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A rustling sound came from the heavy purse, a sound that alone brought happiness.
“Here’s your travel expense. You never know, someone might reveal who bought the castle and estate if you offer money. Use it then.”
“My goodness, such a large sum… Do I have to give all this money to that person?”
“There’s no need for that. Just give what they ask for, and if there’s any left, treat yourself to something nice. Whatever is left after that, you can keep.”
Katie packed away the money and playfully smiled.
“Really? What if I don’t spend a single penny and keep it all for myself?”
“If you can do that, go ahead. How else would you endure such a long and arduous journey without the fun of managing travel expenses?”
“Countess…”
The cost of lodging and other travel expenses had already been separately prepared. With this additional money, it would be not just a comfortable but a luxurious trip.
This was done in consideration for Katie’s drained state after her last trip. Rachel wanted her to enjoy the journey itself, regardless of the outcome.
Hoping for her safe return, Katie, looking emotional, suddenly hugged Rachel.
“Oh, Katie!”
“You’re such a wonderful person. This time, I’ll definitely return successfully!”
“Hehe. Alright. I’ll look forward to it.”
Even after the carriage departed, Katie waved out the window for a long time.
Seeing her so full of energy made Rachel feel good.
After the carriage disappeared from view, Rachel returned inside the mansion and encountered Lylus in the hall.
“Dad, did you finish your prayers?”
“Oh, Rachel. You’ve just seen Katie off, haven’t you?”
“Yes, I’ve just given her a generous travel allowance.”
Lylus smiled.
“You never rely on your father’s foresight. I could instantly tell you what you’re curious about right here.”
“How can I do that? It’s so hard to see the future. I don’t know about other people, but I don’t want to tire you out by asking you to see the future for something that doesn’t really need to be done.”
“My dear, you’re probably the only one in the entire empire worried about this Lylus using his foresight too much. Even Yenis and Tityenis wouldn’t be concerned about that.”
“I must because no one else will. I’m your daughter, after all.”
“Haha! I must say, I’ve raised a wonderful daughter.”
Rachel heard that people got exhausted or very sick after seeing the future through tarot or astrology. Considering how difficult indirect foresight was, she could only imagine how much harder direct foresight must be for Lylus.
Originally, when using the foresight of the Yenis religion to see the future or treat wounds, one had to prepare money or something equivalent.
This was called a ‘divination fee’, which compensated the priest for using their mental power to foresee the future.
The more detailed the future had to be seen, the higher the divination fee, and the higher the priest’s status, the clearer their foresight.
This was why Tityenis did not reveal the future carelessly.
However, Lylus foresaw the future for Rachel and Graham without any divination fee because they were family.
It meant Lylus was paying the divination fee to the goddess on their behalf.
‘I hope it’s not something like his lifespan that he’s paying with.’
That’s probably not it.
Lylus clearly said that he was destined to live a long, long life without any trouble.
But today, Lylus seemed particularly gloomy.
Rachel approached him, worry evident on her face as she examined his complexion.
“Are you alright? Dad, you look especially tired today.”
“Do I? Hmm. Maybe it’s because I forgot to shave.”
“Dad, you don’t usually shave.”
“You know me too well, don’t you?”
Lylus stroked his beard awkwardly, contemplating for a moment before speaking heavily.
“The truth is… I have a bit of a dilemma.”
“A dilemma? You?”
“Yes. I’m contemplating what the right thing to do is from looking into various futures, but it’s hard to find a clear answer.”
“You’re struggling even though you know the outcome. It must be a very difficult problem.”
“Indeed. It’s a very tough one.”
Lylus patted Rachel’s head with his wrinkled hand.
“The more I struggle with this, the less pain and more happiness our Rachel will have.”
“Oh…”
Rachel had faced a similar dilemma before when she first became Graham’s mother after transmigrating.
She felt both glad and thankful to have someone who cared for her so much and struggled with such love and concern for her.
Rachel smiled brightly.
“Thank you, Dad.”
“It’s what I should do, naturally.”
“I hope Goddess Yenis doesn’t get jealous because you love me too much.”
“Oh, that wouldn’t happen. She’s not such a petty person. Isn’t that right, Goddess Yenis?”
Suddenly, a strong wind blew through the open window and violently shook the curtains.
Lylus grabbed the hem of his clothes and twitched the corners of his mouth in disbelief.
“Oh, really. When I said that I liked her, she threw bird droppings at me, and now this? She’s certainly an unpredictable one.”
“Goddess Yenis must be very shy.”
“Hmph.”
Lylus snorted, and the wind blew gently through the hall.
It was a bright autumn day.
* * *
“Damn it!”
Theodore cursed as he left the bank. He ha’d hoped to get a loan, even a small one, but the bank wouldn’t lend money to someone without status or collateral.
Theodore slipped into an alley to avoid the crowd, checked if there were any guards around, then removed the hat and scarf covering his face.
“Ha. What am I supposed to do now?”
Theodore now had no money left, and it was because of the salt.
While wandering the streets after leaving the townhouse, Theodore had learned that the prices of salt and sugar were fluctuating.
Theodore thought that he could make money by buying salt when it was cheap and selling it when it was expensive, so he saved up all the money he had and bought salt.
But before he could do anything, the salt prices stabilized. Worse, Theodore had bought the salt when Rodotu’s merchant group had raised the prices.
In the end, all Theodore had left was a sack of overpriced salt, which he had to sell at a loss.
He needed money for food.
“So, this is what it means to buy at the shoulder and sell at the knee? Damn it. Nothing is going right.”
He had long given up looking for Berengella. Surviving on his own was already a struggle.
He used the money from selling salt to buy bread, and when that ran out, he survived on bread crumbs left behind from the bakery and holy water from the temple.
Out of money, he grew desperate.
In his desperation, he had tried visiting Jane again but couldn’t even knock properly because of the dogs. When she occasionally went out, she was inexplicably escorted by guards or guild mercenaries.
Rachel’s house was even more fortified. The Fram mansion was guarded day and night by armed guards. The hole he’d used to sneak into the mansion before was sealed.
He took out some cookie crumbs that he’d swiped from the bank table and poured them in his mouth. Maybe it was because he was hungry, but they tasted pretty good.
‘I want to see her… Rachel. No, Jane. No, Rachel. I want to see anyone.’
He missed the time he was able to spend surrounded by women who loved him.
He would do anything to get back the twinkling lights, the cozy bed, the sweet food, and the lovey-dovey Jane and pleading Rachel begging for his love at the same time.
‘What should I do? How can I go back to those days?’
But no matter how much he thought, he couldn’t find an answer.
All Theodore could do was hang around the ice cream shop every day and wait for Rachel to pass by.
Unaware that the ice cream shop owner had reported him to the guards for loitering around the area suspiciously.
* * *
Nick rushed into Cian’s office.
“Your Highness! We’ve found Theodore!”
Cian, who had been reading, jumped to his feet.
“You found him? Where?”
“Near the ice cream shop in the downtown area. The shop owner reported a suspicious person lurking around, and the description matches.”
An ice cream shop?
It was the place where Cian and Rachel met Theodore while taking their children to town, and it was also the place Rachel and Graham had visited a few days ago.
The thought of Rachel almost meeting him made Cian nervous.
“Are you sure it’s Theodore?”
“Yes. His age and appearance are exactly the same. I instructed the guards to leave him alone, and he’s still wandering around, probably unaware of the situation.”
A guy who has nowhere to go is wandering around an ice cream shop. The reason was obvious.
Cian bit his lip.
“He’s trying to meet Countess Rachel.”
“It seems so.”
“We must leave immediately. We need to deal with him before it’s too late.”
“I’ll prepare the carriage.”
As Cian hurriedly grabbed his coat and sword and was about to leave, someone knocked on his office door.
When Cian swung it open, the servant standing there was startled.
“What is it?”
“Uh, that… Bishop Lylus is here. He urgently wishes to see Your Highness…”
“Bishop Lylus?”
Of all times, why now when he was about to capture Theodore?
Cian’s face turned serious.
‘Something is about to happen.’
Sensing this, Cian quickly headed to the reception room where Lylus was waiting.
