Chapter 15
“Sir Delta? You’re the one escorting me today?”
Again?
“I’ll be in your care,” I said, looking at the young knight standing before me, lost in thought.
Hmm… What should I do about this…
I’d have to slip away from my escort again today… but would the same person fall for the same trick twice?
Should I find a new scapegoat to replace Delta Lu?
Just as I was contemplating this, Delta Lu gestured toward someone in the distance.
Naturally, I turned my head to where Delta Lu was pointing.
There, a man who looked not just young, but almost boyish, dressed in a knight’s uniform with a sword at his waist, came running towards us.
Breathing heavily, the man stood next to Delta Lu and opened his mouth.
“Sorry for being late.”
“He’s my squire,” Delta Lu explained.
I looked at Delta Lu again, and he elaborated further.
“He’ll be escorting you with me today.”
“Huh?”
“He’s from a noble family too.”
…Ah.
I understood now.
‘Just in case I make him run errands like last time, he brought an extra pair of hands.’
So that’s your plan, huh? Delta Lu was taking precautions not to fall for the same trick again.
But seeing his attempt at a countermeasure actually gave me a clear idea of what to do next.
I smiled brightly and said, “I’ll be counting on you.”
I sent both Delta Lu and his squire on errands.
The method was simple.
‘Buy four slices of cake, and have them individually packed. They’re for important people, so make sure they’re perfectly intact. Don’t forget that.’
Delta Lu left the restaurant with a look on his face like he’d been duped. His squire followed along, looking completely clueless.
And me? I sat comfortably in the restaurant, sipping on lemon juice with a victorious smile.
Though only briefly.
‘The shop I sent them to this time is closer than Mila’s place, so I don’t have much time. I need to hurry.’
Leaving the restaurant, I headed straight to the jeweler’s shop.
“Welcome.”
I had wrapped my hair in a simple cloth bag I carried with me before stepping inside.
Thanks to Killid, I now knew how much my silver hair stood out in public.
“I’d like to sell this,” I said.
“This is…”
“The price is 30,000 Demar.”
I took off the necklace with the crimson jewel about the size of a chestnut and handed it over to the shopkeeper.
For reference, I had roughly estimated the price with N.P.’s help.
‘Hey N.P., if I gave this to someone poor… how long could they live without working?’
‘That necklace? Hmm… If they have a family, maybe about a year. If they’re alone, three years at least.’
In other words, the necklace was worth about one year’s living expenses for a family or three years for a single person.
I decided to keep the calculation simple. One person’s yearly cost = 10,000 Demar (about 10 million won).
The shopkeeper nodded after hearing my price—30,000 Demar.
“I’ll buy it. Please wait while I prepare the payment.”
…Yes!
Good thing I picked a large enough jewelry store.
Before long, the shopkeeper returned with the money, a full 30,000 Demar.
“Thank you. Please come again.”
Stepping out of the store with a pouch full of coins, I felt… weirdly sentimental.
‘I should’ve done this from the start…’
I should’ve just picked something from Bella’s overflowing jewelry box and sold it right away.
Honestly, no matter how expensive or large a jewel might be, when there are too many, no one notices if one goes missing…
‘Anyway, the important thing is I got the money without much trouble. Now then…’
With the pouch heavy with gold coins, I hurried off toward my next destination.
Now that I had money, I needed a place to deposit it.
I quickened my pace and arrived at my next stop after the jewelry store.
“Welcome. This is Daily’s Gift Shop.”
I stepped into what appeared to be a toy store.
But it wasn’t a real toy shop. How did I know? Because I’d read My Daughter of Inner Palace.
The owner of this place would later become a loyal follower of Elisa (the real one).
But that’s none of my business for now.
I approached the clerk and spoke quietly.
“I’d like to give Daily a gift.”
“…How much?”
“Three dolls.”
“Please follow me.”
I walked toward the back of the shop, following the staff member.
After passing through about three hidden doors—reminded me of an escape room—we finally entered a small room with a single table.
Someone was already sitting there.
I recalled his name.
Daily.
…Oh, so Daily had black hair.
There weren’t many physical descriptions in the book, so I hadn’t known.
Daily was a young man with jet-black hair that reached just above his shoulders. The fact that he was a man had been mentioned in My Daughter of Inner Palace.
Without a word, I sat down across from him.
Before I could settle, Daily spoke first.
“You’re here to make a deposit?”
Exactly. The phrase ‘giving Daily a gift’ actually meant I wanted to leave my money with him.
The “three dolls” obviously referred to the 30,000 Demar I had.
“Yep.”
Hearing my answer, Daily raised both eyebrows. Unlike Killid, he could move both brows at once.
“Well… fine. But you know that three dolls is a very small amount, right?”
“I know.”
“Smaller deposits mean higher fees.”
“I know that too.”
“Good. At least you’re informed. Then, hand over the gift.”
Without hesitation, I handed over the pouch filled with money.
Daily took it and asked, “Name?”
He didn’t mean my real name. He wanted the name I’d use when withdrawing the money later.
I gave the name I had prepared in advance.
“Gwak Cheol-Soo.”
“…What?”
“No need to repeat it. Just remember it, that’s all.”
“If you’re withdrawing from this branch, sure. But you might end up going to a different shop, right?”
…Oh, right.
There were multiple shops under the ‘Daily’ name across the country. All owned by this same Daily.
Hmm, in that case, I should choose something that Daily can pass along easily and anyone can say aloud…
“The Never-Stopping Roborovski.”
“Come again?”
“Not that hard to remember. Got it?”
“…What’s a Roborovski?”
“A small, precious friend that never stops moving.”
With that, I stood up abruptly. Time to head back to the restaurant.
But then, I heard Daily’s voice.
“Hey, by the way… who are you? How did you even know about my shop?”
I looked down at pale-skinned Daily.
Thanks to him not knowing who I was, I realized something useful: sky-blue eyes weren’t as rare as silver hair.
I could probably just cover my hair like this when I needed to run away…
Thinking that, I smiled and spoke.
“Take good care of my precious friend’s money, Daily.”
After wandering around the marketplace a bit more, I returned to the Duke’s mansion with the cake.
“Here, take one each,” I said.
I gave two slices of cake to Delta Lu and his squire.
“N.P., this is for you too,” I handed one to N.P.
And the last piece…
“Hm, taken care of neatly.”
After delivering the final cake somewhere, I paced around my bedroom before heading back out.
I felt awful.
Everything had gone according to plan today, so why did I feel like this?
I think I knew the reason. It was because of Daily. More specifically, his hair.
‘It’s been a while… since I’ve seen such dark hair.’
There were a few people in the Duke’s house with dark brown hair.
But pure black hair… hair that would still look black even under the sun… I hadn’t seen that since I arrived in this world.
“I… want to go home.”
Ah.
I messed up.
I’d been holding back so well until now.
I started walking faster. Anywhere was fine. As long as it could distract me.
A place where I could forget all these useless feelings.
Before I knew it, I was at the entrance to the garden.
…Not a bad choice, actually.
Yes, there was plenty to see in the garden. There were flowers, for starters…
“Huh?”
…And Killid too?
I froze mid-step as I walked past the garden entrance.
‘How many days has it been?’
I hadn’t seen Killid since the jewelry store incident.
He seemed busy. Starting around the day I began training at the practice grounds, he had been going out almost every day. I had no idea why.
Was today a day off?
Taking a walk in the garden on a day off…
Kind of romantic, considering how he usually looks.
