~Chapter 14~
I don’t know if he realizes I’m currently struggling with the crushing sense that my lofty life goals are about to fail.
Right in front of me, the clearly not-so-average mercenary, Jin, was sitting on my chair, swinging his legs rudely while resting his chin on his hand and staring at me.
“Hm.
Great!”
Suddenly, Jin jumped to his feet with a bright smile and said to me,
“Let’s go to Cheloti, shall we?”
I frowned without even realizing it.
Cheloti? I tilted my head with a displeased expression, and Jin burst into hearty laughter, gave me a thumbs-up, and then said some nonsense.
“Isn’t it always darkest under the lamp? Haha! I heard there are a few orphanages near the Bessiel cult’s base.”
He winked at me.
“Surprised, Lady? No need to be! I, Jin Blake, the number one most charming mercenary in the capital, Golden Frog’s top earner last year, and the man people most want to meet again — naturally, I did some research in advance!”
He started rummaging around inside his coat and pulled out a piece of paper — a map.
“Lady, could you come over here for a moment?”
Jin spread the map out on the table.
“Ah, it keeps rolling back up since it was rolled. Haha.”
He grabbed a nearby empty cup and set it down on the map to hold it in place.
I looked at it and was a bit surprised to see it full of circles.
Wait… are all of those orphanages?
He looked into this beforehand?
“I looked into it as much as I could.
I think we should visit the orphanages along the way to Cheloti first.
I can’t guarantee your nephew’s in any of them, but it’s important to have a clear goal.”
Jin tapped the map with two fingers, then looked up at me and asked,
“You said you were in contact with your sister until the end, right?”
“Y-yeah, that’s right.”
I nodded, and he smiled gently and asked again,
“I was hoping to at least know your nephew’s name.”
I frowned a little.
It was strange.
I was being all shady and evasive, but he didn’t seem to care.
Maybe he wasn’t even curious what I was hiding.
It felt like he had some bigger purpose than just getting dragged along by me.
Could it be… because of his teacher?
I sighed and finally spoke.
“Damian Estella.
He has white hair and red eyes.
And he probably has Estella’s heirloom on him.
I told you, didn’t I?
My sister boldly took off with it.”
Jin’s eyes widened for a second, but then he shrugged like he already expected it.
“Oh, classic royal traits.”
Then his face instantly twisted into a sour expression.
“If you bring him to the capital, he’s going to cause quite a stir.
Yeah.”
I smiled at him calmly.
Is that something you should say about a kid?
Jin didn’t seem to care and gave me another bright thumbs-up.
“Well, your nephew’s lucky, at least.
Even with that dangerous bloodline, his aunt is going all out trying to find him.
He should know how lucky he is! Hahaha!”
Then his usual cheerful face dimmed a little.
“…Most people don’t realize that, you know?”
I couldn’t help glancing at him.
For some reason, he looked a little sad.
“Right? When you feed them and raise them, they should be grateful.
Don’t you think, Lady?”
He gave me a picture-perfect smile as he asked.
“Hmm.
I’m not sure.”
I shrugged.
I mean, I wasn’t grateful at all to the Count and Countess who raised me.
Honestly, ever since I was born into this world, I’ve viewed everything pessimistically.
His words kind of poked my conscience a little.
“And anyway, why would you expect something like that from a kid right from the start?
I’m not even planning to use him or anything.”
At that, Jin fell silent, looking at me seriously.
“…True.
That’s how it should be.”
Then, like flipping a switch, he returned to his cheerful self and started bustling around again.
“Anyway, it’s late today, so I think you should rest for now.
I’ll arrange the carriage tomorrow morning.
With that, I’ll take my leave!”
Jin winked and happily skipped out of the room.
Left alone, I looked at the map he left behind.
How many circles are there on this tiny map?
I grabbed the map and collapsed onto the bed.
Then I just tossed the map over my face.
“Ugh… I still need to find a marriage partner too.”
I slowly blinked. Honestly, I started wondering: in this second life of mine, was pouring everything into the male lead just to survive really the right move?
I wanted to live.
Badly.
But living in this world with memories of a past life… it was basically torture.
I loved my past life too much.
So in this world, I always felt like an outsider.
And now that I remembered the full plot of the original story?
It was even worse.
It felt like someone hammered in the final nail in the coffin of my second life.
God, I want to cry.
But I couldn’t.
I had already given up on this chaotic second life long ago.
“Someone worthy of the male lead, huh…”
A few names of prominent merchant families passed through my head.
I’d need to pick someone dumb who’d listen to me well.
But guys like that are rare.
Dumb ones often don’t know their place and try to act all high and mighty.
My head was getting all tangled with thoughts.
Jin, meanwhile, put on his leather gloves and slicked back his hair.
Even though we were in the Reton Church’s territory, women passing by were obviously staring at him.
But Jin didn’t care at all.
He puffed his chest out proudly and picked up my luggage.
“The road to Cheloti is a bit rough.
You’re aware of that, right?”
“Yeah, I know.”
I was feeling serious too.
Honestly, I didn’t even sleep last night.
How could I?
I’m about to march into the hidden area of a cult.
Now that I have a general outline of the plot in mind, I can’t help but be nervous.
Why?
Because no matter how I think about it, the reason Raniel died after hiding the male lead in some random orphanage… must be because the cult found her.
If the Bessiel cult noticed the male lead’s magical powers, they’d have definitely kidnapped him immediately.
But in the original story, they only show up after the male lead blows up the orphanage.
So clearly, they didn’t manage to kidnap him. Raniel successfully hid him somewhere safe.
“…By the way, most people avoid anything related to the Bessiel cult, right?
So why are you so eager to help, even knowing my situation?
Is this just professional duty?”
I frowned and stared at Jin.
He still had that same relaxed expression, which made it all the more ridiculous.
“Huh? Well… should I be running away instead?”
Jin grinned mischievously and leaned toward me.
“Since we’re already tangled up with the royal family, a little cult drama on top doesn’t make that much difference, does it?”
“…”
Then he winked at me.
“Just kidding.”
I just stared at him blankly.
So light.
He’s so light…!
“Well, obviously, it’s professional duty! You don’t get to the top of this industry by slacking off!”
Jin crossed his arms and let out a cheerful laugh.
Even so, I wasn’t feeling great.
Because, like he said, things had gotten worse.
If the people who are after the male lead find out I’m looking for him?
‘What do you think they’ll do? Obviously, kill me first.’
