Meanwhile, I arrived home and immediately hid behind a tree in shock at the scene in front of the house.
"What the heck? Who are they?"
A large crowd had gathered outside the mansion, as if staging a protest.
"Lady Edith Diel!"
"Please open the door! We have urgent matters to discuss!"
They included former investors from the trial and nobles who had once promised early investments. It was a big crowd.
"Looks like they finally realized the rope they were clinging to is fraying."
But the chance to switch sides had already passed after the last meeting. I sighed deeply. This was such a tiresome situation.
Seeing the commotion, Daisy came out and opened the gate.
"Ugh, these people again!"
She stood behind the iron gate with her arms crossed and yelled in a sharp voice:
"I told you! The young lady isn't here!""We know she's here! Edith Diel! Come out and talk to us properly!"
Even though she looked annoyed, I could see a smirk on Daisy’s face.
"She’s really enjoying this."
Unlike her, I found the whole thing annoying and exhausting.
"...Sigh. They’ll keep this up until I go out there, huh?"
I let out a deep sigh from my core. Then I stepped out from behind the tree and revealed myself.
One of the investors saw me and immediately pointed and shouted.
Everyone turned to look at me and then ran toward me in a panic.
"It's Edith Diel!"
"Lady Edith Diel!"
Among them were nobles who had screamed at me during the meeting. How two-faced can people be?
Luckily, Luke, the coachman, blocked them right away. As a former mercenary, he had an intimidating build.
"Hey hey, you can’t be doing this here~"
Luke smiled casually but gave them a subtle warning. Some nobles backed off but then got angry at themselves for being scared of a mere coachman.
"Do you know who we are? How dare a coachman block us!"
"If a knight from our house were here, you’d be crushed!"
I looked at them coldly.
"Idiots. This isn't how you negotiate with someone!"
I held back the urge to give them a lesson in basic decency.
"But why are they this desperate?"
Noble investors usually acted high and mighty. They were used to people begging them for money.
"Unless..."
A thought came to me, and I smiled.
"Wait. I brought something from the trial, didn’t I?""Step aside for a moment."
I gestured for Luke to move and walked up to the crowd.
Thinking I was ready to negotiate, the investors looked relieved.
"Lady Edith Diel! Please give me back my shares!"
"Me too!"
"Please, restore mine as well!""Hold on. Why this sudden change?""I was tricked by the Duke before, that’s all!"
"Exactly! We’re victims too—we were misled!""Ah. So that's what happened.""Looks like they ditched me and invested in Rohat Coffee House instead."
Duke Adelheid’s behavior was disgraceful for a high noble.
But after his loss in court, the Rohat Coffee House would surely suffer. Its value would crash, and the investors would lose a fortune.
"Just how much did they invest in Adelheid’s place?"
Even wealthy nobles were caught up in this. They must have poured in a huge amount.
"Then go complain to the Duke who tricked you.""Well... that’s..."
As expected, they hesitated. Confronting Duke Adelheid wasn’t easy.
"Killian might do it though."
He didn’t seem scared of any backlash from the Duke, judging by how he acted during the trial.
"I never agreed to give up my shares!"
"Me neither! I never said such a thing!"
So now they were coming to argue with me instead.
"Classic bullies — weak to the strong, strong to the weak."
I looked at them with a frosty gaze and blinked as if I had just heard something odd.
"Share transfers require investor approval. But didn’t you all sign the documents yourselves?""W-Well, yes, but..."
"But?"
"We didn’t expect this to happen!"
They were babbling nonsense with pitiful expressions. Shameless. I let out a small laugh.
"If you want to fight over shares, go ahead and submit a lawsuit."
I had no reason to avoid a trial. I’d obviously win.
In fact, I could countersue them for false accusations and get a huge settlement.
"Wow, this might actually be a profitable business opportunity."
I smiled brightly and said,
"Would you like me to tell you where to file the complaint?""..."
I could escort them there right now if they wanted.
The crowd went silent. They must have realized what I was really saying.
I pulled out the magic orb I had behind my back and pressed a button.
The orb played a recording of their earlier conversation.
- “I was tricked by the Duke before, that’s all!”
- “Exactly! We’re victims too—we were misled!”
I had taken this orb from the trial as evidence—and now it came in handy.
The nobles went pale.
I gave them a gentle smile and waved the orb in front of them.
"If you don’t leave now, I’ll send this straight to Duke Adelheid.""The exit is this way, dear guests."
Luke, understanding my intent, cheerfully pointed them toward the gate. The nobles quietly left.
"Seriously, they were so loud earlier! I guess money makes people forget all their manners."
Daisy shook her head, watching them leave.
"Yeah. Which is why we need to save money too—so we don’t get crushed by the Duke someday.""But before that..."
I smiled and added:
"How about a grand dinner to celebrate our victory?""If you spend like that, when will you ever save? Should I call some private chefs?"
Even Daisy, despite her words, smiled a little. I smiled back.
"Sure. Let’s eat like royalty today."
Elisa, who had lost the trial, paced around her room, anxious.
"I can’t believe we actually lost!"
What shocked her more than the result was that Killian Orpheo was backing Edith Diel.
"Is that why she looked so confident?"
Elisa bit her nail, frowning.
"This can’t go on."
She needed to do something—anything.
"That’s it!"
Her golden eyes lit up.
The Cornelli twins were famously obsessed with Stella. They gave her everything she wanted.
Once, when Stella wanted to hear music from the western kingdom of Glenna, they brought Glenna’s royal orchestra to her.
It was strange that the twins hadn’t touched Edith yet.
"All I need to do is provoke them."
—Knock knock.
A maid came in with a message.
"Lady Elisa, the Cornelli twins are here to see you."
Elisa froze.
Why now?
She had that question for a moment—but since she had already planned to use them, her mood quickly lifted.
"I’ll be right there."
She walked to the garden where the Cornelli twins were waiting.
They had gorgeous rose-colored hair and green eyes like fresh leaves. Their upturned eyes made them look both cute and dangerously seductive.
"Oh my, Elisa. All alone?"
Natalie blinked her long lashes at her.
"Where’s your fiancé?"
Lawrence mentioned Richard casually, sipping his tea. Despite his laid-back tone, everything he did screamed noble arrogance.
Elisa, lifting her teacup to match them, paused.
"Richard..."
After the trial, unlike the other angry people from House Adelheid, Richard had acted strangely.
At first, he looked shocked—then like someone who had eaten something weird.
"Don’t tell me… you've fallen that far?"
Especially when Caleb taunted Edith… Richard’s eyes...
Elisa bit her lip.
Yes—he had looked genuinely angry.
Even though he shouldn’t have been.
Even though he must not.
