Surviving as a Terminally Ill Heiress - Chapter 52

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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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Episode 52

The Ambrose Trading Company can fail too, then.
I let out a soft laugh.
The most striking thing I’ve learned since becoming Ambrose is that the name alone doesn’t guarantee success.
As Naomi once said, luck was the most trivial of Ambrose’s abilities.
“The hotel failed. What came next?”
“The Sitaine Carriage.”
The very one that now ranks in the top three of the Ambrose Trading Company’s entire revenue? The one we’re riding in right now?
It’s fine to fail. The only rule is that something bigger succeeds afterward.
That was Ambrose.
“We’ve arrived.”
The carriage came to a stop, and Orca stepped down first.
I descended slowly, holding his hand.
“Wow.”
The exclamation escaped me unbidden.
It’s beautiful. Now I understand why Tru made such a fuss about it.
The exterior was a pristine white castle, clean as porcelain.
Like a princess from a storybook might emerge from a balcony and burst into serenade.
But the moment we stepped inside, we were overwhelmed by a brilliant silver gleam.
‘It’s so shiny, like a mirror.’
The lobby’s walls and floor, all silver. Like Orca’s hair.
Shasha, whom I held in my arms, flicked her tail contentedly. Perhaps because it looked like a fish.
“Ah, welcome, welcome!”
The moment we entered, the manager appeared, having clearly received advance notice.
The top-floor suite was spacious enough to accommodate all of our party with room to spare.
After the room tour, the manager—who had remained perfectly courteous throughout—bowed so deeply his forehead nearly touched the ground, then backed away.
I set Shasha down on the floor and asked Orca, “Is the owner of this place a commoner?”
“Yes, he is.”
Just as I thought. The manager’s excessive deference was the giveaway.
When a noble owns an establishment, you can feel the arrogance in the air.
But a commoner operating a hotel like this?
‘Hill, was it…?’
So that was the owner’s name.
I tilted my head and examined the room more carefully.
Orca had already moved to join me in my inspection.
“Ah, this is from Naro’s direct workshop.”
“Indeed. The stool beside it as well.”
“But that bed isn’t from them. Whose is it?”
“The maker’s mark is… here. It’s from Slid Company.”
“Wouldn’t a Mule bed be better than this one?”
“It’s superior in every way except price.”
While Orca and I dissected the hotel’s furnishings and fixtures piece by piece, Tru and the servants unpacked a day’s worth of luggage.
“Goodness, enough of that. You ought to bathe—it’s been far too long since you’ve soaked in hot water.”
“Yes. A bath sounds perfect.”
I’d been eager to soak and relax for some time.
From the bath onward through the evening meal, everything was utterly delightful.
The place lived up to its reputation. And its price tag.
Though having it all charged to the House’s travel account made it even sweeter.
“Well then, sleep well, everyone.”
“Good night, Miss!”
After a full dinner, we dispersed to our respective bedrooms.
Tomorrow, another grueling march awaited us.
I needed to sleep soon…
“Shasha?”
Once I lay down, the bed felt empty.
The creature who always nestled uncomfortably between my ribs or between my thighs was nowhere to be found.
I called several times, but she didn’t come.
Thinking she might have slipped outside, I scrambled out of bed and rushed from the room.
“…Ah, you startled me. Shasha. What are you doing there?”
Thankfully, Shasha was perched on the railing of the quiet sitting room’s balcony, gazing out at the night.
A crisp crescent moon hung in the sky like a pale fingernail. A moonstruck cat—how romantic.
I smiled and walked toward her.
Now that I thought about it, this was that very balcony I’d found so captivating when we first arrived.
The one where a princess might emerge and sing a serenade…
“How pathetic.”
That voice.
It made the back of my neck tighten as though bone were grinding against bone.
I lowered my gaze from the moon-lit sky.
Then I understood.
‘This little wretch wasn’t watching the moon at all—she was staring at that face…’
One level down, on a smaller balcony.
There stood a boy.
Still impossibly beautiful.
“You’ve grown even uglier since last time.”
Still infuriatingly homicidal.
I glared at him with narrowed eyes.
“Let me ask you one thing, at least.”
“Go ahead.”
He answered as though granting me a favor.
He even pushed himself off the railing and turned to face me more directly.
I kept my gaze fixed on the Eye Patch covering his left eye. “Is it not just that one eye that’s defective, but both your eyes that don’t work properly?”
“That’s impossible. Both work fine.”
Right. No, they don’t.
Not when you’re wearing an Eye Patch.
Something’s clearly broken—whether it’s your eyes or your head, I can’t tell.
I pointed at my own face sarcastically. “Then how could this face possibly look ugly to you?”
“Because I spend all my time looking at my own.”
Damn it. I had no comeback.
I glared at him, then spun around abruptly.
Enough. Reasoning with a madman was pointless.
I still didn’t understand how we kept running into each other like this.
Weren’t mages supposed to stay locked in their manors? Wasn’t he supposed to be some kind of earth-bound spirit in Pandium?
I picked up Shasha and moved to leave the balcony.
Bang!
The balcony door slammed shut in front of me.
What? There was no wind.
As I blinked stupidly, the situation became clear.
He’d used Magic.
“Are you insane?”
“I lean that way.”
He answered immediately to my question.
At least he had some self-awareness. Small mercies.
When I stared at him incredulously, he started grinning as though something was hilarious.
I really ought to flay that beautiful face and stick it on a statue.
I couldn’t fathom how such an exterior could contain such a rotten interior.
This had to be some cosmic mistake on the part of whatever god created him. A sin committed by parents he’d never know.
I was shaking my head in disbelief when I heard it.
Tap.
A soft impact sounded, and then—
The faint scent of lily of the valley came first.
Then a gentle wind and warmth followed.
He had launched himself into the air.
Literally—he’d pushed off lightly from his own railing and sailed across to land on mine.
Was that Magic too?
I looked up at him in genuine wonder, and the sight arrested me: the pitch-black night sky, his hair even darker still, his luminous blue eyes, and the pale crescent moon—all of it painted a picture so vivid that the colors seemed to imprint themselves on my vision.
It was almost dizzying.
Before I could stop myself, I murmured, “Satan, you’re insane.”
The blue eyes widened in surprise.
“…Hahahaha!”
Satan burst into uncontrollable laughter.
This had the exact same pattern as last time.
Was he about to try to strangle me again while laughing like a madman?
I took a small step backward.
He really was the type to beat someone while cackling like a lunatic.
His body bent nearly in half from laughter, and then he slowly sank into a crouch.
He exhaled a long, weary breath and looked at me.
Even sitting like some street urchin hunched over his knees, he looked like a statue carved by divine hands.
“You’re not completely stupid, apparently.”
“I’ve never been called stupid in my life.”
“You think I haven’t been either?”
He rested his elbows on his knees and snorted dismissively.
Well, at his young age and already serving as a mage’s assistant, probably not.
Fine. You’re exceptional too.
There’s a saying that a mage’s skill grows in proportion to both their Magical Power and their intellect.
But couldn’t you use that intellect to show a little consideration for others?
I muttered quietly, “Fool.”
“Me? How?”
He was genuinely asking how he could possibly be foolish.
So I applied the same logic back to him.
Pointing at myself with my finger, I mimicked his tone: “Pathetic? Me? How?”
The boy let out a soft laugh.
Something about this… he seemed to find me entertaining, like a toy to play with.
I really shouldn’t respond.
I frowned and pulled Shasha tighter against my chest.
He watched this display, then asked, “You’re really that attached to that test subject?”
“Test subject?!”
How dare he! To say such a thing about my Shasha!
My sharp cry made his neat eyebrows rise slightly.
“Then what is it?”
“Shasha is my sister. My family.”
“You’re a beast too?”
“Why would I be?”
I gave him a look of profound disdain.
Then I stroked Shasha gently.
“Even though Shasha is a beast and I’m human, that doesn’t mean we can’t be family.”
“…True. I suppose that’s so.”
He agreed surprisingly easily.
Too easily, in fact. It felt odd.
More importantly—how old was this boy? There were so many things he seemed not to understand.
‘He looks about the same age as Orca, maybe?’
If Orca was fifteen, then Satan was probably around that age too.

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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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