“It’s all done.”

The situation quickly ended as she sat in the jewellery store for a while, sipping water.

‘Yay.’

Daphne’s eyes lit up as she leafed through the papers Zegman had arranged for her.

‘Look at this. Isn’t it right?’

She didn’t know, but the swindler was a honey jar full of honey.

Every time she turned over each page, her eyes turned to the wealth accumulated.

Wow, how much is this?

‘I want to gulp!’

Daphne clutched the papers and trembled.

She wanted to gulp it down like this, she really wanted to, but…

‘Not this time.’

Daphne shook her head. Yeah, she had to be patient this time.

The reason she came to catch the swindler this time was not just because of Adne, but to restore Kael’s reputation.

“Leon.”

“Yes, Milady.”

Leon, who was standing right behind Daphne, answered immediately.

Daphne pointed to the pile of ledgers in front of her.

“Please deliver this to Mister Skitt.”

“You mean the aide, Mister Skitt.”

It was Kael’s only aide, Skitt.

Although she felt sorry for the person who was always wandering around the hallway like a zombie because of the lack of manpower.

‘I’m going to give you more work.’

Let’s sleep when you’re dead, Mister Skitt.

Daphne smiled and nodded.

“Yes, look at this and ask the victims to sort out the amount.”

“You’re trying to give the money back to the victims!”

Daphne nodded.

This time, she intended to return at least, if not all, the money to the victims.

‘We need to dilute rumors about Kael a little bit with this.’

Rumors about Kael spread on the street were bad, even if they were of poor quality.

If this situation continues, Kael will continue to have a bad image among the aristocracy.

‘That’s definitely going to be a drag later.’

The moment they enter the fight for justification, Kael will lose.

‘Even Alan pretended to be nice and butter me up for no reason.’

If there was no clear power, it needed justification, honor, and support to challenge it.

‘Kael is third in line for succession.’

In addition, if there were a series of bad rumors, he could never beat Alan, the absolute number one successor, and Claire, the number two successor supported by the emperor.

So this time, it was right to give up the money and gain honor.

“Then I will talk to Aide Skitt and send the money along with a proper letter.”

Leon was quick to give an opinion after a moment.

But Daphne shook her head.

“No. We’ll just write a line or two.”

[We caught a swindler by chance and will return the damage amount.]

Frankly, this was full enough.

“Because heroes are cool when they’re quiet, right?”

“Yes.”

Daphne drank water and nodded.

“That’s true, and if you talk too much, you’ll only be more suspicious of trying to erase rumors.”

True, but such doubts were rejected.

“It’s better if you’re quiet and talk from the side.”

“Anyone who can talk to us? Is there anyone like that? Doesn’t everyone think badly of us?”

There is.

Daphne laughed inwardly.

Isn’t there one person who is perfect for such a role?

It was Count Coman.

‘Shall I borrow Count Brighton’s mouth as a bonus?’

The Count of Brighton also has not a bad influence in the East.

Count Coman in the center and Count Brighton in the east will be a little better if they work hard.

‘It won’t produce satisfactory results right from the start.’

Daphne took another sip of water.

Though, she had no doubt that this would be an important first step in diluting rumors about Kael.

‘Actually, the best thing is to take Kael to the central social circle once.’

Daphne quietly turned her gaze to look at Kael, who was still cleaning up the situation.

‘Dazzling today too.’

Daphne had high standards.

That was inevitable because she grew up watching the male lead Alan and the female lead Flora in her previous life.

In addition, as a romance fantasy novel, the supporting roles also boasted outstanding looks.

So when the eyes got higher, they got higher, but they never got lower.

Even in Daphne’s eyes, Kael looked perfect.

Silver eyes contrasting with black hair. Eyes full of melancholy under dark eyebrows.

It was a sharp impression.

But now Daphne knew how much smiling or crying would change that impression.

‘I can’t believe that the older you get, the more perfect you become.’

Suddenly, she remembered the first time she saw Kael in her previous life.

She ran into Kael, who came to negotiate something with the emperor, in the hallway.

‘Actually, I went to see you when I heard you were coming.’

It was her first chance to see the villain.

Thinking she couldn’t miss it, she went to the emperor’s palace while keeping a close eye on Alan.

There was only one thought when she saw Kael walking from afar.

If the original work she saw was a recent work rather than an old one.

The male lead must have been Kael, not Alan.

It was an appearance that made her certain.

‘So if you go to society with that face and smile, the rumors will die down on their own.’

However, Kael was not invited to the central social circle.

It was because of the emperor.

Even in her past life, the emperor was so openly paying attention to him.

Even if he came to the capital during his social life, he had to return to his territory shortly.

‘Well, there was no one to welcome you back then.’

But this time it will be different.

She will make it different.

“Huh?”

Her eyes met with Kael’s. Only then did Daphne realize that she was still staring at Kael.

Kael, who told the knight something, immediately approached Daphne.

“Are you bored of waiting?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Daphne smiled brightly. Wasn’t there something to do while waiting?

“Oh, Your Grace, the swindler promised something, so please send it to Count Brighton.”

“I’ve already wrapped it nicely and loaded it onto the wagon.”

…What are you wrapping up nicely? Did he tie the swindler up with a ribbon?

‘Seeing him at times like this, he really is Zegman’s son.’

Daphne shook her head.

“Can I take care of the money the swindler saved? I’m going to give it back to the victims.”

“Miss Daphne can do as she wishes.”

Kael nodded immediately at Daphne’s words.

However, there was a slight line in the middle of Kael’s forehead.

“But Miss Daphne, the alchemist—”

“Aagh! Sun—sunlight!! It burns!!”

She saw what the problem was.

Adne, who came out of the room and encountered sunlight for the first time in a while, was screaming.

“Someone put on a cloak for her, please.”

At Daphne’s words, Leon quickly ran over and covered her with a cloak, and only then did the screaming stop.

In the meantime, the wrinkles between Kael’s eyebrows deepened.

“…Is she really helpful?”

“Of course. Adne is a genius.”

“A genius.”

Yeah, you wouldn’t believe it if you saw that.

“Isn’t the red moon rising soon?”

Kael let out a small sigh and nodded at Daphne’s words.

When the red moon rises, demons overflow.

It was a time when the appearance of demons increased exponentially, poured out, and even strong ones who were not usually seen appeared.

It was a troublesome time for the Grand Duke of Bertrand to descend from generation to generation.

“At that time, Adne will definitely come in handy. Please catch some demons alive.”

And she’ll be of help herself.

‘I know some of the weaknesses of demons that haven’t been revealed yet.’

Weaknesses that she’ll inform Adne’s weapons that she strengthened.

This period of the red moon will be easier than ever.

‘There’s something else to pay attention to.’

There was something that only appeared then.

The problem was that even Daphne didn’t know for sure what it was or if it really showed up then.

But one thing is for sure.

That it had something to do with bringing spring to Bertrand.

‘It fizzled out from the original.’

In the original work, Flora is Alan’s envoy and heads to Bertrand to persuade Kael.

However, by chance, the period coincided with the period of the red moon, and Flora separated from the party because of the demons she happened to encounter.

Flora, who was so lost and wandering, came across an abandoned building by accident.

There, using the power to suppress the curse, accidentally weakened Bertrand’s winter.

‘It was quite a long story, but that’s about it in a nutshell, right?’

It was an anecdote full of questions due to the coincidences occurred in succession.

‘I thought they’d tell it in more detail later, but they didn’t.’

It was just an anecdote to praise the heroine, Flora.

At the same time, when Kael and Alan are together later, they create dramatic situations.

‘But I couldn’t find it in my previous life.’

Based on the information from the original, she tried to find the building where Flora used her power in the original, but failed.

She couldn’t find even the smallest clue, let alone an abandoned building.

‘It was frustrating because I couldn’t ask Flora even though she was in front of me.’

Daphne wrinkled her face.

‘So in this red moon period, demon hunting is a-go, but you have to pay attention too.’

The period of the red moon came in a certain way, but the period was long.

So it’s better to finish it all at once if possible.

‘The biggest obstacles to Kael’s growth are the curse and winter.’

The decline in territorial development led to a decline in military power, and the curse gnawed at Kael’s heart.

The sooner you deal with the two, the more likely chance you have of killing Alan.

“Miss Daphne.”

Someone shook her.

Kael was looking at her with a worried face as she suddenly lifted her head, getting out of her thoughts.

She seemed to have been lost in thought for much longer.

“D-did you call me?”

“What were you thinking about?”

Kael asked lowly and cautiously.

Kael’s hand, which was clasped behind her back, was tense.

“If you’re afraid of the red moon period…”

“No. That’s not it, I was thinking I should send a letter to the young lady of the Marquis.”

Daphne shook her head and smiled.

“She also bought jewellery, so I’ll let her know before she gets hurt.”

“I won’t let you do that.”

Suddenly Zegman, who appeared from behind Daphne, raised his arm on the back of the sofa and said.

“You guys, take a rest today.”

“Take a rest?”

“Yes. It’s your first time in the South, isn’t it? Just look around and play, the two of you.”

It was an unexpected forced vacation.