Chapter 20
“I always feel bad that only Lady Aigle is left behind whenever they go out… I worry that you might feel left out.”
I hadn’t expected Nora to be thinking that way.
I blinked a few times, then laughed it off.
“I’m fine. It would be a bit awkward for me to tag along when it’s just the family going out.”
Until Nora said that, I hadn’t thought anything of it at all.
I was just wondering what would be for dinner.
At my words, Nora returned to her usual calm expression and nodded.
“I’m glad. Then I’ll tell the chef to prepare something spicy.”
“Mm, thanks.”
Nora left the room with light steps.
I flopped onto the sofa, closed my eyes, and thought,
‘A lot happened today, so I should rest a bit, eat, wash up, and sleep.’
Ah, I should put the invitation Kateri gave me somewhere safe.
I got up from the sofa, took out the invitation I had set aside earlier, and walked to the bedside table.
I thought it would be good to store it together with my mother’s keepsake, “Benevolent Fortune,” which I also kept there.
Without thinking, I opened the drawer of the bedside table—and froze.
“…Huh? Why is this glowing?”
The necklace was shining brightly with a golden light.
I stared at it for a moment, then slowly pressed the button on the necklace.
A system window appeared.
Benevolent Fortune
A toy created by the Sun Dragon for amusement.
Effect: Grants the wearer random luck.
Duration: Once per day.
Cooldown: None.
Its effect has been enhanced as a quest reward!
Only after I read that line did the glowing necklace return to normal.
I picked it up and let out a long sigh.
‘No way… did this really get enhanced?’
And of all things, this was what got enhanced.
When I was already wearing “Reasonable Fabrication” on my finger!
‘It said random, but does even the Divine Messenger not get to choose what gets picked?’
I still wasn’t even fully sure what Benevolent Fortune’s effect was.
…It was a little disappointing, but it had already been enhanced, so there was nothing I could do.
‘In that case, I might as well wear it and find out for myself!’
I put the invitation back in the drawer and wore the necklace.
Its design was still terribly ugly.
I was turning the necklace this way and that, trying to figure out how to hide it better, when I heard a knock and Nora’s voice.
“Lady Aigle. Dinner is ready.”
“Oh? Got it!”
I hurriedly opened the door and went to the dining room with Nora.
At the time, I had no idea. I had no idea that this rough-looking necklace I was wearing would start all that trouble.
* * *
It started with something very trivial.
It began when I found something my uncle had lost.
“Hm, since this morning’s meeting, I haven’t been able to find my glasses.”
“Oh dear, then how will you manage your afternoon work?”
“That’s true. I can’t read well without them.”
After lunch, during tea time, I overheard my uncle and aunt talking.
And then I saw my uncle’s glasses inside the breast pocket of his jacket.
‘What’s that?’
His pocket wasn’t even open. It was as if the glasses were being projected through the fabric of the pocket itself.
I blinked and stared at it, then said to my uncle,
“Uncle, did you check the right breast pocket of the jacket you’re wearing right now?”
At my words, my uncle, who had been sipping tea, casually put his hand into the pocket.
Then he widened his eyes and pulled out the glasses he had been looking for.
“Come to think of it, I put them there after approving the last document. Aigle, thank you.”
“What, she actually noticed that?”
“Hahaha… seems like it.”
Noticed? It was impossible not to notice. They were glaringly obvious.
‘And all of this is because of…’
Random Luck activated from !
Your vision temporarily sees through objects!
It seemed to be because of the necklace I was wearing.
I discreetly waved my hand, and the system window floating in front of me vanished with a pop.
Watching that, I popped a cookie into my mouth.
‘Hmm… could this Benevolent Fortune thing be…?’
Just as I was falling into thought, my uncle held out two tickets to me.
“Here. A reward.”
“This is…”
What my uncle gave me were opera tickets.
And pretty good seats, too.
“I saw it yesterday. It was quite entertaining. Go with a friend.”
“Thank you, Uncle!”
…Well, if it was the effect of an ancient relic, so what? It wasn’t like anything serious had happened!
With that lighthearted thought, I accepted the tickets.
And the very next day, I went out with Phine to watch the opera.
The opera that was being performed today featured Phine’s favorite singer, so Phine had been incredibly excited even before we left.
“Thank you, Aigle! It’s because of you that I get to see the opera. I made the plans too suddenly, didn’t I?”
“No, not at all. I happened to be free today.”
At my words, Phine’s eyes lit up.
“Honestly, I wanted to see it so badly I couldn’t wait another second. This performance was so popular that I failed to get tickets! And now I get to see it like this! I’m so happy!”
Really? Then my uncle must have gotten the tickets somehow.
Ah, right.
The count who managed the opera house and my uncle were on good terms.
With that thought in mind, just as Phine and I got out of the carriage and climbed the steps of the opera house, a system window appeared in front of me again.
Random Luck activated from !
The flow of time in the surrounding area temporarily slows down!
At the same time, a strange sensation passed over me, as if the entire world had slowed.
‘Huh? What now?’
Phine’s excited voice, saying she was looking forward to it, sounded incredibly slow.
The people around us were also moving sluggishly, as if someone were deliberately teasing me.
As I watched that strange scene in fascination, something like a leash streaked across my vision.
‘A leash?’
I glanced down, and saw a tiny white dog running past me and up the stairs.
The streak I had seen in slow motion was the dog’s leash.
Before I knew it, I reached out and grabbed it.
The next moment—
Yelp!
“Oh my goodness!”
The world that had been moving in slow motion began returning to normal.
I felt someone coming toward me, so I turned my head.
A richly dressed old lady had shoved her attendants aside and was rushing toward me.
“Katrin—!”
The lady bent down in a hurry and lifted up the dog I was holding by the leash.
“I told you not to run like that! I nearly lost you!”
At her words, the little dog barked cheerfully, “Woof!”
Seeing the dog wagging its tail happily, the lady buried her face in its fluffy white fur and kept sighing in relief.
The attendants who had followed her hurriedly bowed and apologized.
The lady hugged the dog tightly and scolded them in return.
Watching that, I lowered my gaze to the leash still in my hand.
‘Hmm, I think I get it now.’
After experiencing the effect of Benevolent Fortune three times, I had a rough idea of how it worked.
This relic really did grant random luck once a day, just like its name said.
Not to me, but to someone else.
‘In other words… it just creates good fortune for other people, doesn’t it?’
First, it had boosted the magical detection ability of the mages instead of mine, helping catch cheating gamblers.
Then it had helped my uncle find his glasses.
And this time, it helped me catch the old lady’s dog leash?
‘What kind of novel effect is this?’
Haah, Lord Radon.
What exactly is this supposed to be?
If you’re going to give luck, shouldn’t it go to the wearer?
It seemed this really was a toy created by the Sun Dragon for amusement, just as the description had said.
‘Still, let’s think positively.’
At least it wasn’t a relic that brought misfortune to others, right?
Thinking that, I handed the leash back to the lady.
“Um, here…”
At my words, the lady looked up sharply at me.
The lady, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, looked from my face to the leash in my hand, and then grabbed my hand with a deeply moved expression.
“How can I ever thank you! Thank you for catching our Katrin! Thanks to you, I won’t have my life shortened today!”
“No, it was nothing. The dog just happened to run right in front of me, so I caught the leash.”
Of course, I hadn’t done it entirely by my own strength.
Just then, I felt Phine poke my arm.
I turned to look at her, and her face had gone stiff.
‘What’s wrong with her?’
Just as I was about to ask, Phine calmly lifted the hem of her dress and bowed politely.
“Good afternoon, Marchioness Nadelman.”
…Marchioness Nadelman!
That noble lady with major influence in high society?!
I quickly followed Phine and bowed to the lady as well.
“My apologies for not recognizing you. Good afternoon, Marchioness Nadelman.”
Marchioness Nadelman was famous for being strict and sharp-eyed.
If you offended her, you would not have a pleasant time, so Phine and I lowered our eyes respectfully.
Seeing that, Marchioness Nadelman burst into hearty laughter and grabbed both of our arms.
“Come now, let’s not stand around outside like this! You girls must have come to watch the opera, yes?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Which seats are yours?”
“Middle seats in the third row, ma’am.”
“I see. Then today, let’s watch the performance together from our family’s box seat! As thanks for catching Katrin, I invite the two of you!”
Saying that, the marchioness guided us to her private box.
In this empire, a box seat was a privilege reserved only for high-ranking nobles such as dukes and marquises.
Being invited to one was a great honor for unmarried noble ladies.
And so, by sheer chance, we ended up sitting in the box seat of the Nadelman family and watching the performance.
Honestly, I didn’t care where or with whom I watched an opera.
But I worried whether Phine, who was timid and rather shy around strangers, would be okay.
Seated in my chair, I glanced sideways at Phine.
