Hopefully, at Your Mercy - Chapter 1
Chapter 1.2
<Arc 1. Delinda Schultz>
It was when two red moons overlapped and became one.
Delinda Schultz. A name that now belonged to Han Ji-an, a woman who had once lived in South Korea, but now she found herself trapped inside a novel.
She had just now possessed the body of “Delinda Schultz,” and this was her second time being sucked into the very same novel.
As she regained her senses, she found Delinda’s father, Duke Schultz, in the middle of a conversation with a man who looked like a con-artist.
“As you’re well aware, Your Grace, the value of spirit stones has risen significantly as of late. If you miss this opportunity to sponsor the development of the Spirit Stone Mine…”
Said man who looked like a con-artist, named Lord Cavila, twirled his mustache, which looked very much like a rat’s tail.
Even without saying it explicitly, anyone could easily guess what he had left unsaid.
‘If you miss this last chance, the great duchy will eventually fall!’
The Schultz family had long been a great house, enjoying both wealth and honor for generations.
But upon the recent duke taking over, the family’s fortune had begun to decline.
After various incidents, all that remained for the ducal family were the plains near the Ro’yak River and the grand mansion in the capital.
While that may have sufficed for ordinary nobility, unfortunately, they were a historical noble house. The size of their mansion and the number of vassals required more resources than what they had left.
“The reason I’ve brought this matter to you first, Your Grace, is because I’ve always admired your noble character… The sun is setting now. I’ll soon be heading to the evening banquet hosted by the Sublío family…”
Lord Cavila glanced at the window.
His unspoken message was clear: “Although I gave you this opportunity out of respect, if you don’t decide now, I might present it to others at the banquet.”
“Hmm.”
Duke Schultz examined the spirit stone in the glow of the setting sun.
The warm light filtering through the massive stained-glass windows made the brightly sparkling gem feel like the very radiance of the honor that could return to his family.
‘Very well. I must make a decision. This could be the chance to restore our family and cure Delinda’s illness.’
The duke clenched the gem with determination. He was prepared to mortgage the grand mansion if necessary for this final investment.
Meanwhile, Delinda… or rather, Han Ji-an, who had taken over “Delinda,” was deep in thought.
‘What is going on? Am I trapped inside of a novel again? But this language and atmosphere… they feel so familiar. Could this be the same world as before?’
She quickly realized that her assumption was correct.
She had gone through a second possession. And not just into any novel, but back into the one she had already lived through once before.
‘Why am I here again? The novel ended, and I returned to the real world, so why…’
During her first possession, she had lived in this world for six years. Then she returned to her reality, but ever since, her memories of this world had become distorted.
Some memories were completely shrouded in darkness, as if they had never existed, while others vividly replayed in her mind.
She couldn’t recall anything about the people or the life she had lived, but meaningless details remained crystal clear, as if they’d happened yesterday.
‘So… where am I exactly? That’s what I need to figure out first.’
Delinda scanned her surroundings, trying to assess the current situation.
She was seated inside a lavish mansion, one that belonged to a duke. And judging by the name she had just overheard in the conversation, the man sitting next to her appeared to be Duke Schultz, “this body’s” father.
She remembered hearing rumors about him during her first possession.
The Schultz family stood out not because they were one of the great founding families of the Barkyan Empire, but because their family was in decline.
The reason? Lady Delinda, the supposed heiress of the family, was an idiot.
Which is how she remembered it so clearly.
‘I heard their decline started right after the birth of the “Foolish Noble Lady.” She may be beautiful, but she was labeled a disgrace to the family due to her idiocy…’
They said she couldn’t speak until she was six years old. According to the rumors, she was more like a beast, driven purely by instinct rather than human intelligence.
Only through the Duke’s loving education did she finally become capable of acting somewhat human.
She always stayed within the confines of the duke’s mansion, likely to prevent the rumors of her being a fool from spreading further.
‘From what I remember, the family’s fortunes began to decline due to all of the efforts to cure Lady Delinda’s illness…’
There were rumors that the duke had summoned an ancient witch to buy an expensive potion that would heal her soul, or that he had been swindled out of a large sum of money while seeking advice from a supposed “dragon.”
But the biggest blow to the family came from a business venture he started in an attempt to recover their losses, which ended in complete failure.
Delinda quickly sifted through all this information stored in her mind. She glanced at the duke beside her as he tightly held her hand, then turned her gaze to Lord Cavila, who was sitting across from them with a sly grin.
And then it hit her.
‘…Wait a minute. That means I’m the “Foolish Noble Lady!” This body belongs to her!’
It was like waking up from a deep sleep—suddenly, everything became clear.
‘So in the end, the duke will go bankrupt by trying to cure “my”– I mean, “this body’s” illness? And right now, it seems like he’s about to get scammed by some shady guy?’
I just possessed this body?!
No!
My newly possessed life!
My newly possessed future!
Clenching her fists tightly, Delinda suddenly spoke up, interrupting the two men who were about to seal their deal.
“Father, doesn’t this seem a bit strange to you?”
“What do you mean, Delinda?”
“A cave that’s supposedly overflowing with spirit stones is just waiting to be mined…? How did we fall upon such a great investment opportunity?”
She said, stopping there and carefully observing the duke’s expression.
She wondered if she had sounded too smart for being the “Foolish Noble Lady,” but the duke didn’t seem to find it particularly unusual. It seemed she could speak this much without raising suspicion.
But how foolish was Delinda supposed to act to play the part correctly?
Maybe she was able to speak coherently, but her actions were clumsy and her thoughts were slow?
“Our family doesn’t have any money, right? I prayed to God a few days ago to give us lots of money again, so could He have answered my prayers?”
High return, high risk.
The higher the potential for profit, the greater the risk. She wanted to fully assess the situation, but she had no prior knowledge to rely on.
Which was only natural, considering she just got here.
Plus, she didn’t even know what an “spirit stone” was.
She was certain the stone had never existed when she was first possessed.
What exactly is a spirit stone?
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