The Villainess Enjoys Her Married Life
Chapter 32
Chapter 32
Episode 32. Bound by the Will to Cast Out the Daughter-in-Law
2024.01.01.
Twenty years ago.
“If the prince returns to the Imperial Palace, we are dead. We took all that money from His Majesty under the pretext of attending to the prince and fled, only to treat him like a slave… If he speaks a word of that…”
“Damn it, I thought the empire was finished. At this rate, we are the ones who are ruined. Who could have expected the Imperial Family to be restored?”
“There is only one way. We kill the prince and silence him forever.”
Three middle-aged men sat huddled together in conversation.
One was fat, another tall and gaunt, and the third had dark circles bruised beneath his eyes.
Officials of the Imperial Household Department, they were desperately seeking a way to cover up their crimes.
“But if word gets out that we killed the prince, not only will our heads roll, our families will not survive either.”
“Do not worry, I have prepared everything thoroughly. No one here has seen our faces. I deliberately drove out all the vagrants from Hasetz.”
Ten-year-old Lesvan crouched in silence, listening to their words.
As if completely deaf to whatever was said, his deep golden eyes remained utterly still.
Yet look closely enough into those depths, and one would find a raging, burning hell.
They said the Imperial Palace had been rebuilt, but it could hardly be anything other than a hell of its own.
For it would be teeming with wretched, hellish creatures.
The men presently plotting to take his life were his father’s self-proclaimed loyal retainers.
Men who had once fawned and groveled just to catch the eye of his now-deceased brothers.
They had abused the boy, worked him like a slave, and sought to sell his very life.
Had his frightened enemies not sought Lesvan’s life as the empire was being rebuilt, the boy would have surely perished long ago.
“As long as the prince dies, we are free. Nothing happened. The prince was killed by rebel forces, and we tried to protect him, but…”
“Right. We tried to protect him, but failed.”
“And all the money was stolen from us. Haha.”
They were men who cared only for their own advancement, wishing for the empire’s downfall.
Not just them; most humans were like this.
A profound disillusionment with humanity had accumulated, layer upon layer, over a long time.
“Then let us bring them in. You have the private soldiers ready?”
“Yeah. You know what the Emperor is like—if he hears the prince is dead, he will investigate thoroughly. So we have to stage it flawlessly. Then we just slaughter all the private soldiers afterward.”
They stepped outside the storehouse.
Lesvan merely remained seated in the same posture.
His ankles were bound in shackles anyway.
Quietly, he closed his eyes.
The pain, fury, and resignation from everything he had endured piled high in the boy’s chest, forming a mountain.
One day it would become a massive volcano, but he knew well that right now, even his immediate survival was uncertain.
‘If only an opportunity comes…’
Just then, the storehouse door swung open. It was not their presence, so Lesvan lifted his gaze.
Faint footsteps echoed, followed by the appearance of a young girl who looked as frail and light as her steps.
Her silver hair, gleaming like moonlight in the dead of night, was tied into pigtails.
Her eyes were as clear and blue as a lake he had once seen, and her cheeks looked soft and fair, as though she had never known a day of hardship in her life.
From her attire alone, she was a child who did not belong in a place like this.
**
On the opulent Imperial Palace balcony, Lesvan was having breakfast clad in a robe that left half of his firm chest bare, reading through newly arrived documents.
The documents contained information regarding Eshika’s past.
[Three years ago, having fallen for Duke Kalian Klaus, she begged her father, Baron Brigitte, for a marriage with the ducal family. The ailing Baron Brigitte granted his daughter’s wish for the sake of her future and submitted a marriage proposal.]
Lesvan’s gaze lingered on that first sentence for quite a while.
There had not been the slightest trace of warmth in Eshika’s eyes when she looked at Kalian Klaus.
Lesvan continued reading down through the report.
[Though the marriage was arranged under the condition of an immense dowry, Eshika Klaus failed to gain the Duke’s affection, and they did not even share their wedding night. It is presumed she suffered continuous abuse at the hands of Dowager Duchess Riona Klaus.]
At the phrase ‘wedding night,’ Lesvan’s eyebrow gave a slight twitch.
Lesvan kept reading the intelligence on her.
Just as Eshika had said, Lesvan might not have known the count of cutlery in the Klaus household, but he knew the exact tally of their armory down to the very daggers.
Yet had it not been for her, he would never have paid much heed to the internal affairs of the family.
After all, Lesvan already had an overflow of state affairs to read through.
“……”
From the lines below, evidence of abuse was detailed.
It laid bare the vicious, overt methods used against her, and all that she had lost as punishment.
It was the narrative of a woman who had entered the ducal estate with swelling hopes, only to become an outcast scorned even by the servants and confined to a secluded chamber.
The informants were maids who had been dismissed or retired from the Klaus Duchy, and they consistently pointed to the Dowager Duchess’s cruelty and the Duke’s negligence.
[The Duke is a devoted son who believes the Dowager Duchess implicitly; harboring deep resentment toward the Duchess, he loathes even her slightest touch.]
And on the final line, it was recorded that Eshika, suspecting something between the Duke and her friend Yuri Anesis, had confronted them, only to be shoved by the Duke and suffer a head injury.
[Following this incident, the Duchess showed no further interest in the Duke and began secluding herself entirely.]
The final sentence had been penned from information obtained through the most recently departed servant.
Lesvan crumpled the paper. Channeling his aura as naturally as he would through a blade, the paper ignited and crumbled into ash.
Across the cold surface of his golden eyes, the scenery of a past someone else did not remember rippled for a fleeting moment.
His red lips parted.
“……Just what am I to do with you?”
**
“Enter.”
At the Dowager Duchess’s voice, Hans tidied his collar and stepped into her drawing room.
Riona Klaus possessed a healthy complexion, looking nothing like someone who had collapsed from anemia merely a day prior.
When Hans bowed deeply in greeting, she gestured toward the seat opposite her with the tip of her chin.
‘As expected… her mood is thoroughly foul.’
Word was that this morning, she had slapped Head Maid Yuri across the cheek simply because the teaspoon had been placed slightly askew.
And one of the maids was said to be receiving treatment for burns after being scalded with boiling tea.
“……”
Fortunately, no steam rose from the teacup currently set before Riona.
Even as relief washed over him, Hans felt a faint surge of resentment toward Eshika.
For presenting such a matter while Riona was in such a foul temper was a reckless gamble.
“An investment proposal came from the bank?”
“Ah, yes. A large-scale supply warehouse is being constructed in Zühen, and the nobles of the capital, Torres, are rushing to invest… So despite Your Grace’s indisposition, I took the liberty of coming to seek your approval.”
Eshika had ordered him to ask the Dowager Duchess immediately about investing in the supply warehouse.
“Countess Alhemits and Countess Palmania, who visited yesterday, also mentioned that they intend to participate in the investment…”
“Naturally, Klaus should take the lead.”
Though the sum required for this venture was as massive as all their previous investments in Zühen combined—and would certainly strain their resources—Riona replied without hesitation.
“Proceed with the investment at once.”
Hans blinked, not having expected Riona to agree so readily.
Even in her sour mood, Riona seemed convinced that this was an investment she could not afford to miss.
“Understood. However, as the family’s current finances are strained, it appears we will require a loan.”
“……Are you saying we must borrow money?”
“Using the Thames Mine as collateral, we can secure approximately five million rings.”
Hans relayed precisely what Eshika had instructed him to say.
The Thames Mine was the only mine in the Klaus territory, a golden goose that accounted for more than half of the Klaus family’s revenue.
After a moment’s contemplation, Riona spoke with a dissatisfied expression.
“If we lack the immediate funds, there is no choice. But once His Majesty the Emperor’s decree officially announces the plan to establish Zühen as the Western Stronghold…”
The corners of Riona’s displeased lips curled up slightly.
“The returns will be dozens of times what we invest now.”
“Then I shall proceed accordingly.”
Even having secured her permission, Hans felt an uneasy prickle of doubt.
That Zühen would become Turesian’s Western Stronghold was practically a certainty.
Yet why was Duchess Eshika—who intended to seize control of Klaus—pushing through an investment guaranteed to succeed through the Dowager Duchess?
Hans could not fathom Eshika’s plan.
Yet having once resolved to throw in his lot with her, he could no longer turn the ship around.
Besides, Klaus prospering was good for Hans as well.
“Once this investment succeeds and the ducal manor’s vaults overflow with wealth…”
A venomous smirk touched Riona’s lips.
“I will cast that wretched wench out of this family for good.”
Recalling yesterday’s humiliation, Riona’s eyes gleamed with such ferocity that Hans flinched.
