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Chapter 2
I was adopted by Baron Abid and his wife when I was eight years old. On the way to the Abid estate, the carriage I was riding in got into an accident, and I lost my memories.
The shock of the accident awakened memories of my previous life, and afterward I often dreamed about an unidentified child.
After regaining memories of my past life, I realized that this world was inside a novel.
At least, that was my guess.
This world was vastly different from Earth in my previous life.
Magic and divine power existed here, and there were countless people with hair and eye colors that, back on Earth, could only barely be imitated with dye or colored lenses. At the very least, that meant this was another world.
Even though I had lost my childhood memories and should have found this world unfamiliar, it strangely felt natural to me.
Not only the familiar fantasy elements like magic and divine power, but also the aristocratic ranking system, the tea parties hosted by baronesses, and the diverse dresses worn by the guests—designs that didn’t seem tied to any particular era.
There were countless other clues too, all pointing toward one thing:
This was the world of a romance fantasy novel.
It was only a vague feeling, but I was certain.
And if my guess was correct, then I needed to be careful.
Especially because I had already formed a contract with a spirit.
To some people, that would have been a once-in-a-lifetime blessing impossible to obtain, but if this really was a novel, then it also meant there was a chance I could unintentionally become involved in the original story because of my special abilities.
Compared to some unknown “original plot,” my current life mattered far more to me.
But what if I got swept into some major event without meaning to?
Getting tangled up between protagonists would already be troublesome enough, but if my role ended up being one of those unlucky characters who died miserably for plot development, then absolutely not.
I had no intention whatsoever of getting involved in the original story.
I needed to be careful.
In any case, that wasn’t what mattered most right now.
“Oried, we already checked all the land around here last time, right?”
[Of course! Who do you think I am? Maybe the land prices will rise decades or centuries later, but right now there’s nothing here. Let’s go this way today!]
“I hope we find something decent like that last plot. It was small land, but apparently they sold it for a pretty good price. The information fee wasn’t bad.”
[Trust me. The reason we’ve earned this much money so far is all thanks to me!]
That was true.
Thanks to Oried, the earth spirit, I had steadily built up my position over the past eight years.
More importantly, he played a major role in helping me secretly accumulate funds. Neither Baron Abid nor the shadow guild knew that I had contracted with a spirit and personally inspected land.
I hid my identity by taking advantage of the fact that nobody would ever imagine a child wandering around appraising land.
If the shadow guild found out, they would definitely try to exploit me somehow, and if the baron discovered I had contracted with a spirit, he would try to sell me for an even higher price.
Or perhaps he would never let me go at all and keep using me forever.
Because I had kept everything hidden, rumors spread everywhere that said:
“If you buy the land recommended by that mysterious person, you’ll absolutely strike it rich!”
People had even given me a nickname.
“The Eye of God.”
Even in my previous life, nobody had ever called me something so grandiose, so I couldn’t help feeling a little proud when I heard it.
Though technically, it wasn’t my eyes—it was Oried’s eyes that deserved the title.
Still, I was the one who deliberately spread the rumors.
The temple was the perfect place for it since people from every class gathered there regardless of status.
The rumors I casually spread while visiting the temple to pray gradually snowballed until I ended up with that nickname.
If I sold just a few more pieces of land, I would finally reach my target.
Only then would the real beginning start: founding my merchant company.
Naturally, the broker from the shadow guild had no idea that I was the rumored “Eye of God.” He merely regretted that the mysterious figure wasn’t affiliated with his guild.
Still, I knew there would eventually be limits to hiding my identity like this, so I needed to think of another plan.
‘If only I knew which novel this world came from, maybe it would help… but I still have no clue.’
Fortunately, the memories from my previous life contained surprisingly useful information.
I had died just after becoming an adult, so I wasn’t some expert, but having lived in a capitalist society, I knew one universal truth:
Real estate investment worked everywhere.
Just looking at how desperately nobles searched for me after hearing rumors that every piece of land I recommended became wildly profitable was proof enough that the real estate business thrived in this world too.
Oried possessed abilities such as creating physical barriers from soil and stone, finding paths, and sensing the energy of the earth.
Among those, my favorite was his ability to see the energy of the land.
It allowed him to detect land whose value would rise, hidden treasures, dangerous areas, and naturally, things like mineral veins and underground water sources.
After staying with me for a long time, Oried learned how to distinguish the specific kinds of “good energy” I needed—such as mineral deposits or water veins.
And when it came to mineral veins, if Oried personally entered the ground, he could even identify exactly what was buried there.
If I hadn’t regained memories of my previous life, I probably would have accomplished nothing as a child and ended up exactly the way the baron wanted.
In that sense, even though I lost my childhood memories, the carriage accident had been a blessing in disguise.
As I walked the familiar road between the baron’s estate and the temple, I deliberately took a long detour following the direction Oried pointed out so I could inspect more land.
I had already examined most of this area before, but sometimes the value of land changed over time.
While walking and inspecting the land, I suddenly stopped.
A boy who looked to be in his late teens had effortlessly leapt atop a stack of construction materials, stealing my attention instantly.
Narrowing my eyes, I observed the fearless boy casually doing something incredibly dangerous.
‘He’s ridiculously eye-catching.’
Blond hair. Red eyes.
And a level of beauty I had never once seen during all my years living here.
Especially in a romance fantasy world like this, someone with that level of appearance…
Lost in thought, I suddenly froze.
I had suspected for years that this world was inside a romance fantasy novel, but in nearly eight years, I had never seen someone that beautiful before.
Because of that, I had comfortably assumed I lived far away from wherever the original story took place.
But that boy’s appearance alone was enough to hammer home the reality that this truly was a novel world.
I still had no idea which novel it was, but assuming this really was one…
‘Is he the male lead?’
At that perfectly reasonable suspicion, I slowly stepped backward.
If this world truly was a novel, then there was one type of person I absolutely needed to avoid above all else:
‘The protagonists!’
I could never get involved with them.
If I did, finding that child might become even harder.
As much as possible, I needed to stay out of the original plot.
Until now, I had never encountered anyone beautiful enough to make me worry about that.
I never expected to suddenly run into a boy who looked exactly like a romance fantasy male lead.
The place he had climbed onto was an area where workers had piled up all sorts of construction materials for a building project.
It was full of dangerous equipment, so entry was prohibited in case of accidents, yet somehow the boy had managed to sneak inside.
Even so, it would’ve been fine if he had just walked around carefully, but instead he was crossing over towering stacks of materials as if searching for an exit.
The way he moved while looking around made him appear extremely unstable and dangerous.
Though admittedly, he balanced surprisingly well.
Still debating whether I should leave him alone or not, I suddenly locked eyes with him directly.
For a brief silence, the boy glared at me.
…No, not just glared.
His eyes practically looked like they were on fire.
What did I even do?
Seeing that expression, I made a firm decision.
‘Whatever happens, I should not get involved with that kid.’
It felt like trouble waiting to happen.
Pretending not to notice him, I naturally looked away.
I was about to leave and call a guard instead when I noticed a girl around the same age as him in the distance.
Soft pink hair like fluffy cotton candy and bright orange eyes sparkling with life.
Even from far away, she radiated an extraordinary brilliance.
She was so lovely and elegant that simply looking at her made me smile unconsciously.
It almost felt as though she was announcing to the entire world:
“I’m the heroine of this story.”
And that boy?
Like I already said, I had never seen a man that handsome around here before.
The two of them were far too beautiful to pass off as random side characters.
So what else could they be?
Obviously the protagonists.
It looked like this was the place where the male and female leads first met.
I had read enough novels in my previous life to infer at least that much.
Even if all my assumptions were wrong, getting involved with a noble-looking boy like him wouldn’t benefit someone like me anyway.
‘She’s definitely the heroine. I just happened to spot the male lead first.’
Perfect timing.
I’d felt uneasy about leaving him alone, but now that the heroine had appeared, I could leave with a lighter heart.
Even if I didn’t help him, the heroine surely would.
And naturally, the male lead’s attention would focus on her instead of me.
‘Still, just in case, maybe I should at least let her know there’s someone here.’
I couldn’t exactly pretend I saw nothing and walk away.
Watching the boy casually wander around with his hands shoved into his pockets, he looked confident enough that he probably wouldn’t get hurt anyway.
Judging from his behavior, he simply seemed lost.
With all the equipment and materials scattered around, someone probably needed to guide him out.
So I deliberately started heading toward the girl who seemed to be the heroine.
Then—
“You.”
The sudden voice made my body stiffen, but I immediately pretended not to hear and continued walking naturally.
“Hey! Help me out! I’m lost! If you help me escape this damn maze, I’ll reward you generously!”
…Maze?
It wasn’t nearly complicated enough to call it that.
I couldn’t believe a supposed male lead was whining this much.
Even if he couldn’t get out right now, workers would arrive at dawn tomorrow and he’d be found quickly anyway.
And with weather like this, spending one night outside wouldn’t kill him.
I ignored the apparently panicking male lead as naturally as possible.
At that moment, the heroine stopped walking, apparently having heard his shouting. She looked around curiously.
Taking that chance, I hurried toward her to let her know someone was trapped here.
The boy’s voice grew even louder.
“If you leave me behind, your life won’t go smoothly!”
I snorted at the boy cursing me out.
‘My life already isn’t going smoothly.’
When I still didn’t answer, the boy shouted again, stammering slightly this time.
“I-I said I’m lost!”
Ah, is that so?
I reacted indifferently inside my head and continued pretending not to hear.
It was already obvious enough without him saying it.
At the desperate edge in his voice, the heroine finally came running anxiously toward him.
Well, of course she would after he shouted that loudly about being lost.
Only after confirming the two protagonists had met did I quickly leave the area to go call a guard.
Even with the heroine there, honestly speaking, I doubted she’d know the way out.
If it was her first time here, she could easily get lost too.
Besides, the construction site itself was confusing enough.
Most importantly, judging by how difficult it was even to find the entrance, the chances of both of them getting lost together seemed extremely high.
After his repeated calls were ignored, the boy finally shut his mouth tightly.
Then a girl approached him.
“What are you doing up there?! It’s dangerous, so please come down!”
Startled by the sight of the boy standing precariously atop the materials, she gestured frantically for him to come down.
But instead of obediently climbing down, the boy burned the image of the white-haired girl who had already disappeared into his memory.
‘She dared ignore me?’
And not in a good way.
The unfamiliar experience of being ignored consumed the boy’s thoughts so thoroughly that he barely noticed the girl currently trying to help him.
Jeffrey Fraser ground his teeth.
After calling a guard and explaining the location, I hurriedly left the area.
I’d tried my best to avoid getting involved, but…
‘Now what is this?’
Frowning slightly, I noticed another boy surrounded by several large men.
It looked like a group of thugs had picked a fight with him, yet the boy didn’t appear intimidated at all.
If anything, he looked arrogant.
Cold and composed enough that he seemed capable of handling the situation without my help.
Black hair. Blue eyes.
A face handsome enough to rival the blond boy from earlier.
But unlike that fiery boy, this one looked cold and ruthless.
More than anything, despite his youthful features, he gave off an overwhelming pressure, and his elegant beauty seemed sharp enough to freeze the air around him if you spoke to him.
If he grew up looking exactly like this, he would perfectly fit the image people always described as “the Grand Duke of the North.”
Whether he actually was one or not, his appearance and atmosphere matched those stereotypical northern grand dukes almost perfectly.
Fascinated, I stared at him for a while before tilting my head slightly.
But why wasn’t he in the north?
Still, my curiosity didn’t last long.
It was interesting seeing a romance fantasy northern duke type in person, but that was all.
I already knew what I had to do.
‘Ignore him, just like the other boy.’
Still, I couldn’t just abandon someone being threatened.
I looked around for something that might distract the thugs instead.
If I recklessly stepped in myself, I’d probably only get both of us hurt.
I did have Oried, but I couldn’t reveal him carelessly.
Before I could even find something subtle to help with, I accidentally made eye contact with the boy.
“You…”
I quietly slipped behind the corner and hid myself.
“Didn’t you see me? Stop hiding and come out right now.”
Those guys are the ones starting trouble, so why are you talking to me…?
Unbelievable.
Pretending not to hear the dangerous-sounding boy, I glanced around again and spotted a man searching the area in the distance.
He wore a neat uniform with a sword hanging at his waist.
Judging from his sharp gaze and weapon, he was probably a knight.
Without hesitation, I walked straight up to him.
The knight looked startled when I suddenly appeared before him, but he hurriedly spoke.
“Sorry, but I’m busy right now, so could you step aside?”
Instead of moving, I grabbed his sleeve firmly before he could pass and asked,
“Are you looking for… not a Grand Duke of the North, but a black-haired boy around his late teens?”
“You’ve seen him?!”
The knight asked in surprise.
Instead of answering immediately, I set one condition.
“Please don’t tell him I was the one who told you.”
Since he asked whether I’d seen him, it was obvious the knight knew the black-haired boy currently surrounded by danger.
Caught off guard by my strange request, the knight hesitated.
“But…”
“If you tell him I informed you, then won’t you get blamed for losing him in the first place? I truly don’t need any reward. Just promise me, and I’ll tell you.”
My smooth reasoning made the knight nod almost unconsciously.
I pushed him toward the direction of the boy.
“He’s right around that corner. And absolutely do not tell him I told you! Forget I exist!”
“Th-Thank you!”
After thanking me, the knight rushed toward the boy.
The knight’s presence alone was intimidating enough that I stopped worrying immediately.
Still, I wanted to confirm with my own eyes that the boy had truly been rescued, so I cautiously glanced back.
Then I froze.
“That girl is…”
It was the same girl who had fearlessly entered the construction site earlier to help the lost blond boy.
Now she had somehow made it out and was protecting the northern-duke-like boy from danger.
Twice now, she had become involved with boys possessing unmistakable male-lead-level beauty.
‘Then that girl really is the heroine, just like I thought.’
My instincts hadn’t been wrong after all.
