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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: My One and Only Friend
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Luciano had his arms crossed before I knew it, shooting Espin and Harrison alternating sidelong glares.
Oh no, here we go again.
“A, uh...”
Harrison looked troubled by the obvious hint, but...
“We decided to be friends!”
I didn’t!
Of course, I’d expected Luciano to react this way.
It wasn’t the first day he’d gotten wary at the thought of me getting close to someone else.
At first, I was flustered.
Does he like me romantically?
I’d even misunderstood it that way.
But his attitude didn’t quite match that, at times.
So, I saw Luciano’s behavior as the reaction of a baby tiger guarding its territory, not wanting it stolen.
Instincts of a beast, but still just a cub, so a baby tiger it was.
“When did you get close?”
Luciano’s voice grew even chillier.
“While Harrison was staying at our house recovering from his treatment.”
Luciano’s eyebrow twitched.
He couldn’t argue since it was something he’d asked for himself.
He clamped his mouth shut, glaring at me, then at Harrison, repeating the cycle.
‘Feeling the burn? Now you’re not my one and only friend anymore!’
I wasn’t going to tolerate this attitude anymore.
I shot him a bratty warning glare.
That was when Harrison, who’d been gauging the mood, cautiously chimed in.
“As Espin says, we really are just friends. You don’t need to worry.”
His tone was cautious, but his words were firm.
I suddenly felt like I’d been beaned by a rock on the street.
‘That’s exactly what I think it means, right? A declaration that there’ll never be anything romantic between us.’
That’s not what Luciano’s wariness is about!
He just doesn’t like someone taking his one and only spot!
He’s just obsessive like that!
It wasn’t something I could say outright in front of Luciano, so I just thumped my chest.
Meanwhile, Luciano stared calmly at Harrison.
Even under that scrutinizing gaze meant to read his intentions, Harrison just smiled steadily.
Only then did Luciano mutter,
“Watch yourself.”
And withdrew his suspicious look.
‘Watch myself from what?’
Their behavior was just irritating.
I’d figured Harrison didn’t have feelings for me, but hearing it confirmed so bluntly was still a shock.
‘I was thinking of slowly seducing him, but now he’s nailed the door shut saying don’t even try.’
“You really don’t need to worry.”
No, it’s not like that.
“I’ll believe you since you say it so confidently.”
Don’t.
The more I listened to their exchange, the more my mood soured.
It felt like getting rejected before I’d even confessed.
First the protagonist, now the sub male lead—confirmed neither was my man.
‘Am I really that unappealing?’
A wave of gloom hit me for a moment.
No, I’m the best.
They’re just not my guys.
I quickly pulled myself together.
If neither of them was fated for me, I needed to find the last male lead candidate pronto.
‘From now on, my stock’s in the black幕 villain Damian!’
I resolved to boldly drop Luciano and Harrison and focus on Damian.
The problem was,
‘Damian doesn’t show up for another eight years?’
My determination was aimed at a distant future.
For now, I’d focus on the pressing matters at hand.
“You’re set on building your strength, right?”
To cut off their weird conversation, I confirmed with Luciano again.
“I have to. Even if I stay quiet, they won’t leave me alone.”
Luciano nodded gravely.
Since he’d made up his mind, I had to help properly.
“You know it’s too soon to approach the nobles, right?”
“I wasn’t planning to rush into that anyway.”
I was surprised by his answer—I’d thought he might charge in recklessly out of impatience.
Maybe I’d underestimated Luciano.
Either way, excluding nobles, there was one power base Luciano could build.
Money!
The foundation of building influence was cash.
You needed money to survive.
Money wasn’t everything, but it enabled the best choices—that was my creed.
In the original story, Luciano had set up his own merchant guild to amass wealth.
And it made sense that Sion Widro, the guild’s owner, was rising now.
Sion had started with nothing but five hundred gold coins from Luciano and built the empire’s top merchant guild—a legendary figure.
‘The genius of the merchant world.’
I knew about Sion but hadn’t approached him, investing in May and Bell instead.
Simple reason: I didn’t want to touch someone who’d become Luciano’s man later.
I’d planned to leave it to Luciano down the line.
‘But since he wants to speed things up, I’ll have to step in.’
Conveniently, there was a perfect investment opportunity now—one that didn’t require much startup capital.
I’d been planning a quick flip, but maybe I could use Sion to scale it up.
At this point in time, Sion should be at the Academy.
Tomorrow, I’d swing by the Academy, lure him in, and get him to start a merchant guild.
Once it’s a solid guild in ten years, I’d back Luciano hard.
The childhood friend showering him with cash.
‘Ah, am I seriously this cool? Where else are you gonna find a friend like me?’
I was grinning at my perfect plan when a sudden thought made me freeze.
‘Wait, doesn’t this mean more work for me?’
I was just your average citizen dreaming of living off others while doing nothing.
Sion was a merchant genius, so once the guild was up, he’d handle everything—or so I believed.
But Mabel’s situation had taught me plans don’t always go as expected.
This was getting annoying.
Work: on me.
Spending: on me.
Hardship: on me. Only Luciano benefits?
Sure, the guild would be mine, making me rich.
But all that money would go to backing Luciano.
Somehow, it felt like a loss.
Then don’t lose out!
“Lu, got any money?”
“Huh?”
“Lend me some.”
I could just use Luciano’s money.
I boldly stuck out my hand.
I shook it, urging him to hurry up.
Luciano, looking reluctant, asked,
“How much do you need?”
What kind of obvious question was that?
“A lot. As much as possible. Scrape together every emergency fund and hand it over.”
“...For what?”
Luciano paused a beat before asking.
See?
If he liked me, this would’ve been easy.
In romance fantasies, the male leads were total pushovers for the heroine.
If she asked for money, he’d bring it without a word and plop it down.
This reaction was all wrong from the start.
‘This is why I need to raise him as my man, not a friend!’
“Tsk, you don’t trust me?”
“...I do.”
Oh?
I narrowed my eyes.
“Your answer was slow.”
“No. I trust you.”
Only then came the quick reply.
Not the most satisfying response.
But I needed the money, so I let it slide.
“Alright then. Hand it over quick.”
I shook my outstretched palm again, and after staring at me a moment, Luciano got up.
Obviously going to fetch it—I smiled contentedly.
That was when Harrison’s piercing gaze from the side made itself felt.
A bit different from usual, like eyes full of doubt?
“What? Something up?”
“...No.”
Harrison subtly averted his eyes.
Even shaking his head slightly.
The odd reaction bugged me, but I didn’t pry.
Still, I kept feeling those sneaky glances.
Just as I was about to snap at him,
Luciano returned.
In his hand was a luxurious money pouch.
‘No way, that’s!’
The familiar design—definitely a magic item.
‘Wow, as expected of royalty.’
One of my hobbies was collecting magic items.
Well, “collecting” was a stretch since I didn’t own many.
They were ridiculously expensive.
Lending out a magic item like this so casually.
‘He might be richer than I thought.’
I hadn’t figured Luciano for having big money.
All his allowances required Imperial Consort Isabel’s approval.
No way he got generous sums.
Plus, he lived modestly for a prince.
I’d assumed he didn’t have much disposable cash, but here was a magic pouch.
Luciano sat and handed me the pouch.
Pretty bold move for someone who’d hesitated.
“What’s this for?”
“It’ll go to good use.”
I snatched the pouch quick.
My guess was right—it weighed next to nothing.
‘Jealous, so jealous!’
I wanted the pouch more than the money inside.
Greed was greed, but business was business.
“No urgent need for this money, right?”
“Nope.”
“Good. Consider yourself broke for a while.”
That’s how investments worked.
You don’t invest today and see returns tomorrow.
This venture would tie up funds for at least half a year.
“What?”
“If you need cash quick, tell me. I’ll lend you some.”
I beamed, but suddenly Luciano looked reluctant again.
Worrier.
Don’t worry.
It’s a sure thing.
“Trust me. Didn’t I say good things would happen if you believed in me before?”
“...Yeah.”
He remembered—it was when I introduced Cale.
“And good things did happen, right?”
So he couldn’t argue.
“Yeah.”
“Believe and wait this time too.”
This big sis will grow this money big and back you hard.
“Lu, don’t forget. Your money is my money, and my money is your money. Got it?”
I declared boldly as I pocketed the pouch.
Luciano and Harrison’s pupils trembled slightly—or was it my imagination?
I Thought I Was the Protagonist
