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[ Dwight Everett is accepted as the top applicant for the Imperial Open Recruitment! ]
It was the headline of an article on the front page of the Imperial Newspaper.
Eleanor lay down on the soft bed and read through the ensuing interview.
[ – Congratulations on your acceptance. What kind of position did you get in the Imperial Household?
: Thank you. I’m working as an aide to the Crown Prince. It’s something I’ve always dreamed of, so I’m very excited and happy. I’ll do my best to assist His Highness. ]
To think that he was trembling while practicing. As expected, he’s good at real game.
Eleanor’s lips were greeted with a smile of satisfaction.
[ – You passed with a remarkable performance that stood out even among the successful applicants. You also got the title of The Youngest Successful Candidate at the age of 24! What’s the secret?
: There was a lot of help from my twin little sister, Eleanor. Eleanor is really smart.
– Is it the Miss Eleanor who was the topic of discussion for giving up admission even though she takes the top spot on the Academy Entrance Exam?
: Yes, that’s right. Although she’s my younger sister, no one can keep up with her brain when it comes to studying. She’s also very good at teaching, and she points out the essential parts… ]
The newspaper crumpled up in Eleanor’s hand.
Eleanor, Eleanor, Eleanor!
The entire page was plastered with stories about her. Eleanor’s face was as red as an apple.
What is she going to do with that fool?
Eleanor huffed a breath as she went up the stairs and slammed the door open.
“Dwight!”
Dwight, who was half lying on the sofa while eating cookies, arise from his position. There was a little embarrassment on his gentle, good-looking face.
“Ah, Ellen.”
“Explain now.”
Dwight had an expression of appalled regret when a crumpled newspaper was thrown in front of him.
“No, it’s… But it’s all true. I didn’t say anything false.”
“The problem is that it’s different from what we promised. A thorough preparation and review using basic books! Analysis of previous questions! You promised to answer like that. Don’t you remember?
“Come to think of it, Ellen, you promised to not see my interview.”
“But you shouldn’t do that!”
Eleanor took the cookie in Dwight’s hand and took a large bite as she sat down on the sofa. Confirming that his twin’s expression wasn’t so bad, Dwight seated himself next to her.
“Ellen, why don’t you like attention like that? If I were as smart as you, I’d brag about it here and there.”
“I don’t want attention. I just want to live comfortably like this forever. Spending all the money you, Dwight, have earned.”
Dwight shook his head and laughed as if he couldn’t stop Eleanor’s words. He seemed to take her words as a joke. However, Eleanor’s words were 100% sincere.
“A rich unemployed person is my life motto. Remember that.”
***
Eleanor was born with the memory of her past life intact.
In her previous life, she was an ordinary Korean woman named Go Yeo-jin.
Her appearance and personality were normal. If she were normal, it would’ve been nice if she had a normal family, but Yeo-jin was born with a so-called ‘dirt spoon.’
[A/N; dirt spoon is meant as slang for people in the low-income group. An opposite concept of ‘golden spoon.’]
From her cramped humid house, the damn poverty, and a life just like her parents, Yeo-jin clenched her teeth and worked hard to escape it all.
During her youth, she studied harder than anyone else and entered a good university, and from the age of 20, she worked several part-time jobs to collect tuition and living expenses.
In the end, money was the reason she chose to work as an instructor.
She started from the bottom, but Yeo-jin made her name known by building her career step by step.
The class materials she had created all night were stolen by her fellow instructor, the director’s niece, and although she was pestered by phone calls from the students’ parents until dawn, Yeo-jin persistently endured it.
It was because she had debts to pay, and a family to take care of.
[ “Teacher Yeo-jin is so tough. It’s scary when I see her sometimes, you know?” ]
[ “It seemed like she only knew about work. Then what? She always loses everything to teacher Yoon.” ]
[ “It’s stupid to put up with everything like a pushover. Teacher Yoon, who acts shamelessly, is still teacher Yoon, but teacher Yeo-jin is a real problem. Does she want to pretend as the only kind person or something…” ]
[ “You know, even if you give me a million of money, I won’t live like that. I will never live like that.” ]
No matter what others said, Yeo-jin was able to pay off all her debts and signed a contract for a luxury apartment near the academy using her hard work.
Tears welled up in her eyes when she stamped the seal for a real estate.
‘Now I’m really going to live for myself. Just for me.’
And two months later, Yeo-jin, who collapsed on her way to work, never opened her eyes again.
She was only 33, and the cause of her death was overworked.
To think that being overworked to death was the price of this hard-working life!
Yeo-jin burst into tears as she looked down at her collapsed body in the cold apartment corridor.
Had she known this would happen, she would’ve just lived in moderation. Doing what she wants to do, and rest when she wants to.
It was already too late for her to regret it.
***
Perhaps, God also thinks that it was a little too much.
“Your name is Eleanor. Eleanor Everett.”
When Yeo-jin opened her eyes, she was crying heavily in the arms of a blond gentleman with a soft countenance.
It was obviously a foreign language that she heard for the first time, but strangely, she could understand it all.
‘Is this what you call reincarnation…?’
Eleanor blinked slowly as she looked up at the fascinating and old-fashioned ceiling that she had only seen in a museum.
After several weeks of observing the people around her, she seemed to have been reborn as a daughter of a Count. The crying baby boy lying next to her must be her twin brother.
At first, she had a hard time adapting to the flustering changes, but Eleanor, who had finished judging her situation, soon rejoice.
‘I can live in this life and fix my fate!’
Unlike her previous life, where she had to walk an arduous path, what unfolded for Eleanor in this life was a beautiful flower path.
The count was wealthy, and her parents were gentle and intelligent people. Dwight, her twin brother, also followed her well with a gentle personality.
“Ellen! Let’s go out to play in the garden.”
“The sunlight is strong. My skin will get burned. I don’t want to.”
“Hmph. You said that you dislike going out because it was cloudy yesterday. Ellen is a liar!”
It was exhausting to match with a child’s eye level every time, but it was worth the hassle since when she became an adult later, she intended to let Dwight take over all the family affairs.
However, Eleanor’s ambitious plans to play and eat without doing anything ensued a slight setback. She had got overly good grades on the Academy Entrance Exam, which she had done secretly out of curiosity.
The Academy of Deln was a difficult place to pass, let alone a top applicant. Just like an S University in South Korea.
[ “I’ve been a professor for 10 years, and this is the first time I’ve seen such a student! Miss Eleanor is definitely a genius. I want to raise her properly.” ]
The clutching cries that she didn’t want to be separated from her parents, only prevented her from entering the academy, but couldn’t prevent the Count’s attention from turning to her. The count stealthy called her into his office and made her watch him work.
‘At this rate, I’m going to take over the family. It can’t happen!’
Eleanor was determined to properly educate his twin brother.
Dwight wasn’t particularly gifted with studying, but he was an exceptional student of integrity.
Eleanor gathered and poured all the know-how she gained from her previous life into Dwight.
Dwight grumbled at the tight schedule, but he still readily followed Eleanor’s words. As the results began to emerge, the Count, once again, turned his attention toward his eldest son, Dwight.
“Ellen, I’m accepted!”
“That’s really great! Have you told father yet?”
Everything has been perfect since Dwight brought the news of his top applicant acceptance. Now, what remained was for her to relax and enjoy the rest of her life comfortably.
No more labor in her dictionary!
…Was what she thought, but things began to go in a different direction than expected.
***
“This… What’s all this?”
“These are letters for the Miss.”
“All of them? They’re not for father or Dwight?”
Albert, the butler, nodded his head with a slightly bemused face. Eleanor was speechless as she looked at the mountain of letters before her.
What is this uneasy feeling?
After a moment of hesitation, Eleanor opened a letter.
[ Dear Lady Eleanor Everett.
Hello, this is Count Edmund Jenkins. I read Lord Everett’s interview in a newspaper article a while ago and was very impressed. My son is preparing to enter the Academy soon… ]
Eleanor hurriedly put down the letter.
‘Such a terrible letter!’
Eleanor softly trembled as her shoulder shook. She threw the letter away without reading what remained, and with trembling hands, she opened the next envelope.
[ If you can take care of my son and teach him, the pay for it… ]
[ I want you to be my daughter’s teacher… ]
[ If my child just pass the Academy Entrance Exam… ]
Next, next, next.
Eleanor’s hand gradually became rougher as she opened the letters. The contents were similar as if all of them were printed.
‘Be my child’s teacher.’
Eleanor slumped to her seat, as if she was exhausted from half-opening the mountain of letters.
Dwight’s interview in the newspaper clearly boasted a tremendous impact.
Eleanor wished she had received these letters in her previous life. There would’ve been no offer as sweet as this, giving her whatever amount of money she wanted.
However, Eleanor was now a wealthy lady who didn’t have to do anything.
It is enough for her to just lie on a soft bed, enjoy a nap, and live leisurely while visiting scenic places or going sightseeing.
Eleanor looked at the pile of letters with a fed-up face.
“Are you all right, miss?”
Albert, who was watching Eleanor, asked kindly. Eleanor replied as she shook her head slowly.
“No, I’m not okay.”
“Then, would you like a cup of warm tea…?”
“There’s no need. Bring Dwight rather than a tea… Can you do that?”
***
“Ellen, my hands are cramping. Can’t I do it after a break?”
“Think about it. Can you?”
Eleanor replied gracefully as she took a sip of her tea. Dwight rubbed one of his numb hands, while being preoccupied with writing a refusal reply again.
After entrusting Dwight with the reply, Eleanor regained her peace of mind.
No matter what anyone says, it was alright for her to refuse. Since Dwight, the culprit behind this incident, will solve the problem and she will be able to enjoy a comfortable, unemployed life, as planned. Nothing has changed.
‘How many days should I go on a trip? Now that it has become like this, perhaps a place that was far from the capital…’
Her moment of sweet imagination was interrupted, Albert was knocking on the door and said,
“Miss, you have a guest.”
“Guest?”
Who is it?
Eleanor raised her eyebrows as she rose from her seat and opened the door. As soon the door opened, her view was obstructed by someone’s chest.
“It’s the Young Marquis Adrian Blake.”
Even before the butler opened his mouth, Eleanor immediately recognized the identity of her guest. She recalled gleams of the familiar scent from him.
Eleanor raised her chin and made eye contact with the man in front of her. Andrian greeted her calmly, the corners of his lips were slightly raised.
“Long time no see, Ellen.”