Chapter 2

                        Ines looked at him blankly for a moment.

‘Is he really Callard Arcidion?’

She had heard the name many times, but it was the first time she had actually seen him in person.

What was more surprising was the mass of misfortune that swirled around him.

It was so large and menacing that it looked as if it would swallow him any moment.

“Let go of my hand.”

The low voice made Ines come to her senses belatedly.

As Ines removed her hand, Callard took a step back.

The two faced each other.

At that moment, the sounds of footsteps were heard from the bank entrance.

“Put down your weapons! You’ve been surrounded!”

The Imperial knights and guards in charge of security in the capital had arrived.

They looked around and were embarrassed.

It was because the men who seemed to be the robbers were lying on the floor.

One of the knights, who was trying to grasp the situation found Collard, and murmured,

“…Captain?”

Callard turned his head and looked at the knight.

Then the knight bowed.

Callard sighed as he ran his hand through his hair.

“Arrest these bastards.”

“Yes!!”

The knights shouted in unison.

With a tired face, Callard turned right away and walked towards the exit.

“Wait……!”

Ines tried to pursue Callard.

However, before she could even take one step, Shamour and the manager clinged to her.

“Lady Ines! Are there any injuries?”

“Lady Elrdin, you must have been very surprised…”

“Move out of my way.”

Ines separated the two and hurried out of the bank.

But Callard had already disappeared.

Ines stood still and looked down at the palm of her hand.

‘…I got my power back, didn’t I?’

The misfortune that came to mind as soon as she came into contact with Callard Arcidion.

The black mass and the passing scenes.

It was a familiar feeling.

Chamour, who had just walked to her side, looked at Ines as if she were very worried about her.

“Don’t you think you should go see a doctor?”

“I’m alright.”

As Shamour carefully examined Ines to see if there was any injury, she murmured,

“We shouldn’t have let the robbers to be just seized…”

As she thought she had to keep herself in control, Shamour cracked her knuckles with her fingers.

Ines spoke to Shamour, who seemed to be lost in thoughts,

“There’s a place I have to be.”

She had to make sure that her ability to see misfortune was fully restored.

“Let’s go to the racetrack.”

Ines headed straight for the racetrack.

When she arrived, it was crowded with people.

As she squirmed past them, her body came into contact, and all sorts of misfortunes came into her mind.

[The fact that horse number 6 won the championship is ridiculous.]

[The No.6 came from behind to win?]

[Aaaah!! No.6. My goodness!!]

Ines read the forecast on the wall.

The probability of horse No.2 coming in first place was over 80%.

In comparison, horse No.6’s was only 2%.

After checking the forecast, Ines did not hesitate as she purchased the horse race ticket.

“Give me 100 sheets* for number 6, please.”

[ N: We are not sure what “sheet” refers to here our guess is it’s a ticket or something similar which is worth some money and is used in betting.]At Ines’ words, there was a stir around her.

“A hundred for No.6? She’s crazy.”

“She doesn’t know anything about horse racing.”

“I’d rather bet on a horse with a higher win rate…”

The people who were waiting clicked their tongues disapprovingly, but Ines ignored them all.

She sat at the edge of the crowd with her horse racing ticket in hand.

How long did she wait?

Finally, the match started.

“Good Job!”

“Ugh! No way!!”

“Run faster!”

All kinds of shouts poured out from all directions.

And when the game was over.

“The 6th horse made a comeback victory!!”

Ines smiled quietly.

“Before, there was a lady who bought 100 copies for number 6…”

“I’m really envious. Did her ancestors appear in her dreams?”

[T/N: Much like CN novels, it’s said that people’s Ancestors come in dreams and tell them auspicious things. So the people here are saying that her ancestors must’ve appeared in her dreams and told her this.]

 Amidst the murmurs, Ines leisurely left the racetrack.

The next day was a blast.

However, her power disappeared again.

• • • • • •

‘What the hell?’

She couldn’t believe that her powers were back only for a single day.

It was an unbelievable situation.

Ines, who had laid out all kinds of assumptions, remembered one thing that was different from usual.

Her abilities had returned after she had come in contact with the Callard Arcidion.

Ines immediately investigated him.

“Name, Callard Arcidion.”

She flipped to the next page without hesitation.

“The eldest son of the Marquis of Arcidion. Adopted at a young age.”

Ines read the briefly organized information.

“The current owner of the magic sword, the commander of the Imperial 3rd Knights. And…”

Ines’s hand paused for a moment.

“Single. No lover…?”

Ines narrowed her eyes and turned over to the next page.

A lot of information had been briefly listed.

Ines, who was reading through it, summarized it in one word.

“It’s no wonder if his personality is dirty.”

There were no ups in his life. It was as if his life was moving downwards and hitting the rock-bottom.

“It’s proof that he’s unhappy because of being chosen by the demon sword.”

The demon sword that cut off the divine tree, Tigrius, appeared once in a very long cycle to choose it’s owner.

The people who became the masters of the magic sword had different nationalities and statuses, but they all had something in common.

One year after holding the magic sword, they’d lose their sanity and would go berserk.

So when a new master of the magic sword appears, the paladins were dispatched from the temple.

And when the time came, they dragged the master of the magic sword to the temple.

The time of being dragged was different for each master of the magic sword, but the result in the end was always the same.

None of the previous masters of the magic sword had returned after being taken to the temple.

In other words, it was a limited life.

‘The misfortune I saw then…’

The misfortune she saw when she came into contact with Callard was still vivid.

Holding a sword stained with red, Callard had lost his mind.

‘About half a year from now…’

Quite some time had passed since Callard was chosen by the demon sword.

There will be about half a year left, at best.

Ines put down the papers roughly.

“Ha…”

Who is sympathizing with whom now?

The most unlucky person at the moment was Ines herself.

“I’ll have to meet Callard Arcidion again.”

She was thinking of seeing if her powers would return after touching Callard.

It didn’t matter if Callard Arcidion was a madman with a dirty personality. Money was scarier than that.

What could be worse than not making any money?

She would even trade her own blood to have her ability back.

‘But meeting him is a problem.’

Callard’s daily life was the same as if it never changed.

Home, work, home, work…

It was difficult to meet him at work without a special purpose as his workplace was the Imperial Palace.

If she went to his house recklessly, he wouldn’t see her.

She knew she couldn’t keep chasing him.

‘I only need to check it once.’

But there never was an opportunity to meet.

Ines glanced at the papers scattered across her desk.

Then she picked up the paper and whispered.

“If you don’t have it, make it.”

• • • • • •

[Visits the weapon shop on the first Wednesday of every month.]

It was the information written in the report of Callard Arcidion.

So she just bought the weapon shop.

‘If I wait here, the meeting will happen on it’s own.’

Ines, who visited the weapon shop, drank tea leisurely like a hunter waiting for it’s prey.

“Boss, is there anything else you need…?”

“I’m fine, everyone, so take care of yourselves.”

At the employee’s question, Ines waved her hand.

“Then I’ll be at the blacksmith’s, so if anything happens, call me.”

The staff went inside feeling sorry.

A week ago, when Ines took over the store, the employees felt awkward.

A young noble lady had bought a shabby weapon shop in a back alley.

But the staff quickly fell in love with Ines.

– She really isn’t gonna fire us?

– She’s allowing us to leave on time?

– She even brought us breakfast and lunch!

Ines only provided what was taken for granted, but the employees were trembling with joy.

Apparently, their previous boss was trash.

‘I’ll have to change that old-fashioned signboard later.’

Every time she came, her hands itched to remove the sign.

But she had to leave it alone until Callard visited.

It would be difficult if he didn’t come in, thinking he had mistaken the shop.

Ines glanced at the store door.

‘I think he’ll be here soon…’

It was when she was listening to the occasional hammering sound which came from inside.

Creeek.

The hooked door let out a terrible creak.

The rays of the afternoon sun poured in through the crack in the open door.

With his back to the bright sunlight, a man covered in black from head to toe entered.

The long-awaited prey has finally arrived.

“Welcome.”

Ines got up from her seat and greeted him first.

Callard paused for a moment, not coming in.

After checking the sign, Callard looked around the shop with a vigilant eye.

“Are you looking for the former boss?”

At Ines’ question, Callard looked at her for a moment.

She wore a dress with a subtle sheen, made of the finest silk.

In addition, the jewels and lace were a little bit too flashy, but she looked gorgeous.

A lady in an expensive dress and a shabby weapon shop at the entrance of an alley.

It was a combination that didn’t fit as much as roses in a trash can.

Since one would think of her as the owner of the weapons store, Ines answered bluntly.

“I took over the store a while ago.”

Callard then nodded his head without any expression.

She was curious, since she thought he’d ask her about her, but his attitude showed that he wasn’t interested in her at all.

Callard laid down a sword on the long table.

It wasn’t a magic sword, it was an ordinary sword.

“Do you wish to fix it?”

Callard nodded his head once again.

Ines stretched out her arms.

As she pretended to check his sword, she slyly brushed her hand with Callard’s.

A thick black mist spread out in front of Ines’s eyes.

It was an endless mass of misfortune.

Seeing that her ability had returned, Ines smiled broadly.

‘I found you, my luck.’

Ines barely managed to swallow her smile and pulled out the sword from the sheath.

One of the many misfortunes to befall on Callard unfolded before Ines’s eyes.

[Ha, I left work early to eat the special stew…….]

The Callard of the future muttered with a gloomy face.

[All sold out in front of me……]

…Wasn’t he supposed to be a blood-crazed killer?

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