Home/I Saved the Villain and Fell Asleep/ch 45

Chapter 45

Irein smiled brightly and casually uttered something terrifying. I hesitated for a moment, then raised my club high.

I felt a little sorry for Colton, but I'll fix it later!

I struck the floor with all my might. The old, worn wooden floor began to crack with a splintering sound.

"Oh dear! Miss!! You told me to manage the house, but you're breaking it!"

"It's fine! I'll fix it!"

Once it cracked open, I could see—it wasn't a solid floor. There was an empty space below, a hidden compartment.

"Don't like it!"

"We don't like it!"

"Harmful, harmful!"

The ghosts gathered behind Colton started whining. I paused mid-swing and lifted my head.

"They're ghosts, right? If it's harmful to ghosts, then it should be good for humans, shouldn't it?"

I went back to breaking the floor. If it's something they hate and find harmful, then from a human perspective, it's obviously good.

Examining the broken floor, I spotted a long wooden box rolling around in the empty corner.

"That!"

The moment I pointed at it, Father reached in and pulled it out. The wooden box was nailed shut on all sides, as if something had been sealed inside.

"What's that? Why is there something like that in Father's study?"

Colton was shocked and covered his mouth with his thin hand.

"...Why are the nails driven in so ominously? It's unsettling."

"Ah, miss. Isn't that cursed? Do you suddenly feel a chill on the back of your neck? Or a sudden cold sweat? That's a real ghost, you know. Ghosts are real. Didn't you know?"

"Don't like it! That thing is scary!"

"Ebi, ebi!"

"Shut up! Everyone be quiet!"

"Miss, are you going to open it?"

Senté, standing behind Irein, asked with a worried look.

There didn't seem to be anything else. I'll have to open it and see...

"Then I'll open it. Give it here."

Since magic doesn't work on Irein, I handed the box to him. Pulling out a sturdy knife from his pocket, Irein began to pry it open.

I clasped my hands together, praying that my first-prize lottery ticket was inside—like someone sitting in front of the TV every Saturday at 8:35 PM, staring at the spinning numbered balls.

Lottery, please. Lottery!

With a cracking sound, the wooden box split apart. Visible between the pieces was a cloth of the exact same color as the one I had.

Irein pulled the cloth out, tilted his head, and handed it to me.

"Is this it?"

"Yes!!! It is!!!"

I hugged the half-piece and jumped up and down. I'll combine it with the other half when I get back to the ducal estate. My invisible cloak!

"What is that? Is it some incredibly expensive cloth?"

Colton leaned in to examine the half-hat. Looking up at Colton, who seemed at least 30cm taller than me, I smiled.

"My lottery."

"What's a lottery?"

"How would you feel if I said I'd give you this mansion for free?"

"!!!"

Colton's mouth fell open, and his already gaunt cheeks hollowed further.

"That's how it feels. Winning the lottery."

"That cloth?"

"So, Colton, do your best. Who knows? Maybe I'll give you this mansion if you work hard enough."

"Wh-what do I have to do?! I don't have 2,000 gold, but if you tell me to do something, I'll do it! Probably!"

"Live properly."

Colton blinked silently at my words.

Living properly. He probably had no idea where to even start—just looking at the state of this house made that clear.

"I'll send someone to you. Learn from him."

"...To be honest, I haven't lived properly since I left this house."

Colton's voice dropped low. Just moments ago, he'd been shouting with frantic energy, but now he slumped like someone consumed by melancholy.

"You never looked at me with disgust, miss. Even if you're scared of ghosts, you didn't just kick me out..."

"Why does everyone think that way? Unique magic is just unique magic. Just because Colton can summon ghosts doesn't mean Colton himself is a ghost."

Leo was the same, and so was Colton. And so was the original Hariella.

So what if your unique magic is a little ugly? The person isn't ugly just because their magic is.

"Come to think of it, someone once told me something similar—she said she'd buy this mansion and give it back to me."

"That girl?"

"Yeah. She's probably forgotten by now. She was a girl traveling with her mercenary father—she stayed here for a night once. She wasn't scared of ghosts or spirits at all. I even told her five scary stories. She said the same thing—don't be discouraged by your unique magic, because it's just magic..."

I felt a sense of déjà vu at Colton's words. A girl traveling with her mercenary father. Why did that sound so familiar? I glanced around.

Caught off guard by the empty space, I noticed Senté, who had been keeping his distance nearby. Seeing my expression, he pointed behind me with his thumb.

It seemed Father and Irein had gone to check elsewhere while I was talking to Colton.

Lowering my voice so Senté couldn't hear, I asked Colton more about the girl.

"Can you tell me more about what she looked like?"

"I don't remember her face well. She had dark blue hair and bright blue eyes, I think. Like that puppy... Um, why does that puppy keep staring at me so intensely? It ate my ghosts earlier—is it okay? Is it fine?"

"Oh, you just look tasty to him."

"What?! I'm nothing but bones!"

"Ah. You do look it."

I answered Colton half-heartedly, but my mind was in turmoil.

Deep, dark blue hair. And bright blue eyes. A girl traveling with her mercenary father...

I knew this character.

Sielteng Lewena. The female protagonist of the original novel, Cold Heart!

Lewena joined a knight order that tracked dark mages, chasing after them until she discovered a mansion used as their research base.

Thanks to her, a dark mage terrorist attack was prevented in advance. In recognition of her achievement, she was granted the opportunity to ask the Emperor for anything she wanted.

Lewena declined gold and jewels, instead asking for the mansion and its land that the dark mages had used as their base. And she placed the deed to that mansion before a certain grave...

Wait, a grave? Whose grave was it—Colton's?

"Colton."

"Yeah?"

"If dangerous people try to capture you or take this mansion, run. Survive first. And find a way to contact me."

"Uh...?"

Readers found Lewena's actions puzzling, but they never wondered about the owner of that grave—because a floating stone mine was discovered on that very land.

Even though her father was an imperial knight, Lewena's personal assets were modest—until that mine made her a fortune overnight.

After that, nobles started digging anywhere they saw red rocks, since that mine was found beneath them.

Red rocks.

Wow, I'd completely forgotten about this. Memories flooded back. I ran my hands through my hair.

This was definitely the place. The land where the mine would be discovered! The mine! The floating stone mine! I didn't know the exact location, but if I dug around, it would turn up somewhere.

The Duke, arms crossed and tapping his fingers on his forearm, seemed to remember something and signaled to Irein.

"A few years ago, there were rumors about a mine in the Viscount Stani's territory."

"Mm. A new mine attracted a lot of attention, but it turned out he was also scammed—the interest died down, didn't it?"

The Duke traced back through his memory. It had been an interesting rumor—he'd even considered sending someone to check it out. But it was quickly revealed to be false, so he'd dropped it.

"The viscount's cousin who scammed him?"

"Disappeared. Probably dead. It's a convenient story—cursed for this mansion and died."

"Seems like there's something here. Those two useless trash you caught were also trying to buy this mansion."

"It could be because of the mansion, or because of that stick."

"Colton?"

Irein stared at Colton, who had been talking with me.

"One of those useless trash said they were to receive ancient research materials on whether a dead saint's soul could be fused with a fresh, young soul. And that stick's unique magic happens to deal with ghosts."

"If the mansion had fallen into their hands, Colton wouldn't have been safe."

"Was Colton really their only target? That's what I'm curious about. If all they wanted was Colton, they could have just kidnapped him. Right~? Miss Angela?"

At some point, Angela had been standing silently by the wall, staring at the Duke and Irein. She gestured toward them.

The Duke and Irein followed Angela.

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