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Chapter 30
At those words, Andreas flinched in surprise and clapped a hand over his mouth.
“Gasp! Finally!”
Without another word, he hurriedly brought over the list.
“…Is this really it?”
“Yes, that’s right! The preliminary list!”
It was piled high like a small mountain.
For a list of prospective daughters-in-law selected by a prestigious family like the Roderics, it was remarkably thick.
“Lady Roderic is quite generous when it comes to her criteria for a future daughter-in-law.”
At that, Taeyon nodded in agreement.
“Anyone is fine—just bring me a woman you like!”
“…Anyone, you say. Even though it won’t happen, what if I brought home a commoner?”
“I wouldn’t care! What else are power and wealth for? I’d just use them to polish up my daughter-in-law’s status!”
Her mother had come from a rural baronial family rather than the capital.
She had grown up in a peaceful, pastoral environment—so tranquil it could barely be called aristocratic—raising chickens and cattle, or so the story went.
Then, by chance, she met her father after he lost his way while hunting, and the two fell into a fated love.
“And then that day, at the mill, you… ahem. Well, that aside.”
Perhaps because of that, her mother was remarkably down-to-earth and cheerful, hardly fitting for the wife of a grand duke.
Unlike most nobles, whose marriages were arranged for political gain, she always emphasized love.
“Polishing up someone’s status… Why go that far?”
“Because you look so lonely, my son—throwing yourself entirely into work.”
For once, her mother’s expression was filled with unmistakable sincerity.
“Love and family are the greatest blessings in life.”
“…”
“I worry that, without realizing it, you’re becoming more and more hardened in this harsh noble society.”
Perhaps her mother was right.
He had thought he was fine all this time, but maybe he had been lonely after all.
Lonely enough that his heart kept leaning toward even a single piece of sunshine-like warmth.
“…Tell Mother I’ll agree to a meeting if she chooses any one of them.”
Leaving behind Andreas’s jubilant cry of “Wooah! At last!”, Taeyon closed his eyes as fatigue washed over him.
After safely returning Rosario, some time later—
A new dress arrived at the Morgans estate.
Sophia’s claim that “even with extra payment, it would take at least three weeks” turned out to be untrue.
“If we proceed with just the basic design and fitting, it’s entirely possible to have it ready within a week.”
In the estate’s drawing room, a salon employee spoke politely as I stood before a full-length mirror.
Sophia wasn’t present—she had a stomachache.
After all, she’d only ordered the dress reluctantly, unable to withstand Hobsin’s pressure.
“Wow…”
I let out a gasp of admiration at my reflection.
Of course, since it was rushed, the dress lacked elaborate details.
Still, it was far better than the threadbare, outdated dress I’d worn for ten years.
The material was good—and, to begin with, Aileen’s looks carried it well.
“With some jewelry, this will be more than sufficient.”
That, too, had been taken from Sophia by Hobsin and given to me.
True to a nouveau riche’s taste, every piece of jewelry was large and ostentatious.
“Yes. Since the jewelry itself is so ornate, a simple dress like this will actually look more refined,” the salon employee added quickly.
Since Sophia, forced by Hobsin’s nagging, had ordered several other dresses as well, the employee was particularly kind to me.
Back in the attic, now wearing the new dress, I looked around the shabby room and muttered,
“As expected… money really is the best.”
All I had on hand was a mere thirty-eight gold.
I’d had the allowance from my father-in-law and the money from selling the diamond I got from Derpel, but I’d spent a lot of it on disguise items.
The dresses Hobsin bought were for outings to Earl Arrington’s estate—not suitable for a formal party.
And the money I had now wasn’t even enough to buy a single magic recorder.
Yet I needed one to gather evidence for my divorce from Derpel.
Having grown up poor, I knew how hard it was to secure seed money.
The moment your paycheck comes in, it goes right back out—rent, utilities, pension contributions, credit card bills—goodbye.
No matter how hard you saved, spare change stayed spare change.
In my previous life, unless you hit the jackpot, it was impossible to make a large sum in a short time.
“…In that case.”
I let out a low chuckle.
“Then I’ll just win the lottery.”
As a transmigrator, I knew the future!
This world, too, was a place where people lived.
Instead of a lottery, it had something called the “Chimera Race.”
A competition hosted by the Mage Tower—similar to horse racing.
Once a year.
Mages created chimeras and had them race against each other.
Spectators bet on the chimera of their choice, and those who picked the winner received payouts according to the odds.
“According to the book, this year the winner is an apprentice named Giovanni…”
One of the male leads, the archmage Kaiden, hires him as an assistant because of this.
But that part wasn’t important to me.
What mattered was that, since he was only an apprentice, no one had bet on Giovanni.
According to the novel, the first-place odds this year were a staggering 2,000 to 1…!
Two thousand times thirty-eight gold—seventy-six thousand gold.
I was still used to my old world’s currency, so roughly speaking, one gold was about 100,000 won.
“That means if I win first place in the Chimera Race… the payout is a whopping 7.6 billion won!”
My eyes gleamed with delight.
Food I wanted to eat, words I wanted to say—I’d lived my entire poor life holding everything back.
Goodbye to that life.
In this life, I’ll walk the red carpet at least once!
The Chimera Race was being held today.
“Well then, shall we go?”
Instead of the new dress, I changed back into my old worn-out clothes and boldly left the miserable attic.
The imperial palace of the Croiten Empire.
“Mother!”
Seirian wailed, clutching her golden hair in her fists.
“They say Grand Duke Taeyon is going to have a matchmaking meeting! It’s spread among all the young ladies!”
She’d been boasting all this time that the grand duke was completely smitten with her.
So how much were the noble ladies mocking her now?
“I’m too embarrassed to even lift my head! I’m a princess! Of the noblest blood!”
“Yes. As someone who inherited the blood of emperors and kings, you are the most noble on the continent…”
Empress Carlota held her crying daughter in a gentle embrace.
Yet unlike her soothing tone, the gaze she cast downward was icy cold.
So my daughter is causing this uproar just because she couldn’t snare one man…
Unaware of her mother’s thoughts, Seirian sobbed and clung to her.
“Mother, you’re a brilliant alchemist! Don’t you have something like a love potion?!”
“My goodness, Seirian. How foolish…”
For a moment, irritation seeped into Carlota’s voice.
“M-Mother?”
Blinking her tear-soaked eyes, Seirian asked, and Carlota quickly smiled.
“To think such naïve thoughts—my poor child.”
Gently stroking her daughter’s hair, she whispered,
“Love doesn’t exist in this world. And so, neither do love potions.”
“L-Love… doesn’t exist…?”
“I can make a drug that blinds one with lust, but to use it properly requires careful strategy.”
Yes—just as she herself had seduced the emperor and borne him two children.
Even if my third attempt to have another son failed.
Carlota’s gaze turned cold as she looked down at her immature daughter.
She was well aware of Seirian’s ignorance and cruelty.
Everyone excused it as the result of unconditional parental love.
But that wasn’t the real reason.
It was indifference.
As she stroked her daughter’s head, Carlota thought,
If only you had been a son…
Fortunately, she had borne one son with the current emperor.
But no one knew what the future might hold.
After all, she herself had used poisons that left no trace to eliminate rivals and enemies.
The possibility that someone might assassinate her only son was all too real.
That was why she’d wanted at least one spare son.
But what she got instead was a daughter.
If the girl had inherited her beauty, she might have been more useful.
But Seirian—even including the golden hair she was so proud of—looked very much like the emperor.
In other words, she lacked beauty.
And she’s dull, too. How did something this lacking come from me?
Carlota Alliche Croiten.
For a woman with such a beautiful face, even her children were nothing more than tools for her ambition.
The only difference was whether a tool was useful or not.
