The first husband of the original female protagonist, Robellia, and a mentally unstable sub-male.

“I’ve cursed at you a lot while reading the original work, but I didn’t expect to encounter you in person like this.”

Feeling a strange sense of joy, I slowly scanned his appearance.

A face with a mixed impression of likability, autumn-field-like shining hair, and even a youthful charm in his eye smile.
Indeed, it was a beautiful trash-like appearance that captivated both the protagonist, Robellia, and the villainess, Camilla.

Henry, who had been flashing a cute smile towards me, eventually lowered his head.

“Your Excellency, it’s an honor to meet you.”

“I’m glad to see you too, Viscount Bart. This is the first time we’ve had a conversation without the Duke present, isn’t it?”

“In that case, it’s even more of an honor for me, haha.”

As I extended my hand, Henry politely took hold of it.

“A meeting between the former husband of the protagonist and the former wife from the original work. Whether in this world or that world, it seems the world is truly a small place.”

In my mixed smile with a touch of self-deprecation, Henry turned his gaze towards Camilla like someone who had noticed something.

“The Countess Dmitri also came to invest in the special carriage gift… It was a delightful coincidence that we could share a chat.”

“Oh, really?”

I smiled broadly and turned my head towards Camilla.

Until then, Camilla, who had been nervously biting her lips, quickly stood up as soon as our eyes met.

“V… Your Excellency, have you been well during this time?”

“Of course, Camilla. Thanks to you, I’ve been enjoying myself quite a bit.”

At my words of gratitude, Camilla’s complexion noticeably darkened.

“Oh, dear. It’s almost pitiful to watch.”

Glancing at me, Camilla tried to force a smile, but her lips were trembling.

“But, Your Excellency, why are you here…?”

Camilla’s tone seemed to imply that I had come to a place I shouldn’t have.

However, thanks to the leaked information, she should already know that I’ve entered the investment. Still, her attitude clearly indicated that she was ignoring me.

“Oh, Camilla. It’s such a delightful coincidence that even the Countess Dmitri came to invest in the special carriage gift.”

“Ah, is that so?”

I looked at Camilla with a sly smile.

Up until now, Camilla had taken advantage of Rebecca’s emotional deficiencies and economic ignorance, manipulating her at will.

It might be a pitiful situation for Camilla, but…

Rebecca from the past, who knew nothing about the ways of the world, and the current me are entirely different people.

However, I decided to let Camilla treat me like a fool.

“The trend these days is investing in gifts! But if someone as sensitive to trends as me falls behind, what will happen?”

Camilla sneaked a glance back at the Duchess Rebecca, the grand duchess, who was sitting in the middle of the spacious Hestia Hall. When her eyes met Camilla’s, the grand duchess responded with a bright smile.

Camilla reciprocated with a smiling glance but ridiculed her inwardly.

“Not wanting to fall behind in trends and investing… She sure has changed a lot. No matter what, some things can’t be fixed, huh?”

It was rather fortunate.

Without a doubt, I wanted to ruin the mood of the grand duchess, Rebecca. But there was no way to do that.

She wasn’t just a witness to my affair.
Stirring up Rebecca’s emotions, if the fact of her affair with her husband were to be revealed, the dream of safely divorcing while securing personal assets would forever be a bubble.

So, suppressing the boiling emotions, I’ve been enduring it until now…

“Wow, I can’t believe such an opportunity has come?”

If she wins in this competition and the profits rise later, the Grand Duchess is bound to feel a pang of regret.

Is that all?

If she misses the special carriage gift, the Grand Duchess will undoubtedly want to invest her prepared funds anywhere.

“I should recommend something with certain losses that I can console her with later.”

Then the Grand Duchess will lose a considerable fortune, and her relationship with the barely recovered Grand Duke will certainly become precarious.

“Will her foolish pride be flattened again? Would she come crying to me, pretending to lose deliberately?”

Smirking, Camilla finally poked Henry’s side.

“Why, Camilla?”

“Henry, let me call out the final amount.”

“…What? Why?”

Before coming here, the two had agreed to pool their investment funds and contract the gift in Henry’s name.

Extracting that agreement required significant effort on Henry’s part.

After all, managing the firmly opposed Camilla’s heart, especially after their dispute at the previous banquet, was no easy task.

But Henry suppressed his emotions, thinking only of the outcome. He provoked and teased her with plausible words.

Since the fortune gained from the investment would be shared after their remarriage, it shouldn’t matter whose name it was under.

…Yet she tried to overturn the hard-earned agreement in an instant.

A faint gold glimmered in Henry’s temple.

“Camilla, anyway, we’re on the same team. And this is different from our initial agreement.”

“Seeing the Grand Duchess made me change my mind. I want to beat that woman somehow.”

“No matter what, it’s not like that…”

“Henry! Did you forget that I have a larger stake in our investment fund?”

Camilla ground her teeth, shooting a covert glance at Henry.

In response to her sharp gaze, Henry turned his head with a face that concealed his irritation.

“My goodness, do as you wish.”

At Henry’s words, Camilla flashed a satisfied smile.

The scale of the Grand Duchess Rebecca’s investment fund had been known since the news of her investment was heard.

She had also prepared additional funds according to that.

“Well, that means the probability of me losing to that foolish woman in today’s game approaches zero.”

As Camilla was silently toasting to herself, the bell signaling the start of the transaction rang, and the transaction presenter appeared on the stage.

After exchanging greetings, he began introducing the item to be traded today.

“This special carriage, crafted with delicate technology developed by experts from both the human world and the demon realm over the past few years under the imperial court’s supervision…”

Just as the presenter’s announcement continued, it happened.

“Ha…Ah.”
A lazy yawn echoed through the silent hall.

Camilla and Henry simultaneously turned their heads towards the source.

Upon making eye contact, Grand Duchess Rebecca let out an embarrassed, forced laughter.

“Oh my, a mistake! It got a bit boring.”

Camilla, suppressing a burst of laughter, quickly turned her head.

“I knew that foolish Grand Duchess would do something like that.”

At that moment, Camilla mocked the Grand Duchess internally, considering her pathetic.

Finally, the presenter, having finished introducing the gift, ascended the platform and declared in a resounding voice.

“Now, let’s officially begin the trading!”