Surviving as a Terminally Ill Heiress - Chapter 47

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 47

I couldn’t leave until Naomi had selected every last sheet of paper to her satisfaction.
Softened by the visit, she followed me out of the building and saw me off.
As I made my way toward the carriage, I continued to mutter in disbelief.
“This makes no sense. I’m not the type with particularly good luck, you know.”
“Luck and intuition are different things.”
Naomi laughed lightly.
“Luck is something that can happen to you even while you do nothing; intuition disappears the moment you stop moving. Of course, no matter which one you possess, you must still work hard.”
“Mm.”
“To be honest, as you say, Ambrose House hasn’t been particularly fortunate.”
“……That somehow feels unfair.”
I wanted to be the kind of person who could just sit still and have money rain down from the sky.
And besides, bad luck for the empire’s richest person?
My old small-town heart reacted to this outrageous claim. Say something like that carelessly and you’ll get stones thrown at you.
Naomi chuckled as I furrowed my brow.
“But it’s the truth. If Ambrose had also been blessed with exceptional luck…….”
Naomi pointed at something with her long, straight finger.
That structure, so tall it seemed to touch the sun, jutting out conspicuously no matter where you looked on the continent.
The Imperial Palace.
This person was going to get into serious trouble.
I gasped and whispered softly.
“You’re saying I would have set my sights that high?”
“You could have purchased every piece of land on the continent except that one.”
Ah, yes. I’ve failed to grasp the bigger picture again. How unlike Ambrose.
Naomi finished with a subtle smile.
“So I’m speaking in relative terms. In what Ambrose has accomplished, the portion occupied by luck is the most trivial of all.”
That’s quite a compliment.
I merely shrugged.
All I could think was that such a magnificent company wasn’t actually mine.
The rain had stopped somewhere along the way.
I climbed into the carriage with Alec’s assistance.
And just before the door closed, Naomi spoke.
“An announcement is apparently coming soon from Pandium.”
“……Yes?”
“Thanks to that, I’ve already made a good investment.”
Click.
Déjà vu, maybe. That feeling of being rushed out over time.
Naomi closed the carriage door herself, as if telling me to hurry along.
She’d actually shared quite a lot of trivial conversation, which was unlike her.
‘Did she perhaps value it as information……?’
She heard what I said back then and decided to invest because of it?
Of course, my words about a great invention coming from Pandium were true.
But deciding to invest based on a child’s words is another matter entirely. I never expected her to go that far.
As the carriage slowly pulled away, I watched Naomi’s face through the window.
Her expression was cold, yet the emotion it held was close to goodwill.
She seems to want to believe it’s another one of Ambrose’s remarkable abilities…….
‘But that’s just information I knew because I returned to the past.’
At least to me, this so-called intuition of Ambrose’s simply doesn’t exist.
I rested my chin in my palm, my elbow propped against the carriage window.
Strange how the weather felt chilly even though the rain had stopped.

* * *

A tyrant—no, the Empress.
I’d been invited to her tea time.
“What a clever little thing you are.”
Shasha came along as well.
The Empress, who had even sent me a personal letter weeks ago commanding that Shasha and I visit the palace, was now laughing heartily and patting Shasha’s back enthusiastically.
I watched the scene with an anxious gaze.
“Your Majesty…… Your Majesty’s dress is getting animal fur on it, and this girl’s heart is quite troubled.”
“Oh, it’s fine. Fur can simply be brushed away.”
No, the issue is whether she’ll bite.
My heart was racing at the thought of that senseless dumb cat scratching a body of such nobility.
But Shasha proved unexpectedly charming before the Empress, cooing with practiced affection.
While relieved, I was also annoyed. That creature was definitely a demon.
As I glared covertly at Shasha, I felt a gaze upon me.
That same warm and tender gaze as before. Why did she keep looking at me like that?
‘Like some well-meaning neighbor lady…….’
It was an impious thought to have of the Empress, but that’s what it felt like.
I should be facing ostracism from society, yet she not only allowed me access to the salon but went out of her way to invite me personally.
It was practically the same as openly telling every noble in Atera, “Don’t quarrel with her—let’s all get along, shall we?”
‘Perhaps it’s just the meddling of a mother with a son her age.’
I sipped my tea while pondering this.
The Atera Empire had two princes.
And unfortunately, both carried a fatal disadvantage.
The two brothers, who should have been the most perfect and strong in this realm, both suffered from health problems.
‘The First Prince with his mind. The Second Prince with his body.’
It was truly a shame for the empire.
The succession to the throne was in jeopardy.
I’d heard that the First Prince had hidden away, keeping to his quarters to avoid attention, while the Second Prince lived like a delicate flower in a greenhouse.
What must it feel like to be an empress with such sons?
“I have a favor to ask.”
“……Yes?”
My response was a moment late. The words had come so suddenly.
The Empress was asking me for something? What could I possibly do for her?
I was only blinking when she offered a mysterious smile.
“Next time, I’d like it if you would introduce yourself with a different name.”
What name?
The Empress continued with a subtle expression.
“As the dear friend of our second son.”

* * *

The Second Prince’s Palace was particularly overgrown with green.
‘Probably because the Second Prince’s health isn’t good.’
They must have made a special effort on account of it.
I slowly toured the lush, verdant garden.
It felt as though one’s health would naturally improve just by staying in such a place.
Mm, the air is so fresh.
‘My heart is anything but refreshed.’
And so the day had come after all.
The Empress was relentless—she’d worn me down until I finally accepted the position of Court Companion to the Second Prince, despite having declined multiple times.
A long, heavy sigh escaped of its own accord.
Me, a Court Companion to the Second Prince.
“Just when I was finally becoming less noticeable, my list of conspicuous circumstances keeps growing…….”
“Please forgive me.”
The voice was gentle.
So was the face that turned to me.
The boy who appeared from behind spoke with a soft smile and in the most courteous manner.
“I know my mother’s stubbornness better than anyone. You must have been put through considerable difficulty. Please allow me to apologize on her behalf.”
“……Not at all. It is an infinite honor to serve Your Highness. I am Ravine of House Ambrose, and it’s a pleasure to meet you, Second Prince.”
I bowed deeply, hiding my frustration beneath the gesture.
The boy waved his hand and helped me up.
“There’s no need for false courtesy. Why don’t we sit down?”
We settled ourselves in the forest garden.
The table was transparent, and the surrounding greenery reflected in it like a mirror.
Even I, sitting here, felt like I’d become part of nature itself.
“Allow me to introduce myself first. My name is Jeremiah.”
“I am Ravine of the House of Ambrose.”
As we exchanged greetings, servants silently laid out refreshments and withdrew.
Then Jeremiah picked up the teapot himself.
It was strange to be served by a prince.
I started in surprise and half-rose when he laughed and gently pressed me back down.
That kind smile resembled the Empress’s.
“It’s fine. This much is the least I can do for a honored guest who has come to meet me.”
Somehow, even as a young child, his manners were impeccable.
I wished our Hui and Dido could grow up just like this.
I studied Jeremiah surreptitiously, my eyes full of admiration.
‘He said he was two years older than me, right?’
That would make him twelve.
But he appeared smaller than that.
Blonde hair and blue eyes. A face refined like fine marble.
Something about him……
‘Seems familiar from somewhere.’
Could it be from a storybook?
He looked exactly like a prince from a fairy tale.
Except for his thin, pallid complexion.
He was beautiful, but unmistakably bore the appearance of someone gravely ill.
Still, as a prince, he should have been born and raised in good circumstances and received considerable healing through Divine Power.
‘……Which means his health really is that poor.’
It was genuinely heartbreaking.
I was sick too, after all.
I knew that feeling of standing with one foot at death’s threshold all too well.
And Jeremiah was only twelve.
Even at twenty, I was so sick and afraid—how much worse must it be for him?
“Hello.”
Yet he smiled brightly.
I smiled back.
It was the day I gained a true, strong, and tender friend.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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