WHFIO05

Chapter 5

The next day, before heading to the temple, Elses decided to have a combined breakfast and lunch.

The meal was lavish: venison seasoned with spices, salad sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, and golden egg tarts.

She noticed Lerti’s eyes sparkling at the sight of the egg tarts, and so she sent Lenny away on an errand. The moment Lenny left, Lerti immediately reached for one, and Elses couldn’t help but watch in surprise.

“You don’t even need to eat food, do you?”

“Do you humans eat only to survive? Sometimes you eat just to feel good.”

Lerti shoved the egg tart into his mouth in one bite and mumbled through full cheeks:

“Humans kept this so delicous thing to themselves all along? I can’t help but feel bitter.”

Elses silently agreed. Human food really was delicious.

Still, as she looked at the luxurious spread, unease stirred at the back of her mind.

‘She said the house only recently paid off its debts… Isn’t this sort of meal a little extravagant for their finances?’

The food was good, but the thought left a faint anxiety in her chest.

‘Once I return from the temple, I need to review the financial situation.’

After all, whether in this world or her previous one, money remained the most important thing for survival.

Once she had eaten her fill, Elses changed into comfortable trousers and a tunic, tucked Lerti safely inside her jacket pocket, and headed downstairs.

But as she descended to the first floor, she noticed the lobby was unusually noisy. From the landing, she saw the butler locked in a heated argument with a middle-aged noblewoman she did not recognize.

“Butler, what’s going on?”

Before the butler could answer, the lady spotted Elses and immediately lit up, hurrying over to seize her hand.

Though unsettled by a stranger grabbing her so familiarly, Elses kept quiet to gauge the situation.

“Elses, my dear! Rhianna is getting married soon.”

“…Rhianna?”

“And of course, when a young woman marries, she must bring a dowry with her. Won’t you prepare something for her? It would help her stand proudly before her new family.”

Elses stared blankly. She had no idea who this woman was—nor who Rhianna was.

The butler, alarmed, quickly stepped between them.

“Milady, please, you mustn’t. The estate’s finances are already strained as it is…”

He turned toward the noblewoman and protested firmly.

“Baroness, you already took a large sum just last month under the same pretense of your daughter’s marriage.”

“And now that the marriage has been arranged, the dowry is more necessary than ever! Stay out of this—this is family business.”

The two bickered while Elses watched, unimpressed. Finally, she asked dryly:

“Butler, who is this woman?”

The question stunned them both.

The Baroness faltered, staring as though she hadn’t heard correctly. But Elses’s expression was serious—she truly didn’t recognize her.

Recovering quickly, the woman arranged her face into a look of exaggerated pity and brushed her hand against Elses’s cheek.

“Oh, heavens. Has the shock of your father’s death made you forget even your only aunt’s face?”

Ah.

Elses finally understood who she was dealing with.

At once, images from her past life flashed before her eyes—an uncle drowning in debt, an aunt who shamelessly begged their grandmother for money to send her daughter abroad, wielding tears like weapons.

Blood relatives who used “family” as an excuse to treat money as their own. How tiresome.

Elses coldly brushed the woman’s hand away.

“Ah, so you’re my aunt. Forgive me, you spoke of money so abruptly I mistook you for a beggar.”

“A—A beggar? How can you say such a cruel thing to your aunt!”

The Baroness looked truly wounded, but Elses only regarded her with detached disinterest.

After all, what kind of relative prioritized money over the welfare of a niece who had just lost her father a month ago?

“Rhianna’s marriage, I congratulate her. I’ll send a wedding gift on the day itself.”

“A wedding gift is not what I asked for. I meant a proper dowry placed directly into Rhianna’s hands. You used to be so quick to understand—why so roundabout now? Must your aunt’s pride be trampled in this way?”

Now tears were falling. But neither Elses, nor the butler, nor even Lenny, looked moved.

“Did you leave money with me, Aunt?”

“Th-That’s not what I meant—!”

“Then there’s nothing more to say. I won’t be giving you any money, so please leave. Handle your daughter’s marriage with your own means—I have my own life to worry about.”

Elses turned to go, but the Baroness grabbed her arm roughly in anger.

“You’ll be Duchess of Littenhaus one day! Is it really so hard to help your cousin with her wedding expenses? How can you be so heartless?”

Elses froze.

‘…Duchess of Littenhaus? Me?’

The name rang faintly familiar. One of the five ducal houses of the Artes Empire.

In the past, Ruel—the original owner of Elssez’s body—had known little about the nobility, being preoccupied with nurturing heroes. But Elses did remember one detail: all five dukes had been old men well past their prime.

‘Surely the viscount didn’t sell his only daughter off to some dying old man…? Still, from what I’ve heard, he wasn’t much of a father. It’s not impossible.’

As she mulled over this disturbing revelation, Lenny leaned closer and whispered:

“Miss… Perhaps it would be wiser to give the Baroness a small sum. Who knows what she might spread about you in society if you don’t?”

The butler immediately snapped, offended:

“Lenny, you don’t understand. Our finances are far too precarious right now!”

“Enough, both of you.”

Elses silenced them with a sharp word. She had no intention of siding with either one, nor of handing her aunt any money.

She pried the Baroness’s hand off her arm.

“Whether I become duchess or crown princess, that doesn’t give you the right to extort money from me, Aunt.”

“Extort? How dare you—this is family helping family—!”

“I’m busy, so this conversation ends here. Butler, please see her out.”

“Elses!”

Ignoring her aunt’s cry, Elses strode out of the house.

The Baroness’s shrill voice faded behind her, but Elses’s thoughts were already elsewhere.

‘The Duke of Littenhaus…’

Her supposed fiancé.

‘Could the titleholder have changed in the past three years?’

She would have to investigate after her visit to the temple.

The temple stood at the heart of the capital.

At the entrance, guards carried out routine inspections. Elses tensed inwardly, worried they might detect the demonic power within her, but the knights waved her through without suspicion.

“You may enter. Thank you for your cooperation.”

“Not at all.”

She smiled easily and passed inside.

As always, the temple was crowded with worshippers. That was when Lerti slipped quietly from her pocket and whispered:

“Five candies. Don’t forget.”

The price for keeping his mouth shut during the inspection.

Elses sighed. In a single day, she had already learned the art of bargaining with this troublesome little rabbit.

“Fine. But stay quiet here, all right? No drawing attention.”

“Hmph. Unlike humans, I keep my promises.”

With that, he nestled back into her pocket.

Elses wandered through the temple, noting the many new buildings added since her last visit three years ago. When she reached the great chapel, she deliberately turned away.

‘If Asteor is officiating today’s service, I’d best avoid him.’

Instead, she headed deeper into the complex toward where the library had once been. But when she arrived, a different building stood in its place.

“Strange… I could’ve sworn it was here. Did they move it?”

She wandered in confusion until she spotted a holy knight entering a nearby building. Elses quickened her pace to catch him.

“Sir, may I—”

But the knight seemed in a hurry and vanished inside, not hearing her.

The door remained ajar, and through the narrow opening she caught a glimpse of what lay beyond.

The pristine white walls bathed in sunlight radiated a sacred aura. But amidst that sanctity was a jarring sight—red, dark, and wet.

Blood.

A body lay sprawled across the spotless floor, a pool of crimson spreading around it. A sword, its tip dripping with fresh blood, hung heavy from its wielder’s hand.

Her eyes followed the blade upward to the man holding it.

Golden hair gleamed under the light. Cold, ice-blue eyes stared down at the corpse without a flicker of emotion.

Asteor.

✨ End of Chapter 5