this chapter is brought to you by mio
as translator, proofreader and editor!
Having stayed up all night with her eyes wide open, Lorella quietly got off the bed and parted the curtain slightly. Outside her window, dawn was breaking.
As she looked at the sky getting brighter little by little, the last conversation she had with Winnard came back vividly to her mind.
“I really don’t know what’s going to happen from now on. So steel your heart and focus only on selling shares.”
However, what stuck in her mind more than anything else were the words, “There are a lot of people who are already getting bored.”
When she had been in the ‘observer position’, she had left without any hesitation once something she didn’t like had come out. To the point where she even left comments like, ‘I’m getting bored, what can you do.’
That’s why Winnard’s words had a heavier weight to them. Since she knew what sort of feelings they would have more than anyone else.
Although she wasn’t sure if it’ll be in a week, a month, tomorrow, or right now, if she doesn’t sell stocks like crazy, then her life really would be in danger.
Lorella tightened her grip on the window frame.
* * *
pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:
Apart from her whole mind being filled with selling shares, her daily life became even busier. This was thanks to the fact that she had attended the palace banquet and had gotten to know a lot more people.
It was Marchioness Grace Erne’s banquet that she had been waiting for with a heavy heart.
“Greetings, Lady Lorella. Welcome to you as well, Commander Leonon.”
The Marchioness welcomed the two of us who had arrived on time.
“Greetings, Marchioness Grace. Thank you for extending an invitation toward me.”
Leonon greeted her back with his usual gentle and valiant manner.
“It’s an honour for me to see you again, Marchioness.”
Lorella followed after him with an impeccably polite greeting of her own. However, for a moment, the Marchioness, blankly stared at her, who seemed oddly unlike herself.
She somehow felt completely different from when she was at the ball. Back then, she had seemed cheerful and lively, but today, her face seemed to be filled with sadness for some reason.
Not only that, but her eyes were bloodshot, as if she hadn’t slept at all in days.
‘She must be nervous.’
Having come to that conclusion, the Marchioness led her in affectionately, thinking that she should take extra care of her today.
“My thanks to the two of you for coming. Come on in.”
Not long after the two were ushered into the reception room, even the last of the guests finally arrived. After chatting and enjoying a light appetiser, the dinner finally began in earnest.
Delicious food and rare wines were laid out on a long table.
In the large dining room, where many bright crystal lamps were hung, the sound of people chatting happily rang out non-stop.
“Lady Lorella, listen to this too. The pie that our mansion’s chef is so proud of… Oh my, now that I think about it, you are the most renowned dessert entrepreneur in Aurea. It’s me that is ashamed for being so proud.”
Lorella, who was unusually silent while everyone was chatting happily, shook her head in a hurry at the words of the Marchioness.
“Not at all. It’s very delicious.”
Grace, the organiser of the gathering, took extremely good care of Lorella, who seemed to be particularly listless throughout the dinner. Though of course, she wasn’t the only one who paid attention to every one of Lorella’s actions.
“You have to tell me if you’re not feeling well.”
Leonon, who could not take his eyes off Lorella for even a moment, spoke in a small voice that could only be heard by the two of them. She would give a small smile and thank him every time, then stare into space as if she were somewhat embarrassed.
Their appearance looked so affectionate that it even aroused the envious gazes of the young ladies around them.
However, at the same time, it was enough to invite someone’s jealousy.
Just like it was right now.
“Miss Lorella. I’m so glad to see you like this today.”
A young lady sitting across from Lorella raised a corner of her mouth at an angle and spoke loudly as if for everyone to hear.
“I would also like a chance to get to know you, Lorella. My uncle, Count Cheryl, will be having a hunting contest soon, so why don’t you come with me?”
Then, she hurriedly covered her mouth with an exaggerated gesture, as if she had made a mistake.
“Oh my, I brought up such pointless words. Since the hunting grounds borders the North, I’m sure Duke Periot will also be invited as well…”
She acted like it was a mistake, yet her face was already filled with a malicious smile.
“I’ll pretend this proposal never happened then. I can’t possibly bring any trouble to Miss Lorella.”
Sure enough, that was what she meant to do. Since she wanted to see her embarrassed face as she brought up her ex-husband’s name while everyone was paying attention to her.
Commander Leonon was acting so sweetly that it seemed like he was unaware that she was a divorced duchess, so she also wanted to take this opportunity to make it clear to him.
Just like she had expected, the sound of whispering came from here and there as those that were in the know informed those who were unaware of what was happening.
It was when the woman lifted her wine glass gracefully with a satisfied expression on her face.
“So when is it?!”
An urgent voice came from Lorella’s mouth.
“…Pardon?”
“I asked you when it would be. I really want to go!”
Two brightly sparkling eyes and a slightly flushed face.
Anyone could see that it was clear she had just been waiting for her to say those words. The young lady couldn’t comprehend her unexpected reaction, so she was unable to give her a response straight away.
“Are you going to send me an official invitation? I’ll be waiting for it, so please do me a favour. No, since we’re on the topic right now, please let me know the date of when it will be held.”
“No, that…”
“Don’t tell me, was all that talk about you inviting me just nonsense?”
“H-How could that be? If Miss Lorella wants to, then…”
The woman could only reply reluctantly, the furrow between her brow deepening. However, Lorella didn’t stop there and continued to ask when the exact date would be. After finding out that it would be three months later, she even expressed her deep disappointment.
Thanks to this, the woman couldn’t add anything else.
The dinner hall, which had quietened down for a while, soon returned to a pleasant atmosphere, as if it had always been that way.
Within that harmonious atmosphere, Marchioness Grace, who knew of Lorella’s situation, clicked her touch inwardly.
‘I had been worried since she seemed to feel intimidated, but contrary to my expectations, she seemed to be a lady that had a stronger mental fortitude than I imagined.’
In order to survive in high society, one had to know when to retaliate against the opponent at certain times. However, that was only possible after having years of experience.
‘She could even become the centre of high society in the future.’
With a faint smile on her face, she took a sip of her wine after nodding her head slightly.
It was a conclusion she could come to only because she remained unaware of the ‘inside story’ on Lorella’s situation.
Specifically the fact that she had to meet not only Leonon but also Periot at all costs… no, rather, it was her desperation and urgency in never missing an opportunity to sell her shares.
* * *
The enjoyable dinner banquet ended without any further incidents, with the attendees soon heading home.
Leonon and Lorella bid farewell once again to the Marchioness and climbed into the Holy Knights Headquarter’s carriage that had been waiting for them in front.
As soon as the wheels started moving, Lorella asked with her eyes shining, “Thank you for coming to escort me like this every time, Commander. In order to pay you back for the favour, there is a place I’d really like to take you. If you let me know when your earliest day off is, I’ll be able to send you an invitation just in time.”
Although she was planning on delivering that letter directly herself, she didn’t bother to mention such a fact to him.
At that, Leonon seemed to ponder over something for a moment before letting out a small sigh, “Now that I think about it, it might be difficult for me to see you for a while.”
“Pardon? W-Why?” Lorella asked back, unable to hide her astonishment at the news that was like a bolt from the blue to her.
“There have been reports of the corpse of a monster appearing near the border, so it seems like I’ll have to go and investigate it for myself.”
“What?!”
“I’ll definitely come and find you as soon as I get back. Oh, when that time comes, should the two of us… have a meal together?”
Unlike him, who spoke with a slight blush, Lorella’s complexion became increasingly pale.
“…When will you be coming back?”
“It’s hard to say. There’s some distance from here to the border, and there’s a lot of work for me to do, so I’ll probably be back in a month or so.”
As soon as he finished giving his reply, a loud voice suddenly rang out, “No way!”
Startled by the loud sound, Leonon stared at her. He couldn’t even ask her what was wrong. Since his vision was filled with a tearful face and eyes that seemed to leak falling dewdrops.
“To think that I won’t be able to see you for so long…”
At that moment, his heart started to beat in a way that couldn’t be described with words.
‘Are you that sad at the thought of not being able to see me for a month…?’
As soon as that thought popped into his head, the sound of his heart grew louder, as if it had only been waiting, and continued to thud loudly in his ear.
“Please don’t be too upset. I will keep consistently writing back to you.”
Although he was sorry to see such a sorrowful and tear-filled face, on the other hand, he was rather happy and as a result, couldn’t keep his joyous smile off his face.
“If you look at it like that, then a month will fly by before you know it.”
He continued to comfort and soothe her, but only one thought lingered in his mind.
‘I really… don’t want to go.’
* * *
Late at night, when everyone was already in bed.
“No. It can’t go like this!”
The desperate cries of someone who still couldn’t sleep continued to echo in the study of the Mayred Mansion.
It was Lorella who was shouting to the point where her clenched fists were trembling.
The timing couldn’t be more ironic. To think that in such a desperate situation, even Commander Leonon would be absent.
There were even a few times she even tore her hair out from the overwhelming despair.
“Okay, now that it’s come to this, there’s no helping it anymore.”
With her bloodshot eyes wide open, she shouted loudly, “Let’s go to the North!”
She never dreamed that she would return to the North, which she had left with her own two feet, like this. However, now was not the time to discuss such technicalities.
If she could just sell stocks, she’d be willing to even head into hell.
Rather, if we were to be honest, she even felt extremely fortunate to have Periot.
Lorella left the study with a stiff expression and headed in the direction of the bedroom.
‘As soon as the sun rises tomorrow, I must ask the butler to arrange for a carriage to the North at once.’
It was as if she could finally see the light on the horizon.
She lay in her bed, clutching her blanket tightly, her eyes wide open in the dark.
…But just half a day later.
Another heartbreaking cry came out of the mouth of her, who had just been full of hope not too long ago.
“No!”
It took only an instance for hope to quickly turn into despair. Even more so when faced with something completely unexpected.
“This won’t do. I have to go to the North!”
“Please calm down, my lady,” The butler was having a hard time trying to calm her down as she kept repeating the same thing over and over again, like someone who had just lost their mind.
“This is the first time in decades that such a major flood has occurred. It was so severe that the entire bridge that is used to head to the north was destroyed.”
“Ah…”
Lorella collapsed onto the sofa, letting out a groan of despair. But she soon raised her head and looked at the butler with sparkling eyes.
“Then what about the other routes going there? Since it doesn’t matter how far I have to travel!”
Has she ever wanted to meet Periot so desperately?
No, this has never happened before. She had never even had the thought of wanting to see him.
But now, it was different. She felt like she was going to die if she didn’t meet him – and maybe she really would die if she didn’t. So she had to go and see Periot; even if it meant having to ride on horseback herself!
Lorella clenched her molars to steel her resolve.
If she urged the horse on by reducing her time to eat and sleep, it would be possible for her to save some time.
So it was too early for her to fall into despair…
“In any case, I looked into it already, but all the other paths going there are in the same situation.”
The highly proficient butler casually smashed down even the smallest possibility without any hesitation.
“Since the largest bridge has collapsed, theres no way the smaller ones could have fared any better. Since it was deemed impossible to launch a boat into the river due to the strong currents, even the small ferries withdrew as well.”
Damn it. Just why is this guy’s life not going as planned!? Why?!
“Then can we at least send a letter somehow? To tell Periot that I really want to see him…!”
“The postman’s carriage would be the same as well, my lady. How could the post be delivered when all the roads have collapsed?”
“Uwahhhh…!”
In the end, Lorella buried her head in her lap, cradling her face.
“No, this can’t be happening…!”
The butler looked at her, who was almost beginning to wail, and let out a small sigh. He had no idea and couldn’t understand why she suddenly decided to go to the North.
“This can’t be happening, uhuhuhu!”
“My deepest apologies, my lady.”
But he couldn’t even ask what her reasoning was in front of Lorella, who was screaming as if the world was ending, so he just simply resigned to bowing his head as if it was all his fault.
author’s note
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naver comments
happ***
damn… still, it would be better to find out how to sell stocks as the female lead alone. i was a little nervous about her selling stocks only when she was with the male lead (candidates)…
dead PC
there’s only one more person who hasn’t been introduced from the novel’s synopsis! you should get entangled with him and sell his shares too!!! isn’t it time for the ‘reckless head of the guild’ to slowly appear so we can find out who he is?!!!
whether it’s the new face or it’s revealed that the guide npc winnard was actually a capture target as well HAHAHFESKL
oh, of course, i was investing in leonon, but as soon as the sarella stock appeared on the market, i immediately withdrew and went all in lol sable, you’re the best of the best & lorella, i’ll protect you forever! i really can’t see either of them disappearing…
damn idk why this chapter was all in third person but i hope the author goes back to first person, just bc it just feels way more natural to tl
also poor lorella HAHAAH neither of her ml candidates will be here after the life changing rule change but like the korean comments said, def means new faces and our final ml candidate !! (or is it HEHEHEH)
also, for those that are feeling sorry for the ml candidates who lorella isn’t rlly placing her feelings on (tbh it can feel like she’s treating them like they’re not ppl which is understandable since her life is at stake here, it isn’t as if she’s doing this of her own free will) our girl does grow and she does grow less callous abt this. we see this change in her with both leonon and periot with her exploring her relationships with them as a result of selling shares, but she does come to understand them more. these few chapters may be a short reprieve and regression of her treating them more like mere share sellers tho just bc the fact that she could disappear if she doesn’t sell more shares is once again emphasised to her.
