The tips of Edith’s red ears, her parted lips, the slender nape of her neck, and the curves of her shoulders and chest were dizzying.
‘What am I doing?’
Killian spat out anything because of the embarrassment that came along with the realization. She seemed to be helping his mother well, and she just had to do it the way she was doing now and don’t think strangely.
He also said that he could call another dressing room because he remembered that Edith had only mended clothes at the Royal Dressing Room. Of course, he admits that he did not speak gentlemanly. But he did not expect that he would be blamed by her.
“It’s not my fault, you just hate me… I can see why you want to blame me. That will put your mind at ease.”
“You are cowardly.”
Why did he have to listen to that? His mind was too complicated. The more he thought about it, the more his temples throbbed.
“You know nothing about me, Killian. Nothing.”
Why did the woman’s face look so sad when she said that? And she was right. Killian didn’t know anything about Edith. From the beginning he saw her only as the ‘daughter of Count Rigelhoff’, and everything he guessed about her was based on his memories of Count Rigelhoff.
“Ugh…”
The pain started in his temple and spread to his entire head, causing his skull to shatter.
“Killian…?”
And when Lize’s voice was heard from somewhere, the throbbing head gradually got better.
“Lize…?”
It seemed that Lize, who often came to see Killian and Cliff’s sparring, was on her way to the gym today as well. Killian felt relieved at the disappearing pain.
“Killian, why is that? Are you sick?”
“Oh, no. I’m fine.”
Lize, who was looking up at him anxiously, smelled of fresh violets.
‘Yes, I like the subtle scent of violets. The strong scent of roses is just disgusting.’
The more she thought about it, the clearer her head became.
“It’s really okay, Lize. I came from seeing that woman, wait…”
“Edith… Did you go to see her?”
“I went to warn her not to do nonsense.”
“Killian!”
“I didn’t say anything harsh. Just…”
Killian couldn’t clearly explain why he had stopped by Edith’s room. But since he was next to Lize, it seemed like he wouldn’t have to think deeply about that reason.
‘She’s just a spy sent in by Count Rigelhoff. If she wants to complain, blame me for my father.’
Killian thought so and erased Edith’s sad eyes from his mind. At least, he tried to erase it.
* * *
After Killian went out, she had to spend the next few days looking for something to keep her occupied to avoid thinking about him. If she wasn’t doing anything, she couldn’t bear it because the cold words that Killian had uttered seemed to cut her heart.
‘At times like this, I have to go outside.’
Even in her previous life, if she felt a little depressed, she filled a large tumbler full of iced americano and then went outside and walked. She especially liked going to the big malls, where she would be distracted by window shopping or sitting on a bench watching people pass by. After possessing Edith, she was frustrated because she was only living in the mansion. She was deliberately staying at home because of the original Edith, who went out to parties and gossiped about Lize, but wouldn’t it be okay to just go out to see the streets instead of having a party?
As soon as she made up her mind, she immediately called Anna.
“Anna. Let’s go out to play.”
She was startled when Anna opened her eyes for the first time at her sudden suggestion. But she didn’t bother to ask.
“Yes, lady. After notifying the Duchess, I will prepare to go out immediately.”
“Huh. Please.”
While Anna went out to inform the Duchess, she packed the jewels she had removed in a small bag when she was mending her dress. Then she opened her closet and went through it, picking out the clothes she was going to wear. Just by doing that, the depressed feeling seemed to get lighter and lighter.
Anna, who had just returned, told her that the Duchess had allowed her to go out, and she dressed her in a dress for going out.
“Where do you want to go?”
“Actually, I wanted to ask Anna, where should we go out to have fun? To be honest, I’ve never been out on the main street alone.”
Again, Anna’s eyes widened. But even if she was taught that she shouldn’t ask again, she quickly lowered her gaze.
“I guess it depends on what you’re going to do,” she said. “If you are looking for cute clothing stores, accessory shops, and dessert cafes, Le Belle-Marie Street will be fine, and if you are looking for a place with banks, galleries, opera houses and high-class cafes, then Darsus Street will be fine.”
“Let’s go to Darsus Street.”
“All right.”
Thanks to Anna who calmly prepared for the outing without asking useless questions, she got on the carriage in a good mood without having to make excuses. And soon the scenery that began to be seen out of the wagon window was enough to excite her.
‘This is the downtown area of the romance world!’
The ambiguous streets of early modern Europe, which gave nothing to historical research, unfolded in a charming way to suit her taste. She felt like she was passing through a theme park decorated in a ‘European style’. While she was peering out the carriage window, the carriage turned left at a large crossroads and entered a street with many well-built stone buildings.
“We have arrived, lady.”
“Huh!”
Anna instructed the coachman to be at the carriage depot somewhere on this street, and she came and stood next to her.
“Do you have a place to stop by?”
“Huh. I want to stop by the jewelry store first.”
“There are several famous jewelers.”
“Among them, I want to go to a place that pays a good price for buying jewels. Do you know where it is?”
After thinking for a while, Anna recommended three places: <Amabile>, <Dartrias>, and <Route Pecan>.
“How do Ana know so well? I feel like you know everything in the world.”
“It’s an overstatement.”
Of course, she was probably an extra created by the writers to avoid boring and uninteresting narratives, but she couldn’t be more comfortable with a character who would give a quick answer every time she was asked something. What if she couldn’t search the internet? She had Anna!
“Then let’s start with <Amabile>.”
She walked around the jewelers with light steps. Fortunately, the calm diamonds she brought out were of high quality, so she was able to get a much higher price than she thought.
<Datrias> paid the highest price, but they said they could only give it by check, so <Amabile> paid the next highest price and she sold it in full cash.
“Let’s go to the bank this time.”
“The bank is right there.”
At the place Anna pointed to, a seemingly sturdy building occupied the middle of the road.
‘Would Harry Potter feel like this when he first visited Gringotts?”
As she passed through the main gate of the bank lined with huge pillars like a Greek temple and went inside, she remembered a fantasy novel she had enjoyed reading in her previous life.
“Thank you for visiting Central Bank Mallen.”
Upon entering the bank, a man dressed as a butler greeted her politely. Unlike the bank in her previous life, it was a place that looked like a library.
“If you tell me what brings you here, I will guide you.”
“I came to make a safe in my name.”
“I see. Then this way.”
She followed the man’s guide to the window. The chairs were soft and luxurious, and the inside of the bank was luxurious.
‘Well, I’ll use the nobles and the bank here.’
While looking around curiously,sheI smiled at the window clerk’s greeting.
“You want to open a safe?”
“That’s right. A safe in my name that only I can open.”
“There are three types of safes. There are small safes that store 10 million senas or less, medium-sized safes that store 100 million senas or less, and large safes that store more. What would you like to open? For your information, starting with the medium-sized safe, a separate maintenance fee is charged in proportion to the amount deposited.”
The cash she got from changing her jewelry was a little over 5 million sena, and she had taken 4 million sena out of her original cash to save. 10 million sena seemed like it would fill up quickly, but there’s no need to pay maintenance fees in advance.
“I’ll open a small safe for now, and later change it to a medium safe.”
“All right. Then, please sign the opening agreement.”
Although she was nervous, she pretended to be okay and read the agreement to open the agreement step by step and signed it coolly. However, she did not forget to use a pseudonym just in case. Then she offered 9 million sena money to be deposited in the safe. It was a lot of money in her opinion, but he wasn’t too surprised, as it didn’t seem like a big deal in the eyes of a bank employee who lives only for money every day.
“When withdrawing money, you will receive a password and signature along with a few questions to verify your identity. Please do not forget your password, as you will not be able to withdraw if even one is incorrect.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
Like an elementary school student who opened a bank account for the first time in her life, she came out of the bank with a grand mind. After opening the safe, the remaining 300,000 sena was in the bag, which was reassuring.
“Now, let’s go eat something delicious, Anna.”
Hungry, she went to the restaurant Anna recommended and was surprised to see a long line in front of a dessert cafe.
How do you feel?
