Erina sat still, staring blankly at her name engraved on the stone mountain.
No one could know how satisfying it was that the surname attached to Erina’s name was not Iols.
From the moment she decided and planned to have everything until now, Erina couldn’t relax.
Afraid that Rose, who was staying with Feyron at the mansion, might leave earlier than in the original story and come here, she stood on the terrace without closing her eyes, endlessly watching the entrance of the mansion.
Unlike her fearful imagination, the name beautifully engraved on the stone wall was Erina Medelia.
This mine, which was so precious that just having one’s name engraved on it could receive protection from the imperial family and the clergy due to its astronomical value, was now hers.
In this world where she couldn’t have anything, she now had something that was entirely her own.
As Erina was quietly gazing at it, savoring the moment, a loud voice was heard from behind her.
“Countess! Are, are you alright!”
She saw Revil running towards her, wobbling while holding an umbrella as tall as himself.
Erina couldn’t help but smile at the sight.
It felt like the tension she hadn’t been able to release since yesterday was finally easing.
“Revil.”
“Yes!”
Her heart tingled at the genuine concern she hadn’t felt since her parents passed away.
“Thank you.”
When she smiled brightly while still sitting down, Revil’s face, still hugging the umbrella, turned bright red.
“Can you see it?”
Erina’s gaze was directed at the place where the ancient text had disappeared and her name was engraved.
Realizing the meaning behind her words, Revil nodded his head quickly up and down and answered in an excited voice.
“Yes, I can see it. It’s really amazing how the picture suddenly changed to the Countess’s name!”
“You know, this mountain, this mine chose me as its owner. Really, me and not that woman. I can’t believe it.”
Revil seemed to have noticed the complex feelings in her words, as he kept his mouth shut.
“Want to go together?”
More than anything, Revil’s heart fluttered at the word ‘together’.
From her perspective, he knew that he was like a thorn in her side, even at his young age.
Revil, who had been left at an orphanage early on and lived only watching others’ reactions, couldn’t help but know.
Nevertheless, she was warm to him.
Unlike others, she didn’t try to take what was his, nor did she raise a hand against him.
She saved him from difficult situations and reached out her hand.
He couldn’t help but know. The warmth of her kindness that made him want to cry.
“Yes, I want to go.”
“Give it to me.”
Erina reached out her hand, asking Revil for the umbrella.
“I’ll hold it for you!”
“I don’t have the strength to stand up. I want to use it as a cane instead.”
“Ah…”
She couldn’t hide her smile at Revil’s cute face full of disappointment.
Erina’s legs were weak from the released tension, but she stood up, gripping the umbrella firmly.
A warm breeze, like the pleasant weather, wrapped around Revil and Erina and passed by.
In high spirits, Erina used the umbrella as a cane with her left hand and reached out her right hand to Revil.
“Let’s go.”
Holding the small hand that wasn’t entirely soft, they walked and stood in front of the entrance of the mana stone mine.
The entrance was so large that it made the two people standing in front look small.
As Erina stepped in, the edge of the oval entrance glowed bright white as if it had a band around it, and at the same time, the inside also shone brightly.
At the end of what looked like an artificially made short corridor, a bumpy but brightly shining stone wall was visible.
Everything in sight was mana stone.
Unlike other ores, mana stones contained magic even in the falling debris, with nothing going to waste.
Erina’s eyes caught sight of a stone the size of a child’s fist lying in front of the stone wall at the end of the corridor.
Erina picked up the mana stone as if enchanted.
In the middle of the bumpy but pale purple transparent mana stone, a name engraved in gold was visible.
[ Erina Medelia ]This was the first mana stone that Rose had picked up as soon as she entered the mana stone mine in the original story.
In the original, the mana stone had a pale pink tinge with the name engraved in green.
Unlike the original, which had colors representing Rose, this mana stone, with colors clearly claiming to be Erina’s, was mesmerizing.
Erina put the mana stone she had been clutching tightly into her handbag and turned around.
“Let’s go back, Revil.”
Erina could now truly believe it. All the reality she had changed.
That fact was so satisfying that her heart ached.
Erina came out of the mine with Revil and stared once again at the place where her name was engraved before turning away.
It seemed like it was time to implement all the plans she had been waiting for with bated breath.
But shortly after, an unexpected variable arose that Erina hadn’t anticipated.
“Phew…”
Erina could feel Revil shuffling his feet beside her.
Turning their backs on the satisfaction, the two came out of the mine and returned to where they had boarded the carriage.
The sun was already setting, as it was almost evening time.
But the carriage hadn’t come.
Erina had overlooked one big fact in her thoughts that she must have the mine.
The coachman driving the Iols family carriage was also Feyron’s man and a servant who welcomed Rose.
Whether it was because staying up all night without sleep had shaken her judgment, she had failed to take care of the most important thing.
According to the original plan, she should have moved by renting a public carriage instead of the Iols Count’s family carriage.
Erina had to admit her mistake.
This was a sparsely populated village located at the very edge of the Iols County.
Before Rose discovered the mana stone mine in the original story, it was a place where outsiders barely visited once a week, if at all.
Later, the village would prosper greatly as the roads became active due to the mana stone mine, but not now.
“What should we do…”
It seemed the carriage wouldn’t come.
Whether it was due to Feyron’s orders, Rose’s wicked schemes, or the coachman’s twisted loyalty, she could predict that the carriage wouldn’t come.
“Let’s go into the village.”
Erina held Revil’s hand and entered the village, not relaxing her tension.
A woman who looked like a noble to anyone and a child wearing good clothes were easy targets for crime.
Erina was worried, not knowing what kind of people were in this village.
Worried that she might have unnecessarily put the child in danger by bringing him along, she gripped Revil’s hand tightly.
As soon as they entered, there were more than ten houses lined up on both sides.
“Oh my.”
Suddenly, a middle-aged woman who came out of the second house on the right was surprised to see the two people entering the village.
Erina flinched involuntarily and looked in that direction.
“What brings you to this village? Ah, are you with the party in the last house?”
“Excuse me, but the carriage that was supposed to come didn’t arrive.”
“Oh dear.”
The middle-aged woman approached Erina, wiping her wet hands on the apron tied around her waist.
Her warm appearance made Erina relax her tension, but she tried to stay alert.
“Actually, there’s a noble who comes around this time, so I thought you might be with them.”
It seemed that a noble frequented this village.
This might be for the better.
If the carriage really didn’t come at all, they could return together by mentioning the family name.
“Oh my, look at me. I left the food on the stove. Oh, you probably haven’t eaten either, have you?”
The middle-aged woman with a bright smile that was warm spoke quickly and then, after a moment’s thought, invited Erina and Revil into her house.
“It’s not much, but would you like to have a meal? I always cook too much and have leftovers.”
Erina hesitated for a moment.
Seeing the sudden invitation from a stranger, the increasingly darkening sky, and the child who kept looking around nervously while holding her hand, Erina could no longer hesitate.
“Then, if it’s not too much trouble, could we stay for the night? I’ll compensate you, of course.”
The middle-aged woman, who had been staring intently at Erina, nodded her head with a bright smile.
“Yes, please do.”
“Honey! What’s taking so long out there!”
The door burst open and a man who seemed to be her husband came out.
“Oh, oh.”
The middle-aged man lost his words when he saw Erina.
His reddening face suggested he was surprised by Erina’s stunning appearance.
“This man, really.”
The woman, who had struck the man’s back hard, approached Erina and Revil kindly and carefully, leading them into the house.
“Ouch! This woman, really!”
“Ignore that man and come in with me. Somehow I felt like cooking meat dishes today, I guess it was because I was going to meet precious guests.”
Ignoring the man who was jumping up and down while holding his back, the middle-aged woman entered the house with the two and guided them to a cozy dining table that could seat exactly four people.
“Please, make yourselves comfortable.”
“Excuse us for the intrusion.”
After a flurry of greetings and preparations, they all sat around the round table.
“Oh my, come to think of it, I didn’t even introduce myself. I’m Susan.”
The warm smile visible among the steaming dishes made even the sensitive Revil relax.
“I’m John.”
When the man who seemed to be her husband also said his name, Erina thought for a moment and replied.
“I’m Rina. Thank you sincerely for inviting us so suddenly.”
Erina spoke politely to them without mentioning her full name.
Susan and John nodded at Erina’s words without her surname and invited them to eat.
“It seems you came with your younger brother.”
“Ah. Yes, that’s right.”
As Erina carefully answered to avoid showing awkwardness, Revil focused on the meal, reading the situation.
“How did you end up in this remote place?”
“I wanted a change of scenery, so I just moved wherever I felt like going with my brother, and we ended up here.”
To Susan’s question, Erina used the same excuse that Rose had given to others in the original story.
“My goodness, this is really a curious coincidence. What’s your name?”
Susan asked, pushing some distant dishes a little closer to Revil.
“…It’s Vil.”
Revil cleverly hid his real name by dropping the first letter, just like Erina had done.
Of course, no one would know Revil, an orphan, but Erina was proud of Revil for being considerate of her and acting accordingly.
“Yes, Vil. Eat a lot.”
During the warm and friendly mealtime, both Erina and Revil relaxed their stiff shoulders and enjoyed the meal.
Unlike the elaborate and delicious food they had eaten at the count’s house, the simple and plain food melted their hearts.
Then, suddenly, there was a sound of someone knocking on the door.
The door opened and someone came in.
“Susan, John.”
As a pleasant, deep voice was heard and a man appeared, Erina jumped up from her seat in surprise.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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