Rosa’s Past Misdeeds

Rosa was dragged away by Ethan, seemingly against her will, from the secret meeting place of the two.

“Um, Lord Griffith, why eavesdrop in such a place?”

The fact that her ‘past life crush’ was eavesdropping was shocking.

“I’d like to say it’s my line, but it seems we should talk later.”

“I want to make it clear that I have no intention of interrupting you two.”

Ethan looked surprised.

“Well, you didn’t fly into a rage and storm out of the scene, so that’s probably the case. By the way, it’s strange that you were there in the first place…”

Rosa brushed off Ethan’s words and voiced her doubts again.

“I’ll ask you again: why were you, Lord, there?”

Due to Rosa’s memories from her past life, she knew about that secret meeting place. It was puzzling why Ethan was there.

“The evening venue felt a bit stifling. It was a coincidence… But there are various things to consider. Moreover, being alone with you in these bushes could lead to misunderstandings. You’re an unmarried young lady. It wouldn’t be good if any strange rumors started circulating. I’ll contact you again later.”

Saying that, Ethan left. Rosa had no intention of pursuing him further.

But there was something more concerning than that.

“Harassing the Moreau family? What does that mean? Is it Ellen’s paranoia? But Father loves money, and he must have earned some resentment from various places, right?”

Rosa pondered while looking at the moon alone in the garden.

The family’s decline would be troublesome.

In terms of her past life, Rosa is currently living with her wealthy family. She was only seventeen, but…

She recalled the faint dream she had in her past life—the dream of wanting to start her own business. At that time, she had no financial resources or time and was just struggling to survive.

—

The day after the evening party, Rosa immediately went to her father’s study to confirm the truth.

“Rosa, what’s the matter? It’s rare for you to come here. Do you want something, or did some eligible gentlemen show up?”

Listening to her father’s words, Rosa, before her past memories returned, seemed more like a naive, whimsical daughter than a cunning villainess. It was undoubtedly so.

Rosa cleared her throat and began the conversation.

“Father, our family is involved in various businesses, right?”

“We do have a significant trading company, but is there something wrong? It’s unusual for you to show interest in such matters.”

“No, it’s not about that. Are we doing any harassment against business rivals?”

“Hahaha, what’s gotten into you, Rosa? If someone said that to you at the palace banquet, is that why you’re asking? We’re not doing anything illegal.”

While laughing, her father’s eyes sparkled a bit.

(Well, probably they’re doing something.)

Even without her father saying it, Rosa got the message. There seemed to be a strong bond between parent and child.

“Then, what about our connection with the Moreau family? Are we harassing them in any way?”

Her father looked surprised.

“No, we’re not. By the way, Miss Moreau came to visit you. Did she beg for something?”

“Beg?!”

Rosa was caught off guard by her father’s words.

“Yeah, the Moreau family is on the verge of collapse. They owe us money.”

“What?”

It was a surprising connection for Rosa.

“Well, it’s not just us; they owe money to many others. But we can’t let them just walk away without repaying. We’ve imposed some penalties. Anyway, calm down and have a seat.”

Saying so, her father instructed the butler to prepare tea.

Rosa sat on the sofa and listened to her father’s explanation.

“The Moreau family owns a small mine. The closest way to get there is through our territory. The transportation cost is not insignificant, so until now, we’ve let them use it for free. But they’ve been not paying back the debt, and we can’t afford to let them use it freely anymore. That’s why we decided to charge them a toll.”

Well, Rosa thought, it’s something they would probably do.

“Is the amount too high?”

“Hey, I know how much they can afford. We don’t want to be taken advantage of just because they’re going bankrupt. We decided to collect the toll to avoid being walked all over for free. It’s not a big deal, but we can’t just forgive the debt without a reason.”

Her father didn’t need to lie to Rosa. Besides, the connection with the Moreau family didn’t seem to be that strong.

“Why did the Moreau family end up in debt?”

“Oh, their mine management was sloppy. They also failed to manage their territory. The Moreau Baron has changed, but unlike the previous generation, he’s lazy.”

In the manga, the Baron becomes a heavy drinker after his wife’s death. In reality, it seemed a bit different.

(Or did the manga just focus on one aspect? No, that’s not it. It was portrayed from the heroine’s perspective.)

“By the way, are we involved in usury?”

Rosa’s words made her father chuckle.

“Hahaha, usury is profitable, but it brings hatred. We haven’t ventured into that. Most respectable nobles don’t do it. We haven’t received payments for the goods our company provided. We can’t just let it slide. Rumor has it that they’re facing quite harsh collection methods.”

Rosa sipped her hot tea and took a financier in her hand.

The Moreau family, especially from Ellen’s perspective, might see it as harassment, but from the Croitzer family’s viewpoint, it was just dealing with a debtor. It wasn’t a problem that Rosa could do anything about.

Leaving her father’s study on her way to her room, memories of her past suddenly resurfaced.

In the early stages of the manga, there was a scene where the dress Ellen wore to the banquet was ridiculed by the villainess Rosa.

That scene began to overlap with the past Rosa’s image.

“Oh, that dress is so out of fashion. Shall I give you one of my dresses?”

She said such a thing at the royal banquet, in public. It was because there were dresses in Rosa’s closet that she couldn’t wear.

But it was arrogant and unpleasant.

It was like a boss monkey naturally asserting dominance. For those who were spoken to like that, it was unbearable.

The poor heroine had done her best to dress up for the banquet.

After that, the heroine was deeply hurt and quietly shed tears. Alex, feeling sorry for her, gave her the latest fashionable dress.

“Uwaaah! What do I do?”

She remembered, but it was too late. Rosa stood in the middle of the corridor, feeling the urge to scratch her head. The past of her acting arrogantly toward the young ladies around her, like she owned the place, came back to her.

She had already fulfilled her role as a supporting villainess.

Rosa and the Croitzer family were villains from the heroine’s point of view.

The rumors about Rosa bullying Ellen might not be entirely unfounded from her perspective.

Even if it was taken that way, there was nothing Rosa could