MPAWD 53

Chapter 53

From that moment on, Lucy had no idea how she managed to focus on her sewing.

All that occupied her mind was how to catch this man’s attention—nothing else mattered.

Perhaps because of that, or maybe because Lucy had overestimated her sewing skills, the sleeve of the finished shirt had become noticeably shorter.

“I’m not very good at sewing… I’ll pay for the shirt! Oh, or should we go buy one together?”

Lucy blurted out in desperation, trying to ensure she could see Shan again somehow.

“No, it’s fine.”

But he left abruptly, as if fleeing, without another word.

On the day she departed for the Kingdom of Colin, Lucy broke into a sweat trying to calm both Count Raiford and Heyris, who couldn’t stop worrying.

“Lucy, please take care of yourself. I suppose there’s no stopping you now that you insist on going, but if anything happens to you, how could I face Valencia later?”

It was a worry he voiced frequently ever since learning that Lucy was Valencia’s daughter.

“I’ll be careful! Don’t worry.”

Lucy took his hand and smiled reassuringly.

“If anything difficult comes up, get help from Michael, who’s responsible. I’ve already informed him, so he’ll take care of it.”

“Make sure you always stay with the mercenaries I told you about!”

Heyris had specifically asked the female mercenaries hired for this escort to protect Lucy.

“Thanks! I’ll be fine!”

Though she had grown more fearful of riding after her fall, Lucy smiled brightly without showing it and waved from atop her horse.

Heyris had hired many mercenaries to ensure the safety of this trade mission.

As expected, Shan was also a mercenary hired to escort this merchant caravan.

I will definitely make sure to hire Shan and bring him back.

Lucy’s goal was to ensure the caravan reached the Kingdom of Colin safely. From what she had learned, Shan’s mercenary contract was limited to that.

Then I need to win him over before we reach the Kingdom of Colin!

Her resolve flared up for the first time in a long while.

Until now, Lucy had never carefully reviewed the story of the novel from beginning to end. Since awakening in this body, her only thought had been to escape the hellish circumstances around her.

After that, the events of the novel no longer mattered to her.

I forgot all about the novel’s story as I tried to adapt to this strange world…

Only after meeting Shan did she realize that the characters in the original story were still living according to their roles, even at this very moment.

It’s a little ironic.

Lucy murmured to herself with a cynical smile as she rode her horse. She found it amusing that, having just accepted this as reality, she was now thinking of it again as the world of a novel.

As she rode slowly, she tried to recall the details of the story.

The heroine, Joanna, had two or three followers besides the male lead, Edwin. Though there were only a few significant secondary characters, Joanna was confident and socially skilled, and many people followed her.

They later played a major role in leading the villainous Lucy to the gallows.

At first, Lucy thought that since she no longer had any connection with them, she needn’t worry about execution.

But now, having met Shan, she grew anxious.

I don’t want to just stand by and watch that man become Joanna’s ally.

She wanted to take him for herself.

In truth, she wanted revenge on the original story’s characters who had humiliated her and would later try to kill her.

No, more than that—I want to completely ruin the original story. Somehow, I feel like I can do it now!

For some reason, Lucy was convinced of this.

In the original story, Shan was kind to Joanna but showed little emotion, making it hard to read his thoughts.

He had a working relationship with her, acting as her right hand.

Lucy recalled that there had been nothing remarkable about the circumstances that made him fall for Joanna. He had some fear of something unusual, but Joanna seemed unbothered by it.

Regardless, he was charmed by her bravery in saving him from it—a ridiculous reason—but the important thing was that Lucy could not remember what that “something” actually was.

Was it a small animal? Or an insect? If I knew what it was, I could make Shan fall for me instead!

After endless pondering, Lucy decided to rely on her looks.

Though it was baseless pride, she resolved to use every possible method.

The caravan stopped in a wide field for lunch, beginning to prepare their meal.

Lucy unpacked some fruit she had prepared before leaving and looked around.

She spotted Shan, sitting alone some distance away, eating bread.

“Shan! You’re here. Come eat with me.”

Placing the food she had brought in front of him, she moved close and sat beside him.

He shifted slightly to make distance, clearly uncomfortable.

“Don’t just eat bread—have this too.”

Following her practice from the night before, she smiled brightly and offered him some milk.

“Water is enough,” he said, ignoring her and taking another bite of bread.

“Then at least try this fruit. I packed it before leaving, and it’s fresh, so we should eat it quickly.”

“I’m fine. Share it with the others,” Shan replied.

Lucy forced a small, embarrassed smile, hiding her disappointment.

If only he had looked at me, I could use my charm! How can he not even glance once?

Shan never once turned his head toward her while she sat beside him.

“Ah! A bug!”

A plump insect crawled past her on the grass. Lucy jumped in surprise but, gritting her teeth, swatted it away with her bare hand.

The strange sensation on her palm made her shiver.

When she looked at Shan, he was frowning at her.

Yeah, this isn’t working…

He did not look impressed with her bravery.

From then on, Lucy lingered near him whenever possible, taking down insects—starting with butterflies, then spiders, and even bees.

On rainy days, she threw worms and frogs away in front of him.

After about three days, Shan began avoiding her blatantly.

Days passed, but her relationship with Shan grew no closer, and Lucy’s frustration burned like fire.

Despite her vow to become a villain and use her beauty to manipulate people, her first attempt at charm continually failed.

Why don’t I have any of those special abilities other possessed by other possessors? It’s so unfair!

Lucy grumbled internally about her life as a possessed person, where nothing was easy.

Well, I did have a secret birth… maybe that counts as a privilege?

She shook her head.

No, that was a right I deserved! Baron Dialo stole it from me. No wonder something felt off from the start!

Even in the novel, there was no way Baron Dialo would have abused his own daughter so cruelly.

Ha, I should just be grateful he didn’t abandon me!

Thinking of everything the Baron had done to her filled Lucy with anger.

The novel’s story was a minefield for me—I deserve at least one cheat key!

Yet, even winning over just Shan was so difficult.

Was this world only generous to him regarding the heroine?

If there’s a god, at least give me a fair chance too!

Although she had found her real family and reclaimed her status, that was all.

Count Raiford’s family and the Pablo caravan were struggling financially.

This only made Lucy more determined. She vowed once again to survive in this harsh world—successfully and happily.

And I’ll do it very happily!