TSPGD 12

Chapter 12

It had been an impulsive act of meddling, but it was also a brilliant proposal.

‘If Yurgen’s mistress disappears halfway through, wouldn’t he need me even more?’

In truth, I only had one way to shake the Grand Duke’s heart: a meaningful letter.

My plan had been to send him my letter and hope that he would get rid of the mistress he currently had with him…

But there was an even better method right in front of me.

‘What if I’m his only option?’

If I threatened him with the fact that I was his only candidate, the chances of me becoming his mistress would increase.

‘Yes. Good. I definitely have to send Jessie to the neighboring kingdom.’

I racked my brain at full speed, desperately trying to come up with every possible excuse.

Naturally, Jessie looked extremely anxious in the meantime.

“What? Do you even realize what you’re saying? Our family could be in serious trouble if things go wrong.”

“Don’t worry. That will never happen.”

“How do you know?”

“Well, the choice is yours, Jessie. But please, don’t do something foolish like sacrificing yourself for your family.”

“……”

“Who’s going to appreciate your sacrifice anyway?”

Jessie’s eyes trembled rapidly.

“And besides, won’t you be kicked out in a month anyway?”

“That’s not the problem. I’m leaving because I’m getting something in return.”

“That ‘something’ could be an opportunity for someone else.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m saying you don’t have to worry. There will definitely be another mistress besides you.”

Of course, becoming the Grand Duke’s mistress would require negotiations with him.

‘I’ll have to make keeping Jessie’s family safe one of the conditions, and keep the secret.’

But since I couldn’t tell her any of this, I could only try to convey it through my eyes.

‘Trust me. Trust me. If you listen to an adult, even rice cakes will appear while you sleep.’

If I counted my age from my previous life, I was technically older than her.

So I sent her my ultimate telepathic message.

Wriggle.

Perhaps my feelings had somehow reached her, because Jessie seemed to waver.

‘I suddenly came up with this, but… yes. I think it’s a good idea.’

After remaining silent for a moment, Jessie subtly glanced at the mercenary standing behind her.

Flinch.

The mercenary immediately reacted even to her smallest movement and watched her closely.

There was practically honey dripping from the way he looked at Jessie.

‘Oh, come on. And they claim they aren’t lovers.’

No employer and employee would ever react like that to each other.

‘Normally, when the boss so much as twitches, everyone pretends not to notice and panics internally. That’s the employer-employee relationship.’

Therefore, my eyes were definitely accurate.

“And Jessie. Even if your family were to fall apart, so what? They’re the family that abandoned you. Why should you care?”

Ding.

My words struck her right where it hurt, and her pupils trembled.

I had a feeling that, after all this, Jessie would definitely leave for the neighboring kingdom with the mercenary.

“Good heavens!”

Thankfully, I had finally arrived in the North.

Ah. The moment I set foot on the frigid land of the North, I felt like I could almost shed tears.

‘Me, who couldn’t even visit Jeju Island once in my previous life!’

And now I had come all the way here alone!

Part of me wanted to clap like a seal and shower myself with praise.

But I had some semblance of social dignity, so I restrained myself.

Bruno, who had been watching me with a fond uncle-like smile, reached over and patted my head.

“Are you really that happy?”

“Yes!”

“Where are you going now?”

“Uh… I need to find somewhere to stay first.”

“Do you have a place in mind?”

“No? This is my first time in the North.”

“Oh, dear.”

Bruno was much warmer and more affectionate than his appearance suggested.

That was something I had learned after getting fairly close to him during the journey.

He had given me information about the North and even made sure I had enough food.

Whether he was naturally kind or simply considerate, he did those things so naturally that it seemed to be part of his character.

“Follow me. I know a place I often go to. I’ll introduce you to it.”

“Wow! Thank you. But I can’t afford somewhere too expensive.”

“Don’t worry about that. I can’t afford expensive places either.”

Bruno gave me a good-natured smile as he hoisted his heavy luggage onto his shoulder.

I nodded at him.

“Yes!”

I was just about to follow him when—

Step.

I had been sensing Yur’s presence for a while now.

It seemed he intended to follow me all the way to the inn.

‘Sigh… What am I going to do about that pervert?’

In fact, ever since I had declared that I would come to the North with Bruno, Yur had followed me around like a puppy, so it was practically as though we had traveled together.

‘Let’s see how far he follows me.’

I continued pretending not to notice him and completely ignored him.

‘I should have studied how to get rid of perverts beforehand.’

I had never encountered one before, so I had no idea how to deal with them.

In the previous life I came from, the most basic course of action would have been to report them.

But in this world, if I reported him, I might end up walking into a wedding hall while holding the pervert’s hand.

‘What a rotten world.’

I ground my teeth and desperately tried not to look at Yur.

‘Stay calm. Inner peace.’

If I got worked up, I would lose.

So I walked through the streets of the Brüllhardt Grand Duchy as casually as possible.

“Oh.”

The streets of the Grand Duchy were much better maintained than I had expected.

Seeing my slight admiration, Bruno puffed out his chest proudly.

‘Why is he puffing out his chest?’

I couldn’t understand it, but I decided to leave him alone. Then he slowly began speaking.

“So? What do you think of the Brüllhardt Grand Duchy? Isn’t it nice?”

“Yes. Well… His Grace the Grand Duke is impressive.”

“Right? His administration is truly incredible.”

“He does a great job considering he’s a pervert, a womanizer, walks around naked, and is a philanthropist.”

Bruno stared at me for a moment with wide eyes before bursting into hearty laughter.

“Pfft—hahahaha! Who talks about His Grace the Grand Duke like that? Hahahaha!”

“Yur said so. He said he’s that kind of pervert.”

“Yur. Pfft—hahaha. Yur—pfft, hahahaha!”

“He’s a pervert himself, but for some reason he seems to have a grudge against His Grace. He cursed him out quite thoroughly.”

I deliberately spoke loudly enough for Yur to hear and subtly glanced behind me.

He seemed to be trembling.

‘Who cares if I get arrested for insulting a noble?’

After getting my little revenge, I hurried Bruno along, who was gasping for breath from laughing.

“Come on. I need to unpack and get to work too.”

“Ahem. Yes. Yes, you should. Whew.”

Bruno barely managed to suppress his laughter before trudging onward.

Even then, he couldn’t stop laughing for quite some time, repeatedly stopping and starting as we walked.

‘Was it really that funny?’

I had never seen the Grand Duke’s face, so I honestly had no opinion about him.

If he really was a pervert, I was beginning to worry a little…

‘It’s okay. I still know some major keywords!’

Although I had practically none of the usual advantages of being a transmigrator, I did possess a few valuable pieces of information.

First. I knew about Yurgen’s curse.

Second. The Crown Prince liked the female protagonist.

Third. The female protagonist had pink hair.

Fourth. The villain was the Crown Princess.

I didn’t know much, but I still knew the key points of some pretty major events.

‘Of course, I don’t know what any of the main characters look like.’

I could barely even remember the female protagonist’s name.

‘It was Re… something.’

I tried to think of it, but eventually gave up. I had spent five years trying to remember it, but it never came to me.

‘Why did the author have to give her such a difficult name?’

Blaming the author for no reason, I stopped in front of the inn Bruno had recommended.

I was nervous that Yur might follow me, but if he tried anything with me, I had no intention of putting up with it.

Seeing my determined expression, Bruno extended his large hand toward me.

“Well. This is where we part ways. Take care from now on!”

I grabbed Bruno’s large hand and shook it enthusiastically.

“Yes! Thank you! You be careful too, Uncle Bruno!”

“Sure, sure.”

After saying our goodbyes, I entered the inn.

I needed to unpack, change back into my female appearance, and deliver the letter to the Grand Duke.

“Whew… Let’s do this.”

This was where the real beginning started.

On the day the order for her expulsion was issued, Yurgen gave Bruno an instruction.

“Stay by Shuga’s side and protect her.”

“Pardon? Your Grace, are you really into men…?”

“She’s a woman.”

“What?”

“Bruno. Since when did you start asking so many questions about what I do?”

When Yurgen’s expression changed, Bruno nervously nodded.

From then on, Yurgen followed behind Bruno and Shuga.

He knew it was unbecoming to have someone secretly follow her, but she might be the clue to breaking his curse.

‘I can’t let my guard down until she comes to the Grand Duke’s castle of her own accord.’

So Yurgen rented out the entire inn where she had entered.

After restricting access to the building, he was about to enter the room next to Shuga’s when—

Whoosh.

He sensed a presence, and a shadow approached him.

“Your Grace.”

“……”

“I think you should go.”

“What is it?”

“A large number of monsters have appeared in the Tipus Mountains.”

“Tsk.”

When the merciless cold arrived and the ground froze solid, the amount of magical energy increased, causing the number of monsters to rise as well.

But there were still about two months left until true winter arrived.

Yet monsters had been appearing strangely often lately.

Of course, the knights could deal with them, but without Yurgen stepping in personally, it would take quite some time.

If they wasted too much time, the North’s only major passageway would be blocked, causing losses to trade.

‘Food and cotton prices have already been rising lately.’

He couldn’t simply leave things as they were.

Reluctantly, Yurgen turned around.

“You stay here and protect Shuga.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Don’t let yourself be noticed.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

After giving his orders, Yurgen immediately left the inn.