Chapter 3

T/N: I’m NOT dropping this novel.

I’ve come to know that some of you are assuming this has been dropped but it isn’t. I have been busy with my exams and school stuff and thus haven’t been able to translate. I am not planning to drop this novel and will continue this when I have time.

Also, some of you were rude, and I am not able to translate as fast as I used to the past year. But I am trying to give updates as soon as I’m able to. And I was planning on a mass release but had to post chapters early because of this.And I also came across a person who declared to pick up the series without even contacting me, the active translator. That was disrespectful.

Ines barely managed to swallow up her embarrassment as she looked at Callard.

Black misfortunes continued to swirl around him from head to toe.

Even if she stayed up the whole night to see the rest of the misfortunes, it wouldn’t be enough.

Anyway, one thing was certain.

When she came into contact with Callard, her powers returned.

Now that she finished checking, she couldn’t miss the opportunity she had barely seized.

‘Let’s take the slow approach.’

She pretended to check the sword that Callard had put down.

Ines, who was examining the broken sword, said,

“We’re behind on orders, so it’ll take about two days. But…”

Ines opened her mouth as if she had suddenly remembered.

“That’s “it”*, isn’t it?”

[T/N: *She’s referring to his demon sword.]“No.”

Ines frowned at the razor-sharp answer.

It seems that Callard did not recognize her.

Maybe he had mistaken her for someone else and had answered no at once.

‘Did you forget my face?’

It hurt her pride for some reason.

“I was the one who was taken hostage during the bank robbery.”

Callard was silent for a moment, as if he was trying to remember.

Ines was agonizing over what to say, and she decided to thank him as she didn’t get the chance to say it the last time.

“That day, thank you for helping me.”

Callard’s eyes shook briefly.

When no answer came back after a while, Ines only blinked.

‘Did I make a slip of the tongue? I’m sure all I said was thank you.’

Ines then held out a business card bearing her family seal.

“Come to think of it, I couldn’t even give you my business card.”

The golden wax seal gleamed.

Ines said with a more dazzling smile.

“I’m Ines Elrdin.”

Most of the people were either curious or surprised when they heard the name Elrdin.

But Callard didn’t even spare a glance at the business card and put it inside his coat.

As if he wasn’t interested in the slightest.

There was a slight crack in Ines’s smile.

But Callard continued talking as if he didn’t care, “Then, I’ll be back in two days. “

Ines shouted hastily to Callard, who was about to leave the weapons store,

“Sir Callard!”

He stopped when she called his name.

‘I wanted to bring this out a little later.’

Reluctantly, Ines used her trump card.

“I can prevent the misfortune that will befall on you.”

Callard slowly turned to look at Ines.

“What do you want?”

A sharp vigilance was shown in his hardened face.

“Is it for money?”

It seemed that he had already been scammed several times in this way.

In fact, if she knew that were that unfortunate, she would have tried everything with the spirit of grasping straws*.

[T/N: *Meaning that when a person is desperate, they’d do anything. Sorta like when you’re falling, you’re willing to grab anything, even straws, to get stability.]Ines narrowed her eyes and whispered,

“You make me sound like a bad person. And if you’re wondering if it’s for money, I’ll let you know that it’s overflowing.”

She said it frankly.

But Callard did not let down his guard.

“Before I explain…”

Ines reached out her arms and pulled Callard hard, shouting.

“Duck!”

Callard stumbled due to the sudden force.

Almost immediately, a piercing, sharp sound was heard.

Callard froze for a moment and then turned around slowly.

The window was shattered, as if a stone had been thrown at it.

The area where Callard was standing a moment ago was broken.

Callard turned his head to look at Ines.

Without missing a chance, Ines continued.

“If you accept my offer, I’ll tell you about the misfortune that lies ahead.”

Now that she showed a bit of her ability, she thought he would accept it at this point.

However, Callard replied without any hesitation.

“That’s enough.”

Then smoothly he turned around.

It was an obvious refusal.

Ines immediately grabbed Callard by his forearm.

When he paused, Ines spoke quickly.

“If you want the special stew, you better go 10 minutes earlier than usual.”

At that moment, Callard’s eyes widened.

Ines released his arm.

And she smiled as if nothing had happened.

“If you change your mind, come here. I’ll be waiting for you.”

Ines herself opened the door.

Callard looked at Ines for a moment and then went out.

Ines, who was left alone in his shop, shrugged lightly.

It was difficult to get deep-rooted distrust through just one encounter.

But she was confident.

‘You’ll come to me when you find out that I was right.’

If there was a way to prevent the misfortune that has plagued him all his life, of course he’d want to get rid of it.

Now all she had to do was wait calmly.

Callard was in her hands anyway.

“Lady Ines.”

As she left the weapon shop, her secretary, Shamour, approached her.

“Are you done?”

“Yea. Let’s go home.”

Ines and Shamour, who left the weapons store, headed straight into the carriage.

The carriage departed, and Ines rested her head against the window.

Naturally, she thought of Callard.

Ines smirked as she recalled the misfortune she had seen through him.

‘There’s a rumor going around that he’s a blood-crazy killer, and it’s simply a misfortune that he couldn’t eat stew.’

He was more vigilant than other people, but he seemed fine compared to the rumors.

“By the way, Lady Ines.”

Ines raised her head, snapping out of her thoughts.

“Is he that important?”

Shamour knew that Ines had recently developed a crush on Callard.

It was Shamour who had researched the information on Callard.

Her lady had even bought a store for one meeting, so it was bound to be strange.

“He’s important.”

Ines said, smiling widely at the thought of him.

“He’s my gold mine.”

Sharmour nodded.

Ines gently waved her hands in front of her.

“My power is back.”

“……!”

Shamour’s eyes widened.

She nodded her head firmly and said.

“I will take good care of Lord Callard Aricidion.”

Ines smiled at her straight-forward answer.

Other than Ines’s maternal grandfather and brother, Shamour was the only person who knew about her ability.

Just as Shamour trusted Ines, Ines believed in Shamour.

‘Who would think she used to be a mercenary?’

Shamour was once a notorious mercenary.

It was Ines who had picked up Shamour, who lived as a mercenary after she had been thrown out of her family.

Shamour was now living a new life as the capable secretary of the Elrdin family.

“Did you bring any letters?”

“Here you go.”

Ines opened the letter she received a letter from Shamour.

But without even reading a few lines, she threw it away.

“I’m so done with this.”

Despite her continuous refusals, she kept on getting proposals.

It was because she was wealthy and full of spirit.

But it was all useless.

Ines had no intention of getting married.

‘I need to make money, so how can I have time for dating?’

If you have a lot of money, it is best to live alone.

Because money can entice bugs, and could lead to the fate of Ines’s mother who was beaten by her husband, Marquis Havert.

‘It’s troublesome to refuse every single one of them…’

To her, turning down the marriage proposals was almost like a job.

It became especially difficult when the clients brought up their family members or relatives.

She had no intention of getting married, so she wanted to get a fake fiance.

‘I can’t just appoint anyone.’

She wanted a person who was quiet and didn’t care about her. He should also have fame and ability.

That way other people wouldn’t bother her.

Ines shook her head.

After leaning back a little more comfortably, she said to Sharmour,

“Tell me about the situation in the cosmetics industry I asked you to find out.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Now that she had come up with a way to regain her powers, she thought of her work first.

Listening to Shamore’s report, Ines returned home.

• • • • • •

Three days later.

Bang!

Ines hit the desk with her fist.

“Why didn’t you come…!”

She had expected Callard to have already come back to the weapons store to meet her.

She had then planned on trying to keep meeting him under the excuse of preventing his misfortune…

But he didn’t come at all.

“I should’ve tried harder.”

Ines bit her lip.

She had underestimated Callard too much.

‘It looks like my ability will disappear tomorrow…’

When she first made contact with him, her powers returned for just one day.

She didn’t know why, but this time it lasted longer than the last.

Judging from the fact that the sight to see misfortune was gradually decreasing, it seemed that her ability would disappear completely by tomorrow.

So she had to meet Callard as soon as possible.

It looks like she had no choice but to go to his house.

It was the time to think about a proper excuse to visit Callard’s house.

“Lady Ines. This letter came in today.”

Sharmour entered her office.

There was a big box in her arms.

Apparently, Shamour had filtered it out once.

She put her hand into the box full of letters and pulled out randomly.

Ines, who checked the red envelope, frowned.

Red was the color used for marriage proposals.

“You still haven’t sorted it out?”

“I brought it just in case. Maybe it could be of help.”

How helpful can a marriage request be?

But Shamour doesn’t do things in vain.

Once she decided to trust Shamour, Ines flipped the envelope over to check the family seal.

Her eyes widened at the familiar seal.

“Arcidion…?”

Ines hurriedly opened the envelope.

It was a letter from the Marquis of Arcidion suggesting marriage.

The sender was Dihas Arcidion, the second son of the Marquis family.

He was Callard’s younger brother.

She read the letter carefully, not missing a single word.

Ines, who had almost indulged herself in the letter, slowly looked up.

“Shamour.”

Shamour, standing neatly in front of her, was startled.

“…Are you sure, my lady?”

Ines said with a bright smile.

“Let’s go see the match*.”

[T/N: *The word here is Miai (맞선), a traditional Japanese custom that relates closely to western matchmaking. A woman and a man are introduced to each other to consider the possibility of marriage. That’s why I used the word match here.]

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