Chapter 12
‘Oh no, I must have come across as someone completely lacking in manners.’
I quickly lowered my hands onto my lap.
He was my benefactor—I should at least be polite.
“You both looked like nobles, but your clothes were so dirty that I thought maybe you were in an accident. Was it a car accident, by any chance?”
A dull thud came from beside me.
Po, who had been absorbed in his book until now, suddenly shut it.
With a tone of disbelief, he repeated my words.
“…Car?”
“…Was it not?”
Arno, who had been staring at me wide-eyed, turned to Po and said,
“That’s a decent name. It moves on its own, like an automatic carriage.”
“Yes, and it’s easy to understand at a glance. It could even work as a brand name.”
“If it succeeds, that is.”
Their voices grew more animated with excitement.
Arno turned to me to explain.
“That device doesn’t have a name yet, but if you’re referring to what you saw earlier, then yes, you’re right. If you don’t mind me asking—how did you know what it was?”
‘…So that thing didn’t even have a name yet?’
Then it must have been a prototype of a prototype.
I just repeated a slightly altered version of what Arno had said earlier.
“…It looked like a carriage, but there were no horses?”
“So you’re saying it was just a guess?”
Arno narrowed his eyes at me.
Even I had to admit—it sounded ridiculous.
I acted like I knew something that didn’t even exist in this world yet.
Maybe they thought I was an industrial spy?
“It just seemed that way, so I said it. More importantly, you said ‘if it succeeds’ earlier. So it’s still in development? Is success uncertain?”
I quickly changed the subject while rolling my eyes.
Po clamped his mouth shut, but Arno glanced at him and then spoke.
“That’s right. Right now, it’s just an interesting invention—nothing more. Actually, that device… well, the ‘automobile’—I’ve personally invested some funds in its development.”
He slightly smiled as he said ‘automobile’.
He seemed to like the name. With that smile, his entire face brightened.
The somewhat intimidating aura that had enveloped him disappeared.
“Today we were out testing a prototype. It didn’t even go a hundred feet before it broke down. It didn’t have brakes either, so the driver and passenger got slammed into the ground.”
Po frowned and nodded.
Now that I looked closely, there was a faint bluish bruise on his forehead.
They got into a car accident and ended up on the ground, but only ended up with torn clothes and a few bruises?
‘They must be pretty sturdy.’
I shivered as memories of my own accident flashed through my mind.
Po grumbled,
“He said it would run faster than most carriages, but it didn’t even have brakes. How am I supposed to trust a guy like this with my investments?”
“You absolutely must invest!”
Oops, I blurted that out without thinking.
Both men turned their eyes toward me.
Thanks to my memories from the other world, I knew just how big the automobile industry would become.
‘You’ll make back your investment and then some!’
Not to mention, it’s an invention that could change the world.
“If anything, I’d rather be the one investing.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
Arno folded his arms and leaned back in his seat.
He scanned me up and down with a defensive posture.
“Interesting.”
Oops—was that a mistake?
In this world, business and investments were strictly a man’s domain.
‘I really don’t want to be remembered for being weird or unusual.’
I hurried to explain.
“Oh, it’s not like I know much about business. I just thought it might be worth investing in something that doesn’t exist in the world yet.”
“Why are you going to the Duke’s estate?”
Arno suddenly threw out an unexpected question.
He was sitting with a relaxed posture, chin slightly raised, almost as if he was looking down on me—whether intentional or not.
I didn’t like that, so I replied sharply.
“I never said I was going to the Duke’s estate.”
“You did.”
“When?”
“At the restaurant earlier.”
When did I say that?
I furrowed my brows, trying to remember exactly what I said.
‘Let’s see… After Igor barged in, I was in a complete panic and only focused on him…’
Before that, I was only worried about Larisa’s well-being.
‘…Ah, right. I did briefly mention our plans to Larisa.’
I thought I’d been discreet and lowered my voice.
I scolded him in a pointed tone.
“That wasn’t very gentlemanly of you—eavesdropping on a private conversation. Isn’t it polite to pretend you didn’t hear?”
“So are you denying it? If not the Duke’s estate, then where are you going?”
“Well…”
I was at a loss for words.
I hadn’t expected anyone to ask about our destination, so I hadn’t prepared an excuse.
Ugh, guess I’ll just laugh it off.
I let out a loud, deliberate laugh.
“Well, you’re right. We’re actually going to meet the Duke.”
“You mean Duke Laurent? For what purpose?”
Why did that matter?
He probably wouldn’t believe me even if I told him the truth, so I answered in a joking tone.
“This little Larisa of ours is going to be His Grace’s fiancée someday. He’ll probably recognize her at first sight.”
Yes, the Duke really will fall for Larisa at first sight—in about three years.
‘I just hope he doesn’t delay it because it’s too early.’
Arno’s eyes widened at my words and then he burst out laughing.
It was a genuinely amused laugh.
Po, sitting beside him, also let out an awkward chuckle.
“Is that so?”
I hadn’t lied—not even a little—but it clearly came across as a humorous joke.
Arno was laughing so much that I couldn’t help but laugh along.
As we laughed, I turned to glance to the side.
All three of us were laughing, but Larisa hadn’t moved an inch from her spot, still staring out the window.
Even though we’d mentioned her name in our conversation.
Was the view outside really that interesting?
“Excuse me for a moment.”
I asked the men for a moment and turned to face Larisa.
“Larisa, how are you feeling?”
Thankfully, she didn’t ignore me completely.
She lowered the arm she had propped on the windowsill and slowly turned her head toward me.
“Is the train ride okay? Do you feel sick or have a headache?”
I added softly.
Larisa blinked twice and then turned back to the window.
‘Yeah… I guess I’ll have to get used to reactions like that.’
Still, as long as I couldn’t hear her thoughts, she must be doing okay.
I gently whispered to her.
“If you need to go to the bathroom, just let me know. If it’s hard to say it out loud, just tap my arm. I’ll go with you.”
Her reflection in the glass was blank and expressionless.
I let out a soft sigh as I looked at the round back of her head under the bonnet.
‘I want to pat her head… But I shouldn’t.’
If I startled her, she might react with fear again.
Just last night, she had trembled with fear when I merely reached out toward the handkerchief with some snacks in it.
“You seem to care deeply for your sister.”
Suddenly, Po spoke up.
When I turned back, I saw a warm glow in his brown eyes behind his glasses.
I didn’t know how to respond.
My face must have looked strange.
Marcia—or rather, I—had never cared for Larisa.
We had hardly even met.
‘In fact, I even sent people to beat her until she cried.’
My original plan had been to escape alone and live a quiet, comfortable life by myself.
But seeing such a young child doomed to endure three more years of abuse felt so pitiful and unfair that I’d taken her with me on impulse.
‘And I plan to hand her over to her future husband anyway…’
As I remained silent, Po looked at Larisa with gentle eyes and said,
“She seems to be quite shy.”
“She’s just a little unwell.”
Then I recalled the lie Igor had told earlier and added,
“It’s not some incurable disease where she has to take medicine every day. She just went through something very traumatic… So she needs a little care right now. She’ll get better soon.”
But even as I said it, I couldn’t help but feel unsure.
No one knows how long it takes to recover from severe trauma. Years? Decades?
In the end, the only thing I could rely on was the original story’s ending.
‘She’ll marry the prince and live happily ever after.’
That’s how the fairy tale went.
So surely, it wouldn’t take decades.
‘What Larisa probably needs most is the prince’s love.’
Just like in the original story, Duke Laurent would take good care of her.
At least, I wanted to believe that.
“Anyway, once she meets His Grace, she’ll get better in no time.”
I added playfully.
Then Arno’s expression twisted strangely, and he clenched his jaw.
It looked like he was trying to hold back a laugh—his voice even trembled a bit.
“My apologies. As a token of that, once we arrive at the Duke’s estate, I’ll help you get inside.”
“Haha, thank you.”
Po chimed in from the side.
“No, I’m not joking. I really will help.”
Huh? Was my guess earlier wrong?
‘Maybe they aren’t nobles, but people who work at the Duke’s estate?’
