Chapter 36
“Don’t forget. The reason I’m cooperating with you is—”
“Of course, I know very well. Isn’t it all for the sake of your precious son? I haven’t forgotten that.”
“Above all else, you haven’t forgotten that the most important task is to eliminate Prince Licht, have you?”
After Licht’s return, the atmosphere quickly reverted back to what it had been before. Licht strode through the palace as if to show off, appearing in every council chamber and continuing his rigorous training. It felt like a warning directed at the Empress, and impatience boiled inside her.
“Ah, what a pity.”
Deus answered as though he had just received new information.
“I didn’t expect this either. That the curse would be broken.”
“Couldn’t Duke Meliz have done something?”
“You know very well. My curse is magic woven with blood and tears. It’s not something that can be broken easily.”
And that blood and tears had been gathered from the deaths of innocent imperial citizens, all prepared by the Empress. She fell silent.
“Strange, isn’t it? It feels so familiar, reminds me of the past somehow.”
Even as he said he didn’t understand the situation, Deus remained leisurely, unbothered. He tilted his head at the anxious Empress and said,
“What’s there to rush? We’ll see in time. The end will be the same anyway.”
“…I don’t know where you get that confidence,”
“I said don’t worry. All you need to do, as always, is supply me with what I require. I won’t allow any more hurrying.”
The Empress’s brows furrowed with displeasure.
“Well then, until next time.”
With that, Deus’s figure faded like smoke from the mirror. The Empress stood rooted in front of it, staring for a long time.
She had to endure. Somehow. The point of no return was long past, and she knew it well.
“Turns out they were more foolish than expected. Things went smoothly.”
“Then I should say my prediction was correct. No problems with Lady Marine?”
It was late at night, close to dawn, when everyone else was sleeping peacefully. After saying goodnight to Lelia as usual and lying down on my comfortable bed, I secretly pulled out the communication orb I had brought with me.
‘At this rate, I’ll become a collector of communication orbs.’
One from Lord Meliz, one from Licht, and now even one from Jen.
Because Licht had firmly insisted I always take Lelia with me when leaving the palace, I had no choice but to give up on visiting Jen’s café through the Gate. With her watching, I wouldn’t be able to speak freely.
So in the end, I had to acquire yet another communication orb. It was hastily made, not fancy enough to carry like jewelry, but plain enough to hide in a drawer without suspicion. Unlike the others, it had no projection function, only voice, but that was more than enough to talk with Jen.
“Not at all. I delivered the item to Lady Marine exactly as you told me. She seems smarter than her father—she’ll manage.”
Fortunately, Count Bastieu had hurriedly stamped his seal on Marine’s letter, and the magical contract fell straight into Jen’s hands. Now that mine, Jen’s, and Marine’s group jointly owned the mine—though technically, most of it belonged to Jen and me.
‘The more funds for independence, the better.’
If everything went according to my plan, Lady Marine would also sever ties with Count Bastieu. Ideally, she would harden her heart and cut him off entirely… but that part was up to her judgment.
At the very least, I wanted to secure enough money for her to stand independently. I had already agreed with Jen about this. We’d still have more than enough remaining shares anyway, and Jen hadn’t objected to sparing some for the unfortunate young lady’s future.
‘He talks rough, but Jen is actually a really good person.’
Lord Meliz wouldn’t keep someone at his side just because of talent alone. Birds of a feather, as they say! The thought made me smile in satisfaction.
“Hopefully so. Ah, what about the mine?”
“If Count Bastieu comes rushing in, it’ll be troublesome, so we’ve started small-scale, quiet mining. You’ll see during the banquet, but the purity of the mana stones we’re digging up—every day it amazes me.”
“Is that purity such a big deal?”
No matter how much I heard about it, I couldn’t quite grasp it. The textbooks explained it, and the original novel emphasized their immense value, but that was all.
‘So what exactly can you do with it?’
Ten years of scraping by in the real world hadn’t been so easy to forget. My habit of constantly asking what practical results something could produce was hard to shake.
‘Well, except when it comes to beautiful things.’
Beautiful things had value in themselves. Beautiful clothes, beautiful flowers, beautiful food, beautiful people.
‘Like Licht, for example.’
The image of his jet-black hair—like the night sky—came to mind. At dinner, when his hair was still damp from bathing, it looked even darker. His words might sound detached, but I could feel the warmth in his gaze now.
‘And then saying he’d plant Procia flowers just for me. He may not express it well, but he’s incredibly kind!’
If only this matter could be resolved safely, and Sepina would come quickly to eliminate the fundamental threat…
‘With Sepina around, none of this complicated mess would even be necessary.’
Though I knew better than anyone that I would have to leave one day, I couldn’t help but grow attached to the prince’s palace with each passing day. The refined yet grand rooms, the beautiful view outside the window, the kind and warm palace servants. And Licht himself. A bitter taste welled up in my mouth.
“Of course it’s a big deal. Did you even read your textbooks properly? Higher purity means a higher percentage of mana can be drawn from the stone. Use the same magic circle, and the results will be completely different.”
“Ohh, so that’s why mages chase after good mana stones.”
“Obviously. If Lady Meliz saw this, she’d snatch them all up in a second.”
Tch. Calling Lord Meliz ‘Auntie’ again. One of these days he’s going to slip and say it right in front of her!
I hugged a pillow to my chest and burrowed deeper under my blankets. The thick, soft quilt wrapped me up comfortingly. I asked lazily,
“So what’s the difference in purity compared to ordinary stones?”
“I can’t show you right now, but even the most common ones we’ve mined are about fifteen times better than regular mana stones.”
“Wow, that’s a huge difference!”
“The even higher-quality stones—we haven’t even tested them yet. But they’ll definitely be far beyond that.”
Stones that could maximize the effects of magic circles. As I drifted toward sleep, a sudden idea struck me.
“Then… could existing artifacts become more powerful too?”
“Exactly.”
“Even the ones we’re already using? Like… could we make an artifact that lets me talk with both Lord Meliz and Prince Licht at the same time?”
My sleepy mind suddenly snapped wide awake.
It had been on my mind ever since Licht handed me another communication orb. Why couldn’t I use Lord Meliz’s orb to talk with Licht? Why did I need a completely separate artifact for each person?
‘In my past life, I could do conference calls with multiple people on a smartphone. Shouldn’t it be possible to create a similar artifact here?’
“…I… suppose so?”
Jen’s voice stretched out uncertainly, caught off guard by the specific question.
“I was thinking—Lord Meliz gave me one, Prince Licht gave me one, and now you too. That means I have to carry around three of these, right?”
“Idiot, Prince Licht didn’t actually give you—”
“Well, he did. It’s this fancy bracelet-like thing that feels too expensive to just leave in my room.”
“Unbelievable. Whatever. So what you’re saying is, you want one that handles everything?”
“Yes! And if we use mana stones with fifteen times the purity, don’t you think it might be possible?”
“…Hmm.”
“And, and! If we put that on the market, it would sell for an insane amount, right?”
Truthfully, that was the point that had jolted me awake. Making and selling products had been my job in my past life, and something I was good at. Maybe I could make use of that skill here too.
I didn’t know how to craft artifacts myself, but with the genius mage Jen helping me, the idea felt very realistic. Just the thought made my lips curl into a smile.
That way, my retirement plan wouldn’t just end at selling mana stones. It would expand into creating added value—a grand, beautiful scheme.
“Hmm. Honestly, it’s a solid idea. I’m annoyed I didn’t think of it first… You’re smarter than I gave you credit for.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
I bit my tongue instead of snapping, “What did you think I was, then!” Since really, I’d only been on the receiving end of his help so far.
And now that I thought of it, not just communication orbs—there were plenty of ‘must-have items’ from my past life I could try making. It seemed I’d be relying on Jen quite a lot going forward.
‘Well, as long as I split the profits fairly, he won’t complain!’
“Don’t forget my share, okay?”
“Hah, don’t be ridiculous. I already have more money than I know what to do with. I don’t need some child’s pocket change.”
“I’m not a child, but thank you anyway!”
Whatever he said, I was in a great mood!
Unlock soon!~