I Don’t Want to be a Villainess – Chapter 188

Translator: Elisia

Editor/Proofreader: Wojo

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“I heard you were buying and gathering stocks.”

“…Uh…”

At the words of the uncle sitting beside me in the drawing room while we drank tea, I momentarily lost my words.

Come to think of it, I did do something like that.

It was something I entrusted to Team Leader Han Garam, and since I hadn’t told her to stop, she was probably still excitedly gathering stocks.

…She was someone who enjoyed moving large amounts of money at once.

Being someone who was sincere about money, she was likely still excited, regardless of whether the stock price went up or down.

And… if she had been buying and gathering until now, it would surely be a significant amount by now.

But this was something I had originally started to resist Choi Na-kyung.

Is it time to tell her to stop now?

“Well done.”

But seeing that the response I got was praise, it seemed I hadn’t made a major mistake.

Of course, if this person had ill intentions, the story would change, but blindly doubting people was also dangerous.

“Even just steadily purchasing treasury stocks has a positive long-term impact on the stock price. If someone like you buys them in large quantities, the effect would be even greater. Your reputation among the board members and shareholders is quite good right now.”

Is that so?

Honestly, I wouldn’t know since I’ve never talked to the people in the company.

I only knew that the shares in Sara’s name were second only to Choi Na-kyung’s, and unless she transferred them to someone else, Sara was the likely next owner of the Eugene Group.

Of course, even if we took that position, I didn’t think we’d be actively involved in running the company.

Most children of group owners receive education in such matters from an early age, but Sara hadn’t received any such education.

The same went for me, who had grown up in an ordinary household.

So, instead of trying to do something ourselves, it would be wiser to hire the right person to handle things separately.

Well… finding that “right” person was a challenge in itself.

“Is that so?”

Since I had nothing to say, I thought I’d at least agree for now.

The problem was that the man in front of me, Sara’s uncle, was showing a very satisfied expression.

Was there a reason for him to be so satisfied with my answer just now?

Honestly, I wanted to consult with Soo-ah, but… the only people in the room were me, Sara’s uncle Ye In-hyuk, and my personal maid Yang Hye-in.

This uncle had wanted to talk to me alone, but if asked whether I trusted him more or Hye-in, whom I had just met today, I’d of course answer I trusted Hye-in more.

At least Hye-in sincerely wanted to help Sara.

Ha-neul, So-hee, and Soo-ah couldn’t come in.

In Soo-ah’s case, she was affiliated with a different company altogether, and the uncle seemed to know that, judging by his surprised expression when he saw her face.

As for So-hee… it was only possible to have her accompany me because I strongly insisted.

In Ha-neul’s case, there were still unresolved disputes that Choi Na-kyung had set in motion.

…Ah, right, that’s true.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure, ask. We have plenty of time.”

There might be plenty of time, but honestly, I wanted to leave this uncomfortable situation as soon as possible.

‘Yeah.’

Sara also fully agreed with that sentiment.

In truth, Sara didn’t really like having this conversation at all… but information was important.

Whether what I heard today was accurate or not was something I could verify later through Hye-in.

“Could you tell me what work… mother was doing?”

I almost called her Choi Na-kyung by name without thinking, but I quickly corrected myself.

After all, I was standing in for Sara here, so it was better to use the title Sara used.

Of course, Sara hadn’t been using the term “mother” lately, but many older people believe that no matter how bad a parent is, the child should still treat them as a parent.

Since the people connected to the company would see her several more times, it would be bad to make a strange impression unnecessarily.

‘Several more times?’

And always acting confidently, but deep down preferring to stay quietly in her room, Sara, being extremely introverted, was horrified by my thoughts.

…Now she was really saying whatever came to mind.

But what could I do if that was the truth?

Well, we could joke around like this because we both knew neither of us would genuinely get mad.

“Hmm…”

The uncle thought for a moment,

“Did you hear something?”

He asked back.

“I didn’t hear it directly.”

Ha-neul still hadn’t told me what had happened to her father.

She hadn’t shown any worrying signs since then, but…

If I let myself be fooled by that, I might as well not have watched all those game streams in my previous life.

Ha-neul was exactly like the protagonist of a game.

She’d bottle up all the bad things that happened to her, not wanting to worry her friends.

And if she inherited that personality from her parents, they might not have told her about what happened at all.

She really is troublesome in many ways.

‘Who’s calling who troublesome?’

…If you put it that way, I have nothing to say.

“But through some information, I’ve come to know that my mother was harassing a company or a person in some way.”

Since I didn’t know whether she had targeted Ha-neul’s father’s company or her father himself, that’s how I answered.

“I see.”

Fortunately, the uncle seemed to have an idea of what I was talking about.

“It’s a relief if you’re aware.”

But his response was a bit different from what I expected.

“Pardon?”

When I asked back, slightly confused, the uncle let out a small sigh and said,

“In a way, the incident that led your mother, Chairwoman Choi Na-kyung, to do such things… began with that.”

“…What?”

I asked again, with a slightly dazed expression.

*

So, it turned out that what Choi Na-kyung had meddled with was indeed the company Ha-neul’s father worked for.

Ha-neul’s father wasn’t the president of the company, but he held an important position within it.

However, he wasn’t so essential that the company would collapse without him—he was in a relatively high managerial role.

Upon obtaining that information, Choi Na-kyung had pressured the company, which happened to be one of Eugene Group’s trading partners.

She picked on every little thing, threatened to sue, and subtly pressured them to push out Ha-neul’s father.

It was all so petty and ridiculous that it left anyone who heard it utterly baffled, but Choi Na-kyung didn’t hesitate to do such things.

The problem was, Choi Na-kyung had already made a similar mistake in the past.

Back then, it had tarnished the company’s image, and one of their critical supply chains had been cut off, causing significant trouble for Eugene Group.

That time, she’d excused her behavior by saying she prioritized the company’s interests over personal feelings, but… this time was different.

Even if she succeeded, there wouldn’t be much benefit to the company.

In fact, if it became an issue, it could severely damage the company’s image.

So, the board of directors stepped in to pressure Choi Na-kyung, and the result was the incident where she decided to “give up everything and take only Sara with her.”

…Well, I’d predicted this much when Soo-ah had told me about it.

No matter how you looked at it, this was like the plot of a ridiculous soap opera.

Though the creator did mention that he had intentionally added soap-opera-like elements when making it.

“So, in some ways, we’re at fault as well. I’m sorry.”

When the man, with his graying hair, bowed his head towards me, I quickly waved my hand and replied.

“Oh, no… It’s fine.”

Was this a calculated move too?

Was the anti-Choi Na-kyung faction deliberately sharing this information to drive a wedge between Sara and Choi Na-kyung?

…Either way, it benefited Sara for now.

“Then… did you come here today to tell me this?”

When I asked, the uncle straightened his back and looked me directly in the eyes as he replied,

“That’s part of it. But there’s one more thing I wanted to tell you.”

“…What’s the other thing?”

“Sara.”

“Yes?”

For some reason, the uncle called me, sitting right in front of him, once again by name, which made me answer with a slightly puzzled expression.

“Your birthday is coming up soon.”

“That’s… right?”

“So, I was thinking, how about having a small celebration around that time? You haven’t been able to meet your relatives because of Chairwoman Choi Na-kyung, after all. Wouldn’t it be nice to attend and greet them properly?”

And with a kind smile, the uncle added,

“Oh, of course, you can bring your friends along. It’ll be a celebration for your birthday, after all. How about inviting the friends who came with you today?”

“…Uh…”

I was suddenly struck by the intense realization that things could spiral out of control even if I did nothing.

“…Yes, I’ll think about it.”

“I hope you’ll consider it positively.”

The uncle bowed his head towards me once more as he responded.