Chapter 7.

“It was your doing!”

Aristie coldly snapped at Estelle. Her entire body froze with anger, making her voice seem frosted with ice.

“That’s right. I did get help from those stupid women I invited as attendants.”

Estelle spoke while examining her well-groomed nails, wondering if she should develop and start a business selling manicure products since they didn’t exist in this world.

“How could you do such a disgusting thing? Why did you toy with Vivian!”

Despite Aristie’s questioning, Estelle still didn’t take her eyes off her nails.

“Why? Can’t you see?”

“What?”

“I was making an example. For you. I invited Vivian for that purpose from the beginning.”

“What……?”

Estelle’s gaze finally shifted from her nails to Aristie. Her expression changed from admiring something pretty to looking at something unpleasant.

“Purpose……what do you mean!”

Aristie’s eyes turned piercingly blue with cold fury.

At first, she had thought Estelle was merely mentally disturbed or a villainess with a twisted personality.

But she was wrong. The woman from another world wearing Estelle’s mask wasn’t human but the devil incarnate.

“You shouldn’t be angry. You should be scared.”

Estelle spoke condescendingly to the fury-engulfed Aristie.

“Because it could have been you who was publicly humiliated. Actually, I first thought about putting laxatives in your teacup.”

“Then why didn’t you do that to me! Instead of dragging in an innocent person!”

“Well, you see……”

Estelle tilted her head sideways and twitched her lips.

“I realized you’re the type who suffers more when people around you get hurt rather than yourself. Aren’t you?”

“……!”

“Right? You’re boiling with rage right now, aren’t you? Heheheh.”

Aristie tightly shut her trembling eyelids. Then slowly opening them again, she stared at Estelle with sharp eyes.

“Yes, I admit it. I’m boiling with rage like you said. But I’m not scared.”

“Oh, really? But someday you will be. What if my minions start dying mysterious deaths one by one, and you’re identified as the culprit?”

“Ha, what……?”

What is this crazy woman saying? She’ll kill her own people and frame me for it—?

“Even if you tell the truth, no one will believe you. Instead, you’ll be branded as a woman crazed with jealousy. The you in the book was actually like that.”

“Are you threatening me right now?”

“Yes, you understand well. I’m glad you have enough brains to comprehend that, hehe.”

Estelle walked around the table toward Aristie. Then, with a snake-like cunning expression, she flicked her tongue.

“Imagine it. The sight of me and your husband embracing affectionately—me, the root cause of your misery. Picture us making love somewhere in the imperial palace, hidden from your eyes. Wouldn’t that drive you completely insane?”

Estelle’s lips drew closer to Aristie’s ear. She looked ready to bare her teeth and bite at any moment, but Aristie endured. She refused to back down even a single step before Estelle out of sheer stubbornness.

Thanks to this, Estelle easily conquered Aristie’s ear and whispered maliciously.

“Could you remain as composed as you are now if you were shocked by such sights and eventually got your head chopped off for causing a scene? Would you maintain that pitiful dignity?”

“Shut up and get to the point. If I’m your target, then aim only at me!”

“I am aiming properly at you. Look, you’re already hurting from the arrow I shot.”

Aristie fiercely swatted away Estelle’s finger pressing against her solar plexus.

“Don’t touch me!”

“How feisty.”

Estelle stepped back leisurely. But to Aristie, it didn’t feel like her opponent had moved away at all.

In reality, Estelle had placed an invisible noose around her and was continuously tightening it.

“Vivian was just a taste of what’s to come. I showed you that I can take action against anyone if I want to. So run away while you have the chance. Staying will only cause trouble for those around you.”

Aristie, contemplating the best way to confront Estelle, felt somewhat miserable as she blurted out,

“I will tell His Majesty about today’s events.”

Estelle cackled in response.

“Didn’t you already run to the Emperor and tattle about me?”

“……!”

Hearing those words, Aristie’s eyes shook greatly for a moment.

Khalid…… told Estelle what I said?!

“Try snitching one more time. The instant you do, your little minion’s life will be over.”

Estelle’s frosty threat struck Aristie’s eardrums. Feeling betrayal about to pour out like tears, Aristie couldn’t bring herself to look up.

“The moment you mention me to the Emperor, Vivian will be embroiled in a terrible scandal. Every noble will hear rumors about how she disgustingly soiled herself during the tea party. Do you think she can endure that shame?”

“How could you……!”

“Yes, that’s not enough. I’ll torment that wench whenever I see her at any gathering from now on. How about mixing laxatives with emetics? Or maybe shredding her dress?”

“Stop it!”

“And if she happens to die, it will all be your fault. And it won’t end with just her.”

Estelle snapped her fingers as if she’d had a good idea.

“Right! This would be good too. Publicly humiliating your stuttering brother.”

“What…… what? Are you insane? How dare you!”

When Aiden was mentioned, Aristie almost lunged at Estelle. Her rage was so intense that reason and dignity nearly flew out the window.

She managed to restrain herself only because she knew that falling for Estelle’s provocation would ultimately plunge her and her loved ones into the abyss.

“So watch your mouth wherever you are! Unless you want to arrange funerals for your loved ones!”

Estelle withdrew her smile and issued an ominous warning. Aristie could only bite her lip.

She had to acknowledge that her opponent was a master of scheming incomparable to herself. Taking her brother hostage was the most effective way to silence her.

‘Can I really not stop this?’

Despair swept over Aristie, and she clenched her fist. She squeezed so tightly that it felt like her hand might be crushed. Pain surged up her arm to her shoulder. Listening to Estelle’s barbed words, she thought of Khalid.

The Emperor, Khalid. The man who didn’t trust her but instead believed that villainess, becoming her backbone and allowing her to behave so arrogantly.

She still wasn’t sure if she loved him. But what she realized was that she didn’t want to see him and Estelle madly in love before her eyes. Not even for a moment.

Not because she was afraid. But because it was disgusting. Instead of enduring that for a lifetime, she would rather leave.

I……

“……despise you.”

Aristie swallowed bitter water and muttered.

“Is mere contempt enough?”

Estelle twisted one corner of her mouth upward.

“Hate me. Enough to want to kill me. Because your insides will rot and fester that much, heheheh.”

Aristie didn’t respond.

Her insides were already corroding black from all kinds of twisted emotions.

* * *

“……Therefore, I believe the mining rights for the Etowa iron mine should revert to the Empire.”

“Indeed, there’s clearly a problem. The contract expired, yet they extended it under the same terms without renegotiation.”

Khalid made his decision after reviewing the documents.

“Reclaim it as stated and audit the official responsible for the private contract.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Prepare to proceed with a public bid according to procedure.”

“I will obey your command.”

“Now, next.”

As the previous official withdrew, the next one approached Khalid and bowed his head.

“Your Majesty, forgive my presumption, but I have a question regarding the payment for this month’s external goods purchase……”

“External goods purchase?”

Khalid asked reflexively but soon realized.

“Ah, you mean the purchase orders I personally signed?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Actually, looking at the items, most seem related to the Empress-to-be……”

“That’s true.”

It was true. The enormous quantity of gift packages he had sent to Aristie.

At the time, he had been so excited about pleasing Aristie that he bought everything in sight. Though he selected items personally, he purchased them so impulsively whenever he found something pretty that he could hardly remember what he had bought. He only had a vague awareness that the quantity was substantial.

He had accumulated so much that it took six of those large imperial carriages to deliver the gifts.

“Yes. I purchased them for the Empress-to-be before the imperial marriage. What’s the problem?”

“Well, I…… I’m unsure which budget to allocate them to. If we process them under the supplementary budget for the imperial marriage, the amount is so substantial that we would need to create multiple supplementary budgets……”

The official carefully explained the situation. In simple terms, he was giving extremely polite advice to moderate such extravagant spending.

However, the official was partly mistaken. He thought that since the purchases were related to the Empress-to-be, they would naturally be deducted from the imperial marriage supplementary budget, but Khalid wasn’t shameless enough to use tax money for personal items.

He had simply spent his private funds wanting to gain the favor of the woman he loved.

“This has nothing to do with the supplementary budget. Process it as imperial expenses since I paid with my personal promissory note. I simply bought them because I wanted to.”

“Ah, I see! That’s a relief, haha.”

A relief…… The amount must have been quite large.