Chapter 5

Mini Things to Note:

* * – Sound effects

” ” – Dialog

‘ ‘ – Thoughts

Italics – Flashbacks/ A memory of the past

[ ] – Letter thingy/other narration

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Chapter 5

– – –

Did that note appear because you’ve done something so shocking that you imagined it?

I rubbed my eyes lightly, but the letters on the note still remained the same.

As the shock went away, I had no choice but to accept that this wasn’t an illusion at all.

Aphthanes.

How can I ever forget that name?

It’s the name of the devil who reincarnated me.

“Do not worry. This is a special reincarnation, so I will also give you the ability you need.”

That annoying voice was still very vivid to me, even if it had been years already.

‘He did give me an ability, and that was Russian Cash!’

It was the name of an ability that seemed to be disgraceful to use.

I cursed him as a swindler because he didn’t give me an ability, but I think it’s better not to have this ability at all.

The notes kept popping up.

But I couldn’t focus on reading them anymore.

“Like a baby… it’s soft?”

Because of what the Duke Paeraton uttered, in a very low voice.

Wait, did I say that out loud?

I couldn’t help but shiver.

Ah, I’ll just bite my tongue here and not say a word.

The Duke’s red eyes stared at me as if he was going to eat me.

“Hmm…”

The Duke gave a strange look and put me down on his lap.

“…?”

I thought you were going to throw me away instantly.

Fortunately, that didn’t happen… but I still couldn’t help myself from panicking and grabbing my heart that was beating with anxiety—

Soft.

The Duke poked me in the cheek.

‘……What?

My confusion increased.

The Duke kept poking me. I was skinny, but I was still a baby, so there were traces of baby fat on my cheeks.

I swallowed my breath while looking at the Duke, who was fiddling with my cheek with an expressionless face.

‘Is this, is the tyrant starting to become attached to his daughter?!’

My senses from my long career in romance fantasy is saying yes. Every time you poke my cheek, the more I feel like my sense are correct.

I’m sure you think I’m cute, even if it’s just a little bit—

“You look like an angry pufferfish.”

[Ezio: AN ANGRY PUFFERFISH *insert laughter*]

Damn it, you had given me false hopes.

As a reader, I cried out inwardly, ‘This is a premonition of unfaithfulness!’

Look at those blood-colored eyes. It can’t be right. You’ll need to hold on tight to the leash, because you’ll die if you let go.

A pufferfish has poison, and I was gently poked by the Duke. So there’s no way I’m like a pufferfish.

I thought I would be thrown out soon, but surprisingly, the duke kept me on his lap.

I could only be alone after I pretended I had indigestion after dinner with the Duke staring at me.

“Wash up.” The duke who put me down in my room left only those words behind.

‘But I’m already clean?!’

I raised my arms and sniffed myself, and I could only smell the pleasant scent of fruit.

‘But why have you been carrying me all this time?’

“It’s because I’m unfamiliar with this. I haven’t seen my dad in a while.”

“So I’m gonna stay with you now. I told you you had to stay close to me so that you wouldn’t be unfamiliar to me.”

Maybe it’s because of what I said.

‘Surely not.’

Let’s look forward to doing it again, just to see if I was right.

I followed the maids and servants into the bathroom. There was something more important to me now than the Duke’s intention.

【???? • ???? • ????】

After taking a bubble bath and drying my hair, I climbed onto the king-sized bed.

‘Good.’

I’m finally alone.

But why did the maids hesitate?’

I was bothered by the behavior I saw when I said goodbye to the maids. Normally, I would have asked what’s going on or waited for them to speak up, but—

‘There’s another important thing right now!’

It was the notification window that came to my eyes like a hologram.

‘Ugh, I couldn’t read them all.’

When I started paying attention to the Duke, the notification window with the letters on it disappeared.

‘Instead of listening to whatever the Duke was saying, should I have read it all at that time? Can’t you come back?’

As I was thinking, a notification window popped up.

[There are unread notifications. Would you like to continue reading?]

Uh, do I just answer this out loud?

“Yes.”

Then another window appeared.

[Characteristics <Russian Cash> *Not Available*]

[Reader! This is what I promised you!

I didn’t think it would take you this long to meet the conditions. It was an easy condition. 

You haven’t been cursing the good <Aphthanes> for a fraudulent contract, have you?]

It was a very painful message for me who called the devil a swindler every day.

‘No, I don’t think it was an easy condition in the first place.’

And I still don’t know exactly what the conditions are.

Don’t tell me you’re doing something pretty on the Duke’s cheek.

[This ability is perfect for the reader, so please use it well! 

-Talent Class: F 

-Talent Effect: You can use the cache to summon a romance fantasy novel you’ve read. You can extract and use the powers of the heroine from the summoned novel. 

*The extraction is random.

!Note: Currently, there is no <Summon Medium>, so it cannot be used.] 

“What is this…”

You mean, I can summon the novels I’ve read and use the heroine’s powers?

“I guess it’s great?”

The powers of countless heroines passed by in my head. If you can use their abilities, survival is no longer a problem. Even the world can be conquered!

“Wow!”

Days that were horrible like the gutters, goodbye now!

I raised my hands and jumped on the bed.

‘By the way, what are caches and summoning mediums?’

Suddenly I became anxious.

The name of this ability is’Russian Cash’.

To be honest, it was not a name that reminded me of a pleasant and beautiful future.

[A new quest has arrived.]

Then, a new window popped up with the notification.

[<Proof of Value>

Reader, are you celebrating your ability?

How naive and foolish!

This world, the world of , is not that easy!

It’s a common sense that readers should know. Haven’t you been disappointed and discouraged before?

Watch out for the back of your head!

Don’t forget!

Your ability is not complete.

A true reader suspects that what others have fed them is poisoned. Prove your worth by perfecting your abilities with your own strength.

-Conditions: Acquire <Summoning Medium>

-Reward: 500 cash]

“No, what is wrong with this phrase?”

Are you shooting at me?

It was absurd.

As much as I drank kimchi soup, I thought the tyrant would be a fool for his daughter, especially since I’ve been poked on the cheek.

[Ezio: The phrase ‘as much as I drank kimchi soup’ is probably a Korean idiom/slang, but I can’t find what it actually stands for—]

Ck.

“Even if I can’t eat this, you should’ve told me!”

[You have accepted the quest.]

“Good. But where do I get the summoning medium?”

An object that can summon something and serves a connection point.

‘Usually in a , these things are very, very valuable.’

The national treasure of the empire.

Relics of the temple.

Treasure of the tower.

Or, heirlooms passed down from generation to generation in noble families.

‘Hm, what I can find right now in Duke Paeraton’s heirlooms?’

I wish I could stay here because it’s hard to go to other places since I’m still a child.

‘……but it’s a real problem.’

Can I really ask the Duke of Paeraton to give me the treasure of this house? I remembered the Duke’s cold and numb face staring at me, and my body trembled.

‘Well, it may be possible that they don’t have a summoning medium as an heirloom.

First, let’s look at the family tree of the Duke when we wake up in the morning and…

Ah-a-am—

Such a big yawn came out that it felt like it would tear my mouth.

‘Well, we have to make a plan right now—’

I rubbed my eyes, but they were still dim.

In the house of Marquis Tarenka, I could only sleep a little and then had to work. Now, after taking a bath, my body is warm, my bed is cozy, my stomach is full, and I couldn’t keep my eyes open.

I fell asleep in the middle of a large bed without knowing when I fell asleep.

【???? • ???? • ????】

Chirp chirp.

The birds are singing.

‘It’s already morning.’

Even today, a colorful ceiling greeted me.

As soon as I stretched myself out, yawning, the door opened, and the maid and servants entered.

“Did you just cough, young miss?”

While raising my upper body, the blanket flowed down.

‘Huh?’

Yesterday I didn’t even cover myself with my blanket, and fell asleep in the middle of the bed. But now it was by the bedside, and it looks like I slept with my pillows and blankets tightly covering me last night.

“Did you cover me with the blankets while I was asleep?”

Anna answered my question with a suspicious expression.

“No, we don’t come inside when the young lady sleeps. The same is true when the other masters are sleeping.”

Well, then I guess I covered myself with the blanket in my sleep.

I’m ashamed, but I thought the maids were the ones that covered me because I had a bad sleeping habit.

I jumped out of bed and tried to go to the dressing room, but I stopped.

“Oh, good morning, everyone!”

When I shouted those words to the maids, the faces of the servants softened.

“Good morning, young miss.”

“Woohoo, I’ll brush your hair.”

Good, good.

Clearly, the atmosphere is much softer than before.

I put on Nancy’s choice of clothes for me, and left Anna with my hair, admiring her as if I knew nothing.

“Wow, this one on here is so pretty! It’s shiny!”

As I pointed to the brooch on the chest of the dress and spoke, the maids and servants laughed softly.

“It’s pretty. It goes very well with the color of the young lady’s eyes.”

“Would you like to have a similar hairpin? You must look even cuter with it.”

“Yeah… but it’ll look too expensive.”

I wriggled my hands with a sullen look.

“Oh my…”

Anna covered her mouth with an embarrassed look. Nancy clenched her hands and shouted angrily,

“What do you mean? The young lady is the only daughter of the Duke of Paeraton! You can have anything like this.”

“You can have more expensive things to your heart’s content. But because it’s heavy…”

I looked at the maids and sisters who were serving me and asked quietly.

“Yes, then, is there a room in the Duke’s house that collects such sparkly things?”

Don’t look like a thief looking for a heirloom—but that’s true—to be as naive as possible.

“Of course. There are so many rooms like that. There’s a lot more in the estate.”

Oh, there’s a lot.

Come to think of it, the Duke was rich. I tried to tease you that I wanted to see them, but what was it? I need to go to the room with the heirloom instead of other luxury items….

“Would you like to take a look?”

“Wow, when Tie’s sister’s was there, I was beaten even if I only went near the room… Can I really see such a pretty thing?”

I looked at my maids with a murmur.

If I appeal to you like this, I think you’ll show me the best room. The room where the summoning medium might be in.

Well, I wasn’t lying when I said I’d get beaten when I went close to certain places.

“You filthy thief…! Why are you snooping around here! You’re such a bad girl, you need to be punished!”

I once went near the Marquis house’s treasure room while cleaning the hallway.

I was then whipped with a belt on the back by the Marquis on the spot.

It was the Marquis who ordered me to clean the hall, and I didn’t even know there was a treasure room there.

‘No, no, don’t be depressed. I got out of the Marquis’ house, and there’s no one here that hits me!’

As I raised my head, the maids were looking at me with half a face that was likely to cry, and a face that was about to explode with anger.

Why do you both have that expression?

“Please don’t make that expression young lady.”

No, my expression? My sisters’ facial expressions are even more weird…

[Ezio: She calls Anna and Nancy sisters here, I guess it’s because they’re in a more friendly relationship  now╮(￣▽￣””)╭]

Anna reached her hand out to me, then stopped and took it back. Meanwhile, Nancy hugged me.

“Nancy, what disrespect–“

“My lady, you’re so small and young… you’re still a baby…”

Anna’s frightened cry was interrupted by Nancy’s tears.

I patted Nancy on the back.

“I’m fine! I have big sisters who worry about me like this!”

When I said that with a big smile, the other maids hugged me, saying, “Young lady!”

This is the first time I’ve ever done this in my life, and… well, it’s not a bad feeling.

Hehe.

Anna paused when she saw me laughing while surrounded by her colleagues.

Then she reached her hand out to me again as if she had made up her mind.

A warm palm gently swept my hair away.

Well, I feel good.

A light smile spread over Anna’s face, too.

【???? • ???? • ????】

“What the lady sees for the first time should be the best thing in the Duke’s estate! If you’re going to see it, let’s go to the temple room.”

The other maids nodded vigorously at Nancy’s cry.

“There are many more valuable things than the Marquis of Tarenka! Compared to the Duke’s, the Marquis’ Treasure Room is silly.”

“Can I just go in?”

“Yes, it’s a room that keeps the duke’s heirloom, and the youngest lady is, of course, a blood relation of the duke, and has rights to access this place.”

“You have to get permission from the Duke to take out an heirloom, though.”

Ugh. That’s right. You can’t bring it out at will.

‘Well, I like it anyways.’

I’ll have a hand to check if there is a summoning medium among the heirlooms of the Duke of Paeraton.

‘Then, let’s just eat breakfast quickly without delay and go right away.’

It was then.

The butler came in with a knock on the door. I was a little surprised, because the butler’s only ever came to my room on the first day I came to this house.

What could it be?

“Young lady, the Duke has asked you to have breakfast together.”

You want to have breakfast with me?+

So suddenly?

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