Chapter : 39
I narrowed my eyes and looked at the old man.
While I was doing so, Lahiru let out a hearty laugh and spoke.
“It’s an honor to be invited to such an engagement ceremony! I was honestly a little surprised, since all the guests here are people I’d normally never get the chance to meet!”
At his words, I took my gaze off the old man and returned a gentle smile.
Lahiru isn’t wrong.
Most of the people invited to this engagement were high-ranking nobles and officials who carried significant clout within the Empire.
And Lahiru, the second son of a baronial house, doesn’t really have any connection to people like that.
So how did Lahiru end up being invited to this engagement?
The reason was simple.
“I personally requested that Sir Edana be invited because I very much wanted to meet you. Was it perhaps a burden for you?”
“To be honest, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t. I kept wondering why Lady Nacel would invite someone she’d never met before— but once I arrived on the island, I immediately understood why!”
He spoke in a slightly excited voice.
“A resort where each guest room has its own private swimming pool! Naturally, a place like that needs Edana to be involved, doesn’t it? That’s why I wanted to speak with Lady Nacel no matter what!”
“You understood my intentions perfectly. I thought our resort and Edana could form a very good symbiotic relationship.”
If my resort successfully established itself as a new business model and continued to grow, then naturally, demand for swimwear across the Empire would increase as well.
Which meant it was also a golden opportunity for Edana, who dominated the swimming industry, to see their sales skyrocket.
He’s a businessman too, so of course he’d catch onto a flow like this.
I exchanged a few more words with Lahiru in a positive atmosphere.
Still a young entrepreneur, he passionately expressed his intention to invest actively in the resort.
“Swimwear is an item that can absolutely become more mainstream and blend into everyday life! If this resort succeeds, I believe it’ll accelerate that process!”
“Hehe, I completely agree.”
We wrapped up the conversation by agreeing to discuss the details officially at a later time.
Next, the pale-looking man standing beside him—Yerd—opened his mouth.
“To be honest, back when Lady Nacel was in the capital, I never could have imagined this… That you would truly become engaged to His Grace, the young Duke of Seind…”
Yerd had a gloomy demeanor that sharply contrasted with Lahiru’s enthusiasm.
In a low voice, he muttered,
“Back then… I should have tried harder to leave a good impression… I sincerely hope you’ll consider the past as nothing more than the past…”
“Hmm~ Were you aware that I lost my memories?”
“I was… but still… I thought it would be better for us to tell you ourselves, rather than you hearing it from someone else…”
At that, I tilted my head leisurely.
There was an obvious reason why Yerd was acting like this.
That newspaper company of his was constantly tearing Eani Nacel apart.
Among the Empire’s top three major newspapers, the Aref Newspaper—run by Yerd—was notorious for its sensational articles.
They were especially fond of targeting powerless individuals caught in scandals with high-ranking nobles, pumping out scoop after scoop.
And Eani Nacel was the perfect prey for people like them.
She was the woman who had suddenly driven the famously cold young Duke of Seind insane.
At first, even that newspaper treaded carefully, mindful of the Seind ducal house.
After all, House Seind sat at the very top—one you absolutely couldn’t provoke lightly.
But once the Duchess of Seind implicitly allowed them to tear Eani apart, all hell broke loose.
Half of the articles about Eani Nacel came from Aref.
In the original story, Eani being wounded by Aref’s articles was described dozens of times.
Which meant that right now, the person sweating bullets the most was undoubtedly this man.
There’s no way he ever imagined that the woman he’d always used as headline fodder would become engaged to the young Duke of Seind.
And on top of that, he’d just witnessed the Duke and Duchess openly shielding me at the engagement ceremony.
Only now was he realizing that he needed to watch his step around the future Duchess.
That’s why the head of a newspaper known for never leaving his seat personally came all the way to this island to see me, right~?
Honestly, I didn’t bear any particular grudge against his newspaper.
The one who was truly hurt was the real Eani—not me.
But still.
It’d be a shame to just let this situation pass by, wouldn’t it~?
I said nothing and simply stared at him.
Yerd’s eyes began to dart around anxiously.
Fidgeting with his fingers, he spoke timidly.
“It’s late, but… I sincerely apologize… Our newspaper only wanted to provide more information to the people of the Empire… but our greed went too far…”
“There was plenty of information—but all of it was lies~. You must know very well, Duke Agehatov, that information without accuracy is nothing more than garbage~.”
“Y-yes… Our newspaper is garbage… the Empire’s long-standing garbage…”
Yerd immediately hunched his shoulders and groveled.
Watching him, I narrowed my eyes.
Even if he’s acting like this now, the moment he’s given bait, he’ll turn more despicable than anyone else.
That’s the true nature of those who manufacture sensational rumors.
Still, the Aref Newspaper had undeniable strengths.
They wrote so many dopamine-inducing articles that they had the largest subscriber base in the Empire.
You could even say they were the media outlet that used noise marketing the best.
And right now, I needed exactly that kind of massive media outlet—one capable of instantly capturing public attention.
“Hehe, don’t worry. I actually like recycling~.”
“Pardon…?”
Yerd asked blankly.
I gave him a bright smile.
“Now that my position has changed so much, I’m looking forward to seeing how the Aref Newspaper conducts itself.”
“Ah…”
Yerd visibly shuddered, as if goosebumps had broken out.
When he hesitated instead of replying, I stared straight at him and spoke again.
“Did you not understand what I meant, Duke Agehatov?”
“N-no… I understood perfectly…”
With a face far paler than before, he bowed deeply.
Judging by his reaction, he understood my words better than anyone.
Good. I’ll tame that newspaper to my taste from now on~.
I’d already planned on keeping at least one newspaper under my control—this worked out perfectly~.
As I smiled in satisfaction, Yerd broke into a cold sweat and avoided my gaze.
After dealing with the two men, I sent them out of the reception room.
Because finally, it was time to deal with the old man sitting on the sofa.
“I apologize for keeping you waiting.”
“You’re still young, my lady. Mistakes happen. It’s quite all right.”
The old man chuckled and stroked his beard.
I paused briefly at his words, then smiled gently.
“My name is Eani Nacel.”
“Do you think I would attend this engagement without knowing that?”
“May I ask for your name, sir?”
“Hm. It’s not a name I give out lightly. But since today’s main character is you, my lady, I’ll make an exception.”
A faint breeze slowly began to swirl around the old man.
The objects in the reception room began to tremble—then float into the air.
The teacup he’d been drinking from, the ornaments on the table, even the cushions on the sofa.
Floating gently.
The objects spun in the air as if performing a circle dance.
Amidst them, the old man spoke.
“I am Jimoneum, the seventh star of the Mage Tower, walking the great path of magic.”
“Woooow.”
I alternated my gaze between the floating objects and the old man with amazement.
Then, eyes sparkling, I asked,
“You’re a mage! And a star of the Mage Tower—does that mean you’re an elder?!”
“Hehe. I devoted myself to magic, and before I knew it, I had risen to such a position.”
“That’s amazing!”
“It’s nothing special.”
Yeah… it really doesn’t seem that special.
I didn’t know much about the Mage Tower, so I’d been curious about the level of its mages.
But the amount of mana I sensed from him wasn’t particularly threatening.
So this level is the seventh star of the Mage Tower…
If I entered the Mage Tower right now, I could probably take this old man’s seat immediately.
They said the number of mages was declining—looks like even the elders didn’t meet expectations anymore.
Still, for now, I should humor this mage.
It wouldn’t do to brag about being superior here, would it?
I smiled innocently and tilted my head.
“But why would an elder of the Mage Tower want to see me…?”
“Ahem.”
As if he’d been waiting for the question, the elder answered proudly.
“Why do you think I’ve been sitting here?”
“Could it be…?”
“Correct. Our Mage Tower has decided to invest in your resort.”
