“Welcome.”

As she entered the large entrance, a man and a woman in formal attire greeted her politely.

“Welcome to the Gracia Central Bank.”

Camilla returned their businesslike smiles with one of her own, though she couldn’t help but swallow nervously.

She knew full well that these two seemingly ordinary employees were anything but—one was a grand mage capable of wielding 6th-circle magic effortlessly, and the other exuded the aura of a skilled swordsman.

If even the employees at the entrance were this powerful, then surely…

The clerks sitting at their counters and the guards stationed throughout the building were no ordinary people either. Not a single one could be underestimated.

‘No wonder there’s never been a successful robbery here.’

The empire’s premier bank lived up to its reputation for top-tier security.

“Aren’t you busy?”

Camilla paused mid-step toward the counter and turned around. Behind her, sticking close, were Duke Escra and Count Althon. She shook her head slightly. She’d told them she’d handle this alone.

“I told you, this place is more dangerous than it looks,” Duke Escra replied flatly.

“If you enter the wrong password three times, you’ll be detained immediately. We’ll do our best to prevent it from escalating that far with the family’s influence.”

…They really didn’t trust her.

The reason Camilla had come here was to change the ownership of a vault. Whose vault? The one belonging to the late Sharua.

[My parents left me a vault. Since my brother passed away early, I was the sole heir.]

‘And?’

[I want to give it to you, Camilla.]

‘Didn’t you leave it to someone else? Most people settle things like that before they pass.’

[I guess I was angrier than I thought. Finding out that Sir Kays had another woman… I never told anyone the password. It was my small form of revenge.]

‘Still, that seems… extreme.’

[Of course, it was a pointless gesture. Sir Kays was never interested in my wealth to begin with.]

Money was fine, gifts were nice, but this situation left her pondering how to handle it.

If she brought up a vault that had been dormant for so long, she could already imagine the reactions she’d get. And if she claimed to know how to open it…

‘But what can I do?’

In the end, she chose her usual approach: brazenness.

‘You saw Sharua’s vault in a dream?’
‘Yes, I also saw the password.’
‘…….’
‘May I open it?’

Duke Escra’s reaction was surprisingly simple. He didn’t demand detailed explanations and simply nodded. He only offered a few warnings about the Central Bank.

At the time, she thought he was letting it go rather easily, but then…

“Are you ready?”

“Excuse me?”

“The weather’s gotten milder, but it’s still chilly. You should at least wear gloves, Lady Camilla.”

“Luckily, I have a pair I received as a gift. I’ll give them to you.”

“…Are both of you planning to come along?”

When the day came, Duke Escra and Count Althon dropped everything to follow her. Camilla lightly shook her head at their lack of trust.

Still…

‘The gloves are nice, so I’ll let it slide.’

These two were terrible at lying.

Camilla glanced at Duke Escra’s large hands, a faint smile spreading across her lips.

 

***

“Welcome.”

As they approached the counter, the man sitting there stood up and politely bowed his head.

He recognized the Duke of Escra and Count Althon , and though he briefly showed signs of nervousness, he quickly regained composure and greeted them with a warm smile.

“How can I assist you?”

“I’d like to open the vault and change its ownership.”

“May I see the vault key?”

Camilla handed over the golden key she had prepared in advance. The first step in verifying a personal vault was presenting the key. The key had been kept securely by the Duke of Escra.

“You have companions with you. Will they be accompanying you?”

The tension in the air spiked as the nearby staff collectively radiated a heightened sense of alertness. Even knowing that the Duke was a Master and Count Althon  a Grand Mage, they didn’t hide their caution.

“Yes.”

At Camilla’s brief reply, the tension dissolved instantly. The Duke and the Count, accustomed to such reactions, didn’t seem to pay it much mind.

“Then, please step onto the magic circle over there. All three of you will be transported.”

When Camilla and her two companions stepped into the designated area, the staff inserted the key into a hole in the wall.

Woosh!

The magic circle activated beneath them, enveloping them in light, and they were transported elsewhere in an instant.

Camilla, who had briefly closed her eyes against the bright light, soon realized that the surrounding atmosphere had changed.

“This place…”

When she opened her eyes, an unfamiliar space lay before her. It was a small room, no larger than about five pyeong (approximately 16 square meters), with no visible door.

The only thing in sight was a white panel affixed to one wall.

The peculiar part was that the surface of the panel rippled like a still lake disturbed by a breeze.

“This is…”

“Yes, you’ll need to write the code there.”

At Count Althon ’s words, Camilla approached the panel.

“If the alarm goes off, you’ll be restrained immediately. Do you plan to handle everything after Camilla gets caught?”

“No. I won’t let her be taken away.”

“Then I suppose we’ll need to subdue the staff first and proceed.”

“I’ll handle securing permission from His Majesty.”

…These people.

Hearing their casual conversation, Camilla turned and glared at them. Count Althon  smiled brightly and made a playful fist-bumping gesture.

Letting out a short sigh, Camilla turned back to the wall.

Woooong

As she reached out to the rippling white panel, light coalesced around her hand, and a feather-light white pen materialized.

“You can use that pen to write.”

Camilla, marveling at the floating pen for a moment, slowly picked it up. Then, she began to write the code on the white panel.

325 12 04 07 50

The code provided by Sharua was a sequence of numbers.

[It’s the first time I ever saw him.]

The date she first saw the Duke of Escra.

They hadn’t exchanged words, or even a glance. She had merely seen him from afar for the first time.

Imperial Year 325, December 4th, at 7:50 PM.

[Kyaa! It was love at first sight!]

…Ah, I see.

When the code was fully inscribed, the ripples on the white panel intensified. A blinding light erupted from it, and when Camilla instinctively closed and reopened her eyes, the wall before her had vanished.

In its place, a faintly glowing magic circle appeared on the floor.

The magic circle, covered in incomprehensible geometric patterns, emitted a mesmerizing and beautiful light.

“Wow… You really solved the code.”

Count Althon ’s voice of admiration brought Camilla back to her senses, and she turned around.

“Only the one who unlocks the code can step into that magic circle.”

At the Duke of Escra’s explanation, Camilla nodded and cautiously stepped into the magic circle. The moment she fully entered, the faint light grew brighter and engulfed her.

Moments later, another space unfolded before her eyes.

***

“Huh…”

Camilla’s mouth hung open in disbelief.

“Is this… all money?”

There’s been a job coveted by many for ages—being a rich slacker.

“Am I about to become a rich slacker now?”

Before her was a space that seemed to exceed 100 pyeong (approximately 330 square meters), filled with mountains.

Mountains made of gold and jewels.

She had expected wealth, but not to this extent. Though she had grown up as a noblewoman and knew her family had some wealth, this was beyond imagination.

How much could all of this be worth?

For a while, Camilla gazed at the mountains of gold with a look of sheer enchantment.

***

“What’s this, Sis?”

“A vault key.”

“A vault?”

Camilla handed the golden key to Dive, who stared at it with wide eyes.

‘So, she was as wealthy as the Escra family?’

After inspecting Sharua’s vault, Camilla had learned something surprising through Count Alton: Sharua and her family had possessed an immense fortune.

‘And they just let me open the vault?’

‘What if they hadn’t?’

‘They could’ve just taken the password from me… No, wait—how can they just give up so much wealth so easily?’

‘…You really do think our family is poor sometimes. We’ve lived perfectly fine without that money.’

‘Still….’

‘It was a vault I didn’t know the password to and had no interest in. If you figured it out and want to claim it, why would I stop you?’

Am I the only one who’s materialistic? Am I the only one who likes money?

Neither Duke Escra nor Count Althon seemed particularly regretful or reluctant about her opening the vault.

‘…Not that I planned to keep it myself anyway.’

Camilla hadn’t intended to keep the vault’s contents from the moment she realized that Sharua’s gift to her was the vault.

Though she was momentarily tempted by the enormous wealth, her plan had always been to give it to Dive.

“This is something your mother left for you.”

“Mother?”

The boy’s eyes grew even wider as Camilla gently patted his head.

“I’ll tell you the current password now, but later, you should reset it.”

Dive blinked repeatedly, clearly unable to grasp the situation.

[Camilla…]

Meanwhile, Sharua, who had been watching the entire scene, gazed at her with a mixture of gratitude and wistfulness.

[That was supposed to be a gift for you.]

Camilla lightly shook her head at Sharua’s words. No matter how she thought about it, it wasn’t something she should keep for herself.

[Thank you. Truly….]

Seeing Sharua’s bright smile, Camilla responded with a faint smile of her own.

****

“Truly impressive. I never thought you’d actually open the vault.”

Count Althon couldn’t hide his amazement.

While he maintained an air of composure in front of Camilla, the vault’s owner, he had barely managed to suppress a gasp of surprise when she immediately solved the code.

“Did you really see it in a dream?”

“She said so.”

“Would this be considered a prophetic dream? Or maybe… divine revelation?”

“Divine, my foot.”

“Why not? I heard the temple over there is desperate to recruit Lady Camilla.”

“I’ve never liked those temple folks, not since the old days.”

“They probably don’t like you much either, Duke.”

“Shut up.”

Count Althon chuckled softly before continuing, “From the moment she exposed Ersh’s embezzlement, I knew… Our lady is truly remarkable.”

“She is,” the Duke of Escra replied, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

Count Althon couldn’t help but smile as well. The Duke, usually indifferent to praise directed at himself, seemed to take pride in even the smallest compliments about his daughter.

“Oh, by the way, the third batch of orders is complete.”

“…Already?”

“What do you mean, already? It took longer than expected because you insisted on extra thoroughness.”

“Rewrite them.”

“What?”

“Review them meticulously, line by line. I don’t care if it takes longer. Make it even more thorough.”

“I’ve already reviewed them dozens of times!”

“Dozens? That’s it? Review them again.”

“Why?!”

Was this some new form of torment?

Though Count Althon looked utterly exasperated, the Duke of Escra seemed resolute.

“She’s leaving soon,” he said.

“What? Oh!”

At that moment, Count Althon realized what he meant.

‘Not leaving right away, is she?’

‘I plan to finalize the third batch of orders before I leave.’

‘Good. If the new sibling had left too soon, I’d have been really disappointed.’

He remembered a conversation between Camilla and Jaynor. She had mentioned that once the third batch of orders was complete, she would return.

‘Could it be for that reason?’

For a moment, Count Althon stared at the Duke, incredulous.

“Delay it as much as possible.”

“Understood.”

With a determined expression, Count Althon clenched his fist and then dramatically tore the completed third batch of orders into shreds.

“Leave it to me.”

****

Tap tap.

“Hmm.”

Tap tap tap.

“Hmmmm.”

Tap tap tap tap.

“Mmm… hmm…”

“Why don’t you just contact them first?”

“What?”

“Instead of tapping the communication orb like that, just reach out already,” Dorman suggested, unable to watch any longer as Camilla repeatedly tapped her fingers against the table where the communication orb rested.

“I don’t want to disturb them.”

Camilla finally averted her gaze from the orb, realizing she’d been staring at it absentmindedly for some time, irritated that no messages had come from home.

[Sometimes, you’re surprisingly timid about the weirdest things.]

Zeno seated nearby, joined in. He noted that despite her confident and decisive demeanor in most situations, there were moments when Camilla hesitated unexpectedly.

“What are you talking about? I just don’t want to inconvenience anyone.”

[…Family is not just anyone.]

Zeno shook his head slightly. Did she not realize? The way she was especially strict about not imposing on her family, even more so than with strangers?

Though she rarely asked others for help, it was even more pronounced with family.

Or rather, it seemed like she simply couldn’t.