Chapter 58

The silence between us was a bit awkward, so I hesitated and then opened my mouth.

"I gave the book Sir Isidor won the last time as a gift to my father. He liked it very much."

"I'm glad the Princess found it useful."

"How did you know that the book was written by the 6th head of the Seymour family?"

"It's very rare to find someone who separates letters and reverses them. As far as I know, there is only one person."

"I see."

After answering, I had nothing to say.

As we were walking side by side along the road lined with jacaranda trees, feeling awkward for some reason, a strong wind came and passed us.

As the trees swayed, the lavender flowers flew down like snow.

Isidor easily snatched a petal from the air and handed it to me.

"Take it."

He moved like a fox and gave a slight eye smile.

"This is a gift, since I became the flower of the year thanks to you."

"..."

"The Princess is probably the only person in the world who thinks of dressing her male partner in a pink outfit."

"I tried it because it seemed like it would look good on you. I would never put it on someone who doesn't look good in it."

My eyes are very delicate and precious.

"Haha, I see. I feel really good."

He smiled like an angel and dropped the flower onto my palm.

Thanks to Isidor, I succeeded in reselling the jewelry at a high price and got an astronomical amount of money, so I felt a little embarrassed and fiddled with the flower he gave me.

"Since you accepted it, you can't return it anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"Choosing a chaperone. I don't need it anyway, so doesn't it make sense to give it to the Princess, who made me the flower of the year?"

'Oh my God! Jackpot.'

I swallowed my inner shriek.

Isidor has just given me a very special privilege.

It means I can select a noble lady with a high reputation as I want, and forcefully have her make my debut this fall shine.

How do I make the most of this great card?

I was a little stunned for getting an unexpected bonus.

"Sir Isidor. I don't refuse things people give me, especially if they're good things."

"It's nice to be honest. I don't like when people awkwardly refuse things or reject them even though they like them."

Speaking of which, why does he keep acting stubborn and giving me things?

Don't tell me, is there a law in which the mass of a pushover is conserved uniformly?

Since I'm not acting like a pushover in this world, this person isn't standing in for me, right?

I thought for a moment and then shook my head.

There was still something suspicious that made it hard to conclude that Isidor was just a nice and kind person.

'I think he handles people very well. He seems to have some slyness to him.'

"I'll gladly accept it. I will find it useful this time again."

For now, I thanked him for the suggestion while fiddling with the flower.

"In return, I will have this."

Suddenly, a large hand in a white glove came closer, and he silently took the flower that had fallen on my shoulder.

The moment his soft touch brushed my shoulder, a part of my chest sank without notice.

Because of the assumption that passed through my head like a flash of light.

The friendly favors Isidor does for me.

In other words, the reason he is nosy.

'N-No way. He l-l-l-l-likes m-m-me...'

H-Hey, there's no way.

I'm not in a position to get cursed with Philap's narcissism.

"Let's take a walk or something."

My head was suddenly messed up like a tangled thread, so I walked stiffly while staring straight ahead.

"Walk slower. You're faster than a marching soldier."

He hurriedly followed me while fiddling with the flower he took from me.

I tried to erase the cluttered assumptions from my mind while moving stiffly.

'Get a hold of yourself. You're a villainess, and this is a tragedy novel.'

Honestly, there's no reason for Isidor to like me.

I have no memory of being nice to him, and I have a bad reputation.

The maids that had been following Deborah have exaggerated the rumors about me even more maliciously.

'It's more reasonable to think that there is something he wants to achieve through me.'

Once again, doubts swelled inside me, and I was even more concerned with Isidor.

I walked faster, trying to drive out of my mind the innocent smile and the sensations that had lingered on my neck where his fingers had brushed.

***

'There is not much time left until the cafe is scheduled to open.'

Seymour's garden became more and more splendid day after day, with the colorful roses in bloom.

I was immersed in nervousness as I walked among the flowers in full bloom.

'Time really flies by.'

After the much thoughtful location selection, the project progressed as fast as flowing water, and the season changed from spring to humid summer.

Since work was being handled at Blancia, I, who was in charge of planning, suddenly had nothing to do.

But as I got more comfortable, the tension also grew, and I felt like I was going to die.

'I can't sleep.'

It's my second life and I have a Munchkin business partner, but it's my first business.

'I boasted to the Master that I was going to start a franchise business; I think it will be really painful if there is no response and the business doesn't do well.'

There was a lot of money invested in facilities and interiors, so if it goes bankrupt, I will take a huge hit.

"Ahh."

I want to raise a lot of money, but I have no idea how to use the old iron sword I got from the auction house no matter how hard I try.

'I think I need a holy beast egg, like Diera, to reveal the value of the artifact.'

I wondered if I should beg my father to get some holy beast eggs.

But I was hesitant to make such a request.

'My conscience hurts too much.'

It hasn't been long since I "lost" the pink diamond, so I thought I'd have to be prudent for the time being.

I walked around the flower garden, embracing a restless feeling, and then walked to the library.

People worry more when they're spacing out.

"Princess Deborah! You're here?"

As I appeared in the library after a long time, Arin, who was organizing the books, blushed and ran towards me.

'Oh, she's cute.'

The flowy emerald dress and green hairpins suited her well.

It seemed that she bought something with the salary she received recently.

The amount of money she received from me every month was not small, as I paid her research funds and even the cost of asking about rumors circulating in the academy.

'Instead of being kind, you have to make sure you pay.'

An employer who treats you like a daughter but is stingy with money is worse than an employer who gives you a lot of money.

"What kind of book are you looking for?"

She asked enthusiastically, seemingly having become familiarized with the library materials in the meantime.

"Please prepare documents on mana formulas, basic stuff."

"Yes."

While she ran towards the place where the formulas were, I picked up a suspicious piece of paper lying on the desk.

"Hmm."

It was a note with an explanation of the book Belreck was looking for.

'He made it difficult to find the book by specifying only the author. It's such a common name, there must be quite a few people sharing it.'

It felt intentional somehow.

He must be thinking of setting up his vassal again after making a fuss and kicking Arin out if she makes a mistake.

Arin was really smart, so it seemed like she had dealt with it well.

'The authority of the family's librarian is greater than I thought.'

Having a librarian as a vassal gives you the advantage of being able to get the books you want right away with the family money instead of your own money.

I also indirectly asked Arin to bring in the first edition of a novel by a famous romance writer that I couldn't even get with money.

It was not a coincidence that among the books that appeared to be new, there were exceptionally many books on artifacts, which was useful to Belreck.

I put down the note and approached Arin, who was skimming the book, and talked to her.

"Do you like working as a librarian?"

"Yes. It's fun. I really like to read books. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to access rare magic books."

'Fortunately, she seems to like this job very much.'

"Then you should aim for a full-time position."

Arin had no experience as a librarian, so she was temporarily hired for a vacant position.

"What?"

Arin tilted her head as I muttered a Korean term.

"It means that you should impress my father by performing well. So that you can work for as long as you want."

"I will work harder!"

Her light green eyes twinkled with enthusiasm.

"Although sincerity is important to make up for the lack of experience, you have to do something that stands out."

"I have to show my uniqueness."

"Exactly."

A look of concern crossed Arin's face.

"There is a way. Making a catalog card to make it easier to search for books."

I explained to Arin the concept of a catalog, or, in other words, an index.