Chapter : 07
“Ten billion?”
Iona paused and tilted her head slightly.
The Constellations usually donated around ten or a hundred diamonds at a time. Just how many of those would it take to amount to ten billion?
[The Constellation ‘ My Husband Ended Up in 14 Pieces, What Do I Do?’ mentions the Hourglass of Helheim.]
At that moment, Iona recalled the blurry words she had seen just before dying.
[An unidentified Contractor has used the on you!]
That was definitely what it had said…
[The Constellation ‘Master of Lies’ grumbles.]
[I don’t even have ten billion diamonds.]
[The Constellation ‘Cat Head Enthusiast’ scolds him, saying that’s because you keep gambling.]
Ignoring the chatter, Iona focused on the important part.
“Is there information about the Hourglass of Helheim in this booklet too?”
[The Constellation ‘Master of Lies’ answers yes.]
“Um, excuse me… but when it comes to questions like this, could someone other than Master of Lies answer? It’s hard to trust you.”
[The Constellation ‘Master of Lies’ complains that even he tells the truth sometimes.]
[Ten premium random boxes worth one billion each! He finally got the Hourglass of Helheim, and instead of using it for himself, he used it for you.]
“Who?”
The question escaped her before she could stop it.
No matter how much she thought about it, there was no one who would ever do something like that for her.
[That’s why you traveled back in time with your memories intact. We sensed the distortion in the world and turned our attention to you… and some of us became interested in the ‘genre’ you possess.]
Money was important. In her past life, she had learned that lesson down to her bones.
And if diamonds were truly capable of buying anything, then they were even more precious.
‘Who would revive me at such a cost?’
Staring silently at her notebook, she added one final line.
Seventh. Find the benefactor who revived me and repay them.
Her heart beat warmly in her chest.
For the first time since she was born, someone had given something up for her—something unimaginably valuable.
It felt burdensome. And grateful. And almost unbelievable that she could be worth that much.
But thanks to them, she had been given a chance to take revenge.
Honestly, her misery was probably nothing special. Just one of countless tragic human stories.
The reason these Constellations were interested in her was likely because of the Hourglass of Helheim.
‘If I ever find them, I want to grant them any wish they ask for. And I want to ask… why they did something so immense for me. Maybe they don’t even remember using it on me.’
A random box was exactly what it sounded like—random.
Someone had bought ten of them without knowing what they’d get… and then used the prize on her.
She wanted to know why.
‘It’s strange. Just knowing someone in this world is rooting for me…’
Her chest grew hot.
And somehow, courage welled up inside her too.
Just then—
The door creaked open, and someone shamelessly poked their head inside.
“Sister-in-law! Shu-Shu has come to rescue Sweet Sister-in-law!”
It was Blanche Teresia.
“Why are you here?”
“Hurry! Shu-Shu sent the knights away for a little while.”
Blanche suddenly burst into the room, urging her along with a bright smile.
Silver hair—the signature of the Teresia family—and pink diamond-like eyes. Though already an adult, she still carried the innocence of a young girl.
Blanche was adored not only by the Teresia household but also by the Holy Knights.
Well, even Felix Teresia—who seemed to have been born with dead facial muscles—would soften into a faint smile whenever he looked at his younger sister.
But to Iona, Blanche was, at best, immature.
Honestly? She was a spoiled brat raised being coddled her entire life.
“Come on, hurry out! It’s okay. Shu-Shu will talk to Brother for you!”
How many times had she been fooled by that face?
Whenever trouble arose, Blanche always shoved the blame onto her and burst into tears.
Suppressing a sigh, Iona set down her pen and looked at Blanche calmly.
Blanche flinched and darted her eyes away.
“No. I’m perfectly fine. Quietly resting alone is rather peaceful.”
“That’s impossible! You can’t even enjoy tea time! The weather’s so lovely lately!”
When Iona didn’t budge, Blanche finally flung the door wide open and scampered over, grabbing both her hands tightly.
Even though Iona had never once given permission for such familiarity.
“Are you worried Brother will get angry? If you just say you had tea with Shu-Shu, there won’t be any problem. Trust Shu-Shu!”
What dazzling innocence.
If she truly had no ulterior motive, maybe she would look cute.
But Iona already knew why Blanche had come today.
“Don’t think you can gloss over the painting issue.”
The moment she spoke quietly, Blanche’s eyes widened.
“I don’t care how you heard about it, but I’m not letting it go this time. What you did was theft.”
“Sister-in-law, why are you suddenly acting like this? What did Shu-Shu do wrong…?”
For a split second, Blanche’s smiling face stiffened before she immediately reverted to acting cute again.
‘Life must be so easy for her. Everything probably gets solved as long as she acts adorable.’
Iona envied her sincerely.
That absolute confidence that everyone would listen to her.
‘Something I could never have, no matter how hard I tried.’
She had endured Griselda’s constant abuse and the butler’s cold disdain while helping manage the family’s affairs.
She spent nights buried in paperwork, including expense reports for the Holy Knights.
None of it had been her responsibility.
But she had worked silently anyway.
Because she wanted to become part of the family.
Because she hoped that if she did enough, maybe there would finally be a place for her here.
“No matter what you say, I won’t listen. Go back.”
Cutting off her thoughts, Iona firmly pulled her hand free.
“Don’t forget. There’s not much time left now.”
“W-What do you mean…?”
“The Imperial Palace banquet at the end of the year. If you don’t want to humiliate yourself there, you’d better think carefully.”
“Sister-in-law, y-you suddenly feel like a completely different person. You’re scary.”
Meanwhile, Blanche was genuinely flustered.
Normally, she could have hidden her discomfort.
But today was impossible.
‘This time too, I thought she’d cave if I coaxed her a little! Did she seriously lose her mind? Until yesterday she couldn’t even raise her head in front of me—what’s wrong with her now?’
She had seen the house after Iona wrecked it.
When she returned from shopping, the hallways had been a disaster.
Even hearing that her mother had collapsed sick hadn’t worried Blanche very much.
Corner a rat, and it bites.
The Iona Blanche had always known was stiff as a log and just as stupid.
‘Brother loves cute behavior. If you flutter your eyelashes a little, he gives you everything. She couldn’t even do that and only ever fought with him.’
To Blanche, men were simple creatures.
Cry a little. Act adorable. They’d hand over whatever you wanted.
But if Iona wasn’t clever enough to understand that… well, that wasn’t Blanche’s fault.
“Sister-in-law, honestly, those paintings would’ve just gathered dust in this house anyway. Shu-Shu displayed them in galleries so they could finally shine.”
“I don’t remember asking you to do that.”
“Oh, come on, why are you making things difficult for Shu-Shu?”
She had even adorably declared she’d come to rescue her—why wouldn’t Iona just obediently accept it?
But now Iona was colder than ice, as if not even a needle could pierce her.
The head that had always hung low was held high and straight.
With the gloomy, dark atmosphere around her completely gone, a quiet elegance now radiated from her entire body.
For some reason, Blanche suddenly found her difficult to approach.
And her pride took a sharp hit.
“I have nothing more to say, so leave. And don’t ever barge in like this again.”
