The Girl He Dumped Becomes a Billionaire.

Chapter 17

"Even if it's an empty glove, it's still a willingness to fight." Marianne said in disbelief, "As long as Odin's little emperor waits patiently for a few years, the whole of Obstar will be his, so why bother with a tiny city."

Marianne simply used Lucius' knees as the armrests of the chair, causing the latter to almost jump up from the window sill: "The game of power is not just about strength, it's also about who will live longer."

To put it bluntly, if Marianne and Lucius's grandfather can survive until today, the Duchy of Britannia may not be able to take advantage of the moment when Richard just ascended to the throne, forcing the young King of Solins to agree to the independence of the Duchy of Britannia.

"The question is can the young Emperor of Odin afford to wait?" Lucius was very skeptical, "King Obstar's health isn't bad, it's not certain who will boil who!"

"But what does that have to do with us." Marianne said meaningfully, "Neither side is a fool, the question is whether Grand Duchy of Norsca can be invincible in the game between the two countries."

Lucius always felt that Marianne didn't act like a human, but then again, it took a personality like hers to make it in this twisted society.

"I've always wanted to ask you a question." Lucius suddenly changed the topic, "When exactly did your conflict with Henry come to a head?"

"Born."

"Honestly." Lucius outright disproved Marianne's lie, "Henry isn't stupid enough to harass someone he has no interest in disputing with. And don't think I'm blind to the fact that Henry hates you more than he hates me."

Although Marianne was the legitimate child of this female Grand Duke of the Grand Duchy of Norsca, she was no match for Lucius as far as competitiveness was concerned.

Not only in terms of competitiveness in the framework of power, but also in terms of personal ability, Marianne could not catch up with Lucius, so as a child, Henry was more keen on making Lucius, who had already begun his life as a child-servant, suffer than paying attention to his toddler sister.

Marianne briefly contemplated whether or not to tell Lucius the truth, with a question on her lips, "You want to know the reason that badly?"

"...... It's fine if you don't want to talk about it." Lucius also knew that he had no reason to force Marianne's hand, but still, he would feel that Marianne wasn't treating him like one of his own if she didn't tell him the truth.

Perhaps it was Lucius' emotional outburst that made Marianne reflexively feel a sense of crisis, so much so that she didn't even think about the consequences of telling the truth before revealing half of the inside story, "Do you still remember when we were little, Henry was put in the dungeon by his mother-sama after the messenger from the Duchy of Bretonia came over?"

"What you mean is that Henry and you have interests entangled in the issue of the Duchy of Britannia." Lucius wasn't a fool, besides, the physical condition of this female Duke of the Duchy of Britannia wasn't known to everyone, but it wasn't a secret in high society. Even after Prince Henry was born, this female Grand Duke of the Grand Duchy of Norsca was ready to become the heir of the Duchy of Britannia.

And combined with the fact that Marianne had been engaged to Richard of Solins and repented, and had married this female Duke of the Duchy of Bretonia afterward, Lucius was able to guess what was going on here, so he couldn't help but look at Marianne with a sympathetic gaze, causing the latter to feel very amused.

"What, are you trying to get back at me for me?" Marianne teased, "Sympathy comes at a price."

Marianne pressed her skirt as she hopped off the ledge with Lucius in tow, "Don't just show your sympathy to others."

"Why?"

"Because in this world there is not only the weak and the strong, but there is also holding the weak against the strong."

Lucius stared at Marianne's back until movement came from the study of the female Grand Duke of the Grand Duchy of Norsca and he left the windowsill.

"Someone just came to ask what you're going to do with the slaves."

As soon as Marianne returned to her room she saw Abigail sprawled out on her bed, even with a silver platter full of treats resting on the expensive silk fabric.

When Marianne returns, Abigail doesn't get out of bed, but raises her wine glass in a very uppity manner and extends a depraved invitation to Marianne: "Would you like a drink?"

"And you are so not polite with me." Marianne lifted her skirt and crawled over to Abigail, hogging the other woman's cushions and pastries outright.

"At least pour me a glass of juice!" Marianne reached for a glass on the nightstand, signaling Abigail not to forget her duty.

"Where are those slaves being held now?" Marianne doesn't like sweet and savory treats, so she put them down after half a nibble, "If you hadn't warned me, I'd probably have them rotting to death in ten days and half a month....... Where are they?"

"The dungeon." Abigail was at least Marianne's personal maid, so she didn't slack off on her job to the point of not knowing what she was asking, "Because of your brother, there's no room in the maid's room for the time being."

"Hmm? Henry's actually not broke yet?" Marianne said with some surprise, "At the rate he earns money, even if another ten thousand years passed, it wouldn't be able to match the rate he spends it."

"So your brother married a nice wife." Abigail slurred, "Solins sidekick princess is the only being I've ever seen that can match you in pretense. Aside from Henry, there's basically no one at the court of the Grand Duchy of Norsca who doesn't like her."

"Including my mother and Lucius?"

"That I don't know." Abigail was barely a simple witch. Or rather, a creature like a witch can seldom spare the energy to play mind games with people after being entwined with the Crucible to the death, "As far as I'm concerned, as long as the being can live in peace, it counts as 'like'."

"Then your range of likes could be wider than the ocean." Marianne spat, "As your employer, I'm probably your biggest 'favorite'."

"Logically, there's nothing wrong with your words." Abigail grudgingly affirmed Marianne's tirade before bringing the two men's conversation back on topic, "What are you going to do with the slaves. After all, it's a huge 'property' of nearly three million dollars, you're not going to let them rot in the dungeon!"

"But I'm not going to be foolish enough to install them right next to me." Marianne wouldn't let her guard down on the slaves even if she put a straitjacket on them.

Especially since her purchases included no shortage of Drow, half-blooded gray elves, and beings with bloodlines so mixed up that they were out of their minds.

Seeing that Marianne was half silent, Abigail suggested, "Why don't you go check them out in the dungeon. Anyway, with the guards and sacred seals there, it's hard for Nidhogg to make some waves even if he's alive."