Raphael had no trouble finding the host of Walpurgis Night.

He walked confidently into Pagrassium. One of the gatekeepers, not recognizing Raphael, stopped him.

“Only authorized personnel can enter…”

“―But he is no ordinary person! Apologies, this one’s new and a bit slow on the uptake!”

Another gatekeeper quickly interjected, allowing Raphael to proceed without further interruption. With a smile, Raphael reached a particular building and threw the door open.

The atmosphere inside, which had been festive due to the previous night’s profits, froze as soon as Raphael entered. The chill in the room grew as he spoke.

“What is going on here?”

“Boss, you’re here!”

Raphael had never shown his face at the black market team’s building before.

He ruled the underworld with a laissez-faire approach, allowing his subordinates to handle operations as they saw fit.

Someone thought, ‘Maybe he wants a report on last night’s profits?’

The earnings had indeed been greater than last year’s, thanks to the extravagant spending of the Praviche family, including Miss Evelyn.

Mister G—real name Gale—quickly exclaimed, “Walpurgis Night was a success! We were just about to report the results!”

But Raphael wasn’t interested in hearing that. Crossing his arms, he smiled.

“A success, you say?”

“Yes! We made a significant profit compared to last year…”

“Profit?”

“…”

Everyone realized something was wrong. Raphael’s anger was evident.

As Gale slowly backed away, Raphael let out a sardonic laugh.

“You’ve all gotten bold. I let you handle things, and you sell fakes?”

“Excuse me…?”

Pagrassium had three rules.

First, don’t exploit the weak; only rob the rich.

Second, maintain clients’ trust; no scams, no fakes.

Third, never get involved with the royal family.

Raphael allowed them to do whatever they wanted as long as they followed these rules.

But they had broken the second and third rules.

“Have I been too lenient? You all must think that Dahlia’s Radiance was real.”

His tone was kind, but his expression was not.

Gale was shocked. “A fake? We had it appraised thoroughly, there couldn’t have been a mistake…”

“Everyone knows the person who bought it yesterday is my fiancée.”

Hiccups erupted simultaneously among the black market team.

“You dared to deceive Lady Praviche? She identified the fake immediately and brought it to me, demanding to know the seller.”

Faces turned pale.

Evelyn Praviche was known for her fiery temper. And Raphael? He was the ruler of the underworld.

‘Wait. Does this mean Lady Praviche knows Raphael’s true identity?’

Given Evelyn’s character, she couldn’t have figured it out herself. Raphael must have told her.

It implied Raphael loved her enough to reveal his secret. Though in truth, Evelyn knew from the original story, everyone else saw it as a grand love confession.

Only a few knew of Evelyn’s secret dealings with Raphael, so the lower-level staff were unaware of their contractual relationship.

“…!”

The black market team, that had just written the same story, were terrified.

Raphael was not merciful. Regardless of their excuses, those in charge of the Walpurgis Night project would be fired.

However.

“First, return the 400 gold you took from my fiancée.”

“…?”

They hadn’t expected this. Was he asking for the money first and then planning to kill them?

But Raphael’s next order surprised them even more.

“Then find out who proposed selling this fake and who sold it.”

“…?”

Everyone was confused. Gale, the bravest among them, asked, “Are you not going to kill us…?”

Raphael was a generous boss but still the head of the underworld. Failure meant death.

Yet, for the first time, Raphael spared them.

“I can’t have bloodied people serving milady.”

Raphael smiled gently.

How many employees had he disposed of? But because of Evelyn, he spared them?

Someone quietly gagged. No subordinate can handle a boss’s infatuation.

‘He’s lost it… Our boss is truly in love…’

They were now grateful to Evelyn, whom they had previously thought ill of.

“Of course, if milady wants you dead, you will be. She was quite furious.”

Blood drained from their faces again, and the black market team was on high alert.

<b>* * *</b>

I rubbed my throbbing head and collapsed on the sofa.

‘That was a nasty surprise.’

I hadn’t expected Pagrassium to host Walpurgis Night.

‘Why is the original story so sloppy? So many plot holes.’

Unrevealed aspects of the original were coming to light.

Dahlia suddenly paid attention to Raphael, Pagrassium hosted Walpurgis Night, and Dahlia’s Radiance was a fake.

All I had done was spend money, and yet, unknown parts of the original story were being revealed one by one.

‘I was told not to sell it at all.’

I slowly took out stationery and carefully composed a letter to Ulysses.

[To the Crown Prince whom I do not hold dear,

Has it only been a day, but did you have a good day? I had a refreshing one.

I received your letter suggesting I sell Dahlia’s Radiance for 500 gold. I spent a long time pondering it.

And I give you my answer in this letter.

No.]

I wrote the ‘No’ part especially large.

No further explanation was needed. It would buy more time.

After sealing the letter, I ordered Sophie.

“Send this to the palace.”

“Yes, milady.”

I sighed as I stretched out on the sofa.

Acquiring the fake Dahlia’s Radiance was unnecessary trouble. Though acquiring Baron Ella’s Manor with its diamond mine wasn’t a total waste.

‘Maybe I should ask Mother to mine it.’

Though not urgent, it wouldn’t hurt to start mining early.

Normally, Evelyn would go shopping during her free time, but I was tired of shopping. Real estate brought me peace of mind.

Quickly, I knocked on Tara’s office door.

“Mother, are you there?”

“Come in.”

Entering her office for the second time wasn’t as intimidating. I approached Tara, who was buried in work.

“I have a request.”

“Is it money?”

“….”

Tara quickly guessed my intention.

Though I had never asked Tara for pocket money, I often begged Asil and Douglas for it. I felt a bit ashamed.

“Douglas told me you sold Count Zachary’s Manor.”

What? That blabbermouth. No wonder Asil was so cooperative in helping me sell the land.

As I fidgeted, Tara asked,

“Why did you sell Count Zachary’s Manor? There are other good lands. Why specifically Baron Ella’s Manor?”

Scary.

But I had to take responsibility as an adult. I began my awkward explanation.

“Well, I read a book…”

“A book? You?”

For a moment, Tara’s face looked strangely emotional.

‘Oh, Evelyn. You never read books…’

The more I lived as Evelyn, the more I admired the real Evelyn. Embarrassed, I continued.

“Yes. I read a book about gems and found that Baron Ella’s Manor was a prime location for discovering diamond mines. And Count Zachary’s Manor…”

I trailed off.

Zachary Manor would soon suffer a drought. Selling it quickly and buying Baron Ella’s Manor was profitable.

But saying I knew the future would make me seem crazy. Better to look foolish.

“…Count Zachary’s Manor seemed useless and someone offered a good price for it, while Baron Ella’s Manor was cheap. That’s it. I’ll stop talking now.”

Realizing my poor excuse, I quickly shut up and bowed my head.

But Tara didn’t seem to mind.

“Hmm. So you sold Zachary Manor and used the money to buy that yellow diamond.”

Thanks to Douglas’ tattling, my family knew I bought that gem.

“I thought you were only interested in dresses and jewels, but you wanted a mine. Well, if you want it, you should have it.”

Tara murmured, resting her chin on her hand.

I expected to be scolded, but Tara nodded readily, surprising me.

“…Yes?”

“Curious about the mine in Baron Ella’’s Manor? Should we check it?”

What?

“I’ll send miners to dig there immediately. Hopefully, they’ll find lots of diamonds you love, maybe even pink ones larger than Dahlia’s Radiance.”

Tara smiled, then added as if remembering something.

“By the way, you’ve been spending money wisely lately. Well done. If you need anything more, just ask.”

Does Tara think I’m five, not twenty?

Buying and selling estates should be a scolding matter.

I didn’t buy a toy, I bought a mine.

Yet, Tara treated it like I traded toys for snacks. Couples do resemble each other, as Tara reminded me of Henry.

A few days later, miners were sent to Baron Ella’s Manor.

And the results were naturally…