BOPE 15

– Mission: Revitalize the poor territory!
Turn the Grace Territory (Village 1) into a livable place.
You’ve secured funds by looting a jewelry store! Hahahaha
What would you like to do first?

A status window suddenly popped up, sparkling brightly.
It blinked as if decorated with colorful lights along the edges, seemingly in an exceptionally good mood.

Seeing it labeled as “Village 1” suggested that Villages 2 and 3 would likely appear in sequence.

With both money and a plan in hand, Donghee felt fired up. Her mood matched the glittering status window.

When Scrooge stepped outside, Delma, who had been anxiously waiting, immediately grabbed his arm tightly.

“What happened? What did that wild boar of a man do to make him walk away with such a cheerful grin?”

Every time Gold Rich visited Grace Castle, the territory’s treasury was left empty.

Though it always felt like he was taking away far too much money compared to what he left behind, no one dared to argue, since he claimed that the prices of noble jewels fluctuated wildly.

More importantly, confronting Gold Rich might mean getting hit by the huge man who always followed him—and that could be fatal.

Delma could only glare resentfully at Gold Rich’s smiling back as he left.
Then, as soon as Scrooge stepped out, she rushed up to figure out what happened.

If the lord had been ripped off again like a fool, she planned to do whatever it took to get the money back.

But instead of erupting in anger, as she expected, Scrooge just stood there with a dazed expression like he had been bewitched.

“Steward!”

“Yes? Oh… yes. I’m listening.”

Delma’s sharp yelling finally brought some focus back to Scrooge’s eyes, but he still looked like someone who had just been hit in the back of the head.

“I’m asking what that guy did to our lord. Were you just standing there watching?”

Since she hadn’t been summoned, Delma hadn’t entered the room, making her all the more anxious.

“That’s not what happened.”

“I told you to be more alert… Wait, what?”

Delma paused, realizing the meaning of Scrooge’s words.

Slowly, a spark of life returned to Scrooge’s blank face.

“W-What is it?”

Though she didn’t say it out loud, Delma began to suspect that this man had finally gone mad.

Then Scrooge suddenly broke into a wide grin and, to Delma’s shock, grabbed her hands tightly and exclaimed,

“1,100 gold!”

“What?”

“Our territory finally has a budget!”

Even as Scrooge shouted joyfully, Delma still looked baffled.

Scrooge repeated what had happened inside the room over and over, as if he didn’t tire of it.
After answering the same question eight times, Delma finally grasped the situation and let out a sigh of relief, collapsing into a seat.

“But… where on earth did the lord get those jewels? She didn’t steal them, did she?”

“I don’t think so. Perhaps it was another hidden inheritance. Our territory is saved!”

Honestly, if they dug deeper, they might find the truth—but Scrooge decided to turn a blind eye.
Besides, the Chloe he knew may be slow, but she wasn’t someone who would do something wrong.

That night at midnight—

Ding… ding… ding…

As the hallway’s grandfather clock rang twelve times, a blue light suddenly appeared in the empty room.

Donghee, having spent the whole day outside, had already collapsed into a deep sleep.

From within the glowing light above the bed, a silver-haired man emerged.

His entrance was nothing like the sudden toss to the ground earlier that day.

—Not bad for a start, huh?

The status window that had “spit out” the man was much smaller than usual.

But the letters displayed inside were clearer than ever.

“She might give up soon, though.”

Standing beside the bed, the man gazed down at the sleeping Chloe with a voice devoid of any hope or excitement.

Moonlight seeped through the window, softly illuminating her face.

It was baffling how this woman could sleep so soundly even after being dropped into a strange world.

—How many users has it been?

“Seventy-fourth.”

The man answered the status window in a flat tone.

Even as he spoke, his gaze never left the sleeping woman.

It was a face he had seen for centuries—so many times that it had become nauseating.

So many human souls had passed through that tiny body that he wondered how it hadn’t worn out by now.

Would this time really be any different?

Creak… creak-screech…

A sinister, crying sound drifted in on the wind, growing louder and clearer.

The man, still watching the oblivious sleeper, flicked his finger toward the window.

A bolt of bright, translucent light—just like his silver hair—shot through the window like an arrow.

Ffft!

Moments later—

Screech! Thud!

There was a shriek and the sound of something bursting.

As if it were nothing, the man casually glanced outside, then turned to look at the hourglass on the back of his hand.

And then he scattered into glowing blue particles.

Exactly 70 seconds had passed since his arrival.

The next morning, Delma arrived at Chloe’s room with little expectation—only to be shocked.

Before she could even knock, she found the young lord already up and preparing to go out.

She blinked several times, wondering if she was still dreaming or seeing things.

“Y-Your Lordship?”

“What took you so long? Come help me with my hair. It’s too long—I don’t know what to do with it.”

Having gotten up at dawn and even taken a bath, Donghee had tried everything to tie her hair up, but to no avail.

There were no tight elastic bands here—just a flimsy ribbon. How was she supposed to tie it with that?

After failing for the seventh time, she couldn’t even look at ribbons anymore.

“Yes, I’ll go call Anna.”

“Okay.”

She didn’t know who Anna was, but judging by the situation, she was probably the maid in charge of grooming.

But hadn’t Delma helped yesterday?

As Donghee tilted her head in brief confusion, she returned to brushing her hair in the mirror.

“So pretty.”

Even though her hair was a mess, her face looked prettier the more she saw it.

Her deep brown eyes gleamed like melted chocolate, matching her lustrous hair.

Her flawless pale skin had a perfectly oval shape, and the nose—right at the center—looked like it belonged in a plastic surgery “after” photo.
Her cherry-red lips were naturally full and flower-like, charming in every way.

Knock knock.

“Your Lordship, may I enter?”

Just as she was deep in self-admiration, there was a knock, and Delma entered with a maid Donghee hadn’t seen before.

The girl had puffy eyelids that made it hard to tell whether her eyes were open or closed.
Under her bonnet, springy, sandy-blonde curls stuck out in every direction.

“Anna?”

“Yes, my lady. I arrived this morning. Thanks to you, I was able to hold my mother’s funeral properly.”

Oh, she’d been crying.

Donghee felt a twinge of guilt for thinking about her puffy eyes, and she gave an awkward smile.

“O-Oh, I’m sorry for calling you in so early when you must be tired.”

“Excuse me?”

Anna looked startled, like someone who had just heard a foreign language.

She glanced at Delma for clarification, clearly confused.

Still, her hands remained respectfully clasped in front of her.

“You can rest after tying my hair. You don’t need to work again until tomorrow.”

“…Am I being fired?”

Anna’s eyes brimmed with tears as she asked the question, her small nose turning pink.

Her voice was hesitant and full of sorrow, tugging at Donghee’s guilt.
She quickly waved her hands in denial.

“No, no! That’s not it! You just looked tired, that’s all.”

“No, I’m not tired at all! I can work as much as needed. My lady, I have five younger siblings!”

A girl supporting her whole family…

Donghee’s heart ached with sympathy.

“I have no intention of letting you go. Just tie my hair and then go get some rest, okay? You can start working tomorrow. Got it?”

She spoke slowly and clearly, meeting Anna’s eyes sincerely.

And it worked.

Anna, who had been on the verge of tears, finally began to calm down.

One of the tears clinging to her lashes eventually rolled down her cheek.

“Oh, lord… what kind of life have you lived, Chloe?”