Chapter 50…………………………
“Suddenly, it started pouring. The carriage wheels sank into the ground, and we couldn’t move even an inch. It was… quite troublesome.”
Helione sighed as she spoke.
Perhaps in her thirties, she was dressed entirely in yellow—from her hat to her dress—looking like a long-beaked yellow canary flower.
However, what caught Adamas’s eye was the droplet-shaped, moss-green necklace around her neck.
It was a heliodor necklace easily worth at least 20 carats.
The merchant guild above was probably named after that very gem.
As Adamas was lost in admiration of the beautiful necklace, Sapeiros, standing beside him, quietly tapped her arm.
Ah, right. This is not the time to be spacing out! That woman tricked our Mano!
Adamas widened his eyes and quickly scanned the woman before him.
The beautiful merchant guild owner wearing the heliodor necklace told tales of braving the rainstorm from the capital to reach Mano, pressing at the mud splashed on her dress with a handkerchief all the while.
But despite her cheerful complaints, the man sitting across from her remained stern.
“That cannot justify your unauthorized intrusion into the Marquisate,” Hidenight said coldly, scanning her from head to toe.
“Pardon? Marquis? What do you mean?”
“I’m asking why your party trespassed into the Marquisate without permission.”
“Trespassed? We are clearly invited guests.”
“You were invited only until this morning.”
“We were late because of the rain!”
“You must have been given a map to the Marquisate. Why, then, did you take the rough mountain path instead of the main gate?”
“No, I’ve said several times—it was our first time on a rain-soaked road, so we took the wrong path! Why do you keep treating us like criminals?”
“It’s fortunate that it rained.”
Hidenight sneered at Helione, as if her excuses were laughable.
Helione’s lips trembled slightly at his mockery.
“Marquis, are you laughing at me?”
“I just found it a little amusing. Your guild’s coachman cannot read a map, it seems. Or rather, the real problem was deciding to take a carriage up a mountain path in the first place. The coachman must have struggled. You really hire stubborn employees.”
“If the mountain path had been properly maintained, it would have been fine. Honestly, I was baffled. The letter praised the Marquisate so much I thought the road would be paved with gold!”
“What did you say?”
“I said it’s a dirt road barely wide enough for one carriage. How could commerce ever prosper here? Which merchant guild would even think to establish a branch in such a place?”
Hidenight frowned. Ignoring it, Helione let out a small, barely audible scoff: in the sticks.
Everyone in the Marquis’s reception room held their breath, wary of Hidenight’s reaction. Her mutter had been… loud. Very loud.
“Hah, that’s why you didn’t come straight to the Marquisate! I see, you planned to return once the rain stopped, secretly scoping out the Marquisate first! Did you sneak into the residence of our Marquisate’s knight commander to gather information?!”
“Who are you calling a spy from Lobiana?! I said we went there to avoid the rain, several times! It’s unfair. That place is supposed to be the knight commander’s house? Honestly, it looked more like a hunter’s lodge to avoid rain! We didn’t even realize we’d arrived at the Marquisate! We thought we were still wandering the Ryde Mountains!”
Voices rose sharply. Watching the commotion, Adamas felt it was remarkable no punches were thrown.
Wait… did that woman just mock our home? Doesn’t she have a problem with manners?!
Forgetting his own past actions, Adamas clenched his fists tightly.
It was the last day of September, and the rain had cleared. In the deep blue sky, a long crescent moon glowed faintly, as dark and sharp as Sapeiros’s eyebrows.
Behind the Marquisate, along a narrow mountain path, Adamas led the grumbling Helione party.
Alright, alright. They probably didn’t understand why we give such long boots and thick gloves now—but when they see our emerald mines, they’ll be shocked.
Suppressing a crooked smirk, Adamas encouraged the group.
“Come on, everyone. We’ve arrived.”
“What… is this?!”
Faces of the merchant party lit up in awe at the vast space formed by a huge meteorite.
Exactly as I expected.
Feeling pleased, Adamas raised his voice.
“Please, come this way.”
He guided them to rows of green tents. Inside, tables displayed raw emeralds of various sizes.
“As you know, Mano’s magic stones carry the power of lightning. They’re valuable as artifacts, but their worth as gemstones is also considerable. Emeralds…”
“You don’t have to explain it like that,” Helione interrupted, wiping sweat from her brow.
“Pardon?”
“I know the basics about gemstones. And honestly, I don’t like emeralds very much.”
“Why not?”
“The color is too dull.”
“Dull?”
“Yes, like fish eyes.”
She tapped one of the opaque emeralds on the table.
“They’re opaque because they’re magic stones,” Adamas explained.
“Oh, of course, I know that. They’re excellent magic stones and profitable. Don’t worry about my preferences—I just don’t like green.”
Helione formed a coin shape with her long, slender fingers and laughed softly.
Adamas was momentarily speechless. He simply couldn’t understand her.
Preferences… for gemstones? Could someone really dislike a color? Since when was green a matter of taste?
Helione then spoke again, ignoring his confusion.
“Next, I’d like to see the processed magic stones. You said there are stones up to three circles, right?”
“Yes. Please, come this way.”
Shaking off the question lingering in his mind, Adamas led them to the second tent.
Throughout the morning, the merchant party observed the mining site. To scout land for their branch, they headed to the Marquisate town under Sapeiros’s guidance.
Adamas stayed behind as the mine manager, overseeing the emerald excavation.
As night fell and Adamas returned to the Marquisate to report the mining log, he strolled in the rear garden, admiring the flowers, waiting for Sapeiros. Suddenly, someone tapped him on the shoulder.
“Ah! What—are you a ghost?!”
Startled, Adamas shook off the stranger’s hand.
“Who are you calling a ghost?”
“It’s me, Pantheon. You scared me.”
The stranger was Pantheon. He scanned the startled Adamas suspiciously.
“Why don’t you answer no matter how many times I call?”
“I was thinking about something. Do you need me for something?”
“Something feels off.”
“What is? Stop beating around the bush and just say it.”
“I have a favor to ask.”
“Alright. Go ahead.”
“You’ll do it?”
“I’ll hear you out and decide.”
“Let’s have tea.”
“Pardon?”
“I said, let’s have tea.”
Pantheon smiled faintly. Adamas lifted her own lips in response.
“Why?”
“Why… there’s always a reason for tea.”
Shrugging, Adamas said this, and Pantheon sighed, shaking his head.
“Do people tell you you have no sense sometimes?”
“Me? Not Ross?”
“Do you men really not understand when a woman asks you to tea?”
No. I really don’t. Especially not when it’s you asking…
Suppressing a frown, Adamas muttered:
“Hah… still alive, this beauty, huh?”
“…What?”
“I’ve been covered in sweat and stone dust at the mines, but I am somewhat pretty, right?”
“Y-yes. Very pretty.”
“Pantheon… your mouth twitched just now.”
“Didn’t happen.”
“My nickname is ‘pretty eye’.”
Adamas tapped her eyes lightly, causing Pantheon to sigh.
“Enough with the wordplay. I think a talent like you shouldn’t be stuck in this countryside,” Pantheon said, approaching her seriously.
They were less than a handspan apart. Pantheon whispered near her ear in a low, earnest tone.
“Let me be direct. How about coming with me to the capital?”
The soft hair brushing her face and his low voice tickled her ear. Adamas shivered.
What… why is he suddenly so close?
“…Why aren’t you answering?”
“Uh… step back. You’re too close.”
Recovering, Adamas pushed Pantheon away. He did not move, simply staring at her intently.
“Step back! Please!”
Determined, Adamas pushed his chest with all her strength again.
Ugh… why isn’t he moving?! So frustrating!
“Touching a man’s chest like this… bold of you.”
“No, it’s because you won’t back down. Whoa…!”
Startled by Pantheon’s comment, Adamas stumbled back. In that instant, Pantheon swiftly caught her waist.
Their eyes met. His golden eyes, symbolizing the noble lion’s blood, softened.
“Careful, Lady.”
Pantheon gently held her bent waist.
“Y-you need to let go of my waist…”
Still holding her tightly, Adamas lowered her head and murmured.
“I’ll let go if you answer my proposal.”
“Let go first.”
“Answer first.”
“Sigh… fine. My answer is…”
“Your answer?”
“No.”
