The Male Lead Is Trying To Tame Me With Money - Chapter 115

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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115.

Maribel was someone who absolutely loved recording all sorts of things in her diary.

The number of diaries Casian had received was quite substantial.

He said that he had spent the stagnant times in the palace carefully reading through the diaries the wet nurse had preciously kept and given him, page by page, from a very young age.

‘Though there was quite a lot of content in the diaries written when she was younger than me that would probably make Mother angry if she knew I had read them.’

He had said this nostalgically while summarizing the contents of Maribel’s diaries as we prepared for the trip to Riedern County.

‘But what choice did I have? If she wanted to prevent that, she should have stayed by my side.’

He had said such words befitting a fire-attribute dutiful son without any hesitation.

However, thinking about the diary contents he had gradually shared with me, I thought Maribel would have pinched her cheeks slightly while finding her son adorable.

It was somewhat embarrassing, but there wasn’t any overly cringeworthy dark history content that a girl in her early-to-mid teens might have written.

Anyway, this abandoned mine appeared quite frequently in Maribel’s diaries.

She said she was mostly raised by her grandmother because her mother’s health was weak.

Maribel’s father, the late Lierden Count, had also decided from her childhood to raise her as his successor, considering his wife’s condition.

When stories about her sick mother came up, there were traces of slight grumbling mixed with affection.

But still, the stories her grandmother told her took up the largest portion.

There were contents written that would cause huge trouble if the Temple ever confirmed them.

It was to such an extent that I wondered if this might be why the Riarden Ducal Family was exterminated.

‘Regarding the ducal family’s extermination, even in the original work it was only briefly mentioned that Maribel died and the family was exterminated, and it couldn’t be found in the Document Room that advisors could generally access.’

Officially, it was known as Maribel Reardon’s corruption and the Riarden Ducal Family’s incompetence.

‘But there’s no way the Emperor, who loves his justifications, would have ended it with just that much.’

Looking at the grandmother’s teachings written in the diary and the stories about the Riarden Ducal Family.

And considering how Scaletti Zamotti brought in the Temple whenever she needed it.

‘I think they definitely brought in the Temple’s Inquisitors.’

Since they tried to use such methods on me too.

They even attached ridiculous pretenses like calling Casian’s purple eyes a curse or hatred.

That’s why I was even more determined to visit the places Maribel’s diary mentioned where a dragon might be sleeping.

Additionally, I held expectations that I might be able to make contact with something like a dragon’s consciousness here.

“You absolutely must not leave my side, Rose. You never know what kind of accident might happen in an abandoned mine.”

Hmm, and.

It was a slight secret from Casian, but.

‘…I shouldn’t say that I somehow feel like I understand Maribel’s feelings, should I?’

There was also the fact that he was making such a displeased face.

*

“Is this really truly an abandoned mine that people haven’t been in and out of?”

Unlike the eerie entrance, once we entered the interior, it appeared quite well-organized.

There were even magic lamps embedded sporadically in the walls.

“Mother did say she came to this abandoned mine frequently when she was still the Riedern Princess.”

Casian spoke with a somewhat bitter expression for some reason.

Whether it was because Maribel and I had similar tastes, or because he was concerned about me stepping forward out of curiosity while only holding his hand, I couldn’t tell.

Anyway, as if it was designed with someone of ordinary physicality like me in mind, wooden planks were firmly laid wherever we stepped.

The height adjustments were done so well that I felt we could proceed relying only on the magic lamps embedded in the walls, without the separate lights we had brought.

As we went deeper inside, I became filled with anticipation, but Casian’s expression grew increasingly dejected.

“What’s wrong?”

“…The Emperor’s personality shows too much.”

Hearing his shallow sigh, I burst into brief laughter.

“It means he cherished the Empress that much.”

“Yeah.”

Even while answering briefly, his face showed he couldn’t shake off his complicated feelings.

I understood.

The Emperor he had seen while growing up had never shown even a speck of affection for Maribel.

Even when we directly saw the past through the scroll or when the Emperor suddenly told me the truth, we both found it hard to believe.

But seeing the inside of the abandoned mine directly like this, I could feel the heart of the Emperor who must have been restless while trying to renovate the interior.

“I’m a little envious.”

“…Of which side?”

“Of the Emperor.”

Casian’s answer only made me more puzzled.

Why on earth?

He’s envious of being pushed around by the Empress in various ways?

While walking in bewilderment, I almost misstepped, but Casian gently embraced me to help me walk properly, then continued his story.

“I was thinking it would have been more enjoyable if I had spent time with you from childhood like the Emperor did.”

“…Even after seeing Paul?”

That kid trembles whenever he sees me, you know?

“Because I saw him.”

No matter how I thought about it, Casian Artez’s tastes seemed to have developed in a rather strange direction.

Wanting to make a friend who would nag him daily and make him flustered.

“I somehow feel a sense of responsibility.”

“Hmm.”

At my honest confession of conscience, he spoke with pleasure.

“I hope you’ll continue to keep such feelings.”

You don’t want me to have normal and ordinary tastes?

Even though I felt like I had been by this person’s side for a long time, his thoughts were too deep for me to understand completely.

To the extent that I wanted to peek into that unknowable mind at least once.

*

The abandoned mine had paths branching off in quite a few directions, but thanks to Maribel being a recording enthusiast, we didn’t get lost.

So I felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

Of course, Casian also had this kind of thoroughness, but if I had to compare, it was closer to the Emperor.

Rather, Maribel was…

‘You have some similarities to the Empress.’

I could understand why the Emperor had said such words, as I felt our habits were similar.

The map of the abandoned mine’s interior and the sections organizing special features, as if she was going to show them to someone.

‘Because it’s a creation made by an author?’

Could it be because she was a character created by fitting together similar motifs.

Even as I thought this momentarily, one question arose.

Because I was ‘me.’

After becoming Rozelita, I had never once thought I should respect the personality of the original protagonist.

To simply call it a coincidence, there seemed to be something strangely peculiar about it.

I had never once doubted the original work itself since being born.

‘…Is it really truly a creative work?’

The more I recalled all the various genre novels I had read countless times in the past, the more my suspicions grew.

Weren’t there various patterns where what you thought was the original work actually wasn’t?

I even thought that perhaps my memory had caused some kind of error.

‘But then, if worlds are mixed and the original Casian I saw directly…?’

If it were just my experience, I might have dismissed it as a daydream, but didn’t Casian also see the original Rozelita?

Casian had said she was very different from me.

“What’s wrong, Rose?”

Even though I was clearly thinking about doubts regarding this world in my head, my hands were diligently taking notes about the abandoned mine’s interior.

Casian somehow noticed that I was having other thoughts.

It wasn’t as if my thoughts were written in my notes, but I really wondered if this person had some talent for reading my mind.

Since there was nothing to hide, I stopped my hands and spoke honestly to him.

“Ah… I’ve become curious about many things.”

“It doesn’t seem to be about the abandoned mine.”

Casian pointed to the part I had written down that said ‘seems like it could be developed into a tourist attraction for Riedern County with just a little maintenance’ as he spoke.

“Is it about the scroll?”

“That’s right, at this point I’m starting to think it would be nice if this place really was an ancient Dragon’s Lair, just like the Empress guessed-“

The moment I said that to Casian.

I felt my body being sucked down into the ground.

Wait a minute.

This is similar to what happened with the Flare Dragon?

“Rose!”

I looked at Casian grabbing me with startled eyes and complained inwardly.

Give me some warning, please!

These reptiles.

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