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Chapter: 21
I started by reading from the top.
Build a healthy body
Build the strength to protect myself
Save funds for independence
Secure a guaranteed social status
I circled number 1 and put a triangle next to number 2.
“Number 1 is accomplished, and number 2 is in progress.”
I was steadily building my mana and had even processed some Sergram essence. Soon, I’d be able to engrave it and summon a spirit.
“And, unintentionally, I’ve even gained a special bodyguard…”
At this rate, no one could surpass me in combat ability.
I shifted my gaze from number 2 and tapped lightly beneath numbers 3 and 4.
“Independent funds and social status, huh.”
Right now, the fortune I had under the name Silvia Atlante was quite substantial.
Even if I opened the safe immediately, I could see it overflowing with gold coins.
Even after spending money in Portlum Street, the coins in the safe were so plentiful that it barely made a dent—they were all mine.
“Besides that, there are plenty of jewels, dresses, and miscellaneous items.”
I could sell them to buy a building in the capital, or even a small estate in the countryside.
“But…”
I drew a star next to number 3 with my pen.
The problem wasn’t that I didn’t have wealth—Silvia Atlante had plenty at the Atlante mansion.
The problem was that the money wasn’t truly mine.
The allowance Silvia received came from Duke Atlante, and if he ever commanded it, I could become penniless in an instant.
“Actually, about four years later, whenever Silvia went out and caused trouble, all her property was confiscated.”
I didn’t know how long the money I had now would truly be mine.
Even if I decided to dispose of my assets for independence, if the duke deemed it insolent, I couldn’t sell even a jewel on a dress.
“If the butler is meticulous, he’d know all the property I hold, so secretly diverting it would be difficult as well.”
That meant I needed to secretly create wealth that the duke couldn’t take away.
“A way to earn money that the duke can’t take…”
It couldn’t be money gained through the Atlante family—it had to be earned solely by my own effort for no one to claim it.
“What should I do?”
No clear idea came to mind.
“If only there were an Internet, I could at least search.”
It was maddening that this world had neither the Internet nor computers.
…Wait.
“But there’s something similar.”
A method humans had used for centuries to transmit knowledge across time and space.
“Maybe I should look in a book?”
Honestly, I doubted I’d find a clever solution just by reading, but at least it was better than sitting and worrying.
“Maybe a good idea will come while reading, or I might suddenly remember some information I’d forgotten.”
I put the planner back in the drawer and pulled the bell cord.
“Bell. Could you call the butler for me?”
Shortly after, the butler entered the room, greeting me with a voice that betrayed his curiosity.
“You called, Miss?”
“I have something to ask.”
“Anything, please.”
“May I enter the main library of the mansion?”
The butler’s expression shifted to one of astonishment, as if I’d asked something forbidden. In a bewildered voice, he asked,
“The main library?”
“Yes. Am I not allowed in there?”
Not everyone could enter the main library, so it wasn’t strange that Silvia, who was disliked, might be barred.
“If I can’t enter the main library, should I go to a bookstore in Portlum Street?”
Or should I go to the imperial palace library? I was unsure, but the butler quickly shook his head.
“No, not at all. Of course you may enter.”
“Really?”
“You are a member of the Atlante family as well, Miss. Naturally.”
He fiddled with a set of keys at his waist and handed me a small key.
“Here you go, Miss.”
I took the key and stood up.
“Shall we go immediately?”
“Yes.”
“I will escort you to the library then.”
There was no need for that…
His over-politeness was a little burdensome, but I quietly followed him. I had never been to the main library before and didn’t know the way.
“Silvia has never set foot in the main library.”
Of course—she’d kept herself away from books and study.
“I wonder what the library looks like.”
The Atlante mansion library was famous in its own right. For a private noble residence, its size was impressive. Its collection of books was second only to the libraries of the Central Academy and the imperial palace.
“It’s not just the number of books—there are rare and hard-to-find volumes too.”
With such a large collection, surely the book I was looking for would be there.
“…Hopefully.”
It had to be there.
As I walked slowly, pondering whether the library would have the book I sought, the butler ahead of me spoke.
“I’ve heard rumors. Miss, that you helped eradicate a malicious organization that had been causing trouble in Portlum Street.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Your great deeds have spread throughout Portlum Street. The merchants there are praising you. Indeed, you are a member of the great Atlante Duke family—”
“Wait, wait. What are you saying right now?”
I couldn’t follow his words.
What great deeds? Why had they spread throughout Portlum Street already? And why were the merchants praising me?
Seeing my frown, the butler looked even more puzzled and asked again.
“Miss? You don’t know?”
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”
“My goodness! All the capital is abuzz with your accomplishments, and you really don’t know?”
…What on earth?
“Accomplishments? What accomplishments? What did I do?”
The butler widened his eyes and murmured softly,
“So you truly didn’t know.”
‘What exactly am I unaware of?’
Just as I was about to lose patience, the butler finally spoke.
A week ago, when I rescued Tev and subdued members of the Black Scorpion organization.
I let the three small fry go after giving them a light punishment, but they had left the unconscious leader behind as they fled.
Unsure what to do, I tied him up with rope and left him in a corner of an alley, then went to the herbalist shop.
I planned to heal Tev first and tell the city watch to take him in.
“But after learning about the collusion between the city watch and the Black Scorpion at the herbalist, I changed my mind.”
Instead, I contacted the guard corps.
The guard corps and the city watch were not on good terms.
The guard corps mainly patrolled the city gates, while the city watch handled internal security. Being compared often, they naturally developed a competitive rivalry.
This was exactly why I contacted the guard corps.
If there was indeed a connection between the city watch and the Black Scorpion, handing the leader to the city watch would have been like letting him go.
So I sent a message to the guard corps with the location of the tied-up man and the information I’d gathered from the herbalist.
It wasn’t out of an overwhelming sense of justice or a mission to clean up the city.
It was simply: “I caught a bad guy, and he turned out to be worse than I thought. He should pay properly for his crimes!”
Really, it wasn’t difficult at all. I just wrote a letter to the guard corps and sent it.
‘It was so simple and trivial that I’d even forgotten it… yet… what?’
“They had heard something from the guard corps, but the city watch was so secretive that they couldn’t intervene. Internal city matters fall under the city watch, and they had hidden everything so thoroughly that until now, no one had caught a single Black Scorpion member…”
The butler whispered to me in a conspiratorial voice.
“You, Miss, captured a member—not a low-ranking one, but a mid-tier member.”
“…And then?”
“By interrogating that member, we discovered the Black Scorpion’s hideouts, key leaders, and corrupt city watch members cooperating with them. With that information, we eliminated them all in one sweep.”
That’s how it happened?
“If you hadn’t caught that member, or hadn’t contacted the guard corps, many people would still be unaware of the organization’s existence.”
The butler’s face hardened.
“And those people would have continued growing their power in secret, harassing the weak.”
He paused briefly, took a deep breath, and then smiled gently.
“Therefore, Miss, what you did was truly a blessing—not only to those who were suffering, but also to those who might have suffered in the future. As a resident here myself, I am grateful to you.”
A blessing…
‘…This seems like too much praise for what I actually did.’
It’s overwhelming.
