chapter 45
Even after some time had passed, Melanie, wearing the bracelet, truly felt no pain.
“This really seems to be the effect of the bracelet you made, Master of the Tower! Thank you. I don’t even know how to properly express my gratitude.”
“No, it’s nothing.”
“Still, I’m sorry, Master of the Tower. While I was lying down, I overheard my father talking about you. I hope you didn’t hear anything that would make you blame him. I’ll apologize on his behalf.”
“I would have felt the same way even if you were the Duke.”
“Huh? That’s unfair…”
At that moment, Duke Clotilde, having heard the news, came rushing in and knocked loudly on Melanie’s door.
“Come in—”
But before Melanie could even finish speaking, Duke Clotilde pushed the door open and entered.
He looked like he had rushed straight from his work. His tie hung loosely, a button of his jacket was undone, and above all, he was breathing heavily. It was clear he had come immediately upon hearing the news.
“Melanie, truly—”
Yet, despite rushing over in such haste, Duke Clotilde couldn’t bring himself to speak right away.
“Does that mean you don’t need to take painkillers anymore?”
Seeing that Duke Clotilde struggled to say what he wanted, Melanie smiled brightly and spoke first.
“You were worried that I was pretending not to be in pain just because Father told me to cut back on work, weren’t you?”
“No, Melanie. It’s not that I think you’re lying…”
“That would make sense. I’d just had an argument with Father and was told to cut back on work! But it’s true, Father!”
Duke Clotilde repeated his checks several times, watching Melanie carefully to confirm she wasn’t taking any painkillers. Only then did he let out a sigh of relief.
He grasped Damian’s hand repeatedly, saying thank you over and over.
“Thank you. I realized I may have pushed Melanie without realizing it, left her to struggle even though I was nearby… and she might have seemed resentful toward me.”
“She collapsed, sir. In that context, it’s only natural.”
Although Duke Clotilde didn’t completely drop his wary attitude toward Damian, he still made sure to express his gratitude clearly.
It was fortunate that Damian didn’t relax around him too easily. He knew Melanie tended to trust people too readily.
‘What relieved her pain was thanks to the blessing of the fairy, just like Polyus’s part,’ Damian thought, downplaying his own role.
‘As long as her father, Duke Clotilde, keeps his wits about him, she won’t be harmed by another Polyus.’
Damian considered it a relief rather than an unfair situation.
In truth, what mattered most to him now wasn’t Duke Clotilde’s attitude.
“If I don’t need painkillers, at least I’m free from side effects. I promise I’ll work without overexerting myself, Father.”
“…But if you collapse again, coughing up blood, you must stop immediately. I won’t compromise on that.”
“Of course, absolutely!”
Riding the momentum, Duke Clotilde encouraged Melanie to continue her work, as long as she didn’t push herself too hard. He even called a doctor to check whether there would be any side effects, just to see how much strain Melanie could safely endure.
“I’ve felt guilty prescribing strong painkillers knowing the side effects, but this turned out perfectly!”
Amid the shared joy, Damian smiled in relief—but not completely.
It wasn’t that he disliked the situation.
Having a capable business partner like Melanie incapacitated would have been a huge loss.
But…
‘The way the magical artifact reacted… it’s almost like a curse rather than an illness.’
He recalled Melanie had been sick since childhood, but the daughter of the Clotilde family couldn’t really be suffering from a curse.
He had thought the artifact would have minimal effect when he made it, just testing a small possibility.
Yet it had actually worked.
‘What on earth is going on?’
The mechanism by which he created the magical artifact was very similar to how one would resolve a curse.
This realization prevented Damian from fully relaxing with relief.
Polyus strode straight to Duke Clotilde’s mansion.
‘No wonder Melanie has taken up some business she’s never done before.’
Having acquired the mana stone mine, she would naturally want to do something with it.
‘But the owner of that mine is me!’
He was surprised she had kept it hidden all this time.
“Sir Youngsik is unavailable for visits…”
Unlike before, the doorman eyed him cautiously. Just the other day, the doorman would have immediately let him in to see Melanie. Now, all the new guards were arrogant.
But Polyus, in a good mood, decided to overlook the doorman’s attitude.
“Tell her I came to talk about the Norfel mine. I’m sure she’ll grant the visit then.”
“…The Norfel mine?”
Previously, Polyus had caused a scene insisting on meeting Melanie and was chased away. But this time, his demeanor was calm, suggesting he had a purpose.
The doorman conveyed the message.
“And… she says you may enter.”
Polyus grinned.
The Clotilde mansion hadn’t changed much in his absence.
The vast garden reflected the change of seasons, but the interior still favored classical elegance over trends. It was a mansion that seemed indifferent to fleeting fashions, built long before the empire itself existed.
Not long ago, he had imagined himself as the master of this mansion, and perhaps of all the Clotilde estate…
‘You cheeky girl, Melanie. Pulling such a bold stunt.’
Playing pranks with Damian, who he disliked most of all.
Even though he had been somewhat intimate with Josephine, it wasn’t in the least cute.
“Long time no see, Melanie.”
“Please keep proper decorum, Youngsik.”
Melanie, meeting him after so long, carried herself with an air of haughty grace.
Yet Polyus found her attitude rather endearing.
“Aren’t you being too stiff? Want me to bless you with a fairy’s magic since it’s been so long? Are you feeling alright?”
At that, a nearby guard stepped forward.
“Please keep your distance and refrain from undue familiarity with the lady.”
“Ah, how scary. I was only being considerate, you see.”
Polyus chuckled, raising his hands. His relaxed demeanor made the guard’s brow twitch.
“But Melanie… ah, no, Lady Clotilde. Is it alright to have the guard here while we discuss the Norfel mine? I feel we should be alone.”
“The guard will stay. We don’t know what you might do.”
“Heh, what could I possibly do? There’s no point in going outside either.”
Melanie shrugged, then handed the guard an object. The guard, accustomed, placed it near his ear.
“What’s that…?”
“Don’t speak casually. If you do it again, I will leave this room.”
‘Huh, he doesn’t even realize how disadvantageous that is to him.’
Though Polyus was irritated by her tone, curiosity about the object overrode it.
“What did you just give him?”
“It’s a magical artifact recently developed by the Tower of Magic. Without my permission, the guard cannot hear anything said here.”
At the mention of the Tower, Polyus furrowed his brows. That blasted Tower—how many magical artifacts had they developed?
But that wasn’t important right now.
In contrast to Melanie’s haughty stance, Polyus leisurely crossed his arms and legs.
“You’ve been hiding the mana stone mine all this time?”
“I don’t understand what you mean. I allowed this meeting to see where news of the Norfel mine leaked from.”
The source of information was Clara. As the daughter of a merchant lord, she was quick with news.
Melanie had likely hidden the mine to prevent him from finding out, but perhaps she underestimated him.
“Hahaha. That’s not important right now.”
Polyus felt pleased. After being at Melanie’s mercy recently, he could finally strike back.
“That mine was originally mine, wasn’t it?”
Polyus grinned, having abandoned the formalities he usually reserved for Melanie.
