Chapter 1

                         What do married women need the most?

A powerful family Higher education? A close friend?

No, it’s money.

“When are you going to get married?”

“If it’s too late, you might miss the potential candidates.”

After the coming-of-age ceremony, the most frequently asked questions were on the subject of marriage.

Each time, Ines inquired,

“Do I really need to get married?”

The answer she got back was always the same.

‘Of course she should.’

She was criticized by others. They said, if you live alone, it will be difficult financially.

To those who were trying to convince her, Ines responded proudly.

“I’m busy making money, so I don’t have time to think about marriage.”

Then there were the ones who tried to insult her.

“How much do you earn that you can’t even get married?”

Then Ines quietly showed them her bankbook. Most of them shut up right then.

It was an amount they had never seen in their lifetime. Their gaze changed at once, and they sneaked a peek at their son or relative.

“But you still have to get married. My son is very domestic, isn’t he?”

“You need to find a man who manages money. My nephew happens to…”

Ines listened quietly and then opened her mouth.

“There’s something I realized when I started investing. “

Ines smiled and said to those who were trying to get some investment secrets.

“It’s best to live alone when you have a lot of money. “

* * * * * *

The God of investment.

 A socialite of the social world.

The lady who saved the Count Elrdin family from falling apart.

All were nicknames of Ines Elrdin.

The said Ines had one ability… It was just to see the misfortune that would happen to the other person.

[Oh no, I’m really late!]

[Then he shouldn’t have broken up.]

[Why does everything go wrong?]

Regret, despair, pain, loss…

Just by shaking hands or bumping into a person, she could capture fragments of their misfortunes.

Ines started investing through that ability.

[Damn it! I should’ve invested in ships.]

[I never expected my business to go bankrupt.]

Ines met several people and glimpsed the misfortune that would befall them. She had always chosen to make the best choice as she could see the misfortune that would happen in the future.

So far, Ines’s touch has never failed her.

That was, until a month ago.

Ines crumpled up the newspaper she was reading.

She’d been unlucky since morning.

She heard that the cargo ship she invested in recently had sank.

Ines put down the crumpled newspaper with a sigh.

A month ago, her ability disappeared.

Even when she came into contact with others, their misfortune and unhappiness was no longer visible.

It was embarrassing, but Ines invested mainly in safe places.

But now, everything she touched was ruined for a nonsensical reason.

As if all the misfortunes of the world had fallen on her.

“It wasn’t like they met a pirate. There wasn’t any storm or a reef…”

She couldn’t believe that the boat had caught fire while cooking!

The boat had water on all sides, and it was ridiculous to hear that it sank due to a fire.

Ines, who barely regained her composure, called a maid.

“I’ll be going out, so help me get ready.”

Ines sat in front of the dressing table and entrusted herself to her. Her wavy silver hair was neatly combed, and she wore makeup to accentuate her azure-blue eyes.

After dressing up casually, Ines came down to the front door.

“Good morning, Lady Ines!”

A tall woman with her hair tied up high greeted her.

It was her secretary, Shamour.

Ines got into the wagon with her.

The carriage, which had left Count Elrdin’s residence, entered the downtown area.

Ines leaned back on the seat and stared out the window.

Prosperous buildings passed by in front of her.

‘How much will that building cost?’

After all, if one didn’t want to go bankrupt, they had no choice but to buy the building at a profitable sum.

‘What if another fire would happen as soon as I buy it?’

While she was thinking about something quite plausible, the carriage stopped.

They arrived at the largest bank in the capital.

Ines left Shamour outside and entered the bank.

Then the branch manager, who recognized Ines, jumped out.

“Lady Elrdin, you’re here!”

The branch manager who greeted her politely took the first step.

“I’ll guide you inside.”

The eyes of customers, waiting for their turn, turned to Ines.

“Elrdin…? Is that The Ines Elrdin, who’s named as the Investment genius?”

“Investment genius is a thing of the past. I heard she suffered loss in everything she’d invested in lately?”

“But she really is beautiful.”

Listening to the gossip, Ines moved forward.

That was then.

The entrance door broke and masked men rushed in.

“Don’t move an inch!!”

As the man swung his sword, screams erupted from all sides.

“Shut up and sit over there! Hey, there. You too!”

The masked man commanded Ines and the branch manager.

Ines quickly looked around.

The two bank guards standing at the entrance had already been subdued.

‘At this point, the misfortunes of the whole world are upon me.’

She lost her investment this morning, and now she’s a hostage…

Ines, lamenting inwardly, moved along with the branch manager to a corner as the robbers told them to.

“……?”

A tall man was sitting there.

Everyone was sitting together and it felt like she was the only one standing up.

There was no other seat left, so Innes took a seat next to him.

“Hurry up, put your money here.”

While two robbers watched the hostages, the other one ordered a bank employee to transfer money.

Ines watched the gold coins pile up in the sack.

Since Shamour was outside, she surely must’ve noticed the situation and called the guards.

‘I have lunch appointments.’

She was going to waste her time here.

Ines clicked her tongue inwardly.

“What‘s this? It’s different from the check!”

The robber, who was monitoring the bank employee, picked up a piece of paper on the desk.

Then he tore it in half and threw it on the floor.

The man sitting next to her flinched.

“My papers…”

The man muttered to himself in vain.

‘I can’t believe you’re worried about the papers.’

Ines glanced at him in wonder…

She hadn’t known it before as she had looked at him roughly, but he was a strikingly handsome man.

The first thing that caught her eye was his hair, which was as black as the heartwood* of an Ebony tree.

[T/N: Heartwood means the inner part of a tree. Apparently, the heartwood of the Ebony tree is pitch black.]

Bright red eyes were revealed through the soft black bangs, and a face as pale as fresh snow was seen. His facial features were white and smooth as if he were an intricately carved sculpture of ice.

Contrary to his dazzling appearance, the atmosphere around him was sensitive and sharp.

 In particular, his haggard eyes showed fatigue.

“I’m sorry, Lady Elrdin.”

The branch manager, who barely came to his senses, spoke to Ines.

“At our bank, your safety should’ve come first…”

“Elrdin?”

A robber standing nearby walked straight in their direction.

“Did you just say Elrdin?”

The branch manager took in a sharp breath.

The robber looked at Ines with very greedy eyes.

“If it’s the Elrdin family, the ransom must be huge.”

Ines smiled coldly inward.

‘You’re being overly greedy.’

It was the moment when the robber bent down to grab Ines’ arm.

Thuck!

The robber’s body fell to the floor.

Ines’s eyes went wide in surprise.

The man sitting next to Ines had put his fist into the robber’s stomach.

Before she knew it, the man raised himself and ran for another robber.

“Billion!*”

[T/N: *It literally says Billion.]

[E/N: If it’s the name of one of the men, I wonder why he was named as such. Maybe because his idiocy level is in billions.]

A short scream broke out.

In the blink of an eye, the second robber was also lying on the floor.

“What, what?”

The robber who was monitoring the staff turned around.

The robber’s mouth fell when he saw that his comrades had fallen.

The robber belatedly found a man standing tall among the hostages.

The moment their eyes met, the man rushed in.

“Damn it! Don’t come any closer!”

The robber reflexively swung the sword he was holding.

Chaeeng!

The sound of blades clashing was heard.

Before he knew it, the man had a sword in his hand.

However, the sword fight could not add up to two.

Even the last robber fell screaming.

In an instant, silence came.

Everyone held their breath and looked at the man who had defeated all the robbers.

“Haa….”

The man let out a deep sigh.

He sighed as if he were tired.

Sheathing his sword, he looked down at the torn papers and picked up a new piece of paper placed next to the table.

And he said to the employee, who had been putting the money in the sack a while ago,

“I was cut off from my turn, will you accept if I fill out the paperwork now?”

“…oh, I don’t think it’s possible.”

Because of the robbery, the desk was already in tatters.

It would take at least a few hours to go back to working normally.

At the banker’s answer, the man looked down and clicked his tongue.

He then kicked the robber on the floor one more time.

As he turned around, Ines immediately got up.

“Wait.”

The man stops at Ines’ call.

“If there’s any paperwork, I can help you with that.”

Ines, a distinguished guest of the bank, was always able to see business immediately.

The VIP reception room had not been damaged, so they should be able to use it today.

‘I don’t think he’s an ordinary person…’

She wondered what he was doing.

And since he stopped the robbers from wasting her precious time, shouldn’t she help him at least this much?

Ines walked straight towards him.

With a fresh smile, Ines said,

“Let’s go to the VIP room.”

Ines reached out and grabbed his wrist.

It was the moment when their skin touched.

Whoosh.

The black energy, which had spread, was wide enough to cover her.

“……!”

Ines stared at the dark energy, her mouth open.

The identity of the energy was a man’s misfortune.

‘….My ability is back.’

She thought it was completely gone.

‘Such great misfortune.’

It was as if his existence itself was a misfortune.

A wave of misfortunes came at once.

Ines frowned with dizziness.

Then, a scene flowed into her mind.

[Master of the Magic Sword! Because of you…!]

[The master of the magic sword has gone berserk! Everyone run away!]

A man with a black sword in his hand.

The scene of him losing reason and running wild vividly unfolded.

Ines reflexively looked at the man’s waist.

A sword was attached to the scabbard fastened with a belt.

The sword he swung a while ago was…

‘The Demon Sword Tigrius.’

A sword that cuts through the sacred tree.

A cursed sword that leads to the destruction of its own chosen master.

Ines looked at the man again.

She couldn’t help but notice.

Because he was the most famous man on the Continent.

This man here was the master of the demon sword, Callard Arcidion.

He was the unhappiest man in the world.

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