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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: A Winner's Leisure
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The Leti standing before me was a different person.
Gone was the silly grin, the face I had once thought so bright and innocent.
In her knee-length dress and boots, she stood on the line between noble and commoner.
Her hair tied back tightly and a pair of glasses on her face, she looked nothing like the maid she had been.
No one would doubt she was the head of a merchant guild. It was right to assume this was her true identity.
…No, maybe not. Perhaps this was Ryan's doing, knowing that I frequented the back alleys.
He was just that petty.
I narrowed my eyes.
“Did Ryan order you to do this, too?”
Leaving out his title of Prince was entirely intentional. If she called me out on it, I was ready for a confrontation.
“No.”
No matter how sarcastic I was, Leti showed no reaction.
“I won’t deny that this place receives help from His Highness Prince Ryan. However, my dealings with you, Lady Etoile, began before his orders.”
*Her eyes don’t seem to be lying.*
The sudden thought made my eyes widen. No, what was I thinking? Leti herself was a lie from the start.
Even if she’d only recently started working as a maid, she must have known about me.
“I did the right thing firing you. It must have been so difficult for the head of a merchant guild to work as a maid.”
I felt no need to be pleasant. Since it had come to this, I decided to say everything I wanted to say before I left.
“Is your name even Leti to begin with?”
“My name is correct. It’s short for Leticia.”
“Ah.”
Honest in the strangest ways. I had no desire to see the sincere side of someone who had betrayed me.
A door opened behind her, and a three-tiered cart was wheeled in. It was an afternoon tea set, complete with tea, macarons, cake, and sandwiches.
After setting everything on the table, Leti spoke cautiously.
“I prepared your favorite tea and macarons, but I’m not sure if they’ll be to your liking.”
It was laughable how she silently endured my cynicism.
*Does she think this will change anything?*
Meanwhile, the bitter fact was that the desserts and tea on the table were the exact same ones Leti used to prepare when she was my maid.
*Let’s get to the point.*
I spoke without even sitting on the sofa.
“Why did you ask to see me?”
“I wanted to tell you how truly sorry I am.”
What kind of nonsense was this? I was so dumbfounded I could only blink, unable to speak.
“Do you think saying that now changes anything?”
I genuinely wanted to know.
“At the very least, I can let you know that my feelings weren’t entirely a lie.”
Selfish words.
I had nothing to gain from Leti’s apology. The only one who would benefit was Leti herself.
“To ease your own conscience? I’d rather never see your face again.”
So she could lessen her own discomfort.
The way she accepted this as if she’d expected it was detestable to me.
“I’m sorry. It’s just… I never considered that the Prince could be wrong.”
This time, her cautious admission that he was wrong brought me no joy. Even in that short sentence, all that stood out was her trust in Ryan.
I recalled the sight of him helping Leti out of the palace.
Ryan was someone who cared deeply for his people. He might have even saved Leti’s life.
“It felt like my world was collapsing, so it was very difficult to admit.”
She tried to explain the situation again, but I didn’t wait.
“Your world seems perfectly intact.”
She might say she acknowledges Ryan was wrong, but she was still serving him.
“None of this has anything to do with me.”
But I didn’t even want to care about that. To me, Leti was now just a pointless waste of emotion.
Because I had trusted her so much, I didn’t want to have any more expectations.
Finally, I decided to ask Leti what I wanted to know.
I had no intention of ever seeing her again.
“How did you bring Darcy to me?”
It would only be fair if I got something out of this, too.
If she had called me here out of selfishness, then I would satisfy my own.
Darcy and I met thanks to Leti. She was the one who introduced him.
But Darcy wasn’t a merchant, and he was a prince who stood in direct opposition to Ryan, the man Leti served.
And at the time, wasn’t he a hidden prince?
“…”
At the mention of Darcy’s name, Leti’s expression instantly hardened. Seeing her stiff face made me feel a little better.
She let out a breath, her face troubled.
“…I apologize for having to say this.”
Leti’s complexion darkened.
“I have no memory of him.”
“…None?”
“Yes, I’m still trying to figure out what happened myself. I suspect it was Sir Darcy’s doing.”
I’d vaguely expected it… It seemed Darcy had brainwashed Leti to meet me.
Otherwise, there was no way Leti, Ryan’s trusted subordinate, would have led Darcy to me.
Darcy was never a merchant to begin with.
The necklace hidden in my dress felt heavy.
This was the first time I’d tangibly felt Darcy use his ability. Seeing that I wasn’t surprised, she tentatively continued.
“Sir Darcy is, as expected…”
“Don’t touch Darcy.”
I warned her.
The back-alley merchant guild mostly dealt in illegal activities. Since it was for Ryan, they would surely try to obstruct Darcy in every way possible.
So it was right to give a warning.
If she had even a sliver of guilt for what she’d done to me, she had to abide by this.
“If you’re truly sorry, then do it.”
Though honestly, it was uncertain if she would.
As expected, Leti looked troubled and lowered her gaze.
“That is not a matter I can decide.”
She spoke as if she had no will of her own.
“I thought I was talking to a person named Leticia, but was I talking to Prince Ryan’s alter ego?”
I pressed her.
“I suppose the prince you so admire thinks it’s fine to do illegal and inhumane things for his lover?”
Despite my continued accusations, Leti offered no excuses, let alone anger. But there was no affirmation either.
“You were by my side, so you of all people should know who kept calling me a villainess even after I changed, shouldn’t you?”
Leti, who had watched me change right beside me for the past year. Leti, who had still betrayed me.
I grabbed the pouch of jewels on the table and offered Leti one last piece of advice.
“Don’t be bound by the past and ignore the present.”
I genuinely hoped she would change.
“Is there anything else? I’d like to go now.”
“…Open the door for her.”
After confirming I was ready to leave, Leti gave the order. Steam was still rising gently from the tea.
I turned my back without a second thought. From behind me, I heard a small but clear voice.
“…It was difficult for me, too.”
Leti had approached me at some point. Her voice was trembling.
It was the same bright face she’d had when she used to serve me.
“…Because the person I believed I would respect my entire life was convinced you were a villainess, but you turned out to be completely different from what I thought.”
I wondered which side was the real her.
The crease between her brows revealed a trace of the anguish she must have felt to bring me here and apologize again.
“It’s contradictory, but from a certain point, I truly began to hope that you would be all right, Lady Marso.”
But her words were no reason for forgiveness.
Words are easy. Apologies, atonement.
“In the end, you won’t be able to show anything through your actions.”
If she couldn’t cut the roots that tied her to Ryan, she would forever be bound to him.
Leti lowered her head deeply.
“…See her out.”
With her somber voice as the last thing I heard, I left.
***
Once I was in the carriage, I finally checked the pouch.
*She wouldn’t have shortchanged me, right?*
I’d been so caught up in our conversation that I hadn’t even checked it. It was a little late, but…
I had a feeling that Leti, who had seemed so sorry, wouldn’t have swindled me.
I decided to trust my impression of her character.
It was just as I thought.
A quick count of the gold coins and jewels inside confirmed the amount matched the market price for the magic stones.
I divided the money into the extra pouches I had prepared.
*Why does someone who works in the back alleys have so much guilt?*
I shook my head, recalling Leti’s final expression.
*There are more important things to do.*
Let’s not worry about Leti anymore. When I eventually clash with Ryan and Darcy, I’ll naturally run into her again.
If we were destined to be enemies, it was best to keep our distance.
Then, I remembered why I’d wanted to exchange the magic stones for money in the first place.
In the village of mages, which would be filled with the elderly, the young, and children, the first group I decided to target—and prepare for—was the children.
I knew how much adults cherished their children.
They are beings who deserve protection simply for existing.
But this was a world where mages were shunned. The remaining mages had even hidden themselves away to escape the constant fighting.
Letting the children go outside was impossible.
This meant they had to live in confinement where they were hiding.
Just like I had.
The things children who were always inside could have were limited. The same went for what they could experience.
Childhood experiences are more important than anything. They play the biggest role in shaping dreams and values.
I could give the children experiences, dreams, and hope.
That was my aim.
*First, I'll buy it all. I can think later.*
I had the carriage stop at the largest toy store in the capital and entered the first floor. As soon as I walked in, the staff, who had been contacted in advance, lined up in a row.
“It’s been a long time, Lady Etoile!”
It was a famous store, one Marso had frequented as a child, and their meticulous consideration in remembering me despite my long absence was impressive.
The time had come.
I placed a pouch into the hand of the store owner who had come out to greet me.
And I declared the line that was always so thrilling to say.
“Everything here.”
The staff, greeting a VIP customer for the first time in a while, began to move about busily.
The other nobles inside stared at me, dumbfounded.
I answered with a victorious smile, then sat on a sofa to leisurely wait for them to finish.
It was the leisure of a winner.
