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Chapter : 2
Charlotte’s face darkened with despair.
The handsome lawyer’s lips twitched slightly, as though he found her reaction adorable.
“However, the Dowager Countess anticipated a situation like this and took legal precautions.”
“Legal precautions?”
“If an inheritance dispute is filed, then until a verdict is reached, not a single heir will receive even one coin.”
The members of the Able family widened their eyes like startled owls.
“R-Really?”
“Yes.”
“When did she arrange something like that?”
“She handled it personally when she wrote the will ten years ago.”
Not this year.
Not even last year.
A full ten years ago.
The Dowager Countess had been perfectly healthy back then, making it impossible to dismiss her actions as the result of senility.
The Able family’s faces turned pale.
Now that’s an unexpected twist.
Charlotte immediately felt more at ease.
It felt like she had become the protagonist of one of those outrageous soap operas where someone endures endless abuse before inheriting a fortune.
Putting on the innocent expression of a girl deep in thought, Charlotte murmured,
“Hmmm… I don’t know. I’m not sure what I should decide.”
“You don’t need to decide about a lawsuit immediately—”
“I’ll give you one million gold.”
The middle-aged man with the handlebar mustache abruptly cut the lawyer off.
It was the same man who had shouted at Charlotte to sit down earlier.
“Sign a contract transferring the seven-story building to me, and I’ll pay you one million gold immediately.”
A gaunt, skinny man beside him twisted his face in displeasure.
“Brother, isn’t that excessive? You’re already inheriting the title of Count and the largest share of the estate. Do you really need Charlotte’s building too?”
“Exactly. She may be the illegitimate child our late youngest brother brought home, and she may be a bit slow, but it’s our duty to take care of her now.”
The man with the mustache—the new Count Able—snorted.
“So one of you wants to take care of Charlotte? No, what you want is to take care of Charlotte’s property. You’re not trying to protect it. You’re trying to steal it while pretending to protect it.”
“Brother!”
Charlotte watched the greedy siblings with mild disdain.
Their schemes were so transparent she almost yawned.
All of them had the exact same intentions, yet they were pretending to care about her.
Since they had no idea Charlotte’s soul had changed, maybe she should have a little fun pretending to be foolish.
“But… one million gold. Is the building on Rainbow Street really worth that much?”
Charlotte blinked her eyes widely, acting amazed by the price.
The skinny man who had challenged the Count immediately took the bait.
“No, it’s worth around one million two hundred thousand gold.”
“No, Charlotte. It’s worth one million three hundred thousand.”
As soon as the two men named higher prices, the others who had been hesitating began shouting numbers competitively.
One million seven hundred thousand.
One million eight hundred thousand.
One million nine hundred thousand.
Two million…
The Count’s purchase offer had somehow transformed into an auction.
Oh?
That building she was inheriting must be extremely valuable.
Everyone had exploded in anger over her inheritance, and now they were tripping over themselves to buy it for enormous sums.
“Three million five hundred thousand gold.”
“Three million seven hundred thousand.”
“Eight million seven hundred thousand.”
The price jumped by five million gold in an instant.
Even the handsome lawyer’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.
Eight million seven hundred thousand gold was enough to buy three buildings in the capital’s busiest district.
The skinny man looked outraged.
“Brother, eight million seven hundred thousand? Isn’t that more than the building’s market value?”
“Then give up if you want. I can bid higher.”
Count Able arrogantly stroked his mustache.
He seemed so pleased with himself that even the eyes that had previously looked at Charlotte with contempt now appeared almost affectionate.
One by one, the men who had been aggressively raising the bids finally gave up.
“Well then, now that the final buyer has been decided, Charlotte, let’s sign the contract immediately. Mother’s lawyer is here, after all—”
“I have no intention of selling.”
“What?”
Count Able sprang to his feet in shock.
Everyone who had been watching the auction looked equally stunned.
“I knew Charlotte was pretty stupid, but I didn’t realize she was that stupid. Someone offers her 8.7 million gold, and she still won’t sell?”
“Maybe she injured her head when she fell forward earlier.”
“She could never properly read words or numbers anyway. She probably has no idea how much 8.7 million gold actually is.”
The looks directed at her clearly said She’s an idiot after all.
Charlotte simply tilted her head innocently.
“But I haven’t even decided whether to allow the inheritance challenge yet. How could I sell it already?”
Count Able’s face turned red with humiliation after showing off in front of his siblings only to be embarrassed.
“So you’re planning to fight us in court over the inheritance?”
“No.”
“Then you’re selling it to me?”
“No.”
“Then what exactly are you planning to do?!”
The Count finally exploded.
Charlotte answered as though the answer were obvious.
“I’m going to move in and live there.”
Click. Click.
Step. Step.
The members of the Able family walked out of the mansion with dignified airs.
Servants respectfully opened the doors of the long line of waiting carriages.
Before climbing aboard, each person shot Charlotte a glare.
If looks could kill, I would have died dozens of times already.
Even so, Charlotte felt secretly pleased.
Everyone’s faces were blotchy from trying to suppress their outrage and maintain appearances.
When she had announced that she intended to live in the building herself, their expressions had been priceless.
Count Able had looked like a bulldog whose steak had just been snatched away.
His sagging cheeks had trembled furiously.
The men who had abandoned the auction had glared at her as if demanding,
“Were you playing with us?”
Of course, the moment Charlotte replied,
“I never said I was selling it,”
they had all fallen silent.
In the end, perhaps because their greedy intentions had been exposed, the argument over the building simply fizzled out.
Finally, Count Able and his wife emerged from the mansion.
“Just you wait, Charlotte!”
Grinding his teeth, the pot-bellied Count stormed past her.
The first carriage carrying the Count and Countess departed, and the others followed behind it.
Watching the carriages disappear into the distance, Charlotte suddenly found something strange.
Every person inheriting enormous wealth from the Dowager Countess had been obsessed with Charlotte’s building.
“Does that building have some hidden value?”
If that were true…
Then there was a high probability that the real Charlotte had been poisoned because she was set to inherit the seven-story building on Rainbow Street.
In that case, was Count Able the culprit, since he had been the first to offer a price?
Or was it one of the others who had competed so fiercely during the auction?
At the very least, the auction had worked in Charlotte’s favor.
Now she had a list of people in the Able family who could potentially be suspects.
“I should avoid the Able family whenever possible.”
Her glorious future as a wealthy landlady was right in front of her.
She had no desire to die and be thrown into another novel.
And she definitely didn’t want to experience the agony of death again.
“That’s right! I absolutely cannot die!”
Clenching both fists, she renewed her determination to extend her fragile lifespan.
Just then, a young servant approached from behind.
“Miss Charlotte, I’ve brought the children.”
“The children?”
The real Charlotte wasn’t just a young lady—she was married?
Startled, Charlotte spun around.
A large penguin resembling a stuffed toy stood there.
Perched atop its head was a plump brown sparrow.
The two birds gazed at Charlotte with open admiration.
Huh?
Who are you two?
Tap. Tap.
Charlotte walked down a long avenue lined with plane trees.
The sunlight was intense, and the warm, humid air suggested it was summer in this novel.
At the end of the avenue stood a magnificent iron gate.
“Even getting from the mansion to the gate takes forever.”
Muttering to herself, Charlotte glanced down to her right.
The black penguin waddled alongside her with its tiny flipper-like wings spread wide.
Despite the heat, it walked tirelessly.
Their eyes met briefly.
Charlotte smiled warmly.
The penguin immediately turned its head away with a sulky expression.
“Haa…”
Was it really that upset because she didn’t recognize it?
“Ah, of course I brought… you.”
Charlotte awkwardly mumbled something vague.
The young servant spoke brightly, clearly hoping for praise.
“You personally entrusted them to me, Miss. You said the two of them would behave until the gathering ended and that I only needed to watch them, so that’s exactly what I did.”
“Ah, right. I remember saying that.”
No, I don’t.
Forget remembering—I had never even seen these two before.
Still, she couldn’t ignore the penguin’s sparkling eyes and forced an awkward smile.
“Hello. Did you have fun, Mr. Penguin?”
The penguin froze with its beak hanging open.
“Oh my, what’s wrong?”
Charlotte cried out in alarm.
But the penguin’s black eyes became watery, like a child suffering heartbreak.
Right.
It must have realized then that Charlotte didn’t recognize it.
Of course, she couldn’t exactly confess,
“I arrived from another novel an hour ago, so I have no idea who you are.”
Looking at the dejected penguin made Charlotte feel strangely guilty.
This little guy had probably been waiting for the real Charlotte Able.
“Um… hey…”
The penguin glanced at her from the corner of its eye.
Then it let out a small sigh and nodded.
“Earlier, I accidentally said the wrong thing because I had a bad experience with my family…”
The penguin crossed its tiny wings into an X.
“You want me to stop talking?”
Nod. Nod.
“You understand what I’m trying to say?”
Nod. Nod.
“Really? You even understand how I feel?”
Nod. Nod.
Charlotte’s heart melted at the sight of the penguin nodding so earnestly.
“Aww, you’re so sweet.”
She opened her arms wide to hug it.
The penguin spread its tiny wings and rushed toward her.
But instead of the penguin, the sparrow suddenly flew forward and smacked directly into her face.
Smack!
“Squawk! Squawk! Squawk!”
The penguin erupted in outrage.
“Cheep! Cheep! Cheep!”
The little brown sparrow dramatically threw itself onto the ground as if it had been struck.
After flailing around for a while, it began chirping pitifully while wiping imaginary tears with its wings.
Immediately, the penguin crouched beside it and began nervously checking on it.
Kids really do grow up fighting, don’t they?
“You two are actually very close, aren’t you?”
The sparrow peeked at her from behind its tiny wings before suddenly flying toward Charlotte.
At the same time, the penguin leapt into the air and grabbed it with both flippers.
Wow.
A penguin can jump?
The sparrow kicked its tiny legs indignantly.
Still holding the sparrow, the penguin looked up at Charlotte.
One looked wronged.
The other looked eager for praise.
Unable to help herself, Charlotte burst into laughter and patted both of their heads.
“That’s right. The world is still a beautiful place because adorable little things like you exist.”
With the two reconciled companions in tow, Charlotte resumed walking toward the gate.
