Ian’s brow immediately furrowed.
“I heard from the butler that the wolf beastman has imprinted on Lady Rose.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
In the original story, Fenrex imprinted on the female lead, Yekhaterina, not Rose. Even after the female lead married the crown prince, Fenrex stayed by her side because of the imprint.
‘I didn’t think much of it when I read the novel.’
“It seems you don’t like it.”
“That’s right.”
If it was just for a short while, maybe, but the thought of Fenrex sticking by Rose’s side for life, like in the novel, made Ian angry.
Seeing Ian’s expression, Logan chuckled and said,
“I think it’s a good thing.”
“What do you mean?”
“Isn’t it like having a good bodyguard?”
“A wolf pup as a bodyguard? That’s laughable.”
Although the beastmen had superior physical abilities compared to humans, Fenrex was only five years old, just like Rose.
Therefore, it was safer to have the spirit Ermenia, who was more accustomed to guarding, take on the role of protector instead of Fenrex.
“It will serve as a shield.”
“What?”
Logan brought the teacup to his lips.
“When the lady is in danger, the wolf will risk its life to save her. So think of it as a kind of shield and just leave it be.”
A shield.
As long as Ermenia was around, Rose wouldn’t be in danger, but Ian liked the idea of having an extra layer of protection.
“Well, now let’s discuss our matters.”
Logan set down his teacup.
“The person who informed about the duke’s absence has been confirmed as a first-floor servant. It was discovered through a conversation between Miss May and the butler that the duke went to the capital, and this information was relayed to Baron Mytt, who is Count Kale’s subordinate.”
“How many servants on the first floor have no connections?”
“Twenty.”
“That’s more than I expected.”
“The servants responsible for the kitchen, stables, and the outside have not been bribed.”
Ian sighed.
Logan’s words meant that he had bribed everyone except the servants who could not move around the duchy.
“What about repaying the debt?”
“Even selling the diamonds available up to the third round won’t be enough to cover the ducal mansion’s debt. The expenses keep piling up. I think it’s better to start repaying little by little.”
“No. That will make Count Kale take more aggressive steps.”
“But we can’t increase the mining speed any further. We’ve already pushed it to the limit.”
Logan sighed.
He hadn’t expected the ducal mansion’s debt to be this severe.
It wasn’t just about borrowing money; the interest was the real problem.
The previous duke and the current duke, before he matured, had signed contracts without thinking, causing the debt to increase even with every breath they took.
After some thought, Ian took out a fist-sized stone from his inventory and placed it on the table.
The stone emitted a yellowish light as if it were self-illuminating.
“What is this?”
“A mana stone.”
Logan’s eyes widened.
“What? A m-mana stone?”
Ian crossed his legs and continued,
“It’s a top-grade mana stone. If we sell this, can we repay the debt?”
“Wh-where did you get such a thing?”
“Just answer the question.”
Logan, too flustered to even touch the stone, nodded vigorously.
“If it’s a mana stone, its price can cover not only the debt but also provide some funds for the time being.”
The main buyers of mana stones were the Magic Tower.
The wizards at the Magic Tower used mana stones to research new spells and create artifacts for sale.
Thus, the Magic Tower and mana stones were inseparable.
“Where did you get this?”
‘From the mines, obviously.’
The main reason for investigating the mines during the recent trip was to secure a mana stone mine.
The mana stone mine near the capital had already been exhausted and abandoned.
Yekhaterina, the female lead, bought the abandoned mine to fulfill her grand dream of building a city underground. While preparing the site for construction, she discovered top-grade mana stones deep within the mine.
With the decreasing supply of mana stones, wizards eagerly bought Yekhaterina’s mana stones, making her immensely wealthy for the second time.
‘I was going to leave it alone for now.’
Currently, there was no need to mine more mana stones as the supply was sufficient. Thus, Logan and May were not informed about the purchase of the abandoned mine.
The mana stone Ian just took out was intended to make a mood light artifact for Rose, who loved stars, not for sale.
However, with the increasing debt and Count Kale targeting Rose, Ian couldn’t just let it slide.
“Don’t ask about the source, just sell the mana stone quickly.”
“Yes, understood.”
“And prepare a report on the duchy. By the way, the number of mines given to Miss May is more than expected. She might struggle to manage them alone, so you need to assist her. Also, we need a separate manager for the shop operations. If you know any suitable candidates, let me know. While Sebastian will handle hiring the servants, I’d appreciate it if you could check them as well. I also heard there’s a greenhouse at the duchy. Let’s tidy it up and turn it into a playground for Rose.”
“My lord!”
Ian stopped talking at Logan’s shout.
“I only have one body.”
“Is there someone with two?”
A vein bulged on Logan’s forehead.
“That’s not what I meant. I’m already overwhelmed with handling the mines, side branches, and the duchy affairs. Even if I want to do the tasks you mentioned, there’s no time!”
“Hmm.”
“First, we need more personnel. Even if we strip Count Kale of his power, if we don’t take over his subordinates’ work, it’s pointless.”
Ian nodded.
Currently, Ian, Logan, and May were managing, but if they took over Count Kale and his subordinates’ work, the three of them wouldn’t suffice.
More importantly, Ian didn’t want to make Rose feel lonely like back on Earth by focusing on making money.
“Even if we prepare other personnel later, we need to appoint your aide first. It’s better for them to experience the ongoing tasks than to explain everything later.”
“What about you being the aide?”
“That’s impossible. Please consider my age.”
Ian crossed his arms.
‘An aide, huh.’
Until now, Logan and May had been supporting him well, so he didn’t feel the need for an aide.
Moreover, the thought of someone following him around and being with him was annoying.
Even when he established the guild, he had firmly rejected the idea of having a secretary.
‘Instead of an aide, it’s better to have Logan increase the manpower.’
Seeing Ian’s expression, Logan muttered,
“If you have an aide, you can just receive reports, freeing up a lot of time.”
At that moment, a person popped into Ian’s mind.
‘Why didn’t I think of that?’
There was a character in <Garden Flower> perfect for this role.
Though he was Yekhaterina’s ally, at this point, he hadn’t met her yet.
Ian needed to secure this talent before the female lead did.
“Logan, there is an illegitimate child of the side branch named Fred. Bring him to me; he will assist you.”
“Fred? Do you know his last name?”
“No, but he will be my aide.”
Logan looked puzzled, unable to understand Ian’s reasoning.
However, Ian stood up with a satisfied smile, indicating he wouldn’t explain further.
‘What’s the point of being annoyed? Time with Rose is more important.’
“Forget what I mentioned earlier and focus solely on selling the mana stone.”
“Understood.”
Logan tilted his head, watching Ian leave the office with a big smile on his face.
“Who on earth is Fred, and why would he make him his aide?”
***
Despite the snow outside, the greenhouse was warm like spring.
The fragrance of blooming flowers tickled the nose, and the children’s shouts were full of joy.
“Hyap! Hyap!”
“Hyap! Hyap!”
“I have a question.”
May, who had been staring blankly at the two children swinging wooden swords, asked,
“Does shouting ‘hyap’ make you strike harder?”
“Of course not.”
“Oh.”
May nodded, looking like her soul had left her body, then slumped onto the table.
“If you’re sleepy, go take a nap.”
May suddenly stood up.
“I want to sleep! But there’s too much work! As soon as I finish one task, another comes up! It’s driving me crazy!”
Ian picked up his teacup.
“Didn’t I tell you to take it slowly?”
“How can I take it slow during such an important time?! If I could, I’d even borrow a cat’s paw!”
May, clutching her head, wailed before collapsing back onto the table and soon started snoring.
“Here.”
Ian instructed a maid to cover May with a blanket and then turned his gaze to Rose, who was practicing swordsmanship.
While traveling, Rose had been training her basic physical strength and had begun to learn swordsmanship in earnest once the greenhouse was completed.
Ian, her uncle, wanted to teach her personally, but due to the scheming of the side branch, he couldn’t even have a meal with her without being interrupted by paperwork.
Fortunately, with Fenrex and Ermenia around, Rose never felt lonely like Yoori in her past life.
“My lord, Logan is here.”
“Good.”
As the greenhouse door opened, bringing a cool breeze, Logan, looking extremely exhausted, walked in.
“Skip the greetings and sit down.”
“Thank you.”
Logan sat beside the sleeping May, massaging his temples.
“Is Miss May sleeping?”
“As you can see.”
“How envious. To be young enough to recover from fatigue just by sleeping.”
Logan looked at May enviously and then downed a lukewarm cup of tea in one go.
“Even tea like this doesn’t relieve my fatigue anymore.”
“Is that so?”
“Please hire more people.”
“Didn’t I tell you to hire as you see fit?”
Logan clenched his fist.
“There are no talents! None! How can there be no talents in the North?!”
It was only natural there were none.
The academy and high-ranking nobles were in the capital, and the North was barren, poor, and the duke was merely a figurehead.
Even if he were a low-ranking noble, he wouldn’t want to work under the duke.
“We’ll end up joining Lord Aether at this rate.”
Ignoring Logan’s lamentations, Ian got to the point.
“Did you find the person I mentioned?”
