The Obsessive Male Lead Wants To Become My Husband - Chapter 29

Dozens of different dresses to match each occasion were sent to the dressing room.

Luxurious jewels that seemed to have been robbed from half of the capital’s jewelers.

A villa bigger and more luxurious than any other countess.

Specially imported from the outskirts of the Empire, mysterious flowers and fruits that cost a fortune to transport, and even precious calligraphy and paintings.

All of them were things that the Duke of Brudenell was able to afford, but never coveted.

But, when the Prince of Brudenell was married to the eldest daughter of a count, everything changed.

Evelyn Garneid.

The notoriety that she, merely the heir of the countess, was more extravagant than the princess, quickly spread throughout social circles.

‘I am satisfied.’

I glanced through the socialite newspapers from cover to cover with a half-satisfied smile as there were some that cursed about me.

The daily newspaper did not touch the Duke, Duchess, or Cassius, though everyone knew it. As Cassius’ fiancée, everything I do undermines the prestige of the Duke. So, it might be just a small crack now, although one day, the Duke might collapse.

‘It is pretty fun to spend money.’
​​
I am a person, too.

There is no way I would hate money? Besides, I was able to take advantage of this opportunity to do the things I wanted to do.

Well, for example…

It was pretty fun to collect my favorite paintings.

Among them, there are quite a few works that can be said to be the craftsmanship of the masters that I had seen in the art subjects I learned before possessing, so I often became immersed in memories.

And, above all, of course, the most generous thing I spent money on is…

“Sister!”

Ophelia’s face flushed red.

“Are these really my clothes…?”

“Of course.”

I nodded.

In front of me, Ophelia, wearing a silk dress embroidered with gold and silver threads and fur made of ferret fur, was very beautiful.

“White clothes do not suit me. I ordered them for you.”

“Sister Evelyn…!”

If I had called the tailor and told her to fit the clothes for Ophelia, Ophelia would have refused. So, I reluctantly picked the cheapest fabric.

Fortunately, I knew the exact dimensions of Ophelia.

It was easy to order dozens of clothes for Ophelia from the tailor who came to fit my clothes.

“I heard you were imprisoned for me.”

“It was nothing. Rather, sister…”

“Me?”

I snorted.

“While you were locked up like that, I was walking around freely. Do you know how fun the ship is? I really thought I could live on it for a few years.”

“… But, you are back.”

Ophelia answered in a dark voice and continued.

“Even though you do not want to…”

“You are a fool.”

I smiled, pinching her cheek lightly. I know, obviously, Ophelia and I were both grown-up women, but at times like this, I could not help but look at her as an innocent child.

“I came here because I wanted to. I did not want to run away anymore.”

“….”

Ophelia took off the fur and hung it on her chair. It seemed that unfamiliar clothes were a little uncomfortable for her.

Nevertheless, it does not matter.

Soon, Ophelia would get used to this luxurious life.

Like I did.

“Ophelia, look at me.”

“….”

As she glanced up at me, there was unconcealable anxiety in her eyes. Then, I checked twice or three times to see if anyone was eavesdropping, before whispering into Ophelia’s ear.​​

“I am going to overthrow the Duke of Brudenell.”

“….!”

Ophelia’s eyes immediately widened. She could not even close her mouth or open her mouth properly, and a small sound escaped from her lips.

She was whispering so that only I could hear.

“But, sister, how…”

“I am going to spend money.”

I said it quite loudly this time.

As much as this, it did not matter if they knew everything, including the Duke’s eyes and ears in the Duchy.

“The Duchess told me she would not care how much of the Duke’s fortune was spent.”

This was the opportunity the Duchess had given me. Although she would have said it with disdain for me, I was rather grateful.

Who would have the opportunity to fully enjoy the wealth of the richest and most powerful family in the empire?

Even Cassius will not be able to use it as recklessly as I do.

Of course, if Cassius runs into opposition, he will achieve his own goals by killing his opponents or turning them into vegetative humans…

It was a great merit that I did not have to use such a method.

As I left Ophelia to browse her clothes and jewelry, I then wandered around her room.

It was time to let Ophelia get used to the wealth little by little.

If I ask her to tell me what she wants right now, she would just shed tears of emotions and just say that she doesn’t want anything, which would be completely different from my wishes.

I wanted Ophelia to join me in using the luxury, too.

I was slowly running out of ideas.

Clothes? Jewel? Expensive animals and villas?

Those were nice.
​​
However, simply wasting money was not enough. I had to spend enough money to damage the Duke of Brudenell.

‘I have to start investing, somehow.’

To be honest, it was not that I have not thought of ways to waste money instead of complicated and cumbersome methods like investing—for example, gambling.

‘Unfortunately, it is not possible.’

Gambling was legally prohibited by law.

Of course, the nobles used to do it secretly, too, though this time I might be taken to a mental hospital for certain.

And, Cassius will be delighted since I will never be able to run away from him.

I could not do such a stupid thing.

‘As expected, it has to only be an investment.’

In the past, I was interrupted by the Duchess while trying to find information about her investments. Fortunately, there is now the lovely Ophelia, who always wants to help me.

“Ophelia.”

I turned my gaze towards my sister.

“Can you do me a favor?”

“I will do anything!”

Ophelia seemed happy to be able to help me.

“Can you get me a maid outfit?”

“Yes.”

She nodded her head right away.

“I have a maid who I am friendly with. If I ask, she would give it right away.”

“Thank you, Ophelia.”

As expected of Ophelia.

* * * 

That evening.

I sneaked out of her room in the maid outfit that Ophelia had prepared for me.

Originally, I thought of having Ophelia do this, but it was nonsense that the child, whose striking appearance as her, could do such a thing.

Why is it dinner?

Well, there would be nothing more stupid than sneaking around, pretending to be a maid on a deserted night. Evening hours, when everyone is busiest, would be when you can sneak into the crowd and do whatever you want.

‘There is no way the library has investment-related materials.’

Investing is sensitive information.

Obviously, there may be some books on how to invest successfully. Though I was not interested in such books, my purpose was to ruin the Duke of Brudenell’s wealth rather than inflate it.

‘…Maybe it would be in Duke Brudenell’s personal study.’

It was because Cassius seemed to have no interest in the family’s finances.

Fortunately, this Duchy was much more sloppy than I thought, and I was able to easily obtain the material I wanted.
​​
It seems that the Duke also had no interest in investing either, so he just put the related materials on the bookshelf of his study!

In a way, it felt like I knew the reason.

The Duke of Brudenell was already wealthy, too wealthy.

If he had gotten richer, he would even threaten the power of the Imperial Family. Therefore, there was no need to earn more wealth because more troublesome things would happen.
​​
I quickly skimmed through the investment material.

Even if the Duke was not interested in investing, as much as he had power and wealth, there seemed to be a steady stream of proposals.

There were so many proposals from just a week ago.

‘The worst of these…’

Perhaps, because of the tension, my hands were wet with sweat.

It would be a disaster if I pointed out anything that could give the Duke wealth instead. More importantly, if he came in and saw me, it would be a big deal, so I had to choose and leave before that.

‘Mines? It could be a jackpot… Merchant Ship? It would be the same if you buy pirates and sink them… it might be possible to ruin them like that… No, that is too dangerous. Alchemy Research? No, no. What am I going to do if I succeed?’

Eventually, from a proposal that came in a month ago, I finally found what I was looking for.

Even the Duke thought it was so absurd that he had written it down in red ink.

Definitely fraudulent.

‘This is it…!’

I smiled broadly as I held the proposal in my hand.

Tulip.

Who in their right mind would invest such a huge sum in flowers?
​​
This was a business that was obviously going to fail greatly.

Naturally, I had no intention of blindly investing in tulips.

It would be a big problem if it went up. However, the more I researched, the stronger my suspicion became.

‘This is inevitably going to be ruined.’

I had never seen tulips in the gardens of any noble mansion. I think I have rarely even seen it on the streets.

It meant that the flower was not so preferred.

To import such flowers from the archipelago of the principality located in the southernmost part of the empire at a high cost of transportation… It was a business that should not be done without wanting to go bankrupt.

And, I wanted the Duke to fail!