Chapter 6
A month had already passed since I took the exam.
It was more than enough time for my trip to Yudea to feel like a dream.
I carefully glanced around and whispered softly.
“Status window.”
As the embarrassing word slipped from my lips, a simple window popped up in midair.
I examined the unfriendly-looking text.
‘Even now, it’s nothing special.’
It was Lena’s affinity window.
It displayed how much affection the male lead candidates had toward Lena.
Since they hadn’t met her yet, their affinity levels were generally low. However, the Crown Prince and the future Tower Master’s scores were higher than the others.
‘The Crown Prince makes sense since he’s her fiancé, but why the Tower Master?’
Were they just easy-to-capture characters?
‘Well, there’s always at least one character who falls for the heroine easily.’
But if that character was the Tower Master, I absolutely refused.
With a serious expression, I looked through the window again.
Aside from affinity information, there was nothing else to see…
Lena Dicliff
Charm: 10
Status: Unawakened
All it showed was that mysterious “Unawakened” status and the charm stat that had plagued me.
It was my status window, yet there wasn’t a single piece of information about me.
‘So I’m just supposed to faithfully act as Lena’s guide.’
“Archel! Time to go home!”
“Yes!”
At Mrs. Stea’s call, I hurriedly closed the status window and untied my apron.
Like any part-timer, my movements were quick and precise.
But as I left the teahouse and headed home, my steps grew unbearably heavy. Memories kept resurfacing, slowing me down.
The day I bit that bastard Lucas’s arm.
That very day, I was beaten badly by the baron and his wife after they returned home.
So badly that I couldn’t even get up the next day.
‘It’s a good thing Mrs. Stea came looking for me.’
Everyone had gone out that day, leaving me behind. I only managed to go outside because I heard her calling from beyond the door.
‘The look on her face when she found me…’
Her face had turned pale. She silently took me to her home and treated my wounds.
After that, she not only gave me more work than before, but also persuaded people who doubted me to hire me.
To repay her trust, I worked like my life depended on it.
And as a result, I was now known as Medinah Village’s go-to problem solver.
‘Though since she opened the teahouse, I’ve mostly focused on helping there.’
“I don’t want to go in.”
Standing in front of the gate before I knew it, I sighed.
The Nodovan baron family survived on the meager rent from a tiny piece of land.
Lucas had long since given up on studying and only went out to fool around.
The baron wandered from one gambling den to another, piling up debt.
And the baroness didn’t work at all.
‘So I ended up covering everything with my own money.’
Housework, part-time jobs, and studying.
Juggling all three, I eventually confronted the baroness.
‘You handle the housework.’
The look on her face back then…
With her face twisted, she scolded me, saying I should just stop studying. I firmly replied that without studying, I wouldn’t work part-time either.
Only then did she reluctantly agree.
‘What kind of “rare” dinner will she make today?’
Even after three years of cooking, her skills hadn’t improved at all. Thinking about it made me sigh.
It might be better if I cooked for myself.
While I was pitying my soon-to-suffer taste buds, the baroness came running toward me from afar.
“Archel! Why are you so late? Come inside!”
Her voice was unusually sweet.
When I only rolled my eyes, she pushed me toward the entrance.
‘What is going on?’
As I kept glancing back suspiciously, she tightened her grip on my shoulder.
“Behave yourself.”
Just as I was about to question her whisper, I saw the baron and an unfamiliar elderly man sitting in the dining room.
“Viscount, this is my daughter, Archel. She’s pretty, isn’t she?”
Her sudden pat on my head froze me.
‘Did she eat something wrong?’
While I stayed alert, the wrinkled old man scanned me from head to toe, then clapped his hands in satisfaction.
“I like her very much. It’s rare to find someone both modest and cute. I’m surprised I didn’t know such a beauty lived in Medinah.”
Feeling uneasy under his gaze, I managed to speak.
“Excuse me, but may I ask what this situation is?”
The old man frowned and alternated his gaze between me and the baroness.
“What? Weren’t we done talking? Miss Archel is to become my fourth wife.”
“…What?”
My mind stopped working.
“Well, now that you know, it’s fine. So when should we set the wedding date?”
The viscount lifted his teacup, looking at the baron instead of me.
“It would be best to proceed as quickly as possible. How about within a month? Then the money you promised…”
The baron leaned forward and rubbed his hands together.
He looked like a fly waiting for crumbs to fall, making me frown.
‘Marriage? Money? A month? Fourth wife?!’
So it was true.
This wretched family was really planning to sell me to that old man.
‘Do they know whose money kept them from going bankrupt all this time?!’
I slapped away the baroness’s hand that was pressing me down.
Smack!
The sharp sound echoed through the dining room.
All eyes turned to me.
“Viscount, I’m sorry, but I have no intention of marrying. This arrangement was made solely by my parents, without my consent. So please leave.”
It might have been rude, but this wasn’t the time to care.
‘Otherwise, I’ll really be sold off.’
And I had no desire to be polite to a man who wasn’t satisfied even with three wives.
As I turned toward the hallway, signaling him to leave, his face flushed red.
He jumped up.
“Baron, this is different from what we discussed. Do you think I came all this way for nothing? I’m leaving.”
“No, Viscount! Please! She doesn’t know any better!”
The baron grabbed him desperately, but he ignored him and walked out.
Only the baroness and I remained.
“I’m going to my room.”
The moment I turned away, a sharp slap struck my back.
Smack!
“Is it that hard to just stay quiet? If you marry him, our family will finally prosper! Do you know what kind of business he runs? Lucas’s future depends on this!”
I grabbed her arm as she kept hitting me and fought back.
“Why sell me for that? If you’re worried about Lucas, send him off as a live-in son-in-law somewhere!”
“How dare you talk back! Ever since you went to Yudea, I haven’t liked you! Did you even pass? You probably failed! Yudea? For you? You wasted all that money on a test you were bound to fail!”
Crossing her arms, she glared at me.
“You should’ve used that money to support this household. Raising someone like you is useless. Go out and apologize right now!”
“Ha…”
My head went cold.
I couldn’t believe I had sacrificed my hard-earned savings for people like this.
Biting my lip, I ran outside.
As I opened the gate, ignoring the baroness’s screaming, I ran into a mail carrier wearing a red hat.
“Is Archel Nodovan here?”
“…That’s me.”
“Here’s your mail.”
He hurried off after getting my signature.
Absentmindedly watching him leave, I looked down at the heavy envelope.
An eagle soaring among black thorn branches.
“…Yudea.”
My hands trembled.
Covering my eyes, I whispered.
“I can’t just pass. I have to be a scholarship student.”
Otherwise…
Taking a shaky breath, I broke the wax seal.
My fingers brushed against the silky paper as I opened it.
When I finally opened my tightly shut eyes…
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Yudea Academy.
Due to your outstanding performance on the entrance examination, you have been selected as a scholarship student…
Everything flashed before my eyes.
Mrs. Stea and Hail, who had helped me.
The villagers.
The days I studied at home while being scolded.
The countless nights spent worrying that this was all a dream.
But the letter in my hand proved everything.
I really had been accepted.
I reread it over and over.
“I did it.”
A sharp voice rang out behind me.
“Archel Nodovan! You ungrateful brat! Get inside right now!”
“Ha… Haha!”
Even her irritated voice sounded sweet now.
‘I won’t have to hear it anymore.’
I ran inside.
Before she could speak, I declared proudly.
“I passed.”
“What?”
Instead of answering, I waved the letter.
She snatched it and read it line by line.
With each line, her face grew paler.
“This can’t be… No…”
I announced to her trembling figure:
“I’m leaving today. Thank you for everything.”
“What?! Archel! Hey! Archel!!”
