Damon was preparing for the future after hearing Elaine’s words, but he was now a young child who had just turned eighteen.
Although he inherited a considerable amount of money directly, he was still afraid of leaving home and becoming independent.
However, if he hesitated too much, it was obvious that he would end up being manipulated by Lark.
Elaine shook Damon’s wrist firmly again.
“Wake up, Damon! You’re healthy, and you have inherited wealth—what is there to fear? Some people start their independence with just 10 gold in their hands! For commoners, it’s even worse. There are many children who are thrown out on the streets without a single penny.”
Elaine spoke while recalling her past life, where she managed to gather just enough money to leave the temple with 10 gold.
Back then, that 10 gold had felt like a fortune, giving her a sense of reassurance.
Compared to her past life, Damon’s inheritance was far beyond 10 gold, so his circumstances were undoubtedly much better.
“First of all, when Lark inherits the title, you must make sure to receive your share of the inheritance. If you delay, you don’t know what Lark will do to you. Make sure a neutral party is present, and ensure that your share of the inheritance is legally allocated to you.”
“Yes, yes…”
“You must have an account in your name, right?”
“Yeah. I made it last year.”
“Good. Your inheritance will mostly be in cash anyway, so put it all in that account. Lark may offer to take care of it until you become an adult, but you must never give in.”
Damon swallowed hard as he thought of Lark, who would smile softly and say, ‘I’ll take care of it and give you more funds when you become an adult.’
If he were to refuse and insist on managing the money himself, Damon wondered how that gentle face might change.
“Can I…do it?”
“If you can’t do it, don’t do it. But don’t regret it later.”
“You’re really cold sometimes, you know that?”
“You didn’t come here to take out your anger on me, did you?”
Damon felt awkward, realizing that he was getting nothing from his attempt at sympathy.
However, he felt like he understood Elaine better now. Even though she spoke harshly, he knew that if he asked for help, she would not turn him away.
“Okay, I got it! So, after I get my share of the inheritance? What do I do next?”
“Find a place to live alone near a street lined with clothes shops. Then, while living there, create your own works. Once you build up a portfolio, you can get a job as an assistant in a clothes shop, and eventually, with your experience, you can open your own clothes shop.”
“You want me to become a clothes shop assistant? Oh, how can I do that? No matter what, I’m the son of a count—!”
“No. As of today, you have become a collateral of the count’s family. You probably know better than I do how a collateral of a noble family lives.”
Only then did Damon fully realize his situation.
Until now, he had been ‘the son of a count’, but from now on, he would only be called a nobleman and would have no status.
At best, it meant taking a place in the family business, and at worst, it could mean living a life worse than that of a commoner.
Of course, since he was a collateral of the Count Newt family, Lark would take care of him to some extent for the sake of saving face, but that would be done on the premise that he lived according to Lark’s will.
As Damon kept his mouth shut as if he was about to cry, Elaine patted his shoulder.
“I think you’re on the right path. It’s a much better life to carve out your own future on your own than to live as your brother’s tool because you can’t let go of your noble status.”
“But…if I fail?”
“There is no such thing as failure unless you give up. You only gain valuable experience through trial and error.”
Damon nodded, seeming greatly encouraged by Elaine’s words.
“I… I’ll do my best. If you manage to escape from my brother, come visit me at <Lil Evans Clothes Shop> later.”
“<“Lil Evans Clothes Shop>? I’ve never heard of it before. Where is it?”
“That’s the name of the clothing shop I’ll open in the future.”
“What? Ahahaha!”
Elaine laughed out loud.
Damon’s mood of dreaming of the future seemed contagious. It must be scary, but behind it, it must be the excitement and joy that he is experiencing for the first time since being born.
“I’ll definitely remember. Don’t pretend not to know me when I come looking for you.”
“Don’t worry. And… don’t forget my warning about my brother.”
“Yeah. Thanks for letting me know in advance.”
“Then I should go now. If I’m gone too long, he’ll get suspicious.”
Damon stood up, his coat collar turned up like he had when he first arrived. His face was pale at the thought of having to face Lark, but he steeled himself by repeating the name of ‘Lil Evans’s Clothes Shop’.
Elaine asked one of her servants to call a carriage and make sure Damon could get back without being noticed.
Elaine, who was watching the back of the departing carriage, sighed at the thought that she would meet Lark in some way soon.
* * *
Damon and Elaine’s anxious predictions became reality in just ten days.
Lark came to Count Lindell’s house in person.
Sergey wanted to refuse his visit, but Hubert advised him that it would be more difficult if Count Newt asked for imperial mediation, so he had no choice but to allow it.
But of course, he would leave Elaine alone with Lark.
“Don’t worry, Elaine. I’ll be there for you.”
“Thank you, Sergey.”
“And take this. You won’t be using it today, but I think it would be good to carry it around for self-defense.”
Elaine was surprised when she saw the dagger Sergey handed her.
“I don’t think something like this is necessary…”
“Your cousin, he seems a little crazy. Keep it with you just in case.”
Sergey prepared the dagger, remembering the time when Elaine was imprisoned in the temple’s coffin chamber.
The blade was imbued with his magic, allowing it to inflict more fatal wounds than a normal dagger.
He could have protected Elaine if he could, but the Recuro spell wasn’t perfect, so he thought it would be a little easier if he could give her something like that.
“Okay. It can’t hurt to be careful.”
Elaine carefully took the dagger Sergey gave her.
Although she was grateful for Sergey’s kindness, Elaine was actually no longer afraid of Lark.
‘I have Rabes.’
She had a stronger backing than anyone in the world. She just didn’t know that it was the man who was going to meet Lark with her.
As she opened the door to the living room with Sergey and went in, Lark, who had been sitting, uncrossed his legs and stood up from his seat.
Although it didn’t move particularly threateningly, it felt like there was an ominous aura.
However, Lark still maintained an elegant and polite appearance.
“Young master Lindell came too.”
“It’s my home, and I can’t just let her go alone when I think of you treating Miss Elaine at the royal banquet.”
“I don’t know why you are so concerned about our family affairs.”
The conversation felt tense from the start.
Before Sergey could become too offended, Elaine stepped between them, cutting in.
“I asked Sergey to come with me. So instead of picking a fight with a random person, just tell me why you came.”
Lark clicked his tongue and turned his displeased gaze away from Sergey.
And only then did he begin to look at Elaine.
The girl who had caught Lark’s attention despite her expressionless face, her gaze towards the floor, her worn-out clothes, and her emaciated body, was sitting across from him with noticeably improved skin and hair, a body that had gained weight and feminine curves, and, above all, light green eyes that looked straight ahead without fear.
‘I should have stopped sending Elaine to the temple.’
Lark once again regretted it at the sight of Elaine’s beautiful and mouth-watering appearance.
He wanted to have been the one to nurture and refine the girl into a woman. To witness every moment as she blossomed.
And thanks to Rubaine, he now knew something he hadn’t before—he should have been the one to pluck the flower he nurtured.
Feeling like he was trying to pour spilled water back into a cup, Lark spoke.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but my father has passed away. So now I’m the Count of Newt.”
“Oh, I apologize. Let me ask again—why are you here, Count?”
“Stop being sarcastic because it doesn’t suit you.”
Lark chuckled, thinking that Elaine had really changed a lot, but he also found it cute that she was mocking him.
“Elaine. Now, there is no one to bother you, so come home. In the first place, it should have been Damon, not you, who went to the temple. I should have stopped Father back then. I’m sorry.”
“It’s already in the past.”
“It’s something that happened in the past, but it’s not something that can’t be fixed.”
Lark’s expression looked extremely kind and affectionate.
To an outsider who didn’t know the circumstances, it might seem like Elaine was lucky to have such a caring cousin.
However, since Elaine already knew who Lark was and had already heard that Lark was involved in Rubaine’s death, it was just creepy.
* * *
