Living unmarried with a time-limited partner
Episode 1
What do single women need most?
A supportive family? A high education? Close friends?
No, it’s money.
“When are you going to get married?”
“If I wait any longer, I might miss the right time.”
Since her bar mitzvah, marriage has been the number one question she’s been asked.
Each time, Ines would ask herself.
“Do I have to get married?”
The answer was the same.
Of course, you should.
People look down on you.
It would be financially difficult to live alone.
To those who tried to convince her otherwise, Ines stood her ground.
“I’m too busy making money to think about marriage.”
Then there was the one who always grabs the pod.
“How much money can you make and still not get married?”
Then Ines would quietly show them her bankbook.
Most were silent there.
It was an amount they had never seen in their lives.
Instead, their eyes would change, and they would nudge their sons or relatives.
“But you should still get married, my son is so family-oriented, right?”
“He needs to meet a man who can manage his money. My nephew happens to be…….”
Ines listened in silence, then spoke up.
“I realized something when I started investing.”
He smirked at them as if they were trying to pick his brain.
“I realized that when you have a lot of money, it’s best to live alone.”
An investing god.
A socialite.
The lady who saved the dying House of Eldin.
These were all nicknames for Ines Eldin.
But Ines had one gift…….
was to see misfortune coming for others.
[Oh, no, I’m so late!]
[We shouldn’t have broken up then].
[Why does everything I do fail?]
Regret, despair, pain, loss…….
By simply shaking hands or bumping into each other, the unhappiness of the people she touched was transmitted in fragments.
Ines used the ability to start investing.
[Damn it! I should have invested in ships.]
[Damn business].
As she met people, she saw glimpses of their misfortune.
Being able to see future misfortune has always helped him make the best choices.
So far, nothing she’s touched has failed.
At least until a month ago.
<Scoop. The sinking of the Adrejo.>
Ines crumpled the newspaper she was reading.
The morning had been bad.
He woke up to the news that the cargo ship he had just invested in had sunk.
Ines sighed as she put the crumpled paper down.
A month ago, her powers disappeared.
She could no longer see misfortune when she came into contact with others.
Embarrassed, Ines played it safe and invested in a safe place.
But everything she touched failed for some inexplicable reason.
It was as if all the misfortunes of the world had conspired against him.
“It wasn’t the pirates, it wasn’t the winds, it wasn’t the reefs…….”
The boat caught fire while cooking!
There was water everywhere, and the idea of fire sinking the ship was ridiculous.
Finally regaining her composure, Ines called her hired help.
“I’m leaving now, get ready to go out.”
Ines sat down at her dressing table.
She brushed her wavy silver hair neatly back and applied light makeup that emphasized her clear blue eyes.
After a quick touch-up, she stepped out onto the porch.
“Good morning, Ines!”
A tall woman with her hair tied up high greeted her.
It was Shamore, the secretary.
Ines climbed into the carriage with her.
The carriage pulled out of Count Eldin’s estate and into a busy street.
Leaning back in the seat, Ines stared out the window.
The glittering buildings flashed past.
“I wonder how much that building is worth.
The only way to avoid ruin is to buy a building on golden land.
‘What if it burns down again as soon as I buy it?’
While I was thinking about this, the carriage stopped.
They had arrived at the largest bank in the capital.
Ines left Shamor waiting outside and entered the bank.
The branch manager, who recognized her, came running out.
“Mr. Eldin, you’re here!”
The branch manager, who greeted her briskly, took the first step.
“I’ll show you inside.”
The eyes of the customers waiting their turn turned to Ines.
“Mr. Eldin……? Is that Ines Eldin, the so-called investment genius?”
“Investing genius is an old saying. I hear she’s lost everything she’s invested in lately.”
“But you are beautiful.”
Hearing the chatter, Ines walked away.
It was then.
The entrance door burst open and masked men burst in.
“Freeze!”
Screams erupted from all sides as the men swung their swords.
“Shut up and sit down over there! Hey, there. That includes you!”
The masked man called out to Ines and the branch manager.
Ines quickly looked around.
The two bank guards standing at the entrance had already been subdued.
“At this point,” he thought, “the misfortunes of the world have come crashing down on me.
In the morning, I lost my investment, and now I’m a hostage…….
Muttering to himself, Ines walked to the corner with the branch manager.
“……?”
A big man was sitting there.
He felt like he was the only one standing up when everyone else was sitting down.
There was nowhere else to sit, so Ines took a seat next to him.
“Quick, put the money in here.”
While two of the robbers watched the hostages, the other ordered the bank teller to move the money.
Ines watched the sacks pile up with gold coins.
Shamore was outside, surely he’d realize what was happening and call the guards.
“I have a lunch appointment.
I can’t believe we’re wasting time here.
Ines clicked her tongue.
“What’s this? It’s confused with a check!”
The robber spying on the bank teller picked up the paper from the desk.
He ripped it in half and threw it on the floor.
The man sitting next to him winced.
“My papers…….”
The man muttered to himself in a desperate tone.
“I can’t believe you’re still fiddling with papers.
Ines glanced at him curiously.
He was a strikingly handsome man, though she hadn’t noticed him before.
The first thing she noticed was his hair, black as the grain of ebony.
His crimson eyes peeked through the hair and his cheeks were as pale as freshly fallen snow.
His forehead was as white and rounded as if chiseled from the ice of a snowfield.
Despite her dazzling appearance, her mood was sensitive and sharp.
His eyes, especially the haggard ones, showed his fatigue.
“I apologize. Ms. Eldin.”
The branch manager, barely awake, addressed Ines.
“Our bank prioritizes Eldin’s well-being…….”
“Eldin?”
The robber, who was standing nearby, walked over.
“Did you just say Eldin?”
The branch manager sucked in a breath.
The robber looked at Ines with a very greedy gaze.
“If you’re an Eldin, the ransom must be huge.”
Ines laughed coldly inwardly.
“You’re too greedy.
The robber stooped down to snatch her arm.
Pfft!
The mugger’s body jerked away.
Ines’s eyes widened in surprise.
The man sitting next to Ines had just driven his fist into the mugger’s stomach.
The man got to his feet and ran toward the other robber.
“No!”
A short, raspy scream erupted.
In the blink of an eye, the second mugger was sprawled on the ground.
“What, what.”
The robber who had been spying on the employee turned around.
His mouth dropped open as he realized his colleagues were down.
He looked back and saw the man standing alone among the hostages.
The moment their eyes met, the man lunged at him.
“Damn it, don’t come near me!”
The robber reflexively swung the sword he was carrying.
Clang, clang, clash of blades.
Before he knew it, the man had a sword in his hand.
But the sword fight was no more than a two-handed affair.
The last of the robbers screamed and collapsed.
There was silence for a moment.
Everyone held their breath and stared at the man who had killed all the robbers.
“Hah…….”
The man let out a deep sigh.
It was a tired, languid sigh.
Sheathing his sword, he looked down at the torn papers and picked up a fresh sheet of paper from the table next to him.
He turned to the clerk who’d been bagging the money a moment ago.
“I was cut off at my turn, can you accept the paperwork now?”
“……Uh, I don’t think so.”
The desk was already trashed from the robbery.
It would be at least a few hours before he could get back to work.
The man clicked his tongue at the banker’s answer.
Then he stomped the robber on the ground once more.
When he turned around, Ines jumped to her feet.
“Wait.”
The man stopped at Ines’s call.
“If you need to take care of some paperwork, I can help you.”
As a guest of honor at the bank, Ines was always at hand.
The guest parlor hadn’t been destroyed, so he could still use it.
‘He doesn’t seem like an ordinary person…….’
I wondered what he was doing.
And since he saved me from wasting my precious time, the least I can do is help him.
Ines walked straight towards him.
“Let’s go to the drawing-room,” Ines said, smiling brightly.
“Let’s go to the guest parlor.”
She reached out her arm and grabbed his wrist.
It was a moment of skin-to-skin contact.
Whoosh, a black aura spread out in front of them, blinding them.
“……!”
Ines stared at the black aura with her lips parted.
It was the man’s unhappiness.
“……Your powers are back.
I thought it was completely gone.
“Even a misfortune of this magnitude.
It seemed as if its very existence was a misfortune.
So many misfortunes, all at once.
Ines felt dizzy and frowned.
Then a scene flashed through his mind.
[Master of the Sword! You caused this……!]
[Demon Sword Master has gone berserk! Everyone run!]
A man holding a pitch-black sword in his hand.
The scene of a man losing his senses and going berserk was vividly unfolding.
Ines reflexively glanced at the man’s waist.
The sword was sheathed in a scabbard secured by his belt.
The sword you wielded a moment ago is…….
“Demon Sword Tigrios.
The sword that cut down a sacred tree.
A sword cursed to lead its wielder to destruction.
Ines stared at the man again.
She couldn’t help but recognize him.
This was the most famous man in the empire, on the continent.
This man was Kalad Asdeon, Master of the Sword.
And the most unfortunate man in the world.
