Selling the Main Character’s Shares - Chapter 12

“Ha, ha…!”

I quickly became out of breath. But I clenched my teeth and continued to run like crazy. 

The harsh sound of his footsteps followed closely behind me. But I didn’t even have time to look back. Even when the sound of his footsteps grew louder and louder behind me.

“Young Miss! Stop right there!”

Yeah, wouldn’t you like it if I just stopped right here?

I quickly darted around the corner of the corridor as a staircase appeared in front of me. Although I didn’t know where it led to, it would be better to head down that direction first.

“Phew, ha…!”

My foot, which had been injured whilst running on that forest trail, was still full of blisters here and there, so I was extremely bitter everytime I ran. And on top of that, the mansion seemed to be vast beyond belief.

In the end, I gradually became more and more exhausted. However, as soon as I stopped to catch my breath, I couldn’t help but think that someone was going to grab me from behind. 

I used my body to push aside the people I encountered in the middle and descended to the first floor, but the exit was still nowhere in sight. 

Just where the hell is this? Which way should I go?

It was when I was looking around anxiously.

“Young Miss, over here! This way!”

I could see a garden in full bloom just over her shoulder. Anyhow, it seemed to be the exit leading out of the mansion. I sprinted with all my might in that direction. 

However, there were already soldiers that had come running from the opposite side. They too, had heard Joy’s voice, and had already closed in at a rapid pace. There was no way I could run faster than professionally trained soldiers in a long dress and high heels.

In the end, Joy, who had been trying to block their way and buy me some time, was thrown to the floor by the soldiers.

“Ahhh!”

Joy sprang back up on her wet like a roly poly and desperately tried to block them, but there was no way a skinny maid could deal with a bunch of burly men.

“N-No!”

Before I could even take a whiff of the air outside, the door had close with a thud. At the same time, my shoulders had been firmly grasped.

“Let go of me!”

I tried to resist them with all my might, but it was useless. As I was trying to free myself from their grasp, I heard the sound of footsteps rushing in from behind me.

It was Louis, who had been left behind, still struggling to catch his breath.

“You ungrateful bitch…!”

He raised his hand as he glared alternately at Joy and I. 

A sharp sound echoed for a moment as Joy’s head whips to the side abruptly.

“How dare you betray me when I fed you and gave you a place to stay?”

Joy covered her face, her whole body shaking without making a sound.

“What the hell are you doing?! Try raising your hand one more time and you’ll see what happens!”

I shouted and struggled desperately. However, I didn’t even have any time to worry about here, the strength behind the hands that gripped my shoulders growing stronger and stronger.

“Let go! I said let go of me!”

“Hey, you guys. Even if no one will know, you should still take it a bit easier on my little sister,” Louis ordered. “I haven’t even paid off all the construction costs yet, so it will be rather troublesome for me if the Duchess gets hurt. If it’s rumored that she’s been seriously injured, the people that have put their faith in the Chambers’ name and lent me money will disappear.”

Only then did the soldiers who were applying pressure on my shoulders fall back. 

However my body still remained stiff.

“W-What did you say?”

I asked while glaring at him.

“Don’t tell me, did you take advantage of my name for your own benefits?”

“I’m sure I can enjoy at least that much as an older brother. Besides, now that Duke Periot is the hero of the Empire, he’s no different to a goose that only lays golden eggs.”

Louis grinned and rubbed his chin. It was a wicked laugh.

At that moment, I suddenly felt as if I were going to faint. 

I had only fully grasped the whole situation now. Just how the poor Count Mayred had been able to afford to buy such a splendid mansion, and why he had locked me inside a room and prevented me from going out.

“More importantly, Lorella, to think that you ran away when your marriage pledge, which is more important than your life, was burnt to a crisp…”

His flippant mouth flattened in an instant. A ferocious look came over him as he slowly approached me.

“Are you insane? If you marry someone with a more noble status than you, you should live with gratitude until the day you die, how dare you do such a thing!”

I felt suffocated by his absurd remark. 

This fucker… I thought he was just a sunfish who couldn’t even make a peep in front of Periot, but turns out he’s a piece of trash who is the type to only act arrogantly in front of people weaker than him.

I felt lightheaded from the burst of anger that I couldn’t seem to suppress. I barely managed to support myself by grabbing on to the decorative table that was lined with antique pottery.

“And what’s with that scandal by the lake? I heard that it wasn’t just one or two people who witnessed you swearing at Duke Periot. To think that you’d stain my reputation like this…”

Louis cast a disapproving glance at me and clicked his tongue.

“Just know that you won’t ever be leaving this house until you’ve re-stamped the papers. If not for the Duke, you, who would’ve been married off as the second wife to an old man would’ve had no idea of any of this… tch.”

Oh, that’s it. There’s no reason for me to continue listening to such vulgar words.

“Shut up, you fucker! You’re full of shit!”

I shouted, my veins in my neck protruding as I clenched my fists so tightly my nails made marks in my skin.

“To think that I actually believed this piece of trash was my family! I must’ve been crazy!”

“Wh-What did you say…?”

Louis rubbed his deathly pale face with his hands harshly, as if he was shocked by what I had said. Rings with large jewels on them lined the fingers of both his hands. The sight of that stirred up the intense fury I felt inside even more.

“You seem to really think that you’re something since I’ve let you have your way. I was just going to go over it nicely but I didn’t think that you’d become this arrogant…!”

Louis approached with heavy footsteps, seemingly extremely worked up. It was an extremely intimidating stance.

“I’ll make you get down on your knees like a dog and beg!”

Then, a large hand stretched out toward me, as if trying to grab ahold of my hair. I quickly dodged the hand and grabbed the handle of a piece of china off the decorative table.

“What a fucking joke!”

“Aren’t you going to hurry up and apolog-ahhh!”

A loud scream erupted from Louis’s mouth, along with a large bang. The piece of china, which had boasted an elegant appearance, shattered unattractively on his head.

“U-Urgh…”

That bastard ended up falling to his knees instead of me, clutching at his head.

The soldiers let out a quick breath for a moment and firmly grabbed onto my arms again. However, whether it was thanks to Louis ordering them to not take it too rough on me or the fury of either one of us, I was still able to shake them off rather easily.

“I… I won’t let you get away with this.”

I gritted my teeth and looked around for my next potential weapon(?). What soon caught my eye was a large vase which was made of marble.

“Heup…!”

As I picked it up with a grunt, the bastard suddenly rose to his feet, as if he were startled.

“Wh-What the hell are you guys all doing?!”

The bastard, Louis, desperately clutched at his head as he shouted with tears in his eyes.

“Get this bitch back in her room right now… no, just throw her in the dungeon!”

Double the amount of the soldiers from earlier suddenly surrounded me again. I tried not to get caught, but it was rather difficult since I was still carrying a heavy vase.

I threw the vase with all my might. I had intended for the throw to break Louis’s head, but it was too heavy to fly that far. 

The sound of the thick pottery shattering echoed loudly, followed by the cry of me, who was being dragged away by the soldiers.

“If I… become the main character, I’ll definitely make it so that a bastard like you won’t be able to set foot on this land and survive!”

“…What?”

That punk muttered with a pale face as I made a racket while leaving the mansion.

“Did she… perhaps go insane?”

“Even if we’re all wiped out, I’ll still make sure to send your bastards to hell!”

A voice filled with anger echoed in the wide hallway.

***

The soldiers pushed me behind iron bars. The floor was littered with filthy water, and to its side was a pile of damp straw, its purpose unknown.

It was clear to anyone that it was a commendable prison, completely isolated from the outside world to the extent that the only light there came from the lamp on the wall. 

How could there be such an unbecoming prison inside such a dazzling, luxurious mansion?

The soldiers, who wrapped a chain around the iron door and even secured it with a large padlock, quickly disappeared without even leaving a single hair behind, as if they already had a prior engagement.

When I was finally left alone, a hushed silence came to the prison. The only thing I was able to hear from time to time was just the sound of water dripping from somewhere.

You won’t get away with this, you damn red-head count bastard.

I had no other choice but to grind my teeth while thinking of dozens of ways to smash Louis’s head in.

However, even though it was just for a moment, an indescribable sense of despondency suddenly flooded in.

“So that’s why I had a bad feeling…”

I slammed my innocent head against the wall in an effort to quell my anger. 

When I had read novels as a reader, the main character’s brother always had dozens of comments claiming that the bastard was suspicious, even if he had only dome something slightly abnormal.

Why couldn’t a person act like that when they were actually in that situation? I suddenly remembered the comments on all kinds of novels and comics claiming that the main character was stupid. 

Writers, I’m sorry. 

Those female protagonists, they were all smart… at least a lot more than me.

But the regretful event has already happened. Being like this wouldn’t change anything. 

I let out a long sigh and looked around. I finally saw my surroundings, perhaps because I had finally adapted to the dark of the prison. 

There was a perch full of cobwebs that seemed to pop out of the gap in the dirty wall. Even half of that seemed to have decayed, seeming as if it would fall apart with just the slightest brush.

I didn’t even know where this was, or which side of the mansion this even was.

If I knew this would’ve happened, I should have paid more attention when I was being dragged in.

“Tsk.”

I approached the door as I clicked my tongue. 

As I swept my hands over the iron bar, I felt the rough and cold touch of iron on my fingertips.

“This is almost like child’s play compared to the iron door that was broken last time.”

Although of course, it was thanks to the power of cookies back then. 

Now there were no cookies, nor was it a situation where I could sell shares to get them. Nevertheless, my mouth flattened into a straight line before I knew it.

Because I had something I believed in. 

I took a deep breath and cried out loudly.

“Winnard!”

Although I didn’t have a bonus cookie, I had a guide who could control time and space at his will instead!

“Winnard Veldrian!”

There was no mistaking it, the guide must have been assigned for this very occasion, I’m sure of it! I shouted again at the top of my voice with that belief in mind.

“Help! Guide!”

“…my ears are about to fall off.”

Then, a low voice came from behind me.

“Ah!”

I was delighted to find that when I looked back, a tall man leaning against the wall with a luxurious cane was standing before my eyes.

“As expected, you did come after all!”

I stood before him with a sigh of relief. It didn’t matter where on earth he came from or how he had come into an enclosed prison. Anyway, the only thing that was important was that he had answered my call.

“Help me, alright?”

The corners of his mouth which seemed spiteful at first glance now seemed to be mischievous.

“You want me to help you? For what?”

“Stop joking around. I’m not in the mood for that right now.”

I hurriedly opened the system window.

「Total shares sold: 8,600 shares.」

“Now, look at this.”

Gloatingly smug, my eyes glittered at Winnard, whose gaze was fixed upon the window.

“Just look at this shocking progress.”

“That’s right, I’ve also been monitoring your performance.”

Winnard’s smile became deeper, as if he was satisfied. He added with a nod.

“You did a great job.”

I asked him with excitement, elated by his praise. No, rather than asking for a favor, it was almost as if I was just telling him instead.

“First, I need to get out of this place right now. Can you break me out of here? And prepare a horse for me too. There’s no one behind the mansion, so… no, no.”

I corrected myself quickly. 

What if I got caught riding a horse? Rather than that, I’d rather…

“Can you just send me to the official headquarters of the Paladins right now?”

Since there would be someone there to help me. And that person was Commander Leonon!

Although I was rather ashamed to say that not only was my ex-husband someone I couldn’t associate myself with, but also my biological older brother. However, I had the thought that he would treat me without any prejudice. 

When I’ve established a safe place for me to stay, I’ll meticulously plan out what to do. 

How should I gruesomely and effectively beat up that bastard Louis, who deceived me? If I get rid of him, then naturally, I’ll also get the County back as well. Wasn’t that just like killing two birds with one stone?

“Hmm.”

However, Winnard just stood there and reacted rather ambiguously.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and get me out of here.”

“Of course I want to get you out as well. Yeah, I’d really like to do that, but…” he continued, scratching his temples as if he were troubled.

“It’s strictly forbidden for a guide to directly intervene with a candidate’s situation.”

“Huh?”

“You have no choice but to escape on your own. Whether it’s through receiving a bonus, whatever it is, you’ll need to work it out on your own.”

“What? Wait, I’m calling you because I clearly can’t do that right now!”

“Ah, I have to go now. I have something urgent to do after all.”

“Hey, hey, wait a minute…!”

“I’m sure you’ll do a good job, Lorella.”

Winnard patted me on the shoulder, nodded, and gave me a smile so beautiful it seemed like a painting.

“Good luck.”

And with those last words, he disappeared before my eyes with a slight breeze. Before i knew it, I was left alone in the prison, looking around in the dark once again.

However, Winnard was nowhere to be found. The person who had just been in front of me had disappeared once again.

“Hey…!”

I let out a sigh at the bewildering situation without even realizing it.

What do you mean urgent business? What could be more urgent than getting me out of here?!

I searched outside of my cell with my face forcibly squished between the bars, but I couldn’t even see a trace of an ant.

“Winnard! No, what the hell? Did you really leave?!”

My voice echoed in the dark prison, as if it were a huge cave instead. 

Of course, there was no reply either.

“Damn it, you can’t just leave! Come back!”

I finally grabbed onto the iron bars and shook them violently.

“Hey, you bastard!”

No matter how many times I shouted, my surroundings remained deadly quiet, with only the sound of water droplets dripping from the ceiling onto the stone floor to break the silence.