Chapter 31
A Meeting Between Ex-Husband and Ex-Wife
2023.10.31.
When we arrived in front of the Futures Exchange, a throng of bustling people immediately came into view.
The time was 3:30 p.m.
Only half an hour remained before the start of the third trading session.
“There are quite a lot of people here today as well, Your Grace,” Adrian said as he escorted me down from the carriage.
“I’m worried there might be too many competitors.”
Clutching his arm, I walked with him toward the carriage stand’s exit.
Once we reached it, I noticed a pamphlet display right beside the exit.
Those must be pamphlets containing today’s trading information.
I picked one up and flipped through it leisurely as I spoke.
“Well… I doubt the item I’m after will have much competition.”
My words made Adrian’s voice jump an octave, uncharacteristically sharp.
“What? Then are you saying you intend to purchase an unpopular item?”
After confirming where the futures would be traded, I handed him the pamphlet and nodded.
“For now, yes.”
Adrian’s face showed he had plenty to say about that. But since I was the Archduchess, he seemed unable to scold me outright and instead let out repeated sighs.
“Where shall I escort you?”
“Hestia Hall.”
“Hestia Hall…?”
Looking at the pamphlet I’d handed over, Adrian’s eyes widened slowly. His lips pursed, and his expression grew even more concerned.
“You really intend to invest in this item?”
“Yes.”
“…The special carriage?” he asked in disbelief.
“You’re well aware its current reputation is in shambles, aren’t you?”
“Yes, of course. I know better than anyone.”
I nodded casually and strode toward Hestia Hall.
The special carriage, developed with demonic technology, could cut travel time in half compared to ordinary carriages.
When first released, demand was explosive.
But that was only until accidents involving the special carriages began piling up.
The technology had first been introduced about a year after the human realm and demon realm began exchanges.
Unfortunately, no one had foreseen the possibility of demonic technology causing side effects in the human realm.
The imperial family recalled every unit that had been shipped, and from then on, the value of special carriages plummeted endlessly.
Even five years later, just as the newly developed model was preparing to relaunch, the stigma had not lifted.
“I did hear that this time they learned from past accidents and developed an improved version,” Adrian said cautiously.
“…”
“But even so, Your Grace, wouldn’t it be wiser to wait and see how things play out first?”
He continued his earnest advice as he walked at my side.
“At present, special carriages are simply too risky an investment. Futures trading, by nature, means buying now at a set price for a product you’ll only receive later. If the product’s value rises, you profit enormously. But…”
“…”
“If the value falls, the losses are catastrophic—as you well know.”
His worries were perfectly justified.
If I didn’t have foreknowledge from the original novel, I would also have thought investing in special carriages now was utter foolishness.
But having seen in the novel that Henry gained immense wealth by investing in them, I couldn’t possibly let the opportunity slip.
“Just wait and see, Adrian,” I said with an easy smile.
“Before long, these special carriages will be worth whatever price I name.”
At the back of the exchange, we reached Hestia Hall, where an attendant ushered us inside.
But the moment we entered, we froze.
I expected as much, but to think it would be this empty…
In the vast hall, only about three people sat scattered around.
Compared to the other trading halls, the turnout was pitiful.
Adrian’s eyes grew even more uneasy as he looked at me.
“Are you sure this is wise? Even now, we could still head to another hall…”
Instead of answering, I let my eyes sparkle and lips curve into a smile.
No competitors? Even better!
The very variables I’d worried about had neatly disappeared.
Now all I need to do is outmaneuver Henry and Camilla…
Just as that thought crossed my mind, I caught sight of a man and woman seated in the front row.
As expected—Camilla and Henry.
The disreputable lovers were so absorbed in whispering sweet nothings that they hadn’t noticed me yet.
I walked toward them with an easy smile.
“Well, well! Fancy meeting you here again!”
I pitched my voice higher, and both Camilla and Henry jumped in alarm, yanking apart the hands they’d been clasping beneath a handkerchief.
“Y-Your Grace!”
Camilla gasped, staring at me. Henry, too, turned pale and scrambled to his feet.
Henry Barth.
The heroine Lobelia’s first husband—and the unhinged second male lead of the original novel.
I cursed you out plenty when reading the story, but I never thought I’d see you in person like this.
I eyed him with a strange sense of amusement.
A handsome, pleasant face; golden hair like autumn wheat; even a touch of boyish charm in his smiling eyes.
No wonder both Lobelia, the heroine, and Camilla, the villainess, had been taken in by this pretty piece of trash.
Henry beamed his usual charming smile before bowing deeply.
“Your Grace, what an honor to meet you here.”
“The pleasure’s mine, Count Barth. This is the first time we’re speaking without the Archduke present, isn’t it?”
“Which makes it all the more of an honor, ha ha.”
When I extended my hand, he politely took it.
A meeting between the heroine’s ex-husband and the villainess’s ex-wife… truly, the world is absurd no matter which reality you’re in.
With a wry smile, I noticed Henry glance nervously at Camilla.
“The Countess of Dmitry mentioned she was here to invest in special carriage futures… Such a delightful coincidence, we were just chatting.”
“Ah, is that so?”
I smiled faintly and turned to Camilla.
She had been biting her lip nervously, but the moment our eyes met, she shot to her feet.
“Y-Your Grace… you’ve been well?”
“Of course, Camilla. Thanks to you, I’ve been having a marvelous time.”
At my pointed use of “thanks to you,” her complexion darkened immediately.
Oh dear, she looks downright pitiful.
Her lips trembled as she forced a smile under my gaze.
“But what brings you here, Your Grace…?”
Her tone implied I didn’t belong.
Of course, thanks to the rumors I’d spread in advance, she already knew I was investing.
Yet she still acted this way—clear disdain.
Ah, right. She isn’t mocking me now, she’s mocking the old Rebecca.
For years, Camilla had manipulated Rebecca, exploiting her emotional emptiness and financial ignorance.
Too bad for her…
The naïve Rebecca of the past and the Rebecca I was now were entirely different people.
But I chose to let her go on underestimating me.
The more she lowers her guard, the easier it will be for me to crush her.
So I donned an air of innocent ignorance and beamed.
“Oh, you know how futures investing is all the rage these days! I’m much too trendy to fall behind, don’t you think?”
Camilla glanced back at the Archduchess.
Seated in the middle of the vast hall, Rebecca met her gaze and returned a bright, carefree smile.
Camilla smiled back, but inside, she scoffed.
Investing just because it’s trendy? She may have changed a little, but stupidity is one thing no amount of effort can fix.
All the better.
Camilla had long been itching for a way to ruin the Archduchess’s mood.
But Rebecca was a witness to her affair.
If Rebecca’s temper flared and word of the affair reached her husband, Camilla’s dream of pocketing her wealth and securing a safe divorce would vanish.
So she had held her tongue all this time.
But now… such a perfect chance!
If she triumphed in this competition and profited later, the Archduchess would stew in envy.
And if Rebecca failed to secure the special carriage, she would be desperate to invest her money elsewhere.
That’s when I’ll swoop in—pretending to comfort her while steering her toward something guaranteed to lose money.
Rebecca would lose a fortune, and her fragile reconciliation with the Archduke would surely collapse.
Her arrogance will be flattened once more. And when she comes crying and begging, maybe I’ll take her back under my wing…
Smirking slyly, Camilla jabbed Henry’s side.
“What is it, Camilla?”
“Henry, let me make the final bid.”
“…What? Why?”
Before coming here, they had agreed to pool their funds and register under Henry’s name.
Henry had worked hard to secure that agreement.
He’d had to soothe Camilla’s temper after their spat at the last banquet, no small feat.
But he endured, focusing only on the outcome. With honeyed words, he coaxed her until she gave in.
After all, once they married, their wealth would be shared—what did it matter whose name the profits were under?
Yet now she wanted to overturn all that in an instant.
A crease deepened between Henry’s brows.
“Camilla, we’re on the same team. This goes against our agreement.”
“Seeing the Archduchess here changed my mind. I need to beat her myself.”
“Still—”
“Henry! Don’t forget, I contributed more to this investment than you did!”
Her eyes flashed with suppressed fury.
Henry clenched his jaw, suppressing his irritation, and turned away.
“Fine. Do as you like.”
Camilla smiled in satisfaction.
She already knew how much the Archduchess had prepared to invest. She’d arranged to bring just a little more.
Which means my chances of losing today are practically zero.
As she savored her early victory, the bell signaling the start of trading rang out, and the auctioneer appeared onstage.
After a brief greeting, he began describing the goods on offer.
“This new model of special carriage was developed by the Imperial Household, drawing on both human and demonic experts over several years…”
As the announcement droned on—
“Yaaawn.”
A loud, lazy yawn echoed through the silent hall.
Camilla and Henry turned in unison to find the source.
There sat Archduchess Rebecca, grinning sheepishly.
“Oh dear, my mistake! I just found it a little boring.”
Camilla nearly burst out laughing but forced herself to turn back around quickly.
Typical. Just as I thought—stupid to the core.
Even as she ridiculed Rebecca inwardly, the auctioneer concluded his presentation.
And then, in a booming voice, declared from the podium:
“Now then, let the trading begin!”
