Kneel Before The Villain - Chapter 125

“No. There’s no need to do that. And you don’t have to worry about the Lord of Merchant Hermes. He’s not a criminal or an enemy spy.”

 

“How are you so sure?”

 

Stephen asked with a puzzled face.

 

He wouldn’t understand.

 

It would just look like an immature girl falling for flatterers and covering her ears and being stubborn.

 

It was a problem that would quickly be resolved if I just told him that the Lord of Merchant Hermes was actually the eldest son of the Grand Duke of Croix, but I had no intention of revealing a secret that others wanted to hide, nor was I obliged to make Stephen understand.

 

“I do not vouch for the status of the lord of Merchant Hermes. If you still don’t feel relieved, you can send knights with me whenever I go out like now. What else do you want?”

 

“Ah, if that’s it…”

 

His expression contorted for an instant.

 

A look of indignation appeared on Stephen’s face as he remembered something.

 

“It is as the lady said. They say that young master Pline and his peers are talking bad things about the lady.”

 

It was expected from the beginning, and it was something I knew because the news was delivered to me by Merchant Hermes.

 

“Somehow it seemed so.”

 

As he nodded, his face hardened even more.

 

“We must formally protest against the Count.”

 

“Leave it for now.”

 

“They insulted the lady with unspeakable words. But are you thinking of letting it go?”

 

It wasn’t for a day or two that my reputation was bad, but the way Stephen was so indignant, I knew he had heard the rumors for sure.

 

It was related to my behavior, such as clinging to the Crown prince and secretly meeting another man behind the scenes.

 

I wasn’t particularly angry with them because that’s what I wanted to happen.

 

It was only to gain a justification to use the power of the family that I dared to entrust the things I already knew to Stephen once again.

 

However, seeing Stephen get angry on my behalf, I felt a bit strange.

 

“They’re talking behind my back, what are you going to do? Just leave it be for now.”

 

“Even if we’re being generous, they wouldn’t appreciate it at all. Let’s catch them all…”

 

As Stephen continued, his expression became more and more distorted as if his emotions were overflowing.

 

His white-gloved hands were clenched, and a look of rage was on his face.

 

“I never said I would do nothing. I told you to leave it alone ‘for now’.”

 

“My lady, that…”

 

“Don’t worry too much, I’ll take care of it tomorrow. Why don’t you go and get some rest? The servants are whispering that you’re overworked these days.”

 

I replied calmly and tried to walk past him.

 

But Stephen still seemed unwilling to let me go.

 

“As for the Merchant Hermes… it’s not something to be taken lightly.”

 

After Noah visited late last time, he (Stephen) acted hostile to the Merchant Hermes ever since.

 

He was like a leech that persisted in biting and hanging.

 

“Even if it’s not like that, there is no doubt that the owner of Merchant Hermes is a suspicious person. How can you be sure that he will not harm you? By any chance… is the owner a nobleman?”

 

I had to try to hide my surprise inside.

 

Because I couldn’t reveal a secret that others want to hide.

 

Fortunately, it seemed that I was managing my  expression well, Stephen added in a confident voice.

 

“I was wondering if it’s someone the lady knows because you don’t seem to worry.”

 

“Well, Stephen, I’m worried too much about meeting the guest who has been waiting in my house. So get out of the way now.”

 

Perhaps I needed to use my authority since he wouldn’t budge when I said it nicely.

 

I just ignored him and walked past. Stephen didn’t stop me this time either.

 

***

 

When I finally arrived at the parlor, Noah and the servants I hadn’t seen in a long time were waiting for me.

 

When he saw me, he got up and smiled.

 

“Princess, long time no see.”

 

“I know. Long time no see. I haven’t seen you in weeks because you’ve been avoiding me.”

 

I said jokingly, but Noah’s expression darkened.

 

“It’s all because of circumstances…”

 

“Is it because the lord of Merchant Hermes rejected my request?”

 

“Did you know?”

 

Noah looked at me with surprised eyes.

 

As expected, I was right that Elvin had intercepted my request.

 

My heart felt lighter when I was convinced of my guess.

 

“Rather than that, what brought you here today?”

 

“The lord wants to see the princess.”

 

“What’s going on?”

 

“He said he had important news to tell you.”

 

“Important news?”

 

Noah nodded his head with a serious face.

 

“Yes.”

 

“You don’t even know what it’s about?”

 

“Probably something related to Lady Dana’s affairs.”

 

“When can I visit?”

 

“For the Princess, she’s always welcome, but the sooner the better.”

 

“……okay.”

 

I pondered for a moment, then nodded, and Noah’s complexion brightened.

 

Noah took something from the side and put it on the table after a moment of thinking.

 

“This is a gift from the lord of Merchant Hermes. It is a thank you gift for the Princess’s generosity.”

 

What he put out was a bouquet of roses.

 

Its petals were made of gold.

 

“I was struggling to choose a good gift, and I remembered that the princess likes flowers, so I brought them the same color as your eyes.”

 

Noah straightened his shoulders and said with a proud expression on his face.

 

I accepted it with bewilderment.

 

Looking closely at the flowers, not only the petals, but also the stem and leaves were all made of gold.

 

Although it was elaborately made like a flower, it retained the unique coldness and smoothness of metal in the touch.

 

Only a few bottles of medicine returned to gold. In the past, even Roxana was thought to be luxurious, but it seemed a long way to go to keep up with Elvin.

 

***

 

The next day, I went straight to the Hermes.

 

Even though the knights were hanging in clusters, they were only allowed to the main building.

 

After ordering them to wait at the entrance, I followed a servant to the annex.

 

The annex, which I hadn’t set foot on in a long time, was a truly splendid place.

 

In the past, when I didn’t know the identity of the lord of Hermes, I thought it was just a place to receive precious guests, but now that I was back, it seemed to be Elvin’s personal quarters.

 

Come to think of it, when I set foot in this place without knowing his identity, I assumed that the owner of this place must be a very extravagant person with a strange personality.

 

Even now, that thought had not changed.

 

However, what I hadn’t guessed was that Elvin’s extravagance went far beyond what I thought.

 

Well, since you can handle it, you should be able to maintain the upper ranks for several years.

 

When I thought of the presents I had received, I thought that Elvin’s words about not being like this to other guests must be true.

 

“You can go in.”

 

I came to my senses at the servant’s words and looked up to find myself in front of a familiar door.

 

After the servant greeted me politely and left, I knocked on the door.

 

“I’m coming in.”

 

Just as I was about to turn the doorknob, the door was pulled from the inside, and I, who was holding the doorknob, was tilted forward by that force.

 

But before I fell to the floor, someone held me tightly.

 

Although I escaped the accident of bumping my nose on the hard floor, I suddenly ended up in someone’s arms.

 

When I raised my head, of course there was Elvin in front of me.

 

He looked surprised at first, but then smiled mischievously.

 

“What does this mean now? Nice to meet you, or not…….”

 

I hurriedly pushed him away.

 

He meekly stepped back, but the playful smile on his face remained.

 

“You say hello very aggressively.”

 

I did not respond to his playful words and went to the seat prepared for me.

 

Refreshments for two were prepared on the table.

 

I sat down and he also sat across from me.

 

“Did you receive the gift well?”

 

“It was a little too much for a return gift. I heard from Noah, what is important news?”

 

I asked the point right away.

 

“Her Majesty the Empress is releasing people to find the whereabouts of Lady Dana. Her Majesty’s knights are secretly spread all over the capital and are inquiring everywhere, so if we leave it as it is, we will find out where Lady Dana is.”

 

Elvin paused for a moment, stared at me, and asked.

 

“What are you going to do this time?

 

“Does that mean you want to help?”

 

“Of course I want to help. Aren’t we on the same boat?”

 

“On the same boat?”

 

“Did you forget that I helped the princess to spread rumors about the crown prince? How much the Empress cares for her son. If I get caught, my bones won’t be the only thing that will break.”

 

Contrary to what he said, he didn’t look like he was afraid in the slightest.

 

Perhaps because I had seen how he openly ignored the Crown Prince, his words had no credibility at all.

 

In the meantime, the empress had stood by the sidelines when problems arose between Roxana and the crown prince.

 

That was why I sometimes forgot her existence until not too long ago.

 

However, she was not a forgiving person, seeing the Empress had instructed her people to catch Claire.

 

Even in her hiding place, Claire used her admirer to harm me.

 

Even though it was going in the direction I preferred, it was hard to deal with her directly.

 

However, what could be better than that if I could borrow the empress’ hands and get things done without getting my hands dirty?

 

“It’s crazy how the Empress is looking for her so desperately. She can’t let the past go. The rumors had spread so the Empress could find Lady Dana.”

 

“What rumors ?”

 

Elvin raised the corners of his mouth in interest.

 

“They say Claire voluntarily became a mistress of a rich nobleman. Even while she was meeting with the Crown prince, she was secretly having affairs with several men, and she picked one of them and ran away.”

 

Claire would have to keep her eyes peeled as her own reputation was tarnished by the false rumors.

 

If the rumors spread and people believed it to be true, she would never be in society again.

 

Claire must be very angry and resentful as she couldn’t step forward to clear her name because of the Empress.

 

I didn’t care if she went out of her way and took the empress’ wrath, or if she lost her place forever by hiding behind someone like now.

 

As for Claire, she must be upset because she was tied up with someone she was just trying to take advantage of for a while, and she couldn’t do anything about it.

 

However, Young master Pline seemed to like Claire more deeply than I thought.

 

Of course, he must be very angry as well because the reputation of the woman he liked so much had been damaged.

 

I laughed as I recalled how young master Pline, who had been protecting Claire, would react to this incident.

 

“Please keep the fact that she’s at Count Pline’s residence a secret. Because I intend to make it big at the appropriate time.”

 

****

Visit https://1 to read the latest updated chapters and novels.