NOVEL WEB Chapter 31: Chapter 31
---Several Days Later, 3rd Person POV---
After several tense days of back and forth talks with Angelica's representatives, the five women managed to secure a brief meeting with her. Bringing the gifts that Victor had helped them pick out, and paid for, they presented them to Angelica before silently taking a seat at her table. Taking a brief look at the items they brought, Angelica nodded her head silently before looking at them.
"All of you have gone through a lot of trouble to set up this meeting and have brought me some exquisite gifts. What is that you would ask of me today?", Angelica inquired, sipping on her tea, "Before you speak, know that I am aware of the situation regarding your former fiancés. If you are here to ask me to force them apart and come back to you, I cannot do that. Even I have my limits."
"We are well aware that it is impossible now, Lady Angelica.", the midget said, "We would request your assistance in dealing with the rumors our replacements have been spreading around about us. The four of us understand that the men we loved are lost to us, all we want is to move on with our lives. As long as they continue spreading these baseless rumors, none of us can find new partners or socialize with our peers."
"Very well, if that is all you want, I can ensure that you are left alone now.", Angelica acknowledged, turning to one of her subordinates, "Please make the necessary arrangements to quash the rumors."
Bowing her head, the subordinate quickly left the room to carry out Angelica's orders. Following close behind her, as there was nothing left to say, the four baronesses thanked Angelica for her time then promptly left the room. Once the door was shut, Angelica turned to Olivia who was surprised by how good the tea was.
"Now then, before we get to your request, I have question that I want you to answer for me. The gifts the five of you brought are far beyond what a Baron's family can afford, let alone a commoner's family. How did the five of you come by these items, and who is your backer?", Angelica inquired, staring at Olivia intently.
Feeling the full weight of the duke's daughter bearing down on her, Olivia clammed up for a moment. She had done everything she could to not drag Victor down after all he had done for her, but she could not lie to Angelica. If she were found out, she understood that bullying her at school would be the least of her worries.
'I am sorry Victor…', Olivia thought, before nervously looking at Angelica, "Mr. Victor helped us out."
"Victor, you mean Viscount Victor von Stark?", Angelica clarified, 'What would a Viscount want with four baronesses and the scholarship student? Do not tell me…is he one of those sorts men!'
"Yes, he took us to several stores in the Market District and paid for the gifts.", Olivia said, feeling a bit embarrassed that he purchased the gifts for them.
"I see, and how does he intend to get his money back on these items? Surely, he did not do this out of the kindness of his heart.", Angelica stated, "Tell me, the Viscount is not using these gifts to force you five into performing- "
"Mr. Victor is not like that!", Olivia protested, leaping out of her seat, "He did not force or ask us to perform any of those naughty things. The entire time I have known him he has treated me with respect, and never shown any indication that he wants my body! Unlike the other boys, Victor treats me like a human being!"
Taken aback by Olivia's defense of the Viscount, her boldness intrigued Angelica. Remembering who she was speaking to, Olivia quickly sat back down with a flustered expression. Assuming she had just ruined her chances of a normal school life, she braced herself for the beating of a lifetime at the hands of Angelica's subordinates.
"I see, well it is good to know that he is not abusing his position for ill motives.", Angelica said, stifling a laugh, "So then, how does he intend to recuperate his money?"
"He told me that I did not need to pay him back, but I cannot do that. I promised him I would mine some minerals in the dungeon beneath the school to repay him. The four noblewomen agreed to report back to him if I get into another physical altercation with a noblewoman again for their repayments.", Olivia responded, looking down at the ground, "All I want is to be able to attend class without being bullied for being a Commoner. Aside from Victor, everyone treats me like garbage and says that I do not deserve to be here. One noblewoman even suggested I used my body to bribe the administrative staff to allow me in."
'Ah yes, I heard about that altercation the other day. So it is true then that the Viscount protected her from Stephanie. What could he possibly gain by coming to her aid though?', Angelica thought, "I understand, however, I do not think you comprehend how expensive these gifts are. These are not gifts someone below the status of a Marquess could hope to afford with pocket money. The two containers of tea are fifty thousand each, the box of sweets is seventy thousand, the makeup supplies are a hundred thousand, and the box of fragrant soaps you handed me are three hundred thousand. Honestly, I have been trying to get my hands on just a single bar for months now. Every time I have a chance to visit the stores, they are completely sold out."
"THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND!?", Olivia shrieked, nearly keeling over from shock, "I…I did not know they were that expensive!! What do I do?! Even if I work the rest of my life, I would never be able to pay him back!!"
Finding her genuine reaction soothing to her heart, Angelica was enjoying this back and forth with Olivia. Due to her status as the duke's only daughter, none of her peers ever treated her causally like she wanted. Everyone around her treated her with gloves because they wanted her influence, connections, or status for their own benefit. To talk with someone who does not care about any of those things…it was truly a breath of fresh air to her.
"Hahaha!", Angelica laughed, with a smile, "That is something you will need to work out with him, I am not sure I can help you with that. Now then, as for your request, since you brought such an exquisite item to me, I will have the female students back off. All you need to do is simply stay at the edge of my group and remain silent. If you can do that, I will ensure you are left in peace."
"Is that really all I need to do?", Olivia inquired, with a relieved look.
Forgetting to mimic what the noblewomen had done, like Victor told her, Olivia had inadvertently caused more problems for herself. Holding her face in her hands, Angelica dismissed her subordinates to speak with Olivia alone. Once they were gone, she gave Olivia a sigh and shook her head.
"Did the Viscount nor the noblewomen you came here with explain how this works? After you give your request and I agree to help, you need only thank me and leave. Sticking around and asking further questions is considered rude among the nobility.", Angelica said, looking her in the eyes.
"Mr. Victor did mention I should follow their example…I forget to do though. I…I am just still stuck on the value of the gifts he bought on our behalf.", Olivia stated, still not taking the hint.
"I give up…", Angelica sighed, her mental facilities exhausted from everything going on in her life, "Usually I would berate someone like you for trampling over our social norms, but I have taken a liking to you. Everyone around me walks on eggshells because of my status, they are never genuine with their feelings and always have ulterior motives for being around me. Keeping up a noble façade around them, with everything happening right, is truly exhausting. You are forbidden from repeating any of this, but…I am truly grateful you came here today. You are a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stale environment."
"Is there anything I can do to help?", Olivia inquired, unsure of how to respond to her.
Feeling genuine concern in her tone, Angelica opened the flood gates to everything she had been holding in. Telling Olivia all about her frustration at the prince's lack of interest in her and his desire to be with a girl he barely knew, Angelica vented all her frustrations on the matter.
"I have dedicated almost all my life to him!! From the moment we became engaged, I have done everything I could to mold myself into his ideal woman. I have attended countless etiquette courses to become a regal woman; sat through hundreds of flower arrangement classes; learned about what he does and does not like to eat; and studied hundreds of hours on all his hobbies to be more compatible with him. On top of all that, I served as a maid in the royal palace for half a year under Queen Mylene's supervision.", Angelica shouted, as she teared up, "Everything I have done has all been for him, but he has tossed me aside for that vixen!! I have tried to reason with him, explain that I want to spend time with him, but he pushes me aside and tells me that our engagement means nothing while we are at the Academy."
Seeing the pain etched on her face, Olivia could not imagine the amount of stress she was under. Doing the only thing she could think of, she got up from her seat, walked over, and gave Angelica a hug.
"I may not understand what it is like to be in your shoes, but I can clearly see that you care a lot about the prince. You have dedicated everything to him, and he is throwing it all away for someone else.", Olivia told her, "He is big meanie for making such a loving woman cry like this."
"Haha…yes he is a big, fat meanie.", Angelica agreed, feeling a soothing aura coming from Olivia, 'I can see now why the Viscount has his eye on her. She may not be a wife candidate, but she could certainly be an excellent mistress.'
Enjoying the silence for a few minutes, Angelica collected her thoughts and asked Olivia to let her go. Doing as she was asked, Olivia apologized to her in case she crossed the line. Shaking her head, Angelica admitted she was okay with what Olivia did so long she never spoke about it or did it again in front of her subordinates. Swearing to abide her terms, the two women parted on good terms feeling like they had made a genuine friend.
---Evening---
Retiring to her dorm room, having spent the evening in the company of the prince and his entourage, Marie was grinning ear to ear as she looked at her haul. Having received many fancy gifts from the five men, she was already figuring out how much she could resell the items for on the open market. With a large payment coming up to her family's debtors, she did not have the luxury of keeping these expensive items for herself, no matter how badly she wanted them.
"Being a poor noblewoman is terrible, I did not ask for this shitty life!!", she said, setting the items on her dresser, "Hopefully one of those airheads pops the question so I can leave this shitty lifestyle behind, and start living like the queen I know I am!"
Clapping her hands to activate the magic lights around the room, Marie turned around to head for her private bathroom. Running face first into Stephanie Offrey, the countess and her cohorts glared at Marie full of anger. Stumbling away from them, Marie backed into her dresser ready to piss herself.
"You were told to only split Prince Julius and Angelica apart, what is the big idea of taking my fiancée too?!", Stephanie seethed, "If you did not have the prince wrapped around your little fingers, I would kill you right now! How dare you make a mockery of me by trouncing around campus with my man in broad daylight!"
"I…I am sorry!", Marie cried, desperate to get out of this alive and with all her body parts attached, "It…it just happened, I swear I did not go out of my way to tempt the other four!"
"Somehow, I doubt that.", Stephanie spat, grabbing the gifts she received from the men, "Do not think for a moment I have not been keeping an eye on you. You are having them buy you expensive gifts that you turn around and sell to pay back your enormous debts. The Principality is not going to just let you go after you repay the money you owe them; you are in this for life…unless of course you want to end up dead."
Fearing that Stephanie, in her enraged state, might kill her right now, Marie attempted to switch topics by bringing up what happened a few weeks ago. Having not had a chance to speak with her about it, now was as good a time as any to inform her they had been compromised.
"We have bigger issues to worry about right now, Viscount Stark is aware of our plans.", Marie blurted out, "He confronted me in front of the prince and his entourage on the second day of school. That guy had photos and videos of my interactions with your people, what the hell are you trying to pull?!"
Taken aback by the mention of his name, Stephanie grabbed Marie's dresser and knocked it over. Knocking everything off her vanity after that, the enraged countess smacked her across the face.
"DO NOT BRING HIS NAME UP IN FRONT OF ME!!", Stephanie howled, having suffered unbearable humiliation at his hands, "Stay away from my Brad, or I will strangle you bitch!! Tear this place apart!!"
Standing there as Stephanie and company tore her room to pieces, Marie made herself small and stood in the corner silently. Hoping they would burn off all the anger they had toward her on her stuff, she wanted to avoid any more beatings. After tearing everything to shreds, over the course of twenty minutes, Stephanie looked over at the cowering girl.
"Listen carefully, all of this was caused by Angelica's subordinates alright? I was never here.", she said, before leaving the room with her followers, "You say one thing to the contrary and the Viscount will be the least of your worries…"
Slamming the door behind them, Marie let out a sigh of relief as she slid down the wall.
'I did not have a reason to take the other men before, but now I do. All those cunts had it easy while I struggled to get this far, it is time to even the score!', Marie thought, as she began plotting how to ruin them both politically and socially, 'By the time I am done, no man will ever want to touch them!'