The Villainous Family Loves Me Too Much!

“They decide on their own each time. They control it so that we can’t manufacture more cloth than the amount supplied from above. Meanwhile, they raise the price of the raw materials, and when buying back the cloth, they exclude the cost of raw materials and give us only half the price. The weaving process alone takes 3 months…”

“It’s against the imperial law, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but the quantity coming from the Empire is small, and since the Delfia Merchant Guild manages it themselves, we can’t do anything about it. Although Archduke Felosite imports some goods through different channels, it’s illegal… so… our goods, being affiliated with the Imperial Merchant Association, are not included, you see.”

Before I knew it, the owner was complaining, not explaining, to me.

These Delfia, they were cleverly exploiting the Archduke’s blind spots.

“It’s okay. If something comes in, can you let me know through Colin here, okay?”

“Yes, Your Highness. I am sincerely sorry.”

Since the Baron of Delfia had already taken measures swiftly, another method had to be found.

“Let’s prepare the dessert for now!”

I crossed with Colin arms and headed towards Nox’s bakery.

‘I have to make a wedding with ingredients not influenced by Delfia Merchants. I need to find out what items the Archduke is handling separately.’

I was nearing the bakery.

There was a tumult, and several sturdy men ran out of Nox’s bakery.

“Get lost, you bastards!”

Behind the fleeing men, Nox was shouting, waving a cream-covered whisk.

Nox’s assistant, Perry, was also sprinkling flour on them.

“Hey, you bastards! If you’re gonna threaten, just try it! These damned Delfia without a single shred of conscience!”

Delfia again. Did they approach Nox too?

Is that why they ran away like that?

Nox was a commoner, but also a knight in his younger days, hence he had a very robust physique. It was said he could knead dough with one hand due to his strength.

The fleeing men were smeared with sugar, fresh cream, and flour.

With baking ingredients all over them, they were having a hard time seeing ahead, bumping into pedestrians.

Then I witnessed an interesting scene.

Unlike the adults who were angry at the men bumping into them, the children were having fun tasting the sugar on their clothes and chasing them.

‘This is it!’

I seemed to have found a solution. I needed to discuss it with Sylonne first.

“Your Highness, aren’t we going to the bakery? You promised to buy a strawberry cake!”

Colin approached me, flapping her arms as if I was zoning out.

“Oh, sorry. We’ll have cake next time. Something urgent has come up. But I have a favor to ask.”

I requested her to call Nox to the Felosite palace, and hurried back to find Sylonne.

‘Sylonne said she’s training apprentices here today.’

It was my first time on the west side of Felosite Castle.

Since this area housed the knight barracks and training grounds, I never really had a reason to come here.

But today was different. I was in a hurry. I had matters to discuss with Sylonne.

I paced around the training grounds feeling the cooler ambiance here compared to the main palace, feeling a bit awkward.

“Ah!”

Eventually, I bumped into someone.

“Oh, I’m sorry!”

“Your Highness?”

“Sir Conrad?”

Conrad seemed to have just finished training as he was shirtless.

Contrary to the frail and pure boyish impression he initially gave, his body now showcased well-defined muscles, almost sculpted.

“Um, well…”

Bumping into a shirtless man was somehow embarrassing. I, flustered, looked away.

“How’s your… wrist from that time?”

“Oh, it’s fine now. But could you please put on a shirt first?”

“A shirt?”

Conrad looked at me cluelessly. I sighed and pointed to the shirt hung over his shoulder.

“Y-yes? …Oh!”

Realizing he was shirtless, he turned around hurriedly and put on his shirt.

“I apologize, Your Highness, for showing you such an improper sight.”

No, it’s definitely not an undesirable scene but rather a very desirable one… Suddenly, the image of Archduke’s torso that was revealed through the gap in his shirt popped up in my mind, making my face hot.

“What is that, it’s not bad to look at, rather a pleasant scene, no, anyway it’s fine.”

At my awkwardly tangled words, Conrad chuckled.

Hmm, this scene seems familiar.

“Anyway, I was sorry about that day. I thought you were Priest Gebino Augusto when I saw sir Conrad.”

“It’s fine. And I’m still a trainee, so I’m not a knight yet, Your Highness. Feel free to speak casually.”

“You’ll be one soon, so I’ll just call you that.”

Conrad, who hesitated for a moment, quietly asked me.

“Do you have a bad connection with my brother?”

A bad connection, strictly speaking, I still couldn’t figure out what kind of connection it was.

I didn’t think the Archduke intended to harm me, and I still hadn’t unraveled the association between the Archduke and Gebino Augusto.

“I don’t know yet. He didn’t seem like a bad person.”

“There must be a misunderstanding.”

“How can you be so sure, sir Conrad?”

Conrad spoke while gazing far away with a distant look.

“Because my brother is living this life for the sake of Her Highness the Princess.”

What is this incomprehensible talk? Why for me?

“For… me?”

Just then, from behind Conrad, I heard the calm voice of someone who had sat down.

“What are you doing there?”

The owner of the voice was Sylonne.

“Daringly, are you hitting on my sister without fear?”

“No, that’s not it, Commander.”

But this wasn’t the playful Sylonne from before.

It’s as if they were siblings. It felt like deja vu from the last time the Archduke appeared in the alley.

With one eyebrow raised, her expression as she glared at Conrad was chilling.

Yeah, Sylonne was a villain in her own right.

“Did you two know each other?”

Conrad, standing in a firm posture, answered straight away.

“We happened to meet on the street. At that time, I accidentally hurt Her Highness’s wrist… so I just apologized.”

“What? Conrad, you were the damned guy who hurt my sister?”

Sylonne’s edgy reaction made me nervous again, fearing a violent scene.

“No, from now on, you’ll spar with me using real swords.”

“Excuse me?”

“My sister’s wrist is precious.”

Is my sister-in-law now going to have a sword spar because he grabbed my wrist?

In the meantime, Conrad’s clean skin and sculpted appearance caught my eye.

‘I hope there won’t be any blemish on that beauty because of me.’

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like the two would fight much, judging by the atmosphere. Conrad would probably be picked on, though.

“By the way, sister, what brings you here? Are you here to see me?”

Suddenly Sylonne, who had turned into a harmless expression, asked me with hopeful eyes.

“Ah, so… I have something to discuss regarding the wedding, can we meet in the kitchen after dinner? I have important things to discuss with the chef, Colin, Delgado, and Nox, and I hope Sylonne could help.”

“Of course! But first, I have some business with this guy, so I’ll go ahead. He’s such a mess of a trainee that additional training is needed.”

“No, Commander! You didn’t say anything like that…”

Conrad was dragged away by Sylonne grabbing the back of his neck.

The scene looked like a cat and a mouse caught by a cat. Or should I say a cow being dragged to the slaughterhouse by a butcher.

‘He looks like Gebino Augusto again.’

I felt the transparent and pure boyish atmosphere I felt when I first saw Gebino from Conrad.

‘Well, they are twins.’

I shrugged off thoughts about Conrad, and walked towards the main palace while sorting out the newly conceived wedding scene in my head.

But upon further thought, most of the protagonists of the weddings I’ve handled didn’t have happy endings.

Even in my previous life, I had suffered a broken engagement.

‘If I hadn’t handled Gabriel’s wedding, would Gabriel still be alive?’

I had an idea that maybe I, who was not qualified, had futilely tried to create a happy ending.

Then…

Would this wedding, where the villain of a sad ending novel is the Archduke and I am the protagonist, pass safely?