A Budget at Last
The status window that popped up out of nowhere sparkled brightly. With its border flashing like it was strung with colorful lights, the window looked positively delighted.
Since it read Village 1, it seemed like Village 2 and Village 3 would appear in turn.
With both money and a plan now in hand, Donghee felt a surge of determination. Her mood soared just as brightly as the blinking status window.
As soon as Scrooge stepped outside, Delma, who had been waiting with visible anxiety, strode forward and grabbed his arm with surprising strength.
“What happened? Why on earth did that boar-like man leave here grinning from ear to ear?”
Every time Gold Rich visited Grace Castle, the estate’s coffers were left completely empty.
She had always felt he took far more money than the goods he left behind warranted, but when he claimed that noble jewelry prices fluctuated wildly, she couldn’t press him further. More than that, she was terrified that if she argued with him, one of the hulking men he traveled with might strike her—and that would be the end of her.
So Delma could only watch Gold Rich’s retreating, cheerfully grinning back with eyes full of resentment. The moment Scrooge emerged, she pounced on him, desperate to learn exactly what had transpired.
If the young lady had once again been swindled like a fool, Delma was prepared to do whatever it took to get the money back.
But instead of immediately foaming at the mouth and ranting as she expected, Scrooge simply stood there with a dazed expression, as if he had been enchanted.
“Steward!”
“Yes? Ah… yes. I’m listening.”
At Delma’s sharp bark, Scrooge seemed to snap back to his senses. His eyes regained a little focus, though he still looked like someone who had been smacked upside the head.
“I’m asking what that man did to our young lady! Were you just standing there watching the whole time?”
Since she hadn’t been called inside, Delma’s frustration was even greater.
“It wasn’t like that.”
“I told you I should have… wait, what?”
Delma finally processed Scrooge’s words and stopped mid-sentence.
Color slowly returned to Scrooge’s previously vacant face.
“What… what’s going on?”
Though she didn’t say it aloud, Delma looked at his expression and wondered if the old man had finally lost his mind.
Scrooge suddenly broke into a wide grin, seized Delma’s hand, and exclaimed, “One thousand one hundred gold!”
“Pardon?”
“Our estate finally has a budget!”
Even after Scrooge’s hearty laugh and announcement, Delma still looked utterly bewildered.
Scrooge explained what had happened inside over and over, never seeming to tire of it. Only after he had repeated the same questions eight times did Delma finally grasp the full story. She sank to the floor and let out a deep sigh of relief.
“But… where on earth did the young lady get those jewels? She didn’t steal them, did she?”
“It didn’t seem that way. They were probably part of a hidden inheritance. Our estate is saved!”
Honestly, if he dug into it, he might have uncovered the truth, but Scrooge decided to turn a blind eye. Besides, the Chloe he knew might be lacking in many ways, but she wasn’t the type to do anything truly wicked.
That night, at midnight.
Dong. Dong. Dong…
The moment the grandfather clock in the hallway struck twelve times, a blue light suddenly appeared once more in the empty room.
Donghee, exhausted from being outside all day, had already fallen into a deep, unconscious sleep.
In the middle of the blue light hovering above the bed, a silver-haired man emerged, slicing through the glow.
It was a far more graceful entrance than the way he had been hurled to the floor earlier that day.
Not bad, is it?
The status window that had spat out the man had shrunk considerably compared to usual.
Yet the letters engraved within it were clearer than ever.
“She might give up soon enough,” the man said, standing beside the bed and gazing down at the sleeping Chloe. His voice was languid, completely devoid of expectation.
Moonlight slipping through the window gently illuminated the sleeping woman’s face.
It felt strange and unfamiliar to see a woman who could sleep so peacefully and soundly after being dropped into an unknown world overnight.
How many users has it been?
“Seventy-four,” the man answered in a flat tone.
Even as he spoke, his gaze never left the woman sleeping on the bed.
A face he had seen to the point of exhaustion over the past several hundred years.
So many human souls had passed through that small body that he sometimes worried it might wear away completely.
Would this time be any different?
Creak. Creeeeak—
The faint, ominous cries that had been barely audible grew clearer and louder on the wind.
The man stared silently at the woman sleeping without a care in the world, then flicked his fingertips toward the window.
A light as transparent and bright as his silver hair shot out the window like an arrow.
Swish!
A moment later—
Screeech! Thud!
There was a short scream followed by the sound of something bursting.
As if it were nothing of importance, the man glanced out the window, then stared at the hourglass on the back of his hand before dissolving into blue particles.
It had been exactly seventy seconds since he appeared.
The next morning, Delma arrived at Chloe’s room with no particular expectations, only to be shocked at the sight of her young lady already awake and preparing to go out. She rubbed her eyes several times, wondering if she was seeing things or still dreaming.
“M-My lady?”
“Why are you so late? Hurry up and do something with this hair. It’s so long I have no idea what to do with it.”
Donghee had risen at dawn, finished bathing, and tried desperately to tie her hair somehow, but it refused to cooperate.
There were no sturdy rubber bands, only flimsy ribbons. How was she supposed to tie anything with these?
After failing on her seventh attempt, she had reached the point where she didn’t even want to look at a ribbon anymore.
“Yes, I’ll call Anna right away.”
“Good.”
Donghee didn’t know who Anna was, but from the context, she seemed to be the dedicated maid who assisted the head maid. But hadn’t Delma helped her yesterday?
She tilted her head in momentary confusion before picking up the comb again and running it through her hair while looking in the mirror.
“She really is beautiful.”
Even though her hair was a mess from not being properly combed, the more she looked, the more stunning the face became.
Her deep brown eyes, like melted chocolate, matched the glossy color of her hair perfectly.
Her flawlessly white skin formed a perfect oval, and the nose at the center of her face was the very definition of “after” in any plastic surgeon’s before-and-after photos. Even without makeup, her lips were cherry-red, plump, and irresistibly charming—like a single lovely blossom.
Knock, knock.
“My lady, may I come in?”
While she was staring at herself in the mirror, lost in a bout of narcissism, a knock sounded and Delma entered with a maid Donghee had never seen before.
The girl had unusually puffy eyelids, making it hard to tell whether her eyes were open or closed.
Beneath her neatly worn hood, springy light-brown curls poked out in every direction.
“Anna?”
“Yes, my lady. I only just arrived this morning. Thanks to you, I was able to hold my mother’s funeral without any trouble.”
So that’s why her eyes were swollen. She must have been crying.
Donghee felt a pang of guilt for having briefly wondered about the puffiness and offered an awkward smile.
“I-I see. I’m sorry for calling you first thing in the morning when you must be exhausted.”
“Pardon?”
Anna’s eyes widened as if she had heard a foreign language she couldn’t understand.
She glanced at Delma beside her and raised her eyebrows, clearly trying to figure out what was going on.
Even so, her hands remained politely clasped in front of her.
“Just make my hair a little less cumbersome, then you can go rest. You’re free to leave after that.”
“…Am I being dismissed?”
Anna’s eyes reddened as she finally seemed to understand the situation. As tears welled up, the bridge of her small round nose turned pink.
Her hesitant, pitiful voice stirred such guilt that Donghee frantically waved her hands.
“No, no, that’s not it at all. You just look tired, that’s why.”
“I’m not tired at all! I can work as much as you need. My lady, I have five younger siblings.”
She was the breadwinner of her family.
Donghee’s heart ached with sympathy.
“I have absolutely no intention of cutting your hair, so just tie it up for me and then go get some proper rest. You can start working tomorrow. Understood?”
Donghee spoke slowly on purpose, looking Anna straight in the eyes so there would be no misunderstanding.
Her sincere effort seemed to work; Anna’s tearful expression gradually calmed.
“Then… may I truly continue working here?”
Anna asked while rubbing her still-pink nose.
“Of course!”
At Chloe’s bright, decisive answer, Anna—who had been pouring out words like a broken machine gun—finally let out a slow breath and nodded.
A single tear that had been pooling in her eyes finally rolled down her cheek.
Young lady, oh young lady. Just how have you been living all this time?