Please Don’t Come To The Villainess’ Stationery Store! - Chapter 52

We sat face-to-face with the table between us. I sat on the inside, and Carat and Mathieu sat across from me.

Carat rushed in, opened his beak-like lips, and spoke.

“Isa, no, Mathieu is single! There is absolutely nothing wrong with meeting.”

As soon as Carat finished talking, he drank his tea and calmed down.

‘Aha.’

I nodded.

“So to speak, you’re back to being single.”

“P-pft!”

Tea spewed out of Carat’s mouth.

The man named Mathieu calmly handed Carat a handkerchief and continued to speak neatly.

“…Just call me Mathieu. I heard you need an escort and a partner.”

“Ah, yes. But…could I perhaps know your identity?”

Although I received Carat’s introduction, I couldn’t help but doubt when there are many enemies.

He may be a noble, but I’ve never heard of the name Mathieu.

‘I probably don’t know him since he’s an Academy professor.’

I looked at him, recalling Carat’s face as he emphasized that he was an Academy professor and a reliable man.

Henry’s father, no, Mathieu, spoke, staring at the steaming teacup at my mouth.

“I have the title of a Count. I am also doing research at the Academy. I returned to the capital only recently, so you probably don’t know me.”

Carat awkwardly affirmed, rolling a black ruler.

“Uh, mhm. That’s right. He does a lot of research.”

He unbuttoned his shirt, and the skin peeking out was distracting.

I turned my eyes away in a hurry.

Strangely, looking at that face makes me lose my mind. Whenever I saw the handsome Dominique, I thought my eyes leveled up, but I guess that was not the case.

When I said nothing, Mathieu spoke with a soft smile.

“If necessary, I’ll send you documents proving my identity.”

“Yes. Then send it to Mel’s Stationery Store in front of the academy.”

I answered with a nod.

I can check the documents he sends with Dominique at the stationery store and see if he’s Hildegart’s or not.

‘I’ll have to call those three out, too, to check.’

As the world is booming, you have to beat the stone bridge and cross it.
(T/N: This basically means look both ways before you cross.)

‘But…looking again, handsome is the only thing that I can say. How is that kind of person a professor?’

No, Meldenique. Wake up.

That man is a man with a child. This is business.

‘Get a hold of yourself.’

I squinted, so I wouldn’t see his exposed body through his shirt.

Damn it, I think I can see it better with my eyes squinted.

Whether he knew how I felt or not, he folded his eyes into half moons.

“I’m really looking forward to the ball. I heard that the thief who stole my stuff is going to the ball.”

“…a thief?”

“Yes.”

With his short reply, I tilted my head to his curious words.

Stealing from the aristocracy, he must be a big deal.

***

At that time.

Duchess Hildegart Vaveloa was temporarily detained in the mansion.

Because of her failure, the Duke ordered her to stay away for a while.

She was free and comfortable, except, of course, she wasn’t allowed outside.

This time, Hildegart lost a lot. She lost Duke Vaveloa’s trust, and her close ally, Viscount Telin, disappeared.

In a harsh atmosphere, Hildegart took a sip of her tea.

She was taking in the Duke’s wrath with her whole body.

“Just what kind of disgrace is this!”

The Duke’s roar resounded loudly.

“You spent all that money to buy a useless phantom stone? You donate that for free? Are you out of your mind?”

Hildegart bit her lip.

‘You gave your approval because you thought it was a good plan.’

You blame everything on me because it failed. You’re my husband, but you’re such a mean man.

“…it was a painful mistake.”

“Ha. It’s because you’re so stupid!”

Of course, his anger was understood. It’s because the damage that the phantom stone caused was enormous.

It was not difficult to pay for the Vaveloa family, a great conglomerate, but for Duke Vaveloa, every penny of that money was precious.

On top of that, nothing came out from paying that much money.

It was painful to be deprived of the phantom stone.

Hildegart bit the inside of her mouth.

“I fired Viscount Telin for the mistake. He has been reported missing.”

She was going to turn everything over to Telin’s incompetence.

However, Duke Vaveloa was not able to tolerate a single failure because of his narrowness and stupidity.

“Telin or whatever, you stay low for a while, okay?”

He folded his arms and made a frustrated sound.

“…yes.”

Hildegart replied quietly.

“Meldenique, maybe that child has a power? There are rumors that her curse wasn’t lifted.”

The Duke, who had been lost in thought for a while, talked about the rumors circulating in society. She is from the blood known to be cursed by a dragon. He thought she would obviously be useless. But the story would be different if she has an ability.

His mind began to spin busily.

“No, she seems to have a wizard.”

Hildegart shook her head quietly.

But the Duke spoke loudly, regardless.

“What do you mean a wizard? How can she hire a wizard in her circumstances?”

He gave Meldenique money when she left the mansion, but it wasn’t enough to hire a wizard.

“But I’m not sure whether she has an ability or not.”

Hildegart covered her twisted mouth with her red fingernails.

She recalled her conversation with her daughter, who she conversed with over video yesterday.

‘Mother, Meldenique… even if she awakened an ability, she’ll die anyways.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Exactly that. Mother wouldn’t know. Of the Kinnoa blood, why is there no one but Meldenique?’

‘Because of the curse. But it’s clear that she’s lifted the curse. I saw it! We could be in danger-.’

‘Ahh… I wonder. Meldenique definitely got mana.’

Sheria smiled so innocently that it was strange.

‘I’ll be right back. When the excommunication trial is over. I’ll see you then. And then, Meldenique…’

‘Child, what the hell is going on?’

‘She will die. Because of the dragon.’

She was wearing a priest’s uniform and had a white sword in her hand.

It seemed as if she was going to stab Meldenique to death with the sword.

It was a day when something changed for her daughter.

While Hildegart recalled her conversation with her daughter, Duke Vaveloa was smiling and complimenting himself satisfactorily.

“Fortunately, it’s before the excommunication trial, so I need to bring her back.”

Duke Vaveloa began to murmur quickly and weighed the profits and losses.

Hildegart couldn’t help but sneer at him as he changed his attitude like flipping his palm over after just one success or failure.

A little later.

Duke Vaveloa sprang up and left the parlor.

Hildegart, looking at his back, clenched her teeth with a frightening face.

He schemed to kill those who blocked his way, and destroy those who wanted to break his will.

It was a solid castle. This meant that it was not a sand castle that would collapse from just one blow from Meldenique.

She will never take away what’s hers.

‘Yes, the excommunication trial. There’s not much time left.’

Now that this happened, she had to make sure Meldenique is excommunicated.

Hildegart recalled the small amount of money she had.

‘I’m going to have to lobby. I’ll make sure of the excommunication.’

After Meldenique is excommunicated and no longer a noble, she’ll kill her. It’s easy to touch something that’s not a noble.

‘…wait, if it’s known that Meldenique is useful, Duke Hesman would not stand still.’

Duke Hesman was strangely obsessed with Meldenique.

The sight of the two showed that he had no feelings for Meldenique, but when a break up was mentioned, he hated it. It was like he was really going to marry Meldenique.

Hildegart opened her bloodshot eyes towards the closed door.

‘Don’t tell me, you dare betray my daughter?’

The best groom in the Empire had to be her daughter’s.

She became even more nervous.

‘The excommunication trial needs to be moved up.’

No matter how crazy it is, once she’s excommunicated, it’s all over.

It’s obvious for a woman who is deprived of her title as an aristocrat.

‘Death.’

Hildegart laughed and leaned against the sofa.

At that moment, someone knocked politely on the Oval Office.

“Duke Hesman has visited.”

“Tell him to come in.”

Hildegart replied quickly.

After a while, Duke Hesman entered the drawing room.

‘He’s angry.’

Entering with an angry face, he sat on the sofa opposite of Hildegart.

Hildegart looked at him with a frown.

“…welcome.”

“What exactly is going on? It’s hard to believe that Meldenique used an illusion trick.”

His eyes were bloodshot, perhaps because he didn’t sleep well.

Hildegart whispered lowly.

“It’s that exactly.”

“..Are you sure? ‘That’ can’t be true. It is known through generations that the blood of that family cannot use mana. How could that woman!”

Duke Hesman sitting in front of her looked quite nervous and insecure.

“We’ll have to figure out how Meldenique did the illusion trick.”

Hildegart, who saw Duke Hesman wipe his dry face, rang the bell on the table and called in a servant.

“Take Duke Hesman out.”

A searching gaze between the two intertwined.

Duke Hesman rose to his feet. His arrogant face was filled with displeasure and nervousness.

Suddenly, Hildegart wondered what Duke Desman was dreaming of.

Her intuition was speaking. Surely, he looked more endangered than ever before.