Chapter 53
“Look, I roughly sorted them. This is grade 3, grade 2, grade 1, and then…”
“Wait! You don’t even need to say it. This one’s special grade, right?”
“That’s right. You can tell just by looking at it. The glow is on a whole different level.”
“Totally. It’s so obvious.”
I couldn’t close my mouth as I examined the magic stone samples Zen had brought. Especially the one categorized as special grade—it was so dazzling that I felt nervous even holding it in my hand. Zen, too, looked pleased with the results, smiling more brightly than usual. As expected, when faced with something you truly love, smiles just come out naturally.
‘Rather than a magic stone, this is just a jewel, isn’t it?’
Since Zen had handed over the magic stone he used at the banquet directly to Marine, this was my first time properly seeing the stones of Bastiue. I already knew that, fundamentally, they were stones containing mana, not gemstones.
Maybe that’s why I had thought, ‘How pretty could they even be?’ But the Bastiue stones laughed at my doubt, radiating an intense brilliance and subtle hues that overwhelmed my eyes.
“It’s amazing we hadn’t discovered these before. If even a tiny fragment had been found, no one could have just walked past it.”
Marine, peering at them with me, exclaimed in awe.
“Exactly. Especially a mage—if one had seen this, they might’ve blown a hole right into the mine on the spot.”
Lellia chuckled and nodded. Well, I wasn’t sure about blasting holes, but still.
‘Lellia really is bold in many ways.’
In the meantime, Lellia and Marine seemed to have grown quite close. That was natural—Marine, while staying in the prince’s palace, was also serving partly as my maid, which meant she spent a lot of time with Lellia.
Marine had decided to stay here for a while. There were many reasons, but one was to prepare for inheriting the countship. After the investigation of Bastiue’s territory was completed and the inheritance procedure was processed, she would return.
With the sentence of permanent imprisonment confirmed for Count Bastiue, he could no longer fulfill his duties. And, as expected, the shady loan shark who had made suspicious demands of him had completely disappeared. Whether dead or in hiding, no one knew.
In any case, the count had been arrested for attempting to present a suspicious item to Licht, and Marine—because she had bravely switched out the item despite being under threat—was spared punishment.
‘Thank goodness Licht handled everything so well.’
I smiled faintly as I looked at Marine, who now examined the stones with such a bright expression. Things hadn’t gone as smoothly as I’d hoped, but in the end, she survived.
More than that—she gained the ability to decide her own life. When she first heard she would have to inherit the countship after the trial, she was flustered. But that quickly turned into resolve, and she nodded firmly. Watching her ruined family collapse helplessly must have left her with a lot of thoughts. At the very least, she must’ve believed she could do better than her father.
Even now, in the conservative Luden Empire, it was rare for daughters to inherit noble houses. One such rare case was Duke Melize Evgenin, the Tower Master. But of course, Melize had inherited her title without issue because she was an unparalleled archmage.
By comparison, Marine was just a noble lady with no particular talents or achievements. Naturally so, since noblewomen usually spent their time preparing for marriage and then left their families when the time came.
But now, Marine was no longer who she once was. She was about to become the overseer of the Bastiue magic stone mines. Thinking back to her calm composure during that tense banquet moment, I was sure she’d manage just fine.
I still didn’t know why I had transmigrated into this place, but just knowing I’d created this small change filled me with satisfaction.
“If these had been discovered earlier, they’d just have been sold off before anyone realized their worth. Maybe they were waiting for a true owner who could reveal their value.”
“…That’s bitter, but true. My father would’ve gambled these precious stones away in no time.”
Well, considering the massive scale of the mine, it wouldn’t have been that easy. But either way, it was clearly fate that Marine was now developing the mines as head of the family.
‘Though if you’re picky about it, it’s fate I created! Mwahaha!’
The more famous the stones from Bastiue became, the stronger Marine’s foundation as family head would grow. And more importantly, Licht had promised to support her!
Naturally, Licht’s face floated up in my mind. Lately, his presence had been distracting me more and more. He had gone to an audience with the emperor with a regretful look but returned to the prince’s palace in time for dinner.
During the still slightly awkward meal, I had cautiously asked about Marine. At that time, I hadn’t even considered that she could inherit the countship. I’d only hoped she’d be acquitted, and at the very least, that she could stay in the prince’s palace until she had enough money to live independently.
“You don’t have to worry about Lady Bastiue. She can stay in the prince’s palace until she’s safely able to inherit the countship.”
At his unexpected answer, I widened my eyes in shock, and Licht, smiling brightly, added:
“Isn’t it about time you realized how many things I can do?”
“…Pardon?”
“If it’s what you want, anything at all.”
His tone carried a playful lilt. It was a side of Licht I had never seen before. The prince teasing me—something I’d never even imagined.
But it was real. Licht looked at me intently, waiting for my reaction. The candlelight flickered across the table, and flames shimmered in his blue eyes.
Faced with that gaze, my body stiffened under the weight of tension. I couldn’t remember what words came out of my mouth after that, or what food I picked up. All I knew was that Licht laughed far more than usual.
“…”
“Hey. Are you hot or something? Why is your face so red?”
Oh no. Could it be that now, just thinking about Licht automatically made my body react? Zen’s voice cut through, snapping me back to reality. I frantically waved my hands, trying to cool my burning cheeks. Why on earth was I thinking about that at such a critical moment!
“Sh-should we open a window? It’s a little hot in here!”
“Do as you like.”
I forced myself to refocus, carefully studying the stones Zen had laid out.
“So, to make the artifact we talked about—the one that allows multiple people to communicate—what grade stone would we need?”
“Well, it depends a bit, but I’d say grade 2 would work without much issue. At least, based on my calculations so far.”
“And is the supply of grade 2 stones sufficient?”
“Hard to say for sure, but proportionally, not very. Obviously, it’s not an unlimited resource. Grade 3 stones are plentiful and easy to mine, but… they’re not enough to properly implement the artifact you want.”
“Hmm.”
I furrowed my brows, groaning softly. Grade 1 and special grade stones were far too valuable to use for artifacts—they should just be sold as they were.
“That’s a problem. Even if we make artifacts with grade 2 stones, the supply can’t be guaranteed.”
“Exactly.”
I crossed my arms and closed my eyes briefly. Grade 2 was needed to make artifacts stand out, but the supply couldn’t meet demand… Still, the choice wasn’t difficult.
“Well, then there’s no helping it. We’ll just have to go with limited editions.”
“Limited editions?”
“Yes. We’ll sell artifacts made with grade 2 stones in restricted quantities. Only for a short period, and only in small numbers.”
Since supply couldn’t keep up with demand, it would be difficult to maintain stock and prices. So instead, the plan was to make it look intentional—as if they were rare collector’s items.
“We’ll monitor the mine’s grade 2 stone output as we go. Better to avoid running out of stock mid-production and creating headaches. This way’s safer.”
Ugh, just remembering the hell of customer service from my past life made my blood pressure spike.
Since mining yields couldn’t be accurately predicted, it would be best to work in cycles, adjusting as necessary, and if reactions were good, preorders could be taken.
“And for limited editions to mean anything, we’ll need to make a wide variety of artifacts, each with good quality. If we sell similar ones repeatedly, the rarity will wear off too quickly.”
That settled it—I really needed to go into the capital to scout the market. I couldn’t decide what to sell without proper research. It was a task I was more than familiar with from my past life, so plans were already forming smoothly in my head.
“Well, I’ve basically decided on the first product. I’ll think carefully about the next ones later.”
“…Be honest with me. You’ve sold things before, haven’t you?”
“…What?”
I snapped back to myself, realizing Zen was staring at me with suspicious eyes. Admittedly, for someone who supposedly only ever studied magic at the Tower, I might’ve sounded a little too detailed.
Avoiding his gaze with a sidelong glance, I stammered awkwardly:
“H-ha… Maybe in my past life… I ran a business or something?”
