The carriage sped toward the Third Prince’s palace.

Before long, the additional construction guild for the Grand Plaza project would be selected.

I hadn’t even been invited.

I could already picture how much Leonhart would hate seeing me show up.

‘Leon, it’s not like I’m thrilled to see you either. I’m still dying of embarrassment after seeing you naked just a few hours ago.’

But what could I do?

The lousy author had ordered me to attend.

The intention was obvious.

‘He’s going to use me somehow to make sure Fabius gets chosen for the Grand Plaza project.’

Marquess Moulton had to keep thriving so Bianca could grow up healthy and strong into a worthy villain.

Every novel needed a powerful antagonist.

Only then could the protagonist shine even brighter.

Which was exactly why I had no intention of dancing to the lousy author’s tune.

‘There’s no reason for me to help Marquess Moulton, is there?’

He was already doing just fine as it was.

From now on…

I intended to become the villain’s villain.

Even if I had to make full use of Adrianne’s rotten personality, wealth, and power.

So that one day, Fiache would have an easier time defeating the villain.

‘It’ll make the story less exciting, but who cares? This novel’s already a disaster anyway.’

For the first time, I felt like I’d finally found my true role in this story.

With that thought, I drew the curtain over the carriage window and closed my eyes.

A short while later, Luna, who had accompanied me as my attendant, spoke cautiously.

“Master, we’ve arrived at the Third Prince’s palace.”

The moment I stepped into the audience chamber, every conversation came to an abrupt stop.

By now, I was so used to it that I barely noticed.

I started walking leisurely toward Leonhart…

…then stopped.

‘W-What the…?!’

The image of the perfectly sculpted chest that lay beneath Leonhart’s suit—and those brutally defined abs—flashed through my mind.

‘Aaaah, just go away already!’

I squeezed my eyes shut, desperately trying to erase the image.

By then, Leonhart had already strode over, wearing an expression that suggested he’d had enough of me.

‘Seriously? When I was a crow, you couldn’t stop fussing over me… N-No! Stop remembering what his lips felt like!’

Stopping in front of me, Leonhart asked with a puzzled look,

“Are you feeling unwell?”

“Not at all.”

“Your face is rather flushed.”

“…It’s a little warm.”

“Is that so?”

His indifferent reply was followed by another slight furrow of his brow.

“Then what brings you here?”

[Step 2: (With a mocking smile.) How strange. I merely attended according to schedule. Is that really something that warrants an interrogation?]

“Your Highness, I merely attended according to schedule. I don’t believe I’ve done anything that warrants being questioned.”

“And how did you learn the schedule?”

“I confirmed it with Your Highness’s aide, of course. As an advisor, isn’t that information I should naturally be aware of?”

“I have to wonder whether the information you were so eager to obtain through my aide was truly the construction schedule.”

‘Or was it my schedule you were really after? You’re the stalker, after all.’

That was the implication behind his words.

I’d been waiting for him to bring it up.

Perfect.

“Your Highness, have you heard the rumors that I’m looking for a fiancé?”

“I have heard such a ridiculous rumor.”

“It’s not a rumor. It’s true. I’ll be getting engaged soon.”

“…You’re really recruiting a fiancé in public?”

“Why shouldn’t I? It’s an incredibly efficient way to save both time and effort.”

Leonhart narrowed his eyes as he studied me.

“You were obsessively fixated on me until recently… and now, all of a sudden, you’re talking about getting engaged. Have you been taking some kind of medication?”

“No. I’m perfectly sane.”

“I beg to differ… You should return home and have your physician examine you.”

“In any case, it is true that I intend to get engaged. I wanted to make sure you knew that.”

The corner of Leonhart’s mouth lifted as he stepped closer and lowered his voice.

“So what’s your real game? Distracting everyone with an engagement while plotting something else? Did you really think I wouldn’t see through you?”

“Believe me or don’t. That’s entirely up to you. But there’s one thing I can say with absolute certainty.”

Meeting Leonhart’s gaze head-on, I emphasized every single word.

“I have absolutely no ulterior motives toward Your Highness. I have no intention whatsoever of marrying you. Not now, not ever. Not even the slightest.”

“…”

“I wouldn’t marry you even if Your Highness begged me to.”

A strange expression crossed Leonhart’s face.

‘Huh? I thought he’d be overjoyed to hear that. Does he still not believe me?’

Well…

A woman who had stalked him for twelve years wasn’t exactly going to earn his trust with a few words.

“Would you like me to put it in writing?”

“…Are you serious?”

“How about this? If I ever break that promise, I’ll hand over all of House Ivrante’s wealth to Your Highness and step down as head of the family.”

“Then why did you go so far as to draft a proposal just to involve yourself in the Grand Plaza project?”

“Honestly…”

I had been about to tell him that hadn’t been my reason for drafting the proposal.

That all I’d really wanted was to stop that ridiculous statue from being built.

[Level 2: (With an arrogant smile.) Did you really think a mere proposal would make me an advisor? I simply accepted the consequences of underestimating my own abilities.]

“…I never expected a single proposal would make me an advisor. It was my own miscalculation, so I simply accepted responsibility for it.”

Leonhart searched my eyes as though trying to uncover the truth hidden behind them.

He still seemed unconvinced.

I merely shrugged.

‘He’ll believe me once I’m engaged to someone else.’

[Level 3: (As though suddenly remembering, with an offhand expression.) By the way, have you decided which construction guild you’ll be selecting?]

“By the way, have you decided which construction guild you’ll be selecting?”

“So that’s why you’ve come… If you’re here to lobby for a particular guild, I’d suggest you reconsider.”

“I wasn’t planning to lobby for—”

[Level 3: (Glancing in Marquess Moulton’s direction.) Rather than lobbying, wouldn’t it be acceptable for me to offer some advice worth considering as an advisor?]

‘…Where’s Marquess Moulton? At least tell me what he looks like before giving me instructions!’

Fortunately, I’d prepared for exactly this situation before coming.

I’d already asked Sylph to give me some sort of signal the moment she spotted Marquess Moulton.

Thanks to the wind she’d planted in Bianca’s room and the Moultons’ bedroom, Sylph knew exactly what he looked like.

Expecting her signal, I turned toward the gathered crowd.

At that exact moment, a powerful gust burst through the windows and swept across the audience chamber.

“Ahhh!”

Someone cried out.

Every eye in the room turned toward the same spot.

A middle-aged man with sweat pouring from his shiny bald head was desperately trying to catch the wig the wind had blown away.

That was Marquess Moulton.

‘Nice one, Sylph.’

I looked away from him and followed the command.

“Rather than lobbying, wouldn’t it be acceptable for me to offer some advice worth considering as an advisor?”

No matter how casually I tried to play it off, there was no fooling Leonhart’s sharp eyes.

Realizing I’d spotted Marquess Moulton, he openly smirked.

“So Fabius is the guild you’re here to recommend?”

[Level 3: (With a lofty expression.) Of course not. I severed House Ivrante’s business ties with Fabius not long ago over an unfortunate incident.]

‘Huh? Why would the command have me tell Leonhart that?’

It was almost as though it wanted to emphasize that Fabius and I were no longer on good terms…

‘Ah! So that’s the idea. Leonhart will choose Fabius without hesitation as long as he thinks it has nothing to do with me.’

Which meant Fabius had made it to the final shortlist—and was the leading candidate.

Leading enough that Leonhart would choose it…

…provided it had no connection to me.

As if urging me to stop hesitating, the command appeared once again.

[Level 3: (With a lofty expression.) Of course not. I severed House Ivrante’s business ties with Fabius not long ago over an unfortunate incident.]

“Of course not. I severed House Ivrante’s business ties with Fabius not long ago over an unfortunate incident.”

“Is that so…”

Leonhart let the words trail off.

I’d just declared with my own mouth that I had no ties to Fabius.

No wonder he was hesitating.

At this rate, the chances of him choosing Fabius had probably risen to ninety percent.

‘At this rate, I’m going to end up helping Fabius win the bid with my own two hands.’

Honestly, that caught me off guard.

I’d expected the lousy author to blatantly order me to push Fabius instead.

‘Not bad… the lousy author actually put some thought into this.’

It wasn’t what I’d expected, but I wasn’t flustered.

I knew Leonhart far too well to believe he’d fall for something that transparent.

“Your Highness, there’s something I’d like to say.”

“If it’s about the guilds, don’t bother. I have no intention of listening.”

“I have no intention of recommending any particular guild. I merely wanted to share a way to identify fraudsters.”

“Fraudsters?”

“Yes. The taxes meant to celebrate His Majesty’s birth shouldn’t be lining a swindler’s pockets, should they?”

Leonhart’s expression changed.

“…Go on.”

“The guild you’re selecting today is the one that will be responsible for constructing the greenhouse section of the Grand Plaza project. Naturally, you’ve focused your evaluation on guilds with extensive experience building greenhouses.”

“That’s correct.”

“I assume you’ve also requested copies of the proposals they submitted for previous greenhouse projects as reference material. Have you looked through those as well?”

“I have. I didn’t find anything particularly suspicious.”

“Even after comparing the detailed breakdowns from projects of a similar scale to this one?”

A flicker of surprise crossed Leonhart’s face.

He hadn’t gone that far.

“The overall budget won’t tell you much, so ignore that. Instead, choose a single item from the cost breakdown and compare that across similar proposals. You’ll probably notice something odd in the labor costs or the basic material costs. Those are the easiest places to manipulate.”

Take two projects of roughly the same scale…

…then inflate the labor or material costs several times over to pad the budget.

It was a classic method of embezzlement, especially in public works funded by tax revenue.

Leonhart checked the time before calling Ashir over and whispering something to him.

His voice was too quiet for me to hear.

He was probably instructing him to delay the announcement.

After receiving Leonhart’s orders, Ashir stepped forward and addressed the room.

“Your attention, please. Due to a procedural issue, the announcement has been postponed. We ask that everyone reconvene in two hours.”

Displeased murmurs rippled through the hall.

Even so, no one was bold enough to protest directly in front of Leonhart.

Marquess Moulton was no exception.

Though he lingered nearby with an anxious expression, glancing repeatedly between Leonhart and me, he ultimately left with everyone else.

Just as Leonhart was about to leave the audience chamber, he suddenly turned back to look at me.

“Perhaps…”

“Yes, Your Highness?”

“If you’re not busy… would you be willing to help?”

Bingo.

A gentle smile spread across my face.

“That’s precisely what an advisor is for.”

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