TVTLQ - Chapter 77
The Villainess Wants To Live Quietly
"Golden?"
"I got kicked out again."
After finding the whereabouts of Margaret as requested by Rosenia, Icarus, who followed her footsteps for a while, belatedly returned to his place. Along with some fun facts, he found out.
But when he actually visited Rosenia, she was busy. Even though she clearly asked Icarus for a favor.
"I'm in a hurry right now... Please tell me next time."
She passed by him as if she had no interest in Margaret's whereabouts.
To be precise, it seemed like she didn't have the presence of mind to write anything to him.
Icarus, who was hovering next to Rosenia for a moment, scanned the document she was looking at and memorized it.
Then, after returning to the Mage Tower and investigating with the apprentice wizards, he found out that the problem was that Rexed had stopped the development of Dostic.
"If you're going to do it, you should do it. If you're not going to do it, don't do it. Why do you change your mind midway?"
"What is that... Are you talking about Dostic?"
"Yes. My golden was heartbroken because of that."
Rexed frowned.
I wondered who the 'Golden' that Icarus was talking about was. For a split second, it occurred to him that Rosenia had blonde hair.
But he couldn't imagine that Icarus would call her by a nickname, so he put the thought aside.
'Icarus is originally from Dostic, so I guess he knows someone there."
Rexed thought so and spoke somewhat softly.
"It is not a permanent suspension. I just paused for a moment to reconsider."
"Resume it."
"If it is determined to be suitable, then so be it. But why is Master suddenly interested in Dostic? Originally, you didn't pay much attention, right?"
What Rexed said was true. Icarus was not very interested in Dostic. Even though it was a hometown, there was no attachment, so it was natural.
But Icarus was confident.
"Now I'm interested."
Rexed looked like he knew that would happen. He didn't expect a proper answer from him in the first place.
"Hmm."
However, Rexed had no choice but to fall into trouble once again due to Icarus' request.
***
Is there such a thing as bad news?
As development was halted, the biggest axis of the business she was leading was paralyzed.
I told Blanc that I could just set up a factory somewhere else if I had to, so he should not worry about it and just keep coming up with designs.
However, in reality, it was difficult to find a place with a better location than Dostic.
How did things happen like this?
I ran from north to south, east to west, trying to solve the stuck problem.
I visited officials with whom I had built up friendships by giving gifts, and also urgently sent someone to Princess Penelope.
I had my father dispatched to Prince Rexed, who frowned at the sight of my face.
In addition, a staff member was always stationed so that if the Crown Prince visited Dostic, I would be notified immediately.
But nothing improved.
The officials were busy avoiding me and could not contact Penelope, who was in the middle of a purification ceremony.
The Crown Prince refused my father's request for an audience, and he never came to see Dostic.
Meanwhile, voices slandering me began to emerge even within the top.
"Originally, it was a temporary ban. It was a temporary position to fill, but this is what happens when you push ahead with the work without understanding the rationale."
"I know yeah. From the beginning, I was reluctant to build a weaving factory in Dostic. There are many other regions, so why choose that place?"
I knew that there were still people at the top who did not like me.
Since I couldn't cut everyone out right away, it was something I had to accept to some extent.
However, when I was on a roll, those who could not say anything started showing their teeth like wild cats when bad news struck.
First of all, I was blocking their mouths with people I personally selected, but I didn't know how long that method would work.
I was devastated by the terrible situation.
How much had to go through to get to this point, but for it to fall apart so easily?
“Ha.”
I was tearing out my hair. I could only sigh at the reality that there was no solution in sight. I wanted to ask Dominic for advice on what to do.
However, Dominic is not with me right now as he is away due to family matters.
Would the situation have gotten this much worse if the person responsible for development had been my father or Nathaniel?
I couldn't get the thought out of my head that it wouldn't have happened.
Late evening, I headed to Dostic.
When Annie saw me getting off the carriage, she quickly came running towards me.
“Vice President!”
Seeing that her expression was not bright, it seems that the Crown Prince did not visit Dostic today either.
I raised the corners of my mouth and spoke to her.
"You had a hard time. Are you tired? Let's leave for today."
"Yes? Then what about Vice President?"
"I'm going to take a quick look around the site."
I feel frustrated. I needed time alone to organize my thoughts.
After sending Annie home, I spoke to the escort knight following me.
"Please wait here for a moment. I will come soon."
"But it can be dangerous if you travel alone."
"I will just be around to make sure that doesn't happen. I want to go inside the factory for a while."
The factory, where repairs were temporarily suspended, was nailed with wooden planks to prevent entry. However, there were several other entrances other than the main entrance.
"If you need to go in, I will be waiting in front of the entrance."
I had no intention of objecting up to that point, so I nodded.
I opened the hidden side door and entered the factory. The factory without any lights on was as dark as the deep sea. At least the moonlight coming through the window near the ceiling dimly illuminated the interior.
Until just two weeks ago, a lot of people were working here. Nowadays, it is so quiet that it even gives off an eerie atmosphere.
It looked even more so because of the building materials lying around that couldn't be cleaned up.
"Would it be better to fold quickly?"
The road is not blocked at all. I could start anew based on the family fiefdom, or I could take advantage of my connections with Prince Arsan and start a business in Borsha.
But why should I?
I just wanted to avoid the main characters, run my own business, and live a good life.
"If that's the case, maybe you should't approve it from the beginning."
My inner thoughts poured out in tears.
"Don't you know that taking something away from something given is the dirtiest thing?! What a moth!"
I huffed and vented my anger. My voice rang out in the empty factory. I was angry as much as I could in the empty factory, but soon my shoulders slumped.
"... Let's go back."
It's not over yet.
Instead of doing this here, let's think about a method again. I turned around.
But the moment I passed a corner of the factory, I had no choice but to stop in my tracks.
"What?"
The factory had long since been sealed off by the engineers so that no one could use it. The gate means that all the doors are nailed down and the entrance is blocked.
In that case, it must be blocked here as well.
"It's open."
The passage leading to the basement where the tears of the World Tree were previously hidden was open.
There were even broken wooden boards left carelessly scattered around as if they had been torn off on purpose.
I ran my palm across my chest.
A dull sensation inside the dress confirmed that the tears of the World Tree were in my hands. Everything else is fine, but this place is like this...
'Did Icarus visit?'
I'll have to check it out.
I quietly climbed over the ledge and entered the underground passage.
The last time I walked down the road I was so nervous, but today I felt fine.
I knew that the ghost's identity was Icarus, and the factory was already on the verge of closing, so I wondered what it mattered.
For a long time, only the sound of footsteps could be heard.
At some point, I realized someone was following me.
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