“You can come in.”
The child who came in quickly, as if he had been waiting, snooped around her.
“I’ll be back soon, so listen carefully to class. Okay?”
“Yes.”
She touched the child’s soft cheek and went out to the rear. As she left the mansion, she got straight into the carriage she saw. The Duke, who had been sitting before her, glanced at her and then looked at the papers. It seemed like she was going out a lot with the Duke these days. She even had the foolish thought that if she kept going like this, she would just get used to it.
“The Duke and I. Don’t you think we go out a lot these days?”
“So you’re saying you’re not happy about it?”
The Duke behaved quite pointedly. But he didn’t like being summoned to her palace? He seemed to be in a bad mood, so she wanted to make it up to him, so she smiled at him.
“I just told you because you seem to go out a lot. It’s not that I’m not happy about it.”
Seeing the Duke slowly turning his head, she asked cautiously.
“But I guess you’re not feeling well?”
“I am overworked because there is a lot of work to be done all week. Plus, more than half of the documents need to be completed by tomorrow.”
The Duke, who had crumpled up the documents and thrown them away, stroked his hair in annoyance.
“…No way, His Majesty is still grumpy at the Duke, is he? Aren’t you now refusing Lady Ladiana’s visit?”
“Lady Ladiana said she was worried these days and secretly blamed it on me.”
“Because the Duke rejected Ladiana’s request to visit?”
“Yes.”
“…That’s right.”
How could someone be childish like this? If you accept a visit request, there will be an uproar as you accept it, and if you decline, there will be an uproar as you reject it. What beat was he telling her to do? She shook her head and picked up the documents that had been thrown on the floor. While she was looking down indifferently, she read an unfamiliar word and paused for a moment. Was this a document about the magic stone mine within the territory? After a cursory glance, it seemed to be a report showing that the mine’s mining volume was gradually decreasing.
“What are you looking at so carefully?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to see it…”
She quickly handed the document to the Duke. He took the document and looked at her closely.
“It seems like an important document, and I’m really sorry for seeing it.”
It was very rude of her to look at it without asking for permission.
“It doesn’t really matter. It’s a publicly known fact.”
“I’m glad if that’s the case.”
She tried to smile and looked at his expression. She was glad that nothing really seemed to matter. Anyway, it seemed like mining volume was decreasing faster than expected. She was quite worried because she didn’t know that even this would sound different from the original book content. Of the three magic stone mines in the empire, the mine owned by the Duke was the third mine. Unlike the other two mines, the third mine surprisingly had the ability to self-restore. When mining, there was a certain probability that the empty space would be filled with magic stones. Well, that didn’t mean the magic stones wouldn’t decrease.
The empire was using magic stones more than expected. So it was natural that mining volume would decrease. Still, the third mine has the ability to self-restore, so the mining volume has not been poor even recently. According to the contents of the original book at least. However, the document she saw stated that the amount of canned stone extracted from the mine had decreased by more than half compared to last year.
…was he going to be okay like this?
“Well, I’m talking about the 3rd mine. Mining volume has decreased significantly compared to last year. Is there some reason? I heard that the 3rd mine has the ability to self-restore.”
“I don’t know much yet. The cause has not been properly identified.”
It must have been quite a problem, but the Duke’s voice did not change at all. It really seemed like nothing was wrong, so she had the illusion that it wasn’t a problem at all.
“Aren’t you worried?”
“Yes, it doesn’t matter because the amount of mining is incomparable to the rest of the mines.”
“…Then I’m glad.”
Just in case, let’s take a look at a hint about the fourth mine that would be discovered later. A thought suddenly occurred to her. The third mine owned by the Duke was a truly important resource. Especially since magic stones were considered important for the empire and the magic tower. These resources not only increased the Duke’s wealth, but were also one of the reasons for the family’s high prestige. Was the mining volume of such mines decreasing even faster than the original point? What if this was the starting point of something? She continued to feel anxious. The decrease in mining volume itself was not a big problem. As the Duke said, the 3rd mine was in much better condition than the other mines. However, what she was worried about was that, starting from this, bad things may gradually happen to the Duke family. It’s clear that the original work was already being distorted, but they couldn’t guarantee what the future would hold.
If the Nathan family owns the fourth mine, it would literally be adding wings to the existing wings. She thought furiously for a moment and slowly opened her mouth.
“…What if, just what if. What do you think will happen if another magic stone mine is discovered in Jenae?”
“It’s another mine…”
“I heard that a magic stone mine was recently discovered in the Kennat Kingdom, so you might not know.”
The Duke immediately shook his head.
“That won’t happen. All of the Magic Tower’s wizards searched the entire empire, but they couldn’t find any new mines.”
“What if I just think about it, excluding this and that?”
The Duke thought for a moment with narrowed eyes, then opened his mouth.
“It depends on who is discovering it. If that subject is the imperial family, it will be even more troublesome.”
“I’m sure so.”
That was correct. According to the original book, it was the Imperial Palace that discovered the fourth mine first. How could the Nathan family own the land where the 4th mine would be discovered in advance? As she pondered over and over again, her mind began to spin. But no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t come up with a clear plan. In the end, she gave up and quietly leaned back and closed her eyes.
After thinking so much, she guessed she was a little tired. Was it possible for her to stay there with her eyes closed like that? The carriage stopped and a voice was heard saying that it had arrived at the imperial castle.
She opened her eyes and slowly went down through the open carriage door. Since she had already been there once before, she was not surprised and looked at the imperial palace calmly. The thought of meeting the Emperor soon gave her a headache. She couldn’t help but sigh, wondering what on earth he was going to say.
“…Whew.”
“Are you at all worried?”
“Of course. I will be able to see His Majesty the Emperor up close.”
“You just have to respond appropriately, so there’s nothing to worry about. We’ll all go in together anyway.”
“Yes. Then I will trust only the Duke.”
“Like that.”
The Duke responded indifferently and walked ahead. It was a little strange that he seemed impatient, but she tried to do it and followed him closely. The waiting attendant welcomed them.
“Your Majesty is waiting. Please follow me this way.”
The Duke and she walked according to the servant’s guidance. The size of the castle was so big that it took a long time to walk. She had to walk for over thirty minutes to finally arrive at the place where the Emperor was. So, there’s an Emperor in here, right?
She looked at the large white door with golden patterns painted on it. The servant who informed the emperor inside that we had arrived opened the door.
“You can go inside.”
As she entered with the Duke, her sight was filled with golden, brilliant hair. She was only looking at the back, but the atmosphere it gives off was still unique. At that time, the Emperor slowly looked back.
“Greetings to his Majesty the Great Emperor.”
“Meet Your Majesty the Emperor.”
In turn, they presented greetings to the Emperor.
“Ah, you managed to arrive on time.”
The Emperor watched the Duke and her with the corners of his mouth slightly curled.
“Thanks to your concern, I was able to arrive on time.”
The Duke responded gracefully without changing his expression. It’s obvious that the Emperor was deliberately being sarcastic, but he remained calm. It was an attitude that could not be taken unless one had a strong heart. While she was inwardly surprised, she heard the Emperor’s voice again.
“Come and sit here, Miss.”
She followed the Duke and sat down next to him, quietly observing the Emperor’s expression. She was waiting nervously, wondering what on earth they were calling her to talk about.
The Emperor suddenly said something.
“I’m thinking of getting some plastic surgery using magic. What do you think, Lady?”
“…Do you mean plastic surgery?”
“Yes. Ladiana is crying out for your name and aching to meet you. Shouldn’t I change my face in the same way as you are?”
She couldn’t help but look at the Duke when he said those words. Wondering why the Emperor was making such a novel statement, she asked the Duke for help. But the Duke just leisurely sipped his tea.
He drank and ignored her gaze. Was he saying that he was just staying with her, but had no intention of coming to help her?
When she saw the Duke, she felt like sighing.
‘Oh my gosh.’
“I have been sick for the past few days and have just recovered and just woke up… I feel like I have unintentionally turned down Lady Ladiana’s visit.”
“Yes. Of course you should feel sorry.”
She tried to keep her smile as best as she could while suppressing the nervousness she felt at those words. If she showed even the slightest bit of insanity here, she would have lost the battle. She didn’t want to lose to the Emperor, so she tried to keep her head straight.
“So, what do you think about me using magic to get plastic surgery? I haven’t heard an answer yet.”
“Of course, Your Majesty’s appearance is so great that you don’t even feel the need for plastic surgery.”
“That’s the right thing to say.”
The Emperor twitched the corner of his mouth as if he was laughing. It seemed like he thought that her words were nothing more than flattery and that she had no respect for him.
“It’s true. Your Majesty’s appearance is truly dazzling.”
“Which part exactly?”
“Hair brilliant as if made of melted gold, eyes like the rising sun at midday, and eyes similar in color to the color of a dazzle. When I look at the appearance of perfect proportions, without a single blemish due to elaborate trimming, I am amazed to the point of being bewildered in every situation. Shall I say more?”
“No, it’s okay. The young lady says such strange things so casually.”
The Emperor waved his hand and shook his head. Fortunately, she thought it went well, so she sighed inwardly, but felt an intense gaze from somewhere. The moment she turned her gaze, she took a breath when she saw the scariest dark red eyes.
No, why was that person so angry all of a sudden? It was just a conversation. She was like a rabbit caught between two tigers. When she saw the Duke glaring at her, even though she couldn’t help it, her head started pounding.
At that time, the Duke’s sharp gaze immediately fell on the Emperor.
“What is the reason for your sudden invitation, Your Majesty?”
“As I said last time, I just wanted to see the Lady’s face. It’s no big deal.”
“It’s really a trivial reason.”
“Yeah, it’s no big deal. I don’t think there’s any need to remind you that you’re a Duke.”
She blinked when she saw the two who suddenly started fighting while holding each other in check. No, what kind of situation was this again? Her skin seemed to bristle in the suddenly cold air of the room. She wanted to run out of here right away because there was no other cushion.
“I’m feeling really bad. Did something happen?” ,
“Nothing happened, Your Majesty. It’s just a minor thing.”
The distance would have doubled.
“If it’s a minor task, it doesn’t seem to matter if it increases further. What do you think, Miss?”
She paused slightly at the spark that suddenly hit her. The curves around the Emperor’s eyes felt like a mountain to see if he could overcome them this time.
“The more trivial things are, the more attention you have to pay to avoid them, so it seems like it will take more time to get things done.”
“So, it’s better not to increase it further because it will actually interfere with work?”
“Yes, it is.”
He lightly tapped his fingers on the table and the corners of the Emperor’s mouth turned up again.
“Well, the more I look at it, the more I like it.”
She didn’t have a single wish to like him there. She wanted to shout right away, but she held back.
“I’m just so sad.”
The Emperor holding the teacup took a sip of his tea, then put it down and changed the subject.
“Anyway, are there any inconveniences while living in the Duke’s house? The Duke must have a very cold personality.”
“No. There is no inconvenience at all. Contrary to what you think, the Duke is treating me well.”
“…the Duke?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Well, I’m glad then.”
The Emperor slightly raised his eyebrows, rested his chin, and looked at her and the Duke.
“Now that I see it, I think you get along well.”
The Emperor’s unexpected words made her feel a prick inside. She didn’t know the extent of the Duke’s feelings for her, but she sensed that he had a crush on her, so she felt that way for no reason. She tried to keep her expression calm and smiled.
‘Stop talking nonsense and let us go. You enemy-like human being.’
—————————————————————
Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on January, 21.
Want to read more?
