The Abandoned Villainess Decides to Take It All Chapter 41

Chapter 41

After the Meeting

Kyle’s hands trembled with rage.

His mother, the Empress Dowager, had always been the one to make the important decisions.

So this time, when he led the knight order himself—

I wanted it to be my decision.

Instead, he had only humiliated himself. Worse, his influence in the capital had weakened, at least for now.

Damn it.

Even after leaving the meeting hall, his anger refused to settle.

Just then, Iris Tillard, who had accompanied the family, hurried over to him.

“Your Highness! Your Highness, are you alright? Your complexion—!”

“Iris.”

His voice cut through her words.

“What exactly have you been doing lately?”

“…!”

Iris’s face instantly flushed bright red.

“I–I don’t understand what you mean. Your Highness, why are you looking at me like that…?”

“The newspapers are full of talk about Mariposa.”

At that, Iris bit her lip.

The news had already wounded her pride enough.

“How long has it been since Madame Rochette last wrote about you?”

“B-But, Your Highness…”

“Bring me results, Iris.”

It was nothing short of a scolding—

All because of a single butterfly.

After Returning from the Palace

After returning from the palace, Iris locked herself inside the Iris Florent boutique and cried her heart out.

“I hate everyone!”

She had just been scolded by Prince Kyle, yet not a single person had come to comfort her.

Normally, her grandfather or Kuern Tillard would have been there immediately.

They would tell Iris not to cry, shower her with gifts, and even slip her some spending money.

But this time, no one came.

All because the First Prince had spoken a few words during the meeting. Everyone was terrified.

In the end, desperate for comfort, Iris summoned Karkin Favil.

“This is terrible! It’s really terrible, Karkin…!”

“Iris.”

Karkin spoke softly, trying to calm her.

“You know how Prince Kyle is. He’s extremely particular.”

“Sniff… but comparing me to that cheap thing…”

Truthfully, every time Iris looked at the newspapers these days, her heart twisted.

That artifact creator Mariposa, who had appeared out of nowhere like a comet.

Especially when she read Madame Rochette’s article, jealousy nearly drove her mad.

She hadn’t felt this kind of envy since the first time she met Lillian Tillard as a child.

Madame Rochette had written:

“I once believed I was someone who introduced trends to the world.
Yet perhaps I myself had been trapped by conventional thinking.

Mariposa was a truly refreshing shock.”

What was so amazing about making two earrings with different designs?

If she had been given the chance, Iris could have thought of it too.

But the article continued.

“That beauty, that perfect harmony, that bold perspective.
Yet its brilliance lies not only in appearance.

This artifact can be used by ability users from A-rank to C-rank.
Within it shines the spirit of protecting ability users.

Who in the world is Mariposa?
And when will they appear again?”

The entire capital, Meltant, was in an uproar every day over the mysterious creator’s identity.

Who could it be?

I’ve never seen anyone receive praise like this.

Where can we even buy it? Are they planning to sell it?

To think such an incredible creator exists outside House Tillard—ahem!

“What am I supposed to do…?”

Iris muttered anxiously, recalling a recent social gathering.

The reception to her latest artifact presentation had only been lukewarm.

Her next pieces had to be better.

But recently Ramio Tillard had been acting strangely.

“Uh… I’ll be going to the capital soon… but what can I do? Lillian says she can’t think of anything either.”

Seeing Iris’s gloomy expression, Karkin smiled faintly.

“Actually, Iris. Since I thought you might be having a hard time, I brought someone I’d like you to meet.”

“Someone?”

“Yeah. Come in.”

Karkin puffed up proudly.

He only knew about this through family connections, but introducing the man made him feel rather important.

A dark-brown-haired man with the air of a seasoned businessman stepped into the room.

“Greetings, Lady Iris.”

“You are…?”

“My name is Sebastian. I do not use a surname, so please address me however you like.”

Karkin snapped his fingers.

“This guy works with Archive. It’s one of the more useful information guilds.”

“An information guild…!”

Iris’s eyes sparkled.

It sounded strangely exciting.

“But Karkin, how can he help me? Don’t they just sell things like monster subjugation reports or investment tips?”

“Now then, Lady Iris.”

Sebastian smiled smoothly as he opened a leather trunk.

“Of course we deal in those things. But when it comes to investment, we naturally deal in art as well.”

“Art…?”

“For example, artifact design drafts like these.”

“…!”

“There are more talented creators than you might expect who urgently need money, Lady Iris.”

Flip. Flip.

Sebastian spread several design drafts across the table.

“These have already been verified by Archive. What do you think?”

“…Th-They’re not bad.”

In truth, they were far better than not bad.

Since Lillian—

This was the first time she had seen designs she liked this much that also considered functionality.

If those creators had been born in Iris’s position, they would already be living comfortably.

Being born well is a kind of talent too. What can you do?

But as she studied the designs, a thought suddenly crossed her mind.

If I use these… won’t it cause trouble later?

And if she eagerly accepted them, wouldn’t she look pathetic?

Like she couldn’t do anything on her own.

So Iris handed the drafts back with a proud expression.

“Thank you for showing me something interesting, but Iris can manage things like this perfectly well on her own.”

Sebastian didn’t miss a beat.

“Of course, Lady Iris. These are merely for reference.”

“Hmph.”

“And having the eye to recognize value is a talent in itself, is it not? No matter how precious a gemstone is, without someone to recognize it, it remains just a stone.”

“…Well. If you put it that way, I suppose I should appreciate your effort.”

Hearing praise for the first time in a while, Iris’s mood lifted slightly.

The man disguised as Sebastian smiled politely.

“Thank you, Lady Iris. I assure you—this will be an excellent choice.”

Meanwhile

This time, Jared arrived not at the underground prison, but at the castle’s reception room.

According to his arrangement with Lillian, any results were to be reported in person.

When the red-ponytailed man appeared without a single visible wound, Lillian was impressed.

Wow… his recovery ability really is amazing.

Then she noticed the faint limp in his step and revised that thought.

There was no way they would have released him from the underground prison that gently.

Still, Jared greeted her with a grin.

“Good day, my lady.”

“Mr. Jared. Welcome. Did you deliver the drafts to Iris?”

“Yes.”

“How many did she take?”

“All of them.”

“….”

There was a faintly mocking tone in Jared’s voice.

Lillian lightly scratched her temple with her fingertip.

She really is determined to live efficiently without lifting a finger…

In a way, it was almost impressive.