Chapter 7

“Those scumbags... I should’ve gotten rid of them before something like this happened...” Claudia said angrily, biting her nails.

No, wait. You can’t get rid of them. That would be treason!

I turned around stiffly to look at Felix—the man who had nothing but love for his younger sister. He still had a tranquil smile on his face. It seemed he didn’t care that she was feeling murderous toward the most powerful men in the empire as long as she was happy. He did, however, step in to calm her down since it was clear she had lost her cool.

“Claud, Irene has been through an ordeal. Shouldn’t you comfort her first? She’s probably exhausted,” he said, lifting up my luggage slightly.

Since it seemed like I was going to be staying there for more than one or two days, I had quickly stuffed my belongings into a suitcase. I told him I’d carry it myself, but he refused. He said that no matter how heavy something was, it felt as light as a feather to him because he was a mage.

“Oh my! You’re right... Irene, you must have been so scared,” Claudia said belatedly as she grabbed my hands.

I laughed awkwardly as I tried to put her at ease by saying, “Since I’m everyone’s enemy now, I guessed something like this would happen, but I didn’t think it would happen so soon...”

“Don’t say that! You’ve done nothing to deserve this.”

“Of course. They’re the bad ones,” I reassured her.

“Yes... that’s what you’ve always said to me.”

Even though she said that she probably still thought I almost died because of her.

Claudia looked a bit sad, so I lightly brushed her cheek and said, “Let’s not think about them any more than we have to. Just forget them... You and I have to focus on each other! Let’s have fun by ourselves!” Then I put my hands on my hips as I asked, “What should we do first?”

It was as if the clouds had lifted from her face at my words, and she brightened up. She couldn’t contain her excitement as she grabbed my hand and dragged me off somewhere.

“Irene, hurry! Hurry! I have something to show you. Let’s go!”

She’s so cute.

She was acting like a young girl who had invited a friend over to her house for the first time. I stumbled and took a moment to clutch my chest because she was just too adorable. I did my best to follow her with my shorter legs. When I glanced back at Felix, I saw him follow while watching us like a pair of cute, small animals. He was staring at Claudia with affection and then turned his gaze to me, but for some reason, I could feel myself blushing and quickly looked away. I don’t know how to explain it, but the way he looked at me... That was the way he was looking at the kitten he was playing with at my house. He was staring like he saw something small, cute, and lovable.

“Irene, do you have a fever?”

“N-no.”

Startled, Claudia checked to see if I was okay after seeing my reddened face. She relaxed once she realized I was fine. I had kept my head down out of embarrassment, and as I did she covered my eyes with her soft, slender hand.

“This is all for you! I had it prepared as a gift. One... two... three!” she shouted and then uncovered my eyes.

Before me, I saw an amusement park filled with sparkling jewels and sweet desserts. It felt like the story about that boy and the chocolate factory. My jaw dropped at the sight of the giant chocolate fountain. I could probably take a chocolate bath inside of it if I fell in. Next to the fountain were mountains of cakes, macarons, puddings, tarts, cookies, and ice cream. Even as I watched, servants continued to bring out more, adding to the pile.

On one side, there was a dessert buffet, then on the other, there was an amusement park. Close to the middle on the park’s side, there was a jewel-encrusted merry-go-round that was spinning. Next to that, there was a great big sofa that looked like Cinderella’s pumpkin carriage. And next to that, there was a tent made of red velvet, embroidered with golden silk thread. Underneath it was a mountain of fluffy stuffed animals such as bears and rabbits!

And is that... a garden?

I kid you not. A part of the room was connected to a glass greenhouse that led outside. I wasn’t sure how they did it, but somehow inside of the greenhouse, there was a large tree in full bloom with birds flying around it. I thought I was beholding the embodiment of the phrase “I didn’t know what you’d like, so I just prepared everything.” It was on a scale so big, it couldn’t have been prepared overnight. I’d been expecting a typical luxurious room befitting the rich, but this was beyond anything I could’ve imagined!

Had she been preparing this room for a long time? Since when...?

Mouth agape, I stood around staring with a stunned look on my face. Though my family was no longer in debt, we were still poor. Simply baking a sheet of cookies was a luxury for us. I wasn’t exactly well off either in my previous life as Heesoo Kim. Without the full-ride scholarship that I got, I wouldn’t have been able to set foot on a college campus. So that was a sight I had never seen before in my life, and it was all for... me?

Rich people really do live in their own world. For someone who had always been poor, the world they lived in felt like another planet. Yeah, I felt like an earthling seeing the universe for the first time.

“Do you not like it?” Claudia asked as she squeezed her hands together and started fidgeting as she waited for my reaction. “It... It wasn’t enough, was it?!”

It was definitely not that.

I awkwardly looked back at her and said, “It’s... more than enough...”

“There’s even a separate wardrobe for you! It seemed too messy to put all the dresses, shoes, bonnets, parasols, jeweled accessories, and the like in one place... Do you want to go see that first?”

That was when Felix chimed in with that soft smile of his and said, completely seriously, “We should’ve made an artificial waterfall and put a boat in the middle of the river.”

What?

“That would’ve been pretty, but it would’ve been difficult to make. We should have gone with the mini train track instead. That way, Irene wouldn’t have to get tired from walking around.”

Come again?!

“I’ll go ahead and order a magic-powered carriage right now.”

“That sounds good.”

“Wait!”

I had to put a stop to the two immensely wealthy siblings before they put their plan into motion. They continued to say things that kept blowing my mind into the stratosphere. Rivers, boats, and trains were already more than I could bear, but a magic-powered carriage? In this world, anything magic-powered was more expensive than anyone could imagine. The prices were simply astronomical.

Ah, that’s right. I forgot that the oldest son of this family is a great mage. What a combo.

This affluent family owned a diamond mine, was led by a man with impeccable business acumen, and the oldest son was a mage. It was basically a foregone conclusion for this family to be ridiculously wealthy. They could go buck wild and spend their money like there was no tomorrow for the rest of their lives, and they would probably still have plenty left over. And once Claudia begins to summon elementals in the future, their wealth will grow even more.

Although... this is based on the assumption that tragedy will not fall upon the Chamberlain family,

I thought while alternating glances between the two siblings.

I chose my next words carefully before saying, “It’s definitely not that I’m unhappy or dissatisfied. I guess this was just a bit much for me to take in all at once. I froze because I needed some time to get used to all of this. This is truly incredible...”

I was prepared to tell her, “Thank you so much, Claudia!” but given the current situation, that reaction no longer seemed adequate. The appropriate reaction would probably be something out of a historical drama where I would get down on my hands and knees to bow before the monarch in gratitude. This went beyond gratitude though. I was in awe.

That was when Claudia’s eyebrows tightened as she said dejectedly, “Irene, you know what?”

“What?”

“I actually don’t know much about you. I want to know your likes and dislikes too.”

Huh?

“You always listen to me as I talk, but you never tell me anything about yourself. You talk about the people around me or tell me helpful information, but you’ve never once talked about yourself. You’ve become someone I lean on a lot, but did you know that you’ve never once relied on me for anything? That makes me sad.”

“Huh? It wasn’t on purpose. I just didn’t feel the need to...”

Hmm, my likes and dislikes?

There probably wasn’t another human being like me whose desires were this transparent.

“Please tell me,” Claudia said with a pout, puffing her cheeks and staring at me pitifully.

Her cuteness would have instantly melted even the heart of someone cold-blooded.

She was so adorable that I lost all rhyme and reason and blurted, “I love money!”

It’s the best! It’s life’s greatest companion!

“I also love pretty people!”

Just staring at them is fun! And exciting! I could look at them all day!

“I love food too!”

I can even eat six meals a day! And there’s always room for dessert!

“I also like to just hang out all day!”

It’s the best! I love just hanging out with friends!

“I like stuffed animals too! They’re soft and fluffy, and I can hug them when I go to sleep!”

I had never told anyone because I thought they’d tell me to stop acting childish, but I’d always wanted to sleep buried under a mountain of plushies!

“A-and my dream as a kid...” I said shyly, like a little girl describing her dreams, “...was to become a rich bum.”

The two siblings were at a loss for words at my rapid-fire confession. Maybe I was a little too honest. Her adorableness was so distracting that I blurted my inner thoughts without thinking. I suppressed the urge to slap myself on the mouth and inwardly groaned at my mistake.

That was when Claudia said, “What’s there to worry about? Just live with us here permanently, Rene.”

Claudia’s eyes had widened in shock from my outburst, but then she smiled brightly as if she couldn’t be happier. I was almost blinded by her smile, which shone more brightly than any jewel and was more beautiful than any flower.

Claudia, you’re the epitome of all things good.

“Even if I’m a lazy bum who doesn’t do anything to help?”

“Of course! Besides, you’re not a lazy bum. Having you by my side is enough for me, Rene.”

“Claudia...”

I may have just swooned. Twice.

She then reached out and gently patted my cheeks. “Rene, when are you going to stop calling me that?”

“Claud! You’re the best!”

Since she’d chopped my name in half, I happily returned the favor and used the nickname I heard Felix use. Having just become my light and my truth, Saintess Claudia seemed satisfied to hear that I liked everything she had prepared for me. If I had known it would make her that happy, I would have told her my filthy desire to bum around and do nothing from the beginning. I totally thought she’d be disappointed in me.

I did wonder what Felix thought. He was probably looking at me like I had lost it. I looked over at him in worry, but he seemed to have a similar expression as his sister’s.

“Everything works out for the better when you’re cute,” he said.

I silently hoped that the diamond siblings’ affection toward me lasted for a very, very long time.