The Villain is Being Suspiciously Kind

Meanwhile, Elaina, who had brought Baron Foluin there, was lost in thought. She leaned against a wall.
This was the atelier that Citrina had built.
It was the atelier that had trampled Elaina’s perfect path to success.
Elaina’s resentment had reached a strange place at last. The delusion that Citrina had taken everything from her had taken over her mind.
Just then, her father, Baron Foluin, strode out with a swaggering gait and caught Elaina’s eye.

“How did it go?”

Muttering under her breath, Elaina looked anything but normal. As she watched Baron Foluin stumble out of the atelier, she vowed that a small part of her revenge would come together.
The Citrina Foluin she knew was never hard-hearted to their father.
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‘I remember her eyes shaking every time she looked at father.’

Baron Foluin’s eyes darted around, and he soon made his way to the alleyway where Elaina was waiting. His face lit up when he saw Elaina.

“Fir, first of all, I left the IOU there. I’m sure she’ll pay it off. She didn’t say she wouldn’t.”
“That’s great.”

Right, Citrina Foluin’s view may have changed, but there was no way she would disobey her father. Even if she was out of her mind with jealousy and had a sense of inferiority towards Elaina.
Elaina smirked.

“Our Rina, why don’t we go eat a delicious dinner or something?”

Baron Foluin who was so brazen in front of Citrina, was so weak in front of Elaina. Elaina was a successful and lovely child who would help the family revive.

“…Yes, let’s go. I really want to eat.”

Elaina glanced in the direction of Citrina’s atelier.
She couldn’t watch her sister lead a happy life on her own. Revenge would start small, with a tug on the heartstrings. But eventually, she would tighten the leash around Citrina’s neck.
So what would her older sister choose?
Of course, she would choose family, right?
Elaina smiled bitterly.

****

Citrina was going to make a different choice than Elaina expected.

“Lita.”
“Yes?”
“When I go out, send this letter and jewelry to the address at the top an hour later.”

From the moment she saw Baron Foluin until now, she really didn’t feel anything.

“Citrina, are you alright?”

Adilac asked, but Citrina didn’t think about it much.

“Yes. There’s just a cold, clear feeling in my head.”

It was amazing.
When he left through the atelier’s doors, she was able to forget about Baron Foluin’s existence again.
It was to such an extent,

‘I’m no longer the first daughter of the baron.’

Citrina drew herself up. Gemma was absorbed back into the pendant like water seeping into a sponge.

“I’m going to get a diamond for Countess Badil.”
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She was going to the auction house to clear her head.
Buying her favorite gemstones was one of her most precious pastimes.

****

Although Oslo was able to source gemstones from his master craftsman, there were times when the right stones were not available.
Such was the case for Countess Badil’s request.
“I need a prettier, sparkling diamond.”
Citrina whispered to herself.
A gem that emitted a more noble light, so that it could be used as a stimulant to cure insomnia would be best.
With that in mind, she entered the gemstone auction.

“Lady Citrina Foluin”
“Yes.”
“You must be the owner of the atelier. Please take a seat at number 30.”

Citrina slowly made her way to seat number 30.
Already, the auction house was buzzing with activity. The quality of the gemstones coming in today seemed rather good.

-We’re lucky.
-Yes, we are!

Gemma whispered softly. By now, it seemed that Gemma had gotten used to the atmosphere in the auction house.
Citrina patted Gemma’s head.

“This is a one-carat diamond from the Vlad Mine.”

The Vlad Mine produced high-quality diamonds. An exclamation rose from the surroundings.
However, the gem was not in great shape, so the excitement in the auction house dwindled down. No one seemed to want to buy it.

-Gemma, doesn’t that stone look good?
-Yeah. A pearl in mud, so to speak.

Gemma had picked up that saying from listening to others. Using Gemma’s insight, Citrina raised the number 30 flag in her hand.

“Customer number 30.”
“Ten thousand cerils.”

Ten thousand cerils was a symbolic number. It was the amount Baron Foluin had demanded she pay back.

“Ten thousand cerils! Are there any other bids?”

Citrina looked around. No one else was interested in the gemstone. She gave a wry smile.

“Sold for ten thousand cerils.”

Now that she had accomplished her goal for the day, it was time to get out of there.

Everything had happened so quickly, from the auction to the purchase of the diamond. Citrina walked out of the gemstone auction.

“I…have nowhere to go.”
-What do you mean? We can go home!
-Home?

There was both the atelier and the townhouse she shared with Lita and Adilac.
That was her home.
However, today was one of those days when she didn’t want to head home straight away.
Every once in a while, there are times like that in life.

-Well, I’m just going for a walk today.
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Citrina said to herself bravely. A small smile played at the corners of her mouth.
Gemma tilted her head. Citrina, you seem to be in a delicate mood.

So as Citrina walked around aimlessly, it was a bit of a coincidence that she ran into Desian.
Desian was looking at her with a straight face. He wasn’t surprised by this chance encounter, but he wasn’t unhappy about it either. He just looked at her.
It was as if he had been waiting for her here.

“Del?”
“Let’s go home.”

The man spoke softly as if he knew what had happened to her.
Citrina asked slowly.

“…Home?”
“Yeah.”

He said, looking Citrina in the eye and standing still.
For her, the word “home” was a loaded word.
Citrina just looked at Desian.

Then, Citrina nodded slowly as they stood by the great wall surrounding the auction house.
Was Desian really her home?
An empty spot in her heart filled once more.