TCS - Chapter 9
While everyone was busy giving advice to Heillo, who was beating up Pedro, I approached Joanna, who was trembling, unable to understand what was going on.
When I got closer, she flinched in surprise, but when I covered her with the hood I was wearing, hiding her body, her expression relaxed.
“Hello.”
“Y-yes, um...”
"No, that's not it. I can't say it's a pleasant greeting. Let me explain the situation. Four years ago, I was engaged to that bastard over there. The one beating him to death is my second brother."
“W-what? Engaged?”
Joanna’s eyes widened as if hearing this for the first time. It seemed she hadn’t been told anything at all. Well, that was the case even in her previous life...
Soon, her eyes glistened as if she fully understood the situation, and tears began streaming down her face. She had trusted someone she now realized was garbage.
“I’m sorry. I should have come in more gently, but I couldn’t help it—I was afraid he might deny everything.”
“Sniff...!”
“In return, I’ll make it up to you. I know compensation won’t heal your heart, but I’ll do my best to support you with a letter of recommendation or financial aid so you can move to the city where you want to settle.”
“...Thank you.”
Not that I’d done a good deed, but for her, it was probably a relief that, as a noble-looking person, I hadn’t harmed her despite her fiancé playing around with a lowborn woman.
After my brother kept hitting Pedro until he passed out, he seemed a bit relieved.
"You're truly insane, you bastard. This wretch."
"What made you think you could get away with this? You even got into the Knights Guild thanks to my family's influence!"
The Knights Guild members snickered as they mocked Pedro. The man's pride rivaled that of royalty, so if he'd been awake, he would've insisted on handling things himself.
I helped Joanna dress and instructed her to pack her valuables. With Pedro likely to blame her for being a witness if he regained consciousness, I planned to keep her safe until the annulment was complete.
We returned to the townhouse and dumped the trash outside, just like before. As an added bonus, we left the unconscious Pedro sprawled on top of it.
***
When Pedro finally regained consciousness and saw himself thrown out with his luggage, he flew into a rage. But the moment my brother burst out of the townhouse, Pedro fled faster than a startled rabbit.
This time, he hadn't even properly packed his belongings.
The annulment of my engagement with Pedro came through faster and more smoothly than I'd anticipated.
There were thirty reliable witnesses, and although I felt sorry for Joanna, her neighbors had also seen Pedro getting beaten up for his affair, so the rumors spread like wildfire in the capital without me having to do anything.
This time, I couldn't pin charges of adultery under the pretense of marriage or fraud on him, but I did receive a hefty amount of alimony for the annulment. I gave half of it to Joanna.
It was because I had essentially used her to break off my engagement.
She took the money and left, and Pedro was expelled from his family just like before. However, this time he wasn't sent to a monastery.
It was because I no longer cared whether he lived or died. For me, who had regressed, his infidelity felt like something that had happened over a decade ago, so it didn't affect me much emotionally.
After visiting the government office in the imperial palace to submit the annulment papers, I stopped as I walked through the corridor.
I had a glimmer of hope that I might meet him, but perhaps it was because the date was different, or maybe because I wasn't crying.
I couldn't see the person I was waiting for. After lingering for a while, I returned home.
***
"I'll never marry in my life."
"Hnnngh, Lovie... I should've just killed that bastard back then... Waaah...!"
After my annulment with Pedro and my declaration of lifelong bachelorhood, my second brother burst into tears. He seemed to think my pain had driven me to this. Though the rest of the family didn't weep, their expressions made it clear they shared his sentiment.
The Pedro who'd become a relic of the past could never hurt me now, but explaining that would be too complicated. I decided to let them assume the worst.
“Now that the engagement is over... only the poisoning incident and the destruction remain, huh?”
I knew the cause and solution to the poisoning, so that was fine, but the destruction was the problem.
I had no idea where, when, or how it had started...
'It probably has something to do with the male and female leads... but...'
The problem was I didn’t know who those leads were—not their names or appearances. I only knew the male lead was a blind individual with supernatural abilities.
The gods had mentioned that the male lead lost his sight due to some incident. So I thought I could find a blind person among the supernatural ones.
But that was difficult from the start.
"A blind person among the ability users? Why are you asking that, Lovely-ah?"
I asked my second older brother, who was the easiest to talk to in the family and knew a lot about the imperial palace, but all I got in return was a question. When I said I was just curious, my brother looked troubled.
"Your brother wants to tell our cutie anything she's curious about... but I'm sorry. I can't do that."
"...Why?"
"It's top secret. ability users are treated as strategic weapons, so we can't mention them to others."
The ears of the imperial palace were everywhere, so if my brother was caught telling me about ability users, not only would he be in trouble, but I would be too.
In the end, I had no choice but to give up on finding out. Instead, a good idea came to mind.
'I'll earn money... and use that money to sponsor them.'
The imperial palace would probably provide subsidies or salaries, but anyway, the more money I had, the more things I could do.
It was better to have too much than too little. I could only hope that the money I gave them would prevent the destruction.
I immediately declared that I would start a business and scouted Vizela, who was working diligently.
"Won't you walk the golden path with me?"
At my proposal, Vizela grabbed my hand with a dazed expression, saying she had never heard such a thrilling offer before.
Since I had already walked this path once, there was no need to wander this time.
"Gasal. One silver coin per basket. I'll buy all of it. Forever."
"Welcome!"
I hired pharmacists, but there was no need for experimentation this time.
"This is a seaweed that nourishes the liver and aids in detoxification. Dry it with hot air, grind it, and make it into pills. I will sell it as a beauty supplement for women and a stamina enhancer for men."
"Are you a genius?"
I created the nutritional supplement and released it to the market much earlier than in the future I had experienced. At the same time as the launch, I held a free giveaway event under the family name, and people who tried it with skepticism saw the effects and word spread.
“I heard this is actually a rejuvenation medicine?”
“They say the gray hair of the duke turned black again...”
...Not quite. I suspected it was a placebo effect. Though I sold it without much profit as before, it became so popular that I quickly became wealthy.
The first thing I did with my newfound wealth was:
"Let's acquire land with multiple mines."
"But this land has been passed down through our family for generations..."
When I confronted the mine owner and demanded he sell, he looked flustered. I showed him the chest I'd brought - enough gold to buy two more mines like this. He gladly sold his ancestral land.
"Blow it up."
I blew up the mine as soon as I bought it. Visella looked like she couldn't understand why I was throwing money into the ground, but there was no other choice.
If I left it alone and someone—whether by accident or on purpose—discovered the disaster inside and released it to the world, everything I'd done so far would have been pointless.
This was the right way to collapse it and make sure no one could touch it.
Last time, too many died.
The Empire was relatively safe thanks to the nutrient supplements they'd spread beforehand, but they still suffered losses. If even the Empire wasn't spared, other countries with no preparations saw their populations halved.
Thanks to that, even though I solved the poisoning incident, it was very difficult to stabilize the world due to the population shortage.
"Is only one thing left now?"
Destruction. I immediately packed up a lot of money and headed to the imperial palace.
"...So, what is it that the young lady wants to do?"
"I want to use the money I've earned for the ability users."
At my words that I would become their sponsor, the Emperor slowly examined me. His sharp eyes seemed to be trying to see through any hidden intentions I might have.
"Why? Why would you use the money you worked so hard to earn on such a thing?"
His voice was full of suspicion, as if wondering if I was plotting something by using the ability of the ability users.
But I had no ulterior motives. I was simply doing this for peace.
"I have always respected those who work tirelessly for the peace of the empire."
"Have you ever met any ability users?"
"No. I haven't had the honor. However, as someone born into the nobility of the empire, I want to contribute to the empire, but since my only talent is making money, I want to help by sponsoring them."
The Emperor still didn't seem to trust me completely, but it seemed difficult for him to refuse since it was for the sake of the empire. For him, it was fine if he didn't accept, but refusing could be seen as a political move indicating his displeasure with the Estarote family. The Estarote family was pro-Emperor. There was no need to create tension by rejecting an ally.
Anyway, all I could do was work hard, earn money, and give it to them. Whether the male and female leads used this money to go on dates or buy snacks was none of my business.
'Please, just make the world safe.'
I wasn't asking for much. If the world could just be safe, I wouldn't mind giving them money until the moment I died.
And so, I worked hard and contributed to world peace. Then, one day, that day finally arrived.
At the same time, panels with prophecies written on them popped up haphazardly, filling my vision.
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