Chương 55: Chapter 54

Countdown. 20 days, 13 hours, 51 minutes, and 10 seconds. Nina looked at the timer. A week had already passed. When she first awakened, the Roosevelt family had tried to bring her downstairs for breakfast, but she politely refused. Instead, she asked Mrs. Roosevelt whether she had managed to find the location and time for the meeting.

After receiving everything she needed, Nina gave a brief goodbye and prepared to leave, despite the many protests from the family and their repeated insistence that she remain until she had fully recovered. Nina simply did not enjoy resting in a place that did not feel like her own. After seeing how determined she was, Mrs. Roosevelt stopped trying to persuade her. Instead, she arranged for a carriage to take Nina home. Everything had ended peacefully. Now, sitting quietly, Nina looked at the divergence meter.

According to the system's calculations, one major event had changed because of her interference, granting her one divergence point. The people who were originally supposed to die had survived, granting her another divergence point. Finally, her actions had indirectly changed someone else's future, rewarding her with an additional half point. In total, she had earned 2. 5 divergence points. Combined with the previous 1. 5, she now possessed 4 divergence points out of a possible 1, 000.

The system had not informed her immediately because the value had increased while she was unconscious. Nina then turned her attention to the amount of money she had received. Before she left the Roosevelt residence, Mrs. Roosevelt had explained that many noble families had sent gifts as thanks. Officially, the gifts had been addressed to the Roosevelt family for protecting their children, grandchildren, and the nobles who had fought against the dragon.

However, because it had actually been Nina's barrier that protected everyone, Mrs. Roosevelt believed it would have been wrong for their family to keep those gifts. She had therefore prepared to load everything onto Nina's carriage before she departed. After hearing that, Nina subconsciously frowned. If the gifts were physical objects, then they would simply become more items that the system would have to store. She looked toward Mrs. Roosevelt. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve.

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"Would it be possible to exchange the gifts for banknotes instead?" Mrs. Roosevelt stared at her in surprise. Even after trying to convince Nina to simply accept the gifts, Nina remained firm. Finally, Mrs. Roosevelt sighed.

"I don't currently have enough money on hand to exchange everything." She smiled apologetically.

"The value of the gifts is quite significant. I would need to visit the bank first, which means it may take several days before I can withdraw enough banknotes." Hearing that it would take several days, Nina frowned.

"Then I'll just take whatever banknotes you currently have." She stood up.

"I'm in a hurry. I'd rather leave. I don't want to stay here any longer." Mrs. Roosevelt immediately shook her head.

"No." Her tone was unusually firm.

"No matter what you say, I refuse."

"I will not shortchange you." Just then, the door burst open. Mr. Roosevelt and Rosa hurried inside, having apparently overheard part of the conversation.

"Exactly!" Rosa immediately agreed.

"You did so much for us. How could we let you leave with such a tiny amount?" Nina felt another headache coming on. She looked at the three members of the Roosevelt family before speaking calmly.

"I used Miss Roosevelt's identity throughout the incident." She continued,"That means your family has likely had to deal with many problems because of my actions."

"You also protected me while I was unconscious for three days."

"That alone is more than enough." She paused briefly.

"If assigning a monetary value to the gifts feels wrong, then you may simply consider them my way of thanking your family for everything you've done for me." The Roosevelt family fell silent. Seeing that Nina genuinely intended to leave without accepting proper compensation, all three of them hurriedly stopped her.

"Wait!" Mrs. Roosevelt immediately called for one of the maids.

"My purse." The maid quickly returned, and Mrs. Roosevelt removed ten banknotes, placing them into Nina's hands. Meanwhile, Rosa hurried upstairs before returning a short time later. She sheepishly handed over three banknotes. Mr. Roosevelt awkwardly patted his pockets. Unlike the others, most of his wealth was invested in his company rather than carried on his person. After searching for a moment, he managed to produce five rather crumpled banknotes before handing them to Nina.

Nina quietly looked down at the eighteen banknotes now resting in her hands. Not a ripple appeared in her expression. Then she looked toward Mr. Roosevelt.

"That reminds me." She paused.

"The fifty taels of silver."

"May I have them?"

"Oh, right." Mr. Roosevelt snapped his fingers. Several maids immediately returned carrying the fifty taels of silver. Without hesitation, Nina transferred all eighteen banknotes and the fifty taels of silver to the system to reduce her debt. The amount she had just received, combined with the money she had previously acquired, brought her total to 2, 250, 000 pieces of silver out of a 700, 000, 000 debt. Nina closed her eyes, feeling the gentle jostling of the cart as it continued along the road.

At the moment, in order to reach the assigned meeting location, she had managed to catch a ride with a farmer transporting hay toward the Norbos Manor in the Nova District. After asking whether he would be passing by Lamb Street and receiving an affirmative answer, she had paid him 30 pieces of silver for the ride.