5000 cash draw tickets!

It was an exciting word just to hear. I nodded my head with a money face.

‘I’ll use it!’

[Using the 5,000 cash draw tickets.]

A notification popped up and a roulette wheel appeared in front of me. On the roulette wheel, a damn devil was waving his hand with a smirk.

‘You scammer!’

I wanted to say something right away, but it was just a picture on the roulette wheel.

‘….Is this lottery rigged too?’

I had a moment of rational suspicion, but shook my head.

‘No. Don’t be negative. Let’s think positive.’

I swallowed hard as I watched the roulette wheel spinning around and around.

It was from some novel.

Strong desire becomes reality.

‘5,000 cash! 5,000 cash! Let it burst with 5,000 cash!’

[Congratulations!]

‘Oh!’

I clenched my fist at the congratulatory message.

‘Isn’t he a bad one to the extreme, even if he’s a devil?’

[100 cash prize!]

I froze at the words that followed.

‘What’s there to congratulate about! Are you making fun of me?’

100 cash! Not 1,000 cash, but just 100 cash!!

Isn’t it the smallest amount of cash that can be won?

‘Even in my past life, when others got 1,000 won, 2,000 won, or 5,000 won, I only got 100 won… and now here too!’

Who stuck 100 won on my nose?

The rotten reality where the 500 cash reward is much better than the 5,000 cash draw tickets!

I lay on my bed and flailed my arms and legs. Ughh!

[You currently have 1,100 cash.]

An alert was pushed in front of me as if mocking me.

‘Ha, can’t summon a novel? Even if I tried to summon a novel with 1,100 cash, I would hear that I don’t have enough cash.’

Collecting 100 cash or 200 cash at a time… when will I ever collect enough?

I poked the book cover with a frustrated face and then lifted my head.

‘Oh right! Come to think of it, there was an alert I didn’t check?’

As I thought that way, an alert continued from where I had checked.

[Additional rewards will be given as the persuasion target Duke Phaeraton’s satisfaction is at its highest.]

[Would you like to receive additional rewards now?]

“Yeah.”

I didn’t know what the additional reward was, but I wish they gave me cash instead of a draw ticket.
Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much.

I looked at the alert window while lying down next to it.

[Additional reward calculation in progress… Calculation complete.]

[The additional reward ‘Novel Rental Ticket’ will be given.]

[Would you like to use the ‘Novel Rental Ticket’ to summon a ‘novel’? The rental period is available for 3 days from the summoning date.]

‘Huh?’

I sprang up from bed.

You can rent the entire novel, not just one episode?

‘Wow! It’s better than getting 5,000 cash!!’

Duke! Thank you!

Honestly, I don’t understand, but I’m grateful for satisfying me to the fullest!

I bowed towards the direction of the Duke’s study.

‘Now then……’

I still stared at the notification window.

Collecting cash seems to be harder than I thought……

I was lucky to get good additional rewards this time, but what about next time?

After experiencing the miracle of a 5,000 cash draw tickets turning into 100 cash in an instant, I was worried.

‘Let’s save it for now.’

It seemed like a good idea to leave it as insurance in case I need some ability later.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

I quickly hid the book under the blanket. It would be hard to answer if they asked about the changed book.
Then the door opened and the maids came in.

“I’m sorry, miss. We all left our posts.”

“No!”

I shook my head and hopped off the bed.

“You must be hungry, right? I didn’t wake you up during mealtime because you were sleeping well.”
After hearing those words, my stomach growled.

“Yeah. I didn’t even realize I fell asleep.”

It felt cool to just sleep here. I scratched my cheek and Anna nodded as if she understood.

“Hehe, you must be tired.”

I felt proud when Anna comforted me.

Yeah. That’s right! How much has happened today!

Breaking through extreme quests and surviving being poisoned!

Above all, I’m just a baby!

The maids laughed as they looked at me with my head held high.

But the heartwarming atmosphere was short-lived as Nancy’s words exploded like a bomb.

“Still, we were all surprised. We never thought you would fall asleep on His Excellency’s lap.”

“Huh?”

I turned my head to look at Nancy in surprise.

“I, I fell asleep on the Duke’s, no, father’s lap?!”

“Yes. You slept so peacefully.”

“Peacefully……on someone else’s lap?”

On the Duke’s lap of all people?

“At first, you nodded off while nodding your head, but later you stretched out on His Excellency’s lap and slept soundly.”

Wow. I really slept like a log.

“For once, warmth filled the study. It was colder than the northern wilderness.”

“I don’t know about that, but everyone must have laughed so hard they cried.”

No, I don’t think those old men who were laughing like they were choking on their own saliva would have thought that way.

Why did I do that?

At that moment, a bad feeling brushed my heart.

“So did Anna bring me here?”

Anna brought me here, right? Please tell me that’s the case.

“No. His Excellency personally carried you over.”

Why won’t this bad feeling go away?

“Next time, Anna should bring me over.”

“What?”

“What if Dad finds me troublesome?”

A troublesome child is detested.

“Miss….”

Anna made a strange expression. Then she hesitated and sat down, meeting my eyes.

“His Excellency really dotes on the youngest miss.”

“Yes. Did you see him summoning the tsilor earlier? I’ve never seen His Excellency looking for a tailor before. He even finds measuring clothes troublesome, so the butler is worried.”

“His Excellency really loves the youngest miss.”

The maids comforted me one by one. They all had the same expression as Anna.

‘I didn’t say anything to make them make that face.’

It’s not because of my father’s love.

I felt sorry for making them worry over nothing.

“I’m really okay!”

I spoke even more brightly, but for some reason, the maids’ faces twisted even more.

Anna cautiously took my hand.

“His Excellency is…not very experienced.”

“No, I’m really—”

“It’s hard to understand. I didn’t know for years while working at the duke’s estate. But now that I see it, it seems like he’s inexperienced.”

It was an ambiguous statement, but the more she spoke, the more conviction crept into Anna’s face. Like someone who has just realized something.

“I thought His Excellency was a perfect person who didn’t need anyone else and couldn’t understand people who needed others….”

But that’s not perfect.

My lips puckered, but I didn’t say those words out loud.

“But after seeing how His Excellency treats the youngest miss, I realized he’s just inexperienced.”

“You realized it after seeing how he treats me?”

“Yes.”

“I see. I keep seeing things that I’ve never seen before since he started talking to the youngest miss.”

“His appearance while talking to the youngest miss like this is also unfamiliar to me.”

“Because people who work in noble houses are all different from ordinary people….”

“Different from ordinary people?”

At my question, Anna looked flustered and gave a meaningful look to the others.

I looked at the maids who were frantically trying to close their mouths and pretended not to know anything.

“Why? What’s different?”

“I see. It means it’s special.”

“Right. Would a common family have such a prestigious lineage?”

I opened my eyes narrowly at the maids who were awkwardly smiling.

‘There’s something about it. The Phaeraton dukedom is not an ordinary dukedom after all.’

But it seemed like the maids had no intention of telling me anything.

‘Well, it’s probably not good to gossip about the household in front of a child.’

Especially if it’s something negative.

Seeing the relieved expressions of the maids, I changed the subject.

“I’m hungry!”

The maids laughed as if they were relieved and I watched Nancy’s back as she went to get food.

‘Hmm, I should look into the dukedom.’

It didn’t seem like an ordinary household.

CHAPTER 3. Potatoes are not allowed for romance novel readers

At Marquis Tarenka’s estate, reception room.

“What, you want to withdraw your investment! What is the meaning of this all of a sudden?!”

Marquis Tarenka looked at the old man in front of him with a perplexed face.

“Don’t you know the reason?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I thought as much.”

Despite Tarenka’s outburst, the old man merely snorted coldly without any agitation. Tarenka gritted his teeth.

“Even if you’re the Duke of Delvatren, you can’t just unilaterally withdraw your investment like this! Didn’t you stamp your seal clearly on the contract?”

“Do you think I wouldn’t know that? I came here today to pay my respects to your father, who was a former Marquis.”

After finishing his words, Duke Delvatren stood up from the sofa.

“I enjoyed that cup of tea.”

“D-Duke!”

Tarenka tried to grab him, but it was useless.

‘Damn it.’

Damn it, damn it!

Tarenka, who was left alone, roughly wiped his flushed face with his hand.

“M-Marquis.”

At that moment, a subordinate entered through the door.

“What’s going on?!”

“W-We received a message from Star that they will stop trading—.”

Crash!

Before he could finish his sentence, a loud shattering sound echoed through the room. Tarenka, who had thrown a glass tumbler, glared at his subordinate with blazing eyes.

“A-Again…? They stopped again?!”

“Yes, Marquis.”

“Weren’t Star the last trading partner we had left?”

“Yes…”

“Damn it!”

Bang!

It was when the Marquis slammed the table with both fists.

“Marquis, a formal letter has arrived from Marquis Sherdel.”

The butler entered the reception room with a document in his hand.

“What?!”

The Marquis quickly grabbed the letter from the butler’s hand and read it hastily.

Marquis Sherdel also wrote that he would withdraw his investment. He also mentioned that he would file a lawsuit if an agreement could not be reached.

Crumple.

The letter was crumpled in the hands of Marquis Tarenka.

Even the investors were trying to withdraw their funds in such a situation where all trading had been cut off.

“What happened with the request for a bribe to the Galleon Bank?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“How could this happen! It’s been already 5 years since I became a Marquis! But…!”

Now, he was gradually entering a stable period, and his network of contacts had also become solid.

‘But with just one gesture from the Duke of Phaeraton, everything has collapsed…!’

His teeth clenched.

After the Duke of Phaeraton came and took his daughter away, Marquis Tarenka’s funding began to dry up.

‘He’s doing all this for a girl who isn’t even his own blood!’

It was absurd.

‘No, that’s not it. It can’t be for that dirty illegitimate child.’

The Duke couldn’t possibly not know that she was not his daughter.

‘It’s just a matter of the Duke’s pride.’

Anyway, he was staying at Phaeraton castle.

I saw it coming that she would be punished for it for Phaeraton’s honor.

‘Of all times, it had to be that day and moment when the Duke Phaeraton would return.’

I had thought that there was no way the Duke would return before the war was over.

“Um, I think we need to consolidate some businesses for now. It’s getting overwhelming to maintain them. Besides, the mana stone mining business is also on hold…”

The subordinate spoke cautiously.

“If we postpone mining, other investors will also withdraw! The giants are already leaving and will cause instability!”

The Marquis, who had been shouting, stopped abruptly.

Was it just a coincidence that all the giants who had invested in the mana stone mining business were withdrawing at the same time?

Moreover, there was also the reaction of Duke Delvatren, who said ‘you should know better.’

‘Lies about Duke Phaeraton investing must have been leaked!’

But it couldn’t be true.

Only a handful of giants were secretly told that Duke Phaeraton had invested.

They demanded thorough confidentiality, and they themselves did not reveal the fact to others as they wanted their dividends to increase.

‘Where did it leak from?’

No matter how much he thought about it, there was no corner where it could have leaked from.

‘Damn, if only I could use all of my family’s property…!’

Due to house Tarenka’s unique situation, the Marquis did not have the authority to dispose of the family’s property.

The Marquis roughly wiped his face and shouted.

“Listen carefully, none of what is happening right now should reach my father’s ears!”

Fortunately, his father, the previous marquis, was secluded in his domain and unaware of the turmoil.

If he were to find out about this incident, it could result in more than just a financial shortage.

‘Damn it, I need to find a way to resolve this…’

He raised his head and shouted.

“Tie, bring Tie here!”

“Understood.”

Shortly after, Clatie entered, not long after the servant left.

Contrary to the chaotic atmosphere of the Marquis, she wore her usual bright and cheerful smile.

“Daddy!”

The angelic child ran towards the marquis.

“Oh, yes. My daughter. Don’t you want to see your cousin?”

“Yes?”

“Go to the Duke of Phaeraton and see how she’s doing.”

“Why me?”

Clatie tilted her head. Even if she were to go, shouldn’t it be the marquis himself, not her?

“At least you’re not lacking compared to your cousin. You and her are almost like sisters.”

“Sisters? Her and I?”

Clatie’s delicate eyebrows furrowed.

“That’s what they say, but it doesn’t mean you’re both the same.”

“Hmph.”

Clatie pouted her lips.

Her own birthday party, which should have been the happiest moment, was ruined in an instant because of that brat.

The culprit who ruined the party was none other than that troublemaker. Her pride was hurt, and she was angry.

“If she really has to see me, she should come to me!”

Why should I be the one to pay attention to that brat first? The one who goes to meet someone first is the loser.

That child was someone who supports me, not someone I had to take care of.

“Don’t say that and just go once. It would be difficult for her to spend time with Tie and then separate.”

“But!”

“Of course, it’s true that the child should come, but even if they want to come, they may not be able to. Will Duke Phaeraton grant her request?”

“Hmm…”

In response to Marquis Tarenka’s gentle words of persuasion, Clatie became lost in thought.

“Well, how much that child wants to see me. I’m someone she can’t be without.”

A child hated by everyone.

‘I’m the only one who treats that child well.’

“Nothing can be done. I’ll go first.”

Clatie was relieved by her own kindhearted and considerate decision.

How good of a person am I?

“Yes! You’re truly my daughter.”

The marquis stroked Clatie’s head and advised her.

“Take a good look at how that child is doing. Also, get a sense of the atmosphere in the palace.”

“Understood. Hehe, she’ll be surprised when I go, won’t she?”

After all, it’s me who will personally observe how they’re living.

‘They’ll be thrilled if I visit.’

Clatie smiled like an angel.