“Here is the information you requested. My apologies. As the person wasn’t very active, there isn’t much material.”
“This is sufficient. Thank you.”
Damion smiled with satisfaction as he received the documents handed over by the butler Nouvell. As Nouvell quietly left the room, Damion opened up the materials.
Rain Arel. The woman had lived under that name for a year.
Current residence: A shared apartment on Wart Street in the southern Saul region. Workplace: The Baron’s estate in the southern Ziden area. Serving the Baron and Baroness, and their son and daughter.
Financial status: Poor. Even in significant debt for the Countess’s medicine.
“The interest is larger than the principal.”
He knew there weren’t many places to borrow money urgently, but it seemed she had fallen in with a particularly vicious lender.
Damion briefly raised an eyebrow, then nonchalantly turned the page.
The documents also contained records from when she was Ansi de Rubella. Who she often associated with, what she liked, what kind of personality she had. As he quickly read through it, the corners of his mouth turned up.
The thought of using the woman filled him with great pleasure.
“Now I can finally get my reward, Colonel Rubella.”
A low murmur spread through the room.
The image of Colonel Rubella making the proposal to him with a face that seemed both resolute and full of fear came to mind.
That was a story Damion had heard when he was under Colonel Rubella’s command.
The Colonel said his wife would throw herself into the Venu River. It wasn’t just a groundless fear. He even told him exactly when and where it would happen.
As if making a prophecy.
Honestly, he was skeptical about 90% of it.
Although this country has many gods including the patron deity Riento, Damion thought they were merely devices for obtaining spiritual comfort.
Prophecies were the same. It was truly an unbelievable story.
However, with the remaining 10% belief, instead of dismissing the story, he asked a question.
The Colonel’s expression was dark. Since he wasn’t the type to speak nonsense, Damion eventually agreed to his proposal.
Damion made sure to get a written note about the inheritance in return for that request.
However, he couldn’t receive compensation from the Colonel. The Colonel died on the battlefield a few days before his wife’s suicide attempt, and all his family assets were confiscated. Naturally, Damion could no longer claim his share of the inheritance.
Unable to receive compensation, and honestly thinking it was an implausible task. But it felt unsettling to break a promise with the deceased.
In the end, Damion headed to the Venu River in the capital.
And he discovered that the Colonel’s words were true.
A thin, middle-aged woman walked unsteadily, then suddenly threw herself into the water without warning.
Damn it. With a short curse, Damion jumped into the water.
The Countess, whom he quickly brought to the shore, fortunately seemed fine. Only her eyes looked vacant.
Looking at those eyes that had lost their light, Damion was suddenly gripped by fear.
It was a fear he had experienced before.
People shouted urgently as they ran over.
Damion hurriedly left the scene.
Only then did the Colonel’s words feel real. The secret of Rubella that he spoke of hit home clearly.
Seeing threats to life. It was an interesting thing. But all things are zero-sum. If there’s something to gain, there must be something to lose. Surely the predetermined future couldn’t be changed for nothing.
After rescuing the Countess and returning, Damion investigated the average lifespan of the Rubella family.
Indeed, the Rubella people generally had short lives. This was true for generations of those who inherited the title of Count, and even for the Count’s sons and daughters who didn’t.
He thought that perhaps he could directly claim the price that the Count had not paid.
Ansi de Rubella.
The daughter of Count Rubella.
She too would be able to prevent her partner’s misfortune.
At that time, he only thought of it as one possibility. That’s why he didn’t have much regret even when Ansi disappeared while he was weighing the necessity. He just felt a little disappointed.
However, a few months ago, amid a hail of bullets that seemed to be aimed at him, he thought.
That someone inside had tried to kill him using the situation on the battlefield. And that it was instigated by Kardian de Orphe, his brother.
‘Kardian’s toy.’
That had always been Damion’s value of existence in the Orphe ducal family.
For Damion, enlisting was a good pretext to abandon that role. He thought that if he wasn’t in his sight, he could find his own meaning in life.
Thus, out of Kardian’s sight, Damion built his own foundation. He whipped himself to the point where he could exist even without the title of Orphe. The invisible freedom seemed like it would appear if he just tried a little harder.
However, for Kardian, Damion who had lost his role as a toy was an object that needed to disappear.
How easy it is to kill someone on the battlefield.
The subordinate who tried to kill him confessed that it was Kardian’s doing before committing suicide. Not to punish Kardian, but to ease his own guilt.
From then on, all colleagues looked like enemies to Damion. He could no longer entrust his back to them.
Kardian laughed when he saw Damion return to the capital after an early discharge that had come to this.
Both Damion and Kardian knew that the hidden meaning was: You’ve returned as my toy.
That’s when Damion decided.
To rise to the pinnacle of Orphe. To the position where he could directly determine his own value of existence.
So Ansi de Rubella, he needed that woman’s ability.
So that no one could kill him even if he showed his claws. To survive to the end without dying, and to achieve what he wanted.
That woman who knew nothing would think that a rope of hope had been lowered to save her. If she was born with such a fate anyway, he hoped she would fulfill her destiny for him.
“Ansi de Rubella.”
A breakwater to prevent his misfortune.
May the momentary peace I gift you be a happiness great enough for you to willingly sacrifice your lifespan.
Sincerely wishing so, Damion closed the documents on Ansi.
[This is the timeline separator]Ansi encountered Miss Trisy of the Ziden Baron family on the morning of the day she was to meet that man.
“Rain.”
Trisy called her name as she discovered Ansi about to leave through the back door to go home. Ansi turned around and bowed her head.
“I’m going on a picnic. You come too.”
“I’m sorry, Miss. I have plans after work, so you’ll need to take another maid with you.”
At those words, Trisy’s expression hardened. She crossed her arms in displeasure and stared at Ansi.
No order to leave was given. Trisy soon turned her head haughtily and began walking towards the main gate.
“You can’t go home now. Rain has to help with my picnic today.”
Her voluminous pale yellow dress, worn for the picnic, fluttered. Despite the arbitrary decision, the dedicated maid at her side gestured to Ansi to follow quickly.
Instead of sighing, Ansi quietly followed, thinking about the time left until the appointment. 3 hours. It was still okay. It was wiser to go along with it moderately rather than refuse outright.
The picnic spot was a beach about 10 minutes by carriage from the Baron’s estate. While Trisy strolled on the soft sand with a bright smile, Ansi plated refreshments on the mat where she would sit.
On several plates with intricate flower patterns, fruits, sandwiches, and cookies were arranged by type. As a result of her deft movements, the refreshments were neatly organized.
However, when Trisy returned, she frowned deeply and let out an irritated sigh.
“These are cookies I hate. Didn’t you check before coming?”
Although Ansi wasn’t the one who prepared the refreshments, the reproachful gaze was directed at her.
It wasn’t unexpected. This kind of thing had happened several times before. She knew that today too, it was just an excuse to vent her frustration.
Ansi habitually bowed her head. Hoping this moment would pass safely.
__________
Male Lead, The Black-Hearted Lotus (Female-dominant)
Short intro by Yuushi L:
At first, the male lead despised the female lead. Later, he misunderstood that she liked him, so he condescendingly and reluctantly reciprocated her feelings.
Then, he suddenly discovered that she was kind to everyone in the same way, and there was already someone she cherished in her heart, and that person was not him.
The male lead couldn’t believe it, he became angry and crazy. He was determined to capture her body and heart by any means necessary.
Synopsis:
Want to see how a green tea bitch male lead falls in love with the female lead?
Want to see how he flirtatiously pursues the female lead?
Want to see how he gets slapped in the face repeatedly?
The male lead is a green tea bitch, a poisonous lotus, jealous, ruthless, unscrupulous, with a venomous heart, and he’s also a delusional maniac.
The female lead is righteous, positive energy-filled, kind, a holy mother.
Let’s see how two people with extreme personalities come together~
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
