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Chapter : 01
The world runs on money.
I realized that fact when I was only ten years old.
“Lady Eani!”
“You’re awake! Are you feeling unwell anywhere?!”
“Oh, dear God! Please, never do something like that again! If Lady Eani dies, we’re as good as dead too!”
When I opened my eyes, unfamiliar faces greeted me.
A cool breeze brushing against my skin.
Soft bedding.
And—
‘The smell of the sea…’
Instinctively, I rose from the bed and headed for the balcony, its doors wide open.
“Lady Eani! Where are you going?!”
“It’s dangerous for you to move yet!”
“You forced yourself to throw everything up—your body can’t possibly be well yet!”
I ignored the voices coming from behind me.
And the moment I stepped outside, I was met with—
Swoooosh—
A vast emerald sea stretching endlessly before me.
Blazing sunlight, a clear blue sky, palm trees swaying gently in the wind.
‘…It’s beautiful.’
When I was young, I always wanted to leave for a sea that shimmered beautifully every moment.
I wanted to go to an island where I could gaze at such a sea whenever I wished.
To think that such a small childhood dream would only come true after my death…
The moment I thought of death, hot tears surged up.
‘It’s over.’
A conglomerate that ruled South Korea.
Born as an illegitimate child of that family, raised as nothing more than a nuisance, I dared to covet something I never should have.
‘The position of the company’s owner.’
That was why I willingly jumped into the succession battle.
In a way, it was inevitable.
‘Because they taught me that the world runs on money.’
A father who ignored me, a stepmother who did nothing but torment me.
Two older brothers who didn’t even treat me as human, and a grandfather who calculated my value as a commodity.
From them, I learned the value of money—and how to be faithful to desire.
‘That’s why I wanted more…’
When I had eliminated everyone who opposed me and victory was right in front of me—
I was caught in an unexpected traffic accident.
Just before the cars collided, I recognized the person sitting in the driver’s seat of the car charging straight at me.
‘My stepmother.’
To be honest, her motive for murder was clear.
I had sent her two precious sons crashing into ruin.
‘So thoroughly they could never recover.’
She herself hadn’t been a real threat in the succession fight, so I’d forgotten about her.
And yet…
‘You succeeded in killing me when I let my guard down.’
Yes. I must be dead.
Otherwise, there was no way I’d be waking up in a place like this.
If that was the case, was everything I was seeing now just an illusion?
‘But thanks to this, I understand.’
Perhaps I…
Wanted someone to stop me.
It had been a fierce life lived without brakes.
But when I looked back, I hadn’t jumped into that filthy brawl for a company or power.
What I wanted was simply more money.
‘And the reason I wanted money was—’
Because I never wanted to be left alone in that massive prison again.
That family loved the sea and often went on vacations.
Leaving me behind, young and powerless.
Sometimes they locked me in a small room with a broken light.
Sometimes they left just enough food behind so I wouldn’t die, as if telling me to starve for days.
That was why I chased money so blindly.
If I had enough money, I could leave for a beautiful island whenever I wanted.
Then I’d never again feel—
The feeling of being abandoned.
‘In the end, I died earning nothing but money, without ever getting to relax at a resort.’
“Haha.”
Strange.
Tears wouldn’t stop streaming down my face, yet laughter kept spilling out.
I took a deep breath.
The unfamiliar southern sea air was sweeter than any sea I’d visited on business.
‘Alright. Let’s start over from the beginning.’
I had not a single shred of attachment to my previous life.
I didn’t know how long this illusion would last, but I didn’t want to miss this moment.
‘I think I can live purely for my own happiness here.’
Only after calming down did I finally notice the people fussing beside me.
“L-Lady Eani! Are your legs okay?!”
“Did you really just walk properly?!”
“My goodness, you’re standing perfectly fine right now?!”
The women in maid uniforms were in a panic among themselves.
I watched them briefly, then spoke.
“Does this land belong to me?”
“…Pardon?”
At my question, they froze, blinking blankly.
“Why would you suddenly ask something like that…”
“If you’re asking about ownership, then no, it doesn’t…”
“This is the Seind Ducal Family’s villa!”
“Really? That’s a shame.”
I turned my head without regret and looked back out at the glittering sea.
No matter how many times I looked, the scenery was beautiful.
“I want it.”
It was my small childhood dream—and now a place that had given me a great realization.
Of course I coveted it deeply.
‘Enough that I’d buy it even if I had to pay extra to the owner.’
I’d resolved to start anew here, but that didn’t mean I intended to abandon the way I’d lived in my past life.
Everything that exists has value.
I was someone skilled at estimating that value and claiming things through deals and negotiations.
I didn’t know exactly where this place was, but people were the same everywhere, so I wasn’t too worried.
‘Ahh, the breeze feels nice~.’
Smiling softly, I brushed my wind-tousled hair behind my ear.
How long had it been since I felt this refreshed?
Blond hair gleaming in the sunlight—so unlike my original black hair—felt oddly welcome.
Where this place was, and who owned the land.
In the process of hearing various details, I learned something interesting.
“My name is Eani Nasel~. And this is the Seind Ducal Family’s villa, right?”
“Lady Eani… why do you keep asking such obvious things…”
“Is your memory hazy? Do you recognize who I am?”
“Doctor! Did she really hit her head or something?!”
“Hm. The medicine I gave her was meant to induce vomiting after excessive intake of sleeping pills, so the chance of brain damage is extremely low…”
At their reactions, I burst out laughing.
“Let’s see if my memory’s hazy~. You’re Elin, you’re Bellin, and you’re Selin. You’re sisters, and you were dispatched by the Seind Ducal Family to attend to me—and monitor me. Right?”
“W-Well, monitoring might be a bit…”
“We’re here for Lady Eani’s convenience!”
“That’s right! The young duke personally selected us!”
“Well, that’s not entirely wrong.”
I nodded and turned to the only man among them.
“And you’re Birt. The third disciple of the Seind family’s chief physician, and you’ve been on this island for less than a month.”
“Oh! That’s correct. Your pronunciation is clear and your memory intact, so there doesn’t appear to be any major issue with your head. What a relief—!”
I cut him off and raised my foot in front of his face.
As the blanket fell away, a long, ugly scar was revealed across my thin white ankle.
“The young duke severed the tendon in my right ankle to keep me from escaping him. That’s why I became a cripple, and why you were all dispatched to take care of me. Is that accurate too?”
At my words, Birt turned pale and looked away.
“It’s… a clean and precise explanation…”
The three maids looked no different.
‘I didn’t mean to scare them.’
I shrugged lightly and flexed my ankle.
A foot that should have been limp from a severed Achilles tendon moved far too naturally.
‘This is enough.’
Lowering my foot, I looked at all four of them.
“And most importantly—if I die, all of you die with me. By the hand of that young Duke of Seind.”
“Ah…”
“Mm…”
“That’s… true…”
The three maids nodded with awkward expressions.
They’d made such a fuss earlier, saying they’d die if I died—but now that they were acknowledging it outright, it seemed uncomfortable.
At least Birt was honest.
“Everything you’ve said is correct. It’s an extremely unreasonable and dangerous condition. That’s why I sincerely ask you to take care of your body and prioritize your health. I apologize for saying this, but… we would like to live too.”
At that, the three maids nodded vigorously.
I blinked in confusion.
“It’s dangerous, but you’re the ones who accepted it, aren’t you? It’s not an especially unfair condition just for you. As far as I know, you were paid appropriately for coming here.”
I pointed at the three maids.
“You three needed to repay the enormous debt your parents owed to loan sharks.”
They flinched.
“And you, Birt—you need to regularly hire manpower to search for your missing younger sibling.”
“How do you know that…?”
How do I know?
Simple.
‘Because this is the world of a novel I read.’
A grim, miserable story that ended in a perfectly tragic bad ending.
