Chapter 8
Chapter 8
Double Reincarnator Event
'I got transmigrated into a novel?'
When Angela Goldrun first realized that fact, she was surprisingly not devastated.
She was shocked.
Of course she was shocked.
One day she had been living a perfectly normal life in the modern world, and the next she opened her eyes as a baby in a medieval fantasy world.
And not just any world.
A female-oriented romance fantasy novel she had read.
But she quickly organized her thoughts.
'At least I'm not the protagonist or the villainess.'
That was fortunate.
These days, those were always the people who suffered the most in romance fantasy stories.
The villainess struggling desperately to avoid destruction.
The fiancée abandoned by her fiancé while searching for a better husband.
The regressor grinding her teeth while pursuing revenge.
Honestly, all of that sounded exhausting.
The protagonist attracted trouble.
The villainess got trampled by the protagonist.
The fiancée got abandoned by the male lead.
Simply not being one of those three was enough to make life worthwhile.
More importantly, life in this world was better than expected.
If this had been a male-oriented fantasy, it probably would've taken years just to reinvent flush toilets.
Basic conveniences like soap, shampoo, hot water, and heating would've needed to be recreated from scratch.
Female-oriented romance fantasy worlds were different.
They looked medieval on the surface, yet somehow contained all the conveniences required for noble life.
There were devices similar to showers that provided hot water.
There were magical tools that kept rooms cool during summer and warm during winter.
It was exactly the kind of world you'd expect from a romance fantasy.
Before long, Angela even remembered the title of the novel.
[The Auto-Hunting Prince]
The title was a little unusual, but she had read the entire thing because she liked the author.
Even during an era when flashy titles involving villainesses, regret, and revenge dominated the market, that novel had felt a little old-fashioned.
It wasn't the type that overwhelmed readers with explosive dopamine.
Instead, it flowed smoothly.
A prince falls in love with a saintess who understands his heart.
His fiancée, the villainess, oppresses the two of them.
Eventually, the prince destroys the villainess and systematically crushes the family and religious order that tormented the saintess.
Thanks to the saintess, not everyone dies.
But the prince's methods are quite ruthless.
The revenge concludes perfectly.
And throughout it all, the romance develops steadily.
A classic story.
'So where exactly do I fit into that plot as an extra?'
That was the problem.
Angela vaguely remembered House Goldrun being mentioned once or twice in the novel.
But she couldn't remember where.
Or in what context.
That was slightly disappointing.
Still, it was fine.
Who cared if she wasn't the protagonist?
She could simply meet the protagonists herself someday.
With that mindset, Angela decided to adapt to life in the novel's world.
House Goldrun was a newly risen noble family within the Human Empire.
During the reign of Rouang's grandfather, the previous Emperor,
House Goldrun had donated enormous sums of gold to the Emperor's western campaigns.
And when the Emperor personally led his armies into battle, they followed as merchants and supplied tremendous amounts of provisions.
Naturally, none of it was free.
They received proper compensation.
As a result, they became one of the wealthiest families in the capital.
But the previous Emperor didn't stop there.
After the war ended in victory, countless titles and honors were distributed.
House Goldrun, originally commoners, was rewarded for its achievements with a noble title.
That was how the family became nobles.
And from that family was born its eldest daughter.
Angela Goldrun.
A reincarnator.
One fortunate thing for Angela was that House Goldrun wasn't a traditional noble house.
If it had been an ancient aristocratic family, she would've had almost no say in her own life.
She would've simply received bridal training while waiting for a political marriage.
A woman interested in developing new technology?
In such a household, she might've received violence disguised as etiquette education.
House Goldrun was different.
Even after obtaining noble status, they continued living more like merchants than aristocrats.
That was exactly what the Emperor wanted.
Neither Angela's grandfather, who had received the title, nor her father Giovanni, the current family head, had been raised with traditional noble education.
As a result, Angela grew up less like a noble lady and more like the heir to a merchant family.
"Father, I came up with this product."
"Hmm... what's this?"
At first, it was a small suggestion.
Angela proposed a method for making perfume smoother and more luxurious.
The idea was to separate the order in which scents emerged, creating different impressions at the beginning and end.
"If we make perfume this way, the fragrance will spread much more harmoniously."
Giovanni smelled it for a long time before immediately asking,
"Other craftsmen won't be able to copy this easily, will they?"
"It requires a secret ingredient. It'll probably be difficult."
"A secret ingredient... excellent. Then I'll leave this perfume business to you."
"Huh? To me?"
Angela was surprised.
Giovanni wasn't.
"Our family isn't one that can truly live alongside traditional nobles. So it'd be best if you learn how to live as a merchant early."
"Why? Is there something wrong with our family?"
For a moment, Angela became nervous.
What if this meant she'd never get to meet the protagonists from the novel?
Oblivious to his daughter's worries, Giovanni gave a bitter smile.
"I tried hiring etiquette tutors so you could attend banquets. But even when I offered substantial sums of money, none of them were willing to teach you."
That was simply the truth.
The traditional nobles of this world were highly wary of newly risen nobles from common backgrounds.
It wasn't exactly contempt.
It was caution.
The power of commoners was steadily increasing.
Even the nobles could feel that momentum reaching their own feet.
The biggest problem was the new nobles who had risen after the war.
They were commoners who earned titles through military merit.
And unlike traditional nobles, they maintained ties with merchants, craftsmen, and commoners they had worked alongside for years.
To traditional nobles, that was both rude and threatening.
If you'd become a noble, shouldn't you draw a line between yourself and commoners?
Of course, even if they had drawn that line, traditional nobles would've looked down on them anyway.
But continuing to associate with commoners multiplied their irritation several times over.
So the old nobles built higher walls.
Preventing outsiders from entering noble society.
Making it difficult to learn aristocratic etiquette, culture, and social customs.
A dirty struggle to protect existing privilege.
Faced with that reality, Giovanni chose a different path.
Rather than seeking noble approval,
he decided to become so wealthy that nobles could no longer ignore him.
He would build a tower of gold.
Those who built the Tower of Babel incurred divine wrath.
But Giovanni, now a noble himself, could build a tower of gold and the nobles could only grumble about it.
They couldn't openly stop him.
And in reality, countless merchants gathered beneath him.
If that was the case, his heirs also needed to prove their talents.
Angela creating new products and selling them to noblewomen at high prices from a young age was considered highly desirable.
After perfume came soap.
After soap came shampoo.
After shampoo came conditioner.
Angela became famous as a merchant.
At the same time, her reputation as a noble lady steadily declined.
That couldn't be helped.
Noble society didn't look kindly upon women who personally involved themselves in money-making ventures.
Still, Angela didn't care much.
'Even so, we're legitimate hereditary nobles. I'll get to meet the protagonists eventually, right?'
That was what mattered most.
Then one day, news arrived about Prince Manuel's banquet.
"Baron Goldrun, I hope you'll attend Prince Manuel's banquet."
Giovanni received an unexpected guest.
Mihai Gideon.
During the previous Emperor's wars, he had been capable enough to command an entire front as a general.
After rising from baron to count, his territory expanded greatly.
Yet he chose the capital over his lands.
He believed serving the Imperial Family at close range was more valuable.
Now serving the current Emperor, he had recently become an aide to Manuel, the leading candidate for the throne.
Mihai remembered how closely the previous Emperor had regarded House Goldrun.
He came to restore that relationship.
Once Rouang was dealt with, Manuel would become the undisputed heir to the throne.
Giovanni understood the implication.
Mihai wanted him to lend his strength to the Imperial Family once again.
Gold was important to nobles.
After all, maintaining status, setting trends, and displaying authority required spending hundreds of gold coins without hesitation.
Giovanni pondered for a moment before speaking slowly.
"Whew... It would be difficult for me to attend personally. If I move myself, it would send too strong a signal."
That was true.
For Giovanni to appear personally would essentially be a declaration that he intended to align himself with the Imperial Family.
Such a move could unsettle the merchants beneath him.
So he played a different card.
"I'll send my daughter instead. She's a clever child and won't make any major mistakes. Merely showing her face should be sufficient."
Unfortunately, Giovanni had no adult sons.
Angela was his only grown child.
And Mihai judged that Angela Goldrun, whose name had recently become famous throughout society, would be enough.
The reason he valued Giovanni was his ability as a merchant.
And Angela had already demonstrated sufficient talent as the successor to that legacy.
Besides, if she was a woman, she could eventually be tied down through marriage.
Factoring in all those calculations, Mihai nodded.
Angela was thrilled.
Genuinely thrilled.
"A banquet hosted by a prince?"
Her eyes sparkled.
Watching his daughter, Giovanni awkwardly cleared his throat.
"That's right. It's your first time, so stay alert and be careful."
"What kind of banquet is it?"
"I've heard it's being held to celebrate Her Highness the Princess Consort's pregnancy."
Angela nodded.
But her mind was already somewhere else entirely.
A prince.
A banquet.
Capital nobles.
And—
'Will the protagonists from the novel be there? That's what really matters.'
There was one problem.
What Mihai wanted from Giovanni was a brief appearance and a gesture of support toward Manuel.
In other words, there was no reason to specifically mention that Rouang would also be attending.
After all, ordinary nobles had absolutely no reason to approach Rouang first.
He ignored noble etiquette.
Behaved violently.
And getting close to him carried a high risk of provoking his anger.
Why would anyone approach someone like that first?
Of course.
That only applied to ordinary nobles.
Angela was different.
She was a transmigrator who had read the novel.
How could she possibly resist the chance to meet a protagonist from a novel in real life?
That night, Angela rolled around in bed hugging her blanket.
'A banquet hosted by a prince means it'll be a real noble banquet, right?'
'Could I meet the villainess? Has the saintess appeared yet? No, more importantly, the male lead! I might actually get to see the male lead!'
After spending the night overflowing with excitement,
Angela went to the banquet.
And then—
The moment she saw Rouang,
she couldn't stop herself.