I Don’t Know The Original Work

BANG!—

“Ugh!”

The object Cornelia threw shattered against the man’s forehead. Staggering from the impact, the man was struck in the abdomen by a silver-haired no, ash-haired man.

“Ghk!”

The man let out a sharp cry and collapsed.

“The young lady took him down,” the ash-haired man remarked.

“Me?”

“You fought so wildly that the music box got broken too.”

The man picked up the shattered music box from the floor, looking genuinely regretful. Without realizing it, Cornelia had thrown the music box she’d been holding.

Then—

“What’s going on over there?”

“S-Someone’s collapsed!”

A group of patrolling soldiers, noticing the commotion, came running. The ash-haired man frowned in annoyance, then glanced at Cornelia.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Without waiting for a reply, he scooped Cornelia up and started running.

Only after shaking off the patrol did he finally stop.

Cornelia hurriedly wriggled out of his arms.

Startled by her swift reaction, the man hesitated for a second before Cornelia quickly composed herself and spoke politely.

“Th-Thank you. For not abandoning me and running away together.”

Truthfully, he could have left her behind. If he had, Cornelia would’ve been caught up in another scandal just for being there.

“You’ve suddenly become so formal. At the auction, you were clearly…”

“That was a mistake!”

“…Much more arrogant.”

Cornelia’s flustered excuse made the man smirk in amusement.

“No need to thank me. More importantly, because of me, a precious music box with sentimental value got broken.”

He held out the shattered music box.

‘He actually carried this all the way here without dropping it?’

Cornelia took it and examined the crack. An old piece of paper peeked out from inside.

‘Thankfully, it’s intact, not torn.’

She smiled and smoothly pulled the paper out. The man’s eyes widened in shock.

“Were you after this, not the music box?”

Cornelia flinched.

This wasn’t just any paper.

It was the missing final page of an ancient historical record kept by the royal family.

‘And that’s the only ancient historical text the royal family possesses.’

Most ancient records were held by the temple.

The one in the royal family’s possession had been handed over as compensation when the temple was caught in corruption.

But this particular record had been missing its final page all along.

‘The temple claimed the last page was missing from the start.’

A lie, because they didn’t want to hand over a complete record.

‘Then a priest tried to sell it to the royal family after stealing it.’

He hid the last page inside the music box but died in an accident before making contact with the royals.

Years later, the music box, its true value forgotten, ended up at an auction.

Cornelia eyed the man, who was staring intently at the last page, and said warily:

“It’s… a personal matter.”

“I’ll pay 10,000 lorans.”

Typical of someone obsessed with ancient relics or old scraps of paper, he started with a high offer.

‘Does he even know what this is?’

He wasn’t a noble, just a merchant with money to spare.

‘Well, an extra’s backstory isn’t my concern.’

Cornelia had a younger sister who hadn’t appeared yet.

‘She became a priestess when she was little.’

Her name was Lydia Iris.

Unlike Winston or Adrian, she was a normal, well-adjusted child.

‘Though she has some quirks in her character setting.’

Cornelia planned to sell this last page to the temple through her.

‘Selling it to the temple is safer than the royal family. The temple will handle it quietly, but the royals will use it to accuse the temple.’

Then, whoever sold the page might face the temple’s retaliation.

In the original story, the person who found it sold it to the temple for 50,000 lorans.

‘10,000 lorans? Not a chance.’

Cornelia scoffed.

“Like I said, this is personal—”

“100,000 lorans.”

“….!”

A… hundred thousand lorans?

Cornelia’s eyes widened.

Seeing her reaction, the man smirked.

‘That’s double what the temple would pay.’

This was more than enough to fund her business ventures.

The man repeated firmly:

“100,000 lorans.”

“…”

Her mind raced.

‘The first plan was to sell this to the temple, but bargaining isn’t that easy.’

Plus, given her notorious reputation, they might doubt its authenticity. Even if verified, it’d be a hassle.

‘Maybe it’s better to take his 100,000 lorans and sell it to him.’

If he bought it, whether the royal family or the temple got it later, it’d no longer be her problem.

Cornelia feigned indifference, tucking her hair behind her ear as she spoke calmly.

“I’ll keep the personal reasons to myself.”

The man chuckled at her words.

‘This guy’s laughing even though I’m agreeing to sell?’

Cornelia glared, and the man covered his mouth, turning his head away.

“I’ll give you a 100,000-loran check right now.”

He pulled out a slip of paper from his coat… a check stamped with the central bank’s seal.

But the world was full of expertly forged checks.

‘And this man’s identity is a mystery.’

The signature read: “Ethan Trading Co.”

A trading company mentioned a few times in the newspapers, though not directly by the author, Sara. It seemed the world filled in its own gaps.

“Then hand it over—”

“How do I know this check is real?”

Cornelia tucked the last page into her coat.

The man smiled, as if amused by her sharp question.

“Then take the check first. Cash it at the bank, and we’ll exchange the item at the next auction.”

An unexpected proposal.

“Why would you trust me?”

Cornelia was stunned. The man shrugged.

“If you break the deal, I’ll just go to the Iris estate.”

“Gasp.”

She thought he didn’t know who she was, but he did.

‘He knew and still sat next to me? Why?’

Everyone else treated her like a pest, avoiding her.

‘Does he have a thing for bugs or something?’

Before she could ask, the man pressed the check into her hand.

“My name is Ethan. I’m a commoner, so no family name.”

“I’m… Cornelia Iris. “

“A lovely name. Then I’ll see you tomorrow, same time at the auction house.”

With a polite bow, the man… Ethan disappeared into the shadows.

✿

Something unbelievable had happened.

“D-Duke Brody Evans! What brings you here unannounced?”

Brody Evans had visited the Iris estate first.

This had never happened before.

He was the type who only showed up when Cornelia, Winston, or Adrian begged him.

And this time, he came without warning.

Brody removed his hat gracefully, handing it to a servant as he asked:

“Where is Lady Cornelia?”

Cornelia, who should’ve come running at the sound of his voice, was nowhere to be seen.

“Ah, well, you see…”

Winston and Adrian hesitated.

Something was off.

“I’ll go to Lady Cornelia’s room myself.”

“Y-Your Grace! There’s no need—!”

“We’ll bring her to you!”

They tried to stop him, but Brody was already climbing the stairs with long strides.

His steps halted in front of Cornelia’s door nailed shut.

“What in the…?”

Brody was speechless.

“Y-Your Grace, please wait in the main room”

“What is this?”

He turned sharply to Winston and Adrian, who had chased after him.

‘Did they really nail their daughter’s door shut?’

Since when?

Brody was bewildered. He knew Cornelia’s notorious reputation left her isolated in high society.

But this treatment at home was worse.

This wasn’t just social exclusion… this was imprisonment.

‘How does she eat, drink, or even bathe like this?’

If the door were opened, he wouldn’t be surprised to find Cornelia’s corpse inside.

The thought made his heart pound uneasily.