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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Overflowing Warehouse and a Plea
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"Wow."
After finishing my meeting with Elena, I stood in front of my personal warehouse, clamping a hand over my mouth as exclamations poured out one after another.
'Just how much is all this worth?'
My personal warehouse was stacked neatly with three crates of gold bars I'd earned from the lantern event.
Including the one I'd just received, that made four in total. She'd said they couldn't sell seeds during the lantern event, but it must have been a massive hit after all.
Of course, just as Elena had mentioned, the warehouse was plenty spacious.
She'd been receiving allowances to maintain her dignity on Roena's behalf, but Roena had blown through them in less than ten days on luxuries every time, so that was no surprise.
And that wasn't all. The advances she'd taken were enormous.
Even if she paid them back by deducting a fixed amount from her monthly allowance like installments, she'd just take out new advances, leaving the warehouse perpetually empty.
'No wonder Grand Duke Hadellus clicked his tongue when he heard I'd bought jewels.'
Born as the youngest in a noble family, her spending habits were beyond ordinary. To me, who'd lived my whole previous life as a commoner, it was shocking to the core.
Fortunately, the lantern event had gone so well that I could repay a good chunk of those advances.
These gold bar crates shouldn't have been here originally either, but since it was the first harvest, they'd left some behind.
'See? The Grand Duchess Hadellus must be pretty lenient.'
She could have confiscated it all, thinking this was her chance with such a troublesome daughter-in-law. But she hadn't.
She'd even encouraged me. It left me a bit dazed that married life in the grand ducal household wasn't as tough as I'd expected.
And when I saw the expense list of what Roena had spent over the past year, I nearly clutched my neck. Who knows how many items she'd bought but never even used.
Was she trying to soothe an empty heart with shopping sprees?
If I sold off just those things, I could probably pay off half the debt.
But that was something for if I could live forever. My body was doomed to die soon anyway.
"Heh heh heh. With this money, I can live a luxurious fan life."
What mattered to me right now was how to spend it. Having money to make my remaining time full of quality fanning was the icing on the cake.
And now that I knew about Hadellus's long tradition of hefty commissions, I figured more money-making opportunities would come knocking anytime.
My body might be that of a child, but in my past life, I'd been a commoner who'd seen it all. I fiddled with a gold bar and grinned.
'For fanning, it's gotta be that, right?'
In an office at the Hadellus villa, Kovishstein—the chief artifactor of the Hadellus family—was brewing a steaming cup of black tea upon arriving at work.
It had been a while since he'd had a leisurely morning. Preparing for the flower festival had meant back-to-back all-nighters, leaving no time even to brew tea.
"Master Kovishstein."
His assistant burst into the office, interrupting Kovishstein's peaceful tea time.
"A guest has arrived from the main estate."
Kovishstein tilted his head at the mention of the main estate.
The only people from the main estate who might visit him were the Grand Duke and Duchess, but he'd heard they were away today on official business.
Besides, if there was important business, he would have been summoned instead.
"From the main estate? But His Grace the Grand Duke is away today."
"Ah, well..."
The assistant scratched the back of his head awkwardly before speaking up.
"The Young Grand Duchess has requested a meeting."
Kovishstein froze mid-sip, his mouth gaping open.
"The Young Grand Duchess?"
No way—that troublemaker wants to see me?
Last night, I'd mapped out concrete plans on how to enjoy a fulfilling, happy fan life with the money I had.
Living in the same house as my favorite was already peak fan success, but something still felt missing.
A true fan's greed knows no bounds. I wanted to capture every fangirl moment of Akid on video and loop it endlessly.
The problem was there were no cameras or computers here.
'Fanning means preservation. I can't keep this face to myself. Everyone needs to know.'
Just because it wasn't on the market yet didn't mean it couldn't be made.
This was a world of magic instead of cameras and computers.
In a place where magic and divinity coexisted, I figured we could whip up something even more advanced than my old world.
And it wasn't just pie-in-the-sky dreaming. I'd already seen the potential during the flower festival.
I stared intently at Kovishstein, who sat ramrod straight across from me. Dark circles under his eyes suggested chronic fatigue.
He must have burned himself out pulling all-nighters for the flower festival.
Plus, the way he looked at me seemed a bit uneasy, like he'd run into someone he desperately wanted to avoid.
"What brings you here? You didn't have to come yourself."
"Ah, I have a favor to ask."
"A f-favor?"
Kovishstein's eyes widened as if he'd heard something unbelievable.
He clearly hadn't expected the word "favor"—not an order—from my mouth.
The sight was utterly novel. An adult like him cowering in fear before me.
It was an incomprehensible reaction unless he'd been genuinely wronged by me sometime.
'This is bad.'
For my wonderful fan life ahead, Kovishstein's role was crucial. If our relationship was this sour, he might not grant my request.
"I came because I heard you made the seed lanterns."
"Gasp!"
At the mention of the seed lanterns, Kovishstein began trembling and suddenly dropped to his knees on the floor.
"I've committed a grave sin worthy of death!"
"Huh?"
I let out a bizarre squeak at Kovishstein's sudden groveling.
And right then, just like when I'd met Diana last time, an unfamiliar memory flooded into my mind.
[Roena glared at Kovishstein with blazing eyes, her head half-charred.
It was because of the magic tool he'd made—supposedly to straighten her hair—that it had ended up completely fried instead.
Roena had always been self-conscious about her distinctive curly hair.
Envious of the Grand Duchess's silky straight locks, she'd hounded the busy Kovishstein to create a magic tool for her.
But the one he'd sent had made her hair even curlier.
Of course her rage boiled over.
"How are you going to take responsibility? My hair's all burned!"
As Roena threw her tantrum, Kovishstein bowed deeply on his knees.
He looked wronged—forced into unpaid side work, and now dealing with this accident.
"I'm sorry. It seems my assistant sent an unfinished prototype by mistake. I have no face to show. I'll accept any punishment."
"Blaming your assistant now? Just be honest. You were annoyed by my nagging, so you sabotaged it to mess with me!"
Kovishstein jumped at Roena's outburst.
"Absolutely not! How could I dare harm the Young Grand Duchess? These past few days, my assistant and I have been pulling all-nighters. And it was such a sudden request..."
Kovishstein subtly implied it was Roena's fault.
She snapped irritably at it.
"Oh, so you sent the unfinished one on purpose? You look down on me as the neglected daughter-in-law too?"
As Roena fumed, the pale-faced Kovishstein rubbed his palms together pleading.
"If you give me a bit more time, I can make an artifact to restore the burned hair..."
"Can you make it by tomorrow?"
"Pardon? Th-that might be impossible..."
"Tomorrow's the ball! You want everyone laughing at my fried hair?!"
"N-no! I'm sorry! I'll do my absolute best."
With that, Kovishstein bolted back to his office.
His expression screamed, "Dealing with that brat's antics is a thousand times worse than overtime," which soured Roena's mood even more.
"Hmph! A bunch of idiots, all of them!"]
Oh, damn it.
I pressed my forehead as the memory filled my head. From an omniscient commoner viewpoint, this was evil beyond evil.
What to do with this poor salaryman.
Bad luck with the boss's daughter-in-law—enduring all sorts of hardships and even bowing to a kid.
If I imagined it as my situation, tears would blind me; I'd want to hurl my resignation right then.
Of course, unlike my previous life, this world had a class system where such toxic workplace dynamics were everyday life.
So Kovishstein didn't even recognize the situation itself as a problem.
'Still, this relationship isn't normal. Looks like Grand Duke Hadellus doesn't know I tormented this guy.'
I'd come for fanning plans, but now the family's trash work environment had my head spinning.
At this rate, forget asking Kovishstein for work—I might have to go to the Grand Duke and demand he lighten the retainers' load.
Honestly, sending an unfinished magic tool was his fault, but considering he'd been working nonstop day and night, it was weirder if he hadn't slipped up.
Even the most skilled monkey falls from the tree when exhausted.
And the boss's daughter-in-law forcing unpaid labor on top—how grueling must that have been.
'He's a saint for not quitting. Gotta treat him well.'
His image of me was a bit tarnished, but there was still a chance to fix it.
I gently gripped the shoulder of Kovishstein, still prostrated on the floor pleading.
"Don't do that. I'm not here to punish you."
"Y-yes?"
"If you don't want to make things hard for me, get up and sit properly."
"Yes, sir!"
At the word "hard," Kovishstein sprang up and sat straight, hands on knees—like a junior soldier called in by a senior.
In short, he was rigidly disciplined.
It was heartbreaking. I found myself immersed in his plight, steeling my face as I placed a single gold bar from my pocket onto the table.
'I was going to give it as payment for making an image crystal...'
"This is..."
Facing Kovishstein's dumbfounded expression, I flashed the most harmless smile Roena could muster.
"I've been overworking you too much, haven't I? This is thanks for all your help so far. From now on, whenever I ask for personal magic tool commissions, I'll always pay properly."
So please don't run away—stick with me. I'll be good from now on!
