“Who is it?”
Cherno jerked his chin.
“The one sitting across from me.”
—Blink, blink.
Sephiel blinked and pointed at herself.
“Me?”
“Yes, who else would be better suited for the job than you?”
—Thump thump.
Sephiel’s heart started beating again.
“So I’m thinking of making you an ‘advisor’ to our company. Your official title will be… consultant.”
“……”
“Of course, you’ll get a salary too.”
‘Salary?’
Sephiel’s eyes began to sparkle.
‘Really?’
She could actually earn money!
‘Then even after divorce, I might be able to save enough money to live on.’
She has already obtained the great treasure called the Elf Queen’s relic.
‘Of course, I didn’t plan on just playing around until I became an adult.’
‘Anyway, it wasn’t bad to get paid.’
“Now, look at this.”
Cherno took a small envelope out of his pocket.
Inside the envelope was a neatly folded piece of paper, a small stamp, and a small, stiff rectangular card.
Sephiel’s eyes immediately locked onto the shiny card.
“What’s this?”
“I made your business card first. Read it.”
Sephiel carefully picked up the card.
Sephiel—Exclusive Consultant of the Golden Dragon Company—
“Consyultant?”
“It means you’ll advise me and talk things over with me. All you really have to do is keep the title and chat with me whenever I ask for your opinion.”
“And this?”
“Try it out.”
Cherno rang the bell to bring ink.
Then she stamped her seal.…
‘Is that… a raccoon?’
Inside the cute raccoon face, the name “Sephiel” was finely engraved.
“Now, stamp this seal on everything you have been involved in. It will all remain as your achievements and contributions to our company.”
Sephiel was speechless.
She thought back to the basement where she used to work in her previous life.
There, she had handled the ledgers, learning all the dirty secrets and financial trails of the Allegro royal family.
But Sephiel’s name had never been written down anywhere.
Like the hidden ledgers stored in that damp basement, Sephiel had been nothing more than a tool.
“Gyandpa… Will I really get paid?”
Sephiel asked, suppressing her emotions.
“Of course. I’ll write up an employment contract. Hmm. The salary is one silver coin per month.”
Sephiel tried to gauge the value of one silver coin.
‘Less than I thought!’
That was her honest reaction.
Ten bronze coins made one silver. A single bronze coin could buy two or three days’ worth of bread.
‘If I eat very, very little, that’s maybe enough to cover food for a month when I’m grown up?’
Sephiel suddenly looked at the tea table.
Freshly baked scones with steam rising from her. Chef’s new chocolate creations and sweet puddings.
‘And what did I have for lunch again?’
A tomato soup with meat that melts in her mouth.
Freshly fried chicken, roasted lamb, and beef.
Soft cheese stew made specially for her, and finely chopped vegetable salad and fruit platters.
And after all that, here was more dessert.
‘Yeah, I do eat a lot.’
At that moment, Sephiel realized that she had nothing to say even if she didn’t receive the money.
Food, clothes, and still a silver coin?
‘Besides, it would be nice if I could talk about various things with my favorite grandfather.’
‘Let’s save up and use it to cover food expenses when we leave here.’
After much thought, Sephiel nodded.
Besides, Sephiel wasn’t completely without ulterior motives.
‘If I can keep Grandpa on my side, when the Duke’s family moves to the divine realm, he might help me.’
‘Even if I marry that guy Elga and then divorce him later, Grandpa probably won’t just wash his hands of me completely.’
‘What was the most important thing in life? Right. Strong backing.’
Nothing mattered more.
“Okay, I’ll do it.”
“This kid. At times like that, you have to say that it’s too little. Really now. You’re sharp in other ways but clueless here.”
“But it’s fine because it’s ywou, Gyandpa. We’re family, right?”
Finally, Cherno burst out laughing.
“Yeah. We’ll become a family someday.…”
Cherno stroked Sephiel’s head with his big hand.
“Don’t worry. I’ll settle the rest when you grow up. What I’m giving you now is just pocket money.”
“Okay! But when I grow up, ywou have to give me ten silver coins!”
Sephiel spread out her fingers.
‘Ten silver coins are enough to buy meat sometimes!’
Cherno burst into laughter once more.
“Okay, deal.”
Cherno nodded.
“I’ll definitely give it to you. Ten silver coins.”
And the two of them linked their pinkies and made a promise.
* * *
Sephiel chatted with Cherno until it was nap time.
From stories about business to pretty flowers blooming in the flower garden to Sephiel’s daily life.
They didn’t realize how quickly time had passed.
But when nap time came, Sephiel’s eyelids began to droop.
“Miss Baby, it’s nap time.”
Only after Berry came calling was Sephiel able to return to her room.
After Sephiel left, Elton came into the room.
“Wow, Elder Master has also completely fallen for Miss Baby. She really does have a special talent.” Elton said, pouring another cup of tea.
Cherno responded with a hum.
“That kid. She’s something else.”
“Isn’t she?”
Elton smiled broadly.
“By the way, Elton. How is Erga’s condition…?”
“It’s not good. I can’t believe even Young Master Erga has ended up like this….”
“Yeah. Actually, Daihan and I had been slowing the progress of his illness. But now it seems we’ve hit our limit. The second seizure happened.”
“It can’t be helped.”
“But everything will be fine. Once that boy becomes an adult and the final promise is fulfilled, we’ll leave for the realm of the gods.” Cherno said faintly.
In the world of the gods, there is no death or suffering. So all illness will disappear there.
Cherno shook his head and changed his expression.
“Elton, have you done everything I instructed you to do?”
“Yes. Are you going to give the property to Miss Baby?”
“Exactly. I said I’d need to set up a bank account for her. Make sure the preparations are done.”
“Ah, I didn’t get a chance to tell you before, but… the Miss Baby already has an account.”
“Already?”
“Yes. Grand Duke Daihan ordered an account to be created for her.”
Cherno’s eyebrows twitched.
“That damn guy said that….”
“Yes. Would you like to see the account details?”
When Cherno looked over the documents Elton brought, his face twisted in displeasure.
“What is this?”
There was only a single deposit recorded.
Instead of a sender’s name, the description said:
– The baby raccoon’s first allowance.
Amount: XXXXX gold coins…
When Cherno saw the amount listed next to it, his face crumpled even further.
“What is this? The digits are endless!”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“This is almost an entire city’s annual budget!”
“Yes. It’s money taken from the Allegro royal family.” Elton said cheerfully.
“Only a small portion was left for Miss Baby as spending money. The rest was locked in the trust account as a dowry. She won’t be able to touch it until she becomes an adult.”
Elton then explained in detail how the money came about.
“Oh, really? Giving that much money to a child?”
Cherno slapped the account documents onto the table.
“Do you have any sense or not!”
“……”
Elton kept his mouth shut when he saw that Cherno looked very annoyed.
“I can’t stand it!” Cherno said, sounding displeased.
“How dare you! Giving her her first allowance without my permission!”
Cherno’s true feelings burst out.
“I wanted to surprise her with an allowance myself.”
Cherno had told Sephiel that her salary as a consultant would be just one silver coin.
But that was far too little.
So Cherno had planned to secretly deposit a “real salary” into Sephiel’s account every month.
He intended for her to discover it once she came of age.
Cherno had seen plenty of children from the other three lord families three hundred years ago.
Most of those children, knowing they were rich from an early age, became arrogant.
‘A child with special talent doesn’t need to know they’re rich already. It would only hinder the blooming of their talents.’
Anyway, Daihan ruined that perfect plan.
“Seems like the Grand Duke has taken a strong liking to the Miss Baby.”
“Hah, that Daihan. Even though I’m the elder here, he knows no respect!”
Cherno slapped the account down.
“This allowance amount….”
“……”
“Double it!”
“Yes?”
“I said I’ll give her double the allowance!”
“Of course, as a trust deposit, right?”
“Of course. When the baby raccoon grows up, she will know the power of this money.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Elton, well-accustomed to the pride battles among dragons, smiled and agreed to prepare the money.
In this way, Sephiel became the richest baby in the United Kingdom Alliance within a few months of arriving here.
But completely unaware of this fact, Sephiel was…
“Hehe, even though my salary is low, I still have the Elf Queen’s relics!”
She lovingly stroked the precious item.
“With the silver coins Grandpa gave me, and this thing if I sell it, I won’t ever go hungry even when I grow up.”
Now she doesn’t have to worry about making a living anymore.
‘Yeah, I’ve become evil, so I’m sensitive about my rice bowl.’
Sephiel smiled broadly and hugged the Elf Queen’s relic as she lay down on the bed.
* * *
