Ch.258258. Why Are You Being So Burdensome?

“Poison Lady, I am honored to meet Selden Alphonse, the star of the Alphonse family.”

I made an uncomfortable expression toward the Poison Lady who was showing such excessive courtesy.

“Why are you being so formal? It’s burdensome.”

“Lord Selden Alphonse is more than qualified, yet remains humble.”

The Poison Lady neatly arranged her signature green hair as she took a seat in the chair across from me. I awkwardly smiled while pushing a teacup toward her.

“I don’t have any fancy tea here like in Lake Territory.”

“That’s fine. Any tea served by Lord Selden Alphonse will always be delicious to me.”

“Have your manners improved that much?”

When I showed discomfort again, the Poison Lady, holding the teacup, smiled faintly.

“Isn’t this level of courtesy only natural for someone who could lead the Imperial Family in the future?”

“Oh, I think there’s a misunderstanding?”

“Don’t worry. Once information reaches our Hongwaru, there’s absolutely no concern about leaks.”

As the original work stated, “Morning words are heard by birds, evening words by mice. And ultimately, all information flows to the Poison Lady.” It wasn’t just an empty phrase. Of course, it wasn’t yet certain whom I would end up marrying.

“I’m also uncomfortable with talk about leading the Imperial Family.”

“It’s just the Poison Lady’s light joke. I hope Lord Selden Alphonse will graciously forgive me.”

The Poison Lady bowed her head while seated.

I shook my head as if to say she was hopeless.

“Anyway, your coming here means you met with Jawill Wilson, right?”

“Yes, after speaking with me, Lord Jawill Wilson immediately departed for Lake Territory. I also brought the transformation leather you requested, young master.”

“Did you prepare the money?”

At that, her subordinate Theo placed a large bag on the table along with the transformation leather, and the Poison Lady smiled lightly.

“I thought money would be too heavy, so I brought gold and jewels instead.”

“Hmm, not bad. Anyway, Jawill Wilson will collect money from Padericks, so don’t worry about the financial aspect.”

“It’s fine. To me, Lord Selden Alphonse is someone worth giving all this gold and jewels to.”

Saving her sister Ariella was a simple act of kindness from me as a reader who knew the original story, but looking back now, it formed a truly deep connection. It was impressive that despite the difficult request, she came running all this way carrying so much gold and jewels.

“You know I didn’t call you just for the money, right?”

“Of course. I’ve already heard everything from Lord Jawill Wilson. In short, you want me to contact Headmistress Giselle, correct?”

“That’s right. If someone directly connected to me makes contact, they might become Headmistress Giselle’s target later.”

The Poison Lady gave a meaningful smile.

“Does even Lord Selden Alphonse have things to fear?”

“Haha, I’ve noticed there’s a cartel among academies too. That’s why I’m being cautious. I can’t do anything that might get me in trouble until I establish my academy.”

“So my job is to go to Headmistress Giselle and pay off the women’s debts?”

“Yes. Since you run Hongwaru, Headmistress Giselle won’t be particularly suspicious.”

“But what if Headmistress Giselle refuses to accept the debt payment? From what I can tell, it seems she has plans regarding these women?”

That’s possible.

As the Poison Lady said, there’s a possibility she might find some excuse to prevent the debts from being paid.

However, that’s precisely why I asked the Poison Lady.

Who is she?

The greatest intelligence organization in the Eastern Continent.

She’s kind to me because I saved her sister Layella, but the Poison Lady is still the Poison Lady.

Headmistress Giselle will have no choice but to accept the Poison Lady’s money.

If she doesn’t, the Poison Lady will become suspicious and might investigate her background.

And then what remains?

Headmistress Giselle’s carefully built reputation would crumble overnight.

‘The moment the Poison Lady arrived, Headmistress Giselle’s scheme was already doomed.’

I looked at the Poison Lady with a gentle smile.

“You underestimate yourself too much.”

The Poison Lady pondered my words for a moment, then spoke with a startled expression.

“…I see, if you just needed money, you wouldn’t have needed me specifically. You had an intention.”

“You saw those women before coming up here, didn’t you?”

“…Yes, I did.”

“Young women who have just become adults are struggling in an old fox’s swamp. Shouldn’t we do good deeds occasionally?”

“Lord Selden Alphonse, I really can’t figure you out. Even so, it must cost a considerable amount…”

I tilted my head as I placed my teacup on the table.

“Someone might think I’m doing volunteer work.”

“…Pardon?”

“I won’t lose anything either. The difference between me and Headmistress Giselle is that I am human, and she is not.”

I smiled coldly, and the Poison Lady wiped the cold sweat from her forehead before continuing.

“What do you plan to do with Headmistress Giselle?”

“For now, as I mentioned earlier, I’ll think about it slowly after establishing the academy. Well, I could easily kill her, but rather than simply cutting her throat in one go, I prefer watching someone breathe their last while feeling the weight of their sins to the bone.”

“…I thought Lord Selden Alphonse wasn’t interested in others’ affairs?”

“If that were true, would I have saved Ariella?”

“Well, you saved Ariella because there was something to gain from me.”

I showed a satisfied expression at the Poison Lady’s pointed remark.

“So what are you trying to say?”

“Even if you saved those women for your own benefit, I don’t think you need to go after Headmistress Giselle specifically.”

“Hmm, as I started establishing the academy, I found various obstacles. Isn’t it better to remove barriers that will hinder me in the future?”

“…I see. Now I understand.”

“Still, I’m a bit disappointed. You see me as someone who only pursues profit.”

The Poison Lady adjusted her posture, placing her hands neatly on the table.

“I will help you regardless of what you’re thinking, Lord Selden Alphonse.”

“…Thank you for saying that, at least.”

Judging that our conversation was over, the Poison Lady rose calmly. Then she smiled brightly at me and bowed.

“Then I’ll go pay off the women’s debts to Headmistress Giselle.”

*

BANG-!

CRACK!

A thunderous noise echoed through the headmistress’s office.

The sound of Headmistress Giselle’s desk splitting.

Novaren, a professor at Estella Territory’s academy and her loyal subordinate, looked at the enraged Headmistress Giselle with a restless expression.

“Perhaps you should calm your anger for a moment…”

“Do I look calm to you? The Poison Lady of Hongwaru? That woman has turned all my plans to dust!”

Novaren closed his mouth tightly and bowed, despite not having done anything wrong.

“I-I’m sorry. I should have managed things better…”

“How did the Poison Lady of Hongwaru come to Estella Territory and happen to visit my establishment?”

“…I’m trying to find out quickly right now.”

BANG-!

Still not satisfied, Headmistress Giselle kicked her chair hard and spoke.

“I put so much effort into nurturing them, and now it’s like I’ve handed them straight into the Poison Lady’s mouth.”

“C-couldn’t you have refused?”

Headmistress Giselle glared at Novaren with flashing eyes.

“She presented contracts and had all the money prepared. How could I refuse in that situation?”

“Cheonsonji, where Hongwaru is located, is a red-light district. Couldn’t you have refused, saying you wouldn’t let your former students work in such a place?”

At that, Headmistress Giselle gritted her teeth.

“She already had documents showing she’d obtained consent from all the women working at the establishment. How could I refuse? Besides, if I refused for that reason, how could I later convert it into a pleasure house myself?”

“B-but we still needed to keep them for now…”

“This is all because of Rupert. I was so focused on him that I couldn’t pay attention to anything else.”

“…From what I’ve heard, Rupert was practically driven out of Estella Territory.”

Headmistress Giselle picked up the fallen chair, sat down, and clutched her throbbing head.

“To start planning from scratch again would take at least a few years… In the end, I’ve cooked porridge only to give it to the Poison Lady.”

Novaren straightened his back and forced a smile.

“Still, we received the money we lent plus interest, and the amount is substantial.”

“…That’s true.”

“While it’s regrettable that the plan failed, we certainly haven’t suffered a loss.”

“Yes, that’s also correct.”

“And we’ve driven away Rupert, who was a thorn in our side. Now there are no obstacles to stop us.”

Headmistress Giselle took several deep breaths while seated in her chair.

Then, as if something occurred to her, she looked at Novaren with a sinister smile.

“I think I’ll convert all the money we’ve collected and the gold and jewels received from the Poison Lady to purchase a pleasure house in Cheonsonji.”