“It’s been a while. Are you here to look at dresses?”

Urged by Tonin, who insisted I needed to get a dress for the Imperial banquet, I reluctantly headed to the boutique, only to find an unexpected figure there.

“What brings you here?”

Just as when we first met at the information guild, Robert, wearing a mask and wig, was sitting comfortably on the boutique sofa.

“Relax, no one’s listening here. I own this boutique.”

Come to think of it, the boutique, which should have been bustling with the social season approaching, was strangely quiet.

“Is that so? That’s convenient.”

Relieved by the lack of people, I leaned back on the sofa next to him. Robert chuckled, clearly amused by something.

“No wonder Tonin insisted I come here.”

Tonin, who usually showed no interest in what I did, had stubbornly insisted on this boutique. She even said she’d wait in the carriage, seemingly acting on some kind of directive. It seemed like Robert had arranged this in advance.

“I had something to discuss with you.”

Robert handed me a document envelope from behind him.

“This is what you asked me to find.”

As I slowly read through the information he handed over, I couldn’t suppress the smile tugging at my lips. If things went well, this would perfectly fit the plan I had in mind.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Making money. The Viscount has quite the fortune, doesn’t he?”

“Indeed. He’s been gradually converting his assets into gold and jewels. He’s likely planning to smuggle them out of the country.”

“Exactly. We need to catch him before that happens—this con artist.”

The money he had swindled amounted to nearly 500,000 litas already.

This con artist never got caught in the novel. In fact, no one even reported him. All his victims were nobles who valued their honor more than their money. Since catching him wouldn’t return their money, they chose to protect their reputations instead.

In the novel, the Viscount likely lived happily in another country with all the money he’d scammed.

“So, do you have a plan?”

“Yes. I’m certain after reading this. Oh, by the way, I asked Tonin to find someone.”

Robert smirked silently. At his gesture, a staff member standing behind him approached.

“They’re right here. Don’t you recognize them?”

“This person is the one?”

The person I had asked him to find was the butler’s nephew—the one who had visited the mansion last time.

The one who was currently acting in a play.

“You can’t tell?”

She looked entirely different from the last time I saw her. It wasn’t just a change in hair color; the entire impression had shifted. A person’s face reflects their life, and now, her face carries an entirely different story.

“Haha, this is even better than I expected.”

Seeing her, I couldn’t help but laugh. It felt like the world was on my side.

“Right? Let me introduce you. This is Miss Corinne, the butler’s nephew from the Count Leon household and a former theater actress.”

“Hello, I’m Corinne.”

“Miss Corinne, I’m Espin Leon. Let me get straight to the point—would you be willing to work with us?”

“Work?”

“Yes. I heard your family is going through a tough time. Your father was scammed, wasn’t he?”

Corinne’s expression darkened. This was the cruel nature of scams—they didn’t just harm the victim but their entire family as well.

Tears welled up in Corinne’s eyes. The mere mention of the scam brought tears, her expression revealing the hardships she had endured.

“I’ll help you.”

“Help me?”

“Yes. Don’t you want revenge on those con artists?”

“Revenge?”

Robert looked more surprised than Corinne at the word “revenge” coming from my mouth.

“Yes. I’ll help you get revenge. Work with us. And of course, clearing your family’s debt will be a bonus.”

“Do you think revenge is possible?”

“Of course.”

The scam her father had fallen victim to was a loan scam frequently mentioned in the novel. It targeted people who couldn’t secure loans due to a lack of collateral, offering high-interest loans instead.

But it wasn’t just the high interest rates—their malicious practices drove many people to their deaths.

“What can I do to help?”

“Acting.”

“Pardon? Acting?”

“Yes, you’re a theater actress, aren’t you? All you need to do is act. I’ll take care of everything else.”

I extended my hand to Corinne. Without hesitation, she reached out and shook it.

“Thank you. I’ll do my best.”

“First, tell us about your father’s loan situation. We need to identify the con artists, and this person here will handle that.”

I gestured toward Robert, who laughed in disbelief.

“You really do whatever you want with me.”

“Oh, stop complaining. Get to work.”

Corinne, glancing nervously between Robert and me, cautiously began to speak.

“My father ran a small bakery. But last year, due to heavy rains, the price of flour skyrocketed, and the bakery’s business started struggling.”

“That’s right. The price of flour hasn’t gone down yet.”

“Yes. Even so, my father didn’t give up and kept trying. But contrary to his efforts, the bakery’s situation worsened, and the losses grew. Then, a fire broke out at the bakery.”

“How unfortunate…”

“To open a new bakery, we needed a large sum of money. But because of our existing loans, it was difficult to borrow from other places. That’s when someone from the marketplace introduced us to that loan company.”

“So, you borrowed money from them?”

“Yes. The interest rate was high, but we had no other choice. But we were scammed. Contrary to their initial explanation, they kept raising the interest rate and used strange calculations to pile interest upon interest, suffocating us.”

“How much did you borrow initially?”

“5,000 litas.”

“And now?”

“We worked hard and managed to repay 10,000 litas, but we still owe 7,000 litas.”

“What? I heard it was 5,000 litas not long ago.”

“The interest keeps piling up daily. The debt grows scarier by the day.”

“Ha, that’s outrageous. So, they lent you 5,000 litas and now expect nearly 20,000 litas back?”

“Yes. By tomorrow, who knows how much it will be? If we don’t pay everything by the end of this month, they’ll sell me and my younger sibling as slaves to another country.”

Currently, the Empire prohibits the buying and selling of people. So, they must be planning to sell them to a country where such practices are allowed.

They weren’t even human beings—they were monsters.

“Is that loan company still around?”

“Yes. They’re probably outside right now, keeping an eye on me.”

“Really?”

I turned my gaze to Robert.

“Can you track them down?”

“Of course. Using the information guild will make it easy. I happen to know the best informant in the Empire.”

Robert winked at me discreetly, making it clear he didn’t intend to reveal his identity as the informant to Corinne. Understandable—trusting people too easily wasn’t wise, and Robert knew that well.

“Alright. Use the informant to find out more. Corinne, you can go now. I’ll let you know what to do in a few days.”

Corinne wiped her tears and left with a slightly dazed expression.

“So, what’s your plan?”

“I need to buy a painting.”

“Do you have the money for that?”

“Money? Oh, now that I think about it… I’m short on funds to buy the painting. Maybe…?”

Robert shook his head.

“I don’t lend money. You know why.”

“I do.”

Being scammed made trusting people difficult. That was true for both Robert and me.

“How about asking Count Leon? He might allow you to borrow some for a few days.”

“Ask Father?”

The idea didn’t appeal to me. In the novel, Espin’s father throws her out of the family after she is scammed. I wasn’t sure if he’d lend me the money.

But no matter how I thought about it, I had no other options.