Chapter 33
The price of tulips plummeted day by day, and terrified investors began panic selling both bulbs and flowers. The more they sold, the faster the prices spiraled out of control.
Those who had staked everything on the tulip craze went bankrupt one after another. Lenders and businesses connected to the trade followed suit, collapsing in a domino effect. No one wanted to buy tulips anymore.
In the end, all Susanna recovered from her 1,100 tulips was a measly 50 gold coins—far less than the 800 she had once been offered.
A corner of the servants’ quarters bathed in the gentle morning sunlight. On the front page of the newspaper Cecile was reading, the headline read:
“Tulip Prices Drop 94% in the Past Month”
[To think that what happened affected not only Susanna but the entire capital’s economy… I never imagined.]
“I told you it would go down in history as the greatest con.”
Cecile, chin resting on her hand as she flipped through the paper, smiled faintly.
“All bubbles are destined to burst eventually. Even without me, the tulip craze would’ve ended soon. I just sped it up by a few months.”
[You bought at the lowest price and sold at the highest—what a brilliant deal!]
Nibelung commented cheerfully.
[But what are you planning to do with such a huge fortune—60,000 gold coins?]
A small bookstore, tucked away in an alley off the main street, down a web of winding paths.
“Welcooome~.”
The shopkeeper, yawning lazily behind the counter, perked up as the chime above the door rang.
His eyes, glazed over with boredom just moments ago, lit up the instant he recognized who had entered.
“Wait, aren’t you Lady Mani?!”
He jumped up so fast that his knees slammed into the desk with a loud thud, but he didn’t care.
The woman called Mani had long curly hair cascading to her hips and wore large round glasses.
She shyly smoothed down her hair.
“Are the books I requested last time ready?”
“Ah, of course! All three volumes are here. Kids! Bring a chair and some tea for our guest!”
“No tea, thanks. I’m just here to pick up the books and go.”
“Oh… Are you sure? It won’t take long to serve…”
While the shopkeeper fussed and rubbed his hands together eagerly, the store clerks brought over a plush armchair, a cushion, and a lap blanket.
Mani sat down, hugging the cushion and covering her knees with the blanket.
“I’ll bring the books right away. Please wait just a moment.”
Soon the shopkeeper returned with three thick books. All were worn-out, their covers frayed, their pages yellowed and grimy.
Mani brightened as she took them and checked the titles.
“These are exactly what I was looking for. Thank you so much! You truly live up to your reputation of finding any book.”
“Haha, at Derby & Blurts, there’s no book we can’t find. If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to ask.”
The shopkeeper stole glances at her, hesitated, then cautiously asked,
“Um… may I ask you something?”
“Yes?”
“Well… Why are you looking for books on ancient dark magic artifacts?”
For a moment, a chilling gleam flickered beneath her thick glasses.
“That’s… none of your business, is it?”
Years of dealing with shady and dangerous forbidden tomes had honed the shopkeeper’s instincts. They screamed at him now.
This woman wasn’t just a bookworm.
She was dangerous—possibly more so than any customer he’d ever dealt with.
The shopkeeper bowed at a ninety-degree angle.
“Of course! Forgive me! That was terribly rude of me—I apologize sincerely!”
Mani waved her hand dismissively, indicating forgiveness.
“Well then, I’ll be off. Please take care of the other books I requested.”
“Of course! When you return, I’ll serve you ten times—no, a hundred times more sincerely! Safe travels!”
With a warm sendoff from the shopkeeper and his clerks, Mani walked out carrying the wrapped books.
Soon, a quiet canal came into view as she passed through the narrow alley.
Once she was sure no one was watching, Mani changed her appearance.
Her true form: an 8-year-old Cecile, with short black curly hair and violet cat-like eyes.
“I have to read this quickly and get back before Anne notices.”
She spread out a seat beside the canal and opened one of the books.
Nibelung’s hesitant voice echoed in her head.
[Cecile… Buying books about ancient dark magic artifacts means…]
Cecile answered plainly.
“Yes. I’m trying to find a way to extract you from my body.”
[Ah… I see…]
Nibelung fell quiet, sounding dejected.
But the talkative spirit couldn’t stay silent for long. As Cecile focused on reading, he grew bored and resumed chatting.
[You’re flipping pages so fast. Are you even reading properly?]
“Yes. You’ve watched me read for ten years—why are you still surprised?”
[Because it’s amazing every time. I’ve never seen a human read as fast as you.]
It took Cecile less than an hour to finish all three thick volumes.
[Any useful information?]
“Not really. It’s all stuff I already knew. None of them explain how to extract an artifact that’s fused with the body after time travel.”
[I’m sure we’ll find something next time!]
Nibelung sounded unusually upbeat, making Cecile scoff.
[What will you do with these books? Take them with you?]
“No.”
A black flame rose from Cecile’s small hand.
“I’m burning them here.”
[But they were so expensive!]
“I already memorized everything. It’s fine.”
Cecile smirked.
“It’s safer to destroy them than to risk getting caught with them. I still have plenty of money—what’s there to regret?”
Nibelung was too stunned to respond.
That day, a thin stream of ashen smoke rose over the empty canal.
Now, no one but Cecile would know what kind of books she had read.
Parts I can reveal to the Duke are different from what I can reveal to others.
For example, she could reveal more of herself to Hans or Anne.
They knew nothing about dark magic, so even if she showed them a little invention like mayonnaise, they’d just think she was a clever girl—never connecting it to anything sinister.
But the Duke is different.
Duke Bartholomew had knowledge of dark magic and artifacts.
If things went badly, he might deduce a connection just by seeing her inventions.
What’s worse is—I don’t know how much he knows. This is 20 years before my regression, so he might know very little… or just as much as he did then.
Since she couldn’t be sure, Cecile decided it was safest to assume the worst and be cautious.
I must not let the Duke find out about my inventions.
Which also meant: He must not find out about the shop I’m planning to open.
Cecile was heading to a real estate agency with Hans, looking for a place to open her store.
Hans is already helping with the mayonnaise business and will manage the future shop, so I can share information with him. But not with the Duke.
She had considered operating the store disguised as an adult, as she had during the Earl O’Neill job or the tulip scam, but ultimately ruled it out.
Running a store wasn’t the kind of occasional outing that could be done with temporary transformation magic.
The adult disguise lasted only two hours and required a fake identity—not enough for consistent store management.
No, the only way is to put Hans as the front-facing representative.
The two arrived at the agency.
“Miss, I’m really sorry, but I need to use the restroom…”
“Go ahead.”
Apparently unable to go in the morning, Hans had looked sick the entire carriage ride and now rushed off.
Cecile entered the real estate office alone. The owner and a few employees were busy with paperwork.
“Well now, what’s a little lady like you doing here? Did you come holding Mommy or Daddy’s hand?”
Their tone was condescending, mocking her for being a child—there was no sign of respect for a customer.
