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Chapter 19
After sending the maids away, Bellaxina opened the magic book again.
“What kind of miracle can I buy with 24 gold?”
If the miracles the Star Maiden Mirinae performed came from this book, then Bellaxina figured she could use that same powerful magic too.
In the legends, Mirinae rode a bird made of iron and carried a trumpet that roared like thunder to rain down divine fire on the evil enemies of the Western Empire…
Sure, the story might have been a little exaggerated over time for political reasons, but still—there had to be some truth to it.
I’ll show that disgusting Irisril and that arrogant Emperor Rudiger what a real miracle looks like.
At this point, the word “miracle” had been fully replaced in Bellaxina’s mind with one meaning: revenge. But hey, it still counted.
[Hmm… let’s see if there’s anything.]
The system paused, then opened the book and started flipping through it.
Apparently, even it didn’t know all the miracles off the top of its head.
[Found it! Here we go! There is something.]
“Really?!”
The little creature grinned and opened a page with a dramatic “Ta-da!”
Bellaxina leaned in, full of hope.
****
[One-Night Hotel Stay – 22 GOLD (Weekday, Standard Room, Breakfast Included)]
Recharge your body and mind at a hotel in the heart of Seoul!
Effect: +10 Stamina, +10 Mental Strength (Lasts for 1 week)
Bellaxina’s face crumpled.
“What… is this?”
[You don’t like it?]
“It’s not even about liking or not—I don’t even know what this is supposed to be.”
The system looked thoughtful for a moment, then flipped through a few more pages and showed her some new entries.
[Then how about this one? ‘Idol Concert for a Rural Fan – Accommodation Not Included’ or maybe ‘3-Day Jeju Island Trip – Rental Car Not Included’? But be careful—if you add extra services, it’ll cost more than 24 gold.]
Bellaxina studied the entries, then slowly shook her head.
“I don’t know exactly what they are, but they’re not the kind of miracles I had in mind.”
[What kind are you thinking of?]
Bellaxina described the iron bird and the trumpet from the legends. The system nodded along and replied:
[Ah, you mean like a bomber jet and a machine gun…? You’d need about 7 million gold for that.]
“Seven million?!”
Seven million gold?! That’s enough to buy Bellaxina 700 times over!
Even if no one needed 700 versions of her, the price was insane. Not just for commoners—even low-ranking nobles would never hear of such a huge amount.
“Why is it so expensive?!”
Bellaxina snapped. The little system jumped back a few steps and defended itself loudly.
[It’s not my fault! Prices are set in the world Mirinae came from!]
The system then explained a little more about how the book and its “miracles” worked.
[You humans don’t know this, but there isn’t just one world. The Necronomicon—this book—can connect to different worlds. Mirinae used that power to buy things from her original world using gold, and then brought them here.]
She bought them with gold?
Bellaxina crossed her arms and thought deeply.
“So that means… that world also uses a gold standard?”
[Basically, yes. Their main currency, the dollar, used to follow the gold standard. It used to be like 35 dollars per ounce, I think? Though it hasn’t really worked that way in a long time.]
“I see.”
Bellaxina finally started to understand how these “miracles” worked.
So this magic book she had thought was a spellbook… was actually just a catalog of items from another world.
“Wow. That’s… not as magical as I hoped.”
[Yeah, it’s more practical than magical.]
The system looked nostalgic and added:
[If you knew how hard Mirinae worked just to collect that much gold, you’d be shocked. She ran mines, invested in real estate, invented things, ran businesses… She probably died young from overwork.]
“That’s… surprisingly realistic and kind of sad.”
For the first time, Bellaxina felt a real connection to the founder of her house. Her situation wasn’t that different.
I’ll have to struggle to gather gold, too…
The only upside? Bellaxina did have a secret treasure chamber filled with gold and jewels.
If only she could visit the Outbayan Tomb just once—she could deposit all those treasures into the book.
“There has to be a way…”
Bellaxina sank deeper into thought.
****
Later that night…
Bellaxina sat up in bed, holding her empty stomach.
She couldn’t stop thinking about the roast duck she’d angrily left uneaten earlier.
I didn’t eat properly at dinner…
If she had gotten hungry right after dinner, she could’ve asked the maids to bring food. But the evening had been so hectic, she forgot about hunger entirely.
To make it worse, Yeshken Castle had such “great” labor policies that all the servants left after sunset.
Grrr…
Should I try the kitchen?
She finally gave up and tiptoed out of her room, hoping there’d be something—anything—to eat.
At least she was lucky enough not to be in the western tower anymore, where she’d have to go outside into the freezing cold.
“Seriously? This is all there is?”
Bellaxina sighed, holding a single piece of water biscuit she found after tearing the kitchen apart.
She wished she at least had some jam to spread on it.
Still, something was better than nothing. She brought it to her mouth, just about to eat—
“Late-night snack?”
Avalkin appeared in the kitchen.
Apparently, he hadn’t eaten properly either.
Bellaxina glanced between him and her biscuit, then popped it into her mouth in a flash.
“I found it first! Munch… gulp. Mine!”
Avalkin looked baffled and shook his head.
He hadn’t expected her to share, but eating the whole thing in front of him like that? That was another level.
What kind of manners did the Duke of Outbayan teach this girl?
Avalkin decided then and there: if Bellaxina ever had children, he was not letting her teach them manners.
“Enjoy your biscuit. I’ll find something else.”
“Good luck. I already checked. There’s nothing else.”
“I doubt that.”
Avalkin calmly opened a cabinet and pulled out a long ceramic jar. Inside was a bundle of dried pasta.
“That’s not food. That’s an ingredient.”
“Ingredients are used to make food.”
“Well, clearly someone doesn’t understand that between ingredients and food, there’s a thing called cooking.”
Avalkin let out a quiet “Ah” and smiled knowingly.
Yep. Bellaxina clearly didn’t know how to cook.
No wonder she’s stuck with a biscuit.
He wasn’t surprised.
Girls from noble families like Bellaxina weren’t even allowed to have certain hobbies.
Manual hobbies like cooking or sewing were only for lower nobles. Higher-ranking ladies focused on more “elegant” pastimes—interior decorating, planning parties, starting fashion trends, or inventing new gift-wrapping styles.
For reference, Bellaxina’s specialty was party planning.
Specifically, planning extravagant parties to ruin any girl she didn’t like—usually on the same day that girl was throwing one.
“Hey. Are you even listening to me?”
“No.”
Avalkin admitted it without shame.
“What were you saying?”
“I said—there should be at least one maid on night duty! This is ridiculous. The two most important people in this whole castle are starving in the middle of the night!”
“There’s only one high-status person here, actually.”
Avalkin made sure to remind her she was still a slave.
Bellaxina’s red eyes flared in irritation.
Even someone as thick-skinned as Avalkin could tell she was furious.
“…Fine. Let’s get back to the real issue.”
“Thanks.”
Still don’t get why calling a slave a slave is such a problem…
Remembering how his words once drove her to leap from a moving carriage, Avalkin wisely decided to tread a little more carefully.
“Most of the maids in Yeshken Castle are married. Their families need them at night. We can’t keep them on duty just for late-night snacks.”
“Then what, we just starve to death?”
“We won’t. I can make simple food.”
“Oh, please. Don’t try to act cool.”
Bellaxina scoffed.
She and Avalkin were both highborn nobles. And after spending a month traveling together, she knew his cooking was useless.
“Wanna make a bet?”
