Chapter 3

I’m Looking for a New Husband

A week later, on the final day of the celebration, the Imperial Palace decided to host the succession ceremony for Count Pshikia.

Although it was technically a ceremony to inherit the position of family head, it was practically equivalent to the Emperor personally granting the countship, which was why it was to be held at the Imperial Palace itself.

The favor being shown to Riat for punishing a traitor carried enormous significance.

But Riat, in truth, did not care about any of that.

“…What am I supposed to do with my life now?”

After countless deaths and regressions, she had finally obtained freedom.

Riat had regressed to exactly one month before her death, and once that month passed, she would die.

Even when she had killed Count Vortus, been imprisoned, and eventually dragged out into the square to be executed, it had happened exactly one month after her regression.

For months, Riat had lived with only one thing in mind: freedom.

Escaping death had been her sole goal, and the answer had been to uncover information about the rebellion and cut off the count’s head.

Killing Count Vortus had been an extremely enjoyable experience.

But afterward, Riat found herself in a state of confusion, not knowing what she was supposed to do next.

“I still have five days left, though…”

The moment she cut off the count’s head, she had rushed to the Imperial Palace.

It had been three weeks since her latest regression, and the celebration had begun that very evening.

So now that several days of the celebration had passed, there were exactly five days left before the one-month mark.

Riat couldn’t think of anything particularly meaningful to do with them.

Besides, there was always the possibility that she might somehow get caught up in an accident and die the moment those five days were over.

If she died again, she would regress with roughly eight months of her lifespan remaining.

Even so, Riat thought that no matter what, she wanted to cut off Count Vortus’s head one last time, even at the very end.

With that thought in mind, she happily headed into the banquet hall.

For now, she had a duty to enjoy her remaining five days to the fullest.

Since she was no longer afraid of death, Riat’s face was filled with smiles once again.

On the third day of the celebration, the Emperor’s knights returned to the Imperial Palace from the County of Vortus.

It meant they had finished examining all the documents found in the count’s estate.

Several documents were carried in the knights’ hands and delivered to the Emperor’s aide.

Since the first day of the celebration, the Emperor had not appeared in the banquet hall again.

But at this moment, the hall was engulfed in an even deeper silence than before.

Everyone kept stealing glances toward the windows, watching for any movement coming from the main palace where the Emperor resided.

Even nobles who had not been directly involved in Count Vortus’s rebellion could not know what would happen if they were connected to the routes used to transport the rebellion’s supplies.

For nobles of lower rank in particular, there was a high possibility that they would be swept up in the investigation if the great noble they had allied themselves with happened to have ties to Count Vortus.

Anxiety and worry, wearing the mask of a chilly silence, moved throughout the banquet hall.

Riat alone leisurely sipped her wine.

Fortunately, her father and brothers were not completely oblivious to the atmosphere. They had not appeared at the banquet hall since the first day.

Just their absence made Riat feel this free.

Following the other nobles, Riat looked out the window.

The count’s head hanging in the square made for another beautiful day.

Then the banquet hall doors slowly opened, and the Emperor’s aide appeared.

Every noble’s gaze immediately turned toward him.

“His Majesty wishes for everyone to continue enjoying today’s celebration.”

It was a simple greeting.

Yet those few words caused relief to spread across every noble’s face.

The fact that the Emperor had summoned no nobles meant that no suspicious documents had been discovered in Count Vortus’s estate.

The relieved nobles began laughing and chatting, and gradually, the atmosphere in the banquet hall returned to that of an ordinary celebration.

Riat, however, had already been enjoying herself long before that, so she still had not the slightest interest in the nobles around her.

Two of the Emperor’s aides quietly approached her.

Since they were the same men she had encountered a few days ago when she handed over the documents concerning the rebellion, they exchanged a brief greeting.

Afterward, one of the aides cleared his throat several times, as though the news he had to deliver was rather significant.

Then he spoke in an extremely calm voice.

“They say a large quantity of mana stones has been discovered in the Vortus territory.”

“They were embedded deep within the mountains of the territory, and there are almost no traces of human access. It is believed that even Count Vortus was unaware of their existence.”

The County of Vortus now belonged to Riat le Pshikia.

Which meant that all the mana stones discovered within the territory now belonged to Riat as well.

Riat’s eyes widened slightly as she quietly listened to the report.

“…How much would that be worth in gold?”

“Considering the purity of the mana, the amount discovered so far is estimated to be worth more than three billion gold. We have also received reports that there are more deposits deeper inside the mountain caves, so if those are included…”

The rest of the aide’s report went in one of Riat’s ears and out the other.

She blinked quietly, going over the amount she had just heard.

Then, at last, she burst out laughing.

Three billion gold!

When she had been sold to Count Vortus, her price had been five thousand gold.

That alone had been enough money to keep the Viscount Pshikia family fed for several years.

And now, thirty billion gold had already been discovered in that territory.

They were still estimating the total amount, so perhaps it might even reach five billion gold.

In a situation so absurdly unrealistic, Riat laughed.

Once she had cut off Count Vortus’s head, everything had begun falling perfectly into place.

The very territory of Count Vortus that had once driven her into such despair had turned out to contain an enormous fortune.

And that fortune would illuminate the rest of her life in gold.

Even if she only had one year and three months left to live, Riat was thirty billion gold’s worth of happy.

Riat laughed so uncontrollably that the attention of the people around her gradually turned toward her.

Apparently, they too had begun hearing about the mana stones discovered in the Vortus territory, because their faces soon filled with shock.

Thirty billion gold from the amount discovered so far alone.

That was already enough to rival the wealth of one of the Empire’s ducal families.

No—

By tomorrow, House Pshikia could very well become wealthier than a ducal family.

Riat had become a count overnight.

And now she had also become the richest person in the Empire.

Naturally, the gazes directed toward Riat began to contain envy and jealousy.

Soon, a group of nobles approached her.

They were led by Count Havta, who had established himself as a powerful merchant outside the capital.

He greeted Riat with a smile on his lips, and Riat returned the greeting gracefully.

“You seem to be enjoying this situation very much.”

“Of course. Every day has been a happy one for me since that day. And now that I’ve received such wonderful news, how could I not be happy?”

“That day…”

Disgust appeared across the count’s face.

“The day you cut off the head of Count Vortus, your former husband, and publicly humiliated the man who was your father.”

“Yes. The day I killed a traitor who dared to commit high treason, stopped his rebellion, and sent away the family that had sold me to such a criminal and forced me to marry him.”

Riat spoke softly, smiling gently.

In truth, she understood Count Havta’s behavior.

A girl who was barely old enough to be considered an adult had suddenly become a count of the Empire.

The ancient count families, with histories stretching back generations, naturally had reason to be wary of her.

Moreover, the Irmak Empire had a fairly rigid class system.

There had been nobles who had been granted baron or viscount titles, but no one had ever been granted a countship, which was a title belonging to the high nobility.

Strictly speaking, Riat had merely risen from viscount to count.

But House Pshikia had practically been on the verge of collapse, so to the established nobility, Riat was unlikely to be a welcome addition.

Riat, however, had no intention of meekly accepting their hostility.

With only one year and three months left of her life, she had no desire to waste her remaining time on exhausting conflicts.

So Riat Pshikia smiled brightly and spoke.

“Count Havta. I understand that there’s nothing I can do about you looking upon me unfavorably, but…”

She lowered the corners of her eyes as though she were genuinely saddened.

The gesture was rather theatrical.

Riat had intended it that way from the beginning.

Count Havta slightly frowned and gave a small nod.

Since she was being so straightforward, he seemed willing to hear what she had to say.

At the same time, he appeared to expect her to say that she would conduct herself properly from now on.

The usual sort of answer.

That she would avoid offending the established nobility, remain as quiet as possible in her position as one of the Empire’s high-ranking counts, and make sure not to bring shame upon the Empire.

Of course, Riat had absolutely no intention of fulfilling his expectations.

“You should be careful about what you say in front of me.”

“…What?”

“As I investigated Count Vortus’s rebellion, what do you think I saw in those documents?”

“The imperial official just said that no more suspicious documents had been discovered.”

Count Havta had flinched for a moment.

But he soon straightened his shoulders and answered.

His expression seemed to say, Where are you trying to test me?

Riat stared at his confident expression for a moment.

Then she narrowed her eyes and smiled brightly.

She stepped closer to the count with an unusually friendly air and gently straightened his collar and cravat.

The gesture was incredibly affectionate.

And the smile on her face was almost excessively beautiful.

Riat Pshikia was, after all, famous for her beauty.

“Count Havta.”

Now that she was even addressing him in such a sweet voice, the count’s defenses crumbled in an instant.

Count Havta’s reason was screaming at him to come to his senses, but his body reflexively began forming a faint smile.

That was when Riat whispered,

“Do you really think I’m foolish enough not to see what’s coming and simply hand over all those documents?”

The color slowly drained from the count’s face.

“I am someone who was personally granted a countship by His Majesty the Emperor. If something suddenly happened to me and I were killed one day, His Majesty would naturally investigate the circumstances, wouldn’t he?”

“So, don’t even think about doing anything foolish.”

“Th-that…”

“I’ve also made arrangements to ensure that, should anything happen to me, the documents concerning the rebellion will be delivered directly to His Majesty.”

Of course, Riat had made no such arrangements.

She had simply thought about what she could say in this situation to ensure that they would not dare touch her.

Or rather, to make sure they couldn’t touch her.

And it seemed to be working quite effectively.

She was going to die in one year and three months anyway.

If the Emperor investigated the cause of her death then…

That would be a problem for those who remained to solve.

Riat’s only goal was to spend the rest of her time in peace.

“Be careful. I really do want to live peacefully.”

Riat whispered quietly to Count Havta, so the other nobles could not hear the conversation between them.

But the count’s deathly pale expression made the subject of their conversation obvious enough.

The more perceptive nobles were already staring at Riat with stiff expressions.

Riat took in the atmosphere and bit back a smile.

“Count Havta.”

“…Uh, uh, yes?”

With an utterly beautiful smile on her face, Riat gently patted the count’s collar.

“Smile. Don’t ruin the mood.”