BOPE 26

Chapter 26 ….

“Yes. Special. Bonus. Pay.”

As Donghee emphasized each syllable one by one, the worry on Delma’s face melted away like snow. It seemed people really did become helplessly small in front of money.

“Yes, understood!”

Delma responded with a firm voice, already energized by the thought of receiving a special bonus.

“You’re coming too, right, Delma?”

“Of course! I’ll definitely be there!”

Delma answered brightly and stepped outside.

“Special bonus, huh!”

Leaving the lord’s room, Delma, now brimming with excitement, gathered all the servants in the castle.

As the de facto head maid, Delma’s summons carried weight, and the servants of Grace Castle quickly gathered. To them, Delma was not only a supervisor but also one of the few reliable adults they could depend on.

About fifty servants, some anxious, others whispering nervously, gathered in the hall usually used for shared meals or private staff parties. Among them, the only ones with hints of expectation on their faces were the maids who had previously earned extra pay for sewing clothes.

“Why do you think we were called?”

“Are we getting fired?”

“That can’t be. I have nowhere else to go.”

“Me neither. Even if the pay’s tiny, this is the only place that gives us anything. If I lose this job, my younger siblings will starve.”

Ever since Grace Castle’s finances had taken a turn for the worse, Delma had only summoned the servants to deliver bad news—like layoffs or halted wages.

Though the lord had recently changed, the staff was well aware that the castle’s financial state had been abysmal until not long ago. Everyone looked uneasy.

Among them were young maids on the verge of tears, already fearing they were about to be dismissed.

The hall could easily fit 100 people, so with barely fifty present, the place felt nearly empty.

Delma stepped up a few stairs to be more visible and addressed the gathered staff in a loud voice.

“You all know what you ate earlier was dural, right?”

The servants silently nodded.

It had been a long time since they had eaten until they were full, and their bellies still bulged from the meal.

“There’s a wide plain near the Black Forest where dural can be harvested. The lord brought the dural we ate from there. The fruits are so big that fewer than twenty of them fed all of us. You remember that, right?”

As everyone nodded, anxiety deepened on their faces.

They were worried she might now ask them to pay for the food.

But Delma’s next words instantly swept away those fears.

“Tomorrow, we’re going to harvest dural from near the Black Forest, and we need workers.”

Despite how delicious the fruit was, vague fear of the Black Forest and concerns about harvesting it themselves made everyone murmur anxiously.

Delma waited for the murmuring to settle, then confidently continued. With her hands on her hips, she looked impressively assertive.

“Anyone who helps with the dural harvest tomorrow will receive a special bonus from the lord. This is on top of your regular wages.”

“Me! I’ll go!”

Several hands shot up. They were the maids who had previously received bonus pay for sewing. The others hesitated, still fearful of the Black Forest.

Sensing their hesitation, Delma shrugged her shoulders and added another remark.

“The daily wage is three bron.”

Immediately, the rest of the hands shot up too.

“Me too! I want to go!”

“Me too!”

Starting with Anna, the hall was soon filled with volunteers’ voices.

Later, Donghee learned from Delma that enough staff had volunteered for the dural harvest, and because so many were eager, they would take turns going. After all, they couldn’t neglect all their castle duties just for the bonus.

The servants were reportedly thrilled at the chance to earn extra money.

Lying on a soft bed, Donghee smiled as she recalled what Delma had told her.

It felt like a completely different world from the one she’d just been in—where everything felt frozen and empty.

“Am I starting to get comfortable here?”

Sometimes she still wondered if she was dreaming and would pinch her cheek just to be sure.

The system window that suddenly popped up from time to time made the whole thing feel even more surreal.

But the people she met, the food she ate, the breeze brushing her cheeks, and the cold air—all of it was far too vivid to be anything but real.

Is this really okay? As that question lingered in her mind, Donghee slowly blinked from exhaustion and soon fell asleep.

That night, Donghee dreamed of a handsome silver-haired man staring intently at her.

It felt like he had said a lot to her, but when she woke up, all she remembered was his beautiful silver hair that shimmered like silk.

“Was that… a ghost dream?”

She rubbed her arms as goosebumps broke out and headed to the bathroom to wash up.

Moments later—

In the empty bedroom, a blue-glowing system window popped up.

–A ghost dream, she says. Hehehehe. She said she’d plant her presence in her subconscious? What a joke. She can barely hear ghost talk.

The text on the system window seemed to ripple with laughter.

A silver-haired man had appeared without a sound, scowling at the glowing letters, then glaring toward the closed bathroom door.

“Looks like I brought back an idiot.”

All the previous souls he had brought remembered at least half of what he told them—even if he spoke ten things, they retained five. But this woman named Donghee didn’t seem to remember a single thing. Not even his face.

There’s no way someone could forget a face this handsome—unless they were truly a fool.

–Should we change the strategy?

“Shut up. That’s for me to decide.”

–I didn’t say anything? You could just ignore me.

As the system window blinked obnoxiously, the man sighed deeply and waved his arm through the air. Donghee’s carefully upgraded inventory appeared before him.

Inside were a few remaining items: a cup ramen, juice packs, and some chewing gum.

He frowned at the items, then slowly reached into the inventory.

–You can’t even touch it, what’s the point?

The system window flickered in mockery.

But the man’s eyes widened as he picked up a small juice pack.

The paper pack fit neatly in his palm and was cold as ice.

It was the first time he had ever managed this.

–Maybe she’s not a total idiot! Try it! Stick the straw in! Sip it! Let’s see if you can eat it!

The system window sparkled even more obnoxiously, almost blinding him. Dazed, the man tore the straw from the pack and stuck it in.

–Hurry up! No time!

Encouraged by the system, he slowly brought the straw to his lips.

Sluuurp.

Cool apple juice entered his mouth, and a sweet, tangy burst of flavor exploded on his tongue.

–Awesome!

The system window flashed those two huge letters in excitement, and the man reached for another snack.

But just then, the hourglass spinning over the back of his hand blinked out—and his hand vanished before it could touch the next item.

Sucked back into the system window, his hand clutched only the now-empty juice pack.

“Alright, shall we head out? Delma, are the workers ready?”

“Yes, they’ve been waiting.”

Delma’s voice was slightly stiff from nerves.

Wearing the most comfortable clothes she could find, Donghee desperately wanted to summon a tailor to make her some pants.

When she used to wear jeans and work clothes every day, she longed for flowing, pretty dresses—but after spending a few days tripping over gowns, she craved sweatpants and trousers. Ideally, she’d wear the jeans and jumper from her studio apartment, but if she dared, Delma would probably shriek like it was the end of the world and tear the clothes apart on the spot.

Kind-hearted Delma had a surprisingly intense side.

“What about carts?”

Donghee asked, shaking off the vision of her shirt being shredded by Delma.

“We’ve prepared ten.”

Delma counted the long line of carts one more time before answering.

Scrooge was inspecting the carts, checking carefully for damages and ensuring the oxen and horses pulling them were healthy.

“Hmmm… Not enough. Can we get more?”

Considering how vast the dural fields were, the number of carts was ridiculously small.

“There are only ten usable carts in the entire territory.”

So this big castle only had ten working carts?

They really were hopelessly poor.

Donghee made a mental note to ask the Builder if more carts could be made. He could build houses, so surely carts wouldn’t be too hard, right?

Before heading to the dural fields, they stopped by the Black Forest. Though they hurried, logging was already well underway.

Some workers glanced nervously toward the forest, but the fear seemed to make them work faster.

“Alright! Let’s move quicker!”

The Builder’s booming voice rang across the work site.

His energy even stronger than on the first day made Donghee feel unexpectedly cheerful.

“Builder.”

“Oh! My lord!”

When she called out, the Builder flinched in surprise and hurried over, bowing deeply.

“Tired?”

“Not at all! Just being able to work like this—I’m deeply grateful! And these trees will all be used for our village, won’t they? That gives me strength. I’m sure everyone here feels the same way.”

Choked with emotion, the Builder had to pause a few times to steady his voice.

“That’s good. Hand these out to the workers.”

At Donghee’s signal, two servants stepped forward and handed the Builder several large boxes.

“What’s this?”

The Builder peered into the boxes. Inside were long, shiny objects that sparkled in the sunlight. At first glance, they looked like metal rods, and they were inscribed with strange characters he had never seen before.

Though a commoner, the Builder had learned to read through his trade—but these letters were unlike anything he knew.

“Hot Six.”