Chapter 2
“You’re late, Arachne.”
Blonde hair, blue eyes, a perfectly straight posture, and crescent-shaped smiling eyes.
Unlike her gentle appearance, her gaze was cold, and her tone carried undisguised contempt.
“It hasn’t even been that long since the funeral, and yet you behave so rudely. The late Count Edmon must be so pleased.”
Ara ignored the sharp click of the woman’s tongue, gave a perfunctory nod, and sat down at the dining table.
Her aunt, Zyla, couldn’t resist adding another remark.
“You may have done whatever you pleased until now, but from this point on, that won’t do. At least make an effort to behave properly.”
“Yes, yes, Aunt.”
“Just look at our Lumie. So dignified and elegant…”
“Mother…”
Lumie, seated beside her, looked embarrassed.
Ignoring them, Ara forced herself to chew her salad carefully.
If I don’t chew thoroughly, I’ll definitely get indigestion.
At first, she had relied on her experience as a seasoned Korean office worker, responding absentmindedly with “yes, yes,” but she was reaching her limit.
“That’s enough.”
The man seated at the head of the table finally spoke.
Silver hair like Ara’s. Golden eyes. He stroked his beard as he sneered.
“Her father must have doted on her terribly. No wonder my brother failed to teach her proper manners. Especially after the countess passed away so early.”
You barged into this mansion the moment the count died, and now you act like you’re the master?
Karl Edmon.
Her uncle.
The moment Count Edmon died, Karl and Zyla had moved into the estate as if they’d been waiting for it.
Under the pretense of managing the Edmon estate and merchant guild on behalf of their still-young niece.
No matter what, the rightful heir of the count’s house is Arachne.
However, Arachne had not yet completed her coming-of-age ceremony.
Until that ceremony—just six months away—she legally required a guardian. Using that as an excuse, her uncle Karl had secured the position.
Ara stabbed an innocent piece of lettuce with her fork.
I was an orphan in my previous life, and now I’m an orphan again after transmigrating.
What a ridiculous situation.
Waking up at a funeral right after transmigrating was bad enough, but not a single person around her was friendly toward Arachne.
When she’d been too stunned to cry, they had whispered things like, “She’s so cold she didn’t shed a single tear,” and “Just like an Edmon— even the spider’s offspring are venomous.”
They said it was a carriage accident.
Count Edmon, Arachne’s father, had been a workaholic.
He barely slept and constantly worked. The coachman, who had stayed up alongside him for days, eventually dozed off while driving, causing the accident.
Isn’t that basically his own fault? He worked the coachman until he couldn’t stay awake.
While she was thinking such irreverent thoughts, Zyla spoke.
“Come to think of it, what do you intend to do about that coachman?”
Ara’s hand froze midair with a spoonful of soup.
They were talking about the very coachman she’d just been thinking about.
“Well,” Karl said, stroking his beard as he paused his meal, “what is there to do? He’s already dead.”
“……”
“But we can still hold someone responsible for the count’s death.”
“…How do you intend to hold him responsible?”
Ara asked before she could stop herself.
She felt the blood drain from her face.
At first, after transmigrating, she had thought: Since I’ve gained a new life, maybe I’ll just enjoy it without doing anything.
She wasn’t particularly greedy for honor or power. If she could secure enough money to live comfortably, she didn’t care about inheriting the title of count.
But there was one problem.
“He left behind a five-year-old daughter. We could have her work in the factory until the compensation is fully paid.”
“……”
Karl Edmon was an extraordinarily, unbelievably vicious man.
A five-year-old?!
If someone had to “take responsibility” for the count’s death, even ten years of labor wouldn’t be enough.
And why is it even the coachman’s fault? It’s the company’s fault for working him to the point he couldn’t sleep!
In the original novel, Karl Edmon used Arachne’s name to ruthlessly exploit people, and in the end, everyone cursed Arachne.
The Empire’s Cunning Spider.
A villainess without blood or tears.
Then a “certain incident” occurred, igniting the people’s fury…
And through that incident, the final mastermind awakened, and Edmon was reduced to ruins.
As a result, Arachne met her end before even reaching her coming-of-age ceremony—beaten to death by an enraged mob.
Meanwhile, Lumie survived thanks to the goodwill she’d built up, aided by servants, and eventually restored the Edmon family…
If Karl continued acting as Arachne’s guardian, her death was inevitable.
For the first few days, Ara had clung to a sliver of hope—maybe she could change the course of events.
Making one last attempt, she said carefully,
“Is that really necessary? I heard the coachman hadn’t slept for several days.”
“That’s precisely why he should be punished more severely!” Karl roared.
“He’d only worked a few days without rest, and look what happened!”
“……”
“Don’t worry! Once I take over the guild, I’ll tighten discipline so thoroughly that they can withstand sixteen hours of work a day without issue. No one will dare doze off and accidentally kill their master again!”
That settled it.
Ara slowly raised her head and stared at the ceiling.
…This man is beyond reform.
Death had just taken one step closer.
-
She brought this on herself… If Arachne had just stuck close to Lumie, she wouldn’t have gotten involved.
-
That whole family is a mess. She was basically neglected. And she was probably constantly compared to Lumie, too.
“Ha… ha ha…”
After finishing her meal and locking herself in her room, a hollow laugh escaped Ara’s lips.
Arachne Edmon.
In And the Mastermind Did Not Exist, she was Lumie’s jealous cousin of the same age—the first major frustration point in the story.
She had no particular talent for speech or any remarkable skills, and she didn’t hold much affection for the Edmon family either. Instead, she felt a deep inferiority complex toward Lumie, who was known as the “Flower of High Society.”
Her uncle Karl, who had long coveted the family’s power, seized the opportunity to take over the guild, and she simply let him ruin it.
Lumie struggled to clean up the chaos caused by her parents and cousin…
Of course, Arachne wasn’t entirely innocent either…
If one had to name her crime, it would be indifference.
Edmon was famous for its textile business. Cotton fabrics were lighter, softer, and easier to dye than previous materials.
They amassed immense wealth—but only through exploitation.
They tried to use children as cheap labor and ended up causing accidents.
One child, handling toxic dyes without safety equipment, was poisoned. His face became horribly disfigured, and he eventually died.
When Edmon attempted to cover it up, furious citizens stormed the estate.
By chance, Arachne had just returned from shopping and was stepping out of her carriage when people seized her and demanded answers.
Her response?
“Did I kill him? What do you expect me to do about it?”
It was only natural that the people revolted.
Technically, Karl was the one who ordered them driven out—but Arachne didn’t do anything right either.
In the end, Arachne died. Lumie tried desperately to clean up the disaster. Edmon collapsed.
These events became the catalyst for the final mastermind to destroy Edmon—and ultimately seek the Empire’s downfall for allowing such corruption.
In the end, Arachne existed only to make kind-hearted Lumie shine brighter…
She had sworn that in her next life, she would be born with a golden spoon in her mouth.
But this wasn’t what she meant.
A gilded spoon that would barely be used before her life ended.
Once Arachne dies, Lumie becomes the direct heir of Edmon…
That was the natural flow of the original story.
Rolling around on her bed, Ara suddenly sprang up.
“I already died once and transmigrated, and now I’m supposed to die again?”
No, thank you.
She grabbed some paper and began scribbling down ways to survive.
There’s still some time before things reach that point.
Only six months—but enough to attempt something.
In the novel, it said workers had to pay 80 percent of a week’s wages just for rent.
Given such terrible conditions, the people’s anger was understandable.
To prevent that, I’ll raise wages, guarantee proper holidays…
In short—what if she turned Edmon into a workplace so generous it would be called a “divine job”?
If there are no workplace accidents, maybe I can survive.
There was one problem.
This wasn’t something she could fix alone.
Given Edmon’s past actions, if Uncle remains my guardian, it’s only a matter of time before Edmon becomes the icon of exploitation again.
Karl currently managed both the guild and the estate.
Just recalling his words at dinner made it clear: persuading him was nearly impossible.
If only I could figure out who the final mastermind is… They just needed an excuse to call for the Empire’s destruction. It doesn’t have to be Edmon, right?
She twirled her pen thoughtfully.
But how am I supposed to uncover the mastermind in a novel that was never finished?
She remembered the general plot of GMDE, but not the mastermind’s identity.
There are a few candidates I suspected…
Based on readers’ theories, the mastermind was someone connected to the Edmon Guild—and someone who possessed magical power.
The Crown Prince, a duke, a newly risen magnate…
After a moment of thought, Ara shook her head.
“This is too inefficient. How would I even know which one it is and chase them down one by one?”
Moreover, most of the people who fit the criteria were male lead candidates deeply connected to Lumie.
Which meant they were hostile toward Arachne, who had acted as a villain tormenting Lumie.
Her mouth tasted bitter, but she decided to postpone investigating the mastermind and focus on what she could do.
“Fine. Let’s build it. A divine workplace.”
To do that…
“First, I need to replace my guardian.”
