Don't Trust the Heroine

“That’s a false rumor. Don’t you think you shouldn’t be so easily persuaded now that you’re in the business field?”

“Well, if the Crown Prince were in his right mind, he wouldn’t have chosen the Rodenherg Heiress to be his marriage partner now, would he? Hahaha!” Cavan mocked.

Cavan tried to make Madenna angry by criticizing the fabrics and outfits that were out on display.

‘We are meeting after such a long time, yet this is how he treats me. What an impudent man.’

It was very likely that Cavan had purposely come here to meet Madenna.

‘This couldn’t have been a coincidence.’ Madenna thought.

He must have deliberately come here to start a dispute after garnering information about Madenna wandering about in the streets.

As Madenna was contemplating how to get rid of the audacious man, Cavan’s gaze turned towards Farren.

“Hm…? Was there a puny kid like him in the Rodenherg Family?”

Although Cavan had ridiculed him, Farren made no retort whatsoever.

Farren was obviously annoyed at his words but tried his best to ignore his pointless blabber. He feared that his actions might sully the Rodenherg family name.

‘Yes, you’re doing great, Farren! It’s futile to get into an argument with someone as incompetent as him.’

Madenna smiled after inwardly complimenting Farren.

“He is a child that I sponsored,” Madenna replied.

“Sponsored…? What kind of talent does he have? Is it in some art or academics?”

“No…” She spoke calmly. “It’s magic.”

Upon hearing Madenna’s answer, Cavan burst out laughing.

His laughter was excessive and over the top. He accidentally knocked over a mannequin, causing a few hangers that stood beside it to fall as well.

“Hahahaha!!! I’d rather sponsor a clown! Have you gone bonkers, Little Lady of Rodenherg?” Cavan continued to snicker. “Oh! This will be fun to talk about in social gatherings!”

Cavan satirized Madenna to no end. His expression was full of contempt and disgust.

‘…As expected.’

Madenna looked at Cavan with an empty expression.

She was already familiar with nobles bad mouthing her in her previous life.

They had always spread rumors about her being rotten and foolish, for supporting a mage was something that only imbeciles would do.

But back then, Suzanne’s impeccable appearance within the high society helped her gain back her reputation.

Because instead of focusing on her identity as a mage, people thought of her as a poor girl who managed to raise her status to a noble lady.

Of course, Madenna was going to do the same to Farren. She’ll invest a considerable amount of money on his education so he’ll be able to grow into a powerful mage.

However, Madenna won’t reveal her plans to Cavan just yet. She didn’t want to explain to him why she chose Farren because he was her wild card. The only thing Cavan needed to know was Farren’s identity as a mage, not as a knowledgeable child.

Madenna strained a smile and opened her handheld fan.

“The purpose of a patron is to raise the protege to prove their future value. I highly valued this child’s future, so I chose him as my protege. What’s wrong with my judgment?”

“Ha, the problem is your decision in choosing mage as a protege. I suppose the business of the Rodenherg family will fall to ruin.”

“I said future value.”

Madenna squinted her eyes and glared at Cavan.

“I am adequate enough to know that mages are considered insignificant in this world. But what about the future?”

“What do you mean to say?” Cavan asked, puzzled.

“I believe that in the near future, mages will be recognized for their worth.”

“What nonsense!” Cavan reprimanded through clenched teeth.

He disregarded Madenna’s words as if they were worthless.

“Mages are nothing but trash! If they were as precious as you make them be, why haven’t they annexed the empire yet?”

“Ha! You say such interesting things.”

Madenna cast her eyes towards Farren, who was wearing a silk jacket.

Then, she grabbed hold of Faren’s hand, lifted it to her chest, and spoke, “The lining of this jacket is made of silk. It’s soft and shiny, so it’s recently been used for high-end clothing.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Do you know how silk is made?”

“And why would I know useless information like that?”

“Hoo-hoo, I thought you’d know, but I guess not. Silk is made from silkworms on mulberry leaves. Once the worms start pupating in their cocoons, these are dissolved in boiling water in order for individual long fibers to be extracted and fed into the spinning reel.”

Cavan folded his arms with a perplexed face as if his tiny brain could not comprehend Madenna’s words.

Madenna continued, “Silkworms have been known as pests for a long time. That is until someone discovered silk. It was considered as useless garbage, but now, their existence is highly-valued.”

“So what are you trying to say? That mages will be valued someday, just like silkworms? You want me to believe that bullshit?”

“Yes,”  Madenna argued, still smiling. “Silk is costly to make, even more so if one were to mass-produce it. To collect a huge sum of money, the inventor asked a wealthy family to invest in his project.”

“But, my oh my…” Her words trailed off. “The family rejected his offer without even giving him a chance.” She said with a sad expression.

“…..?”

“Count Cavan Tassio, that family was yours.”

His face fell faster than gravity.

“That’s why you didn’t know how silk is made. Boo-hoo-hoo, how sad. Your family didn’t recognize such a fortuitous opportunity and kicked the luck that came to their feet.”

He was speechless. He stared into her bright blue eyes, burning with fury, and his heart sank.

“You bitch…” he hissed.

Madenna erased her smile and spoke in a stern tone, “Don’t say such foul words, Lord Tassio. I may not have inherited my title yet, but I will inherit it. On the day I ascend as a Countess, you will have no choice but to seal your foul mouth.”

“How dare you-!”

“Well, my mother probably rejected your marriage proposal because of your family’s poor vision. I can understand her for doing that.” Madenna poured more salt into his wounds.

“…Shut up!”

“Oh, right! Since your family didn’t accept the silk offer, he came to my family, and we gladly accepted! Thanks to their naivety, we’ve earned a fortune and accumulated enough wealth to live lavishly for the rest of our lives!”

Cavan couldn’t bear any more of her words. He was as mad as flies in a fruit jar, the words struck right into his heart, and he finally exploded.

He would never forget how Madenna had humiliated him that day.

After he stormed out the store like a third-rate villain, a grin spread over Madenna’s face as she fluttered her fan.

‘He’ll definitely come back to get his revenge. Still, I couldn’t care less.’

Madenna could still remember her occasional quarreling with Cavan in her previous life.

He was as stubborn as a mule.

There was a high chance that this incident would cause Cavan to bear a lifelong grudge, but Madenna chose to worry over it later.

For Madenna had experienced worse.

‘I was executed on a guillotine for God’s sake!’

Comparatively, Cavan’s attack would be akin to a pesky mosquito.

Suddenly, she felt something wriggling on her hand.

Only then did she realize that she was still lifting Farrens hand.

“Oh! I apologize. Does your arm hurt?”

“No…”

Farren stared at her with an unreadable expression.

“Did you feel bad for him? Don’t worry. He only got what he deserved.”

“It’s not like that… I’m just upset at his words about wizards.”

“Well, all nobles are like that… They aren’t as dignified as they seem.”

Because of their wealth and power, aristocrats have become arrogant and selfish.

“…I want to grow up quickly. I don’t want to be a burdensome child who can do nothing but stay still.” He said with a dejected expression.

“Don’t be so bothered. Time will pass by quickly,” Madenna smiled. “Besides, you’re only 12 years old. You should enjoy your childhood while it lasts.”

“I, too, have not grown into a proper adult.” Madenna smiled bitterly.

Her body was that of a 17-year-old, but in truth, she had lived twice before. So, her remarks were pointless.

“Ho-ho, I’m still more mature than you, though,” she giggled.

“…I have a long way to go,” Farren sulked.

“Yes, very long.”

“…….”

Children usually say things like “I want to grow up soon,” or “I want to become an adult.” So Madenna didn’t really have a second thought about his words.

“I’ll pay for this,” Madenna said as she called the manager.

“I deeply apologize for the inconvenience I caused with Lord Tassio. You can bill the products he damaged on me.”

“You do not need to do that, milady!”

“No, Count Tassio will never compensate for the damage he caused. If you sue him, it’ll just turn into idle banter. Your store is valuable to the Rodenherg Family, so please let me do this at the very least.”

“Then… I will discount the items you bought today. I don’t think there’s much damage on the items that the Count touched. Would you like for us to deliver these items to the Rodenherg Mansion?”

“Ah, no, it’s alright. It’s unpleasant to own items that have been touched by him. Just donate it as a charity, children in the orphanage might find them useful.”

“I understand.” The manager bowed and called his employees to clean up the mess.

Then, another staff member led Madenna and Farren to the VIP salon.

“Please wait here until everything is cleaned up,” the staff said.

Farren and Madenna were the only ones left in the room, but Farren looked quite vexed.

He mumbled, “My Lady had to compensate for such a vulgar person…”

The resentment was evident in his tone. Farren loathed the Count.

Seeing his stern expression, Madenna dissuaded him and calmed him down.

She shook her head, saying, “It may be irritating, but what I did was nothing more than an investment,” she said as she held her teacup.

Farren was puzzled.

“Investment…?”