The Friend Who Stayed Behind

But soon my heart began pounding, and the moment my stiff legs loosened, I broke into a run.

"Mars!"

Seeing the white mask catching the moonlight, what surged through me was overwhelming joy.

If it hadn't been for that one friend I'd come to know — someone who wasn't from the village — I might have cried myself to sleep every single day.

After all the villagers had departed, leaving the settlement empty, a boy with brown hair and black eyes had come looking for me one day.

He was a little taller than me, always wore a white mask, and seemed to have nowhere else to go — so he stayed in the village and helped me with my chores.

During that year I spent alone in the deserted village, I don't think I could have endured the loneliness without him.

In this moment of reunion, a thick, aching emotion welled up in my chest and overflowed.

"……Uu……"

I threw myself into Mars's arms and clung to him. I could feel his small but sturdy body stiffen at my embrace.

Feeling the tension that had coiled around me all day finally unwind, I spoke to Mars.

"I missed you so, so much."

When we first met, Mars had seemed like he had a terrible temper. He wouldn't even look at me when I tried to greet him, after all.

He'd engaged me in a war of nerves as the only kid left in the empty village, and once he'd even gotten petty enough to put my red sugar beet on top of a tree.

But the fact that he always wore a mask, the fact that he'd settled in an empty village with no one coming to look for him……

And the fact that he couldn't speak.

I figured there had to be some reason behind his condition.

Just look at my own little silver-haired brat — there's always a good reason a kid goes off the rails.

So I decided to keep an open heart, to understand him and accept him.

I'd call him over now and then to give him food, apply medicine to his wounds when he was hurt, and I gave a name to the boy who wouldn't — or couldn't — say his own.

"Mars."

It came from the English word mask, but I also liked that Mars meant the planet of war.

I told him it was a name for a friend who reminded me of a dry, distant star.

At my words, I thought I saw the boy's eyes flicker briefly — like a star at dusk.

Like ice melting in spring, our relationship slowly changed.

Before long, we started spending time together, and I'd grab Mars's hand tightly and giggle.

"We're friends now, right?"

"You came with me?"

When I grabbed his hand and asked just like that day, Mars's gaze dropped briefly to the hand I was holding, then lifted back to my eyes.

In the silence, Mars's pupils staring at me were pitch black.

I hurried to open my mouth.

"I. I was kidnapped. But……"

How was I supposed to explain this situation?

"Actually, my dad was a Great Spiritist, and I'm from a Grand Duke's bloodline, and that innocent-looking uncle next door is the Emperor hiding his power……"

"……"

I stopped talking.

Mars's expression looked like he was staring at some otaku spouting delusions.

Honestly, I couldn't believe it either!

Me — the country girl who caught rabbits and buried red sugar beet slices in the ground — had become the heir to a Marquisate.

"Anyway, I feel like I hit the lottery. Kind of accidentally."

Mars, who had no idea what a lottery was, narrowed his eyes.

This enormous room and the pristine environment where not even a single cricket chirped — it was completely alien to him.

What was going to happen to me?

"……"

Then Mars placed his hand on my shoulder.

I looked up at Mars's black eyes with watery vision.

I couldn't see his expression behind the mask, but it felt like Mars was saying to me, just as always:

"It'll be okay."

His reassuring gaze seemed to calm my troubled heart.

I nodded.

Mars suddenly reached behind him and pulled something out, offering it to me.

"This is……"

It was a bundle containing several items.

My diary, which I'd been using for a very long time.

The wooden toy that Uncle Zimmer had made for me.

Even the doll that had been by my side since I was little.

Everything was something I'd treasured in Galnem.

"You brought these for me?"

Mars answered with silence.

I held the objects containing my memories in my small hands, looked at Mars for a moment, and said:

"Thank you."

My heart swelled. If I hadn't been holding the items, I would have wanted to hug him so tightly.

But I couldn't just leave him standing there like this.

"Can you wait a moment? I'll go ask for a room for you right away."

I set the items down and turned to hurry off.

Then Mars grabbed my thin wrist.

And he shook his head at my back.

"……"

"But you…… you don't have a place to go. There are plenty of rooms here. Hmm, even though I look like this, I'm the owner of this enormous mansion!"

I pointed at myself with my thumb and boasted with a heh, but Mars shook his head again.

Could it be he had somewhere to go?

"Then…… you'll come back?"

I asked Mars.

The year I spent with Mars in Galnem was a precious memory for me.

So even though I'd come to the capital, I wanted our bond not to be severed.

"You're my one and only friend, so you can come visit anytime. No — you must come visit often. Understood?"

I didn't want to part like this, but…… it seemed like Mars had somewhere he needed to return to.

Mars nodded once.

The window opened, and he climbed onto the sill, looking at me. Even though only his eyes were visible behind the mask, I somehow got the feeling Mars was lifting the corner of his mouth.

A moment later, Mars disappeared.

I looked at the heavy diary in my hand, then put it away in a drawer.

The next morning.

The maids dressed me in a stiff, high-class dress as if playing with dolls, and adorned me with great care.

A dress with this many frills — it really felt like I'd become a noble lady.

Feeling embarrassed, I absentmindedly fiddled with the dress's ribbon.

"Milady."

Adam, who had knocked politely and entered, spoke to me.

"Someone from the bank has come to see you, milady."

"The bank?"

"Yes. From Hugobrint Bank. They say they have something to discuss regarding your inheritance."

At the word inheritance, my ears perked up.

Hugobrint Bank. For some reason, it didn't give me a good feeling from the original novel, did it?

Anyway, Marquisate business on my very first day here — I felt a little nervous.

"I understand that the late Marquis Maila entrusted the Marquisate's assets to Hugobrint Bank before departing with his wife."

A man in a formal suit, who had been waiting in the reception room, rose immediately and bowed deeply when I entered.

"Good day, Lady Maila."

I sat across from the man.

The maids brought tea for us.

The man wearing glasses introduced himself.

"I am Rylz Breck, an employee of Hugobrint Bank's Western Region."

"Hello, I'm Arinell Maila."

When I greeted him with a confident voice, he smiled and glanced around.

"Before we talk, would you mind having someone leave the room? It's our policy to discuss assets with the client alone."

Hmm.

"Milady."

"Don't worry, Adam. I'll call if anything comes up."

Adam looked very uneasy, but I reassured him.

He wasn't some suspicious person — just a bank employee, after all.

Adam left reluctantly, whispering in my ear, "Be careful. They're mad about their performance numbers."

Only after Adam had left did Rylz open his mouth again.

"The late Marquis Maila used our bank's trust product, and I'm here to explain the rate of return and the amount you're entitled to receive."

As he spoke, he handed me a document with a staggering amount written on it.

"Ten…… ten million Bring?"

I widened my eyes and looked at the number again.

One Bring here was roughly equivalent to a thousand won in modern currency.

So ten million Bring was an enormous sum of around ten billion won.

Money I'd never even imagined in my entire life had been left to me as an inheritance.

Actually, they said rebuilding the Marquisate would require more money than I'd expected.

First, there were materials and labor needed to repair the mansion.

Then there was hosting parties to make a name for myself in society.

With ten million Bring, I could leave Albreon — which was soon to be ravaged by cruel tyranny and famine — and move to another country. Or rather, relocate.

Not that I was necessarily planning to do that, of course.

"Yes, ten million Bring."

"Jackpot!"

Right. Birth secrets and massive inheritances were inseparable clichés.

Thinking I'd officially boarded the track of the rich-protagonist route, I asked with sparkling eyes:

"Sir, where do I sign?"

Inheritance, my foot. Dad, thank you!

I'm sorry for cursing you for reincarnating me as a worthless country kid, God.

I licked my lips and grabbed a pen firmly.

But Rylz, who was pointing at the document, smiled slyly and shook his head.

And he said to me:

"Unfortunately, milady, you cannot receive the inheritance at this time."