Please Support My Revenge - Chapter 35

Lobelia looked down at Silveston, who knelt before her, in astonishment. She knew he would cooperate, but she hadn’t expected him to be so actively devoted.

“James is my benefactor. I pledged my loyalty to him, so it’s only natural that I would be loyal to Lady Lobelia, who shares his bloodline.”

Silveston’s voice was solemn. Lobelia could feel that there was no trace of falsehood in his words.

Perhaps.

For the first time in her life, she wondered if there might be something akin to divinity in a person.

No, it’s a foolish thought.

Lobelia quickly dismissed her hypothesis in her mind. Silveston’s loyalty was merely an illusion, as long as Lobelia promised to give him what he desired. If she failed to fulfill her promise, he would no longer be loyal.

Lobelia made up her mind. She wouldn’t be caught off guard, no matter when Silveston turned his back on her.

“What do you plan to do next?” he asked, and Lobelia replied, “Gather people first.”

“I know that many miners have been fired because of you. We need to provide them with new job opportunities,” she explained.

“Really?” Silveston’s eyes filled with overwhelming joy. It quickly faded, replaced by a concerned expression. “But it will require a considerable amount of money to hire all of them.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Lobelia said, retrieving a neatly folded envelope from her bosom. Silveston accepted it with bewilderment, cautiously opening the envelope. His eyes widened in disbelief.

“T-This, this is…”

“A check for 100 million Menihi,” Lobelia offered. The check bore the seal of the central bank.

“With this, we should be able to gather the workforce, right?” There were plenty of miners following Silveston, so as long as they had the money, it wouldn’t be difficult to bring them together.

“For now, let’s provide the miners with living expenses and keep them on standby until I call for them.”

“However, it’s meaningless to gather miners if there are no mines. Currently, all the profitable mines in Merdanion belong to Evelentia and Cokwell,” Silveston expressed his concern.

“Don’t worry about that either,” Lobelia said, raising the pendant and placing it around her neck once again. “I will also rescue the mines.”

****

Lobelia and Joachim left Silveston’s house a short time later. Silveston’s wife and youngest daughter bid her farewell.

“Miss, it’s nothing special, but please take this,” Silveston’s wife offered, offering a few pieces of cheese wrapped in a white cloth. It seemed like she had been instructed to treat Lobelia with the utmost respect.

“We apologize for having nothing more to offer to our esteemed guest,” the noblewoman said, her faint smile appearing.

Lobelia sensed the youngest daughter, who gripped a strand of cheese with her saliva dripping, eyeing the wrapped cheese on the cloth. Her eyes were filled with reluctance to part with the cheese.

Lobelia hesitated but eventually accepted the cloth with difficulty.

The noblewoman must have known that her youngest daughter cherished the cheese. Perhaps not only the youngest daughter but everyone in the household would consider the cheese given to Lobelia a loss. Silveston and Joel also led impoverished lives because they couldn’t earn money.

Yet, despite all that, the noblewoman presented Lobelia with the cheese. It would be undignified to ignore such a heartfelt gesture.

“Thank you,” Lobelia said, accepting the cheese.

She briefly lowered her head and then lifted her gaze with a determined expression.

“I will repay you several times over.” That was the greatest promise Lobelia could offer at the moment.

The noblewoman looked at Lobelia with inscrutable eyes, then smiled faintly once again.

“My husband…”

She spoke.

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen him regain his spirit like this. I don’t know what kind of magic you’ve worked, Miss, but just seeing that is enough to make me truly happy.”

Lobelia didn’t know how to respond, so she tightly clutched the cloth wrapped around the cheese.

Receiving such expressions of gratitude was a first for her in her entire life.

It felt strange. It was awkward, and part of her wanted to deny that she was deserving of such gratitude.

However, deep down in her heart… She felt a bit pleased.

“I am someone who can convey positive emotions to others as well,” she thought to herself.

Lobelia didn’t have noble intentions. She approached Silveston solely for the sake of revenge against Marlon. However, in the process, Silveston gained some form of hope. His wife had said so.

“I shall take my leave now,.”

Lobelia awkwardly bid farewell and turned away. Joachim accepted the cheese. Upon returning to the hotel, Lobelia left the cheese in the kitchen and checked her disguise once again. She carefully placed the empty wig back into the net, drew back the erased freckles, and transformed back into Catherine Hayard.

“Well, shall we go and rescue the mine now?”

Lobelia said, noticing Joachim’s genuinely curious expression.

“But how do you plan to rescue the mine? You’re not thinking of digging up the ground, are you?”

Joachim asked, his expression showing disbelief.

“Of course not! Lobelia chuckled softly in response to Joachim’s question.

“I will buy abandoned mines and restore their operations.”

“Abandoned mines?” Joachim queried.

“Yes. Mines that were closed because there was no possibility of discovering any gold veins. Among them, I intend to acquire those owned by Evelentia.”

“But wouldn’t buying abandoned mines be meaningless? They were shut down in the first place because there were no gold veins,” Joachim argued.

“Joachim, have you ever heard stories like this? Stories of adventurers who gave up and returned home, only to discover treasures just a little further ahead?”

“That’s an old tale. My grandmother used to tell me when I was young.”

“What I’m looking for is abandoned gold veins that adventurers gave up on because they were exhausted.”

Among them, the one Lobelia was aiming for was Mine No. 9, famous for the massive losses it incurred due to the inability to find any gold veins.

In the original work, Aina, who inherited the mining business, suggests,

‘How about digging a little deeper in Mine No. 9? ’

And discovered a tremendous gold vein within a week.

“Can you imagine how astonished Joachim would be if he knew how much gold is buried there?”

But even with Lobelia’s confident assurance, Joachim could only look bewildered. It was natural.

For someone like Evelentia, known for her persistence, to find gold in a mine she had given up on sounded like the ramblings of a mad person to anyone. At this moment, the only one who could feel at ease was Lobelia, who knew about future events.

“Joachim, would you bring me some writing paper?”

At her request, Joachim went to the hotel front desk and brought back high-quality stationery and a fountain pen.

Lobelia began writing a letter to Viscount Rohan, who was in charge of Evelentia’s Merdanion branch and was close to Marlon.

Viscount Rohan would later become a man who assists Aina in her mining business on the front lines, and Lobelia knew a great deal about him from the detailed descriptions in the original work. She wrote a brief three-line message and called a hotel staff member to deliver the letter. With the remaining time, she leisurely enjoyed the hotel’s amenities and spent the day.

As expected, the next day brought a response from Viscount Rohan. Lobelia checked the contents and smiled gently. Rohan took the bait.

“So, you will come here.” Lobelia swiftly put on a wig and glasses, speaking.

“I’m glad. I didn’t want to stand in front of many people,” she added.

“I will be in the adjacent room.”

Viscount Rohan might recognize Joachim’s face, so he avoided his seat for a while.

In the hotel lobby, Lobelia sat alone, sipping her tea, and waiting for several tens of minutes until she heard a knock on the door. Opening it, she found Rohan, who had come following the hotel staff’s guidance.

He was a short and disheveled man, resembling a dwarf, and his appearance was far from that of a typical businessman. Instead, he appeared remarkably gentle.

“I have come to see Miss Catherine Hayard,” Viscount Rohan said as the hotel staff closed the door and left.

“That’s me,” Lobelia said, standing up from her seat to greet him. Rohan wiped his hands with a handkerchief and shook hands with Lobelia.

“I received your letter, but is what was written in it true?” Rohan immediately brought up the topic of the letter as soon as he sat down.

Someone has come forward, saying they will buy Mine No. 9, which has long been a headache for the Evelentia Merdanion branch. It’s natural to feel excited, he thought.

Lobelia said nothing and simply stared at him, buying time. Rohan Jazak fidgeted and examined Lobelia’s face before impulsively speaking again.

“It couldn’t possibly be a joke, right?”

His face was filled with the desire to quickly sell Mine No. 9 to this excited individual. Lobelia stifled a laugh and opened her mouth.

“Of course not. I genuinely want to buy Mine No. 9.”

Lobelia assumed an air of utmost innocence, playing the part with finesse. If Rohan desired a foolish businessman, she was prepared to fulfill that role to perfection.

“Grand, grand,” she uttered in a tone that hinted at her profound understanding of the situation. Only then did Viscount Rohan clear his throat, concealing the bubbling excitement within.

“But as far as my knowledge extends,” began Rohan, his words laced with curiosity, “the Hayard family succumbed to bankruptcy generations ago and retreated from the world. Pray to tell, whence came this wealth…?”

As the Viscount expressed his doubts, Lobelia unveiled her response without faltering, her countenance undisturbed.

“Within the relics left by my great-grandfather,” she disclosed, “we unearthed the treasury bonds that represent half the kingdom.”

“Oh, indeed! The Western kingdom had once issued a centennial government bond eighty years ago. At that time, the very foundations of the Western kingdom were feeble, with scarce inhabitants dwelling within its realm.”

A decade ago, a craze for exquisitely embroidered silk gripped the continent, driving the value of government bonds in the Western kingdom to unprecedented heights. Fortunes were made haphazardly, and Lobelia proceeded to fabricate the tale of the Hayard family being among the beneficiaries.

“I initially perceived them as mere scraps of paper, considering their worthiness for kindling,” Lobelia continued, her eyes sparkling like those of a genuine soothsayer. “Yet, her father discerned the kingdom’s seals adorning each bond. And over the years, the interest has accrued!”

Lobelia’s words resonated with a mystique that ensnared the Viscount’s imagination. Rohan nodded with unbridled delight.

“Thus, I obtained this wealth. However, I pondered long and hard, unsure of where to invest such a precious sum. But amid my contemplations, a memory stirred—what of the gold mine in Merdanion, perchance?”

A blush tinted Lobelia’s cheeks, her eyes gleaming with a dreamy enchantment.

“Evelentia and Cockwell both amassed their fortunes from the mining industry, did they not? By acquiring our own mine, the Hayard family could undoubtedly experience a renaissance.”

Lobelia’s words sent Viscount Rohan’s spirits soaring inwardly.

A genuine innocent, devoid of all knowledge, has taken the bait!

He exulted silently, rubbing his hands together with eagerness. Hastily retrieving the contract concealed within his coat, he gestured fervently.

“Come, let us set to writing this agreement without delay.”

Viscount Rohan chuckled at the prospect of ensnaring this unsuspecting prey, while Lobelia stifled a laugh, witnessing his obliviousness to the colossal vein of gold just beyond his grasp.