Chapter 3-23 : Chloe’s Speculation

It was still less than ten days since Robin came to the royal capital but she had visited various shops and bought luxurious items worth that much money.

Diete couldn’t believe that such a consumptive human existed.

He was taken aback, opening his mouth widely in disbelief. His short mustache looked like it might fall off anytime.

「…And Lady Mylia would pay all those bills, you said…?」(Diete)

「Yes.」(Chloe)

「What a generous soul… You must be very proud of her.」(Diete)

「Yes, she is my pride and joy. She is a very nice and kind girl. Her face is as pretty as an Aqua Sophia and her smile is as beautiful as a Rose Maria~! Her soft and delicate body feels so nice when you hug her, and her lovely lavender-colored hair feels so smooth and has a calming scent when you stroke her head~! She is this kingdom’s precious treasure everyone should protect!」(Chloe)

Chloe forgot that she was in front of the lord of the Darelias Family for a moment when she talked about Mylia.

「Fufu.」(Aria)

Aria, who was sitting next to her, giggled while covering her mouth in a lady-like way.

「I, I see…」(Diete)

「Aa… Ahem! Pardon me. Let’s get back to the topic.」(Chloe)

When she came to her senses, Chloe cleared her throat and looked at Diete with a serious expression.

「I said Mylia would pay all the bills, but actually, not exactly all of them. We want to punish ourー no, the Atwood Family, and we have a plan for that.」(Chloe)

「Punish the Atwood Family…? Can you tell me the details?」(Diete)

「Of course. I was planning to tell you anyway.」(Chloe)

As she said that, she took two invoices from the bundle and showed them to Diete.

With a smirk on her face, Chloe somehow looked like a person who was going to teach bad people a lesson.

「There is the Darelias Family’s name in these two invoices. First, we are going to refuse these two bills. If we refuse to pay, the payment will be billed to the Darelias Family and the Atwood Family. Am I right?」(Chloe)

「Yes. That’s the agreement.」(Diete)

The two invoices came from two different shops but there was the Darelias Family’s name on them as the guarantor.

The total bill of those invoices was sixty gold coins. It was equal to six million yen (about 45k usd).

Because Mylia would refuse to pay, the Darelias Family and the Atwood Family would have to pay by splitting the bills, meaning that each of them had to pay thirty gold coins.

「Hmm, I see. Thirty gold coins is not a large amount of money for me. I can pay that.」(Diete)

「No, you don’t have to spend your money.」(Chloe)

「Eh? But…」(Diete)

「 Lord Darelias, you are the victim of Robin’s evil doing. We can’t let you spend your money on this.」(Chloe)

After saying that, Chloe took a small bag containing thirty gold coins from her pocket and put it on the table.

Because Mylia would refuse to pay, she couldn’t pay the money to the shops directly. The Darelias Family had to do that. That’s why she gave Diete the money.

「Thank you, Lady Chloe. But… Are you sure you want to punish your own family?」(Diete)

「…Yes.」(Chloe)

Chloe wanted to make the Atwood Family pay for what they had done to her and Mylia.

The total bill on all the invoices was one thousand two hundred and sixty gold coins. If Mylia refused to pay for all the invoices, then the Atwood Family had to bear half of the total cost, which was six hundred and thirty gold coins. There’s no way the Atwood Family would be able to pay it off. The shops would lose their money for sure.

Mylia and Chloe didn’t want to trouble the shop owners because they were just Robin’s victims. Therefore, Chloe came up with this idea.

Thirty gold coins is a small amount of money for rich aristocratic families, but for the poor Atwood Family, it is a great deal of money. It would take several years for them to save up that amount of money.

Chloe thought that making them suffer for a few years was enough as punishment.

「The Atwood Family is poor but they’re not so poor that they won’t be able to pay thirty gold coins. Well, it will take them several years though.」(Chloe)

Chloe knew the economic situation of the Atwood Family. That’s why she thought that thirty gold coins was a reasonable amount of money to be charged to them.

If Aaron regularly sells meat from animals he hunts and if the lavender jam they produce sells well, the Atwood Family will be able to save at least four gold coins a year. It’s not impossible for them to pay off the bills.

Chloe hates her father, Aaron, but she hoped that he would learn from it and become a better lord.

「I want to punish my father for letting his crazy daughter go wild in the royal capital.」(Chloe)

Seeing Chloe’s serious expression as she said that, Diete and his second son, Gilbert, were certain that Chloe wasn’t just a little lady.

She was only fourteen years old but she was as smart as an adult. However, not only was she smart but she had the courage to punish those who deserve punishment.

Diete and Gilbert could understand why the queen ennobled her.

「Ah, I forgot to mention. There are thirty gold coins in this small bag. Please use it to pay the bills.」(Chloe)

While saying that, Chloe leaned forward and pushed the small bag on the table toward the two.

Gilbert smiled and nodded to Chloe. He then took the bag and put it in his pocket.

「Understood. Should we tell the shop owners about this?」(Gilbert)

「No, you don’t have to. Mylia will visit those shops later. It seems that both of the shops are boutiques that sell custom-made clothes, and Mylia seemed to be interested in them for some reason… She smiled suspiciously when she learned that you could order clothes in those shops… I don’t know what she was thinking… Ah, anyway, you just need to use that money to pay the bills.」(Chloe)

「Very well. If there’s anything we can do, please let us know. My father and I will do our best to help.」(Gilbert)

While maintaining the smile on his face, Gilbert bowed to Chloe.

Even though it was all Robin’s fault, Gilbert seemed to feel responsible just like his father.

After replying to Gilbert with a nod, Chloe turned her gaze to Elizabeth who had been listening quietly next to her.

Elizabeth then looked at everyone and smiled.

「So it’s been settled then. I will be a witness. You can let me know if something happens.」(Elizabeth)

As a matter of course, no one opposed her.

Now that the serious conversation had ended, the tense atmosphere in the room began to relax a bit.

Elizabeth looked at Gilbert and smiled elegantly.

「Gilbert, you seem to be a good and smart person.」(Elizabeth)

「Thank you, Lady Elizabeth, for such a gracious compliment. It’s my great honor.」(Gilbert)

Elizabeth then looked at Chloe.

「The Darelias Family is a respectable family, and their second son seems to be a good lad. Chloe, I think your older sister will be happy if she marries him. Besides, The Darelias Family is well known for its culinary-related business. I bet Mylia would love to be their relative.」(Elizabeth)

「Yes, I think so too. Gilbert-sama, I can recommend you to Jasmine onee-sama if you want.」(Chloe)

Chloe imagined Mylia’s happy face when she learns that the Darelias Family has so many cooks in their territory.

Hearing what Chloe said, Gilbert and Diete smiled happily at each other.

「Thank you, Lady Chloe!」(Gilbert)

「However, it’s up to Jasmine onee-sama to decide whether she will marry you or not.」(Chloe)

「Yes, of course!」(Gilbert)

Chloe knew that the Darelias Family wanted to have Mylia, the rumored Dragon Slayer, as a relative.

However, after talking with the lord of the family, Diete, and seeing his regretful face when he learned of his mistakes, Chloe didn’t think that he was a bad person. Besides, a person as great as Elizabeth said that they were a respectable family.

Suddenly, Elizabeth folded the fan in her hand as if she just realized something.

「Hold on. Most aristocrats know that the Atwood Family’s reputation has been tarnished because of that divorcee, Robin. The fact that Jasmine is a member of the Atwood Family might affect the Darelias Family’s reputation if she married Gilbert.」(Elizabeth)

Elizabeth was familiar with the aristocratic society in this kingdom. She was worried it would happen.

She put the tip of the fan on her chin and started thinking.

A few seconds later, she turned her gaze to Chloe.

「Chloe, I have an idea. Mylia is a baron now. What if we tell her to adopt Jasmine as her daughter? That way, Jasmine will no longer have a connection with the Atwood Family.」(Elizabeth)

「Eh? Grandma!? But that’s…」(Aria)

「Mylia will become… Jasmine onee-sama’s mother…!?」(Chloe)

Both Chloe and Aria were surprised by Elizabeth’s ridiculous yet good idea.

Meanwhile, Mylia, who was currently heading for the World Tree, had no idea that someone tried to make her the mother of a girl five years older than her.