Chapter 9
I’d shoved it in with all my might, so it must’ve been quite the hit.
A chiseled pretty boy with a popcorn kernel stuck up one nostril — now that was a sight to behold.
Mm, maybe you could call it… a kind of performance art?
If there was any shock to be had, it was that it didn’t look as gross as I’d expected.
I had that thought as I bolted away without so much as a glance behind me.
The only reason I could pop the popcorn into Kenis and get away unscathed was entirely thanks to Evelyn.
Even though she’d been shocked enough for her eyes to pop out, she’d held Kenis back with all her might to protect my life.
Really, thank you! I mean it! I put all my faith in you, sis!
Somewhere behind me, I thought I heard a bellowing voice — dignity tossed to the dogs — and curses like “crazy woman.”
Ha ha, you punk. What, you mad now? I was more mad before, you know. Do you get me now?
But even in the midst of my giddy satisfaction, I couldn’t ignore the realistic concerns.
I didn’t have even a fingernail’s worth of that so-called “protagonist buff” where everything I did somehow turned into an act of love, so what I’d just done to Kenis was basically a death flag.
Kenis, despite his nasty temper, was described in the original as a man who never drew his sword against women or children… but come on, if a person snaps, who knows what they might do?
I imagined Kenis, nostril full of popcorn, swinging a sword in a rage, and chuckled — then immediately sobered up.
Alright, time to worry about the future.
With my dress hem in disarray from running and my hair a mess, I sat in the carriage, lost in thought.
No matter how I turned it over, the answer was the same: stick to Ebelin.
“Kyaa! My lady!”
The carriage had arrived before I knew it, and I was being helped down.
Looking like I’d been through a typhoon, the first person I met was ushla — whether that was lucky or not, I couldn’t say.
The moment she saw my state, she let out a gasp, dashed away, and quickly returned with a comb.
I sat in the nearest sitting room as she began to tidy my hair, thinking that by tomorrow, the entire household would surely have heard about my appearance today.
ushla, if only you didn’t have a megaphone for a mouth, you’d be the perfect maid…
“It’s completely tangled, my lady. What on earth did you do?”
“Justice.”
“…Pardon?”
“Righteousness.”
“…?”
I brushed her off with a vague answer and smoothed my newly arranged hair.
Sorry, ushla. But telling you that I’d just fed popcorn to a rude duke isn’t a great idea — your mouth’s too loose. I’ll explain someday… maybe.
After sending ushla away, I headed straight for my room.
I sat down at my now-familiar desk with a determined expression and took up my pen. I figured I should write everything down to make sense of it all.
First, a quick summary of my current situation:
[Thrilling Memory of Kenis and the Popcorn = Death of a Supporting Character]
Hmm… yeah, hopeless.
Beneath that, I wrote my plan for survival:
[Snag the Role of the Heroine’s Friend]
Underline, underline, underline, five stars. I even circled “friend” over and over again, remembering the wrist flick my old teacher used when emphasizing math formulas.
It was cliché, but this was the only path.
Yes, the only one.
Ebelin was the only hill I could cling to.
Sure, I could aim for someone like the crown prince or the tower master — male lead number three — who could rival Kenis, but seducing them would be slower than training with a stick until I became a swordmaster… or faster just to drown myself in a washbasin and hope to be reincarnated as the heroine in the next life.
Or I could seduce Kenis himself, who right now looked like he’d kill me on sight. But honestly? I couldn’t even picture it…
Whichever way I looked at it, the most ideal choice was Evelyn.
If I could just befriend her, she’d surely become my sturdy shield.
Kenis, ever eager to please Evelyn, would never harm her friend.
The problem was… how to win her over.
I tilted my head back, recalling the plot of The Beast’s Flower.
In the novel, Ebelin didn’t really have anyone you could call a true friend.
There was a young lady she often spent time with early on, but later that girl fell in love with the crown prince and, under the villainess’s scheme, betrayed Evelyn.
She, of course, ended up as dew in the night.
So basically, Ebelin had no genuine friends throughout the whole story.
“If I play it right, this could work…”
I muttered and straightened my head.
Ah, my neck’s stiff.
Suddenly, my situation felt pitiful.
I mean, sure, I gave that jerk a salty taste of justice, but was that such a mortal sin? Getting cursed at I could understand, but an early grave? That’s a bit much.
Honestly — oh? So what if you’re a duke? Or a male lead?
…Okay, maybe it is a big deal. But still, what a pain.
Grumbling, I shuffled from my desk to the bed. That full-on sprint earlier had really worn me out.
I flopped onto the mattress, all muscles relaxed.
Ah~ so soft.
Blinking lazily, I sighed. Ugh, how do I become friends with the heroine?
I wished Evelyn were an ordinary citizen from my world — maybe a dimension traveler or reincarnator.
I rolled around on the covers, tossing and turning, until at some point I drifted into sleep.
And then I dreamed a bizarre nightmare about countless Kenises falling from the sky as I pelted them with popcorn, only to jolt awake before dawn.
…Phew.
What a load of nonsense.
Even though I woke up early in a foul mood, today promised to be rather fun.
After Kenis yesterday, it was now Arwin’s turn to appear.
Arwin Hebrim — though located within the Empire, he ruled over the independent magic tower.
Despite an angelic appearance, he had a cruel nature, killing people with ease — though in front of Ebelin, he pretended to be as meek as a lamb… at least, that was the setup.
Evelyn met him by chance when she got caught up in a street quarrel during an outing to the marketplace.
I started getting ready early.
Normally, at this hour, the old me — then and now — would still be lazing in bed, but if I lingered any longer, my mother would return from her morning walk, and that would ruin my plans.
Since I was planning to get into trouble alongside Ebelin in the market today, bringing along any escorts was out of the question.
Blinking my still-sleepy eyes, I pulled a deep, dark-brown capeline — a wide-brimmed women’s hat with a low crown — snug over my head, and slipped out of the estate.
The market near the imperial palace was quite a ways off, so I had to take a carriage again.
Good thing I didn’t get motion sick — otherwise, going out would be torture.
Outside the window, the streets were already bustling.
I watched the busy morning scene absentmindedly until we neared my destination.
Since there was still time before Arwin’s appearance, I decided to drop by the publishing house.
From the intersection, I turned right, passed the red-roofed bakery, and soon the publishing house came into view.
Looking up at the grand building, I couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride.
This once-small company had grown so much thanks to me.
Grinning, I stepped inside.
“Welcome. How can I help you?”
“Mm, could you tell Book that ‘Rose’ is here?”
“For the boss? Certainly.”
It was a little embarrassing, but “Rose” was my pen name.
After the attendant went to fetch him, I waited in one of the reception chairs.
It didn’t take long before Book came pounding down the stairs.
“Teacher, you’re here!”
“Long time no see.”
Still sporting his distinctive curly hair, Book beamed as he greeted me.
He hadn’t been this friendly at first — three years ago, when I’d shown up out of nowhere with a manuscript, he’d clearly thought it was just a spoiled noble lady’s whim.
But once my book hit number one in sales, he flipped like a coin.
From “young lady” to “author,” and now most recently, “teacher.”
Such an obvious social climber.
Not that I minded.
Remembering his recent letter, I spoke.
“The next book will take a while.”
“Oh? How long…?”
“Can’t say for sure. Something’s come up.”
“Ah…”
Just as I expected, he looked downcast — like a rain-soaked old dog.
But only for a moment — his recovery was lightning fast.
“Well, it can’t be helped! In that case, I’ll just have to focus more on overseas sales!”
If anything, his voice got brighter.
Sipping the tea a clerk had brought, I asked, “Where to?”
“Do you remember the Dunking Kingdom and the Nensher Kingdom I mentioned? The response there has been incredible, so we’ve decided to sign for a few more works.”
“I see.”
“Depending on sales, I’m even thinking of opening branches there. As for neighboring Lana Kingdom, we’ve already expanded from one to four branches. The large population helps with growth.”
Book rattled on, clearly excited. And of course, all of it was good news for me.
I could almost hear the sound of money piling up as I savored my tea — somehow sweeter than usual.
Hoo~ hoohoo~ hoohoohoo! My goodness, why am I so successful?
My already high nose felt even more upturned.
To be honest, this level of success surprised even me.
Even factoring in Book’s sales skills and his knack for quickly producing and selling related goods, I’d made an absurd amount of money.
So much that, since I was keeping my writing a secret, I couldn’t bring it home and had to leave it stored at the publishing house.
When sales got so brisk that I couldn’t write fast enough to keep up, I’d once asked Book why he thought my books sold so well — especially since they weren’t in a mainstream genre.
Grinning ear-to-ear, he’d explained that my novels were like Dragon Ball among shelves full of academic textbooks, or Seo Taiji in a sea of classical music.
A revolution, in other words.
It made sense when you thought about it.
The low illiteracy rate due to the easy common tongue and the lack of other entertainment surely helped, too.
Either way, it was a delightful mystery.
After hearing more about upcoming sales plans and my latest royalties, I nodded and held out my hand. Time to head out again.
Book, seeing my open palm, took a pouch from his coat and placed it in my gloved hand.
I didn’t need to check — it was full of gold coins.
This was how I occasionally withdrew some of my royalties on demand, using Book like my personal ATM.
Tucking away the pouch, I straightened my clothes and adjusted my hat.
Watching me, Book suddenly asked, “I’ve always wondered — what do you spend all that money on?”
He looked genuinely curious. After all, I did withdraw large sums without letting them pile up.
I answered simply:
“Luxury.”
