64

The red eyes, filled with sleepiness, seemed somewhat gentler than usual.

“My throat is dry.”

“Mm…”

Dante, with a response or perhaps a teasing sound, rested his head on my bare thigh.

Then he whispered quietly.

“Just stay like this… a little longer.”

With those words.

Dante fell soundly asleep again.

“…”

His face, quietly closed eyes, seemed almost helpless, like that of a young boy.

As I silently looked down at Dante, I felt a strange sense of unease.

‘Definitely… it’s different from the original.’

I reconsidered Dante’s actions.

For me, who should have been treated as nothing more than a plaything, he hosted a debutante ball.

He took me to the Diorlance Club, frequented by social elites.

And, just because I felt insulted, he confronted the second prince, a member of the imperial family.

‘…This is not normal.’

Dante is showing a kindness towards me that should only be reserved for the female protagonist of the original work.

The only issue is that I can’t predict how Dante’s inexplicable kindness will affect my escape.

“…”

The feeling of being forced to take a jewel that I shouldn’t have and the anxiety of not knowing when the owner would come to retrieve it made my heart turn cold.

3. In the Burning Twilight

After the events at the Diorlance Club, several things happened. Rumor has it that the Emperor was quite furious.

[How can you behave so rudely towards the son of Emperor in front of others!]

Even though he was aging and securing his position, the Emperor’s anger still pierced like a blade.

[No matter how lacking that guy may be, he’s still Emperor’s son!]

However, Dante did not bat an eyelash.

[I’m sure the Second Prince is very pleased.]

Rather, he playfully scratched the Emperor’s insides while smiling round and round.

[Because there is a father who loves the Second Prince so much.]

[What did you say?!]

[Just that the Second Prince mentioned that people should each uphold their own principles.]

Looking at the wide-eyed Emperor, Dante shrugged his shoulders as if teasing.

[If you’re parents, shouldn’t you at least pretend to love your children equally? Isn’t that the parents’ code of conduct?]

[Marquis Offenheir!]

Whether the Emperor liked it or not, Dante continued with his words.

[If you wish, I will apologize to the Second Prince. However…]

In the red eyes staring at the Emperor, a mischievous delight twinkled.

[Due to some hurt feelings, I might unintentionally loosen the leashes of the organizations I control…]

[Are you threatening the Emperor right now?]

[Well, I don’t know.]

Whether it was a threat or not, Dante continued with his words.

Dante, who had pretended to hesitate for a moment, smiled brightly.

[Yeah, you could say it’s a threat.]

[Marquis!]

…And so the argument went back and forth.

Although it was said that the Emperor was about to collapse from anger and seizures, in reality, there were no significant sanctions imposed, so it seemed that they couldn’t really touch Dante this time.

Instead, the Second Prince came to Dante.

[I’m really sorry about what happened at the club this time.]

Bowing deeply, he shamefully apologized, and the rumor of his apology spread like wildfire.

Anyway, time flowed like water.

Before I knew it, a whole year had passed, and summer had returned once again.

Dante was busy expanding his business in all directions.

I, on the other hand, had quite a grip on the boarding school.

Furthermore, the deal I had proposed to Benedict was a considerable success.

<Palazzo, the Spice from Schmaikel Dominates the Empire!>

It was headline news on the economic section of the newspaper.

As I unfolded the newspaper, I carefully read through the article beneath the headline.

<Schmaikel’s top-end spice, Palazzo, ambitiously launched by the upper class, has started cultivation in the Glenndale region of the northern empire. As soon as Palazzo entered the market, it began to overwhelmingly push out Quinnes, making the latter pale in comparison to its rich flavor despite its name as the ‘Black Gold.’ Currently, Palazzo is gaining high popularity among both commoners and nobles, based on its relatively low price and abundant aroma. According to a survey by the newspaper, about 80% of the imperial citizens are known to use Palazzo…>

‘Well, not bad.’

After reading the article carefully, I folded the newspaper with a satisfied expression and set it aside.

The Palazzo business had truly hit the jackpot.

Quinnes had been a luxury spice used mainly by nobles.

Palazzo, on the other hand, had a flavor almost identical to Quinnes but was priced at a third of the cost.

This made it affordable even for commoners.

Moreover, in the process of introducing Palazzo, Benedict had put quite a bit of thought into it.

He had supplied Palazzo for free to Leventra, a restaurant that was the most popular in the area.

After directly comparing Palazzo with Quinnes at Leventra,

[Palazzo has a flavor that is in no way inferior to Quinnes.]

He guaranteed the quality of Palazzo and added,

[From now on, our Leventra restaurant will use Palazzo instead of Quinnes.]

… made together with the bombshell declaration.

Whether Benedict had lobbied from behind or if Palazzo truly possessed such flavor, or perhaps both, I couldn’t say.

Branded as “a fragrance certified by Leventra,” Palazzo flew off the shelves as if it had sprouted wings.

Shumichael’s Top left an immense impact, and I, too, received considerable profits.

With just the profits I received, I could pass as one of the wealthiest in the estate.

‘This is excellent.’

The day of my escape from the boarding school.

At least I wouldn’t be held back due to lack of funds.

But then, a sharp knock.

“Come in.”

I replied nonchalantly.

A maid entered, bowing deeply towards me.

In her hands were bundles of packages.

“Miss Elze, your mail has arrived. Oh, and the pie you ordered too.”

“Leave them there.”

“Yes.”

The maid placed the bundles on the table and bowed once again before retreating.

I gazed down at the pie box absentmindedly, then opened the lid.

A sweet fragrance wafted up to my nose.

‘It’s not cherry pie today.’

Instead, inside the box was a pecan pie, its surface glistening with moisture.

Seeing it wasn’t cherry pie, there didn’t seem to be any special news.

I hadn’t visited the pie shop anymore.

To be precise, I pretended to be a regular, periodically ordering pies, but I didn’t conduct business there directly.

Instead, I would send the maid to buy them and communicate through hidden notes in the pies.

Ever since I almost got caught by Dante, I felt I needed to be more cautious.

Well, the effort seemed to have paid off to some extent…

‘It seems I’ve gained a fair amount of trust from Dante.’

Dante had been entrusting me with overseeing most aspects of the boarding school recently.

Of course, he checked in regularly and sometimes sent Liam to see how things were running at the boarding school.

Still, entrusting me with the overall management of the boarding school, apart from just student management, was a significant gain.

For example…

I glanced over one of the letters I had received and raised an eyebrow.

‘A letter like this.’

It was a rare request for resignation.

Written in a stiff hand on luxurious stationery, the sender’s name was inscribed:

<Acting Steward for Count Martin, Gary Baker.>

Gary Baker had been Count Martin’s butler.

And now, the butler had become the acting steward for Count Martin, and a resignation request from Brigitte had arrived under the acting steward’s name…

‘It’s time.’

I smirked sharply.

Yes, it was time for Brigitte to return to her place.

* * *

I attended the afternoon tea time at three o’clock for the first time in a long while.

The transparent sunlight pouring in through the spacious windows.

The elegant music flowing softly from the speakers.

Students occupied various plush sofas, enjoying sophisticated pastries and fragrant black tea while engaging in conversation.

The scene wasn’t much different from what I had seen before.

Except for one thing.

That was Brigitte.

“Have you seen the flowers blooming in the garden? They’re so beautiful.”

“Count Martin’s wife mentioned it, so I think I’ll go take a look.”

She was actively leading the conversation, unlike before.

Her expression was bright, and her voice lively.

Contrary to the depiction in the novel, Brigitte’s spirit seemed quite healthy.

It was because I had carefully looked after her during her stay at the boarding school, ensuring her mental well-being didn’t deteriorate.

And now.

‘It’s time to reap the fruits of that labor.’