***

After a while, the carriage stopped in front of Baron Larishi’s residence.

After a while, the carriage stopped in front of Baron Larishi’s residence.

Yvette got out of the carriage, handed the fare to the driver, and headed towards the mansion.

Since her uncle, Baron Larishi, didn’t have a separate territory, this mansion in the capital was essentially their main residence.

It wasn’t large, but it was a neat mansion just right for a family of three.

Normally, she would have entered through the main gate, but today, for some reason, she felt awkward doing so and headed for the back door.

This way, she wouldn’t have to face Baron and Baroness Larishi.

‘They must be terribly worried by now.’

Baron Larishi and his wife were among the few people who knew about the Blanche curse.

They must be worried after hearing that she hadn’t returned home last night.

‘I hope they won’t be too shocked when they see me.’

Just as Yvette was about to open the back door with a light heart.

Hushed voices drifted through from beyond the door.

“From today, we’ll use the second-floor room as storage, so dispose of the furniture inside at a reasonable price.”

“Oh my. Are you going to get rid of all that perfectly good furniture?”

“We can’t keep using things that belonged to the cursed child! We shouldn’t create unnecessary bad luck.”

“Well, that’s true.”

Judging by the voices, one was Baron Larishi and the other seemed to be a maid.

Yvette, who had been quietly eavesdropping, blinked her eyes.

‘…Are they talking about me?’

I’m the only cursed person in this house.

Yvette pressed her ear closer to the door to hear more clearly.

Then the quiet conversation continued.

“Seeing as she hasn’t returned yet, she must surely be dead, right?”

“If you’re worried, should I tell Albert to go out and check? Someone might have found the young lady.”

“No, that’s fine. We’ll just quietly wait until we’re contacted and then pretend to mourn. After all, the inheritance is ours now that the child is dead.”

Yvette focused on the voices while holding her breath.

As the conversation between the two continued, she could feel her heartbeat quickening.

“So, does this mean you’ll become Count Blanche now, Master?”

“Yes. I’ll finally have a title befitting me.”

“Congratulations, Master! You’ve finally achieved your dream.”

“Haha, thank you.”

Baron Larishi responded with a satisfied voice to the maid’s exaggerated flattery.

Just as she heard joyful laughter, the presence of the two gradually faded away.

‘…What did I just hear?’

Yvette, who had been listening with her ear to the door, blinked blankly.

Among those staying at the Larishi residence, she was the only cursed one.

The Blanche curse was only inherited by one person.

Moreover, ‘young lady’ was the title the maids of the Larishi household used to refer to her.

In other words, it meant that Baron Larishi was hoping for her death.

“…Ha.”

Yvette laughed dejectedly as she stepped back.

Until just a moment ago, she had felt like she was floating on clouds.

As if falling from a cliff, her mood plummeted to the ground.

‘And they call themselves family…’

It was a moment when she felt foolish for trying to form an attachment to them.

“Ah, young lady?”

Just as Yvette was trying hard to control her emotions.

A maid who had come out to dispose of trash spotted her and let out a shrill scream.

Judging by the voice, it seemed to be the maid who was talking with Baron Larishi earlier.

“H-How…? Today was supposed to be your birthday…!”

The maid stammered, backing away. Then, realizing her slip of tongue, she quickly covered her mouth.

Yvette swallowed a bitter smile as she looked at the pale face of the maid.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“…..”

 The maid couldn’t say anything and just trembled.

Yvette, who had been staring at her blankly, continued coldly.

“If you have nothing to say, could you please move aside? I’m a bit tired after being out all night.”

“Ah, y-yes, yes!”

Yvette lightly brushed past the flustered maid.

Her mind was already growing cold.

***

Even after entering the mansion, the situation wasn’t much different.

“Eek, eek!”

As she strode up the stairs, a passing servant was startled and dropped the load they were carrying.

However, Yvette didn’t even give them a glance.

Her attention was entirely focused elsewhere.

‘From the beginning, did they bring Yvette Blanche here aiming for her parents’ inheritance?’

In the Aiden Empire, women could also inherit titles.

So originally, Yvette should have become Countess Blanche.

But when the Count and Countess Blanche died in an accident, Yvette was still a minor who hadn’t even graduated from the academy.

According to the laws of the Aiden Empire, it was impossible to inherit a title before turning twenty.

So until now, Baron and Baroness Larishi had been managing the Blanche County on her behalf under the pretext of being her ‘guardians’.

‘If it had gone according to the original story, Baron Larishi would have inherited the title instead of Yvette Blanche.’

Blanche was a wealthy family.

Eight out of ten magic stones mined in the empire came from the magic stone mines in Blanche territory.

Blanche had handed over the ownership of the mines to the imperial family in exchange for receiving a significant portion of the sales as commission.

Thanks to that, Blanche was able to accumulate a lot of wealth even with a small territory.

Given the situation, the inheritance that would fall to Yvette Blanche was considerable.

Of course, the Yvette Blanche in the original story never had the chance to touch that money.

‘It’s bad enough being cursed, but now these so-called relatives are just going on about the inheritance.’

It felt fortunate that the real Yvette Blanche wasn’t here.

‘…I guess I can’t stay here anymore.’

Yvette thought bitterly.

Originally, she had planned to stay at the Larishi baron’s house and leisurely consider what to do next.

But now that she knew Baron Larishi’s true intentions, she no longer wanted to stay here.

‘I need to find a house right away.’

As of today, Yvette Blanche has become an adult.

In other words, it meant she could now inherit the Blanche county.

With that money, buying a house somewhere in the capital would be a piece of cake.

Upon reaching her bedroom, Yvette immediately headed for the wardrobe.

She then took out a travel bag and began neatly packing her few belongings.

It was then.

“Wh-What are you doing, young lady!”

The maid she had encountered at the back door earlier had followed her at some point and now rushed towards her in alarm.

“As you can see, I’m packing. Why?”

Yvette said calmly, brushing off the maid who was trying to stop her.

“Why are you suddenly packing?”

“I’m going to live independently now. It’s ridiculous to keep relying on others when I’ve become an adult, isn’t it?”

“…What? Independence, what do you mean…?”