IFHWPML - Chapter 2
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Two months before the wedding.
"So you borrowed money, didn't you have to pay it back?"
Crash.
An elegant vase shattered on the floor from an abrupt touch.
"But, but listen! Didn't I ask for a little more time?"
The Baron raised his voice in a vain attempt to the intruders, but it was useless.
They deliberately invaded and were sweeping up anything valuable into their bags.
"Listen here, Baron. It has been nearly three months since we extended the deadline considering your rank. Do you have anything else to say? Hm?"
As Werazel watched the scene, she had a senseless thought.
"He looks like a real thug with that rough face all twisted."
The well-groomed mansion had turned into a mess in an instant due to the intruders.
Her eyes glanced at the dress she was wearing.
It was a dress she had paid a huge amount for at her favorite boutique. A dress that looked expensive to anyone who saw it.
But in front of her stood her father, struggling with the debt he couldn't repay, and her mother, wiping tears beside him.
It was a considerably discordant scene. This was reality.
"If only we had been more frugal."
She murmured softly, but no one in the chaos seemed to hear her.
"Please, just give us a little more time. If you give us a little more time, we can repay the borrowed money."
The menacing intruder turned his eyes towards Baron de la Provence and spoke.
"We'll take valuable items as collateral, so we'll give you two more months. If you can't repay by then, we won't be so lenient. We might even take your daughter with us."
The intruder's sinister gaze swept from her head to toe.
Werazel shivered at the cold stare. She felt chills down her spine and her stomach churned.
"What nonsense!"
"Just repay the money, that's all I'm saying."
"....Alright."
Baron Frosie lowered his tail. His wife, who was standing next to him, seemed to lose strength in her legs and tightly held onto her husband's arm.
"Apologize."
In the now empty drawing room, where the intruders had left, stood three people.
Baron Frosie, his wife, and their daughter, Werazel Frosie, who had caused all this trouble.
"Lizelle... I'm sorry. Your father lacks dignity."
The Baron spoke while glancing at his daughter, who didn't know what to do.
Werazel looked at her father, not knowing what to do. As she opened her mouth to say something, her father flinched.
"No, Father. You did what you had to do to save our family."
Her daughter's warm words, unexpected from someone she thought would surely scold her with anger, moved the Baron to tears.
He realized that his daughter had truly grown up.
"Lizelle!"
Werazel patted her father's back as he hugged her tightly.
'It's not your fault. It's all my fault.'
She thought to herself.
Werazel Frosie
As soon as she entered society at the age of 20, she began to indulge in all sorts of luxuries.
She bought clothes and jewelry that were not suitable for her status, and even went after limited editions that were hard to find, emptying the family vault in the process.
Baron Frosie, who doted on his only daughter too much, could not stop her indulgence in luxury.
It was because of the heart of a parent who wanted to give their child the best and most expensive things.
As a result, the vault of the Baron Frosie's estate quickly ran empty.
Although not a high-ranking noble, the Baron Frosie estate, which had enough money to live on, quickly stumbled.
When the wages of the servants were also delayed to the point where they were in dire straits, the Baron realized belatedly that something was wrong and borrowed money from the bank.
'But even that money was completely spent on Werazel's extravagant pastimes.'
As the Baron took out loans from the bank and Werazel continued to indulge in luxury, this pattern repeated itself until they reached a point where they could no longer borrow from the bank
Unable to repay the borrowed money and yet seeking even larger loans, the bank could no longer lend money to the Baron due to his financial situation.
However, our protagonist, Werazel, paid no heed to the household's economic situation. She wandered around seeking more expensive and valuable items, things that would enhance her beauty.
She would demand money from her father, throwing tantrums when denied. Eventually, when even bank loans were no longer available, the Baron turned to loan sharks.
The result was the disaster that unfolded today.
"Don't worry, Lizelle. I will never let those loan sharks lay a hand on you!"
Her father's concern for her was truly moving. She nodded with a smile.
"Yes, Father. Let's work together."
"Lizelle... our daughter!"
She hugged her father tightly, her face adorned with a sweet smile.
"Phew, no need to worry about the corridors of guilt."
After all, it was not she who had indulged in luxury, but the original owner of her body. It was the debt incurred by the previous owner's lavish spending.
Yet, ironically, it was she who had to tighten the belt now. The timing couldn't have been worse.
It had been a week since she had transmigrated into Werazel's body.
***
"This should be enough to repay some of the debt,"
Werazel said as she laid out the bags and accessories that filled the dressing room. Looking at them spread out like this, the amount was staggering.
"No wonder I'm in so much debt."
Weirazel grimaced as she inspected the items that were worth selling.
Since the dresses were custom-made, they wouldn't fetch a high price even if she sold them. Therefore, it seemed better to focus on selling bags and various accessories like necklaces.
There were limited edition necklaces, earrings, and handbags, so they would definitely fetch a good price.
"Merhmen."
"Did you call, my lady?"
At Werazel's call, her manservant Merhmen entered the room.
"Please refund everything except for these. If they can't be refunded, then sell them. Surely there will be someone who wants to buy them."
Werazel asked Merhmen to sell the remaining items, excluding the family ring that was custom-made with her parents and the necklace with the emerald that she couldn't take her eyes off since the first time she saw it.
The necklace had a simple and modest design with a single emerald embedded, so even if she sold it, she wouldn't get a high price for it.
"I think it's okay to leave one of these."
Since she first saw it, she wanted to keep this necklace because she liked it from the beginning.
She wore the family ring on her ring finger, worried that it might get mixed up with other items, and the necklace around her neck.
"Are you really selling this?"
Merhmen looked at her with unbelieving eyes.
"Yeah. Quite a lot, right? Sorry. But please take care of it."
"No, no... That's not it. Are you really okay, Miss?"
Werazel stared at Merhmen, her elderly butler, with a firm expression that seemed to say it wasn't a lie.
"I'm really okay, so please sell it."
It was understandable that the Baron or the butler would be surprised. After all, her attitude had changed in just a week.
She had been reading a novel out of boredom.
She fell asleep after reading about halfway through, and when she opened her eyes, she found herself reincarnated as a minor character with almost no significance in the novel.
To Werazel Frosie, who sold her family's pillar for indulgence.
"I only found out a few days ago that I had reincarnated as a minor character in the novel because the significance was so small."
In the middle of the novel, there was a mention of a minor villain buying a title with money.
The one who bought the title at that time was Baron Frosie.
So, in the end, the reason the Baron had to sell the title was because of Werazel...
Werazel was an attractive woman who would catch anyone's eye as they passed by.
Her rich and neat light brown hair, reminiscent of olives, and her emerald eyes were refreshing, and her red lips under her slightly upturned nose were reminiscent of a budding rose.
Her smooth and white skin was so flawless that even falling dew would just slide off.
Although she was naturally beautiful, her beauty was further enhanced by the efforts she made to invest in herself.
"Heuk. I've never had such a touching day in the 20 years I've been by Miss's side,"
Merhwen said, wiping tears from his eyes with a handkerchief.
Werazel left the room quickly, giving an awkward smile and leaving a note saying "Take care."
Merhwen's eyes sparkled as if he would grab my hand any moment.
'Of all times, to be stuck in this situation.'
Werazel muttered to himself in frustration.
Of all times to be reincarnated, it had to be when the debt collector came knocking.
If things went as the novel, the Baron Frosie would soon meet his downfall, and her father would end up selling his title to the villain.
'But what about me? What's going to happen to me?'
From a noble lady to a beggar in an instant?
'No, absolutely not.'
Werazel shook her head, her teeth chattering.
Regardless of what happened in the novel, right now, securing money was the top priority for the protagonist and the heroine.
'If things continue like this, I might end up in the hands of loan sharks in two months....'
With the power of her father, the Baron Frosie, she would never be a match, and she would have to sell herself too.
She didn't want to live a life struggling with money anymore. She had enough of that in her past life. This time, she wanted to escape from poverty.
'But where can I find such a large sum of money...'
A whopping 80 million shillings...
She wandered the streets with weak steps, aimlessly.
If it were the original Werazel, she would have ridden a carriage even for short distances, complaining that her dress would wear out.
She even carried spare shoes for outdoor and indoor use, always complaining about the expensive shoes that got muddy, but she was different now.
Even though the hem of her expensive dress was dragging on the ground, she didn't care at all.
Calling a carriage, changing shoes... She found it more convenient to walk on her own two feet than to go through such a hassle.
'By the way, how am I going to come up with the money?'
As she walked, a gust of wind blew through the quiet street, rustling a piece of paper that fluttered and landed on Werazel's face.
"Ah!"
Startled, Werazel screamed as the paper that flew towards her blocked her vision.
She quickly peeled the paper off her face with a nervous hand.
"What the hell..."
Thinking it was trash, Werazel crumpled the paper roughly, but then she unfolded it quickly when she saw the word "shilling" written on it.
Then she read the writing on the crumpled paper.
[Looking for a lost child.
Name: Laphelion Heillos
Age: 5 years old
Features: Black hair and red eyes.
Time lost: One month ago.
Place lost: Road connecting Bernie and the Capital.
※If you find the child, please come to Duke Heillos' residence. A reward of 100 million shillings will be given to the person who finds the child.※]
"Heillos... Duke?"
In an instant, a sentence flashed through Werazel's mind.
[Duke Heillos, known as the richest man in the empire, has been making every effort to find the lost child.]
"This is it."
Werazel's green eyes burned with enthusiasm. A satisfied smile was drawn on her red lips.