I Became The Male Lead’s Female Friend

 

Gambling legalization went down in flames.

 

It was a foregone conclusion.

 

The Duke of Goldman rigged it so that only the powerful would benefit, and I stopped it.

 

Therefore, not surprisingly, the high-stakes players also lost a lot.

 

They had been benefiting from the Duke’s influence, and suddenly they were losing money. 

 

It wasn’t just a temporary loss, either, as the amount of money they lost grew as the days went by.

 

Eventually, they began to demand compensation from the Duke. 

 

It seemed ridiculous that they were asking for restitution after losing money to gambling, but they had a point.

 

Before bringing them to the gambling house, the Duke had made them a promise.

 “If you lose money, I will pay you back.” 

As a Duke, he knew they wouldn’t lose their money, but it ended up being a handshake for him. 

 

Indeed, he was going to have to pay them back.

 

‘I knew that was going to happen, so I put money aside.’

 

The Duke had already spent half of the investment, so it would be a loss for us to take it back now.

 

But that was as a phantom top shareholder, and as Princess Averine, it was still a gain for me. I’d have to drain them of every last cent, and there would be no escape.

 

‘In the end, the plan worked.’

 

With no funds left, the Duke was unable to pay the nobles the promised indemnity. He delayed their requests for visits until they were finally reported to the palace.

 

Objectively speaking, the Duke’s operation of the gambling house was criminal, but under normal circumstances, he would not have been arrested.

 

‘The Emperor was on the same side as the Duke in pushing for gambling legalization.’

 

It was natural for the Emperor, a possible

‘accomplice’,

to side with the Duke. But the situation was different now.

 

Many of the empire’s most prominent families had been affected, many of them longtime contributors to the imperial family, and as their voices grew louder, it became harder and harder for the Emperor to turn a blind eye.

 

The Emperor had no choice but to arrest the Duke who broke the law, confiscate his property, and distribute it among the affected nobles.

 

All in the name of fines.

 “Are you sure about this?” 

This was a huge blow to Goldman’s reputation. Although they were able to retain their titles as founding families, the Goldmans were forced to spend time in prison.

 

The Goldman’s’ first child, Raft Goldman, was stripped of his imperial knighthood. The second daughter, Flatt Goldman, was also deposed as the Crown Prince’s fiancée.

 

And River Goldman, who was directly involved in the operation of the gambling house, was dismissed from…

 “I don’t mind, it’s what I’ve come to expect.” 

He was stripped of the estates he had received for his war service and even his knighthood. His engagement to me also became a thing of the past.

 

Frankly, he didn’t deserve it. 

 

Aside from the other two sons and daughters, River deserves the greatest punishment for his part in bringing down the Duke.

 

So I offered to make room for him and invited him to join us, but…

 “No. It would be a strange picture for me, a Goldman scion, to enter Averine.” “But…” “It’s really fine, I’m just lucky I didn’t get caught, in fact, I think my punishment was a bit light since my father will be out soon, but…” “If you say lighter, you’d really be executed for treason.” “Haha.” 

He scratched his cheek in a shrugging manner and let out a wry chuckle.

 

When asked what he plans to do next, Lord River said he wasn’t sure yet. He said he’d like to take this opportunity to travel and expand his horizons, and he’d like to learn new skills.

 

I nodded, and I surreptitiously handed him the family token. 

 

It meant that I would pay for his travels for the rest of his life. Lord River refused the token until he was forced to accept it, and then he smiled apologetically.

 “I apologize for my indecision. I know I’ve hurt you with my indecision, and I know I’ve twisted things in many ways…” “It’s okay, I was the first to get impatient, and things worked out for the best.” “Then…” 

Lord River stared at me for a moment, then asked.

 “Have you made up your mind?” 

Nodding, I blinked at him, then smiled brightly and nodded.

 

Lord River chuckled softly at the sight of me. He took a step back, took my hand, and kissed the back of it. He looked at me with affection in his eyes, just as he had when we first met, and said.

 “I will always wish you happiness, my dear Princess.” 

Before we parted, he asked me about O’Neill.

 

It took me a long time to realize he’d thought about it, but when I gave him a brief update, he smiled bitterly and turned away.

 

The last thing he said before leaving was,

‘If anything happens, please contact me.’

 

‘What do you mean?’

 

For some reason, his tone had a hint of unease in it, and I scratched my head, but I couldn’t think of anything, so I stopped pondering about it.

 

In fact, I hardly had time to think.

 

After that, my life began to move at a whirlwind pace.

 

A few days later, the Parliament voted to legalize gambling. 

 

Fortunately, most of the nobles were against it, and it was rejected, if anything, this case strengthened the ban on gambling.

 

When Jeron heard the news, he celebrated with everyone in his household that day, even those who had never met him before.

 

‘Now they can’t even talk about building a big casino, right?’

 

I mean, could we? That’s crazy, especially now that the gambling ban has gotten even tougher?

 

And then I clenched my fists and huffed. There was little they could do now that Meyers’ secret weapon had been completely destroyed. At best, they could set up a resort?

 

‘That’s not even close to what I’m capable of.’

 

What I’ve acquired alone represents the Yolk Lands of Veloa, and the profits from building a hotel there would be more than enough.

 

If you add in the number of secrets I’ve prepared…

 “Princess, it’s done!”  

O’Neill’s invention was nothing short of revolutionary.

 “Really?” 

Holding up the bottle in amazement, I asked. The tiny, thumb-sized bottle contained less than half of a clear red liquid. 

 

O’Neill smirked at my reaction and said,

“Yes. As I told you before, I’ve been experimenting to find a way to purify demon blood. It’s been a bit of a struggle, as I don’t know where the magic will end up if there’s even the slightest impurity in it…” “Yeah.” “In the end, I succeeded. It may look like blood, but it’s pure magic, just one drop.” 

O’Neill lifted her index finger and put it to the corner of my mouth.

 “It’s many times more potent than magic ore, as I told you before.” 

‘A single drop could do that much!’

 

That would more than make up for the initial investment, and it would be ridiculously different in volume and weight, and even more efficient. 

 I

pondered, the corners of my mouth curling upward.

 “Hmm… Isn’t it a bit of a pain to make, though? If it’s a lot trickier to refine and more expensive, I guess that’s what it was…” “Well, the refining process was complicated, but I’m working on ways to simplify it as much as possible, so it shouldn’t be too expensive.” “Really?” “Yep. And I can only make this much per demon, but…” 

Her statement was met with a smile.

 “There’s no shortage of demons in the north, is there?” 

O’Neill nodded in agreement, and I smiled broadly.

 

If O’Neill was right, if the refining process could be simplified, so that we could always refine blood to make this later. 

 

This was more than just a replacement for magic ore, it was an invention that would mark a milestone in the Empire’s development.

 

Demons have been around since before the founding of the Empire, and they would continue to exist in the future, as long as they don’t disappear forever…

 

‘Doesn’t that mean we can pluck them forever?’

 

If we announce this, people won’t be afraid of demons, but rather want to catch them themselves.

 

‘Well, at least we’ll have a monopoly on the refining technique in Averine.’

 

Of course, I didn’t intend to keep the formula secret forever for the public benefit.

 

But only after I’d gotten what I could out of it, I’d take a cut of the profits in exchange for teaching others how to do the same. 

 

It was like getting royalties in my past life.

 “This is awesome, this is amazing, for real…” 

When O’Neill told me the good news, I went straight to Jeron to tell him.

 

Jeron, who had been skeptical of the power source development up until that point, was stunned by the news, but then managed to calm my exuberance and asked, 

 “Alright, I get it, stop talking, but… are you saying it’s true?” “Yes. It’s only a drop, and it’s several times as effective as magic ore, even in this quantity?” “This…” 

Jeron took the vial from me and peered inside, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.

 “So, with this much, what are the probabilities of success?” “… Are you asking because you don’t know?” “I know, but I’m asking because I want to hear it for myself.” “How shameless.” 

Jeron laughed in disbelief, but his face brightened even more.

 “Congratulations, Duke Averine.” “Aww, don’t get me started!” 

Despite shuddering at his polite greeting, the corner of my mouth was already hanging over my ear. 

 

Jeron clicked his tongue slightly at the sight of me, then returned to his stern expression and spoke again.

 “Still, it’s too early to let your guard down. One slip of the tongue at the final meeting, and we’ll all be in the dumps, especially now that the factions are divided…” 

‘Final meeting,’ I

thought, tuning out Jeron’s nagging voice.

 

To present my accomplishments so far and be judged by the vassals.

 

Of course, the vassals had heard of my accomplishments so far, and they were scoring them.

 

Eventually, a successor would have to be chosen, and when there was more than one successor, as there was this time, a final meeting would be held.

 

In front of all of Avery’s vassals, the heirs would present their respective plans for the future.

 

In other words, what business am I working on now, how do I want to grow it in the future, and what a vision of how profitable it could be.

 

It’s not an easy position to be in, Jeron says, not only because it requires delivering a speech without trepidation, but also because it involves answering tough questions from the vassals.

 

‘And getting their approval.’

 

But I smiled confidently.

 “It’s okay.” 

I’d known that since I was born in Avery, and I’d been preparing for this for quite some time.

 

More than anything, I believed myself.

 “I’ve been working on it.” 

That all the hard work I’d been doing would come together and eventually pay off.

 

And finally.

 

The day of the final meeting arrived.