TNMN 05

Chapter 05

If staying with the male protagonist meant dying, then she would survive by seducing the villain who was destined to kill her.

She wasn’t sure whether a villain even possessed normal human emotions, but that was exactly what made it appealing. Slowly melting the heart of a cold-hearted man—that was the true charm of romance.

Having decided to seduce Whistler, Alosha even went so far as to imagine marrying the Duke and naming their third great-grandchild Florence before drifting off to sleep.

The next morning, Alosha headed to the Laos Merchant Guild located in the center of the city.

‘That man doesn’t appear until around Chapter 20, so this is still before the story between him and Dain really begins, right?’

Project: Reclaim the Genre — Step One.

[Cut off the flow of money that will become the foundation of the war.]

In the original story, Dain traded information about the Phoenix Ring, which the guild master desperately wanted, in exchange for the Laos Merchant Guild providing soldiers and intelligence to oppose the Duke.

So what exactly was the Phoenix Ring?

It was the ring passed down to the heir of the Phoenix Trading Company, the only merchant house permitted to trade with Hamusha, the desert kingdom south of the Empire. Its whereabouts were currently unknown.

It also happened to be the only keepsake left behind by the guild master’s parents, which was why he had been desperately searching for it.

‘I’ll find the ring first.’

If she could obtain it before anyone else, then at the very least she could postpone the event where Dain angered Duke Whistler within the first sixty chapters, resulting in Alosha and Alexis being executed as an example.

‘It would be nice if this led to a peaceful ending where the Nocturne family and Dain simply went their separate ways… but there’s no way the original 560-chapter plot is going to give in that easily.’

The future remained uncertain, but if she wanted to live, she had no choice.

This was the beginning of her own fanfiction.

“I’ll buy it.”

She had traveled a long way early in the morning, but finding the ring turned out to be far easier than expected.

It was sitting openly on display in a quiet countryside pawnshop not far from where she lived.

In the original novel, Dain had obtained it by pure coincidence after helping the pawnshop owner. The story behind it had simply been skipped.

“I’m sorry, but that item isn’t for sale.”

Perhaps because it was destined to become an important item for the guild master, the owner refused firmly despite her offering money.

‘Figures. It couldn’t possibly be that easy.’

So this was the resistance of the original story.

Whatever it was, Alosha had absolutely no intention of giving up an object that was practically tied to her own survival.

“I’ll pay double.”

“I’m sorry, but it truly isn’t for sale.”

“Triple.”

“My Lady, this is becoming difficult…”

“Five times.”

“My Lady…”

“Ten.”

“…”

“Twenty?”

Someone once said that if you couldn’t obtain something you wanted, it simply meant you weren’t offering enough money.

The moment she offered twenty times the listed price, the owner—who had refused again and again—visibly swallowed and his eyes began darting back and forth.

“Sir, I completely understand why you say you can’t sell it. But I absolutely need that ring.”

“The person who pawned it specifically begged me never to sell it.”

“The owner looked exhausted and was dressed in rags, didn’t they? And they weren’t from around here.”

“…How did you know that?”

“They probably sold it because they couldn’t even afford a loaf of bread.”

“How could you possibly…”

“Because the owner of that ring… was my lover!”

Tears welled up in Alosha’s eyes as she gazed at the ring.

“…Excuse me?”

“Ah… that poor soul! We loved each other deeply! But our families opposed our relationship, and we were forced apart. I begged them to run away with me and live together, but they left alone for my happiness. I’ve been searching everywhere for them ever since… and I finally discovered that this was the last place they came to. I rushed here as fast as I could… and then I found that ring!”

The story was completely fabricated on the spot and full of holes, but it was more than enough to fool the owner of a tiny countryside pawnshop.

“But, My Lady…”

“I know! You can’t possibly believe someone who suddenly claims to be the owner of that ring’s lover! But you have to believe me! We truly loved each other!”

‘There’s no way he won’t believe this.’

“…Huh? Why is he making that face?”

She had expected tears and sympathy worthy of an epic romance before the owner agreed to sell her the ring.

Instead, he wore an oddly conflicted expression, making her suddenly uneasy.

“…Were you really lovers?”

“Yes!”

“…Even though she was an elderly woman?”

The pawnshop owner’s words felt like someone had split open the top of her head.

Swallowing hard, Alosha desperately tried to salvage her collapsing story.

“That’s exactly why our relationship was opposed.”

“…She also had a husband.”

“Love only burns hotter when there’s a rival.”

Just to obtain one ring, Alosha had somehow transformed herself from the heroine of a tragic romance into a shameless woman having an affair with a married woman in her forties or fifties.

She bit her lower lip.

‘I should’ve just said she was my parent…’

After a long silence, the pawnshop owner let out a deep sigh and nodded.

“…Very well. I don’t know the full story, but no one has come looking for this ring in quite some time. The deadline has long passed, so I suppose it doesn’t matter anymore.”

The owner carefully removed the ring from the display by the window and approached Alosha.

“I hated to part with such a fine ring—you rarely see craftsmanship like this in a remote pawnshop. But if you’re willing to tell such an outrageous lie just to obtain it… then you must have your reasons.”

“…You knew I was lying?”

“Who would actually believe such a ridiculous story? I simply figured you must have wanted it that badly.”

The pity in the merchant’s eyes nearly made Alosha cry from embarrassment.

After placing the ring into a case, the owner stared at it one last time before handing it over.

“You offered twenty times the price, correct? That will be 35,000 krona, my customer.”

Alosha took out a check from inside her clothes and wrote 36,000.

“…This extra one thousand krona is payment on the condition that what happened between us today remains a secret.”

“One thousand krona? Hmm… That was certainly an unforgettable performance. You said you were lovers, didn’t you?”

“…”

Without a word, Alosha angrily crossed out the amount with two thick lines and rewrote it as 40,000.

Only then did the pawnshop owner smile brightly.

“Welcome! Is this your first time visiting our shop? Is there anything you’re looking for today?”

After bribing the owner into silence, Alosha returned to the carriage.

Her personal maid, Heidi, tilted her head curiously.

“My Lady, what did you buy from that shabby old pawnshop that made you come out so early this morning?”

“Something that will save my life.”

As Alosha raised her hand to show the ring on her middle finger, Heidi’s gaze followed it.

“Save your life? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“…It’s complicated.”

Wearing the expression of someone who had already accepted her fate, Alosha stared out the carriage window.

‘Lucky you… You’re not the one who’s going to die.’

Biting her lower lip to keep herself from crying, she endured yet another miserable carriage ride.

Then, after the sound of neighing horses—

CRAAASH!

A tremendous impact echoed behind them.

The carriage lurched violently, sending both Alosha and her maid airborne inside.

In that instant, her entire life flashed before her eyes like scenes from a film.

‘Ah… so this is what a life flashing before your eyes feels like…’

She had barely begun her second life in another world. Was she really about to die already?

Just as the tilted carriage slammed back upright, her body crashed painfully against the interior once more.

“Oww…”

The pain was so intense she could barely breathe, and tears sprang to her eyes.

“My Lady! Are you all right?!”

The door burst open moments later as the knight outside hurriedly checked on her condition.

It wasn’t his fault, but Alosha was in such a foul mood that she answered curtly.

“…No. I’m not.”

With the knight’s help, she climbed out of the carriage.

The damage was worse than she’d expected. One entire side had caved in and been completely crushed.

‘Isn’t it a miracle I’m still alive?’

When she turned her head, she saw a massive black carriage stopped nearby.

Unlike hers, it appeared almost completely undamaged.

As the door opened, Alosha raised a hand to stop the knight who was about to step forward.

“Stay here.”

“My Lady?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll handle this myself.”

This, at least, was an area she knew well.

The person who stepped out of the carriage was a thin man dressed in a neat gray suit.

He had a long face and sharply slanted eyes that gave him a sly appearance.

“My deepest apologies! Are you injured? Were you hurt badly?”

‘…This won’t be easy.’

Realizing that her opponent wasn’t someone who would be easily intimidated, Alosha decided to use the secret technique she had learned from a taxi driver back in her old world whenever there was an accident.

She grabbed the back of her neck with her right hand, tilted her head dramatically to the left, widened her eyes—

—and shouted.

“Ahhh!”

The man jumped in surprise and hurried over, lowering himself into an extremely humble posture.

“Are you all right? Your neck? Does your neck hurt?”

“What kind of nonsense is this? How do you crash into a carriage that’s completely stopped at an intersection? Were your eyes growing on the back of your head?”

The First Rule of Fighting:

If you’ve decided to fight… throw the first punch.