Chapter 1 – Pressure (Part 9)

The ring he offered, which seemed rather shabby for an engagement ring, sparkled in his outstretched hand. Elysia slowly reached out, closed his hand around the ring, and spoke.

“Baron, you are a truly remarkable person, but I don’t think someone like me is suited for your grand dreams. I wish to live a simple and peaceful life, just as I do now. Please withdraw your proposal.”

The Baron looked visibly taken aback, as if he hadn’t anticipated a rejection.

“Oh… no, Elysia! There’s no need to be so polite and humble. I’m certain you would be a great asset to my future and plans. Of course, I also believe that my family’s name would benefit the Serenze family. Elysia, won’t you dream of a greater future with me? I guarantee you success.”

Elysia wondered if this Baron was here to pitch a multi-level marketing scheme and replied.

“Baron. First, I want to clarify the terms of address. According to the etiquette of the Kingdom of Brunchia, unmarried adults who are not in a romantic or marital relationship should address each other by their surnames to show respect. I never permitted you to use my first name, and I find it extremely unpleasant that you do so instead of using ‘Serenze.'”

“That… that’s because I thought we had established enough familiarity at the Spring Ball…”

“No such thing happened. Please observe proper etiquette.”

“Eli…”

Faced with Elysia’s stern expression, the ambitious Baron, who lacked tact, faltered slightly. The servants of the Serenze family, who had gathered outside the door, clenched their fists in support of Elysia.

“Understood, Miss Serenze. I guess I got ahead of myself before proposing. Now that I’ve shown proper respect, will you accept my proposal? Miss Serenze, please marry me.”

Elysia sighed.

“It seems you didn’t understand, so let me explain further.”

Elysia took a deep breath and spoke clearly, as if addressing a much younger child.

“I am someone who shudders at words like effort and success. Just hearing those words makes my skin break out in goosebumps, as you can see on my arm. I have no ambition; my greatest wish is to live peacefully and quietly. I absolutely don’t want to be involved with someone as ambitious as you, Baron.”

As her temper rose, she spoke faster. After pausing briefly to catch her breath, Elysia continued her rapid-fire speech.

“So please, find an ambitious young lady from an equally ambitious family and achieve the success you desire. I’m sure there are families out there like the Serenze family, with some wealth, who would want your title. Now, please take care and let’s not meet again.”

The Baron, his face pale, stood up abruptly.

“Miss Serenze, no! Elysia! You will regret this! Do you think you’ll get another proposal like this from a quasi-Baronial family? You’ll regret it!”

Shouting, the Baron was escorted out by the Serenze family’s knights who had entered. Elysia returned to her room.

Daisy followed her in. Without a word, Daisy sat Elysia on the sofa and began undoing her makeover.

“Daisy, do you think I’ll regret it? That there won’t be another proposal like this, and I should have accepted?”

“No, Miss. While you might not get another proposal like the Baron’s, it’s better not to marry someone so transparent and lacking ability.”

“Why are you so sure the Baron lacks ability? Even if his proposal was like that, he might have talents in other areas.”

“Someone who views marriage as a stepping stone to success but doesn’t know how to respectfully court a lady for it is unlikely to have any. It’s best not to get involved with such insignificant men, Miss. Now, please rest.”

After Daisy left, Elysia lay back on the sofa instead of returning to bed. Despite trying not to, the incident made her recall her past life.

***

After her 12th birthday, over the course of about a year, Elysia gradually remembered her past life. While she didn’t recall the details, she vividly remembered the environment she was in.

Her past life’s home wasn’t well-off. Her father, who took early retirement, started a business but failed, leaving only debt behind. The whole family worked hard, but their situation continued to decline. As their lives failed to improve despite their frugality and efforts, the family grew increasingly sharp with each other.

Elysia in her past life also started working part-time jobs in high school and barely managed to graduate from college while working. However, after graduation, a job market cliff awaited her.

She applied to a graduate program in the newly established Cultural Record Convergence Department at her alma mater, recommended by an older student, because she thought that a long period of irregular employment would be disadvantageous in the job market.

She worried about tuition, but fortunately, the older student who recommended her introduced her well to the professor, and she was accepted into a graduate student position that provided research funding.

‘Since I’m receiving a scholarship, I won’t need to work part-time anymore, and if I earn a master’s degree and gain the professor’s favor, I might get a research position. Then I could even aim to become a professor in the future, right?’

However, due to the nature of the department, she often had to spend her own money to travel and record oral traditions from various regions, as the research grants weren’t enough. And while the task was called recording folklore, listening to the endless lamentations of the elderly wore her out to the point where she grew to dislike meeting people.

Despite holding onto hope and joking about being a voluntary slave as a graduate student, she remained loyal to the professor. However, the student who could move on to the next level was someone from a better family and with a sharper mind. Moreover, the professor was taking a portion of the stipends that the graduate students received. Even with her tight budget, she regularly paid the tribute to stay in the professor’s good graces, but there was a time when she couldn’t pay and tried to hold out.

That day, she ended up having a one-on-one meeting with the professor.

“Um… Professor. I’m having a hard time financially these days. If you could just consider my situation this semester…”

“Are you here to make money?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked if you’re here to make money. You should be thinking about your future rather than money. Students these days only care about money and have no passion for academics. Back in my day…”

The professor continued to ramble on about how things were in his day, and Elysia in her past life couldn’t say anything in response.

‘Even if I complained, it would have been pointless.’

That day, she drank until she was drunk, lamenting with other students about how the golden-spooned professor didn’t understand the life of a graduate school slave.

When she returned home, her mother was sitting alone at the small dining table, with only a small lamp turned on. She looked more exhausted than usual. Her father was out working as a substitute driver, and her sibling was either working part-time or not home. Even though she had come home after several days, hoping to hear a kind word…

“What took you so long to come home? That graduate school of yours barely pays you anything, yet they make you do so much work. I told you to just get a job.”

“I have to get hired first. If I hold on here, I might become a researcher and go somewhere better.”

“When will that ever happen! We need money urgently, today and tomorrow. The supermarket branch where I worked closed today. I don’t know when I’ll be reassigned. Until then, can’t you get another part-time job? If we can’t pay the rent this month, it’ll be two months overdue.”

At that moment, all the suppressed emotions exploded.

“Part-time job? Do you know what they call graduate students? Slaves, slaves! Even if you flatter them and crawl under the professor like a slave, you’re barely noticed. But it’s better than being unemployed, so I’m doing this. Do you think getting a job is as easy as it sounds? How can I do more here? Will there ever be a time when we can live comfortably in this kind of house? I wish this family, this house, this life would all disappear!!”

‘Those were the last words I said to my family in my past life. I wished for them all to disappear. I wished for everything to vanish… If I hadn’t heard those words from the professor that day, if I hadn’t drunk, if I had just gone back to the lab and slept, would things have been different?’

Elysia thought that if she had known she would die so meaninglessly, she would never have said such things. Although the memories of her past life now felt like someone else’s, the emotions of hardship from that time influenced Elysia’s current life’s goals.

‘Even if that life wasn’t great, there was no need to be so miserable until the very end. Sitting by the riverside crying, trying to avoid a bicycle, slipping, breaking my neck, and dying instantly…’

Elysia trembled as she recalled the death from her past life. Even the moment of her death seemed to emphasize how unlucky she had been. As she stood up, she saw the vanity in her current room. The mirror, beautifully engraved with vine patterns, reflected her image.

‘In my past life, my efforts and diligence bore no fruit. It was all in vain. This new life is a reward for that. Remembering my past life is a warning not to live so foolishly again.’

“This time, I will never live like that. I absolutely refuse a life of hardship and dying in vain!”

Facing her reflection in the mirror, Elysia clenched her fist and made a vow out loud. To stay true to that vow, she lay down on her bed and opened the latest novel.

“Isn’t there an alchemical device that can make books float in the air…?”

Elysia began contemplating ways to make her life even more comfortable.