“Why are you like this? You enjoyed watching the heroine being showered with attention by the male leads, didn’t you?”

Penelope reflected on her own pettiness.

Of course, that reflection was made easier by the jingling sound of gold coins in her pocket. Having money certainly makes one more generous.

For reference, I’ll Choose the Second Male Lead in This Life! featured three male lead candidates:

The third prince, the Tower Master, and the northern duke.

In romance fantasy, it wasn’t a particularly unique or groundbreaking combination. Still, it worked well with readers.

In her first life, the heroine had been thoroughly used and discarded by the emperor, leading to her death. In her second life, she chose the third prince without hesitation.

The third prince shared the same intense hatred for the emperor as she did.

While the two of them flirted under the guise of being business partners, charming supporting male leads hovered around her.

However, the ending was inevitable—the husband was always the third prince.

The two supporting male leads, unable to win the heroine's love, turned away, nursing their unrequited feelings.

Afterwards, the duke entered into a political marriage, and the Tower Master spent the rest of his life alone.

“It was fun to read, but thinking about it happening in reality makes me feel bad for both of them.”

“Should we head back?”

It was Sir Kane.

Penelope, who had been lost in thought in front of the Mage Tower branch, snapped out of her daze and looked up.

Her wandering thoughts had somehow drifted all the way to the supporting male leads.

Stalling for time to avoid entering the Mage Tower, she had ended up reflecting on the original story.

“Is this the time to be worrying about others? Get it together.”

No matter how pitiful the supporting male leads were, it wasn’t comparable to her own situation—widowed after only a month of marriage and left to manage a struggling estate.

“Of course not. Those guys are rich, handsome, and powerful. I don’t have any of those things.”

Penelope felt a pang of emptiness. The world really wasn’t fair.

But she quickly shook off the negative thoughts and squared her shoulders.

“Let’s go in now. Hans, you stay here and guard the carriage.”

“As you command.”

Hans bowed deeply in response.

Penelope took a stalk of green herbs and, accompanied by Sir Kane, stepped into the shabby building.

The lobby was dimly lit.

It was a cluttered space.

Books and papers covered in indecipherable formulas were strewn everywhere.

The bookshelves were crammed haphazardly with texts, and even the tables and sofas for guests were precariously piled with books.

“Typical Mage Tower decor,” Penelope thought.

“Storage stones are 20,000 gold, purification stones are 10,000 gold. Magic stone barriers are upstairs on the second floor,” came a sudden voice.

Penelope halted abruptly, as did Sir Kane.

A man sitting at a desk buried under a mountain of documents spoke without even glancing up, his pen flying across the papers.

With no one else in sight, Penelope addressed him directly.

“Were you talking to me just now?”

“Are you looking for something else? A magic artifact to track down a cheating husband is 30,000 gold. Love potions? You’ll need to see an alchemist for those. Oh, and don’t believe any nonsense about their effectiveness—it’s all a scam.”

“…”

Penelope nodded blankly. So, there really were magic tools for tracking down unfaithful husbands in this world.

Truly a romance fantasy world—the scale was something else.

The man, still buried in his documents, didn’t spare her a glance.

“That insolent—!”

Sir Kane raised his voice in indignation, but Penelope, with her modern sensibilities, decided to let it slide.

How busy must he be to focus on paperwork while ignoring customers right in front of him?

“This is the first time I’ve met a wizard,” she thought, swallowing dryly.

In both her past and present lives, she had never encountered a wizard.

Legendary wizards could topple mountains and reverse the flow of rivers. The Tower Master in the original novel had such powers.

Even an ordinary wizard should have a fraction of that power.

But did this man possess such extraordinary abilities?

He didn’t look the part. Frankly, he resembled a neighborhood uncle more than a mythical wizard.

“Enough distractions. Let’s focus on the task at hand.”

Finally, Penelope stated her business.

“I’m here to sell green herbs to the Mage Tower.”

“You’re telling me there’s still someone who doesn’t know that green herbs are worthless? Are you from another dimension or something?”

“Well, not exactly…”

It was half true. After all, she had died and been reborn.

Instead of arguing the unbelievable, Penelope held up the herb stalk she was carrying.

“If your eyes are busy, at least listen. These are green herbs with stems, leaves, and even flower buds intact. They were harvested two days ago.”

“Impossible!”

The man’s head shot up suddenly, startling both Penelope and Sir Kane.

The man looked like a living corpse.

His gaunt face, sunken cheeks, dark circles, and bloodshot eyes painted a picture of exhaustion.

Even Sir Kane, who had been indignant earlier, couldn’t help but ask with concern, “Are you alright?”

“You think I look bad too, don’t you? Yes, I’m in terrible shape,” the man admitted.

“….”

“But thanks to you two, I can finally sleep for ten minutes. Maybe even fifteen.”

Sir Kane clicked his tongue in disapproval.

The man seemed on the verge of a breakdown from overwork.

Then, as if possessed, he suddenly stood up and approached Penelope.

Startled, she held out the herb stalk to him.

“Hmm, yes… perfect…”

The man sniffed the herbs closely, taking in their scent.

Sir Kane stepped in front of Penelope, his expression one of utter distaste.

“These are green herbs harvested less than 48 hours ago! With stems! And even flower buds! Such a blessing!” the man murmured in ecstasy.

Penelope felt a mix of discomfort and relief.

“Luckily, they’ve just started looking for herb stalks.”

The stems and flower buds of green herbs were far more potent than the leaves.

This fact had been discovered by the Tower Master.

In the original novel, it was mentioned in passing, likely the result of one of his many experiments.

By the time the Mage Tower realized the value of the stems and buds, most northern farms had already plowed over their herb fields due to the Eastern Continent trade crisis.

“How much do you have?”

“Enough to fill a cart. All in good condition.”

“Ahaha! I can sleep for an hour now. 100,000 gold.”

At the mention of 100,000 gold, Sir Kane inhaled sharply.

Penelope remained silent and shook her head firmly.

Now that she knew the Mage Tower needed intact green herbs, she wasn’t about to sell them cheaply.

“500,000.”

“F-Five hundred thousand?!”

The man’s eyebrows shot up in disbelief. Sir Kane was equally shocked by the bold negotiation.

“Do you not know the current market price for green herbs? I’m already offering ten times the going rate.”

The man’s stern demeanor made Penelope waver for a moment, but she quickly straightened her posture.

In negotiations, the one who falters first loses.

“Green herbs with stems and flower buds are nearly impossible to find, even in the North. I came here because I couldn’t travel far due to estate matters. If I took these to the capital along with a storage stone, I’d easily get 800,000.”

Penelope spoke quickly, catching her breath afterwards.

The man’s eyebrows furrowed even more as he scrutinized her. Penelope met his gaze with unwavering determination.

After a moment, the man clicked his tongue and said, “If you had brought a storage stone, I would’ve paid more. But 200,000—no more.”

“Let’s settle at 300,000. Payment in magic stones.”

“That’s an outrageously appealing proposal.”

The man grinned wryly, pinching the bridge of his nose, then extended his hand.

“You can call me Rector.”

“Very well, Rector. I’m the Baroness of Halo. When can I expect the magic stones?”

“By this afternoon at the latest, Baroness of Halo,” Rector replied, his tone noticeably friendlier.