CH 86

A tremendous amount of money came in from the magic tower.

I’ve become a wonderfully rich unemployed person who can play and eat as I please until I die.

I’ve also sold all the jewelry, dresses, and weapons I was able to get from Second Prince Beltran and turned them into money.

Thank you, gullible guy.

‘With this much I’ll never have to worry about money again!’

[Pfft.]

Financial problems were completely resolved. If it weren’t for personal issues, I could declare independence right away.

While I was at it, I went to find Mario, the commander of the mercenary corps.

“What’s the matter, Miss Lili? Hasn’t the commander returned yet–”

“I want to buy real estate under a different name. Can you handle that kind of request?”

“Huh? Of course, mercenaries can do anything if there’s money involved… Ahem, how much are you looking to spend?”

When I abruptly placed the request, Mario was momentarily taken aback, but then his expression changed as if to say, “When did that happen?” He came forward seriously and sat facing me.

“I’ll offer you 50,000 lalit for the job.”

In Korean won, that’s about 100 million.

It might be considered a somewhat expensive amount but considering the difficulty of purchasing real estate under a third identity, it could be seen as appropriate.

Mario nodded readily.

“Sounds good.”

“But I hope you’ll strictly adhere to confidentiality. No one should know that I, Elodie Perdia, am the owner of that property.”

Now that the name Lili Arcel had become unintentionally famous, it seemed safe to take another identity to buy the property.

“You don’t have to worry about that, my lady. If you pay 5,000 Lalit in advance, we can start right away!”

Mario replied confidently and handed me the contract.

After confirming the clauses and paying the advance fee, Mario asked for the details of the request in earnest.

“Do you have any specific locations in mind?”

“Hmm…”

If it was too rural, it wouldn’t be suitable because people would be too curious about a newcomer. My goal was to live as a quiet unemployed person, so it would be tiresome if it became known that I was a noble.

I quickly glanced at the map of Wallentian that Mario had laid out and pointed to a place.

“Somewhere with a moderately mobile population in a small city would be good. How about this area near the harbor?”

The place I pointed to was a harbor city where you could immediately cross the ocean and enter the Kingdom of Gantel.

It was a question with calculations in mind that if something happened, I could easily escape to a foreign country by boat.

Mario, who didn’t know my intentions, was somewhat skeptical.

“The land prices there are quite high. Is it necessary for it to be a harbor? It’s not much different from the outskirts of Somnia.”

“Land prices don’t matter. The most important thing is whether it’s comfortable to live there.”

“It’s not a bad place to live, I’ve been there a few times and the city itself is lively and nice. There are also many foreigners visiting, so the public safety is well maintained.”

“Oh, really?”

It sounded intriguing.

To be away from Somnia but still have a high population and good public safety.

“Then, please look into that area for me. A clean, three-story house would be nice.”

“Yes, understood.”

Mario looked curious as to why I wanted to buy a house, but he didn’t press the issue.

This level of professionalism was why I kept sending requests to the Earth Hawk Mercenaries.

“Then, I’ll leave it to you.”

***

I had enough money and the ability to buy a house, but the only reason I couldn’t become independent was because there was someone trying to kill me.

So far, Duke Angellus was the most likely candidate.

‘Whatever.’

I locked myself in my room and racked my brain.

It wouldn’t be difficult to torment Duke Angellus, but I didn’t have the power to eliminate him.

Even though I knew the original story, I had already intervened and changed the course of events, so I couldn’t use it as a weapon to take him out.

Of course, in the original story, Duke Angellus met a tragic end. First Prince Ademir, who ascended to the throne, dealt the final blow to both Dorothea Angellus, who tried to kill Estelle, and Duke Angellus himself.

So, all I have to do is wait, right?

“No……! “

By the time Estelle shows up, it’s too late, and I run the risk of dying in the same way as the original.

It was better for my survival to leave Somnia as soon as possible.

“So, what if I fake my death…?”

What if I pretend to be dead, just like when I fell off the cliff during the previous attack, and suddenly disappear?

“No, that’s problematic too.”

To do that, I would have to deceive all the people of Perdia, which was not an easy task.

Last time, they were so surprised that they searched the entire continent. Those people were still my relatives.

And… There was one more reason why I couldn’t leave the capital right away.

The task of awakening my biological father, Duke Severes.

Without any leads, I had been ignoring that task and making plans for independence, but I couldn’t leave Somnia without resolving it.

So, in reality, leaving for the harbor city was Plan B.

The search for the Sin of Pride had been at a standstill since Raeyan, who had been entrusted with the investigation, was absent.

I had no choice but to wait for Raeyan to return.

[Can I eat this?]

“Eat it all. You pig.”

[It’s all mine! And I’m not a pig, I’m just greedy.]

Greed gobbled up the cookies in front of me in the form of a fox. It’s quite something how you can eat so much while claiming to be full due to my greed for money.

When I had carefully hidden the contract Mario and I had signed in a corner of the room, someone knocked on the door.

“It’s me, Miss!”

“Come in.”

Martha appeared holding a pile of invitations on a tray. I let out a deep sigh.

The social circle’s interest in me still hadn’t waned, so the influx of invitations remained constant.

I felt like it would be a hassle to write rejection responses that would make my fingers sore once again.

“Martha, will you help me write the replies today?”

“As long as the handwriting doesn’t matter!”

“It doesn’t matter at all.”

I was so fed up that I even wanted to ask Greed for help if possible.

I picked up my quill pen combatively, ready to get it over with.

Ah, and then Martha held up one of the invitations.

“By the way, I think you should reply to this one yourself.”

“Who sent it?”

“Empress Salvatrice.”

“Ugh.”

Following the fool Beltran, now it’s the appearance of the empress. Seeing that the envelope is already torn, it seemed like it was checked by the butler beforehand.

I unfolded the letter and turned to Martha.

“Martha, did the incident involving the Second Prince spread as a rumor?”

“Are you talking about the incident where our young lady treated the Second Prince like a fool and stripped him bare?”

“That, that’s right. That.”

If the rumor had spread like that, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for the resolute and vengeful empress to step forward. She must be furious, thinking that her son was used inappropriately.

The invitation from the Empress stated that it would be a simple teatime. But would it really be a simple teatime?

‘Ugh, what a hassle! Rejection!’

I attended once and it ended up in a commotion. I walked away with my own two feet, thinking that I might face some sort of disaster.

I quickly took out a fresh piece of stationery and began writing the familiar rejection response.

Martha sat down on the couch and began to chatter away as she wrote the other  rejection letters.

“Speaking of the empress, miss, do you know what? The empress has been known to admire the Duke of Serveres in the past.”

Thud.

My hand, writing the rejection response, stopped. I slowly raised my head and looked at Martha, who was still fixed on the paper, as if it was of no consequence.

“Tell me more, Martha.”

With her eyes still fixed on the paper, Martha spoke as if it were no big deal.

“Well… in detail? It was said to have reached the point of mentioning engagement, but one day it suddenly broke off. After that, all contact was completely cut off.”

This must have been before he met my mom, right?

As a child, it pained me to pry into my father’s past, but I couldn’t help it.

“Rumor has it that the duke is in a coma now, but I’ve heard that the Duke of Serveres was very popular back in the day. He disappeared around the time you and I were born, so I was wondering what he looked like.”

I had heard it all before. That was information I had already heard enough times for my ears to bleed.

“Is there nothing else?”

“Nothing? What do you mean?”

“Rumors related to Empress Salvatrice and Duke Severes. It sounds interesting.”

Martha, who often shared rumors from the social circle, unknowingly revealed a story I was familiar with.

“They say Duke Severus fell into a coma because of poisoning. But apparently, the mastermind behind the attempted poisoning was Marquis Baresh, Empress Salvatrice’s grandfather or something like that. It’s just a baseless rumor, so take it as an amusing tale!”

“An attempted poisoning? That’s so scary.”

“Yes, isn’t it?”

From the beginning, the premise itself was a twisted rumor.

The cause of the Duke of Serveres’s coma was not poison, but the price of a sin. I knew the truth, having seen the scenes from the past myself.

However, there must be a reason why such rumors spread.

Marquis Baresh, Empress Salvatrice’s grandfather, belonged to a branch family, not a direct descendant of the Four Great Families, but they were a powerful and influential family with a long-standing legacy. They were famous for forming marital alliances with the Four Great Families for generations.

‘Who knows what he knows about my biological father.’

I crumpled the rejection response I was writing.

***

Empress Salvatrice’s simple tea time was held at the third palace of the Wallentian Imperial Palace.

“It is a pleasure to see you, Empress.”

“Welcome, Miss Elodie.”

The Empress Salvatrice was as beautiful as ever. Her expression showed nothing personal, as expected of a woman in power.

‘I wonder what the exact reason for calling me here is.’

Inevitably, it would be to avenge her son.

As I sat across from Empress Salvatrice, a palace attendant poured tea into my cup. The weather was chilly, and steam rose from the cup.

“Ah…,” I shyly smiled and responded. 

I had nothing to say, and I was also wondering how I could steer the conversation towards Duke Severes.

Empress Salvatrice, who observed me closely, began to speak.

“I heard about the broken engagement.”

“So, you have, and I am ashamed to say that it is not a good story.”

“Of course, there may be various rumors about the broken engagement, but don’t think about it too negatively, Miss Elodie. Can’t we just cover it up with new rumors?”

“Huh?”

“I heard that you recently met with Prince Beltran.”

Finally, I realized the reason Empress Salvatrice called me.

She intended to involve me with Prince Beltran, the Second Prince, in order to absorb the power of Perdia.

‘Ha! She wants to tie me to that idiot?’

I was so incredulous that I felt my temper rise. I couldn’t just stay still.

While managing my expression under Empress Salvatrice’s subtle gaze, I turned my head tightly.

Although there was a matter I needed to discuss with Empress Salvatrice, I had to make sure not to mention this issue at all.

I intentionally pretended to be modest and quietly replied, “I’m going to take my time thinking about the engagement, because I’m a person of many shortcomings…….”

“Shortcomings? Don’t say such things, Miss Elodie. Your family is Perdia, and you yourself are beautiful, aren’t you?”

Indeed.

“But what if I have bad habits and end up hitting my future husband?”

“What? H-hitting?”

“Yes. That’s why my father is concerned, not just about this. Besides, I have such strong materialistic desires that I spend money recklessly. The wealth of the husband’s family will probably disappear in no time…”

Since I had already swindled Beltran in the previous incident, my credibility in this regard would be high.

“And I’m also prone to speculation, so if he ever happens to meet another woman or something, who knows what I’ll do to him…….”

I raised my fork fiercely, opening my eyes wide, and looked at Empress Salvatrice with a sly smile.