I must have willingly accepted the situation that came to me, and I was curious about learning the structure of the mansion where I would live for a while.

This damn mansion seemed endless no matter how much I walked, and before I knew it, sweat was dripping down my forehead.

“If I knew this would happen, I should have stayed behind when they asked me to come along.”

I couldn’t believe how much I regretted leaving the maid behind who said she would follow me.

“I can’t do it anymore. I need to find a place to rest.”

This unfamiliar shoes made my calves feel like they were about to burst, but I opened the massive mahogany door right in front of me. It looked heavy, and I thought I would need some strength, but the door opened smoothly.

I hope there’s a sofa. Even better if there’s a room with a bed.

As I opened the door with anticipation, a musty smell of old books filled the air. And before my eyes were tall bookshelves that required me to bend my neck fully to see the books on the top shelf. I held my breath at the sight, reminiscent of a library in a fairy tale animation I saw when I was young.

“Wow…”

Looking at the books densely filling the shelves up to the second floor made me feel good. Then, within my sight, I saw a single rose placed on a glass domed lid on the bookshelf.

“What is that?”

In the book-filled library, the sight of a single rose covered by a transparent dome lid was surreal in itself, but what was even more peculiar was the faint light emanating from that rose.

It was like a faint mist and a sparkling rainbow refracted by sunlight, captivating my gaze strangely.

Even as I climbed the stairs connected to the second floor, I couldn’t take my eyes off that rose. It was as if I was possessed by something, but I was not even aware of it.

Up close, the rose exuded an unrealistically mysterious aura.

“Of course, I’m in a novel right now, aren’t I?”

It’s a romance ‘fantasy’ novel at that. It wouldn’t be so unusual in this world. I nodded my head, convinced.

But human psychology is like that, right? When you put a lid on something that looks like it shouldn’t be touched, you want to touch it anyway.

I pondered for a moment. Should I touch it or not?

‘Yes, let’s touch it, just a little.’

Without hesitation, I opened the glass dome lid. Then the rose inside emitted an even brighter light. I breathed in the scent of the rose that prickled my nostrils and slowly reached out my hand.

I want to make it clear that I absolutely did not viciously grab the rose. I only lightly touched it with my delicate, trembling finger.

“Why did it fall like this?”

The rose fell to the ground with a thud. Startled by the sudden situation, I was momentarily speechless.

If only one petal had fallen, I wouldn’t have been so taken aback. But the whole thing fell of from the stem as if I had done something!

Belatedly regaining my composure, I snapped the glass dome shut, hiding the crime scene like a mischievous puppy. But the transparent lid revealed everything, and the pitiful sight of the severed stem in the vase was clearly visible.

And even the mystical light that had filled the dome just moments ago had vanished.

As the realization that I was screwed hit me in the back of the head, I had a terrifying question.

“I wonder… Is it expensive?”

It must be expensive. So, they must have carefully put it in a glass dome. No, why would they just leave it anywhere like that? What if I take out a book and accidentally drop it!

No matter how hard I try to rationalize, I couldn’t shake off the thought that everything was ultimately my fault for casually touching it.

I ran out of the study and returned to my room, burying my face in my hands and letting out a deep sigh.

It had only been a few hours since I made a hopeful decision to gather a fortune before the divorce and walk the path of happiness, but I couldn’t understand why this trial was happening.

‘I’m sick and tired of being in debt…….’

Now, there were three things I believed. First, Roeni Wheaton already has more than enough money. Second, she has so much money that she can buy a hundred sparkling roses or anything like that. Third, in fact, ordinary roses are not that expensive.

…I hope at least one of those is true.

I sighed countless times, not knowing which one it was, when someone knocked on the door. Without lifting my face buried in my hands, I weakly told them to come in.

“Madam…”

The young maid I saw earlier came in hesitantly and cautiously observed my reaction.

“He’s in the training hall right now.”

“So?”

What does it have to do with me whether that brat swings a sword or rides a horse and dances in the training hall? My already dispirited mood sank even further, and I gave a half-hearted reply.

Then, the maid looked flustered and stammered.

“It’s time for a report…”

“What report?”

“Madam asked to be informed of the master’s whereabouts every hour.”

“…Me?”

Roeni Wheaton… I knew she was stalking Diart, but did she go this far? I couldn’t lift my face from my hands as an overwhelming sense of empathy surged within me.

“…What’s your name?”

“Yes?”

“Your name, I mean. I’ve been forgetful lately.”

“L-Lily.”

“Alright, Lily. You don’t have to do that from now on.”

“W-What do you mean…”

“Y-You don’t have to tell me where Diart is anymore.”

“Yes?”

Seeing Lily’s eyes widen as if she had heard something unexpected, I let out a wry smile. Have I been so obsessed with Diart all this time?

“More importantly, do you happen to know anything about the roses in the study?”

Please tell me they’re cheap. Please tell me there’s nothing special about those ordinary roses in this world. Lily, who understood my desperate gaze, opened her mouth with a somewhat awkward expression.

“What do you mean rose in the study…”

“Why is it covered with a glass dome?”

“A glass dome?”

Lily tilted her head with a puzzled expression, then gasped.

“Oh, are you talking about the glass dome in the eastern study?”

“The eastern study?”

Well, then there must be a southern study or a western study, right? Suddenly, a hope sprang up that even a hundred shining roses could be easily afforded if there was an abundance of money in the hidden corners of the Wheaton Estate.

“If it’s that, madam must know how precious it is.”

Oh damn.

Lily crushed my hope with an innocent and kind face.

“How precious… How much?”

“As far as I can tell, it’s an heirloom that’s been in the family for generations. So, it has been passed down since the time of the founder who built House Wheaton. It is so precious that it cannot be valued.”

An heirloom?

Then I just broke something that has been treasured for at least hundreds of years in an instant.

…I’m screwed. Speechless, I clasped my throbbing forehead. How am I supposed to fix this?

“But there really is a rose inside it. We couldn’t see it, so we thought it was just a legend. Then, is it true that it’s a cursed rose…”

Setting aside the fact that Lily couldn’t see the rose, I caught a word that I couldn’t simply pass over and couldn’t help but pause.

“…Cursed?”

“Yes. I’ve heard that the founder’s wife put a curse on the rose. But I’m sure it’s just a rumor.”

Lily smiled slightly for the first time.

“If it was really a cursed rose, I don’t think the master would just leave it like that. But still, we are reluctant to touch it for no reason.”

I’m reluctant too. Because I destroyed a treasured heirloom with a curse in my own hands.

Considering that this world is a romance ‘fantasy’ novel, it wasn’t completely impossible if I thought about it. Being in this novel was already an unexplainable fantasy.

“But wait, was there such a setting in this book?”

No matter how much I recalled, I couldn’t remember such a setting. Puzzled, I asked Lily.

“What kind of curse is it?”

“I don’t really know either. I’m sure the master knows?”

Lily probably thought that I would use this as an excuse to run to Diart, but I had no intention of doing so.

“Is there anyone else who knows about it?”

“What? Well…”

Lily, bewildered by my unexpected behavior, pondered for a moment before suddenly opening her mouth in realization.

“There’s a book that records the history of the Wheaton family for generations. And there is also a diary left behind by the former dukes. Although it’s written in an ancient language, you should be able to read it, madam.”

“A book? Where is it?”

“I heard it’s in the eastern library with the bookshelf.”

“Are there no other people who could understand them?”

“Well, probably…”

Lily made a perplexed expression. But what was truly perplexing was me. Could I, who had transmigrated for less than 24 hours, read a book written in ancient language?

Damn it…