Chapter 20
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#20.
"Wow."
After concluding my meeting with Elena, I stood before my personal storage, covering my mouth as exclamations tumbled forth.
'How much is all of this, exactly?'
Three boxes of gold ingots from the lantern festival event were stacked neatly in my personal storage.
Including what I'd received earlier, that made four in total. They said seeds had run out during the lantern festival, so nothing could be sold then—it seemed the event had been a tremendous success after all.
Of course, as Elena had mentioned, the storage was relatively spacious.
Though there had been maintenance funds allocated for Rhoena's upkeep, it was only natural the vault had emptied so quickly given the habit of squandering it all within days through extravagance.
And that wasn't even counting the advances I'd drawn against future allowances.
Even if I repaid those advances monthly in installments deducted from my maintenance funds, the cycle of new advances simply continued, leaving the storage perpetually bare.
'So that's why Grand Duke Hadelus clicked his tongue when he heard I'd bought jewelry.'
As the youngest of a noble household, my spending habits were far from ordinary—shockingly so to someone like me who'd lived as a commoner my entire previous life.
Fortunately, the lantern festival's success allowed me to repay a portion of those advances.
Ordinarily these gold ingots shouldn't exist at all, but since this was the first harvest, I'd kept some aside, or so I was told.
'Judging by that, the Grand Duchess seems quite generous as well.'
She could have confiscated everything, thinking this was the perfect opportunity to deal with a troublesome daughter-in-law, yet she hadn't.
In fact, hadn't she even offered encouragement? I found myself somewhat bewildered that life in the Grand Duke's household wasn't as harsh as I'd anticipated.
And when I reviewed the list of expenses Rhoena had incurred over the past year, I nearly clutched my head in despair. I couldn't even count how many items had been purchased and never used.
Had she been soothing some hollow ache in her heart through shopping?
If I took the time to resell just these items, I could repay half the debt.
But that was a concern for when I had a lifetime ahead of me. I was dying soon anyway.
"Hehehehe. With this money, I could live quite the luxurious fan life."
My immediate concern was how to spend this fortune. With remaining time to make the most of my hobbies and money to fund them, it was a blessing beyond measure.
And knowing the House of Hadelus's long-standing commission tradition, it seemed opportunities to earn more would inevitably arise.
Even if my body was that of a child, I was a commoner in my previous life who'd experienced every hardship imaginable. I caressed the gold ingots and chuckled to myself.
'Of course, for fan activities, there's one thing that matters most, right?'
* * *
In an office at the Hadelus Villa, Cobystein, the chief Artificer of House Hadelus, was brewing a steaming cup of black tea as he arrived for the day.
It was a leisurely morning for once. With all the preparations for the flower festival, there hadn't been time to brew tea between successive all-nighters.
"Master Cobystein."
Just then, his assistant entered the office, interrupting Cobystein's peaceful tea time.
"A visitor has arrived from the Main Castle."
Cobystein tilted his head at the mention of the Main Castle.
The only people from the Main Castle who would seek him out were the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, and he'd heard both were away on official business today.
Moreover, if something urgent were needed, he would have been summoned.
"From the Main Castle? But His Grace should be away today on business."
"Ah, well...."
The assistant scratched the back of his head awkwardly before speaking.
"The Grand Duchess has requested a meeting with you."
Cobystein stopped mid-sip of his tea, his mouth falling open.
"The Grand Duchess?"
No, why would that reckless woman seek me out?
* * *
Last night, I'd carefully planned how to make the most of my finances and live a fulfilling fan's life.
Simply living under the same roof as my favorite was already a fan's dream come true, yet something still felt lacking.
A fan's desires know no bounds. I wanted to capture every charming moment of Arkid on video and replay them endlessly.
The problem was that this world had neither cameras nor computers.
'True fandom requires preservation. I can't keep this face to myself alone. Everyone must know.'
Just because such things didn't exist in the market didn't mean they couldn't be created.
This world had magic instead of cameras and computers.
In a place where magic and divinity coexisted, I felt certain we could craft something far more advanced than anything from my previous world.
Of course, this wasn't mere fantasy. I'd already glimpsed its possibility at the flower festival.
I sat up straight and stared intently at Cobystein across from me. The dark circles under his eyes spoke of chronic exhaustion.
It seemed he'd been thoroughly drained from working late during the flower festival.
Moreover, there was something unsettling in the way he looked at me—as if he'd encountered someone he desperately wished to avoid.
"What brings you here without summoning me directly?"
"Ah, I have a favor to ask of you."
"A... favor?"
Cobystein's eyes widened as if he'd heard something impossible.
He clearly hadn't expected the word "favor" to ever leave my lips instead of a command.
His expression was utterly unfamiliar. An adult trembling in fear before me was incomprehensible.
Unless he'd suffered some misfortune at my hands, such a reaction made no sense.
'This is troublesome.'
Cobystein's role would be crucial for my glorious fan life ahead, and if our relationship was strained, he might refuse my request.
"I heard you were the one who created the seed lanterns, so I came to find you."
"Gasp!"
The moment I mentioned the seed lanterns, Cobystein trembled violently and suddenly dropped to his knees.
"I've committed an unforgivable sin!"
"Huh?"
I let out a bewildered exclamation at Cobystein's sudden prostration.
And in that instant, just as when I'd encountered Diana before, an unfamiliar memory suddenly surfaced in my mind.
[Rhoena glared at Cobystein with blazing eyes, her hair half-burned.
It had been scorched black when she'd used the magical device he'd created to straighten her hair.
Rhoena had always been self-conscious about her naturally frizzy hair.
Envious of the Grand Duchess's silky locks, she'd pressured the busy Cobystein to create a magical device for her.
But the device he'd sent had only made her hair even frizzier.
Rhoena's fury reached its peak.
"How could you let this happen? My hair is completely burned!"
As Rhoena threw her tantrum, Cobystein remained on his knees, bowing his head in shame.
His face bore the resentment of someone forced to undertake work beyond his duties without compensation, now facing this disaster as well.
"I sincerely apologize. It appears my assistant mistakenly sent an incomplete version. I'm truly mortified. I'll accept any punishment you deem fit."
"Now you're blaming your assistant? Why don't you just be honest—you found me annoying and decided to mess with me!"
At Rhoena's relentless pressure, Cobystein jumped to his feet.
"Absolutely not! How could I ever dare cause harm to the Grand Duchess? Both my assistant and I have been working through the nights these past few days without rest. And besides, this was a sudden request...."
Cobystein's tone carried a subtle hint of reproach toward Rhoena.
Rhoena reacted irritably to it.
"Ah, so you deliberately gave me an incomplete version? Do you also look down on me as some insignificant Grand Duchess hidden away?"
When Rhoena grew angry, Cobystein's face turned ashen, and he began wringing his hands in supplication.
"If you could grant me more time, I could create an Artificer's artifact to restore your burnt hair...."
"Can you finish it by tomorrow?"
"Eh? That's... that's simply impossible...."
"The ball is tomorrow! Are you saying you want everyone to laugh at my burnt hair?!"
"N-no! I'm so sorry! I'll do my absolute best!"
With those words, Cobystein bolted from the room toward his office.
His expression screamed 'dealing with this brat's tyranny is a hundred, a thousand times worse than working overtime,' which only further darkened Rhoena's mood.
"Hmph! Every last one of you is completely useless!"
Oh, damn it.
I pressed my forehead as the memory flooded my mind. From an omniscient commoner's perspective, I'd never seen such cruelty.
What was I to do with this poor working man?
He'd suffered every hardship imaginable just from meeting the wrong boss's daughter-in-law, and now he was bowing his head to a child.
If I thought of it as my own situation, tears would blur my vision, and I'd want to immediately throw my resignation letter from my pocket.
Of course, unlike my past life, this place had a class system, so such tyrannical corporate situations seemed to be everyday occurrences.
Thus, Cobystein himself didn't seem to recognize that this relationship itself was abnormal.
'Still, this kind of dynamic isn't right. It seems Grand Duke Hadelus doesn't know I've been tormenting this man.'
I'd been about to indulge in my hobby, but my head grew complicated thinking about the family's abysmal working conditions.
At this rate, rather than entrust work to Cobystein, I'd need to go to the Grand Duke and demand that he reduce the workload of his retainers.
Honestly, delivering an incomplete magical tool to Rhoena was a mistake, but considering how he worked day and night, it was strange that he didn't make errors in such an environment.
Even the most agile monkey falls from a tree when exhausted.
And how much harder must it have been when his superior's daughter-in-law made him work without compensation?
'It's impressive he didn't quit. I should treat him well.'
My image was somewhat damaged, but there was still a chance to recover.
I gently grasped Cobystein's shoulder to console him as he remained prostrate on the floor in supplication.
"Don't do this. I didn't come to punish you."
"Y-yes?"
"If you have no intention of putting me in a difficult position, then get up and sit properly."
"Yes, ma'am!"
At my words about being "difficult," Cobystein quickly rose and sat down, assuming a proper posture.
With both hands resting on his knees, he looked like a junior soldier summoned before a senior officer.
In short, his military discipline was razor-sharp.
That somehow made me feel sorry for him. Moved by Cobystein's situation, I placed a gold ingot from my pocket onto the table with a determined expression.
'Originally, I'd planned to give this as a condition for creating the viewing stone....'
"This is...."
I offered Cobystein, whose expression had gone blank, the most disarming smile Rhoena could muster.
"I've been working you far too hard all this time, haven't I? This is my way of thanking you for all your help. From now on, whenever I ask you to craft magical artifacts personally, I'll make sure to pay you properly."
So please, don't run away from me. Stay by my side. I promise I'll do better going forward!
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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