The Abandoned Villainess Decides to Take It All Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Jerard was flustered.

Iris was praised even without ever going out on subjugations, purely because of her exceptional craftsmanship.

“Later on, it’s fine if you reveal that the true source was me. At the right time.”

But to think that this had been Lillian’s skill from the very beginning…?

He narrowed his brows and asked,

“…You’re saying Iris Tillard would really buy these drafts? Can you guarantee that?”

“You recognized their value instantly. Do you think Iris wouldn’t?”

“Ha…”

“She’d snap them up without hesitation.”

Jerard fell silent, thinking.

Even if the Second Prince hadn’t known he was affiliated with the Archive, his attitude had been… off.

What if I betray Lillian Tillard midway?

It would be meaningless.

By then, House Tillard would already be humiliated—and sharpening their knives for revenge.

And then Jerard—and the Archive—

Would have to evade not only the First Prince’s faction, Tarandia, and Balthazar,

But also Tillard and Favil.

Facing four of the Five Great Houses was the same as suicide.

Jerard swallowed dryly.

So this is Lillian Tillard.

The stain of House Tillard.
The granddaughter the current head wouldn’t mind dying tomorrow.

It was shocking enough that she was even here—

But to think she had this kind of talent for stabbing people in the back.

…This feels incredible.

He had been tortured, yet strangely, his mood kept rising.

But the moment he unconsciously licked his lower lip—

The dungeon turned noticeably colder.

A very, very chill breeze brushed lightly around Jerard’s neck.

A low, gentle voice echoed.

“Haha, look at that.”

Ebren’s voice came from behind Lillian.

“Flirting so openly—even in a dungeon…”

He smiled brightly, his face looking as if it were carved from silver.

The sight made Jerard’s blood run cold.

Wait—how did he hide his presence?

Jerard hadn’t sensed him in the dungeon at all.

Ebren simply looked on indifferently.

Suppressing his presence for a moment was trivial.

He’d intended to quietly observe what Lillian wanted from this man—

But this was like watching every flower crane its neck toward a butterfly wherever it flew.

Ebren turned his gaze to Lillian.

“You’re done saying everything you wanted to him?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s go upstairs.”

Lillian immediately turned around.

Ebren liked that about her.

She didn’t try to beg for misplaced mercy.
She understood boundaries very clearly.

“Your deal with Lillian is one thing. But you’ve also learned information that’s dangerous for us.”

“Ugh…”

“I can’t let you go without taking precautions.”

At Ebren’s words, Elias stepped forward—

To implement several “measures” to ensure no information leaked.

Jerard had expected that much. He clenched his eyes shut, enduring the pain.

If they let him live well enough to continue Archive work, that alone would be mercy.

…And he still had to work with that young lady, after all.

So surely they’d let him leave intact.

Damn it…

Now then—leave the scary cleanup to the villain.

Lillian finally returned to her real work.

Inside the newly prepared workshop.

Margaret followed as her assistant.

As Lillian examined the materials laid out in advance, Margaret whispered,

“My lady, you said you’d make an artifact to suppress House Tillard.”

“Mm-hm, that’s right.”

“Then… will you be selling Moon’s Blessing?”

“Hm? No.”

Relief spread across Margaret’s face.

Seeing it, Lillian felt slightly attacked.

“…Why? Does it look like no one would buy it?”

It had been a solid bestseller, you know…

It even helped with the mine search…

“No, no! It’s not that it wouldn’t sell!”

Margaret fiddled with the bracelet and whispered,

“It’s just… since it’s only ours. I like that.”

“Heh, is that so?”

That was probably the charm of a first edition.

Those were the kinds of things that later became heirlooms—vintage jewelry passed down to great-grandchildren.

“I’ll sell it later, after improving it.”

Naturally, the best version went to their side.

“This time, I’m making this.”

Last time had been a relatively simple, gender-neutral bangle.

This time, she chose something more labor-intensive.

Margaret’s eyes widened at the sketch.

“Earrings?”

“Yep.”

“So this is how you sketch… how fascinating.”

“Right? Front view, side view, flat view—I draw them all.”

Lillian began sorting through materials.

“They’ll be drop earrings, dangling from the earlobe. They’ll catch the light at events—very pretty.”

“Yes, that sounds—oh.”

Margaret stopped mid-admiration.

“My lady… isn’t this draft mixed up somehow?”

“Nope. It’s not a mistake. That’s one piece.”

“…?”

“You’ll understand when it’s finished.”

Now then—what material to use this time?

For noble-targeted artifacts, gold would normally be ideal.

But gold was too expensive to move casually right now.

So once again, the answer was silver.

Remembering the difference in silver prices between this world and her past life, Lillian brightened.

Add labor costs on top?

“Hehehe.”

The margins were good.

She happily began preparing to heat the metal.

Margaret, holding protective powder, watched in fascination.

“My lady… you look really happy.”

“Yeah. I am.”

Lillian nodded.

“Just thinking about how happy the person who receives this will be…”

“But my lady, is it really okay not to set up a shop?”

“Yeah. I don’t exactly have time to scout land right now.”

“Still… if you spoke to His Highness—”

“Oh no. Absolutely not, Margaret.”

Lillian shook her head.

“I may be assigned to him, but I’m still a retainer. How could I accept an investment that big?”

“My lady…!”

“For now, small-scale is better.”

Margaret, not knowing Lillian’s true thoughts, admired her innocently.

How could someone…

She worries about burdening her lord, and finds joy purely in pleasing the recipient…

She could afford to be greedier.

Meanwhile, Lillian calmly brushed protective coating onto both sides of the silver plate.

A shop, funded by the villain? Please—don’t say scary things.

It’d be a hassle to dispose of when she left.

Still, it was natural for Margaret to wonder.

In Pernies, selling artifacts required a physical “space.”

Not just artifacts—any luxury item needed a boutique.

At the very least, an introduction at a noblewoman’s salon.

A merchant without a name or connections might as well die.

The suffering of small business owners transcended worlds.

“…Hmm. I can find a shop location later. But now isn’t the time for me to be out in public.”

“Then how will you promote this?”

“Let’s start with this.”

It was time—after a long while—

To do some seeding.