YSR – 33

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Making a contract with the devil did not end your life immediately. When the sun rose in the morning, Lillian’s beggarly life still remained the same. 

Lillian was sitting in the outdoor garden of Baron Rossetti, peering into a teacup. The morning sun was warm, and the tea had a wonderful, refreshing aroma of herbs. But Lillian’s hands, holding a teacup, trembled. She was dying with discontent, her chin quivering with complaints. 

“I don’t want tea— I need coffee! Coffee!’ 

First thing in the morning, she had to have a hit of coffee to wake up. In particular, Soo-Yeon was an avid coffeeholic who only took a cup of java dark—without anything added.

She couldn’t be satisfied with lukewarm tea water—especially today where she had complicated paperwork to look forward to which threatened to overwhelm her.

I really missed coffee. It’s best to work with a crazy spinning brain drunk on caffeine. 

“Oh, I can’t concentrate!” 

Lillian tapped the papers in front of her. She couldn’t hit it hard in case the ink smudged.  

What Lillian is looking at now was the financial report of the Rossetti family. The butler who came to work in the morning without knowing anything would not give it up to her —stating that they couldn’t do it without the permission of the head of the family—namely Lillian’s father, Herbert. Of course, Lillian thought to when she heard his reply:

‘The head died yesterday!’ 

Technically, it was an accident, but he was dead nonetheless. Feeling guilty again, Lillian shuddered without speaking a word. 

I can’t believe I’m killing people like the other characters. 

She wanted to wallow in her guilty conscience for a few days so she could feel a little normalcy. 

But her poor circumstances didn’t even afford her that luxury. With such a severe trauma looming over her as she worked, Lillian remembered modern society where only the rich go to therapy and a psychiatrist. The worker ants, who live day to day, did not have time and money to go to professionals even if they had a mental illness, reflecting Lillian Rossetti’s situation now. 

So, at her wit’s end, she threatened the butler who refused to give her financial report.  

“Should I remind you who the real owner of the Rossetti family is? If you knew who was paying you, you wouldn’t be talking to me like this!”

Indeed, such truth was obscured by years of abuse and meekness.

Lillian stamped her feet and screamed, the butler’s face turned pale, and he acquiesced to her demands, saying, “No, no, no…” and presented his report.

Lillian, who made the butler give in, was pleased with herself. She felt like the female lead, which made the male lead give in to her, so she proudly looked into the financial report…. And the result was despair and distress. 

Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at the real estate and cash assets held by the Rossetti family.  

‘This is a real nightmare!’

At this point, she had a suspicion the butler intentionally didn’t show this report not because he was loyal, but instead looking at it would threaten his sanity. The financial condition of the Rossetti family was dire.  

This wretched little family lived on Lillian’s salary for a month. Lillian’s salary in the Royal Knights was quite generous, but there was no money left. Lillian’s eyes shook wildly while looking at the financial report. 

“No, no! In order to do anything, you need to have money!” 

Lillian cried out, tearing out her innocent black hair. Saleos, who was sunbathing in the grass far away, looked at her outburst, amused. He was tanning in the sun, revealing his perfect upper body. Lillian suddenly thought, looking at the sensual appearance of a gorgeous handsome man.

‘Can’t I just sell that? It would fetch a lot of money.’ 

But Lillian himself knew better that it was impossible. She took her eyes off Saléos with a wry look. She couldn’t sell him, and looking at him only gave her heartburn. 

In most fantasy novels, the way the heroine makes got rich was already decided. Business and investment. Unfortunately, both were impossible without the necessary funds. There was no way for Lillian, a dirt spoon, to make money at the moment—you needed money to make money—so for now, she needed to continue working as a government official with the Knights of the Royal Palace.

Lillian tried to brush back her messy hair. Yes, so far, she has been sucked dry because her father, Herbert, who extorted her salary from her to drink and fool around. But Herbert is now dead. If Lillian did well in the future, she would be able to do something by saving up and using her salary wisely. 

“It’s the only way to survive.’ 

Lillian realized she would have to be in the Knights for at least a while. In order to do so, she needed to rectify that she had no fencing skills.  

Lillian watched Saleos lying on the lawn. He closed his eyes and seemed to enjoy sunbathing. If she were to ask him for some fighting abilities. . . .his reply would be obvious:

‘Open your legs.’ 

***

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