Chapter : 72
I tilted my head slightly at the unexpected remark.
In response, Marquis Quinde offered further explanation.
“I’m not saying you should actually take over. I just want you to casually drop the idea that it might happen to Martop’s side.”
“Ah.”
With the Marquis’s clarification, she immediately understood what kind of scheme he was plotting.
“So this is what I should say to Martop: ‘We plan to purchase the Quinde Hotel’s land and buildings on the Tadibna side. Even if ownership changes, will Martop continue to maintain their investment? We hope you will review this positively, as the brand image should not suffer…’”
“Exactly. If you present it that way, Martop won’t be able to immediately halt their investment in the Quinde Hotel. Your Tadibna resort is a new target of interest for Martop anyway.”
“Hmmm, but I’m not sure that alone will make Martop listen to me~.”
After all, I had already rejected Martop’s investment proposal once.
Whether he paid attention or not, he would likely ignore my offer this time as well.
‘Then why does the Marquis insist on asking me—?’
I smiled leisurely and looked the Marquis squarely in the eyes.
“You want me to reveal that I’m a ‘private magician’ to Martop,” I said.
And not just a low-ranking magician, but one with considerable skill.
That would surely draw Martop’s full attention to me.
The Marquis nodded seriously.
“Yes. No matter how much I think about it, the only person who could attract even a fraction of Martop’s interest… is you.”
“…….”
“Of course, I know how sincerely private magicians hide their identities. But if we handle this well—”
“Fine.”
“Hm?”
“I already told you earlier, didn’t I? I’m willing to bet all my assets, except Harton, on your ‘experiment.’”
“!”
“Then I suppose I can boldly bet on my identity as well~.”
The Marquis stared at me silently. Then, for the first time, he bowed gracefully before me.
“Thank you, my lady. I will never forget your help… I promise in the name of Quinde.”
“Hoho, it’s truly an honor to assist you, Marquis.”
I also gave a small bow in return.
‘I’ll get this help back with interest in the future~.’
The ‘experiment’ was a massive opportunity that the Quinde Marquis couldn’t handle alone.
For it to be fully commercialized and distributed across the empire, he would need suitable allies.
‘The Seind family, who have a deep understanding of geography and have laid railroads across the empire, are perfect for that role.’
The sly Crown Prince would probably try to get involved too—
While I couldn’t stop him, I had to make sure the Quinde Marquis noticed me first to secure as much leverage as possible.
‘Good for me~, good for Harton~.’
Besides, it was about time to reveal my identity deliberately.
I had long considered the timing as a race against Martop discovering it.
‘And now that Ashill has been newly recruited, I need to create a cover by revealing my identity before he discovers I’m at Tadibna.’
I tapped my head as if using a calculator and smirked.
“I need to throw the perfect bait to get Martop to notice me.”
The ultimate bait to hook the arrogant eel named Martop.
Martop’s seventh star, Zimonnem, was restless today.
He ranked the lowest among Martop’s elders and therefore was not entrusted with important tasks.
Zimonnem was highly dissatisfied with this situation.
‘Ugh~! I need to catch a big case somehow to get promoted at least one level.’
His goal was to reach the fourth star of Martop.
Martop had always been highly factional, and the top elders, from the first to the fourth star, were especially united.
‘Honestly, the fifth and sixth stars, including myself, are useless.’
Historically, only the first to fourth stars formed a solid cartel.
Why exactly this was, Zimonnem did not know.
He only knew that their unity was unusually strong.
‘Tsk—if a new elder is appointed after the old one retires, the cartel should break, right?’
People changed, but the unity remained.
Even the privilege of meeting the great “Archmage” directly was reserved only for the first to fourth elders.
For Zimonnem, an elder with high pride, this was unacceptable.
‘That’s why I’ve been trying to find the magician who built the Tadibna Resort…!’
At the engagement party of the minor duke, invited by Duke Seind, Zimonnem noticed the unique pattern left by magic when certain materials were used, instantly recognizing that the materials were extraordinary.
‘That pattern only appears when blood is used as a material.’
He tried to lure the fiancée of the minor duke, the owner of the resort, to discover the magician’s identity.
Knowing the magician would allow him to either coerce or bribe and acquire the materials used.
The fiancée wasn’t offered anything for free either.
The Tadibna Resort, barely verified, had Martop himself willing to invest under generous terms!
‘Yet that kid dares to act recklessly without fear—’
-There is no business in this continent that Martop’s hand hasn’t touched. So this is your chance to learn how it feels to refuse Martop.
-Oh my, I never even asked for a chance. Maybe Martop is just… a little narrow-minded~?
-Profit! What did you say?!
-Just kidding, just kidding~.
Hmph!
Recalling that conversation made him scoff.
Suppressing his rising anger, he snapped at his assistant.
“You fool! Any news of Baron Nassel and his daughter yet?”
“I-I’m sorry. Normally, they, Baron Nassel and his eldest daughter Aldine, are not the type to appear before Martop diligently.”
“Find them quickly and bring them before me! I have questions about that bloodline!”
Recently, Zimonnem had developed a new hypothesis.
Originally, he aimed to identify the materials used at Tadibna Resort to enhance his record, but—
‘The more I look, the stranger it becomes.’
How did the countless magical devices at Tadibna operate so smoothly without a single malfunction?
Why hadn’t they requested a magic recharge when the power should have been depleted?
With so much magic moving at once, there should be at least one anomaly. Why is it all so quiet and peaceful?
‘There’s only one possibility.’
A very skilled magician was supervising everything in real-time.
This magician might have been assisting in the resort’s construction, but Zimonnem recently considered another possibility:
The magician was the resort’s owner, “Eani Nassel.”
‘The Nassel family has maintained their line even as low-ranking magicians.’
That alone was impressive.
In a world where magicians were disappearing, especially hereditary magic families, the Nassel family still survived.
In the past, there were many magic families, but now, across the continent, they could be counted on one hand.
So even if their skill had declined, preserving a magical lineage earned them recognition.
‘And they even produced an Archmage in the past.’
That Archmage was one of Martop’s first elders, and his portrait still hung in Martop’s archives.
Perhaps, by chance, the heavens had favored them and produced an exceptional magician.
‘And, most aggravatingly, they’re hiding their identity—’
Currently, only three carry the Nassel bloodline: Baron Nassel and his two daughters, Aldine Nassel and Eani Nassel.
Two were affiliated with Martop, so Zimonnem tried to extract information from Baron Nassel and Aldine Nassel.
“Ugh! Nothing pleases me! What a mess!”
As Zimonnem struck the floor with his staff in frustration, his assistant announced:
“E-Elder! There’s a delivery!”
“Hmph! Discard useless ones yourself!”
“It’s from the Seind family! The sender is Eani Nassel!”
