Strategic Marriage with the Mad Villain - Chapter 78

If one were to recount all the efforts Liam Verdick, the owner of Verdick Monastery, had put into this trip for the Duke and Duchess of Rochester, it would take several nights without sleep to fully describe them.

Even after making such thorough preparations, Liam was so anxious that he repeatedly told his staff the same things over and over again.

For the Duke of Rochester, nothing more and nothing less, just follow the manual unconditionally. For the Duchess of Rochester, be kind and friendly with all your might.

However, Liam had heard that the Duke was the ruler of the ocean, but he had no relation to the god who governed the sky. Thus, he never anticipated that Rose Asenri would dare to pick a fight with the Duchess herself.

Therefore, there was no appropriate manual for the staff to refer to when the rogue VIP became obsessed with the Duchess.

It would have been nice if, after instructing them to be unconditionally kind to the Duchess, there was an additional guideline to prioritize the Duchess in any situation.

Since that was not the case, the worries of the staff member who suddenly became a shrimp only deepened.

Although Roel Rochester was the Duchess of the Assilith Empire, she was someone they might never see again. However, the rogue VIP who went shopping in each country whenever she was bored was someone they would likely encounter again on a not-so-distant voyage.

If Liam were here, it would have been crystal clear that he would have said Roel Rochester should be the priority, even if it meant dying and coming back to life.

In fact, the staff member vaguely knew what choice they should make, but it was difficult to easily make any decision because they had to keep encountering Rose Asenri at work.

‘I’d rather faint!’

Although their inner thoughts were so anxious, the staff member, who had been in the service industry for many years, had a world-friendly smile on their face.

It was a smile that wouldn’t work on the rogue anyway.

“Why are you just standing there smiling? Can’t you hear me asking for it?”

“…S-Sorry, but according to the customer policy, it’s the manual to attend to the one who came first…. The friend standing over there will serve you more thoroughly and kindly….”

“If I ask for it, just give it to me. How dare you talk back? Don’t you know who I am? Do you know how much I spend every time I board a cruise? Can you still act like this knowing that?”

In an instant, numerous obnoxious customers that Roel had encountered and heard about in her previous life passed through her mind.

‘Whether here or there, there are obnoxious people everywhere….’

In the past or now, whenever Roel encountered such people, she would avoid them, but today, she didn’t want to do that.

Wasn’t that obnoxious person the one who had been persistently following her since earlier and openly picking fights with her?

Roel spoke clearly without hiding her displeasure at all.

“This is what I was going to purchase. So, it would be best for you to either be guided by another staff member or wait for your turn.”

“Ha!”

Purchase? What a joke.

‘Does she have enough money to buy this just because she has some?’

Only then did Rose Asenri check what item she was trying to snatch. It was a luxurious watch that anyone could recognize at a glance.

Even without looking at other parts, just the finishing of the watch showed that it wasn’t a matter of a few cents.

That was because this was Rendolv.

Rendolv watches were a dream brand that anyone who had succeeded wanted to wear at least once. The cheapest model started at a minimum of 60 million won. The watch that Roel was drawn to was priced well over 300 million won.

And Rose Asenri, a shopping addict, roughly knew that price.

‘Does she think she can provoke me when she doesn’t even have the money to buy it?’

Although she was certain that Roel did not have the ability to pay for the watch, the wealth of the Evelle Count Family and the Rochester Duke Family was not comparable to the rich of a remote kingdom.

However, Rose, who received an allowance from her father to enjoy luxury, thought that most other women would be the same.

Inwardly, she kept disregarding Roel, but ironically, she also lacked the ability to pay at the moment.

‘Ha, damn…. I don’t have enough money to buy a Rendolv watch.’

Rose, who had spent money like water, was so distracted by the noble woman she wanted to trample on that she only now recalled that she had spent almost all the allowance she was permitted for this trip.

But even if she hadn’t gone shopping today, it would have been impossible to buy a Rendolv watch with the rogue’s allowance.

If Rose had received around 1 billion won as an allowance every time she traveled, it might have been possible, but the maximum allowance she had ever received was about 50 million won.

Even that was money that Asenri had impulsively given her on her birthday when he was in an exceptionally good mood the day before.

Monzetto’s rogue pondered.

Should I roughly pretend to be angry and leave here?

She hesitated for a moment, but the rogue decided to be more aggressive, judging that Roel would not be able to make the purchase anyway. Soon, Rose sarcastically asked.

“Do you have the money to buy this? At a glance… it doesn’t seem like you do.”

Roel frowned at the gaze that unpleasantly looked her up and down. And the momentarily forgotten shrimp who was watching the two quietly thought.

‘She’s the Duchess of Rochester, so of course she would have this much money…. She definitely has it….’

The staff member wanted to shout at Rose to get lost right now in order to save their own life, but once again, they only thought about it inwardly.

The staff member’s face had a business smile as gentle as an angel.

Then, Roel finally opened her mouth.

“…It seems like you’re the one who doesn’t have the money to buy this.”

Roel knew that this kind of childish disregard would work very well on the woman in front of her. It was a big decision for her to sarcastically say that.

However, Rose’s reaction was more intense than expected.

“What? This is really crazy…!”

Just as Rose Asenri was about to approach threateningly as if she was going to slap her…

The man who had been following them since Roel and Milly went down to the shopping center finally revealed himself.

The one who blocked the rogue Monzetto, who was approaching Roel threateningly, was wearing a shirt with ample room…

“Theron…?”

“It’s Ron, Master. You keep creating and calling me by different names, as if I’m not your sky-like person.”

The man who smiled brazenly was none other than Theron.

“Yes, Ron….”

‘Why are you here?’

Roel asked Theron with her eyes, forgetting that it was a serious situation. Milly, who was fuming behind, was equally puzzled.

Regardless, Theron’s expression was overflowing with innocence, as if he were saying, “I’m here because I’m your bodyguard.”

“Master, lend me your ear for a moment.”

Although his tone was rude enough for anyone to hear, Roel nodded as if giving permission. Theron, who brought his head close, whispered softly.

“She doesn’t have the money to buy it anyway. Just tell her to buy it first.”

“Ah….”

How does this man even know such things…?

Roel was truly curious, but this time, even Theron had roughly guessed it based on his intuition.

‘No wonder he’s the leader of the Anas Guild.’

Roel paused for a moment with untimely admiration. Then, Theron whispered again.

“What, if you can’t say it, should I say it for you?”

If he had asked a question, he should have waited for the Master’s answer, but the fake guard, whose personality was terribly impatient, spoke without permission.

“My Master is generously yielding her turn to you, so go ahead and buy it first.”

Naturally, Rose Asenri was greatly flustered by Theron’s words.

Whenever she acted this rudely, there was never a single person who backed down first. Either the situation would become serious and people around would intervene, ending in a draw, or she would crush them with money and win.

So, today as well, when she provoked severely and the woman stormed off, she intended to calmly disappear, saying that she was also in a bad mood and lost the desire to make a purchase.

But the bodyguard who suddenly appeared ruined her plan.

‘Wasn’t she without a guard? Where the hell did he pop out from…!’

As a brief silence followed, Roel also realized that Theron’s words were true and drove the point home.

“That’s right. Since you wanted to make a purchase so badly that you cut in line, go ahead and buy it first. I’ll yield to you.”

Then, before Rose Asenri could say anything, she gently smiled at the staff member.

To anyone’s eyes, it was the calm and benevolent appearance of the Duchess even in a situation like this.

However, as mentioned, Roel would also wriggle if stepped on, so she was feeling a bit exhilarated inwardly.

“Then… I’ll assist you with the payment first, customer.”

“….”

“Customer?”

A chilling silence descended upon the Rendolv store to a frightening degree. The staff members, without exception, stopped what they were doing for a moment and glanced at the rogue Monzetto.

And after a tense moment, the first one to open her mouth was Milly.

“Miss, I don’t think that person has the money to pay, do you?”

She thought she was whispering, but because the store was very quiet, everyone there heard Milly’s words.

Naturally, Rose Asenri’s face gradually turned red.

Being dignified was always her forte, but today had been a series of humiliations. Throughout the process, that woman had never once been agitated and consistently maintained an elegant disregard, making it even more humiliating.

However, if the watch was in a slightly lower price range, she might have been able to purchase it somehow. No one on the cruise didn’t know her, so she could tell the staff that she would go to her room to get the money for a moment…

Then, Theron spoke in a loud voice.

“Ah, seriously, she’s dragging this out for so long. Did you come here without any money?”

It was the last chance to escape, even if it was a bit embarrassing, but Rose got caught up in Theron’s provocation and acted even more arrogantly than before.

Of course, her tone wasn’t as calm as before.

“Wh-What…! H-How much is it? How much, I asked!”

The staff member also spoke in a voice that subtly revealed a doubtful tone.

“Y-Yes, customer. The price of this product is 360 million won. Shall I assist you with the payment right away…?”

“….”

There was silence again.

At that moment, Theron blatantly said to Roel what he should have whispered.

“Master. I don’t think that person can make the purchase, so why don’t you just go ahead and buy it… right?”

“Pfft−.”

“Hehe….”

Milly laughed because she found Rose Asenri’s situation amusing, and Roel laughed because of Theron’s bizarre tone.

With her face turning bright red as if she was about to explode, Rose Asenri couldn’t hold on any longer and ran away from the Rendolv store as if escaping.