Former Crown Prince favors the Villainess

“Long time no see, o Duke of Ellen.”, the owner said cheekily to me.

“Well, be happy. You’re having one of the most powerful man in the Empire under your control.”, I said looking at the food getting ready.

“Oh, I’m happy. But they aren’t.”, the owner said, glancing at the other customers.

“Hey guys!!”, I waved to them.

Some of them did wave back...though very awkwardly.

“Just like you all, I’m a slave for her food.”

“Haha~ Anyways, what do you want?”

“What’s special today?”

“We have your favorite, Ghee Roast Dosa. And there’s a Special Plona Masala Roast.”

“Who the hell came up with that name?”, I said while looking at the board put up next to the stall.

“I did.”

“No wonder it is bad. I’ll have my usual with another...ah, what would be nice...let’s go with a masala roast and a set of parotta”

(ARTIQUE: Idli -> Indian rice cake?, Dosa -> A pancake made up of batter? Parotta -> I think it was called a flatbread...it is made up of maida. I really suck at explaining this, don’t I?)

“Who is in there?”, the owner whispered while leaning in, ensuring that no one eavesdrops.

With how loud the surroundings are, she doesn’t need to care about this though…

“Just my subordinate.”

“Ohhh...okok. One Ghee roast, One onion roast, and parotta coming right up!”

“Wait...I’ll have the sambar idli later. Parcel it, please.”

“Sure thing!”

Damn...it really sucks to be popular.

It hurts to be stared at like this.

“And what’s going on with all of your lives?”, I said, moving to a bunch of males next to me.

“Eh...Nothing much, Your...Your Highness. Well, we are glad to have the day off though.”

Haha...look at them...they are not used to talking to nobility.

“So, how many of you here are married?”

Out of the five, 3 of them raised their hands.

“And what in the world are you three doing out here?”

“Our wives are having a night out...so we had to scrap out like this for food.”

“Pfft~ Hahaha!!”

“Anyways, Your Highness. I really want to thank you.”, said one of the unmarried people.

“Hmm?”, I tilted my head in confusion.

“I am from Switon.”

“Ohhhh~~~”

“You changing the name to Ellen is not something I care about. People there are desperate to have a change.”, he said smiling.

“That’s wonderful. But what are you doing in the capital? Is your whole family here?”, I asked.

“No, it’s only me here. Both my parents and my sister are back in Switon.”

“Is that so...so you’re here for an opportunity?”

“Absolutely. It’s quite hard to get a life-changing opportunity in Switon. Ah...I apolo-”

“No no...I agree, too. Nothing can beat Plona...the sheer size of this city, the decades of planning and construction is apparent in every corner of the street.”, I said while nodding.

“Can I expect the same from Ellen?”, he asked while looking straight at my eye.

“Hey...shhh!! What in the-”

“No no...it’s alright. Are you angry?”, I asked the man who spoke without cutting corners.

“Not with you. I don’t enjoy the capital, I’d rather live back in Ellen. But with the way it is now...as others call it, underdeveloped and stagnated...it is difficult to improve my family’s condition. I don’t want my sister to have the same mediocre life she is having now.”

The others were shocked at the speech he just gave.

“Do others share the same consent as you?”

“You can rarely find someone that doesn’t have the same thoughts as me.”

“Hmmm…”

“It would have been fine if it was just two years...but two decades? Are the people of Switon a joke?-”

“I’m sorry.”

“Huh?! No No !! I didn’t mean any harm to-”

“I belong to the same family that the lot of you are angry about. I can’t really vouch for the previous generation’s mistake. But there’s one thing you can be sure of, my mother’s goal...that is to bring Ellen on par with the level of Plona and its surroundings. It will happen sooner than you think. The next time you come to Ellen, you probably won’t even recognize it anymore.”

“Haha...that’s really reassuring to hear.”, the man said while beaming a bright smile.

“Well, then. Looks like my food is ready. Thank you for your time.”, I said while heading to the owner.

“Man...you really are good with your words.”, she said.

“I wasn’t lying though…”

“Haha~ of course, you weren’t. Anyway, here is the food you ordered.”

“Ah...of course. How much was it again?”

“1 Silver.”

“That’s hella expensive for a roadside shop. The actual price is 450 Bronze. Where is the rest 550?”

“You are rich. So hand over the one silver.”, she said while leaning her hand out.

“Yeah yeah sure…”

After going through my wallet, I handed her a coin that looked neither bronze nor silver.

“Wait...that’s kinda heavy. A GOLD?!??”

“Everyone’s bill is on me!!”, I said before heading to the car.

“Wooohoooo!!”

“LONG LIVE THE PRINCE!!!”

“MAY THE DUKE LIVE FOREVER!!!”

“Haha~ enjoy yourselves!”

These are the only times these guys would ever shout.

“Grrrr!!”, the owner was clearly angry. She could have had the gold to herself.

Haha...being rich sure is a boon.

Back at the car, I had a noble girl who was very eager to try out the food I just got. 

*KACHAK* *OPEN* *SLAM*

The car was immediately overflowed by the food’s aroma. 

And, her Azure blue eyes were literally twinkling. 

“And here we go!”, I said placing the food on her lap.

“OW!! That’s Hot!!”

“Of course, it is...even though it is packed now...that was just on the stove a moment ago.”

“I wanna eat it. Now.”

“No no...not here. Since I made a bit of commotion in there. I want out to get out of here as soon as possible.”, I said reversing the car out of the street.

“Eh~ Where will be heading?”

“We can stop somewhere on the way to the Hasting’s mansion.”

“Where?”

“Any place under a tree would do good. Since the mansion is far into the outskirts, there are people rarely going around those roads.”

“Very true. Very true. Oh and, I was wondering…”

“Yeah?”

“What about the territories between Plona and the Ellen?”

“There are about 16 of them, right?”

“Yeah. Will you be getting permission from them?”, she said while going through the food cover.

“Huh? Of course not.”

“What?! Then-”

“You’re the one who’s going to build the highway. So, why would I need to get the permission?”

“We are talking about 16 territories here!! Two of which are Prorin and Hastings cast aside. I literally have to cut the Bohum Dukedom in two to build the highway!! How in the world would he accept that?!”, she screamed desperately.

This is indeed problematic.

The reason I want Fiona and no one else to build the highway is due to my personal invention.

I don’t want the credit of implementing that to go to Riol.

That doesn’t mean I can build the highway myself, that’s too big of a project. I want to get started with the Duchy right away.

“Alright, how about this...the highway will start from one corner of Ellen, that is from the port city that is connected to the ocean and will end at Plona. Understood?”

“Yeah”

“The part inside Ellen might seem small on a large scale...but if we reduce the scale, the distance between the port and the edge of Ellen is large, let’s take advantage of that.”

“How?”

“If you’re able to complete the highway in a short period of time with a high level of precision, there’s no way the other territories would want to miss this opportunity because-”

“Because, this will allow them to navigate the huge traffic right through thier cities, which means more flow of goods...in other words, more money!!”, Fiona screamed in realization.

“Bingo!”

“But...about Bohum-”

“Let’s pressure him.”

“Huh?”

“If we save his part of the highway to the last...the Empire would see this as an obstruction to finish the final piece of the puzzle. Which would pressure him to accept this project.”

“Ohhh~”

“But this a two-edged sword.”

“Yeah..because, if he insisted on collaborating to make his part of the highway, we can’t decline.”, she said frowning.

“As that would make Luxica seem stubborn on finishing the highway by itself.”

“Sigh...I will look into what I can do about this. Are you good with numbers?”, Fiona asked me.

“I am. But, I’ll be too busy taking care of the Duchy. So, if there is an issue with the funding...you can contact Ray. He is the son-”

“The son of the Principal of Ena academy.”, she said as a matter of fact.

“...”

“...what?”, questioning my silence.

“Is he famous?”

“Absolutely. He crushed our academy during an external competition. Man...his skills were scary. A lot of the maths enthusiasts are looking to collaborate with him. You didn’t know?”

“I...I didn’t”

Damn it!! 

Does this mean I should treat him with care from now on?!

But he is annoying as ****!!!

“If I were to fire him, would you take him in?”

“Without a second thought.”, she said immediately.

“Hmmm…”

“Anyways, I’ll have him contact you. Feel free to ping him, if I’m out of reach. But, don’t ever try to pull him to your side.”

“Hmmmm~ Not gonna lie, I am kinda tempted. As great as computers are, it’d be quite handy to have him on my side.”

“Don’t. Just don’t.”, I said while trying my best to smile.

“Oh~ Oh~ How about that tree?”, she said pointing to a large tree.

“Yeah...that’s perfect.”

After pulling the car to the other side of the tree…

“Soo~~ What have you gotten for me?”

“A Masala Roast and Parotta, if the former is not enough.”

“Ohhh~ Alright, let’s dig in.”, she said opening the package.

This food is not served in a fancy box, that everyone might expect. The food itself is wrapped in a banana leaf, with the whole package covered in a newspaper.

“This is kinda annoying.”, Fiona said struggling to hold it in her hand.

“Alright, we are getting out.”

“Oh...thank god.”, she said getting out first.

Since we were at the back of a tree, and this part of the road is not well lit...if we switch off the car’s headlight, there’s no way anyone could see this.

“Ohhh...and I think the car is running out of magic.”, Fiona said while placing her food on the car’s roof.

Since we both are quite tall, the roof is a perfect alternative for a plate.

“Yeah, I noticed too...we will have to buy a crystal on our way.”

“Alright...it’s time to dig in.”

“Wait wait…”

“Huh?”

“This is sambar, and this is called a coconut chutney. It’s really good with this. The coconut chutney helps to mellow out the strong flavor.”, I said while pouring them carefully on her leaf.

“Oh okay okay.”

Even though I just told her, the Lady didn’t use the coconut chutney. BUt just ate the raw dosa with masala in it.

“...Spicy.”

“Duh.”

“No no...this is really spicy!! Isn’t this just flavored mashed potatoes in it?! Why is it this spicy?!”

“So, you are not someone who can take spicy food? That’s surprising.”

“Huh?! Hey! I bet you can’t eat this too!”, she said while trying to take in another bite.

“Yeah yeah...actually, you know what...let’s exchange.”

“Huh...no no no...I can eat-”

“I don’t want you to go home with a bad stomach.”

“But-”

“Don’t be a baby, and just give the dosa to me.”, I said pulling her leaf to me and pushing mine to her.

“This is?”

“Ghee roast. Totally not spicy.”

“You planned this, didn’t you?!”

“Of course, not. How would I know the most successful youngster is not good with spice?”

“Tch...I’m starting.”

After a while, we both were way into our dinner. 

Why are we doing this again?

“Lady Fiona…”

“Yeah?”

“This should be the last time we meet like this.”

I said looking at her Azure Blue eyes, as she stared back…

“Yeah, I know.”

“I of all people don’t want to get caught up in such a rumor.”

“Precisely. I’ll contact you as I did for Ena. It might be uncomfortable, though. And since this is such a big project...Hmm…”

“What’s wrong?”, I asked her as she suddenly went deep into thinking.

“No...I’d probably reveal my identity sooner or later…”, she said while taking in another bite.

“Huh?”

“Ohh...this is good…”, she said looking at her leaf.

“No no...don’t get distracted after dropping such a bombshell.”

“As I said, I might reveal my identity...if I take in such a big project...there’s no way others could disregard me as a villainess.”

“That’s true.”

“And everything has changed anyways.”, she murmured.

“Huh?”

“Nothing~”

“Alright then, I think it is better for us to leave.”, I said crushing the leaf and stuffing it into the plastic bag it originally came with.

“Yeah...and we have to buy the crystal on our way home.”, she said.

“Yeah…”

“Actually, I can drive myself there.”

“Hmmm?”

“Since my home is on another way...and we are done with the dinner, you can just head home.”

“But-”

“Come on, it’s not like someone can do anything to me.”, she said.

“Obviously...not with the dozens of knights around us.”, I said looking all around the car.

“Ah...you knew.”

“It’d be weird if I didn’t.”

“Well, don’t worry...they are just here for my safety.”

“Of course, I understand. So let me call Sebastian.”, I said picking up my phone

[Yes, my lord?]

“Send me a car Sebastian.”

[Of course, my lord. Is everything you needed to speak over?]

Looking at Fiona,

“Yeah, all is done.”

[Wonderful, I’ll send a car over to your location immediately.]

“Oh, and do send a crystal matching the Luxica’s mid-line car model.”

[I’ll make sure to do that. The car will be there in 5 minutes.]

*BEEP*

“How is he?”, Fiona said drinking water from her bottle.

“Sebastian? He is as lively as ever.”

“I remember meeting him back in the day. I used to come to me whenever I visit the capital.”

“Haha, that’s wonderful. He does miss my mother, I think.”

“That’s…”

“Anyways, I’ll send you the required documents a week later.”

“Sure. But why do you want to start the project this immediately?”, she asked curiously.

“The Duchy needs something to motivate itself...and I think the most effective method would be the highway. And since it’s something related to your work, I can sit back and concentrate on other important tasks.”

“Hmmm...is there something against you and the Dukes?”

“....”

“...what?”, she asked as I stared back at her.

“...how are you coming to that conclusion?”

“Hey... it’s weird if I didn’t. You and Duke Smith are clearly not friends. If you both were, you wouldn’t have done what you did today. Duchess Cosima, despite her being close with the former Empress, you both did not even greet each other today. And now, you are deliberately going against Duke Riol.”

“...”

This lady thinks way too much into things.

Did I make a mistake in appointing her for the highway?

“I won’t dig into things too much. Let’s keep our relations purely business-related.”, she said smiling.

*VROOOOOM*

“....Duke-”

“Stop.”

“But...that’s way too flashy.”, Fiona said looking at the top-end, two-seater sports car.

“....”

“....”

“Sigh...Damn it, Sebastian…”

“Well...enjoy your ride.”, she said while I was getting into the car.

“And hey here...I said while throwing the big crystal towards her.”

“Thanks..”, she said while catching it.

This is how this world charges their car...not through any bunks, but rather with magical crystals.

“Just a small piece of advice…”, I said to Fiona who was about to leave.

“Yeah?”

*VROOM*

“You might want to set up manufacturing units in Ellen.”, I said while driving the other way.

“Huh?! Why?!? Hey, don’t leave now!!!!”

Waving through the window...I left the angry Noble Lady.