“Why did you come out here?”
Bianca asked in surprise, and the Grand Duchess replied in a tired voice.
“I heard the weather was nice, so I earnestly asked for a stroll.”
“Is that so? Well done.”
Bianca’s face brightened noticeably.
The Grand Duchess, who usually only slept or lingered in her bedroom with empty eyes, coming out for a walk after so long was simply astonishing and delightful.
“If you’re going to the garden, shall I guide you…”
“But.”
“Yes?”
Grabbing Bianca, who seemed like she might rush forward any moment, the pale-faced Grand Duchess tilted her head slightly. Her pink hair, tied to one side, flowed down her shoulder.
“What’s in your hand? I saw you staring at it intently earlier.”
“…Ah.”
Realizing the presence of the letter she was holding only then, Bianca hastily put it in the envelope and tucked it into her bosom.
“It’s nothing. Just a letter that arrived from the Empire, I took a brief look at it.”
“The Empire?”
The eyelids of the Grand Duchess blinked slowly, then trembled.
“Did Father or Ascart…”
“No, no, it’s nothing, Your Grace.”
The faint glimmer of hope that briefly crossed her mind at Bianca’s quick denial quickly faded away.
“Then what’s in the letter from the Empire?”
In a weak voice, Bianca looked embarrassed before explaining.
“Some time ago, I went to the Empire on behalf of the Ellard Duchy. At that time, I became acquainted with a child who was being cared for at the orphanage. The Ellard Duke adopted her, and she now works as a servant at the ducal mansion. She’s a very kind and intelligent child…”
As soon as Bianca mentioned the incident at the Ellard Duchy, she noticed the Grand Duchess’s expression clouding over and quietly closed her mouth.
After a moment of silence, the Grand Duchess narrowed her eyes.
“The Duke of Ellard is getting old. Why would he be interested in anyone other than his family?”
At the Grand Duchess’s straightforward tone towards the Duke, Bianca couldn’t help but smile softly.
And it was time to follow the naturally moving Grand Duchess towards the garden.
“So, how old is that child?”
“Ah… She’s about nine years old. Her birthday isn’t exact, so the orphanage adds a year when the year changes.”
Suddenly, the Grand Duchess stopped walking and furrowed her brows.
“Working as a servant? Isn’t she too young? I thought she was at least fourteen. If that’s the case, then it’s strange. Why would she act so mature all of a sudden? I should go and…”
With a sigh, the Grand Duchess, who had been giving her all, suddenly stumbled, clutching her head.
“Your Grace!”
Bianca and the maid immediately rushed to support her, but the Grand Duchess touched her forehead with a pale face.
“I have a headache again. I should go back now.”
“Yes, let me escort you.”
“No.”
The Grand Duchess brushed off Bianca’s arm, which was about to follow her, and raised her hand.
“You don’t have to come.”
And she said clearly.
“If you’re capable of exchanging letters, you’ll know how to take care of yourself. But if the child… seems too young, or if she needs help, don’t hesitate to assist her.”
“Yes, don’t worry.”
Bianca asserted confidently, and the Grand Duchess nodded slightly.
Though usually hidden, she was different from someone who seemed as if her heart had already died.
However, her once brightly shining pupils quickly dimmed.
The Grand Duchess, stumbling as if she might collapse any moment, was supported by the maid and headed back into the castle.
Bianca stood still, watching her for a long time, as if glued to the spot.
* * *
Time flew by like an arrow.
The end of the scorching summer drew near, and during that time, there were many events at the Ellard Duchy.
Among them, the most significant was undoubtedly the rapid progress of the Splacia cultivation research, thanks to the help of Ascart.
Splacia, which had been struggling, had already bloomed flowers and bore fruit, even sprouting new shoots. Soon, not only cultivation but also research for remedies would begin in earnest.
‘The reaction of Telen and the mages when they first saw the magic formation was truly remarkable.’
I don’t know how surprised I was when the wind suddenly picked me up and swayed me.
I had explained from the beginning that everything was made by Ascart, but it seemed like the mad mages didn’t hear it.
The reactions of Bard and the members of parliament, upon hearing that the cultivation research was successful, were not significantly different.
Of course, thanks to my diligent explanations and efforts, there was no interference with Ascart’s contributions, but somehow everyone seemed to misunderstand that I only thought about the work at the mansion even outside.
Even when the Duchess praised me with moved eyes, I felt embarrassed, but when even Allen said, “I thought you were bewitched by her face,” and apologized, I was truly speechless.
‘Not only was it difficult to confidently say that I wasn’t bewitched by her face, but…’
Moreover, that wasn’t all.
The Duke not only discovered Splacia but also contributed greatly to cultivation, promising to greatly increase my profit share.
While I thought it would be good for me if Splacia cultivation succeeded, I was really surprised by the unexpected proposal. So, I decided that if profits came in, I would first give a gift to Ascart.
Although I planned to quietly build up my independence with the profits from Splacia cultivation, my life plans had to be completely revised as I had decided to stay by Diana’s side instead of leaving to find freedom.
Of course, my intention to become rich had not changed at all, but as I already had a substantial profit from discovering Splacia, I was ready to lay the groundwork with my current status.
In fact, since I decided to stay by Diana’s side instead of leaving to find freedom, my life plans had to be completely revised.
Although becoming a wealthy person was still my goal, I had to start laying the groundwork with my current status.
“I should soon hand over the list of investments I was planning to make secretly to the Duke.”
Although the Duke managed my money through his agent, I knew better than anyone about the list of investments that would definitely succeed.
Now, all that was left was to sell the “magic stones.” This was scheduled to be done secretly and quickly, as planned.
The purpose was to prepare for emergencies, but making magic stones, which were essential in magic tools, was very dangerous due to various risks involved in the process.
“It’s a problem to reveal my abilities that are difficult to explain properly, but I’ll definitely attract a lot of attention.”
If I proceeded with the work as a maid, it might cause unnecessary trouble for the Ellard Duchy.
Honestly, it wasn’t difficult for me to risk my own life, but the position of being a vassal of the Ellard Duchy was different.
Attracting attention from the Imperial Family and Terenchium was something I wanted to avoid as much as possible.
‘Sigh, this is why I wanted to live quietly alone.’
Although I was planning to sell the magic stones secretly, I was worried about the future that successive investment successes would bring.
A child suddenly becoming a millionaire was a cause for concern. There might be people blinded by money who would cling to me, and there might be those who envy me while plotting against me.
Since I had never experienced escaping from people’s jealousy and enmity in my previous life, I was even more worried.
‘Anyway, let’s not think too deeply about it.’
It was my choice, so I couldn’t help it.
I sighed and reminded myself of the plan to go out soon and sell the magic stones.
Originally, magic stones were mined from special mines where mana accumulated, so it was not common to artificially inject mana into gems to make magic stones.
Both “Aura” used by knights and “Magic” used by mages were based on the mana accumulated in the heart, and especially for mages, mana was as important as their lives.
Indeed, excessive use of mana could damage the heart and harm life, so it was not an exaggeration.
However, I had a lot of mana at the moment, and I was very confident in mana manipulation thanks to my training in my previous life.
‘I’ve made a lot of efforts to use mana effectively with a small amount.’
I still couldn’t understand why the amount of mana had increased, but anyway, I succeeded in turning the gems prepared at the last Academy Festival into magic stones as planned, so all I had to do now was to sell them.
Although some of the gems were shattered during the production process because they couldn’t handle the mana, now I had the knack and could quickly produce magic stones with decent purity.
The higher the purity of the magic stone, the better the performance of the artifact, so the price of the magic stone varied greatly.
I didn’t know how much my magic stone would be worth, but since the Raksten Empire relied mostly on the Bellus Kingdom, which owned magic stone mines, I thought I could earn quite a bit of money.
‘I should turn the earnest money into good gems.’
Then, I could make even higher-purity magic stones.
I thought about the pile of magic stones stacked thickly in the wardrobe with a pleased smile and suddenly asked Diana.
“Miss, do you still have the bracelet I gave you last time?”
“Huh?”
Diana, who was eagerly eating sherbet at my words, raised her head.
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Translator Note:
This chapter was translated by Bree.
If you like my work please support us in Patreon. Next post will be released on March, 3.
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