IFAHWIPUTML Chapter 2

Two months before the wedding.

"So if you borrowed money, you have to pay it back, don't you think?!"

Crash.

Rough hands sent an expensive vase tumbling to the floor, shattering.

"N-now see here! Didn't I ask for just a bit more time?"

The baron directed a deliberately stern voice at the thugs who'd barged in, but it was useless.

They seemed determined—practically sweeping anything valuable into their sacks.

"Listen here, Baron. Out of respect for your title, we've already extended the deadline three whole months. Got anything else to say? Hm?"

Verasielle, watching this scene unfold, had a rather unhelpful thought.

'His face was already rough-looking, but all scrunched up like that? Genuine gangster material right there.'

The well-maintained estate interior became a disaster zone in moments, courtesy of the thugs.

Her gaze drifted down to the dress she wore.

A dress she'd had custom-made at her favorite boutique for an astronomical price. The kind of dress that screamed expensive just by looking at it.

Meanwhile, right in front of her stood her father groveling to thugs over unpaid debts, with her mother dabbing at tears beside him.

Quite the jarring contrast. But this was reality.

"Should've reined in the extravagance a bit, then."

She muttered it quietly, but in this chaos, no one heard.

"Just give me a bit more time. I told you I can repay the borrowed money if you give me just a little more time."

The thug rolled his eyes at Baron Prozier's pitiful pleading and spoke.

"We'll take items worth roughly the debt amount as collateral and give you two more months. If you can't repay within that time, we really won't be lenient. We'll even take your daughter."

The thug's sleazy gaze swept from her head down to her toes.

The repulsive look made Verasielle shudder. Goosebumps rose on her skin and her stomach churned.

"What do you—!"

"So pay back the money."

"...Understood."

Baron Prozier backed down. His wife standing beside him gripped her husband's arm tightly, her legs apparently having given out.

"Withdraw."

The thugs who'd occupied the drawing room filed out, leaving three people standing in the ransacked house.

Baron Prozier and his wife. And the baron's daughter who'd created this entire mess—Verasielle Prozier.

"Verasielle... I'm sorry. Your father has no face to show you."

The baron spoke cautiously, watching his daughter who just stood there blankly.

Verasielle looked at her bewildered father. As she worked her mouth, the baron's body flinched.

"No. Father only did what he had to for our family."

When his daughter—who he'd fully expected to throw a screaming tantrum—spoke warm words he'd never anticipated, the baron's eyes glistened with emotion.

He thought his daughter had truly matured at last.

"Verasielle!"

Verasielle patted the back of her father as he embraced her tightly.

'What fault could you possibly have? It's all Verasielle's doing.'

That's what she thought, anyway.

Verasielle Prozier.

Now twenty years old, she'd started indulging in every extravagance from the moment she entered society.

Buying clothes and jewelry far above her station—even getting her hands on rare limited editions while thoroughly emptying the family vault.

Baron Prozier, who adored his only daughter far too much, couldn't stop his little girl's extravagance.

Because of a parent's heart that wanted to give better, more expensive things.

The baron's vault hit rock bottom in no time.

Though not high nobility, the Prozier barony—which had possessed comfortable wealth—began teetering in an instant.

When even the servants' wages fell behind, the baron belatedly realized something had gone terribly wrong and borrowed money from the bank.

'But that money went straight into Verasielle's extravagant lifestyle too.'

The baron took out bank loans, Verasielle indulged her extravagance. This pattern repeated continuously until he could no longer borrow from banks.

When he couldn't even repay existing loans yet kept trying to borrow larger amounts, the bank simply couldn't lend the baron any more money.

But our Verasielle didn't care how the household finances were faring.

She sought out items more expensive and precious than others', items that would make her appearance even more beautiful.

Throwing tantrums at her father for money.

Eventually, with bank loans blocked, the baron turned to loan sharks.

The result was today's disaster.

"Verasielle! Don't worry. I'll absolutely never hand you over to those thugs!"

The father thinking of his daughter was genuinely touching, really. She smiled and nodded.

"Yes, Father. Let's work on this together."

"Verasielle... My daughter!"

Embraced in her father's broad arms, she completely wiped away her pleasant smile and hardened her expression.

'Haa. What rotten luck.'

It wasn't even extravagance she'd personally indulged in—this debt resulted from the original owner of this body's extravagance.

Yet the one who had to tighten her belt was herself. Talk about spectacularly bad timing.

Today marked one week since she'd possessed Verasielle.

"This much should at least help repay some of the debt."

She'd lined up the bags and accessories that had packed the dressing room full. Laid out like this, the quantity was staggering.

"No wonder the house pillars got pulled out."

Verasielle clicked her tongue as she checked items suitable for resale.

The dresses were custom-made, so even selling them clearly wouldn't fetch much money. So focusing on bags and necklaces—various accessories basically—for resale seemed best.

With limited edition necklaces, earrings, and handbags, they'd definitely bring in money.

"Mervyn."

"You called, Miss?"

At Verasielle's summons, the butler Mervyn entered promptly as if he'd been waiting.

"Except for this and this, return everything. If you can't get refunds, resell them. There'll definitely be buyers."

Verasielle asked him to sell everything except the family ring she'd gotten with her parents and an emerald necklace she couldn't take her eyes off from first sight.

The necklace had a simple, understated design with just one small emerald set in it, so even reselling it wouldn't fetch much value.

'One piece should be fine to keep.'

Since she'd liked the necklace from first sight, she wanted to keep at least this much.

Worried it might get swept up with the other items, she slipped the family ring onto her ring finger and fastened the necklace around her neck.

"A-all of this?"

Mervyn's eyes went round with an expression of disbelief.

"Yeah. A lot, right? Sorry. But I'd really appreciate your help."

"N-no... It's not that. Miss, are you truly certain about this?"

Verasielle stared directly at the elderly butler Mervyn.

Mervyn wore an expression questioning whether his young miss had lost her mind. Verasielle answered with a firm expression to show she wasn't joking.

"I'm really fine with it, so please sell them."

The baron and butler being shocked made sense. Her attitude had changed within a week, after all.

There'd been a novel she'd read out of boredom.

She'd fallen asleep after reading to the middle, and when she opened her eyes, she'd possessed a supporting character with barely a speck of significance in the novel.

Specifically, Verasielle Prozier, who'd pulled out her family's pillars through extravagance.

'She had so little significance that I only figured out I'd possessed a supporting character in the novel a few days ago.'

The novel's middle section mentioned a minor villain buying a title with money.

The one who sold that title was Baron Prozier.

So basically, the reason the baron had no choice but to sell his title was because of Verasielle...

Verasielle possessed attractive looks—the kind that made anyone passing by turn for a second glance.

With abundant, neat light brown hair and olive-like green eyes that seemed fresh, an upturned nose, and red lips beneath resembling a single rose bloom.

Having never stinted on investing in herself, she possessed skin so smooth and fair that even falling dew would simply slide right off.

Already pretty originally, but the beauty beyond that came from money and effort.

"Hik. This Mervyn has served at Miss's side for twenty years, and there's never been a day as moving as today."

Mervyn dabbed at his tear-moistened eyes with a handkerchief, apparently moved.

Verasielle gave an awkward smile, left him with a request to take care of it, and quickly slipped out of the room.

Because Mervyn's eyes were sparkling like he'd grab her hands any second.

"Of all situations to get possessed into."

Verasielle muttered something like a lament.

Even possessing someone, it had to be right when loan sharks barged in.

If things followed the novel, the Prozier barony would soon collapse, and her father would end up selling his title to that minor villain.

'Then what about me? What happens to me?'

Straight from noble young lady to complete destitution?

"No way. Absolutely not."

Verasielle shuddered and shook her head.

Whatever the novel's content, whoever the male and female leads were—right now, securing money took priority.

"At this rate, I might really get dragged off by loan sharks in two months..."

Baron Prozier's power alone was absolutely insufficient, so she had no choice but to roll up her sleeves too.

She didn't want to live a life gasping and struggling over money anymore. That experience from her past life was quite enough. This time, she wanted to escape poverty.

"But where am I supposed to get that kind of money..."

A full eighty million shillings...

She wandered the streets aimlessly with weak steps.

If it were the original Verasielle, she'd have taken a carriage even for close distances, claiming it wore out her dresses.

Not even satisfied with that, she'd always carried spare shoes divided into outdoor and indoor use, claiming expensive shoes got damaged. But this one was different.

The expensive dress hem dragged and frayed on the ground, but she didn't care one bit.

Calling a hired carriage, changing shoes... Rather than bothering with annoying tasks like that, walking on her own two feet felt more comfortable.

'But how should I secure the money?'

She walked while thinking when wind shook her skirt hem on the quiet street.

Then a paper barely clinging to the wall fluttered and flew toward her.

The paper glided lightly on the wind like a bird flapping its wings, drifting through the sky before slapping right onto Verasielle's face.

"Ah!"

Verasielle shrieked at the paper that suddenly flew in and blocked her vision.

She peeled the paper off her face with irritated movements.

"Seriously, what the..."

Thinking it was trash, Verasielle roughly crumpled the paper, then quickly unfolded it at the word 'shilling.'

Then she read down the writing on the wrinkled paper.

『Looking for a Lost Child

Name: Raphaleon Halos
Age: 5 years old
Characteristics: Black hair and red eyes
Lost: One month ago
Location Lost: Road connecting Vernia and the capital

※ Anyone who finds the child, please come to the Halos Ducal Estate. We will provide a reward of 100 million shillings to whoever finds him. ※』

"Halos... Duke?"

In that moment, a sentence flashed through Verasielle's mind.

The Halos ducal family, known as the empire's greatest wealth holders, struggled valiantly to find their lost child.

"This is it."

Verasielle's green eyes burned with fervor. A triumphant smile curved her red lips.