As the silver-haired middle-aged man approached Solea, the doctor blocked him.
“Your Grace! You mustn’t come closer. The young lady’s condition is very bad!”
“What on earth did you do to make my daughter suddenly have a seizure?”
“My money!”
While the Duke was talking to the doctor, Solea kept shouting about money, kicking the blanket with her feet. It was painful to watch, as it seemed to be a severe agony.
“Just stop the seizure for now!”
As soon as the Duke finished speaking, the pink-haired man approached Solea.
He placed his palm over her head and quietly chanted an incomprehensible spell. In an instant, Solea quieted down and stopped screaming.
Solea, who had been thrashing around just moments ago, now lay still on the bed, her bright red hair spread out like blood. Seeing this, Gray rushed at Pink.
“Heyman! How could you make her pass out when she’s already unwell?”
“I just put her to sleep. Father asked me to stop the seizure.”
Heyman glanced cautiously at the Duke.
The Duke looked at the back of the sleeping Solea’s head with concern for a long time before leaving the room with the doctor and his children.
*** *** *** *** ***
When she woke up, she was still in the spacious room.
It wasn’t a cramped studio apartment but a large bed that could easily accommodate three people, a big window, and maids watching her with worried eyes.
Solea stared at the ceiling, feeling miserable.
“1.7 billion… You bastards… Where did my 1.7 billion go… And where on earth am I?”
Even after deducting the 33% tax on the lottery winnings, it was a huge sum of about 1.7 billion won. With that money, she could pay off her debts and still have enough left to buy a decent house.
Seeing Solea sighing deeply as she lay on her side, Anne approached cautiously.
“My lady, shall I bring you some warm tea?”
“Excuse me.”
“My lady, please speak comfortably. I am your maid, Anne. You might not remember now, but we will help you regain your memory over time.”
Can you just find my 1.7 billion?
Even as I smile, tears come to my eyes.
Watching Anne speak with unasked-for determination, Solea felt utterly hopeless.
“Sigh… Okay, Anne. Instead of tea, please bring me a glass of cold water.”
“You can speak comfortably to me. Is there anything else you need?”
“Water will do.”
And 1.7 billion.
She swallowed the last words quietly.
After Anne left, Solea got off the bed and slipped her feet into the soft slippers. She walked over to the window.
The scene outside the window was definitely not Seoul.
A wide green field, knights in uniforms with swords at their waists like something out of a drama, and the annoying red-haired guy and the pink-haired handsome man she saw yesterday.
Seeing Solea standing by the window, the red-haired guy frowned, turned fully around, and started shouting something, but she couldn’t hear because the window was closed.
If your hair is brown, it’s brown; if it’s red, it’s red. What is red-brown hair? Are you a stew? From now on, you’re Pickle. Annoying, loud pickle.
Solea mimicked cleaning her ear to signal she couldn’t hear him.
Sorry, I can’t hear you. And actually, I’m not sorry at all.
Seeing Solea’s actions, Pickle’s eyes widened, and he started running towards her, yelling.
Then the pink-haired handsome man quickly followed and tried to stop him.
Pickle shook off the pink-haired man and ran towards Solea again, only to suddenly struggle as if something invisible was holding him back.
As she watched with indifference, a golden mist from the pink-haired man’s hand wrapped around Pickle’s body.
“What the heck is that!”
Solea’s eyes widened as she flung open the window.
“Ah, bro! Stop that! Heyman!”
With a voice that sounded like he had eaten a train horn, Gray flailed his limbs and shouted loudly.
“Don’t bother Solea when she’s unwell, Gray.”
Yeah, you jerk.
I don’t know who named him, but it sticks well. Gray, you jerk.
The golden mist lifted Gray and then gently placed him back on the grass before disappearing back into Heyman’s body.
It was a sight Solea had never seen before, but Gray spoke to Heyman in an irritated voice as if it was nothing.
“Solea is taunting me! She says she lost her memory, but she’s acting like a completely different person!”
Heyman gently chided Gray in a quiet voice that didn’t carry to Solea.
A moment later, Gray, after a loud push from Heyman, turned around and walked away.
“What did he say to make him act like that?”
Just then, Heyman noticed Solea peeking out the window and smiled, waving his hand. Then he created something in his palm and sent it towards her.
A small golden bird floated gently on the wind to Solea’s window and started chirping sweetly.
“Wow…”
For a moment, Solea’s frayed nerves calmed as she gently tapped the bird’s beak with her finger.
At that moment, a sharp pain that was neither hot nor cold brushed her fingertip, and the bird disappeared.
Holding her finger, Solea looked out the window with wide eyes, but Heyman had already vanished.
“What the heck is with him?”
Why are you messing with me with that pretty face? Was I not supposed to touch the fake bird?
If it wasn’t supposed to be touched, you should have said so. Why did you smile so charmingly and send the bird if it was going to sting when touched?
Is he trying to show he’s actually sly despite his gentle appearance, and I missed the hint?
What is this, some idol survival show?
As she shut the window with a loud bang, she heard a voice from outside the door.
“My lady, I brought water.”
“Yes, come in.”
Anne entered quietly and, seeing Solea standing by the window, gasped.
“My lady! You’re not well, and you’re not even wearing a coat! Oh my!”
Anne quickly set down the tray she was holding on the table, grabbed a thick fur shawl from the wide couch, and hurriedly wrapped it around Solea’s shoulders.
“It’s barely spring weather. Do I really need such a thick shawl?”
“You often caught colds even in the middle of summer because you’re weak. Please, sit down.”
Judging by Anne’s concern, it wasn’t a lie. She brought not only cold water but also warm tea and scones with strawberry jam and butter.
“After you recovered, you always had tea and scones. Even if you’ve lost your memory, your taste should be the same, so I prepared this. Is it okay?”
Anne cautiously pushed the plate of scones closer to Solea.
It was clear from her behavior how unwell Solea had been and how much Anne cared for her.
Whether it was because she was a precious daughter of a noble family or out of genuine concern, one thing was certain.
Ji-yoon had never felt such kindness before.
Suddenly, she remembered her mother’s kind gaze from long ago.
Her mother, wrapped in ill-fitting thick coats, had held Ji-yoon’s hand in a corner of Seoul Station filled with pigeons and asked,
‘Ji-yoon, do you want to come with Mom?’
‘Where?’
‘Far away.’
‘Why?’
‘Just because.’
Ji-yoon didn’t remember her mother’s face but vividly recalled her sad expression and her constant trembling as she looked around.
When Ji-yoon shook her head, her mother, who had never bought her snacks, handed Ji-yoon a bag of snacks and told her to wait there while she went to the bathroom.
As her mother, wearing a dark coat, disappeared among the gray pigeons flying into the sky, the image was as clear as a photograph. Ji-yoon, feeling the coldness in her fingers, placed the snack bag on the ground and waited for her mother for hours. Then…
After spending a whole day at the police station, her slightly sober father came to pick her up.
‘You little brat, where did your mother go? Where did that woman go?’
‘Sir, calm down.’
Surrounded by police officers trying to calm her father and the smell of alcohol, Ji-yoon didn’t cry. She only vaguely realized she would never see her mother again.
Shaking off the thoughts, Solea looked down at the refreshments Anne had prepared and picked up the glass of water.
Anne looked slightly disappointed, but this kindness and affection were meant for the “real” Solea.
“Tell me where we are and who I am, Anne.”
Anne nodded resolutely and began to explain.
Solea von Bergo.
The youngest daughter of the Bergo Dukedom. She had been frail since birth and always needed help from others. She had never even attended a party and turned eighteen without experiencing such things.
She had three older brothers, and the silver-haired middle-aged man she saw yesterday was her father, Diego von Bergo.
In his younger days, Duke Diego participated in every war, sweeping through the enemy forces. After his wife’s health deteriorated, he spent time at the mansion with her. However, his beloved wife passed away, and now he was alone.
So the eldest brother, who was away fighting a war, must have taken after their father. Being a young commander of a knights’ order, he must be quite capable.
Solea muttered the eldest brother’s name to herself.
Tion von Bergo.
Other than his name, she didn’t get much information. She only knew he rarely visited the mansion as he was busy earning merits in the war.
The second brother was Heyman, the pink-haired, pink-eyed handsome mage.
In this country, there were a few people who could use magic, but most of them didn’t have great magical power and used it for minor conveniences in daily life.
Heyman, who could lift people into the air and create and maintain new forms, required significant magical power. Even so, he only used it for practical purposes in daily life.
And the third brother, with the red-brown hair and gray eyes, was Gray.
He had excellent swordsmanship skills, comparable to the eldest, and had earned the title of knight but didn’t join any knightly orders.
…Why is he still in this mansion? With such talent? Was he not taken in because of his bad manners?
That makes sense. It’s plausible. With that kind of personality, he’d be kicked out of any group he joined, ending up rolling back here.
Solea nodded to herself.
When she asked how her relationship with her brothers was, Anne replied with a smile.
“All three of them cherished you.”
Solea tilted her head with a puzzled expression, and Anne clapped her hands.
“Master Gray visited you the most at night! He was very worried about you!”
“That’s impossible.”
“What?”
“Even before I lost my memory, he spoke to me so rudely.”
Oh, but I shouldn’t speak ill of him since he’s supposed to be my brother.
Glancing at Anne, Solea saw her covering her mouth with a delighted expression.
“My lady, you just spoke to me informally! You must be regaining your memory!”
“Oh, haha… I did it unconsciously!”
A common story came to mind.
The typical tale of a protagonist who, after experiencing certain events, recalls memories of a past life. Maybe I also remembered my past life. If “Solea” was truly my life…
Could I live a different life?
Just then, Anne pulled out a white piece of paper from her pocket.
“Oh, right. I found this in the hallway. Is it yours, my lady?”
The thin paper had black numbers lined up on it.
It was the lottery ticket.
“Eek!”
Solea screamed as if she had seen a ghost and snatched the paper from Anne’s hand.
“My money was real! Money! My 1.7 billion! Ahh!”
Seeing the young lady pulling her hair again, Anne, terrified, ran out of the room.
“Someone, help! The young lady is having a seizure like yesterday! Doctor!”
The pain of losing 1.7 billion didn’t subside even after a day.
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