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Chapter : 02
I’d never really had a hobby of reading romance novels, but at a relative’s recommendation—someone who ran a publishing company for fun—I ended up reading a few.
‘Among them, this one really stuck with me.’
I can’t clearly remember the title, but it had an ending where the female lead was left with neither dreams nor hope.
This is a fantasy world where magic is more advanced than science.
A beautiful woman with blonde hair and green eyes, Eani Nassel, is the second daughter of a family of mages.
‘The problem is that the number of mages—the empire’s core manpower—has been rapidly decreasing.’
The Nassel baronial family was no exception.
In the past, they had even produced great archmages, but now only Baron Nassel himself and Eani’s older sister—both direct descendants—could barely use basic magic.
Eani herself had absolutely no talent at all; she was nothing more than an ordinary person.
‘That’s why she grew up under severe mistreatment and discrimination from her family.’
Then, at a banquet she attended after coming of age—
There, Eani caught the eye of Harten Seind, a member of the Seind Ducal House and one of the empire’s most powerful figures.
‘That was the beginning of the tragedy.’
The moment he saw Eani, Harten felt an intense attraction. Even as he denied his feelings, he became obsessed with her.
On the other hand, Eani was terrified of Harten, who was cold and ruthless.
What followed was predictable.
Eani rejected him, and Harten grew more and more anxious.
In the end, Harten paid Eani’s family an enormous sum of money and bought her…
‘The conflicts in the middle aren’t worth remembering.’
At the end, the story concludes with Harten imprisoning Eani on an island he owns as she repeatedly tries to escape.
There are two things worth paying attention to here.
The first is Eani’s ankle.
In the main story, to emphasize Harten’s madness, it’s depicted that he personally cuts her Achilles tendon.
‘But in the side story, there’s a twist—it turns out that wasn’t what actually happened.’
Of course, Eani, unaware of the side story, becomes crippled and loses all hope…
As I reached that thought, I slowly spun around in place.
Swish.
The white linen dress I was wearing—chosen for the hot weather—billowed out in a circle.
‘Funny thing is, my legs are perfectly fine right now.’
Judging by the situation, this was clearly the point in time after Harten imprisoned Eani on the island—the ending of the story.
The scar on my ankle proved it.
And yet, I was moving as if I’d never been injured at all.
—Good heavens, how did a severed tendon reattach itself?! This is an injury that could never heal without extremely precise surgery!
I even had it confirmed by Virt, the physician, so there was no doubt.
The reason my ankle had healed was easy enough to guess.
In the original story, Eani couldn’t use any magic at all.
‘But in truth, she had enormous potential.’
Enough to aim for becoming a great archmage, even.
She simply never had the trigger to awaken that latent power, so it remained a seed all the way to the ending.
‘And then I possessed her—maybe that’s when the power finally bloomed.’
That was my theory.
Still, there was no need to tell anyone else about it.
So when the four people around me stared in amazement, I just brushed it off and said I didn’t know either.
‘And the second thing to pay attention to is…’
I took a sip of fresh, sweet juice and looked around.
The Seind family’s villa and garden, even seen from outside, were larger and more luxurious than the mansions of most major conglomerates.
Watching them, I slowly tilted my head.
‘So in the end, this world too is moved by money, huh.’
Of course, it wouldn’t be comparable to modern-day capitalism.
Even so, the fact that money was essential if I wanted to live the way I pleased was no different here than there.
Thinking about it, it was obvious.
‘The reason the original Eani Nassel ended up trapped here without any escape, too…’
Was because her family sold her to Harten Seind for a massive sum.
‘And the reason the maids and the physician came all the way down to this empty island to attend to Eani Nassel…’
Was because they were going to be paid accordingly by Harten Seind.
In the end, it all came down to money.
Protecting myself, moving others—everything started with money.
‘In that case… I should earn that money myself, shouldn’t I~?’
Perfect timing, too.
I’d already come up with a business idea perfectly suited for this island.
“Hmmm~.”
Just thinking about making money made me hum unconsciously.
As I walked lightly along the path, Elin, who was holding a parasol beside me, whispered,
“Um, Lady Eani.”
“Hm~?”
“Wouldn’t it be better to tell the young duke about your ankle after all?”
I blinked and asked back,
“And what if the young duke cuts my left ankle this time?”
“Th-that’s…”
“How horrifying. Who knows what a heartbroken me might do then—without even considering that we all only have one life.”
At my sigh, Elin’s younger sister, Bellin, hurriedly spoke up.
“We exist solely to serve Lady Eani’s convenience. We’ll keep your ankle an absolute secret!”
The second one really was sharp.
In truth, the three maids still didn’t quite know how to treat me.
I understood their confusion.
‘Originally, after injuring her leg and being imprisoned on this island, Eani lived in total resignation.’
The women who had become her personal maids here were used to an Eani who had completely given up on life.
The same went for Virt, the physician.
So they’d simply focused on stopping her from making impulsive attempts now and then—only for their mistress to suddenly regain her vitality!
Of course they’d be confused about how to respond.
On top of that, in the original story, they were required to regularly report Eani’s condition to the young duke.
‘In that case… they must be at a loss about how much of this situation they should explain.’
Ah, by the way, I actually liked this setup.
Since Eani had suffered from severe depression and lethargy and did nothing at all, it made it easier to explain her drastic change!
—I almost died, and it made me realize how precious life is! I’ve decided to change!
‘That one line solves everything.’
Much better than awkwardly trying to “act” like Eani.
I continued walking lightly and said,
“But you already reported to the young duke that I lost my memory, right~? Isn’t that enough?”
“Well… you didn’t actually lose your memory, though…”
Elin muttered worriedly.
The bold youngest, Selin, clapped her hands.
“Still! When we said you’d lost your memory, the aide seemed quite shaken! Maybe after hearing the news, the young duke will come down here himself!”
“Well, it has been quite a while since he last visited the island. Back when he first sent Lady Eani here, he paid quite a lot of attention.”
“Selin! Bellin!”
“Yes!”
“We’re sorry, Lady Eani!”
At Elin’s glance, the two hurriedly bowed their heads.
Instead, I laughed cheerfully.
“They’re not wrong. All I have left now is the young duke’s interest~.”
I could almost hear my relative’s voice somewhere.
—If you ever possess the female lead of a tragic novel, never, ever meet the male lead! Especially if he’s obsessive and forceful! You have to run, avoid him, never get involved!
‘Why should I?’
If we’re going to get involved anyway, wouldn’t it be better to be proactive and make him my ally?
Besides, the Seind Ducal House had amassed wealth on par with the imperial family.
Especially through trade using steam locomotives and steamships—they’d piled up money to a ridiculous degree, hadn’t they?
‘So much that they wouldn’t even glance at islands and villas like this!’
And that kind of massive “investor” was right next to me!
Wouldn’t it be stupid to avoid him first?
‘So I just have to thoroughly win him over~.’
From the start, I knew exactly why Harten was obsessed with Eani.
Knowing the cause made using it child’s play.
‘No—easier than drinking this juice.’
Slurp.
I finished my juice and sat down on the outdoor terrace of the villa’s restaurant, which I’d arrived at without noticing.
The exotic décor suited to the hot climate, and the sky turning purple and pink as the sun set, were breathtakingly beautiful.
‘…It might be a bit of a waste to keep this view all to myself.’
“Elin, Bellin, Selin.”
“Yes, Lady Eani!”
Calling their names in the A, B, C order I’d memorized, the three maids waited for my next words.
I smiled gently at them.
“Where do people around here usually prefer to go for vacations?”
Let’s start with some simple market research~.
Harten Seind was a busy man.
One of the businesses that had led the Seind Ducal House to its current golden age was the railway industry.
And the one managing it was Harten, the heir of the ducal family.
“Your Grace, the Eastern Regional Railway Office reports they found an anomaly while repairing a steam locomotive.”
“We’ve also just received news of a newly discovered coal mine. It’s located in the west.”
The aides delivered their reports swiftly and efficiently, and Harten handled them with cool judgment.
The smooth, rhythmic flow of work was disrupted by a report from one aide.
“…Your Grace.”
His chief aide hesitated uncharacteristically before speaking.
“We’ve received a message from Tadivna Island.”
Harten’s hand, which had been signing documents without pause, stopped short.
