The Strange but Effective Villainess Life

Episode 24: Someone Is Back (II)

I stared at the owner.

Because of the mask, it was not possible to identify the facial features. However, everything from the earring in one ear to the ring, belt and shoes were all luxury items. There were large logos on them.

“Hmm, well…”

I got up slowly and held the owner’s hands tightly as if expressing gratitude.

Then I said with a frown.

“It’s not beginner’s luck or the magic of gambling, it’s just a bit of intelligence.”

It was then. Peep, who was pretending to be a doll in my arms, suddenly flew up. With her beak, she violently peeled off the owner’s mask.

“What is this!”

The owner tried to cover his face quickly. But at that critical moment, I was tightly holding his hands, so he missed the timing.

With that, the face of the owner was revealed in the clubhouse. Instantly, the clubhouse became noisy.

“Who, who is that?!”

“Arrest him!”

Immediately, several guards who had been hiding their identity in the gambling house rose up and arrested the owner.

“It’s Arlene Kerf! There’s a bounty!”

With the appearance of the hidden guards, the inside of the clubhouse quickly became a mess.

The face behind the mask was strange. It was filled with confusion.

Well, it was understandable since his mask was abruptly removed and he was captured by the guards.

Relaxed, I looked at him and shrugged.

“Oh, I thought you’re Joshua, huh… The unsightly outfit, wrapped in luxury goods, is just like Joshua Prelai.”

Then I hugged Peep again and added.

“Really, you deliberately dressed like Joshua? And the hair…”

I tugged his blond hair.

“…it’s a wig.”

Naturally, the long blond hair fell off, revealing plain brown hair.

“Oh my God!”

“Actually, I thought he was Prince Prelai too!”

There were a lot of shouts. Apparently, there were many people who assumed that the owner of the clubhouse was Joshua.

Joshua didn’t have a friend who would actively step up and say, ‘That man isn’t Joshua Prelai.’ So it was a good environment for misunderstandings.

“Goodness.”

I clicked my tongue and said admonished.

“You must have been Joshua’s stalker, not Joshua… No, what’s wrong with you, imitating Joshua’s fashion… Do you have nothing else to do?”

In the original, this was one of Heaton’s traps for Prelai.

“A lot of money is needed for treason. And where did Prelai come up with so much money? Testimonies are pouring in that the owner of the clubhouse is Joshua Prelai.”

But in reality, the owner of the clubhouse was Arlene Kerf, a first-class bounty that Heaton was looking after.

Instead of going to jail, he struck a deal, doing clean-up and pretending to be Joshua. It was a very deep and dismal trap, based on the obscure source of Joshua’s enormous wealth.

Arlene Kerf appeared only when there was a big problem and sorted out the situation. Thus, he was rarely seen… Anyone who saw the clubhouse owner would think it was Joshua.

Luxury goods with big logos and long blond hair…

He was wearing a mask, so no one could confirm it.

But still, all the scoundrels at the clubhouse guessed similarly, muttering in the background, ‘Joshua is making a lot of money here.’ 

Surprisingly, Joshua knew about this. But he didn’t really care because he didn’t feel the need to react. He even casually said, ‘There’s no benefit to him if he imitates me. It seems he’s impressed with my fashion.’

Actually… It was just excessive self-consciousness. He was puffed up with pride, thinking, ‘He must have wanted to copy me.’

Yes, Joshua’s personality was such that he deeply loved all the attention that was poured on him.

When appropriate, Arlene disappeared after the clubhouse closed. Turns out it was to hit Prelai’s head in a way none of us could ever have imagined…

Anyway, this was how Heaton had used the clubhouse to make the rumors true.

In other words, Joshua’s innocence would be proven only if the owner’s face was revealed before the clubhouse closed.

It was something that had to be solved eventually. 

Hence, I quickly ruined the clubhouse, and used some brains to bring Arlene Kerf in front of me.

Since he was a criminal ready to run away at any time, it was useless to attack recklessly.

Plus, he was already in collusion with the top of the imperial guards, so even if I officially reported it, it was of no use.

So I could only make a pretty big fuss to lure him out.

‘And the surest and most controversial thing in a gambling house is, of course, getting rich quick.’

I sighed and dropped the card I was holding onto the floor. Gambling wasn’t my thing either.

‘Ugh, I really don’t have aptitude for games like this where you just spend and spend money… Too shallow and not aristocratic…’

“Soy.”

I ordered firmly.

“The clubhouse will be closing soon. Before that happens, quickly exchange these chips for money.”

There was mayhem in the clubhouse.

The once-hidden guards were arresting Arlene and making a mess, searching here and there. Employees were running away and customers were scrambling in confusion.

“Quickly, all with gold coins. Before it gets any messier.”

“Yes!”

The muscular spy maid disappeared instantly, quicker than anyone else. And soon, a robust man with blue hair stood in front of me.

“Thank you, Princess. Thanks to this, I was able to catch the enemy of the family.”

“Yes, congratulations.”

I took off my mask and smiled.

Then the man standing in front of me also took off his lion-shaped mask.

This blue-haired, brown-eyed man’s name was Avian Lisinis.

He was the captain of the 5th Guards, one of the capital’s guards.

Healthy-looking tanned skin, soft impression, and round eyes that looked kind. Avian was also the second son of Lisinis, one of the only three dukes in the empire.

Before coming to the clubhouse, I sent a letter to Avian, which said ‘If you secretly hide in the clubhouse right now, I’ll let you catch Kerf.’

It was usually impossible to have the guards hide in the clubhouse as to begin with, the imperial guards and the clubhouse were already in collusion.

However, the situation changed when the name ‘Arlene Kerf’ was mentioned. Avian would come unconditionally, even if it was only with a handful of elite guards.

The reason Arlene Kerf had a bounty was because he killed the Duchess of Lisinis and escaped.

Arlene Kerf, who once worked as a servant for the Lisinis family, killed the duchess and stole her jewelry and fled.

After that, Avian, the second son, entered the capital guards on his own accord, saying that he would somehow catch Arlene Kerf.

The guards were the largest group of public power in the capital, organized on a merit basis regardless of status.

To prevent personal gain, one couldn’t get married even if he or she achieved the position of guard captain. Therefore, it was very rare for a high-ranking noble to join the guard.

Therefore, the fact that Avian joined the guard and rose to the rank of captain of the 5th Guard was proof of the enormous resentment he harbored towards Arlene Kerf.

Having even lived with Arlene, Avian could recognize him just by looking at his face.

‘He would be in a frenzy if he knew that the prince was backing Kerf. Please make a fuss.’

I looked into Avian’s eyes and slowly suggested.

“There must be someone behind such a heinous criminal doing business openly in the capital. Investigate this first.”

Then I firmly added.

“Directly from the Lisinis family.”

It meant that you, the party involved, should investigate instead of entrusting it to the guards and the imperial family. Doing so would give less room for Heaton to play around in the middle.

I wasn’t sure how loyal Arlene was to Heaton, but it was worth trying.

“Yes, I understand. For now, let’s get out of here. It’s a very bad place.”

For Avian, a solid model student, the clubhouse was clearly terrible.

“I only knew this place as a social gathering place for nobles. I didn’t expect it to be such a messy place.”

Genuine disgust could be felt.

“It’s a place that should have been cracked down a long time ago, why is the top condoning it…?”

Avian held out his hand to me like he was going to escort me.

I stared at the strong hand for a second.