The Villainess Is My Cute Daughter

Adrian nodded firmly.

"Yeah then. Let’s go inside the command tent and officially finish our deals on paper. I’ll buy everything right at this moment, and I’ll completely take care of the storage and everything by myself."

He pointed to the camp.

"So your only responsibility is in transporting all of the things that I need here at a lower price. And I will buy all of it the exact moment it gets here. I’ll pay you a generous advance payment of twenty percent in gold right now, and I’ll pay the rest of the eighty percent upon delivery."

The nobles nodded eagerly.

"Let’s go to the tent and finish the deal then."

A man wearing a loose, dark hood walked deep inside a natural cave.

The cave was pretty narrow, and only around two normal people could comfortably walk side by side in it. The man walked silently for a few dozen meters before he finally came to a stop in a wider cavern.

He looked back over his shoulder. He couldn’t really see the entrance anymore because the cave tunnel had multiple curves. And due to that, even if someone tried to look inside while standing outside in the forest, they wouldn’t be able to see what was going on inside here.

And that was exactly what the man wanted.

He put his pale hands on his hood and pushed it back.

It was none other than Royal Financial Minister Roderick.

He looked slightly annoyed right now. He turned back around and looked straight down at the thing that he had been secretly using for decades to help him achieve various political and personal goals.

It was a massive triangular drawing that was etched directly onto the floor.

In fact, it just looked like a chalk drawing at first glance, but it wasn’t one. It had a perfectly symmetrical triangular outline, but the inside was filled with incredibly intricate lines, complex curves, and geometric shapes.

And this whole massive diagram wasn’t actually just a simple drawing either. It was a sort of carving. It was almost like someone had taken a chisel and made these deep grooves directly onto a single, massive stone. And the stone itself inside the triangle was extremely smooth, almost exactly like someone had polished it to absolute perfection.

Roderick just stared at it.

He took a deep breath, and he muttered quietly to himself.

"If it wasn’t for that dumb, arrogant brother of mine acting out, I wouldn’t have to be constantly using you so often."

He rubbed his temples.

"I told him multiple times to not needlessly offend a guy who has this much high potential. There are multiple rumors about him going around the capital," he muttered, shaking his head before he just sat down on the cold floor right in front of the array.

He sat cross-legged in front of the carved array, and he sighed again.

"There are multiple rumors about Adrian Sterling. And none of them have actually been confirmed by our Royal spies. No matter how many people I send to his territory, none of his people nor his soldiers open their mouths. The common citizens don’t really know what is going on inside the restricted military camp, and the loyal soldiers refuse to say anything."

He frowned as he looked at the array.

"And if I send my best men to actively spy on the estate? They simply never come back."

He just looked up at the cave ceiling, feeling slightly defeated.

Not a single person had ever made him feel like this before. And this specific lack of information only meant one exact thing.

Adrian was someone who was not to be underestimated. Not one bit.

And he was exactly someone who Roderick would have always, no matter which era he was in, no matter how young he was, no matter if he was fighting for the throne, or even if it was right now where he had already permanently secured his safe position as the Royal Financial Minister... Adrian was someone he would always want on his side as an asset.

But thanks to his dear, idiotic half-brother who was currently the Emperor, it was not really possible anymore. It would take him a massive amount of effort and leverage to bring Adrian back to the Royal faction’s side now.

Roderick just shook his head slowly.

"Since it’s like this, I don’t really have a choice anymore. I don’t really want to be an Emperor myself anymore, so I can’t exactly pull Maximilian down from his throne right now without destabilizing the whole Kingdom."

He tapped a finger on his knee.

"And his kids aren’t really ready for the throne yet. They would definitely be significantly easier to control as puppets, but they’re not nearly as strong as Maximilian right now."

Roderick scoffed.

"He knows exactly what I want. And he still does stupid things just to please his wives, which is just incredibly annoying. Maybe... maybe I should just kill one of his favorite Queens to set an example and to make him know his place again. And that will also probably keep his other annoying wives in check."

He nonchalantly reached into his robes, took out a sharp, hunting knife, and casually cut his own palm before he let his dark blood drip directly onto the array.

And as he silently watched his own blood drip, he continued to think. Before, he was just muttering out loud, but now he kept his thoughts strictly in his mind.

’Why the hell did Adrian’s ex-wife have to be Vaneira? And why did her sister have to be my brother’s favorite wife? This connection is just annoying. Usually, sisters from nobility aren’t really that close to plot together, but yeah, I guess he’s just cursed, that man.’

Roderick just let his blood drip steadily. He watched as it hit the smooth stone, and he just stared, his mind going completely blank for a few quiet seconds before he refocused.

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