Chapter 10

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter Title: Chapter 4. That's Why Villains Become Villains (1)

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Jeff Bertrand headed to Madam Harper in the heart of Delmuse after the evening banquet.

The staff had all gone home already, and Rachel, who was still there alone, greeted him.

"Was there a problem?"

"No. It was perfect."

"I thought you were here to complain. So what's up?"

"I need to borrow the office."

Rachel blinked a couple of times instead of answering.

Jeff was an investor in Madam Harper, and the office was empty, so lending it out was no issue at all. Especially since Rachel planned to hole up in the sewing room all night to work on Edelaine's wedding dress.

"Just don't get blood on anything... We just got some high-quality silk from the Tihit Kingdom. It's a special request from Her Highness the Princess, so it can't get ruined. And there's too much to move right now."

"What do you take me for? It's just a talk."

"Then that's fine. Come on in."

Rachel was someone Jeff had met during his time studying abroad in the Tihit Kingdom.

She was a business partner and old friend, and they'd even had something like a brief romance. They'd broken up quickly after realizing neither could put the other first, but Rachel still harbored a bit of lingering feelings.

"Who are you meeting?"

"Rat Pack."

"...What? Fine. Good luck, squeak squeak."

She took it as a sign he wouldn't say more and didn't pry.

Instead, she changed the subject.

"How was the reception for Edelaine's banquet dress? Everyone must've been glued to her, right? Honestly, that was my masterpiece."

"My little sister's just that pretty, of course."

"I'll take that, but say it was thanks to my work too."

"Edelaine looks good in anything."

"..."

"She's even prettier now that she's come back with some color in her cheeks."

"Yeah, true. Edelaine might not know, but I've seen her from afar a few times. I paid extra attention since she's your sister. Never got to say hi, though. Back then, she honestly didn't look healthy. Dark circles under her eyes, all tired-looking."

"The Saintess's miracle does work wonders."

"What, is the miracle some kind of tonic? ...And honestly, I'm still not sure I buy it."

"Believe it, Rachel."

Jeff turned the doorknob to Rachel's office as naturally as if it were his own room. Rachel followed, carrying a candelabrum.

"Anyway, Edelaine's back now."

"That's..."

"What's not to believe with proof right in front of you?"

"It doesn't make sense. The Saintess is amazing, I know that. Everyone does. Without her, we couldn't even breathe on this polluted land. But she's a 'purifier,' not a 'reviver.'"

Jeff shrugged.

"Guess she has that function too."

"Don't talk about the Saintess like she's some machine. She's humanity's treasure."

"She said it herself, straight from her own mouth."

Rachel let out a deep sigh.

"Anyway, you're... Never mind. I'm tired enough without arguing. I've got work, so I'm heading to the sewing room."

"Don't let fatigue drop the quality."

"You're such a bastard."

Rachel shot Jeff a brief resentful glare.

He showered his little sister with sweet words like how pretty she was and how she looked good in anything, but with her, he just spouted blasphemous annoyances. It stung.

But that's exactly why they'd broken up. Rachel had realized she could never be his top priority, no matter what, and ended it first.

Jeff was a ruthless businessman.

He seemed cheerful and sly on the surface, but he never cut anyone slack or missed an opportunity.

He had great instincts and luck, but his real driving force was his cold-blooded decisiveness, untouched by blood or tears.

Jeff, who traveled the continent running his company, only returned to Delmuse around his little sister's death anniversary.

Rachel had even calculated how many more times she'd see him if she lived to sixty. He wouldn't make time for her every visit, so probably just a few dozen at best.

That's why she was truly grateful Edelaine had come back alive.

Jeff acted pretty cheerful around Edelaine and smiled often.

Jeff said,

"Edelaine's the 'real deal,' Rachel."

"Who said otherwise? You think I'd mistake her for some random lookalike? Sure, people can resemble each other, but not down to the bone structure."

Rachel had a sharp eye. She remembered countless customers' features in detail for personalized service.

Jeff had chosen Madam Harper as the meeting spot specifically to have Rachel 'verify' it.

"Even with magic?"

"Magic can't match the exact shade of the irises. Even the same hazel has different tones and saturations... Are you doubting it?"

"No. I believe you."

She figured it could be a convincing body double under hypnosis.

Shane was capable of that much.

'Forget if that bastard would even bother.'

But the Edelaine corpse she'd seen herself wasn't in a coma. No one in the Bertrand Family was dumb enough to fall for such a sloppy lie.

But they'd let it slide because 'how she was alive' wasn't the point.

Edelaine had aged properly.

Five years wasn't long enough for stark aging, but not so short there'd be zero change.

Her neatly trimmed nails, longer hair, faint skin blemishes and marks.

Plus, lying comatose for years would've atrophied her muscles, even if her life was sustained—she couldn't have walked right.

Yet Edelaine walked fine and moved her grown body naturally.

Above all, her eyes.

Those green eyes brimming with clear guilt couldn't hide the truth.

Edelaine Bertrand was bad at lying but soft-hearted. She couldn't ultimately turn away someone clinging to her.

'That's why she picks up all these strays.'

Shane, the young attendant, even the Saintess—they all fell into that category.

Shane probably didn't think the Bertrand Family would buy it either.

The miracle was an excuse to show the world.

He could've told the truth, but Shane judged it more effective if Edelaine believed her 'family was being fooled.'

Guilt was the most effective chain of all.

Emma had caught on too, bursting into tears before Edelaine once a day.

"So what's the problem?"

"Beats me... Not knowing what's wrong is the problem."

"..."

"That's what I'm going to find out from here on."

"...Fine. I'll finish the wedding dress on time."

For someone who loved his sister that much... he didn't seem to mind her getting married at all.

Truth be told, Rachel had been one of those who believed the rumors about Duke Blancard and the Saintess.

Even back then, Edelaine and Shane hadn't seemed close. She'd rarely seen them together.

But whenever Rachel brought up the gossip, Jeff would scoff and say, "If you ever saw Shane up close even once, you'd realize how ridiculous that is."

He made it blatantly obvious he barely saw anyone but Edelaine as human— if you couldn't tell that even after seeing it, you might as well gouge out your eyes.

He'd even revealed that Edelaine herself was the source of those rumors.

Remembering the past, Rachel said goodbye to Jeff.

"I'm off. Take care."

Jeff waved without even looking at Rachel. Whatever he was meeting, she resolved to extract five times the damages if he ruined the princess's silk.

And shortly after Rachel left, a boy slipped in like he was on shift.

It was Lloyd.