Chapter 285: Extra Story III: A Wicked Woman Is A Wicked Woman Forever, Part VIII

Editor Group: Liber Reverie

He was a man who had frequently met with Count Roscent on business. Aria remembered seeing him in the mansion several times. Only then did Annie raise her voice, clapping her hands, remembering how many times she had seen him in the mansion.

"My God! I remember him too! But why is he so old? I think it's only been a year...!"

She made a fuss as she hadn't recognized him because he had been looked older for ten years. It was probably because he had been through a lot. He must have run away desperately so as not to be caught.

Jessie also raised her voice as if she remembered. "To think of him, I remember, too! Oh, my God. How is he still in the capital? I thought he would have been punished..."

"So did I. Why didn't he get caught and punished?"

"Well, was the charge light? Maybe it's just a relationship that had been keeping a deal..."

Given the lack of clear memories, it was highly likely that he had been involved in a really insignificant level of work. Maybe that was why he had escaped without punishment. However, if she was determined not to meet him, Aria urged Annie to go out soon.

"Ah, and you can handle this kind of case from now on. If it's not a big mistake, you don't have to report it."

At the very least, it was only a meeting order. It was all right to adjust the order on Annie's position. Aria didn't want to get involved in such trivial matters anymore. Even if mistakes were frequent, there was not much damage.

And since it was Aria who had decided not to play the benevolent Crown Princess anymore, she thought it was okay for Annie to misplace the meeting order and go against the minds of the nobles and other visitors.

"Don't do anything against the law, though. Just act only within my range to save you."

Annie nodded quickly at the remark. That meant that the slightest of the offenses were to be saved. It was good to hear.

"Don't worry! I'll take care of it well, even the work of Viscount Straw, in my position!"

Annie, who gave a bold answer, left the reception room immediately. Then, Viscount Straw who had been waiting for Annie, rushed to her and urged her, "What happened?"

Annie shook her head with her arms folded. "I can't help it."

"How come?"

"You should know that better."

"... What?"

Annie's eyes were very cold. 'You would know your sin very well.' However, as he maintained that he still couldn't understand, she was forced to add an explanation.

"Even though the places were different, you had seen the Crown Princess a lot in the past, so you don't need to even have an interview with her."

"...!" At the words, the eyes of Viscount Straw were bulging out. "Well, that's a thing of the past! I only helped the former Count to make a deal! How can a nobleman not have made a deal with Count Roscent? And as you can see, I wasn't even punished...!"

"You don't think you're forgiven for not being punished, do you? Her Highness the Crown Princess does not want to meet anyone who has been badly involved in the past, so please go back quietly."

"...!"

The head of Viscount Straw, who was making a passionate speech, fell helplessly at Annie's stern answer. He seemed to think it would be okay because he had not been punished.

And he had been given permission... While the disheartened Viscount Straw stood in raptures, Annie went past him and said, "Ah, I'm thirsty. I wish someone would bring it. They're all busy, so I don't have anyone to order."

"...!"

It was like asking him to listen. As a result, the eyes of Viscount Straw were shaking relentlessly. He seemed to be in conflict. It was because he had to give up the pride of the nobility.

But in the end...

"... Wait, wait a minute."

Viscount Straw abandoned his pride and hurried out of the front of the reception room. Not like a nobleman, his steps were very hasty. Annie's mouth slowly rose as she watched in a daze as if she didn't know it would work. The existence of a nobleman was so easy to deal with...

It didn't take long for Viscount Straw to bring a cool drink for Annie.

* * *

"It's more precious than I thought." Aria smiled contentedly as she touched the jewel brought by the jeweler's owner.

It was a precious and beautiful jewel that was rarely seen. The blue-centered color of the jewel, which was mined in the sea, attracted her attention. There were also yellow or red, but the most beautiful of all was blue, which looked like the pupils of Asher's eyes.

Looking at it for quite some time, the jeweler's owner's face had a satisfying smile.

"Is it edible?"

"Yes, it's harmless unless they eat a lot at once."

"If they don't eat a lot..." Aria was in trouble. The price was high, and it would not be enough to eat in large quantities, but it must have been impossible to avoid responsibility if anyone ate in large quantities, just in case.

"What if they eat in bulk?"

"Nothing has been confirmed yet."

"Then set the correct standard. If there's any damage, I'll be held accountable as well."

"All right."

"How much are you going to give to the market? What's the price?"

"I'm going to release it at a very high price. It's a premium by name."

"I see."

It was desirable because when he released it at a small amount at a high price, it would increase the price, and the value would increase and everyone would like it.

"So I hope your Highness will help me make a bigger profit."

"Me? What?" Aria asked back, knowing what he was going to ask.

"I'll give you first all the jewelry I'm going to bring in, and I hope you'll wear it."

'Who else can see great results from promoting as much as the Crown Princess?'

Aria replied, raising her lips when he asked for a promotion instead of offering jewelry.

"Thirty percent of the sales."

"... Yes?"

"Donate thirty percent under my name."

"Donation...? Where...?

"To my facility that I'll build in the future."

When asked to donate thirty percent, the jeweler's owner was in agony. He seemed to calculate how much influence he could have.

Aria continued as if he was foolish, "I already know you're making more than half the profit, so don't pretend to worry about it."

The jeweler's owner laughed that he couldn't help it because he was actually earning nearly sixty percent of the profit. It was not a bad deal because using Aria's reputation, anyway, he would have made more than sixty percent of the revenue. In addition, she was a woman who had made her name known on the continent beyond the empire, so there was a possibility that he could reap the profits he would donate.

"I see. I will do that."

"Please bring the contract next time you visit. You have to fill out everything I said."

"Yes, I'll see you soon after I'll fill out everything. But what kind of facility do you mean that I have to donate so much?"

Jewelry sold at a jewelry store was accompanied by craftsmanship, and the amount was inexplicably high. So thirty percent of the sales must have been a huge sum.

What kind of facilities are they going to spend such a large sum into? Aria replied with a silly smile on her face to a man who seemed to have a dangerous imagination.

"You don't have to worry. I won't allow any dangerous facility. It's the only facility that can keep my place stable right now."

Meeting people's expectations was exactly what Aria chose to keep her place.

Aria built a facility by combining all of her wealth with the maintenance fee of her dignity paid to the Crown Princess. There were three facilities she built, the first thing she planned was a medical institution, followed by a school and the last one was a library. All of these were facilities that were available for free to the commoners. It was another facility than the academy, which required conditions.

For the medical institution, in particular, a huge amount of money was expensed in their medical staff and medicine compared to other institutions, but Aria also had a lot of money in the first place, and people who were willing to donate money poured in from all over the place and she didn't have to worry at all. No, it had reached the point she had to think about receiving whose donation.

"If this keeps going on, they'll say, 'It's better for the Crown Princess to be the Emperor.'"