Chapter 2
My brother stormed in, face red and spitting as he shouted at me.
“Hey! Why did you tell Mother I stayed out overnight?! Do you need to get beaten before you come to your senses?!”
This miserable house again.
Was it all a dream?
It felt like I had just woken from a long sleep. As I blankly tried to sit up, a piece of paper suddenly fell beside me.
Lottery numbers. And the deed to the building.
‘It wasn’t a dream. I really came back again.’
I let out a long breath that was somewhere between relief and despair and buried my face in my hands.
When I lifted my head again, my eyes were shining with unmistakable determination.
My third life.
Titiana Este, winter, age twenty.
✦ ✦ ✦
I had returned to one week before the saddest day of my life.
The day my mother died from tuberculosis.
My mother handed me a pouch of gold coins she had secretly saved.
It was the same pouch I had used in my previous two lives to pay off my father’s and brother’s debts.
“Titi, my daughter… I saved this for the day you got married…”
“Mother.”
As I stared down at it, countless thoughts flooded my mind.
In both of my past lives, I struggled desperately to hold the Este Barony together in Mother’s place.
For a hopeless father. And an even more hopeless brother.
Thinking about it now, it was the stupidest thing I had ever done.
I looked at my mother, who was watching me with worried eyes until the very end.
“Don’t worry about me, Mother. I’m not going to live like that in this life.”
She couldn’t possibly understand what I meant.
And yet, she smiled.
As if she were cheering me on.
That was the last day I spent with her.
As soon as my mother’s funeral ended, I boarded a train bound for the capital.
I had left in such a hurry that I was still dressed in mourning clothes, carrying only a small amount of luggage.
Sitting in the cramped seat with my bag clutched tightly in my arms, I repeated the same words like a spell.
“The only person in this world who can make me happy is me. Stay strong. This time, I’ll be happy…”
Then I looked out the train window.
The passing scenery no longer seemed gloomy like it had before.
On the third day of the journey, I finally arrived in the capital.
It’s so humid here.
The capital was enjoying bright spring weather.
I tucked my coat under my arm and stared at the three-story building standing in front of me.
[87 Undici Street]
This was my first time standing in front of the mint-colored building in this life.
But it didn’t feel unfamiliar at all.
In fact, it felt strangely familiar.
Because this was the very building where the Master’s tavern had been.
So the deed he gave me was for this building…
I straightened my hair and clothes while standing in place.
Then I approached the building and knocked on the door.
For entirely different reasons, I felt nervous.
“Hello?”
“……”
No response came from inside.
I frowned and tried peeking through the window, but all I could see was thick dust covering the glass.
Is no one here?
There was no sign of life on the first floor.
The lights appeared to be off as well.
Don’t tell me it’s abandoned?
That was possible.
There was a five-year gap between now and the future.
No. The Master clearly said someone here would help me.
Standing here staring at the door wouldn’t solve anything.
If I wanted to find out who this “helper” was, I had to go inside.
But once I reached for the door, I hesitated.
What if they think I’m some crazy woman?
Waiting outside for the owner to appear would also be awkward.
Just as I leaned against the door in frustration—
Creeeak.
The door suddenly swung open.
“Eek!”
My balance disappeared from beneath me and I nearly fell over.
I barely managed to steady myself by grabbing my bag.
The inside of the building was just as dusty as it looked from outside.
It really is abandoned.
I stared blankly for a moment before swallowing hard.
“H-Hello? I’m coming in…”
I said it.
That counted, right?
Well, if I meet someone, I’ll just show them the deed.
After organizing my thoughts, I set my bag down and walked farther inside.
✦ ✦ ✦
The building had three floors.
When I climbed to the second floor, I was met with a completely different sight.
Unlike the abandoned-looking first floor, the second floor showed signs that someone had been living there.
For example—
“Trash?”
More accurately, empty wrappers and discarded garbage were scattered everywhere.
As if someone had eaten the contents and simply tossed the packaging aside.
Looks like it was thrown down from the third floor and landed here.
There wasn’t even any dust on top of it.
Which meant it was fresh garbage.
Whoever it is, I’m going up.
As I reached the middle of the staircase leading to the third floor—
What’s that?
A blanket?
Something resembling a giant caterpillar was lying on the landing.
It looked like someone had carelessly rolled themselves up in a blanket.
Why is that on the stairs?
It completely blocked the way.
I would either have to jump over it—or step on it.
And of course, I was wearing a fluttery dress and hard shoes.
Whatever.
It’s their fault for leaving a blanket on dusty stairs.
If they complain later, I’ll just say I thought it was laundry.
The moment I stepped on it—
“Ghk!”
“Huh?!”
A scream came from inside the blanket.
Startled, I jumped backward and grabbed the stair railing.
What?! There was a person in there?!
The blanket wriggled.
Then a face suddenly popped out.
Curly pink hair.
Bright blue eyes.
A handsome young man with an adorable appearance.
“You chased me all the way here? You’re seriously persis— huh? Who are you?”
He had started yelling as if he mistook me for someone else.
But the moment he saw my face, his eyes widened in shock.
And strangely enough—
I was overwhelmingly happy to see him.
“Master!”
Could it be that the person who was supposed to help me was the Master himself?
I didn’t know.
But seeing that pink hair alone instantly reassured me.
Overcome with joy, I threw myself onto him—blanket and all.
“So this is where you were! Do you know how panicked I was when I saw the first floor looking like a ruin?!”
I had boldly declared that I would change my future.
But the entire journey to the capital had filled me with anxiety.
Because I had already failed once.
I didn’t realize how comforting it would feel just knowing someone familiar existed.
I smiled brightly.
But he looked completely flustered as he wriggled his way out of the blanket.
Then he waved both hands frantically.
“W-Wait a second. I’ve never met you before. Who are you?”
“Huh…?”
I rubbed my eyes.
Then I carefully examined his face.
Now that I look closely… aside from the hair color, he looks nothing like the Master!
And even if he were the Master, it wouldn’t matter.
In my previous life, he hadn’t remembered me either.
Of course he wouldn’t know me yet.
At that moment, I realized two things:
I had mistaken him for someone else.
And he had absolutely no idea who I was.
Embarrassment flooded me.
What on earth am I doing…
As I rubbed my red face with my sleeve—
He spoke in a soft voice.
“First, could you please get off the blanket? Then I think we should talk and sort this out properly.”
“O-Of course.”
I quickly scrambled off.
He stood up after straightening his blanket.
Wow… he’s tall.
I hadn’t noticed while he was wrapped up like a cocoon.
He was surprisingly tall.
After tidying both his blanket and clothes, he crouched down to meet my eye level as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
He gave off the playful energy of a mischievous troublemaker.
His round blue eyes sparkled with curiosity.
Cotton-candy pink hair.
Light blue eyes.
That pink hair is definitely the same color as the Master’s…
And yet, the more I looked at him, the more different he felt.
Most importantly—
The Master had severe burn scars covering much of his face.
This man’s face was smooth and flawless.
Is he someone else?
I awkwardly scratched my head.
Well… it’s disappointing, but meeting the Master wasn’t the important part anyway.
I didn’t come back to get married.
I came back to tell marriage to go to hell and become rich on my own.
And—
To become rich, I need a base of operations first.
Namely—
This building.
Just as I steeled my resolve again—
He rested his chin on his hand and asked,
“There are a lot of things I want to ask… but right now, I’m most curious about one thing.”
“Why are you here?”
I clenched both fists tightly and shouted proudly,
“Because this building belongs to me now!”
