Chapter 14,……………………………………….
“Miena looks even thinner than before… Could it be that she hasn’t been eating properly…?”
“That could never be, my lady!”
Count Sidus shook his head in surprise.
At the same time, as soon as his eyes met his wife’s, he lowered his head like a guilty man and bit his lip tightly.
Noticing this strange behavior, the Countess narrowed her eyes and spoke slowly.
“Now that I think about it, Diasen… In your letter, you wrote, ‘I’ve paid off all my debts, so please return.’ Surely, with our circumstances, it would have been impossible to pay off such a huge debt all at once.”
“Y-Yes….”
“Moreover, knowing you, I’m certain you would have used that money for Miena’s medicine rather than to pay off debts.”
Her soft brown eyes, unexpectedly tinged with a cool sharpness, calmly stared at her husband.
Count Sidus swallowed nervously and stammered.
“Th-That is actually…”
“Actually?”
“Miena said she no longer wants to continue life-prolonging treatment.”
“The House of Archduke Everdin will sponsor the Sidus family.”
Before Justine could even finish speaking, Tina, who had just brought a new teapot, gasped in surprise at what she had heard.
Perfect timing.
“Eh?”
The audience, who probably only expected a heart-fluttering tea time between two teenagers, was completely taken aback by this sudden declaration of sponsorship.
I smiled casually and gestured toward Tina.
“Good job, Tina. Could you leave the teapot here for a moment and step aside?”
“W-Well, it’s just that…”
“I’ll explain it to Mother and Father later.”
Judging by that statement, it didn’t seem this matter would end with just ‘me’.
Tina hesitated a few more times, then retreated with an expression of understanding. She must have remembered what I had said last time: ‘No matter what happens to the Sidus family, just accept it.’
Good Tina, nice Tina.
“As for sponsorship…”
Once Tina had completely left the garden, I deliberately let my words trail off while staring at the steaming spout of the teapot.
Just then, Justine picked up the teapot, poured tea into the cup, and continued speaking.
“At the very least, there should be a backer strong enough that no one doubts where the Sidus family’s funds are coming from.”
“So financial support will actually come in?”
“If the agreement is properly fulfilled.”
Ah, a partnership in the form of sponsorship.
“Is this a sponsorship project conducted with the approval of Archduke Everdin?”
“As heir, he naturally has such authority. That’s what he works for, after all.”
“If I fail, it would be quite a blow to the Archduke as well.”
“Judging from our conversation so far, I don’t see you failing, Lady.”
“……”
“I have a good instinct.”
Even just coming to see you, I can tell.
Justine sipped the black tea he had poured into my cup and whispered. His voice was uncharacteristically cool and blunt for someone his age, yet filled with conviction.
“And to back up that instinct, I constantly review, analyze, and predict.”
“You do seem like that…”
“That’s why I need you.”
His steady silver eyes met mine. I stared back, deep in thought.
Sponsorship from the House of Archduke Everdin.
Since it was aimed at the Sidus family, not Miena Sidus herself, the scale would not be small.
If I could maintain a good relationship from here, even after I passed, it could continue to be a beneficial connection.
It was certainly not a bad offer. In fact, it was an offer so tempting it was almost frightening.
Listen. I only came to cool that guy’s head… No, to calm his mind.
But suddenly, sponsorship? Here?
Refusing would be foolish.
Yet the offer was too generous to just cheerfully shout, ‘Let’s go for it!’
“In that case, I should hear the exact terms of the sponsorship.”
Before signing any contract, I needed to check for hidden clauses. I sipped my tea with a friendly smile as I spoke, and Justine responded with a matching smile.
“Since this is an official sponsorship, it won’t end as a one-time contract.”
“……”
“For now, please help ensure that the trade agreement between Somnium and Linex is successfully concluded.”
I nearly spit out my tea.
He’s entrusting that to me?
This madman?
A thin spring breeze brushed through my hair.
If the wind could speak, it would have giggled and said:
“Oh, look at this one. He’s talking nonsense!”
“I think I must have misheard.”
“I asked you to help ensure the trade agreement between Somnium and Linex is concluded.”
“I didn’t mean for you to repeat it twice…”
I said with mock disappointment, and Justine tilted his head as if asking why. I looked at my own soft, flowing black hair and smiled faintly.
I had no idea where to start explaining to this lunatic.
“This seems like too national a matter for an individual to handle. Besides, the Sidus family has no connection to foreign affairs beyond this agreement.”
“I know.”
“Moreover, the Archduke does not yet fully understand my abilities. To suddenly ask me to help with a trade agreement under such circumstances…”
No matter how I think about it, this person isn’t fully sane yet. Should I just pretend it never happened and send him back?
Sadly, maybe we’ll meet again with a sound mind next time…
Just as I was mentally retracting the approval necklace I had intended to give him, Justine tapped the table and asked directly:
“The ability to interfere in others’ dreams, to manipulate those dreams at will, and to freely change your own appearance… isn’t that your ability?”
“W-Well… that’s true.”
If I nitpick, it’s not everything, but yes, it’s all possible. I’ve even used it extensively in Justine’s dreams.
I recalled the dreams I had faced with Justine and sighed.
“I still don’t know how my ability could affect this trade negotiation. Since our family sold all the land we owned, I have no choice but to stay in the capital, but I’m not connected to the royal family.”
“If it’s for a government post…”
“Don’t say things you don’t mean.”
Even in a royal family like the Archduke’s, he wouldn’t have such authority.
I said this with sincere disgust, and Justine smiled harmlessly again. Judging by that sly smile, it seemed the previous remark was a trap he had just lightly sprinkled.
He asks for help, yet keeps throwing both bait and trap.
“The more I talk to you, the more I think it was right to meet you.”
I was already regretting this.
“I even wonder why someone like you hid your abilities all this time.”
“There aren’t many who would pin their hopes on a young and sick person.”
“……”
“Now that I’m taking a few days of rest as if dead, I can have such a long conversation. Otherwise, by now, my fever would have begun to rise.”
You need energy to debate, to discuss. You need strength to stay sane in reality.
Walking, talking, drinking, eating—all proof of health.
Even this was a luxury for me.
“Honestly, I’m not as quick-minded as the Archduke, so I had planned to live quietly until I died…”
But now that my family has been ruined because of me, that dream is gone.
I stopped talking and stared at Justine Everdin. He leaned slightly forward, observing me.
My gaunt cheeks, my dull hair no matter how I comb it, my bloodless skin.
Yeah. Look carefully. Watching won’t wear me down.
“If, like me, you rest in dreams instead of working, do you see improvement?”
At that moment, Justine asked abruptly without blinking. I gazed into his shining silver eyes and let out a delayed gasp.
“Ah.”
“If you’re sick because, like me, you don’t rest even in dreams…”
“No, that’s not it. Using my mind in dreams affects me a little the next day, but my ability and my illness are definitely separate.”
This damn illness had carried over from a previous life; that much I was sure of.
Even doing nothing in dreams wouldn’t improve my health.
“In that case…”
“For the Archduke, it’s actually good. He doesn’t need to feel guilty forcing a sick person to work.”
“Honestly, it’s fortunate for me.”
Justine said this calmly. I shrugged once.
Some might call that cold, but honestly, I would have reacted the same way.
We didn’t share a deep bond; this is a newly formed, dry business partnership.
Besides, I haven’t even accepted the offer yet.
“In any case, it seems I can’t do much for this agreement. I can’t even attend the meetings.”
“Of course, there’s no need for you to attend meetings. They’re unrelated to your ability.”
“Then…”
“You just need to enter the dreams of the Linex diplomatic delegation and act, just like you did for me.”
Justine then smiled faintly, like a delicate flower petal brushing in the wind.
I pursed my lips.
You… this trade agreement—is it a joke?
