76: I’m a Villainess, so I’ll Open the Lock
“Wh–what?”
The butler, too taken aback by the content of her request, let out a silly cry.
He must think I’m weird for demanding the guest list, but it’s fine! I have other plans!
Avril defiantly stood up and spoke in a high-handed manner.
“Just bring it already! From there, I’ll decide who’ll take me in next, so hurry up!”
“Take you in…? You’re a villainess, yet you’re looking for an apprenticeship…?”
“Eh…”
Despite following her role model, she couldn’t keep up with the conversation. Oh no! Luckily, she had mentioned that she was from the countryside.
Dylan gave her a lifeline and spoke in a cold voice.
“As you can see, our princess wants the guest list. She’s a hell of a villain. You’ll be in deep water if you offend her.”
“U-understood. I’ll be right back. I’ll check it, so give me a moment.”
“Listen, ‘d-don’t you dare make me wait’?”
“!? Understood…?”
As a finishing touch, Avril repeated the line that Corinna used to threaten her with back in her parents’ house. The butler yelped, then ran off with a genuinely baffled look on his face.
She was glad to be wearing a mask. Somehow, they were able to repel the butler. As she exhaled in relief, Chris—still laughing—praised her.
“You sure are feisty today.”
“I studied hard.”
In fact, in order to participate in the masquerade ball, she didn’t only practice dancing.
Thanks to studying that detective novel which starred a villainess, my preparation was perfect!
As she basked in satisfaction, Dylan grabbed her.
“Avril’s cunning got us out of trouble, but that butler will be back soon. The guest list would be a nice touch, but we can forego it. Let’s hurry and escape from this mansion.”
“…But.”
When we talked about the list just now, the butler’s gaze wandered to the upper left corner… From a psychological point of view, it implied that the guest list is indeed on this floor. Moreover, important documents are often stored in places where there are no sudden changes in the environment…
“Lord Dylan, can we escape after I checked this room?”
As Avril spoke, she put her hand on the door of the room in question.
If my hunch is correct, the list of those involved in illicit drug trafficking should be in here.
—Gakkun.
There was resistance. The door to the room was locked.
“I knew it. Even though this floor was prepared on the premise of entertaining visitors, and other rooms were left open to indicate vacancies, why is this one locked? The answer is because this room is suitable for storing documents, most likely because its location allows for little variation in temperature. I shall unlock it right away.”
“How will you unlock it?”
“Like this.”
Avril smiled briskly, took a hairpin from her head, skillfully bent it, and inserted it into the keyhole. Afterwards, she twisted it around.
Silence permeated the quiet hall. Even the dense Avril could feel it—they were staring holes at her. Feeling uncomfortable, she came up with an excuse.
“A-actually, there was a time when I got addicted to lockpicking.”
““…””
Was it her imagination, or did Chris and Dylan exchange glances while backing away from her? In a matter of seconds, the door was unlocked and the three made their way inside.
At first glance, it looked like an ordinary study, yet a terribly cluttered one. Documents were stacked up on the floor as well as on the desk.
“…Wou-wouldn’t it be too much of a waste for Avril to remain as an ordinary wife?”
“Actually, Prince Lawrence was interested in her. Perhaps, he intends to assign a special mission to her.”
“That’s the one thing I’ll never agree to no matter what.”
While listening to the Dylan and Chris’ exchange, Avril looked over the stack of papers.
There’s a saying that if you’re going to hide a tree, hide it in the forest… Yet, they’re throwing a huge party. Maybe, they aren’t concerned about the information of their clients? Surely, it’s a gathering of the like-minded. If hiding the evidence becomes too tedious, they could simply burn it and wait for new clients to arrive.
Among the dusty mountains, she saw a single pile without dust.
…This is it—!
***T/N: Everything’s going smoothly, TOO smoothly…
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First it was untying knots then lock picking, man what the heck did they do to her when she was younger!?