CH 10

“…….”

“Butler.”

“Yes?”

“Hire men to take care of the annex from today, and make sure everything in it is of the finest quality.”

“Yes…….”

She then walked slowly in front of the assembled servants and spoke in a very meaningful tone.

“From now on, you’re going to have to keep in line. If you make an effort to support me, even old jewelry will be given to you.”

Finally, Belinda stopped in front of Leo, who stood at the end of the queue.

“Ratchet.”

“Yes!”

“You follow me. And you too.”

“Yes, yes, yes?”

“Get the carriage ready.”

“Uh, where shall I tell them to take you?”

Belinda tapped her chin with the tip of her fan as if in thought for a moment, then replied with a wry smile.

“To the most bustling street.”

It was a little later that the servants heard the details of the will.

* * *

According to the notary, the property bequeathed to me in the name of my dowry amounts to a quarter of the entire fortune of the House of Blanche.

Moreover, the wise Marquis has added a very clever clause.

Thanks to this, I was assured of my own safety.

‘By the way, why didn’t Belinda take advantage of this great opportunity?’

Given her personality, I think she could have chosen someone that suits her taste right away and married him.

I, too, seriously considered an unplanned marriage as soon as I heard the will.

Perhaps if I had no memories of my previous life, I would have had no qualms about a loveless marriage.

‘I should probably see a lawyer sooner rather than later.’

But first. I breathed in lightly.

I’d always wanted to say this line.

“From here to here.”

The tip of my fan pointed to the shelf’s end on the left, then to the right with a snap.

“All of it.”

If you’re possessing someone who has no sense of money, shouldn’t you have a taste for spending it too?

Starting with the most famous patisserie in the capital, I began shopping in earnest.

“These are the new arrivals this quarter.”

Shopping for Leo’s clothes!

The owner of Belinda’s favorite clothing shop was also an expert at making children’s clothes.

I almost lost my mind as she pulled out one cute little outfit after another. 

I’ve never seen anything like this, not even in a boutique!

“Okay. Let’s put that on him, too. Ratchet.”

“Yes, yes.”

Leo dutifully changed into the clothes I handed him without speaking many words.

Every time he peeked his head out from between the curtains and squirmed in embarrassment, I couldn’t help but shout the same words.

“Add it.”

“Here’s an outfit I made for you to wear to a simple party, featuring these eleven layers of ruffles.”

Eleven layers of ruffles? I can’t take this!

(E/N: I don’t think anyone should ever have to ‘take’ eleven layers of ruffles, tbh…)

“Ratchet.”

“I’m done, by the way, Miss Belinda.”

“Okay. Add this one too.”

Alas, I can feel my monetary senses becoming increasingly numb. The gold coins slipping out of my hand feel like virtual currency in a game, not real money.

“What is this?”

“Children’s silk pajamas.”

Sleep is the elixir, so they say.

“Add this one as well. Ratchet!”

I did the math before we tried anything on, but that’s okay.

Anything looks good on Leo!

‘Whoa, now that I’ve satisfied my urge to shop, I’ll stop buying.’

Just as I was grinning from ear to ear with satisfaction, Leo peeked out from behind the curtain.

“I’m done, Miss Belinda.”

“Pack that one too.”

I should stop buying, but Leo’s ability to pull off any outfit was beyond comprehension.

“This is the new kids’ hunting outfit. It’s a set of long leather boots and gloves.”

The clerk’s eyes lit up as if she thought she’d caught a deal.

Hmm, what a person. It was a hunting outfit, but it didn’t look much different from the riding outfit I’d bought earlier.

……..Except for the leather boots and gloves, which came as a set.

I can’t resist a full set.

“Add it.”

With a flick of my fan, I gave Leo the hunting outfit.

“Miss Be-Belinda. I, what did I do wrong?”

My shopping addiction slammed on the brakes.

Oh, I’m in trouble.

Apparently, Leo is starting to suspect that this shopping thing is some kind of bullying.

* * *

The next stop was the temple.

“Wow.”

An exclamation burst from Leo’s mouth as he followed closely behind me. I even let out an exclamation of my own.

The magnificent architecture, with its pure white marble throughout, was majestic.

Of course, the temple looked exactly like the illustrations in the game. Right down to the ‘holy relics’ at the entrance.

In the plaza in front of the temple, there lay a pure white sword embedded in clear ice.

Said to have been sealed in a coffin of eternal, unmeltable ice by the first king of the Kingdom of Genos, the sword was incredibly strong and incredibly powerful even after its 700 years of age.

Tourists came and went, gripping the hilt and trying to draw it, but to no avail.

The holy object is commonly known as the Blessed Light.

It is an indispensable item for the protagonist of 〈Hirome〉 to see the hero’s ending.

However, in order to draw the holy sword, there was a condition.

I carefully placed my fingertips on the pure white hilt of the holy sword, which seemed to be covered with frost.

With a soft chime, a quest window appeared above the holy sword.

‘That’s still an insane number.’

In order to unseal the holy sword, the divine power comparable to that of a cardinal was required.

In order to wield the holy sword, the physical strength comparable to that of a knight commander was required.

In order to handle the latent power of the holy sword, magic equal to that of the owner of the Mage Tower was required.

That’s why you had to level up your protagonist’s health, magic, and divine power to make him a hero.

‘In the game you couldn’t ever achieve that, even if you paid for it.’

The best you could do was level up two abilities.

And since magic and holy power are opposites, it took a lot of delicate control to make them work together.

‘But this time, I can raise his stats before the story starts, and maybe even watch the hero’s ending…….’

I shook my head at the sudden thought.

We’re breaking up in a few months anyway. No, I’d rather…….

“Miss Belinda?”

Does Leo even want to be a hero?

A thought that never crossed my mind when I was playing the game.

The many endings I collected in 〈Hirome〉, some of which could be called bad endings.

‘For example, the ending where he becomes the leader of the underworld.’

Leo as the hero and Leo as the leader of the underworld. In the game, it was very clear which was the happy ending.

But in hindsight, I think the real tragedy is that neither of them reflects Leo’s wishes.

If Leo is happy even if he becomes the leader of the Underworld, isn’t that actually the true ending?

Not the future I dream of for my protagonist, but the future Leo wants to be.

‘Leo, what do you want to be when you grow up?’

I couldn’t help but ask Leo, who blinked as he looked up at me.

* * *

From Belinda’s point of view, 〈Hirome〉 is a survival game with a fairly evil level of difficulty.

Luckily for me, I have 100,000 gold and a hefty wedding dowry, but…….

‘A bullet can go through a bag of money.’

The supporters who take Belinda’s life are all powerful people who have the power to make the birds that fly fall fast and hard.

Considering how Belinda ended up in the original game, no matter how careful you are with your actions, you never know where or how you’ll be stabbed in the back.

If I wanted to avoid them, I’d have to be given at least three extra lives to ensure my safety, just like in the game.

‘Wait. Extra lives?’

A thought flashed through my mind.

“Cash shop!”

I wasn’t disappointed by the system window that popped up in the end.

Apparently, I needed to become an official guardian to gain access to the cash shop, where I could purchase in-game items.

‘But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a way.’