Chapter 3
It wasn’t just “a few” gold coins falling.
It was like a dam burst—gold coins were pouring down endlessly behind the man.
Of course, it was only a vision, so the coins didn’t actually pile up on the floor.
Gold coins falling means…
In the original novel, the villainess Niveia—in other words, me—had a special ability mentioned several times.
That ability was:
If someone would bring me good luck, I would see gold coins falling behind them.
If someone would bring me misfortune, I would see lightning striking behind them.
As expected.
Everything I saw as a child… must have been this ability.
Long ago, when I was young and knew nothing, I once saw gold coins falling behind a woman.
Back then, the coins fell sparsely, not as wildly as now, but even then I thought something was strange and wondered if I was hallucinating.
I eventually concluded I was seeing things—and drank every “good medicinal tonic” I could find.
That woman from back then… she’s really famous now, isn’t she?
If I remembered correctly, she later discovered cures for incurable and rare diseases.
She became extremely successful.
I didn’t know it back then, but now I realized…
I had completely missed an enormous blessing.
So, thinking again:
If the woman who only had a faint gold-glow ended up developing a cure the whole empire desperately needed…
Then what about this man, with gold coins pouring down like a waterfall?
To the world, he must be a great benefactor.
To me, he was a walking jackpot, someone I absolutely must not miss.
Even something small he does will definitely bring huge benefits!
And then, beyond the golden glow, I finally saw his face.
A very handsome face.
No wonder everyone is staring at him.
The man was calmly viewing a painting—like he belonged inside the painting himself.
His warm wheat-colored hair and eyes, flawless features, serene expression, and long gloved hands…
If a nine-tailed fox spirit took human form to seduce people, it would look exactly like him.
Why have I never seen him before?
His appearance was unforgettable, even at a glance.
Maybe I did bump into him once, but I was too focused on art to care about people.
Well… that’s possible.
I liked receiving attention, but I never really paid attention to others.
But today, things were different.
I could not let luck walk away right in front of me.
I quickly grabbed Selly, who was following behind me like a secretary, and asked quietly:
“Who is that man over there?”
Selly always knew the latest gossip, so she was the perfect person to ask.
She blinked in surprise, then whispered back—barely louder than an ant:
“You don’t know, my lady? He’s so famous that there’s hardly anyone who doesn’t know him!”
I nodded silently.
“That is the man who became the youngest master of the Magic Tower.”
Ah.
In simple terms—he was the Tower Master.
The Master of the Magic Tower…
From the little I knew:
He rarely left the Tower
It was nearly impossible to see his face in public
And from what I recalled of the novel:
He was one of the villains.
His name was Etienne, eldest son of Duke Orte.
He had given up his easy successor position to his younger sister but claimed the Tower Master title instead.
Everyone assumed he lived freely after that, but his troubles soon began.
The princess of a neighboring kingdom became obsessed with him, and his parents pressured him to marry her.
And eventually, he does get married.
Even if he wasn’t going to inherit the dukedom, his parents forced marriage on him—and the chosen bride was that same princess.
Their marriage was unhappy from the start.
Afterward, he acted recklessly:
He openly brought a mistress in front of the princess to humiliate her
He stirred conflict between the main characters
He abused all the authority of the Tower Master to pressure others
Almost as if trying to show his parents the “maximum rebellion” possible.
He caused so many problems that he sometimes hindered the main characters’ journey.
In the end, his fate wasn’t even properly described—the novel simply stopped mentioning him.
That was all I knew so far.
Then my mind finished calculating everything in an instant.
What if… I marry him instead?
The original story hadn’t started yet—meaning Etienne wasn’t married.
He must still be trying to escape that forced marriage.
Even if I don’t flee the country, marrying this walking pile of gold—no, this great benefactor—would be perfect.
Even if it was a fake marriage, I would still have a powerful husband and a lifetime lucky charm beside me.
And he would also benefit:
He wouldn’t have to marry the woman he wants to avoid
He could escape his parents’ pressure
A win-win fake marriage.
When an idea comes, act immediately.
I didn’t hesitate and took out my admission ticket.
“Selly, hand me that.”
I whispered for a pen.
Back when money overflowed, whenever I liked a painting, I would write a memo on the ticket so the exhibition would reserve it for me after the event.
Because of that habit, Selly always carried paper and a pen.
“Here you are, my lady.”
I took the pen and flipped the ticket over.
The front had golden decorations, but the back was pure white—perfect for writing.
Let’s create a chance to meet Etienne.
With the elegant handwriting my tutors always praised, I wrote something quickly.
Then I put the ticket and pen back into Selly’s hands.
“Deliver this to the Tower Master’s room. Make sure it gets mixed in with his mail.”
Whether he read it or not was up to him.
“Go on, Selly.”
“Y-yes, my lady. I’ll take care of it.”
She looked confused but trusted I had a plan, so she left to do the task.
The die was cast.
Now all I had to do was wait.
So I calmly returned to viewing the exhibition.
***
At the Magic Tower – Top Floor
In the private room only the Tower Master could use, Etienne returned from the exhibition and began tidying his messy room with magic.
Then he spotted something strange.
Mine is here… so why is there another one?
Between boring letters labeled “Request for Cooperation,” he noticed something unique:
A ticket from the exhibition he’d just visited.
It had the exact same golden design and emblem as the one still in his pocket.
Whose ticket is this?
And how did it end up here?
Curious, he picked it up.
On the bottom was the name of the owner:
Niveia Loren
A name everyone knew.
To Etienne, it was also a meaningful name—part of his memories.
Wondering if there was anything more, he flipped to the back.
Then he saw something that shocked him.
You didn’t know this? A top-secret way to escape the world’s most annoying marriage!
Avoid marriage pressure easier than drinking water!
It was written as if someone had peeked directly into his heart.
Etienne burst into laughter.
“Hah! You seem to have a lot more fun in life than I do, hm?”
Just then, a tired, dark-eyed man—Etienne’s subordinate—spoke to him.
He looked like he hadn’t slept in days.
“Oh, it’s fun. Very fun. Where else would I find something more entertaining than this?”
The subordinate, Damian, shivered.
His boss spoke politely to everyone, but his thoughts were always unreadable—exactly like now.
Etienne said, “Since I received something amusing, I should send a reply.”
He took out his own ticket, wrote something on the back, then handed it to Damian.
“I want this delivered to the second daughter of House Loren. Can you handle it?”
Even someone trapped in the Tower like Damian knew who she was.
He couldn’t help wondering—Did his boss know her personally?
Why send something like this to her?
Etienne smiled slyly.
“I’ll pay you this much for the job. Fair?”
It was an absurdly high price—for just delivering a letter.
He’s trying to buy me with money again!
But the only thing that came out of Damian’s mouth was absolute loyalty:
“I’ll do it! Absolutely! Leave it to me, Tower Master! Please give me this job!”
Damian’s other nickname was “the man who would do anything for money.”
Etienne knew this well.
He tapped Niveia’s ticket on the desk with his finger.
Should I go see her face?
He pictured her honey-blonde hair and wine-colored eyes.
Before he realized it, a soft smile crossed his lips.
He suddenly wanted to see her—the “Diamond of High Society,” his long-standing first love.
