Chapter 152 – The Young Lady (4)
[Chapter 8 – Section 2] This Is Certain
The plot—or should I say the progression—of the romance fantasy <The Generous Young Lady Who Receives Everything> is extremely simple.
Ignoring the individual tastes of every single male, the most beautiful female in the world is the protagonist, and handsome males from good families pour in gifts innocently in hopes of marrying her.
That’s it. That’s the whole thing.
(If the devoted readers of this work heard you say that, they’d foam at the mouth and charge at you.)
Isn’t it true?
(There’s a subtle emotional line in the way the wonderful men compete and get jealous over the protagonist that makes readers’ hands and feet curl in delight.)
You know it well.
(When you peek into women’s memories, you naturally come to understand these things.)
Ah-ha!
“By the way… heh heh…”
After quickly scanning my surroundings, I let out a hollow laugh at the sight of the magnificent mansion standing in the middle of a beautifully tended garden where gardeners worked diligently.
The house where the young lady lives.
If I stormed the mansion right now and killed everyone except the patient, the dream would end immediately.
(Oh! Your methods have gotten quite radical. I like that your strength has grown. No need to live timidly anymore. Right?)
“Ahem!”
You hit the nail on the head!
(There’s no need to be embarrassed about it. Even the hero who carries the world’s most beautiful woman under his arm and commands the heavens once wet the bed while dreaming of ruling the world.)
Clop clop!
Clatter clatter!
Gorgeous four-horse carriages loaded with gifts competed with each other as they entered through the mansion’s main gate.
“Wow…”
Just like the title suggests, the protagonist really was receiving everything without restraint.
Is it really okay to just keep receiving like this unilaterally?
(It’s only possible because it’s a dream. There’s no such thing as a free lunch in the real world. There are quite a few petty men who demand every gift back after a breakup. Some cases even go to court over it.)
Really?
(You don’t need to worry about that. Every time you go on a date with Song Sun-young, you just let her pay for everything.)
“Ahem!”
I buy dessert, okay? The coffee prices are almost the same as a meal—shocking, right?
(That’s seating fee and labor cost.)
While we wasted time on trivial chit-chat, carriages continued to come and go from the mansion without end. To the point where it felt a little excessive.
“Now then…”
Swish~
I turned around.
The goal of this dream isn’t to wake the patient. Starting now, my plan is to find the greatest knight in this world and learn the techniques from him.
There are three candidates.
The knights who taught the men currently wasting their precious time reciting poetry and offering gifts to the young lady.
Knight A of Kingdom A, Knight B of Kingdom B, Knight C of Kingdom C!
I might be getting a bit arrogant, but these days, even remembering the names that appear in the work’s world is starting to feel like a chore.
“Excuse me.”
“Huh?”
I grabbed the shoulder of a passing extra, Pedestrian A.
“Where’s the tavern?”
“Go straight down this road. When you see the square, turn left. The sign will be right there.”
“Thank you.”
If you had to pick the place in the medieval era where the most diverse information gathers?
A tavern where all kinds of people congregate!
Since I’m not gathering secret information, this should wrap up quickly.
***
I had overlooked one fact.
“She died?”
“That’s right. She lived to see 88 winters, so she lived a long and healthy life, all things considered.”
“……”
The patient had been in very good health when she fell asleep for five years. Which meant she had spent a very long time in the dream world.
Time had passed in a flash.
“You answered my question, so one more round!”
“Fine by me.”
I was currently playing a card game at the round table in the center of the tavern.
The reason?
Tap, tap, tap…
I had no money to buy information, so I was winning it through cards instead.
‘I can see everything~’
With perception far beyond human limits, I could clearly read every card in my opponents’ hands.
There’s no way I could lose like this, right?
Everyone was enjoying the game casually, but if real money had been on the line, I would’ve been accused of cheating dozens of times over.
“Hah! You dodged it again!”
“I’ve got good instincts.”
“Ugh… damn it.”
Swish.
The man whose trap had been exposed tossed his cards onto the table as if giving up the game.
“I win again.”
Clap clap clap!
Applause rose from the tavern patrons who had been watching the card game.
Swoosh—
“On the house.”
Perhaps thanks to us boosting his sales, the tavern owner served free drinks with a satisfied smile.
It meant the excitement level had risen that much.
The defeated man gathered the scattered cards from the table and said,
“Haha! This guy said he’d never played before, but he’s a total pro!”
“Beginners are always the strongest~”
“Tch. Ask away, whatever you want.”
I had already collected almost all the information I needed in this world.
Just one last thing.
“How old is Her Highness the Archduke’s third daughter—the one called the Jewel of the Kingdom, the young lady?”
“Hmm. Hold on a sec. I’m terrible with numbers… Let’s see… From the year I was born until the young lady started receiving marriage proposals…”
“……”
Even though I didn’t get the protagonist’s exact age, I was still shocked.
This man looked clearly in his mid-40s. He might appear older due to male pattern baldness, but even accounting for that, he was far from young.
‘And yet he’s much younger than the young lady?’
After finishing his calculation using all ten fingers, the man declared,
“The young lady is eternally sixteen. Though she has seen fifty-three winters.”
“Ah-ha!”
In modern times with extended life expectancy, fifty-three is still considered prime active years.
But in this medieval era with poor welfare, fifty-three is an old age where death could come at any moment!
Of course, nobles who ate well and lived comfortably back then lived much longer. Still, they were treated as elderly.
“Another round?”
“Yes. But this will be the last one.”
“What? Young man goes to bed early, huh. Fine, let’s do the final round!”
“Please shuffle.”
Tap tap!
And so the card game resumed.
Since it was the last one, and I didn’t want the man to end on a losing streak and feel bad, I let him win by a razor-thin margin.
“Haha! Finally won one!”
“Congratulations.”
“What’s there to congratulate about beating a beginner? Still, it feels great! You seem like a traveler from far away—got a place to stay?”
“I’ll have to look for one now.”
“Then head to the young lady’s mansion.”
“Why there…?”
The man gave a meaningful smile and said,
“These days she doesn’t even play cards at social gatherings, but in the past, the young lady was the greatest master in the kingdom.”
“Ahh.”
That was a setting from the romance fantasy <The Generous Young Lady Who Receives Everything>.
But why bring it up?
“The butler who taught Her Ladyship card games is my maternal uncle!”
“Oh! He must have been an impressive man.”
“Ahem. Not trying to brag, but my uncle loved card games as much as he was loyal to His Highness the Archduke. Tell him his nephew who loves the triple trap sends his regards and challenge her to a game. She’ll welcome you warmly.”
“Thank you.”
I never thought card games would have any place in my life, but I reminded myself why I had entered this world.
Chivalry.
If I had properly learned it back in the world of the romance fantasy <I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Count’s Family>, this would all be over.
‘Learning never hurts!’
From now on, I decided to learn anything and everything whenever the opportunity arose.
***
As expected, the young lady—whose core had been replaced—had card skills that, at best, could be called average for a normal person.
Magic, superpowers, martial arts, special physiques…
Innate talents could be replicated without issue, just like the original protagonist.
But abilities without a clear, defined form were impossible.
“Impressive.”
“Thank you.”
“I didn’t even try any psychological warfare, yet you pull cards as if you can see straight through my hand.”
“I’ve got good instincts.”
The butler I had been recommended to visit truly did have excellent instincts.
“But you have a habit of showing your hand through your expressions and gaze—fix that. Change just that one thing, and you’ll become a terrifying master.”
“Expressions and gaze, you say…”
“When a bad card comes to your hand, you frown like this, or you keep glancing at the next card you’re about to pick.”
“Ahh.”
The butler—whose age was impossible to guess due to his complete lack of hair—smiled as he spoke.
“Want to play one more round?”
“Yes.”
“This time, I’ll show you a hand where even if you know my cards, you’ll still lose if you don’t know the method.”
“Oho…”
He truly was a professional. The claim that he had taught card games to the protagonist didn’t seem like empty boasting at all.
If classified by P’s aptitude, he’d be someone who possessed the qualities of both player and coach in full.
The butler continued,
“You have talent.”
“No way.”
It was all thanks to my unfair method of freely peeking at his cards.
“You can tell a person’s personality just by playing cards with them. You belong to the type of cautious beast. You never move until you’re absolutely certain.”
“Well…”
Because I can see your entire hand!
There’s zero need to take risks by throwing uncertain cards.
“Haha! You don’t need to understand it right now. Just know that you have talent.”
“Yes, sir.”
While learning card games, I naturally gathered information about the young lady.
“She was incredibly bright when she was young…”
“Is she different now?”
“There are eight chefs stationed in the mansion just for Her Ladyship. Three more at the villa she received as a gift.”
“Ah-ha…”
Since she was being forced into a diet in reality, she was indulging her appetite to the fullest in the dream.
“The number of handsome young men entering Her Ladyship’s bedroom at night far exceeds the chefs. It’s the complete opposite of the noble reputation society gives her. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Indeed.”
“I once suggested marriage because I thought this couldn’t continue, only to have Her Ladyship throw a vase at my head and knock me unconscious.”
“Oof!”
What a violently temperamental young lady!
“But I came to understand after hearing His Highness the Archduke’s words when he visited the old man who had fallen ill from that incident.”
“What did he say?”
“That Her Ladyship is a blazing carriage that can never be stopped. She has received far too many gifts without giving anything in return.”
“Ahh.”
While a gift is something given without expecting anything in return…
“There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world. As time passed, the princes became rulers governing their nations. For the sake of national prestige, they cannot afford to yield Her Ladyship to another country.”
“That’s complicated.”
“Thank you so much for keeping an sleepless old man company and listening to his grumbling.”
“No, it was an extremely beneficial time for me as well.”
I never expected to spend the whole night playing card games!
(The patient has completely ignored the original work.)
Yeah.
In the original work, the protagonist makes a major decision in the final winter when noble ladies reach the end of their marriageable age.
A tournament where she puts her everything on the line as the prize for first place.
In effect, it’s marriage.
The eligibility is limited to the thirty-two unmarried men who have given her the most gifts so far, and losers must gracefully accept defeat and bless the winner!
It was an extremely clean ending.
(Though the author got a lot of flak from readers for not revealing who wins the tournament and just ending it there, it’s undeniably the most backlash-free, perfect conclusion.)
I agree.
“Hm? Leaving already?”
“Yes. I have things to do.”
“At least eat before you go. I’ll treat you to the finest cuisine on the continent. Thanks to Her Ladyship, the chefs’ skills have improved tremendously.”
“Pfft! My apologies.”
It was a serious situation where I shouldn’t laugh, but I couldn’t help it.
“How is it?”
“Sounds great. But since I don’t like eating for free either, I’ll give you one piece of information in return.”
“Information?”
“Yes. Feel free to ignore it.”
“Hmm… I’ll listen and decide.”
As I followed the butler toward the dining room, I casually tossed out,
“A war is going to break out.”
“Hah! In this peaceful era where even knights defend their honor with card games? I’ll take it as a joke.”
“……”
Did this butler forget what he himself just said?
I only speak when I’m certain.
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TL Note:
The novel is fully completed (231 chapters)
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