete once she obtained the Sacred Artifact and returned to her own world?
……What else?
He would live well, of course. He wasn’t a child….
‘Thinking he won’t be able to survive without me is just my own arrogance. It’s also look down on Rete.’
Rete was smart; he would lead a good life.
He was so capable that, as far as Dana knew, there was nothing he couldn’t do.
‘I should leave him with a very generous severance package before I go.’
Dana smiled refreshingly.
“It’s fine, so let’s stop talking about it.”
She then stood up abruptly.
“It’s going to be a busy day, Rete. So get ready.”
* * *
<Heiress Danae Winzer Becomes a Major Client of Litton Bank!>
<The Historic Litton Bank Wins Over the Immediate Family of Its Competitor!>
The branch manager smiled with immense pride.
The front page of the newspaper was covered with news of Litton Bank.
Articles about Danae Winzer becoming a client of Litton Bank!
‘Truly, it was a stroke of luck that we had enough gold coins in the bank that day.’
Was it thanks to those articles?
The bank had been bustling since early morning. Clients who used other banks—even those who primarily used Winzer Bank—were coming in!
It was then.
“Branch Manager!”
A bank employee came running in, breathless.
“Danae Winzer, she has returned!”
“Oh! Is that so! She’s here early in the morning!”
The golden goose has arrived!
“Escort her to the VIP room immediately. No, wait. I’ll go myself, so tell her to wait in the lobby!”
If he wanted to promote the bank to other customers, it would be better to attend to her at the public counter!
The branch manager ran out excitedly. And.
“We meet again.”
“Yes! Welcome, My Lady! How may we assist you today?”
“The same thing as yesterday.”
Hmm?
The branch manager’s face hardened. What did she just say?
At Dana’s signal, men in black suits entered the bank once again. It was the same men from yesterday!
Thud, thud, thud.
Several black bags were placed upon the desk.
Could this be….
“It’s a hundred billion francs.”
Dana spoke with a bright, innocent smile.
“Please exchange it for gold coins right now.”
