AIWA 01

Chapter 01

“I like it. Let’s do it here.”

She had skin as white as the snow of the northern winter, gorgeous curly hair as vivid as the deep autumn foliage, and golden eyes that shone like brilliant afternoon sunlight. She was a beautiful cat-like woman.

Though she was dressed in a plain brown dress, she was none other than Lucienne Ronater, Grand Duchess of the Holy Empire of Wibroton.

Lucienne had just boldly stepped alone into the grand square of Albery, a small city known for being crowded and lively, but also notorious for its many thieves.

People passing through the streets kept stealing glances at Lucienne. Even dressed like a commoner girl, her striking appearance naturally drew people’s attention.

Lucienne knew that, too.

If she were the original owner of this body, she would have been furious, shouting, “Do you even know who I am? How dare you look at me like that?”

But today was different.

In fact, she liked it.

She was a transmigrator, and the more witnesses there were, the better.

Lucienne deliberately straightened her back even more confidently and looked around.

I need to choose carefully this time.

Just then, she spotted some men.

There were eight large, rugged-looking men walking down the street, and their formation was rather peculiar.

One man who looked the strongest was carrying a large, heavy-looking leather bag, while the other seven surrounded him from a slight distance.

They kept glancing around nervously, as though they were escorting something important. Their steps were hurried, as if they were ready to run all at once at the slightest sign of trouble.

Lucienne calmly approached them.

When the men saw Lucienne, the corners of their mouths stretched into lecherous grins. They looked delighted at the sight of a beautiful woman.

But the moment Lucienne snatched their bag and started running for her life, their expressions changed completely.

“Gah!”

“A thief!”

The men shouted in panic, and everyone’s attention immediately turned toward Lucienne.

“Catch her!”

“Damn it, why is she so fast?”

Several people in the square shouted frantically.

“Report her to the security force!”

They’re making quite a commotion.

Hearing the reactions behind her, Lucienne felt satisfied.

At the same time, even while running, she became curious about what was inside the bag.

She carefully unzipped it a little, and something golden glittered brilliantly in the sunlight.

“Huh? What’s this?”

Unable to believe her eyes, Lucienne opened the zipper a little farther.

“Gasp!”

The bag was filled with gold bars.

A gasp of delight escaped her lips.

“Wow, this should definitely do the trick!”

For a moment, she wondered.

Should I just run away completely? I could probably live comfortably with this much money.

But Lucienne quickly regained her senses.

A crime like this would eventually get caught. Even if she somehow managed to escape by sheer luck, she would have to live in the shadows for the rest of her life.

Lucienne did not want to live in the underworld on stolen money. Nor did she intend to scrape by for the rest of her life.

After changing her identity, her dream was to live peacefully in the imperial capital while spending money lavishly.

I want nobody to know who I am, and I want to have lots of money!

That was why she had started doing this.

Whatever else happens, I need to acquire the money legally.

Lucienne looked behind her.

The distance between her and the men had grown more than she expected.

It wasn’t that the men were slow.

It was simply that Lucienne was abnormally fast and strong compared to ordinary humans.

After all, she was a half-demon, half-human.

Lucienne deliberately slowed down a little. She needed to narrow the distance so that the men could follow her properly.

At the same time, she checked to see if there was a dead-end alley nearby.

Soon, she spotted an alley between the shops downtown that was blocked off by a wall at the end.

“Bingo.”

Lucienne entered the alley and stopped.

After waiting for a while, all the men came rushing into the alley after her.

“Huff, huff, gasp! We finally caught you.”

“A dead end? What an idiot.”

Even though they were panting heavily from running, the men clenched their fists menacingly.

“You’ve got some nerve.”

“Are you prepared for what’s coming?”

Just then, the sound of horse hooves rang out from outside the alley, followed by someone shouting.

“Your Highness! This way!”

Soon, soldiers completely blocked the exit.

The men were startled and looked around in confusion before gritting their teeth.

“Damn it!”

“Boss, what do we do?”

“What do you mean, what do we do?”

The voice of a man who suddenly cut into the conversation was incredibly attractive, yet utterly emotionless.

“They committed a crime. They will simply receive the punishment they deserve.”

A tall, handsome man appeared at the entrance of the alley.

His expression indifferent, he sat astride a sleek black horse whose coat was as black as his hair.

Lucienne’s eyes widened at the unexpected appearance, and she cheered inwardly.

Welcome, Paelo Ronater, Grand Duke!

He was Lucienne’s husband.

She had wondered where he had been since yesterday, and apparently, he had come here.

Paelo scanned the men from atop his horse and noticed his wife, Lucienne, as well. Yet his characteristic expression did not change.

“……”

But when their dark red eyes met, Lucienne felt a powerful thrill.

Yes! This is definitely enough to make me a caught-in-the-act criminal!

Everyone knew that Paelo Ronater, Grand Duke, was the greatest contributor to protecting the Holy Empire of Wibroton from the invasion of the Demon Kingdom. Though he wasn’t affectionate, he was also a capable ruler who took good care of his territory.

And now, the thief standing before him was his own wife, the Grand Duchess of Ronater.

Though she was infamous as a villainess, what could be more shocking than a wife who even brought disgrace upon the Grand Duchy?

He would surely be consumed by uncontrollable rage.

He would be annoyed.

Even that perpetually expressionless face of his would surely twist with all kinds of negative emotions.

No matter how much this had been a sacrificial political marriage arranged through the Emperor’s mediation, he must be deeply regretting taking the villainous half-demon from an enemy nation as his Grand Duchess by now.

He’ll probably say that he can’t overlook this anymore, throw divorce papers and a settlement agreement in my face, and demand a divorce, right?

Imagining his reaction made Lucienne happy.

Under imperial law, high-ranking nobles rarely served actual prison sentences. If they committed a crime, the matter was usually settled appropriately.

The alimony starts at ten percent of the offender’s assets, and the Grand Duke is wealthy, so compensating for a few gold bars like these won’t be a problem at all.

Just then, several reporters who had arrived at the scene began hurriedly writing things down.

Knowing that there would even be evidence left behind made her feel even more satisfied.

Now, there was no way to hide the truth.

The evil deed she had committed would spread far and wide.

Filled with hope, Lucienne cheered Paelo on as hard as she could in her heart.

Grand Duke Ronater! Arrest me and put me on trial! Use that as grounds to say that I am unqualified to be your Grand Duchess and divorce me! Then go live happily with Verdi, the heroine of the original story! You’re one of the male leads too, aren’t you?

Soon, Paelo gave the soldiers an order.

“Arrest them.”

Lucienne put down the bag of gold bars and brought her wrists together.

All she had to do now was obediently let them tie her up.

“You bastards! Stay where you are!”

The soldiers shouted as they tightly bound the men.

The men groaned in frustration.

“Damn it!”

“We almost had it!”

But no one arrested Lucienne.

One of the soldiers merely inspected the bag of gold bars thoroughly before handing it to Paelo.

“The quantity matches!”

Paelo dismounted and checked the bag before speaking politely to Lucienne.

“It seems you were out and about. We received some unexpected assistance. Thank you, Madam.”

He then ordered a soldier to escort Lucienne home safely.

It was such a bewildering situation that Lucienne could only roll her golden eyes around.

No, why? Why aren’t you asking for a divorce? I stole the bag! I was caught red-handed!

The question rose all the way to the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t say it aloud.

Under imperial law, the person who expressed their desire for divorce first had to pay the alimony.

—Grand Duchess Lucienne Ronater lures a gang of eight bank robbers into an alley while undercover and helps capture them all!

—Is the legendary villainess’s act of delivering justice merely a show, or is she sincere?

—Albery Bank Chairman presents a plaque of appreciation to the Grand Duchess for protecting the customer’s money!

—Interview with a witness. “The commotion was so serious that I was able to immediately report it to the security force.”

Sitting on the living room sofa in her private quarters, Lucienne let out a deep sigh as she read the newspaper.

The plaque of appreciation from Albery Bank displayed in the cabinet glittered in the morning sunlight.

Ah, what terrible luck. Of all things, they had to be the bank robbers the Grand Duke was tracking.

Lucienne thought back to the first crime she had attempted to commit after deciding to get divorced by her husband.