Chapter 4
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 4
‘Wow. Look at this procession.’
I felt like I could clear all my debts just by stealing and selling the carriage and horses Grand Duke Asis Frezier arrived on.
Of course, since all of Tulia’s land was mortgaged to Viscount Lilius, I’d still have to worry about how to make a living even after paying off the debt.
That was how overwhelming Grand Duke Asis Frezier was.
He wasn't particularly draped in gold or silk, but everything he wore was clearly of the highest quality.
The outfit the Grand Duke was wearing surely cost over 100 million gold.
‘100 million gold is roughly 100 million won in real-world money.’
Of course, since this was a game, the actual cost of living differed from reality, but I had developed a habit of calculating it that way whenever I played The Milk Bread.
100 million won for a single outfit…
Grand Duke Asis probably owned hundreds, if not thousands, of clothes like that…
‘As expected, it’s absurd that Tulia is starving like this.’
She was the biological granddaughter of a man that rich!
“Everyone, be seated.”
A low, commanding voice echoed through the hall. I sat down quietly.
Thanks to being a Marquis's Young Lady, my seat wasn't at the very end.
In fact, I was seated quite close to Grand Duke Asis Frezier—much closer than Tedric.
‘They won’t be able to openly ignore me in front of the Grand Duke.’
Since the banquet had been decided and prepared so suddenly, the only members of the direct lineage present were me, Tedric, and Lilius.
Glancing over, I saw that bastard Tedric’s hands were trembling. He kept stealing glances at me, his anxiety plain to see.
‘I guess he’s actually worried, in his own pathetic way.’
He was clearly terrified that I might tattle on him to Grand Duke Asis and cause a scene.
‘But there’s no real benefit to snitching.’
In fact, it would be a losing move in the long run.
Grand Duke Asis didn't like relatives tattling on each other. He considered it behavior unbecoming of a great house like Frezier.
Since winning the Grand Duke’s favor was the most important factor in achieving a good ending in The Milk Bread, I knew exactly what behaviors he despised.
I felt a fresh wave of regret.
If I had possessed the protagonist, Corico, instead of Tulia, I was confident I could have turned the Grand Duke into a ‘doting father-in-law’ within a week.
Soon, the servants placed a plate in front of me, and my breath hitched for a moment.
‘Oh my god!’
A salad with vegetables that weren't wilted. It even had fresh lemon on the side. There was even honey and cheese.
If the other nobles knew what I was thinking, they would surely mock me.
But just today, the only thing I’d eaten was a scrap of bread with a slice of cucumber as thin as rice paper.
It was only because the situation was so absurd that I hadn't even properly felt the hunger.
The servants the Grand Duke brought with him continued to set down plates with polite but indifferent movements. It meant that this top-tier meal, which made my head spin, was just a daily routine for them.
I sliced a fresh-scented matsutake mushroom and put it in my mouth. I could taste its uniquely sophisticated flavor. This single meal probably cost at least half a year’s salary for a commoner.
When the steaming steak appeared, I felt like I was going to cry. How long had it been since I’d consumed protein?
Contrary to my inner desire to devour it ravenously, I maintained the elegant etiquette of the high nobility on the outside.
Fortunately, Tulia was the daughter of a prestigious family, so she had perfectly mastered dining etiquette. I was able to continue the meal gracefully without much effort.
‘It’s so delicious…’
High-quality pepper, butter, and beef mingled in my mouth, melting away.
Yes. This is a noble’s meal.
This is what a meal in the House of Grand Duke Frezier is like…!
As I stuffed a piece of rare melon into my mouth, I reaffirmed my resolve.
A-Rank.
I must reach A-Rank. I absolutely will.
In The Milk Bread, reaching A-Rank allowed you to choose one of the endings where you lacked for nothing.
I’m going to live a very wealthy life. I’ll hire a chef. Every morning, I’ll slice a large croissant in half and slather it with ham, cheese, figs, and honey without a care in the world.
The Frezier Grand Duchy was Corico’s stage anyway. No, this entire Empire was Corico’s world.
Even the people of the Marquis’s household, who were supposed to love Tulia, would become Corico’s reliable supporters instead.
They could all go be happy with Corico for all I cared. It had nothing to do with me.
‘I’m just going to enjoy a wealthy retirement.’
I didn't even have the expectation that I could return to Han Ina’s world.
My family was a mess anyway, and I’d lost touch with all my friends while being obsessed with part-time jobs and scholarships. There was nothing I would miss. Fortunately.
In this world, ice and sugar were quite precious. So, I would just buy out an entire ice warehouse. Then I’d live a plentiful life, eating ice cream and reading books every day.
‘To do that, please let the things I’m about to say not sound like the words of a madwoman.’
Grand Duke Asis Frezier possessed power that rivaled the Emperor’s even in this vast Empire.
He was also a person I absolutely needed to survive this crazy quest.
Pretending to sip my post-dinner champagne, I subtly shifted my gaze. And then, I froze.
‘Gasp.’
It was because Grand Duke Asis Frezier was looking at me.
I immediately lowered my eyes. My heart was thumping terrifyingly fast.
At the same time, a harsh sense of reality set in. I had been thinking of him as little more than a ‘game character.’
But now that our eyes had actually met, I fully understood why most people in The Milk Bread trembled before Grand Duke Asis Frezier.
‘Did I eat too much like a beggar?’
I thought I’d maintained my etiquette, though.
Stealing a glance at Tedric’s plate, I saw it was almost untouched.
Come to think of it, a few generations ago, nobles considered finishing a prepared meal to be undignified.
They said elegant and sophisticated etiquette was to eat exactly half and leave the other half as if measured with a ruler.
Of course, Tedric wasn't doing it because of old-fashioned etiquette; he probably couldn't even muster the courage to chew a single bite, crushed by the Grand Duke’s overwhelming presence.
Besides, for someone like him, these foods were a daily occurrence, so there was nothing special about them.
A new dessert was served, but because I was conscious of the Grand Duke’s gaze, I couldn't even reach for it.
‘I can’t afford to get on the Grand Duke’s bad side, even a little.’
Of course, Tulia Frezier was already being ostracized by the family, and her father, Marquis Frezier, was famous for being the Grand Duke’s sworn enemy.
Still, the Grand Duke was essential for the ‘Wealth Stat’ grind I was about to start.
A short while later, the silent meal—where you could have heard a pin drop—ended, and we moved to another room.
It was the inner parlor next to the dining room.
‘This wouldn't lose out to the inner parlor of any decent noble house in the capital.’
While the second floor, where Tulia’s bedroom and bathroom were located, was practically falling apart, the first floor with the dining room and inner parlor was as beautiful as a castle of a truly wealthy noble.
It usually took a good half-day just to prepare a formal banquet.
In those few hours, Viscount Lilius’s servants had transformed the first floor into something dazzling.
Expensive furniture made of ebony, chairs covered in purple velvet, carpets woven with wool patterns, a massive tapestry embedded with jewels, lamps plated in pure silver, and so on.
‘Should I try to grab a few things later?’
I’m the owner here anyway… I felt a bit cheated for some reason.
However, even this eye-poppingly decorated parlor was nothing compared to the presence of Grand Duke Asis Frezier.
‘He looks like a yaksha.’
He had such an overwhelming visual that I felt like bowing down instinctively even though I’d done nothing wrong.
Grand Duke Asis Frezier’s silver-white hair was like a sheet of ice, and his dark green eyes were as lethal as poison.
A gaze like a tiger’s… perfectly matching his ruthless and merciless personality.
It was an open secret that before Tulia was born, Grand Duke Asis Frezier had personally tortured and killed spies the Temple had planted in the Grand Ducal House.
Thanks to that, most nobles, and even members of the Imperial family, couldn't even meet the Grand Duke’s eyes. Being his own flesh and blood made no difference.
Thinking about that, Tulia’s father was truly something else.
How could he defy and clash with such a terrifying Grand Duke at every turn?
While the other sons were busy flattering the Grand Duke out of fear, Tulia’s father supposedly didn't even send birthday gifts.
‘He doesn't send a penny of child support to his daughter, and he doesn't send birthday gifts to his father.’
And I’m supposed to reach A-Rank as the daughter of such a personality-wise failure (who is also the greatest villainess in the game).
Sigh.
‘Isn't it a bit unfair that only Tulia is treated like trash?’