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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: An Outing to Town
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The schedule was delayed by three days because of me.
I recalled the plot of .
Would some investment information that’s sure to hit it big in a few years be a good idea?
Hmm, the ducal family is already excessively rich, even without that.
Maybe I should discreetly drop a hint to be wary of the family planning a rebellion… but that would be useless since we don’t even acknowledge each other.
I should just prepare something age-appropriate…
“Alright.”
I shook off the bed’s temptation to stay and pushed myself up.
My luggage, which someone had brought from the Snake Pit, was sitting neatly in a corner of the room.
I turned the shabby bag upside down and shook it vigorously.
A single gold coin I had stolen while walking on eggshells at the count’s estate fell out with a clink.
It was my entire fortune, but I thought it might be a good idea to invest it in the people who could become my new family.
Okay, I’ll go out tomorrow.
I fiddled with the gold coin.
My sister’s room had a mountain of gold coins, so she wouldn’t even notice if one went missing unless she counted them one by one.
I’m suddenly feeling miserable again.
I know how to get an allowance and run a business, too!
I put the gold coin in my pajama pocket and tried to sleep.
…But then I got annoyed by it rolling around and poking me, so I took it out again.
***
The next day, the sun shone brightly from the morning on, and a gentle breeze blew.
I went to see Winter around noon.
Winter’s long, platinum-blonde hair flowed down to her knees.
In , the heroine’s beauty was praised above all else, but I completely disagreed.
No one in the world could possibly be more beautiful than Winter.
“Mother! Good day!”
“…”
Winter’s icy blue eyes scanned me from head to toe.
Is there something wrong with my clothes?
Mera even did my hair for me.
Puzzled by Winter’s inscrutable reaction, I tilted my head.
“I’d like to go out for a little while. May I have your permission?”
Though I was watching her reaction carefully, I stated my business clearly.
Winter’s eyebrows rose.
“In your condition?”
“I took my medicine and slept well yesterday, so I’m perfectly fine now!”
I waved my arms around to show her.
The sleeves of the dress Mera had put on me fluttered with my arms.
Although her expression was far from convinced, Winter permitted the outing.
“…I’ll assign a knight to you. Be back within the hour.”
“Yes! I’ll be back soon!”
I scurried to the main gate.
Soon, a gray-haired knight, having received Winter’s orders, approached.
For some reason, the people of the ducal house seemed to have muted color palettes.
Menelik and Kivrin had silver hair, and Winter had platinum-blonde hair.
I casually touched my own hair.
Despite being dry and frizzy, its deep violet color was incredibly conspicuous.
“I will escort you.”
The knight gave a brief nod and opened the carriage door.
He didn’t even tell me his name.
Then again, I was the one who had been sold here.
The maids must have just been unusually kind.
I took a seat by the window.
The carriage departed after I named the street lined with shops as our destination.
It felt strange. It would have been nice if Kivrin could have come along.
The feeling of disappointment led to another thought.
I wonder what Kivrin is doing right now.
I wanted to see him before I left, but Mera had advised me to meet him later.
I was fiddling with a cushion while thinking of Kivrin when we arrived at our destination.
The knight and I disembarked from the carriage and walked a short distance.
The bustling market scene felt familiar.
I’ve been here many times.
The memories of Cheria before my possession surfaced naturally.
The feelings, emotions, and thoughts she’d had back then came through as if I had experienced them myself.
It was to the point where there was no use in distinguishing between before and after my possession.
…My synchronization with Cheria is seriously high.
I couldn’t believe it myself.
What’s more, my feet stopped of their own accord in front of a stall selling accessories.
That’s…
A cheap beaded bracelet that the past Cheria had wanted came into view.
I want it, too!
I had money, and the desire to buy it quickly bubbled up inside me.
“Ugh…”
Calm down, Cheria.
You need to buy a bribe for your parents-in-law first. You can get this later.
You have to be the clever Cheria to earn the ducal family’s trust!
…But my finger was faithfully pointing at the bracelet.
“I’ll take that one, please.”
The old woman who owned the stall, who had been watching me, picked up another bracelet.
“Little miss, that bracelet is a pair with this one. You have to buy them together for good things to happen.”
Are you really using a sales tactic on a ten-year-old?!
As I pouted, the old woman prodded me.
“Are you not going to buy it?”
“N-No, I’ll buy them.”
As I hesitantly took out the gold coin, the old woman’s expression turned strange.
While the old woman upended a container of coins to give me change, I quickly put on the bracelets.
The bracelet I had wanted had cream-colored beads, and the one I’d been talked into buying had light blue beads.
“It’s pretty.”
The one whose wish was fulfilled was definitely the Cheria from before my possession.
So why do I feel so satisfied?
I turned the bracelets around on my wrist.
The pre-possession Cheria saw this a long time ago. I can’t believe it hasn’t sold yet.
Or maybe they mass-produce the same design?
“Did you make these, ma’am?”
“My eyes are too dim to be making anything. It’s not my work, it’s my granddaughter’s. Here, your change.”
Ugh, so heavy!
The knight took pity on me as I trembled, holding the coin pouch.
“I will hold on to that for you.”
“Th-Thank you.”
The knight gave a short nod in response.
He didn’t seem like a rookie, unlike the knight from the Snake Pit, but his rank was probably similar.
They wouldn’t assign someone of high rank to me, a mere guest in the house.
I said goodbye to the old woman and turned away, this time determined to choose a bribe.
As we moved to a street selling more expensive goods, people who were obviously from the upper class began to appear.
Oh, they definitely look like nobles.
…Gasp, so cute!
The next thing that caught my eye was a doll shop filled with fluffy, plump dolls.
I imagined myself trying to act cute while giving Winter a doll.
Would that even work…?
I decided to ask for advice first.
“Sir Knight, if I may ask, do you think Mother would dislike it if I gave her something cute as a gift?”
The knight glanced back and forth between me and the dolls, then fell into thought.
“Hmm.”
“…”
“Hrmm.”
Why is he thinking about it so seriously?
Just then, I heard murmuring from behind me.
“The ducal family…”
I instinctively looked over my shoulder.
People who were clearly nobles were eyeing the knight warily.
Of course, the knight’s uniform did bear the crest of the Nectarian ducal family.
But it wasn’t emblazoned on there like a sign on a door, so how did they recognize it so easily?
Regardless, the knight seemed to have finished his contemplation and nodded.
“I believe it would be fine.”
“…You were thinking about it this whole time?”
This knight didn’t seem like he’d know Winter’s preferences well, but… was it worth a try?
As I was loitering in front of the shop, the owner suddenly started packing up the dolls.
His hands trembled as he hurriedly put the dolls away.
“Excuse me, I’d like to buy a doll…”
“We’re closed.”
I looked bewildered.
“But it’s still the middle of the day?”
“I-I said we’re closed!”
The man said this with a face as pale as if he’d seen a debt collector.
What’s with this treatment?
He ended up stumbling and dropping all the dolls he had just carefully packed into a box.
One of the round dolls rolled to the knight’s feet.
“Eek!”
There was no time to even pick it up for him. Terrified, the man abandoned all the dolls and fled into his shop.
A strange feeling came over me, so I went into the shop next door.
It was a dessert shop where young ladies were gathered.
“Gasp!”
As soon as she saw the knight who followed me in, a waitress dropped her tray.
Aha, I get the situation now.
The Nectarian ducal family is unwelcome, is that it?
I can’t believe I’m starting to miss the old woman who used sales tactics on a ten-year-old.
And I couldn’t just ditch the kind knight who had gone out of his way to escort me.
I shrugged.
“Sir Knight, I want to go back. Let’s go to the carriage.”
In the end, all I got from my brief outing were two cheap bracelets.
I trudged toward the carriage.
The knight matched my slow pace and opened the carriage door for me.
Even after we arrived at the ducal townhouse, my pace didn’t quicken.
Winter looked at me quizzically.
“You’re back sooner than I expected.”
“I wanted to get you a present, Mother, but I couldn’t find anything suitable.”
Winter, who was drinking tea, paused.
The corners of her lips curled up.
“Oh…? So you thought of getting me a gift.”
Nod, nod.
“I only managed to buy two bracelets today, so I was thinking of going out again tomorrow.”
At my words, Winter let out a small laugh.
“That won’t be necessary. You can give me one of them.”
