The Villainess Is Annoyed by the Male Leads Again Today - Chapter 1.10

As I opened my eyes and sat up, Dawson was sitting across from me.

“Yawn, you’re finally done. Are you always this busy, or are you doing this on purpose because I came?”

“Since it’s the Count’s order, you didn’t need to go this far, my lady. I’ll find a suitable merchant group to deal with.”

“You’re not even listening to me? I’m still the young lady of the Count family you serve.”

“Why did you want to see me?”

I took a sip of the cold tea to chase away my sleepiness.

He had a very displeased look on his face.

“I don’t want you to handle my work carelessly.”

“I never do anything carelessly.”

“I don’t like it. I don’t want someone to dismiss my work as trivial and keep postponing it because I can’t take the lead due to my weakness.”

“……”

“You, were you really too busy to meet me yesterday? Were you so busy today that I had to wait until this hour?”

He silently pushed up his glasses once and lowered his eyes.

“I may have been unruly, but if it were my brothers instead of me, you wouldn’t have ignored them this much.”

“That’s……”

“I heard you were ostracized at the academy and in society for being a commoner. After experiencing that, you learned to treat others the same way.”

He flared up at my words.

“That’s not it!”

He shouted and then took deep breaths. I just stared at him calmly.

Once he calmed down, he looked pale, realizing his mistake. Yet, he absolutely refused to apologize. A sigh-like laugh escaped my lips.

“I’m sorry.”

“Pardon?”

He raised his lowered head at my apology. I looked into his honey-colored eyes and gently curved my eyes.

“For the hurtful things I did. I came to the administration department and made a fuss about raising my dignity maintenance allowance. Back then, I believed fancy dresses and jewels would increase my worth.”

I calmly continued my apology while looking into his clear eyes that were now raised.

“I think it was foolish. I’m just a powerless illegitimate child, but still, my actions must have been threatening to the family members. I was immature.”

His eyes widened at my apology.

Soon, he regained his composure and his lips moved slightly.

“So you’re saying you’re not like that now?”

“Doesn’t it seem that way?”

“People,”

“Don’t change so easily? Dawson, I like your straightforward personality. But you need to be more careful with your words.”

He fell silent for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. Then he raised his lowered head and apologized with a complicated expression.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I didn’t come here for an apology. I came to talk about work. But it was really hard to meet my person in charge.”

“……I’m sorry.”

When I smiled and delivered my pointed remark, he lowered his head again and apologized in a tiny voice.

His curly brown crown came into view.

“Alright, shall we start our conversation then?”

He nodded slightly. I began to question him in earnest.

“Do you think this business is useless?”

“Pardon?”

“Be honest. I don’t think you postponed meeting me simply out of personal grudge.”

When I urged him to speak his honest thoughts, he hesitated before opening his mouth.

The assertiveness he had when dismissing me earlier was long gone.

“Actually, I understand the political situation, and I was indeed impressed by your insight about securing sea routes. However, I think these items might just waste the Count family’s budget.”

“You mean they look that useless?”

“……”

“Then it should be very easy to buy useless items at a low price, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Buy these items at 10% of the market price.”

“What?”

Dawson’s jaw dropped at my words, delivered with a bright smile.

“You can do it, can’t you? They’re useless items, so what’s the problem? That will leave a lot of budget, right? With the remaining budget, rent the port usage rights for Veil Territory from the Helena merchant group.”

“What?”

This time his eyes shook uncontrollably.

“Why? It’s a place that’s barely used now because of the Silk Road. Isn’t that enough?”

“But there are political issues……”

“Then give all the remaining amount as a down payment, and negotiate for four months of usage rights. Say you’ll give the same amount again after transferring the rights. And make sure to include a clause in the contract that states if they break the contract arbitrarily, they’ll have to pay a hundred times the down payment. Understood?”

“A hundred times? But why after a month?”

“Because by then, the Silk Road will be closed. Then the Count will pay the rest of the contract amount.”

“Is this accurate information?”

“It’s my speculation.”

I said brightly, curving my eyes, and Dawson, with a resigned expression, opened and closed his mouth as if to say something, but then firmly shut it.

He seems to be not good at speaking originally. Every time he tries to say something, he gets tongue-tied.

“Anyway, start from tomorrow. If you encounter any obstacles, report them immediately. And contact the Helena merchant group simultaneously while purchasing the goods. Understood?”

“……”

“I asked if you understood?”

“Yes……”

“Didn’t you say you’re not the type to do anything carelessly?”

“……Yes.”

“I’ll trust you.”

“Yes.”

The expressions on our faces as we left the drawing room after finishing the story were quite contrasting.

Naturally, I was beaming while Dawson looked like death.

From the next day, I started to work Dawson like crazy. I only had ten days left until I met the next young noble for an introduction, so I had to take care of the general matters by then.

Now, when I called him to the drawing room, he came running without any objections.

“My lady! It’s impossible within a day!”

No, he came running with an irritated expression.

“Well, if you had come promptly when I called you that day, we would have had more time.”

“……”

“Besides, I’m an illegitimate child, so I can’t disobey my father’s orders and have to go meet these young nobles, which means I don’t have much time.”

“……”

“If this business goes wrong, I’ll be sold off without a choice, but you’re lucky, aren’t you?”

“……will do it.”

“What did you say?”

“I said I’ll do it!”

“Oh, you startled me. So, can I trust you?”

Bang!

“The door’s going to break.”

I sat down, sipped my tea, and munched on cookies. Irena poured more tea for me from the side.

***

Dawson, true to his word, was not the type to do anything halfheartedly. I thought it might be possible to go slightly over 10% of the market price, but he actually managed to secure the contract.

“Did you really contract at 10%? You’re quite capable.”

“Ahem, yes.”

He twitched the corners of his mouth, trying hard to suppress his joy. His nose was practically touching the sky.

“When will the goods arrive?”

“It will take about a week to prepare, and after that, they’ll be sent to Veil using teleportation.”

“Good. What about the Helena merchant group?”

“Ah, the Helena merchant group also agreed to hand over only Veil. So that’s why the goods will be sent there directly.”

“Did you include the hundred-fold penalty clause in the contract for breach?”