The Villainous Noblewoman Is About to Be Forced into Love, Isn't This Wrong?-Chapter 46: It’s more uncomfortable to watch others make money than I lose money

Liana and Loraviel walked down the corridor. Because of what had happened last night and this morning, Loraviel seemed a bit reserved.

However, for some reason, Her Highness Liana looked... happy?

Loraviel had thought that she was beginning to understand Liana, but now she realized that wasn't the case at all.

This morning, Liana had clearly been in a foul mood. Yet now, she was cheerful, and even her tone of speech had become noticeably gentler. It was as if she were an entirely different person from the one Loraviel had seen earlier.

Loraviel truly couldn't figure it out. In her eyes, Liana had become an enigma, wrapped in an ever-deepening veil of mystery.

The two of them arrived at Lisard Plaza. It was noticeably livelier than before—after all, Grand Princess Mepeilu had personally come to the Venus territory, bringing many nobles to gather at Venus Manor.

Since Lisard Plaza was along the main route, and everyone heading to Venus Manor would need to bring a small gift, the merchants naturally weren't going to miss out on this opportunity.

As a result, the plaza was much busier than usual, and the variety of goods had also expanded significantly.

"Liana, what are we buying?" Loraviel asked.

Liana had a clear goal in mind and walked directly toward the materials shop. "Weren’t you very interested in how 'five-spice powder' is made? Since we're out today, let’s buy the ingredients, and I’ll teach you."

"Okay." Loraviel had assumed Liana had completely forgotten about it.

"What do we need to buy?" Loraviel asked.

Liana had already prepared a list and handed a slip of paper to Loraviel. "Buy everything on this list. You can get extra, but not less."

"Understood." Loraviel took the list and saw that it was filled with densely written ingredients.

She was curious—wasn’t it just a blend of spices? Why did it need so many ingredients?

Of course, not everything on the list was for making five-spice powder. Liana had also included other items—things she wanted to experiment with.

She needed a product that would spread quickly among the nobility, something that aristocrats would see as essential.

After instructing Loraviel, Liana stepped out of the shop. The place reeked of medicinal herbs, and she didn’t like the smell.

"Oh my! Isn’t this Lady Liana?" A familiar voice called out.

A gold coin flicked from Liana’s hand, sailing straight toward Tali.

"Hey, hey, hey! Lady Liana! I’ve already told you! I’m not for sale! Not selling!" Tali protested.

"Then take that coin out of your pocket," Liana said, dissatisfied.

"That’s impossible! Once a coin enters my pocket, there’s no such thing as taking it back!" Tali naturally refused to return the money and instead approached Liana with a grin. "Honestly, I can’t deal with you. I’ve been short on funds lately, so I’ve had to rely on little side businesses like this to get by."

Liana reached out and rubbed Tali’s cat ears. The sensation was truly addictive. But the moment was short-lived, as Tali quickly stepped back. "That’s enough!"

"You really are heartless," Liana muttered, disappointed that the soft warmth had slipped from her grasp so quickly.

"What do you mean heartless! Lady Liana, you're the only one who would actually pay money for something this meaningless." Tali rolled her eyes. "But I suppose I should thank you. Thanks to those few gold coins of yours, I can finally eat properly for the next few days."

"Aren't you a merchant from the Saous Merchant Guild? How are you this broke?" Liana asked curiously. Even though Tali wasn’t part of the guild’s headquarters, someone from Saous shouldn’t be struggling to afford food.

"It’s not that I’m actually broke. It’s just that watching these bastards making money is more painful for me than losing money myself!" Tali grumbled, clearly frustrated. "Let’s sit somewhere and talk."

Liana had actually been planning to discuss a business deal with Tali anyway, so it worked out perfectly.

"Alright."

"My treat!" Tali declared, holding up the gold coin she had just snatched from Liana.

"How do you even say that with a straight face?" Liana questioned. That coin had practically been stolen from her.

"A merchant's thick skin is a survival skill," Tali replied without a care. "If I didn’t have thick skin, I’d be starving by now."

A merchant, huh? To be honest, when Liana had first met Tali, she had thought of her as more of a mascot—small in stature, with a pair of adorable cat ears and sharp little fangs that peeked out when she spoke. She looked like she was made to be hugged and have her ears rubbed.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

The two of them sat under a parasol outside.

"Excuse me, dear guests, what would you like to... o-order..."

The server stammered upon seeing Liana.

"Just an orange juice for me."

"I’ll have a strawberry ice cream."

"Understood!" The server quickly noted their orders and retreated hastily.

Liana rested her cheek on her hand. "By the way, you're really not afraid of me at all?"

"As a merchant, I don’t care about my customers’ status or morality. As long as the money is good, that’s all that matters. If I hesitated over trivial things, someone else would take the opportunity instead," Tali said, resting her chin in her hands and swaying her little head as she gazed at Liana.

"You really are refreshingly straightforward." Liana actually found that she didn’t dislike that about Tali. In fact, it might even be beneficial to her.

"I have no choice. I need money—lots and lots of money. So I don’t care what kind of person my customer is, as long as they pay me," Tali shrugged, scooping up a spoonful of ice cream. The moment the cold sweetness hit her tongue, she let out an involuntary, adorable cat-like mewl.

This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.

Liana didn’t pry into other people’s pasts. "So, what did you mean earlier? What was that about others making money being more painful than losing money?"

"Well, Lady Liana, you remember when you came to our slave guild a while back?"

Liana nodded. That was when she had first seen Sephirena, one of the game's heroines, which had led her to abandon her original plan of buying a slave.

"What about it? Weren’t they supposed to be sent to the headquarters? Did something go wrong?" Liana wasn’t particularly concerned. She had already spoken to Sephirena, so the plot should be proceeding without any major deviations.

If anything unexpected had happened, it would have been part of the original storyline—not her responsibility.

Tali shook her head, her cat ears flicking as she moved. "No, nothing went wrong. Everything went smoothly."

"Then what’s the issue?"

"It’s the timing! While I was away handling that, Grand Princess Mepeilu arrived in Venus territory! I missed the perfect opportunity!!!"

Liana immediately understood. Because of Mepeilu's visit and the banquet at Venus Manor, a large number of nobles had come to the area, naturally leading to increased spending.

But during that crucial period, Tali had been away.

Her competitors had made an absolute fortune, while she had only returned in time to scavenge their leftovers.

That, more than anything, was what truly frustrated her.