“What?! …C-Count?”
Count Florette glared at Hasan and spoke arrogantly. “You’re not worthy to teach my daughter. Forbidden magic, my ass. Do you think my daughter is someone like you?”
Of course, it would be difficult for Hasan to find employment anywhere in the future.
* * *
Certainly, Count Florette had protected me by strictly separating Mariposa and me and driving Hasan away. This was quite different from the past Giselle, who had lost opportunities to encounter him and was despised as lowly and stupid for merely breathing. But…
[Giselle Florette ‘Steal’ Count Sahara’s Relics?]
[While the exact nature of Count Sehera’s relics is unclear, it’s obvious that having them fall into unqualified hands will cause great controversy… (continued)]
[Interview with Hasan, the Magic Tutor Unjustly Expelled from a Certain Family!]
[She was truly a foolish young lady. Now I’ve lost all my means of livelihood… (continued)]
Fuming with anger, I gripped the daily newspaper labeled [Daisy Gossip] and smiled sinisterly. “Wow, the articles make it sound like I’m the one who did something wrong?”
This probably meant that the female lead’s buff—no, the unjust persecution rule—that the author of [Will You Regret It When I Die?] mentioned was being applied well. Of course, as the female lead of the regret novel, I had naturally expected some minor obstacles. If I thought the ‘unjust persecution rule’ would be resolved by just moving around moderately within the family, I’d be underestimating regret novels too much.
After waiting a few more days, I confirmed that the false rumors about me weren’t being corrected. It seemed I needed to twist this damn novel once more and on a bigger scale.
Nothing’s better than adding a new tag to twist a story. I suppose I should add the new tag ‘contract marriage with a villain.’ Plus, it’s a great opportunity to make some big money and get good potions while I’m at it.
With such grand ambitions, I arrived at the office of the prestigious wizard family, the House of Duke Kalinos. I handed the parchment I had neatly prepared at home to Duke Kalinos and declared: “I’ll do it—the marriage.”
[Giselle Florette, Record of Troubles Within the Family]
- The tea party disturbance incident
- Relic Incident
From the table of contents to the detailed attachments, everything was included.
As Duke Kalinos meticulously reviewed my incident report, he looked impressed. “What is this… You’ve organized it so thoroughly.”
“Ah, yes.”
“From article clippings to your own PR, and even a clear structure with a beginning, middle, and end.”
The truth is—Yesterday, while I was compiling the report to highlight my capabilities to Duke Kalinos, I put down my quill after a simple summary, and suddenly, the heirloom necklace my father gave me started to glow near my neck. And then, in an instant, it began to edit and refine the text I had written all on its own!
So this is the hidden function Count Florette mentioned my father had left behind! This disguise magic tool necklace wasn’t just for altering appearances. It could also transform text into something neat and stylish! Moreover, the mana consumption for text transformation was much less than for appearance changes.
The problem is…
“This is the most perfect document work I’ve ever seen. Have you ever been appointed as an administrator?”
…Perhaps it was just that my father was too good at magic?
I hurriedly responded to Duke Kalinos’s words. “Um, no.”
“Then you must be a god of language. No, a literal god.”
What’s with this guy? He suddenly became oddly respectful. And he was genuinely impressed. At this point, it was becoming overwhelming.
“Well, yes. I might be a god. In fact, it’s not easy to find someone this competent.” With that being said. “As the god of language, I’d like to add two conditions to our contract marriage.”
“What are they?”
There’s a saying that a gentleman’s revenge is never too late, even after ten years. But for the female lead of a regret novel, revenge must be as swift as possible.
“Please use your authority to shut down [Daisy Gossip].”
“…And the reason?”
Because I’m annoyed.
[Daisy Gossip]—the newspaper that accused me of stealing my father’s keepsake and published Hasan’s interview! How dare they insult me? I’m not that forgiving.
But I gave a perfectly justifiable reason with confidence. “As the god of language, I find their writing so poor that it warrants being shut down.”
Duke Kalinos nodded, clearly convinced. “Understood. What’s next?” To agree to suppress the press so casually truly befitting the highest rank in a class society.
I smiled with a knowing grin. “Could you make an advance payment?”
From my part-time job experiences, I’ve learned to have a deep-rooted distrust of society and that contracts and advance payments are essential. That’s why I went through the trouble of proving my skills with documents and negotiating.
Recognizing my competence, he nodded in agreement. “I’ll make an advance payment.”
How generous. In my experience, employers like this tend to be very good people.
“Let’s review the detailed contract immediately. First, the contract period?”
“The contract period is one year. I want my family to be so sick of the idea that no one ever mentions the word ‘marriage’ again.”
I quickly made a mental note. “Understood. Being a troublemaker is my specialty. But I have one request.”
“What is it?”
“Please add a special clause to protect my life.”
I’m planning to be a massive pain in the ass. What if someone gets so angry with my antics that they try to assassinate me?
“…I’m curious about how dangerous your actions will be.”
“For the amount I’m being paid, I’ll make sure it’s worth every coin—real chaos.” I furrowed my brow dramatically to showcase my troublesome nature.
He nodded briefly in admiration. “Of course, I’ll protect you, and we’ll draft the contract.”
“Yes, Master… I mean, Lord. I’ll cause enough trouble and chaos to your satisfaction.”
It was a perfect contract agreement.
Let’s see. This is actually great. I can cause chaos in front of them and pull off tricks behind their backs, right? Earn 5 billion by causing chaos in front of my in-laws, while in secret, I’ll help the Kalinos family bring down the regretful male leads and Mariposa, using disguise magic, and earn more money in this process. …And while I’m at it, I’ll secretly steal their potions and increase my magical powers. That would be perfect.
Being a troublemaker, as the client demands, can be quite entertaining. The further this novel strays from being a regretful story, the better it is for me. And the duke continued to say things that suited me just fine.
“Regardless, even if you become the duchess, there won’t be any specific duties for you.”
“Oh.”
“I’ve already established a system to manage the family’s affairs. My late brother’s son is already the heir. It means I don’t need to marry or produce an heir.”
Perfect. However, there was still one thing that bothered me.
“Just one last question, if I may.”
“Ask as much as you want.”
“It’s a personal question, but… why aren’t you interested in getting married?”
Having a wife on paper wouldn’t greatly inconvenience the duke or his family. But there must be a reason why he’s willing to hire me for 5 billion.
“Marriage is an extremely inefficient affair.”
“…”
“It would mean wasting time every day on unnecessary obligations. Sharing a bed with someone I don’t desire. Having to produce an heir like a breeding horse. Besides, a loveless marriage goes against the ethics of a researcher.”
What is this scientific mindset? I couldn’t understand why researcher ethics suddenly came into play.
There seems to be some secret. Well, does it matter? It’s worth taking a gamble.
“Understood, Mas—I mean, Lord. Let’s proceed right away!” I curved my eyes slightly and flashed a ‘troublemaker smile.’
“Before that, to get married, we need the consent of the blood relatives and the approval of the senate.”
“Hmm…”
“For now, don’t worry about the blood relatives’ consent. It’s not strictly necessary.”
Typically, the marriage of someone as high-ranking as a duke involves a complex process requiring the decision of the family’s senate, blood relatives, and the emperor. The Kalinos family possesses a territory that borders the land of monsters. Because of this, the heads of the family often meet an early death on the battlefield against these creatures. As a result, the marriage of the head of the Kalinos family is handled simply and flexibly with the agreement between the duke and the senate.
“However, the senate might pose a problem. There are ten members in total. Five of them always agree with me.”
“So you’re still one vote short of a majority?”
“Exactly. Here is the list of the five who have refused consent.”
Wait, he’s already prepared a list? I was impressed by his thorough preparation and widened my eyes as I looked at the list.
[Head of the Senate, Hennessy Kalinos]
It would be best to target the leader, the head of the senate, wouldn’t it?
