Chapter 18 

“What are you staring at? ”

Dazhar was, as always, wearing his shirt like a wild stallion—half open, flapping dramatically.
His voice, while sitting on the window sill reading a book of all things, was unusually grumpy.

“Oh, nothing.”

“Nothing? You’ve been staring holes into me for ages.”

…Well, yes.

Because yesterday, I learned he remembers a past life, is considered an axis of evil, and is basically a mystery wrapped in a riddle.

I shrugged.

“Well, it’s just… it’s strange seeing you read. Doesn’t suit you.”

“Heh. You make me wonder since when the title of ‘duke’ became so unimpressive.”

“You’re welcome. At least I keep your daily life interesting.”

“Sure.”

After a brief round of bickering, he closed his book sharply and stepped down from the window.

Oh. That bird again.

The red bird that had perched on his shoulder before. It must’ve been sitting on the side I couldn’t see.

When Dazhar moved, the bird flew out the window. I felt a tiny pang of disappointment.
That was when he spoke abruptly.

“So why are you here? ”

I rolled my eyes.

I did have a real reason, but I started with something else.

“I came to tell you that the Black Hawks agreed to help me.”

“…Those trash fires?”

The disbelief in his voice made me want to hit him.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Why do you sound like you intentionally introduced me to the most useless people in existence? Almost as if you wanted me to suffer? ”

“…”

He guided me to the sofa but looked faintly guilty as he sat across from me.

Exactly. I knew it.

He really did throw me to the wolves on purpose.

“That they agreed to help you—your skills are more impressive than I thought.”

Even though his voice contained genuine admiration, my irritation didn’t fade.

“Well, yes. I am impressed.”

And knowing it, I continued:

“Anyway, I’m going to get busy now.”

“And?”

“And when that happens, it’ll be harder for me to take care of my baby, Aksion.”

“Didn’t that butler Carl come with you? ”

“He’s elderly. He can barely walk.”

Dazhar narrowed his eyes at me.

That look clearly said, “Don’t lie to me.”

But I continued boldly.

“I heard you have a child too.”

The mention of Vanilla made him freeze.

“I thought… maybe she gets lonely alone?
So what if Aksion and Vanilla spend some time together? Occasionally.”

“That’s…”

He looked wary.

What? It’s not like I said they’d eat each other.

My real reason was this:

Aksion’s growth had stopped.

If he never gains the overwhelming knowledge he had in the original story, he might never impress Vanilla later.
And without Vanilla, the key to freeing him from the Dragon Heart’s corruption might be lost.

If Aksion can’t attract her with genius-level intellect…

Then childhood bonding was the next best option.

A classic childhood-friends route.
Works every time in romance fantasy.

Besides, I don’t know how long I can stay in this mansion.

Right now I could be here under the guise of “developing new crops.”
But eventually the daughter of a duke wouldn’t be able to meet the illegitimate child of a viscount freely.

So I made the suggestion.

Unexpectedly, Dazhar fell silent, thinking deeply, then rested his chin on his hand.

“…Fine. Let them meet. Anytime.
But only if Vanilla wants to.”

Oh. That was way easier than expected.

“Okay then! I’ll arrange their first meeting soon! ”

“Arrange…?”

He gave me a weird look, but I ignored it.

Feeling confident from clearing the first objective, I smoothly slid in the second one:

“By the way, is it true? ”

“…What now? ”

“That.”

“What is ‘that,’ exactly? ”

“That rumor.
That you remember your past life.”

“…”

His expression went momentarily blank.
He clearly didn’t expect that question from me.

Seeing that shocked face gave me immense satisfaction.

Serves him right.

“Who told you that?”

“Of course I can’t say.”

A proper informant protects their source—

“I’ll give you half your promised payment early.”

“Elstern.”

Why protect a snitch?
Let him burn.

Dazhar muttered under his breath:

“Damn Tower Ma—…”

Oh, he totally said, “Damn Tower Master.”
I heard all of it.

“So? True or not? ”

“…”

He frowned.

“Why are you even curious? ”

I paused.

He was my future in-law and technically my employer.
But I never wanted to get involved with him more than necessary.

And Elstern calling him an axis of evil definitely made me want to keep my distance.

Yet I still came here and asked because…

His situation was like mine.

I was someone who transmigrated with memories of another life.

And he was someone who remembered a past one.

Our circumstances overlapped in a strange, eerie way.

“Well, it’s not exactly a secret.”

He crossed his arms, leaned back, and said casually,

“Yes. Elstern was right. I remember my past life.
So? Are you afraid of me now? ”

Afraid?

I blinked, then shook my head fast.

“Nope. Not at all.”

“Thought so.”

…Why do those two words sound like an insult?

“You’re a strange woman. Figured you wouldn’t be scared.”

“Was that an insult? ”

“A compliment.”

…Sure.

“Curiosity satisfied? I have things to do.”

“What?”

Just like that?
He suddenly got up and pointed toward the door like he was telling me to leave.

He didn’t even look at me as he added:

“The Imperial Palace will send someone soon for training in crop development.
Teach them about that rice thing.”

“Uh… okay…? ”

Before I could fully process it, I found myself pushed out of his office.

The door shut with a click.

I stood there dumbly.

What the heck?

He was obviously avoiding talking about his past-life memories.

Well… if someone asked me about my previous life out of nowhere, I’d also be uncomfortable.

Guess I got too excited at meeting someone like me and crossed a line.

I should apologize later.

Feeling awkward, I scratched my cheek and headed for the library.

***

The Siastor mansion had a massive library, befitting its grand size.
Bookshelves stretched all the way up to the high ceiling.

This place is old… lots of ancient texts too.

Normally I’m not a “library person,” but Aksion’s halted growth bothered me.

I wanted to see if the original story’s “growing by consuming misfortune” logic had any truth in this world.

Luckily the books were sorted by topic, so I soon found several about misfortune.

“Misfortune, misfortune…”

Overcoming Misfortune,
Fortune and Misfortune,
101 Things You Must Do Right Now if You’re Unhappy…

While flipping through them, one title caught my eye.

“A Being That Grows by Eating Misfortune—Ruben”

“Ruben…?”

The word felt familiar—like something I’d heard somewhere.

I dug through Cillia’s memories, but nothing came clearly.

I quickly grabbed the book and opened it.

[If you encounter Ruben, run immediately if you want to live.]

…Huh?

The first sentence was already terrifying.

Next page:

But running is useless. If you have seen Ruben, your world is already on the path to destruction. Soon, you will become his food.]

“……”

Each line was more horrifying than the last.

I felt sweat forming as I flipped the page—

—and blinked in confusion.

“Huh? What is this? ”

Most pages were blackened—as if someone spilled ink across them.

I found a faint, barely readable line:

[Followers of Ruben are danger… they will be anywhere…]

Why was something like this in the mansion library?

I pouted and flipped quickly through, searching for more.

Finally, I reached the last page.

[…to survive, seek Ruben’s Guardian.]

I closed the book with a thump.

A being that grows by eating misfortune.
Ruben.

It felt similar to what Aksion had said in the original novel.

I searched the entire library for more about Ruben, but that book was the only thing.
It was like someone had deliberately erased all other records.

With nothing else to go on, I scratched my head and walked out.

I swear I’ve seen that word somewhere before…

Then why couldn’t I remember?