~Chapter 3~
Honestly, the fact that this world doesn’t have credit cards? Totally a blessing.
At least now the Count has no way of tracking where I spend my money, right?
Sure, using physical gold coins instead of paper money is ridiculous and super heavy, so my bags almost weighed a ton—but it wasn’t too bad in the end.
Luckily, I had already bought a space-expanding magic bag in the territory for 5,000 gold coins, which is like 5 million won in Korean money.
Thanks to that, I could cut down the weight quite a bit.
“Miss, seriously, I don’t think this is a good idea.
Wouldn’t it be better to just tell the Count? This is way too dangerous!”
Catherine, wearing a cloak, was clutching my money tightly while stamping her feet nervously.
“What, do you think I’m trying to kill a kid or something? Do I look like that kind of monster to you?”
She couldn’t even argue with me and just kept her mouth shut, eventually handing the money over.
Of course, even with a magic bag, it’s not like I can just carry around gold coins openly.
I had to convert about 80% of them into magic scrolls—they’re way lighter and easy to sell for cash if needed.
I made sure to get various types so I could sell them anywhere.
Thankfully, the Estella family had a long line of talented mages, so the territory had a bunch of magic shops.
A bit pricey, sure, but it was necessary for safety.
“Anyway, once you get to the capital, contact me.
Pretend you’re looking for a family heir or something.
And go ahead—spend as much of the Count’s money as you want. It’s not even mine.”
I took back my money and handed Catherine a transformation artifact, waving her off.
Honestly, the whole thing didn’t feel real.
I mean, am I seriously running away from home just to find the male lead? I didn’t even do this kind of thing when I was a kid!
Is this all in my head? No… reality keeps smacking me in the face, so I guess not.
I almost cursed out loud, but I held it in. I’m still a noble lady, after all.
And anyway, when a problem shows up, you have to deal with it right
away—otherwise it just turns into a bigger mess. The sooner the better!
—
Figuring out how to get to the capital wasn’t that hard.
The Estella territory was surprisingly reasonable for this kind of fantasy world.
Unlike my frustrating home life, the Count was actually a pretty competent guy.
What do they say? People are two-faced.
In this case, it meant the Count was an extreme efficiency freak, so he was actually good at his job—unusual for a noble.
Thanks to that, it wasn’t a bad place for a woman to travel alone from.
The security was decent too.
I pulled my cloak tighter around me against the chilly wind and kept shivering.
‘Ugh, seriously, what kind of nonsense is this?’
The carriage to the capital finally started moving, and the bumpy ride instantly made me feel sick.
‘Should’ve paid extra for a nicer ride…’
But I shook my head.
Even after selling off jewelry and saving up a nice stash, I was barely scraping enough together to hire an informant.
If I was going to spend money, it had to be worth it—like hiring someone from the biggest guild in the empire: Golden Frog.
From what I know, they used to be a mercenary group, but about 10 years ago, they switched over to doing adventurer and intel work, and now they’re the top all-purpose guild in the empire.
Naturally, their fees are crazy high.
And if the job’s top secret? The price doubles.
‘Ugh, now I feel even worse.’
I glanced around the inside of the carriage with half-dead eyes.
Maybe because of the awkward timing, there weren’t many passengers.
Just one big dude in a cloak like me, two farmers, and me.
Yup—only girl here.
It made me feel a bit tense.
Even though this was technically my second life, I’d never left home all by myself before.
I tried to shrink into the corner of the carriage to be less noticeable.
Even if I got on safely, reaching the capital in one piece was a whole different story.
The law and order in this world is… well, let’s just say it’s not great.
It’s not rare for people to get attacked by bandits on the road.
And yeah, don’t forget—this world also has monsters.
Honestly, looking at it now, I must’ve lost my mind to run away like this.
I mean, yeah, I wanna live, but does it really have to be this extreme?
And then—
“Whoa, whoa!”
Screech—! The carriage suddenly stopped. The driver yelled from outside.
“We’re taking a break here.
Looks like there’s something wrong with the wheel.”
Huh? We barely got started.
I peeked out the window.
We were smack in the middle of the Lebran Forest, which led to the capital.
Well, the carriage did look old.
No rubber on the wheels, dirt roads—it was kind of a miracle it didn’t break sooner.
I sighed heavily.
“Huh.
Didn’t sound like anything broke, though.”
The big guy in front mumbled, and I looked over at him.
He lowered his hat, walked right over to me—and I got stunned for a second.
Jet black hair, piercing blue eyes.
It had been a while since I saw someone this ridiculously good-looking.
He noticed my brief shock and gave me a confident smile.
Then he stuck his head out the window and casually said,
“Need help with anything?”
The coachman answered bluntly.
“None of your business.
It’s just a small fix, don’t bother.”
I frowned. Geez, he was just trying to be nice.
The guy just shrugged and wandered back to his seat like nothing happened.
He looked thoughtful, rubbing his chin with his gloved hand.
“Hm.”
His gaze stayed fixed outside, but for some reason, I couldn’t stop looking his way.
Maybe because in this tense, silent carriage, he was acting so chill. It just stood out.
“Ugh… what a pain.”
He clicked his tongue, sprawled out on the bench, and stared at the ceiling.
He started casually fiddling with the sword hanging from his waist.
And then—
BAM! The whole carriage suddenly dropped.
“KYAAAH!!”
I screamed without even thinking.
The carriage door flew open, and masked men burst in with swords drawn.
What the—?!
“Drop your weapons!”
Are you kidding me?! An actual ambush?!
I’m cursed or something?! This isn’t even Korea—where’s the bad luck coming from?!
“I was really hoping for a quiet trip, but nooo, of course not.”
The guy let out an annoyed sigh and stood up.
He wagged his finger like he was bored and said,
“Out of all places, they try this near the Estella estate? What, is this some ‘hide in plain sight’ tactic or something?”
“…Can’t you see what’s happening?”
One of the thugs immediately shoved a sword right up to his neck.
“Oh, you wanna do this?”
My jaw dropped.
Why is he so calm with a sword at his neck?!
Meanwhile, reality hit me like a truck—I shivered.
I mean, I’ve been hit by cars, but never threatened at swordpoint!
Damn it.
I didn’t want to waste my scrolls, but it looks like I have to.
I glanced around.
The two farmer guys were frozen in fear—totally useless.
Guess I’m the only one here who can actually do something.
I may have only learned super practical magic, but I am the daughter of the Estella family—a noble mage family.
Time to live up to that, I guess…!
“Aaaack!”
But just as I was picking out a scroll, someone screamed—and I froze.
What I saw in front of me?
That calm guy, standing tall.
The thugs? All on their knees.
“Tch. I really hate walking.”
He had taken down three of them—one with his foot, one with his hand, and the last with his knee.
He looked completely unbothered as he twisted the arm of the guy who’d held a sword to his neck.
