[The Capital of Aerath Empire—Later—Lucielle’s POV]
BOOOOM!!
SPARKLE!!
CRACK!!
Firecrackers exploded against the daylight sky as if the capital itself were celebrating something far too important for my poor sleepy brain to understand.
The streets were alive.
Drummers beat energetic rhythms while singers stood along the roadside wearing ridiculous cowboy hats that somehow looked fashionable here.
Girls giggled in groups, merchants shouted over one another, and stalls hissed and crackled as fresh street food sizzled over hot pans.
Spicy, greasy, unhealthy, and beautiful.
It was... It was...VINTAGE HEAVEN!!!!
My cheeks were already pink from excitement; this was even prettier than I imagined. The capital looked exactly like the kind of place where a female lead would accidentally drop a handkerchief and make a man fall in love forever.
Honestly...I could already smell the plot.
But...
"MOM!!" A little boy suddenly pointed in our direction. "That scary uncle is looking this way!"
His mother immediately scooped him into her arms. "D-Don’t point! I-I’m sorry, Your Grace!"
She hurried away so quickly she nearly left one of her shoes behind.
. . .
. . .
I watched the surrounding crowd. People stepped aside before we even reached them. Shopkeepers suddenly became fascinated by sweeping already spotless floors.
Street performers stopped smiling; one poor merchant accidentally dropped an entire basket of apples because Cassian happened to glance in his direction.
The apples rolled everywhere; the merchant didn’t even chase them; he just bowed.
. . .
. . .
I slowly turned my head, and Cassian continued walking beside me exactly as before, tall, expressionless, and dressed entirely in black. The heavy fur cloak resting across his shoulders made him resemble Death’s older, wealthier brother.
"It’s really awkward walking around with you. Are you always this scary in public?"
Cassian’s eyes shifted toward me, calm and unreadable. "I am simply walking."
The expression on his face said very clearly that he had no intention of explaining himself to a woman who was currently staring at the fried chicken stalls like they contained divine revelation.
I sighed.
"Anyway..." I looked around with bright eyes. "This place is amazing."
Stalls lined the streets in neat rows. Jewelry shops gleamed beneath hanging lanterns. Bakers called out about fresh pastries. Tailors displayed brightly colored fabric.
Even the road itself looked more polished than half the furniture back home.
I turned to Cassian again. "Aren’t you supposed to go to Baron Eisenhart’s house?"
Cassian answered without looking at me. "I still have time."
"...You have time?"
"Yes."
I blinked. "Oh."
Behind us, Cedric had the exact expression of a man who had regretted every life choice that had led him to this street; his shoulders were stiff, and his face was blank.
But his soul? His soul had clearly already left the body and gone home.
I looked back at the capital with sparkling eyes. "Then let’s look around."
Cassian gave a single nod. "Very well."
***
[Later — Outside the carriage]
LOAADDDEEEDDD!
The carriage was piled high with shopping bags, and the three of us stood there staring at it like it had personally offended us.
I squinted at the absurd mountain of bags and muttered, "I think... I am officially a woman now."
Cassian turned to me with perfect seriousness. "Was that ever in question? Did you doubt your gender, my beloved?"
My heart thumped so loudly I was sure even the birds had heard it. I clutched my chest and stared at him. "My beloved? Since when did I become that?"
He did not even blink. "Since the day we got married."
. . .
. . .
I blinked.
He blinked.
Cedric, standing between us, looked deeply uncomfortable, like a chicken leg caught in a wedding feast.
Then—
SHINEEEEEE!!!
"Aagghh...who’s flashlighting my eyes?"
Something caught my eye so brightly that I nearly went blind. I turned toward the market stalls, muttering, "What is that? It shone directly in my eyes. It made me blind."
I walked closer to the stall, hopping like a frog, and spotted it: a bracelet, shimmering under the sunlight like it had swallowed a piece of the rainbow.
My eyes widened. "Wow... that thing is shining too much in broad daylight. It’s as if all the sunlight decided to fall on it alone."
A grin slowly spread across my face.
"Well," I whispered, already walking toward it, "let us acquire the shiny thing."
Cedric’s voice followed behind me in horror. "Does Her Grace have the soul of a crow?"
I stopped mid-step and looked back at him with a glare sharp enough to peel paint. "I heard that."
Cassian immediately shot Cedric a death glare so cold it could have frozen the river. Cedric lifted both hands in surrender, looking like he regretted being born.
I ignored them and reached the stall, where the bracelet sat nestled among ordinary trinkets like a jewel from another world. It was delicate and beautiful—rainbow-colored beads and tiny silver charms that caught the light every time I moved.
"Wow..." I whispered, lifting it carefully. "This is beautiful—"
SLAM!
A small pouch of silver coins landed on the table with a decisive thud. Cassian stood beside me, expression calm and unreadable. "We are buying it."
I looked at the pouch, then at him, then back at the pouch.
For one wild second, I felt like I had just watched a cold CEO boss in one of those romance novels buy whatever his lover pointed at without even asking the price.
I narrowed my eyes. "I never said I was buying it."
Cassian tilted his head. "Are you not?"
I stared.
He stared.
Cedric looked up at the sky as though begging the heavens for mercy.
Then I sighed dramatically and held out my hands. "H-help me wear it."
Cassian’s mouth twitched; he took the bracelet gently and fastened it around my wrist himself, his fingers brushing my skin with maddening ease. The rainbow colors sparkled against my pale hand, and for some reason, it looked so pretty that I forgot how to breathe for a second.
His gaze dropped to the bracelet, then to my face. It fit me perfectly.
Cassian’s voice softened. "It suits you."
Before I could recover, the old shopkeeper...a tiny elderly woman with silver hair and eyes full of strange warmth...smiled at us from behind the stall.
"Finally," she said gently, "it has found its owner."
"...Pardon?"
She only smiled, not the kind of smile merchants use when they’re about to overcharge you, not the kind of smile salespeople use when they smell weakness. This one was strange like she knew something I didn’t.
A tiny chill traveled up my spine, then Cassian’s hand settled on my shoulder, warm and steady. "Let us go."
I nodded, but my eyes lingered on the old woman; she was still smiling softly, and then I glanced down at the rainbow bracelet on my wrist. It glittered brightly in the sunlight, and for a moment, I had the strange feeling that this little bracelet was not just a pretty trinket.
It was waiting for something or someone.
I swallowed and hurried after Cassian, suddenly very aware of the old woman’s eyes following us. I did not look back, but I could still feel her smile.
This is secretly not a horror novel, right?
Because if an old lady suddenly appeared again fifty Chapters later and said, "I’ve been waiting for you..."
I was immediately uninstalling myself from this world, no questions asked.
***
[House Eisenhart — Night]
Night had already settled over the Imperial Capital by the time our carriage rolled through the enormous iron gates of House Eisenhart.
The mansion was beautiful, elegant white marble and tall glass windows glowing warmly beneath chandeliers. A massive fountain stood proudly in the center of the courtyard, surrounded by perfectly trimmed hedges that looked richer than my previous apartment.
I cannot believe the baron is this rich.
We were soon escorted into the guest reception hall, and everything inside practically screamed, "Look how wealthy we are."
Golden decorations, crystal chandeliers, and paintings taller than me. The carpet alone probably cost more than my entire lifetime salary.
I quietly leaned toward Cassian. "Do you think they would notice if one painting mysteriously disappeared?"
Cassian calmly sipped his tea. "Yes."
"...Worth asking."
Silence settled over the room once more. Cassian sat beside me with one leg elegantly crossed over the other, completely relaxed as though he owned the mansion instead of merely visiting it.
Seriously...how was he making sitting look intimidating? Even drinking tea somehow looked like he was negotiating a nation’s surrender.
Meanwhile... I held my teacup with both hands, mostly because it was warm and because my brain refused to stop thinking.
Today’s purpose wasn’t sightseeing or fried chicken research. We were here for heat mana stones. Ashcroft needed them. Without them the coming winter would become a disaster.
But Cassian had already told me something on the way here.
The Imperial Palace already had its hands involved; that meant this wasn’t simply a business deal. It was politics, and politics was basically corporate office drama with prettier clothes.
If the Imperial Palace wanted those mana stones... Would Baron Eisenhart even dare sell them to Ashcroft?
Probably not.
Still, this was Lily Eisenhart’s family. The heroine’s family. Surely her father wouldn’t be some greedy old noble.
Right?
The father of the heroine should be kind, wise, and generous—basically a walking saint. At least that’s how these stories usually worked.
Then—
"I must apologize for keeping you waiting, Grand Duke Cassian."
A deep voice echoed through the hall. I immediately looked toward the entrance and froze.
. . .
. . .
"What the heck?"
Why...why did he look exactly like my bald department manager from my previous life?
BALD.
Not slightly bald, not "receding hairline" bald. No, his head shone beneath the chandelier with such magnificent confidence that I was genuinely concerned nearby birds might mistake it for the moon.
His lips were enormous, and his stomach proudly challenged the limits of his expensive noble uniform. Several buttons looked like exhausted soldiers desperately trying to hold the front lines.
One sneeze, one slightly enthusiastic breath, and the entire battlefield would be lost, and why the hell is he smirking this ugly? The kind of smile that immediately made me want to hide my wallet.
He walked with the confidence of a man who believed the world owed him interest.
. . .
. . .
My salaryman instincts kicked in immediately.
WARNING!!! WARNING!!! Corporate manager detected. Probability of unreasonable demands: 98%. Probability of saying "We’re like family here": 100%.
. . .
. . .
I slowly lowered my teacup and then quietly muttered to myself, "...I have a very bad feeling about this."
Somehow...I didn’t think we were leaving this mansion with Heat Mana Stones. At least not without a fight.