Chapter 107
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 107
“My Lady!”
The knight, who had been pacing restlessly, rushed over the moment I emerged safely from the tavern.
“Nothing happened. Calm down.”
“Yes. I am glad to hear it.”
Despite his words, the knight was glaring behind me with sharp eyes. Ramus Jeremiah’s subordinates were likely hiding throughout the tavern, keeping a close watch on us.
‘Not that I care.’
I’ve already finished my business with your master, you know? And the next time we meet, I plan on being a VVVVIP.
“Let’s head straight back to the main castle.”
“Yes, My Lady. However, regarding your visit here today…”
Being a veteran knight who served my grandfather, he seemed to have realized that this was no ordinary tavern.
“You don’t need to report this to Grandfather. I plan on telling him myself later.”
“Ah, if that is the case… Yes. Understood.”
That was a lie.
Grandfather undoubtedly knew about the existence of that information guild, but I had no intention of telling him I’d gone there. If I got caught later, I’d just say I heard about it at Empress Carmi’s party and visited out of curiosity.
It happened the moment I settled into the plush carriage seat and the knight closed the door.
[System] Hidden Quest ‘Justice Will Prevail’ completed!
[System] A Hidden Benefit is granted!
“Huh?”
I blinked at the sudden appearance of the text.
“A Hidden Quest?”
This system window, which usually notified me of quests I needed to complete, was informing me of a completed quest I hadn't even known existed.
‘Is that why it’s called "Hidden"?’
Meanwhile, the name of the quest felt different from the ones I’d seen so far. Justice Will Prevail.
[System] Justice Will Prevail: In the end, all things will inevitably return to the right path.
“Hey. I know what it means, you know…?”
Since The Milk Bread was an all-ages game, it often provided interpretations for four-character idioms for the benefit of younger users. I knew the meaning, but seeing the explanation made me feel like the system was treating me like an idiot.
Still, receiving an unexpected benefit was a good thing! I immediately checked the Hidden Benefit.
[System] Hidden Benefit ‘Life is One Shot’ acquired!
[System] When a specific stat is increased by 9 or more at once, the identical stats of everyone within a 500-meter radius will temporarily be concentrated on you. (One-time use)
“…Life is One Shot?”
All the luck of everyone within a 500-meter radius would temporarily become mine? All of it? Was it telling me to go buy a lottery ticket? No, at this rate, shouldn't I be buying a Powerball ticket in America?
I shook my head at the silly thought. To raise a stat by 9 or more at once… I summoned the status window with a glance.
[System: Status Window]
Tulia Frezier (15 years old)
- Coins: 2 (Deposit Coins: 2,000)
- Personality: 1
- Beauty: 8
- Skill: 5
- Wealth: 0
- Luck: 1
Overall Rating: D
“Hmm.”
I had boosted my Luck stat significantly while dealing with Lilius earlier. Thanks to that, my overall rating had been promoted from D- to D. I scanned the status window.
‘Beauty is already at 8, and it can't exceed the cap of 10.’
Tulia was designed to be beautiful, after all.
‘Skill is already at 5.’
That was a necessity for survival. Let’s see. The remaining ones were Personality, Wealth, and Luck.
‘I feel like raising Personality to 10 would be useless.’
Unless I had coins to burn, Personality felt like a stat that wasn't worth the investment—especially for someone like me who was constantly struggling with a coin shortage.
Besides…
‘I really hate overlapping positions.’
This likely stemmed from my memories as Han Ina. Before my younger sibling was born, my mother loved me most. I was her only child. But once a child was born between her and my stepfather, her attention and affection shifted almost entirely to them. I tried not to care about a sibling so much younger than me. But that child made me feel wicked, inferior, and jealous. It felt like I was degrading into a petty, spiteful villainess.
So I hated my sibling, and I hated myself.
‘Of course, the situation is different now.’
Even as Tulia, I wanted to stay as far away from Corico as possible to avoid any overlap. Just in case, I needed to be emotionally prepared. Besides, Tulia’s only merit was being an official villainess who could say whatever she wanted!
Therefore, the Personality stat was on hold!
‘In that case…’
The Wealth stat was the most tempting, but I had ways to raise that without using coins. Also, I had an instinctive gut feeling. I was certain that raising the Wealth stat by 1 would require something like 100,000 coins.
So, the only one left was Luck.
‘Life is One Shot. That fits well with the Luck stat.’
The benefits always ended up being helpful to me in the end. Even though this one was quite cryptic, I trusted it would be useful.
‘But what did Ramus Jeremiah do to trigger the completion of a Hidden Quest like "Justice Will Prevail"?’
Or was the goal of the Hidden Quest to request protection for Benjamin?
Justice Will Prevail.
I leaned back against the plush carriage seat and stared into the air.
‘I’ve made it so that if Benjamin dies, I’ll know within three hours.’
I truly hoped it wouldn't come to that. But if it did, I would have to rush to the Sorsen Kingdom immediately, even if I were in the middle of being presented with a 100-billion-gold diamond tiara by my grandfather.
‘I did add a special clause to smuggle Benjamin’s body to me if possible.’
But that was strictly an "if possible" condition. Even for the head of a great information guild, smuggling the body of a royal—especially one who had just died—was a nearly impossible task. Ramus Jeremiah seemed to look at me like I was some madwoman obsessed with black magic, but that was a minor issue.
More importantly…
“My Lady. Since you’ve become such a big spender, I’m thinking of showing you a bit of generosity.”
The words Ramus Jeremiah had said to my back as I was leaving after signing the contract bothered me much more.
“I assume you plan on taking your time returning to the Grand Duchy? Staying at the finest inns in every village you pass, and visiting the castles of friendly lords to receive their hospitality.”
“Are you jealous?”
“Knights tend to worry that their lady might fall ill if she pushes herself through an unreasonable schedule.”
For a moment, I wondered if he was planning to send an assassination squad.
“You should return to the Grand Duchy as quickly as possible. I just received word that a formidable enemy of yours is heading that way.”
You were just talking to me a second ago…?
Setting aside my suspicion, my most formidable enemy? Ramus Jeremiah was not the type to spout nonsense. As proof, I had tried my "Tulia-exclusive horror-style wide-eyed stare" that would make anyone with a heart flinch. But Ramus Jeremiah only flinched slightly and didn't lose the smirk on his face.
That meant it was true.
“Lady Tulia.”
The carriage slowed down, and I heard a knock on the window. When I pulled back the curtain and opened the window, the knight asked from right beside me.
“We will reach the castle of the Hobron Territory shortly.”
“Hobron? Ah, one of Grandfather’s vassals?”
“Yes. Count Bron has sent an urgent messenger saying he wishes to come out and personally host you. What would you like to do?”
“…Host me?”
The Hobron Count’s estate was famous for having a chef with incredible skills. He was even a former Imperial Palace chef. Every noble in the Grand Duchy knew that the chef was Count Bron’s pride, capable of preparing even the most lavish imperial cuisine.
I swallowed hard.
‘It would be delicious…’
Neither Count Bron nor his chef would expect me to just pass by. They were probably preparing a feast with gritted teeth.
‘They’re probably getting ready to serve a sizzling beef steak… simmering mussels in tomato sauce… maybe even a large fish wrapped in leaves and grilled…’
I hadn't had a proper meal since rushing from the Imperial Capital to the Grand Duchy. I desperately wanted to stop in a village, even for a moment, to taste some warm stew.
“You should return to the Grand Duchy as quickly as possible. I just received word that a formidable enemy of yours is heading that way.”
Ramus Jeremiah’s words were so bothersome that I just kept going. Because of that, I was currently munching on jerky, water, and bread soaked in milk—the kind of food knights ate during wartime—inside the carriage as we headed toward the Grand Duchy.
But once again, I swallowed my tears and spoke.
“I don’t have time, so politely decline and say I’ll visit next time. I need to get to the main castle quickly.”
“Understood, My Lady.”
“Yeah. It’s going to be a tough ride. I’m counting on you.”
The knight’s eyes widened slightly, and he hurried to bow his head.
“Not at all. I will do my best.”
After completely sealing the carriage window, I leaned back in my seat and opened my pouch. The bread I’d prepared in the Imperial Capital had already dried out and turned hard. Still, I was hungry, so I tore off a piece of the hard bread and shoved it into my mouth.
Chew, chew, chew.
This is soy garlic chicken.
Chew, chew, chew.
This is kimchi fried rice.
Chew, chew, chew.
This is a cream cheese bagel.
“…I guess this is how the Little Match Girl felt.”
If Ramus Jeremiah was messing with me… ‘He’s dead.’ And death would be the easy way out.
Just then, the carriage slowed to a crawl before coming to a complete halt.
Knock, knock.
“My Lady?”
I opened the door to find the knight standing there, slightly out of breath.
“What is it?”