Chapter 4

Rodi let out a sigh of relief as she stepped outside the shop.

Phew…… If I didn’t have this ability, I would’ve been completely taken for a fool.

A system window that revealed the secret weaknesses people desperately wanted to hide.

It really is convenient.

On her way home, Rodi hummed a little tune. She had saved on her budget, and in many ways, it had been a profitable deal.

Besides, I can just ignore what Jeo said about the house never selling.

Rodi already had a plan in mind.

In fact, she had decided who she was going to sell the house to from the very first day.

The buyer would be one of the male protagonists of Utopia.

Yuvar.

……Or rather, his father, Noien.

Born a commoner, Yuvar was the owner of one of the most prominent merchant guilds in the Empire, the Night of Abundance.

He was also so wealthy that even nobles could not treat him carelessly.

At this point in time, Yuvar was thoroughly sick of searching for a vacation home where his father, Noien, could rest.

His father had rejected every single luxury resort Yuvar recommended.

In an attempt to find a vacation spot that would satisfy his picky father, Yuvar would travel around with him, visiting one place after another, until eventually making his way to this very village.

I already know why Noien behaves that way.

Rodi had already figured out the psychology of Noien, who appeared as an important supporting character in Yuvar’s individual route.

Even the tiny wish that Noien himself had pushed into a corner of his heart and eventually forgotten.

From now on, this house will become a mansion designed for one person and one person alone—Noien.

With a small smile on her lips, Rodi turned the doorknob of the entrance.

✦ ✦ ✦

A few weeks later.

Around the time the interior renovations were nearing completion, Rodi purchased flowers to fill the mansion’s garden.

The florist tilted his head in confusion when he saw the seedlings she had chosen.

“Most people usually prefer a rose garden……?”

“No. I must have these flowers.”

The florist scratched his cheek and nodded.

“All right, then.”

As Rodi stepped back onto the street, the villagers’ curious gazes immediately gathered around her.

In this tiny village, rumors had spread far and wide that she had bizarrely remodeled the red-brick mansion and had even boldly declared that she would sell it for an absurdly high price.

Whenever the villagers’ gossip turned to Rodi’s house, most of them treated her like a complete fool.

A moron who doesn’t know the first thing about real estate.

An idiotic and wicked woman.

The villagers had even begun betting over drinks about how much her house would sell for.

“Maybe…… three thousand gold?”

“That old dump? I wouldn’t give it even two thousand.”

“I don’t think it’ll sell at all in the first place.”

Several more days passed like that.

After finishing even the planting of flowers in the garden, Rodi finally drove a small sign into the ground in front of the house.

[FOR SALE.]

Beneath it were the following words:

Price: 5,000 gold.

……Exactly twice the market price.

Whether or not the village erupted into an uproar over the sign she had put up herself, Rodi remained deep in thought.

It’s still not enough.

Of course, the mansion’s interior and garden were both perfectly prepared.

But there were still plenty of factors that made her uneasy.

First of all, if Yuvar found out that she was the owner of this house, there was a chance he would prevent his father from buying it, no matter how much Noien liked it.

Yuvar and Rodi absolutely despise each other.

Originally, their relationship was like oil and water. Rodi constantly mocked Yuvar for being a commoner, calling him a nouveau riche, while Yuvar despised Rodi’s vicious personality and the way she tormented Simone.

The solution to this problem…… is actually quite simple.

She needed to give Noien a strong enough reason to want this house, even against his son’s objections.

“……Hmm.”

After thinking deeply for a while, she let out a long sigh.

“I was planning to stay quietly in the village if possible…… but I suppose I have no choice if I want to get that.”

Rodi changed into an outfit suitable for going out and left the house.

Her destination was none other than the Imperial Capital—the place she had been driven out of a month ago.

✦ ✦ ✦

“Ugh……”

After getting down from the carriage, Rodi stretched her body from head to toe.

The distance between the Imperial Capital and Lagro Village was considerable. After spending so long riding in a carriage, her entire body ached.

I didn’t particularly want to come here at this point in time.

She gazed blankly at the bustling streets of the Imperial Capital, where crowds of people came and went.

In a place where all kinds of people gathered, her outfit did not stand out nearly as much.

I’ll just take care of what I came here for and hurry back to Lagro Village.

After walking for quite some time, Rodi stopped in front of an old antique shop located in the old district, where there were relatively few people.

“Is this the place……?”

After checking the faded sign, whose letters were barely visible anymore, Rodi opened the door.

Ding.

A small bell hanging from the door rang.

“Yaaawn…… Welco, come on in.”

An old man sitting behind the counter, nodding off to sleep, greeted her with a yawn.

He blinked his dim eyes rapidly before asking,

“Miss, is there something you’re looking for?”

“I’m looking for a jewelry box.”

The old man slowly pointed toward a corner of the shop.

“The jewelry boxes…… are all on that shelf over there.”

Rodi headed toward the shelf he had indicated.

Various old and worn jewelry boxes were piled together in a complete mess.

She quickly scanned the cluttered shelf before spotting a turquoise jewelry box covered in a thick layer of white dust in the corner.

Rodi carefully picked it up.

The turquoise jewelry box looked like an antique that had been made several decades ago.

“……”

Rodi slowly turned the jewelry box over.

There was a message written on the bottom.

To my beloved Renda, from Noien.

Rodi murmured upon discovering the inscription.

“……Found it.”

The jewelry box had a tiny crack in one corner and looked so fragile that it seemed as though it might shatter into pieces if she dropped it.

Carefully holding the jewelry box against her chest, she slipped between the shelves and paid for it.

Now all I have to do is return to Lagro Village.

Just as she stepped outside the shop with that thought in mind—

“Lady Rodi Evant……?”

Someone called her name from behind in a voice filled with shock.

Rodi slowly turned around.

Several knights in full uniform stood a short distance away.

“……”

Rodi looked at the woman standing in the very center of them.

Porcelain-white skin, beautifully groomed pink hair, and features so exquisite they looked as though they had been delicately carved by a master artisan.

Rodi slowly pronounced her name.

“……Simone Gretia.”

So they had finally met.

The heroine of Utopia—Simone.

This is exactly why I didn’t want to come to the Imperial Capital.

By this point, Simone had made a full recovery and returned to the knights’ order.

It was also the period when she was patrolling every corner of the Imperial Capital with her fellow knights as part of an effort to stabilize public safety.

Rodi glanced at the jewelry box in her arms.

Originally, this jewelry box was supposed to be something Simone discovered, too.

Long ago, when Noien and his wife Renda were still lovers, he had given it to her as a gift.

However, after their relationship deteriorated rapidly following their marriage, Renda had sold it to an antique shop for reasons unknown.

Renda eventually died, and Noien tried to recover the jewelry box as a keepsake of his wife, but was ultimately unable to find it.

In the game, Simone happened to discover this jewelry box and gave it to Yuvar, earning his affection in the process.

“Rodi Evant……!”

“That wicked villainess!”

The knights surrounding Simone, who were both her followers and comrades, glared at Rodi with murderous looks in their eyes.

“I’m sure you were driven out of the Imperial Capital. Why are you here!?”

“……”

Rodi briefly wondered what kind of attitude she should adopt.

It’s not like I can win their favor anyway.

By now, Rodi had already committed countless acts of evil against Simone. If she suddenly pretended to be friendly, they would only think she had gone insane.

Besides, I don’t particularly need Simone’s goodwill.

Rodi did not particularly like Simone as a character.

Her very existence had always felt like a thorn stuck in Rodi’s throat.

I’ll just maintain the image of the original Rodi.

Yoonseo had loved “the villainess Rodi Evant” more than anyone.

Even though she was a fictional character, Rodi had been the one person Yoonseo loved most in the difficult life she had endured under the weight of her parents’ expectations.

She did not want to destroy that character’s identity with her own hands.

If I were the real Rodi……

I wouldn’t become servile now.

Nor would I pretend to be a good person.

A villainess should remain a villainess until the very end.

Rodi pulled up the corners of her red lips into a cold smile.

“You look quite healthy, Lady Gretia.”

Her eyes crinkled as she smiled sweetly.

“It would have been better if you’d stayed in bed a little longer. What a shame.”