WHFIO 22

Chapter 22

When Elses kept urging them, the two who had been hesitating and glancing at each other reluctantly brought their utensils and sat at the table.

At first, they were awkward and could barely eat, but when they noticed that Elses didn’t seem particularly displeased, they slowly began to eat their meal.

After finishing the rare peaceful dinner together, Elses stood up from her seat with a satisfied look.

Lenny and Madam Mars followed her to the entrance to see her off.

“Well then, I’ll be going.”

“Please don’t do anything too dangerous.”

Elses had told Lenny and Madam Mars that she was doing odd jobs for the guild that paid well.

“It’s already shocking enough that a noble lady works for the guild—if they found out I was hunting monsters alone, they’d probably faint.”

Smiling brightly, Elses decided she’d keep that secret to herself from now on too.

“Mm-hmm, don’t worry.”

As they watched Elses step out the front door, Madam Mars whispered quietly to Lenny.

“Lately… it feels like our lady has become someone else entirely.”

“I think so too.”

“They say people change after going through great hardship, but I never imagined she’d change this much…”

“Still, isn’t the lady better these days?”

At Lenny’s question, Madam Mars recalled Elses’ appearance just moments ago.

Indeed, Elses now looked brighter and livelier than before.

“Yes, you’re right. Somehow… I can’t help but want to cheer her on.”

While the two were talking and thinking such thoughts, a carriage stopped right in front of Elses, who was leaving the mansion.

“My, Elses. What on earth are you wearing, young lady? Where do you think you’re going dressed like that?”

The woman who stepped out of the carriage was Elses’ aunt, Baroness Hervan.

The baroness frowned when she saw Elses wearing a tunic and trousers—comfortable clothing instead of a noblewoman’s dress.

Elses’ expression also hardened as she faced her.

“What brings you here?”

“I came because I was worried about you. I heard your butler was caught embezzling and got dismissed recently?”

“Ah, so you’ve come to fill the vacancy, then?”

“Yes. You never received proper lessons as the head of a house, and you don’t even know how to manage property, do you?”

Catching on to her intentions, Elses replied with a sarcastic tone, but the baroness, oblivious to the mockery in her words, smiled foolishly and added,

“Isn’t it better to leave things to blood relatives rather than to some untrustworthy stranger? Surely, you don’t think I’d ever harm my only niece.”

Elses looked at the baroness’ eyes, gleaming with greed, and gave a crooked smile.

They were exactly like her uncle’s eyes in her previous life—at her grandmother’s funeral, when he had lusted after her inheritance.

Disgusting. Repulsive.

“So you came all this way because you smelled money and thought you could manipulate me. You can try all you want, but I’ll never hand over my fortune to you. Don’t bother coming again.”

The baroness faltered for a moment, then recovered and snapped back indignantly.

“Are you implying I’m some money-crazed woman?”

“Am I wrong?”

“You’re terribly mistaken. That fortune means nothing to me. Once He returns, those things will have no value anyway.”

‘He?’

Elses narrowed her eyes, arms crossed, as she looked at the baroness.

It was the kind of line only a cult follower would say.

‘There are cults in this world too?’

Elses briefly wondered but quickly dismissed the thought.
Whether the baroness believed in a god or a demon—it didn’t matter to her.

“In that case, please stop worrying about whether your insolent niece loses or grows that worthless fortune.”

With a flat tone, Elses brushed past the baroness.

“Elses! That’s not what I meant—!”

The baroness hastily grabbed her arm, spinning her around. But Elses turned back as if she’d already expected the move.

Her gaze, colder than ever, fixed on the baroness.

Leaning close to her ear, Elses whispered,

“Coming around like this, coveting your niece’s wealth…”

Her icy voice slid into the baroness’s ear.

“…is really pathetic. You know that, right?”

The baroness instinctively shrank back at the newfound intimidation in Elses’ demeanor.

The primal fear of strength—and the humiliation that followed—engulfed her.

“Don’t ever come here again.”

With those cold words, Elses brushed past her and walked away.

Left behind, the baroness gripped her trembling hands tightly around her dress as she glared at Elses’ retreating figure.

‘Arrogant little brat… You’ll regret this soon enough.’

When He returned, she thought, she’d make sure of it.

The guild district was already bustling that morning with people eager to accept quests.

Watching them, Elses mentally went over her plans for the day.

‘First, I’ll take Cassian’s Mamarung quest and clear it. Then, in the evening, I’ll sell the monster core and roots I got yesterday.’

Just making a plan made her feel like her purse was already heavier.

Truly, money was the essential ingredient for happiness.

‘I should have enough to live comfortably for now, but the real problem is information about the Demon Lord’s power…’

She could probably look again in the temple’s library once the repairs were done—but the Mage Tower was a different story.

Cassian had some connection with Rasiel, but judging by the situation, that lead seemed faint.

‘I can only hope the temple holds the answers I need.’

As she sorted through her thoughts and arrived in front of the guild—

Lurti, from inside her pouch, suddenly perked her ears with a grave expression and muttered,

“…Something’s coming.”

“Huh? What is?”

“Something ominous!”

No sooner had Lurti spoken than a carriage stopped in front of the guild.

A moment later, the door opened—and a man wearing a black cloak stepped out.

Sensing movement nearby, he turned—and under the dark hood of his cloak, golden hair gleamed.

It was Asteor.

His blue eyes widened slightly in surprise when he spotted Elses, then curved into crescent shapes as he smiled brightly.

“What a coincidence, meeting you here again.”

At the same time, Elses’ eyes trembled.

‘Asteor…?’