“Crazy.”
Ian unintentionally uttered a curse.
“Rose is from Loenbaum. Doesn’t the Emperor know that Loenbaum does not involve itself in politics?”
“He knows. However, Loenbaum is one of the founding contributors of the nation, isn’t it?”
“That damn founding contributor.”
The imperial family constantly rattled Ian’s household with the ‘founding contributor’ excuse, even though they provided little support in return.
Ian glared at Edelmar.
“It seems like the latest announcement failed to suppress Prince Eugene’s influence, huh?”
Edelmar’s eyes gleamed.
“You know that much?”
“You’d have to be an idiot not to.”
The Emperor had made his stance clear with the Crown Prince’s ascension ceremony.
However, currently, the noble faction had more power than the Emperor’s faction.
There was no way Eugene, who was supported by the noble faction, would give up with just a single Crown Prince’s ceremony.
“Since the decision has been made today, you’ll soon receive an invitation.”
“Damn it.”
Ian bit his lip.
The constellations said that the <Flower Garden> was merely a strand of the future, but if they were even slightly careless, the world would twist everything for the sake of that <Flower Garden’s> flow.
The appearance of the female lead was already fast enough, and now they were calling Rose, who lived in the Duke’s territory, to the capital.
It seemed as if they were trying to orchestrate their meeting.
“When do I have to leave?”
“A month. You have to arrive at the capital within that time.”
Ian quickly calculated in his head.
He had managed to handle most of the chaos when the bank first opened.
“Understood. Thank you.”
Ian expressed his sincere gratitude.
Although he received news of the capital through May’s merchant group, he had no way of knowing the inner workings of the imperial family.
If the sudden order to return had come, he would have had no time to think or prepare, and would have had to immediately head to the capital.
“What are you planning to do? You won’t be able to stay in the capital for long, right?”
It was acceptable for Duke Ian to visit the capital to escort Rose. However, a Duke couldn’t leave his domain unattended for too long.
“I’ll bring Rose back with me.”
“My brother won’t let go of Loenbaum.”
“He’ll have no choice if there’s only one direct heir.”
“What?”
Edelmar furrowed his brow in confusion.
“Hing.”
Rose, who had been sucking her thumb while sleeping, whimpered.
“Let’s continue this conversation tomorrow. I need to get her back to sleep.”
Ian gently patted Rose’s back, soothing her as she started to sob again.
“Sleep well, my dear. Even the birds in the front yard and the lambs on the back hill are all sleeping now.”
A low voice hummed a lullaby in the dimly lit room.
The soft light illuminated the weeping child and the man who looked at her tenderly as he sang.
Edelmar, watching the scene, turned around and walked out.
As Edelmar left the corridor, he stopped in his tracks.
“Yan.”
Yan appeared out of nowhere and bowed.
“Find out why my brother has summoned Loenbaum.”
“Yes.”
He had given the excuse of the ‘founding contributor’ to Ian, but that was just a pretext.
Until now, his brother, the Emperor, had never paid attention to Loenbaum.
It couldn’t be just because of the jeweler ‘Rose’ in the capital. Many noble families operated businesses under different names, and it had been happening for quite some time.
If it had truly bothered his brother, he wouldn’t have hesitated to pressure Loenbaum under any pretense, not just the friendship with the Crown Prince.
“I have to figure it out.”
Edelmar looked down the corridor and then turned around.
***
In front of the building engraved with ‘Diess Bank,’ people holding lottery tickets started to gather one by one.
“…You?”
“You too?”
Neighbors Bill and Tom exchanged awkward smiles.
They had been loudly debating every time they met after receiving their lottery tickets, wondering if it could be trusted or if it was just a scam.
But meeting in front of the bank like this brought an overwhelming sense of awkwardness.
Bill cleared his throat and spoke first.
“Well, we’ve got to catch the scammer, right?”
“Yes, yes, we do. We have to catch them!”
As they raised their voices, they drew the attention of the crowd. Embarrassed, they both cleared their throats again and bowed their heads.
At that moment, the man who had handed out the promotional leaflets stepped onto the podium in front of the bank.
“Sorry to have kept you waiting for so long! We will now begin the lottery announcement in celebration of the Diess Bank’s grand opening!”
At the man’s shout, the people turned their eager eyes towards him.
Behind the man, two staff members, dressed in white shirts and black pants, came out carrying a large box.
The man reached into the box and pulled out a red ball.
Holding it out so everyone could see, he spoke.
“As you can see, the numbers are written on the balls. We issued a total of 100 lottery tickets. There are 100 balls in this box, and the number I pull out will be the winner.”
As the man put the ball back into the box, the crowd swallowed nervously.
“Please, let it be me.”
“If I win this, I can finally move into a big house.”
“I just want to win so I can pay off my debts.”
The man stirred his hand inside the box and shouted.
“I will now pull the winner of the 3rd place prize of 100 silver coins.”
As he pulled his hand out of the box, he held a red ball.
“The number is… 54. Whoever holds ticket number 54, please come forward!”
“Ah! That’s me! That’s me!”
A mother holding a baby screamed in excitement and jumped up and down.
One of the staff members approached the mother.
“Please show us your ticket.”
After checking the number on the ticket, the staff member smiled brightly.
“Please come with me to fill out your prize receipt.”
“Yes!!”
As the staff and the mother entered the bank, the crowd’s attention returned to the man on the podium.
“Now, let’s move on to the 2nd place prize.”
This time, the anticipation in the air grew even stronger.
“Alright, the 2nd place winner is!”
Once again, the man pulled out a red ball.
“Number 80! Who has ticket number 80?”
“AAAAAAAHHH!!!!”
From the farthest corner of the crowd, a middle-aged man shouted.
“It’s me!! I won 2nd place!!”
At the man’s shout, a staff member ran over to him.
“500 silver coins! 500 silver coins!! Oh my! Now I can finally marry off my daughter!”
The man collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
The crowd looked at the man with envious eyes, then shifted their gaze back to the podium.
Unlike when the 3rd place winner entered the bank, the people waiting now showed no signs of leaving. They urged the man on with their stares.
“Shall we now pick the 1st place winner?”
“Hurry up!”
“Do it quickly!”
“Hurry!”
The crowd’s cries for speed made the man laugh as he reached into the box.
All eyes were on the box.
Just as the sound of nervous gulping stopped, the man pulled out a red ball.
“And the winner is…”
The man held out the numbered side for all to see and shouted.
“The lucky winner of 1 gold coin is number 18!!”
A short scream echoed as Bill collapsed.
A startled Tom rushed to catch him as the man’s voice rang out.
“Is the ticket holder for number 18 not here?! Number 18!!”
As the man continued to call out, the crowd began murmuring.
“What’s going on? Is no one here?”
“Did they call a non-existent number?”
“Yeah, are they just trying to avoid giving out the 1 gold coin by calling a fake number?”
The crowd, disappointed at not winning, began to look at the man suspiciously.
Despite the man’s continued shouts of ’18,’ no one came forward.
“So, it’s real, huh?”
“This is a scam! A scam!”
“They’re scamming us right now with all these people gathered here?!”
As the word ‘scam’ spread, the crowd’s gaze became more hostile.
“Please, wait, everyone!”
The man shouted desperately.
“If the winner doesn’t appear, we’ll draw another number!”
“Draw it again right now!”
“Do it again!”
The crowd demanded.
“Then, I’ll wait just five more seconds and draw again. Let’s count together.”
The crowd started counting down.
“One. Two.”
“Is no one with number 18 here? Once we reach five, the prize will be canceled!”
At that moment, Bill opened his eyes.
“Three. Four!”
“It’s me!!”
Bill jumped up and shouted.
“I’m number 18! I’m the winner!!”
He sprinted toward the stage, waving his lottery ticket.
“Come up here!”
A staff member guided Bill to the stage.
The man took Bill’s ticket and announced.
“Yes, it’s correct. Number 18. We have a 1st place winner!”
The crowd looked at Bill, half with envy and half with disappointment.
“Now, follow the staff.”
Grinning widely, Bill followed the staff member, while the crowd looked down at their own tickets.
At that moment, the man called out again.
“Everyone! Don’t be disappointed! There will be another lottery!”
“Another lottery?”
The crowd murmured.
“Yes, although today’s lottery tickets were handed out for free, the next ones must be purchased.”
“We have to buy them?”
“How much are they?!”
The man raised one finger.
“1 silver coin.”
“1 silver coin?”
“That’s really cheap for 1 silver coin!”
“Is the prize amount the same?!”
In response to someone’s shout, the man nodded.
“Yes, that’s correct. The prize amount is the same.”
The man glanced around at the crowd and spoke.
“You can buy the tickets at the bank.”
“When will they be on sale?”
“Sales will begin tomorrow. Oh! And if you deposit money into our bank, we’ll give you a lottery ticket as well.”
People looked at each other in confusion.
“…They’ll give us a lottery ticket if we deposit money?”
“Then isn’t it better to deposit money rather than buy a ticket?”
“Exactly, especially since they’ll give interest too.”
Hearing the crowd murmur, the man smiled.
‘Just like the Duke said!’
***
“Rose.”
As Ian reached out, Rose ran into his arms.
“Uncle.”
Ian patted Rose’s back.
As Rose began having more frequent nightmares, her condition rapidly deteriorated.
Not only had she started showing signs of regressive behavior, but she also began fearing people again.
She was even frightened of Fred, who had been close to her, and her friend Edelmar.
Except when meeting with Lachik, Rose tried to stay attached to Ian at all times.
“Are you okay, Rose? Rose?”
Rose glanced down at Fenrex, who was anxiously hopping by Ian’s side, before clinging to Ian again.
“Ugh.”
Fenrex clutched his chest and groaned at Rose’s rejection.
It was the heartache caused by being rejected by the one he was imprinted on.
‘Tsk. How annoying.’
Ian sighed and spoke.
“Return to your wolf form. Rose doesn’t want to be around people right now.”
Fenrex wiped away his tears with his fist.
And then he transformed into his wolf form.
