3
The manager’s private office on the top floor was lavish, perfectly reflecting his extravagant personality.
I sat as calmly as I could, staring straight ahead.
It had been exactly four days since that incident.
Naturally, I hadn’t been able to pay. Even half the amount was an enormous sum to me, and I had no immediate way of obtaining it.
“This is the second time you’ve missed the payment deadline.”
It seemed he had come determined today, as he immediately brought up the main issue.
I swallowed dryly and answered as indifferently as possible,
“Was it?”
I replied with the nuance that I had never cared enough to remember the deadline he set. Showing weakness might make him start spouting nonsense again.
I narrowed my eyes and glared at him sharply. The manager coughed awkwardly before continuing.
“I’ve prepared this meeting because I have a proposal for you.”
My shoulders stiffened. If he said something ridiculous like last time, I was ready to beat him senseless. I sharpened my gaze.
But contrary to my expectations, he called a servant and handed me a document.
It was a contract.
“…What is this?”
At my question, the manager hurried to explain.
“If Lady Isabella agrees, we’d like to substitute the five million gold you owe with this. You would only need to work for a single day.”
I doubted my ears.
Erasing a five-million-gold debt for just one day of work sounded too good to refuse, no matter what the job was.
Even so, I maintained my poker face.
“I’m not particularly interested.”
Perhaps my tone sounded cold, because the manager forced an awkward smile.
“Haha, I believe it’s something you’ve heard of—the auction scheduled for next week.”
At the word auction, the carriage I had seen earlier and Aljuro’s explanation came to mind.
“Why the auction…?”
Mistaking my question for interest, the manager eagerly continued.
“Officially, we’d like to hire you as a security mage for the auction.”
My eyes widened at the unexpected proposal.
“It’s nothing difficult. Simply attend the auction next week and remain present.”
For a moment, I found it suspicious that he would wipe out such a huge debt for so little, but his continued explanation made the reason clear.
In short, the auction next week was one of Midtown’s largest annual events, drawing high-ranking nobles.
Monteo Garden had financially backed it, and if the event gained enough buzz to attract more visitors, the profits would multiply. He wanted to use my name as a Great Mage as part of that publicity.
“The guild already assigned to security will handle everything. You simply need to grace the event with your presence.”
So he just wants to borrow my name.
Only then did one of my lingering questions resolve.
Why had Isabella, who had no money at all, been staying so long in the most expensive room of Monteo Garden?
Perhaps she had been waiting for exactly this kind of offer.
Her presence here during auction season hadn’t been a coincidence.
In a world where magic was common, a Great Mage was a never-ending source of money in many ways—especially someone like Isabella, who possessed both skill and beauty.
I folded my arms and kept my lips sealed for a long moment.
This was clearly an opportunity I had to seize.
But there was one enormous obstacle.
“Great Mage…?”
The manager, who had expected me to accept immediately, grew anxious at my silence.
I spoke calmly.
“Give me a moment to think. Bring another cup of tea. I don’t drink it once it’s gone cold.”
Blinking in surprise, he awkwardly stood and left. Only after confirming his back had turned did I start thinking rapidly.
The reason I hesitated, even with a chance to leave Monteo Garden right in front of me, wasn’t just because the request felt morally questionable.
The real problem was far more practical.
I couldn’t use magic at all.
From the moment I realized I had transmigrated into the body of the Great Mage Isabella, I had tried repeatedly to cast magic—but it was like handling a device I’d never seen before. I couldn’t do anything.
A Great Mage unable to use magic?
People would sooner call me a fraud or a witch.
Unable to hide my anxiety, my leg trembled. That was when a clause in the contract caught my eye—Article 5.
Though written in complex language, its meaning was simple: since a guild had already been hired for security, I would never be required to step in or face danger.
“….”
I was still staring at that line when the manager returned with a teapot.
“Have you reached a decision?”
If I refused here, I might really end up washing dishes at Monteo Garden.
The thought of being toyed with by this old fox was worse than death.
In truth, I had no real choice.
After a quiet sigh, I answered,
“I accept the proposal.”
His face lit up. He babbled about preparing the finest meal for me today before finally letting me leave.
The very next day, I headed straight to the public library in the center of Midtown.
Even if he promised I wouldn’t have to step in, life rarely went as planned.
Afraid someone might recognize me, I pulled my robe over my head and hurried inside like someone being chased. Since magic was so widespread, I assumed a large library would have theoretical books on magic.
As expected, there were several introductory texts. I gathered them and began reading.
Thanks to the language automatically being understood, reading itself wasn’t a problem—but I could hardly grasp the content.
The basics of magic began with sensing mana, storing it within the body, and manipulating it.
And apparently, I couldn’t even accomplish the most basic step: feeling mana at all.
The realization left me in despair.
“This is insane. Who would believe a Great Mage can’t even sense mana?”
In stories like this, transmigration usually came with buffs that made controlling mana as easy as breathing, didn’t it?
Frustrated, I buried my face in my palms.
Finishing this job would at least get me out of Monteo Garden, but what came after was already unclear.
Isabella was originally a wanderer.
Most people called her simply Isabella or “the Great Mage,” but she did have a family name—
Isabella Gwell, daughter of the Marquis Gwell.
“Of course, she hated talking about her family, so every man she got involved with ended up calling her just Isabella.”
“Isabella?”
“Yes, like that—”
My eyes widened as I lifted my head.
A blond man was looking down at me. I quickly pulled my robe tighter.
“….”
Seeing my expression that clearly asked How did you recognize me?, he smiled brightly.
“Even with a robe, hair as red and beautiful as a rose can’t be completely hidden.”
I frowned at the buttery compliment. He continued smoothly,
“You’ve been hiding in your room lately, and now we meet here. Perhaps it’s fate?”
He smiled familiarly, but I was certain I’d never seen him before.
Still, with his tall height, broad shoulders, and handsome face—exactly Isabella’s type—
he was probably just another fleeting one-night partner from before I possessed her body, like that coachman in the stable.
I cleared my throat awkwardly.
“I don’t bother remembering the faces of one-night partners.”
It was a line Isabella herself often used. The man looked embarrassed for a moment, then soon sent me a sticky gaze.
“Then perhaps we can consider today our first meeting.”
As he stepped closer, I instinctively leaned back.
He closed the distance again.
“I kept missing my nights with you, Isabella… didn’t you feel the same?”
The way he slowly loosened his collar made me imagine things I didn’t want to remember.
This—men constantly getting entangled with me—was the exact reason I couldn’t easily step outside Monteo Garden.
Whether it was due to the rumors Isabella had spread or simply the novel’s logic, men kept flocking to her.
And I knew all of this eventually led to Isabella’s death.
Her greedy lust even reached the male leads, tightening the noose around her own neck.
To avoid the novel’s flow, I had to treat men like people to be cared for, not indulged.
I had thought it wouldn’t be difficult, since it was me inside this body now—
but everywhere I went, it was the same situation.
Unaware of my inner turmoil, the blond man lowered his eyes pitifully and tried to charm me.
I shoved him away and bolted from my seat, fleeing the library.
