RBMH - Chapter 3

"Huh? What did you say? You already paid all the gift tax?"

Liliana Locke.

The only daughter of the Duke of Locke, a family of noble blood.

Having witnessed the shameful behavior of high-ranking nobles to the point of being tiresome while living as a Princess, I thought she wouldn't budge for just any reason...

It seemed like it was all just my own delusion.

'What has been going on since a while ago?'

Liliana stood there with her mouth wide open, forgetting even her dignity as a Princess.

A cheque for Sh10 billion was received from Vanessa.

I just came to report the donation to him, but I heard some absurd things from the tax officer.

"Yes, Princess Locke. Not only has the income been reported, but the tax on the gift of 10 billion has also been paid, amounting to 5 billion 34 million shillings."

"Oh, fifty how much?"

"Yes! Are you talking about five hundred and thirty-four million shillings?"

Liliana's expression became serious as the tax collector answered cheerfully.

It makes sense since taxes that were never paid had already been paid. Even if it was only 1 million shillings, it would be nerve-racking, but when it was over 5 billion, it was natural for anyone to be flustered.

Liliana asked the banker urgently.

"Hey, can you tell me the name of the person who paid the taxes on my behalf?"

Her heart was pounding so hard it hurt.

Liliana waited, her neck tense, for the banker to open his mouth.

But then something strange happened.

The person who paid the taxes on her behalf was someone she could never have imagined.

*** 

It says Vanessa Winder. 

"It looks like Mrs. Winder took care of the taxes in advance when she issued the check."

"Yes? Mrs. Winder... is that her?"

"Yes! That's what it says on paper."

This time, the tax collector answered cheerfully, but her voice did not reach Liliana's ears.

'Wait a minute, so the money Madam gave me was 10 billion won after tax, not 10 billion won before tax?'

As the unit of money coming and going increases, the percentage taken as gift tax also Increases. As a result, the tax that Liliana had to pay exceeded 5 billion.

But But!

Those expensive taxes...

She paid it quietly without even letting her know?

That Mrs. Winder who was nicknamed the Wicked Woman because of her wicked ways?

Why?

The doubts that had once been raised continued without pause. And then, after a while, Liliana began to have doubts she had never thought of before.

'Does Mrs. Winder really dislike me? Rather...'

Maybe she wants to help me?

Liliana's cheeks turned bright red for a moment at the absurd idea that suddenly occurred to her, but she quickly regained her composure. Thinking back on it, It was a plausible idea in its own way. There were also several reasons for this.

The first was for one hundred and fifty billion thirty-four hundred and fifty thousand shillings.

Even for the wealthy Winder family, this was excessive compensation for a mere breakup.

The second was the secret tax processing.

It must have been quite a hassle, but she did all that in secret and didn't even make a fuss about it?

No matter how much Liliana thinks about it, this was truly a very considerate gesture. It's not something that anyone unless they're a great person, can easily follow.

The long-awaited final piece of evidence was her own ball.

Liliana suddenly glanced at her reflection in the iron pillar.

The cheek that had been hit hard by Vanessa a few hours ago was completely bare as if nothing had happened.

She thought jer cheek would swell up because he got hit so hard with the check, but surprisingly it was fine.

The reason was because of the ice pack that was placed on the ball immediately after being hit.

'Mrs. Winder instructed us to use this.'

It was not long after that that the Winder family servant spoke and placed an ice pack in Liliana's hand.

At first, she thought she was giving her a bottle and medicine, but now she sees that it wasn't like that.

'You must have been worried that I might get a scar on my face.'

If Vanessa really hated Liliana.

If she hated her so much that she wanted to stop her son from marrying her.

'I don't think she cared at all whether there was a scar on my face or not.'

As Liliana thought about it that way, her doubts gradually turned into certainty.

'Maybe Mrs. Winder isn't really a bad person, but just dishonest?"

And what if she really is a villainess?

Many people in the world were so kind to you but didn't even give you a penny when you asked for help. In fact, Liliana was also treated badly by such people.

So Liliana thought that even if they were being mean, the ones who helped out when they were really in need were the ones who were truly good.

Well, what is certain is that whatever Vanessa's intentions were, her actions only served to benefit Liliana.

The unwanted contract marriage with Jermione, and the family debt felt overwhelming.

The one who saved her from her predicament was none other than Vanessa, the so-called villainess. That's why.

Liliana became curious about Vanessa. She wanted to know more about her.

Even though she was aware that Vanessa was the mother of the man she was about to break up with, and thus her ex-mother-in-law. And that was a stronger desire than she thought.

***

It's been more than a month since I threw a bunch of checks at Liliana and encouraged her to break up.

Meanwhile, I was locked in the mansion, waiting for her to properly end her relationship with Jermione.

'I'm sure the hectic things have settled down by now...I guess they're broken up by now?'

A major event has occurred in the Empire over the past month: the end of the war.

The war that had been going on for years between the Empire and the Kingdom of Stel finally ended with the Empire's victory.

This is an incident that was dealt with quite a bit in the original work. This is because Liliana's brother, with whom she had lost contact since the end of the war, returned.

So, considering that Liliana might be out of her mind. I waited for about a month.

'But if I gave her this much time, I think everything would have been resolved.'

Now it seemed time to take a look and see if things were going well.

'It seems like they're broken up since Jermione's outings have decreased, but it wouldn't hurt to check in again.'

So the next thing to do was...invite my spunky son, Jermione Winder, to dinner.

"Jermione. It's been a long time since we've had a meal together. I can't believe we live in the same mansion."

The person entering the dining room with the sound of footsteps was none other than Jermione.

I immediately greeted him kindly, but the response I got was quite brutal.

"My stepmother and I don't have a relationship where we necessarily see each other face to face often."

"Huh? If that's what you're going to say, why don't you just decline my dinner invitation?"

Jermione, who was sitting down, clenched his teeth as if he was suddenly overcome with anger. A creepy, teeth-grinding sound was heard.

'Oh my. If you keep brushing your teeth like that, you'll have a hard time when you get older.'

I would have liked to nag him, but I knew why Jermione was acting that way, so I decided to keep quiet. Because I was the one who made him have no choice but to accept the dinner invitation.

At first, of course, Jermione also declined my Invitation. However, I used my special skill, 'Crazy Behavior', and forcibly dragged him here.

Well, anyway, that's how we got here.

The important thing was what we were going to talk about from now on.

After a moment of silence, the food started to arrive one by one. I glanced at Jermione's face and saw his tightly shut lips. He seemed to be quite displeased with the situation.

'Don't worry, Jermione. This situation will be over soon."

I opened my mouth, poking the steak in front of me with my fork.

"I heard that rumors are going around in high society that you are in love with Princess Locke. With your cold personality, how can you be in love? How are things going?"

"I'll take care of it." 

I let out a small sigh at the sight of him standing there with an iron wall as if he had no intention of answering.

'I need to find out quickly if they broke up, but it's difficult.'

Well, I didn't think he would answer personal questions like that in the first place. He hates me as his stepmother. But there is no problem.

It was easy for me to gently get on the other person's nerves and make them reveal their true feelings.

I started to wiggle my beak just like I had been practicing all this time.

"You need to change your personality. Okay? You're being so mean to me, your mother. That's why even women run away from you."

"..."

"You're unusually unable to answer."

"..."

A look of anger and a grim silence.

'If they were still dating, Jermione would have just ignored what I said, given his personality. But making that face...'

It seemed as if Liliana had really said goodbye.

But this wasn't enough evidence. A more conclusive response was needed.

I snickered and made the expression that Jermione would hate the most. Then I spoke slowly and teasingly.

"No way... Did she run away already? Now that I look at Princess Locke, she really is quick on her feet."

That was the moment.

Bang!

Jermione suddenly jumped up from his seat, slamming the table hard. The loud noise sounded like it would rip my eardrums.

As I glanced up at him, his ferocious expression entered my sight without any filter. The murderous intent pouring out from his eyes, as black as obsidian, seemed as if it would freeze me to death at any moment.

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