Chapter : 61
“Did you say your magic is gone?”
Hearing this for the first time, my eyes went wide.
At my question, Marquis Quind nodded.
“Yes. You probably didn’t know. For a wizard, losing their magic is unimaginable. But it really happens. For a few years now, lower-level wizards have started losing their magic.”
“If something this serious happened, wouldn’t word have gotten around at least once?”
The Marquis let out a small chuckle at my reaction.
“Would it? Wizards are a proud lot, even more so than high-ranking nobles. Do you think they would admit overnight that their magic had disappeared?”
“But wouldn’t it be obvious if they couldn’t use magic…?”
“The Mage Tower hid it. Lower-level wizards can barely use basic spells, and it drains their stamina, so they rarely try to use magic anyway. So, if they wanted to hide it, it was easier than you’d think.”
“Hmmm…”
“On top of that, the Mage Tower blocked all information sharing, so even the lower-level wizards couldn’t communicate with each other. That’s how this issue was completely buried.”
I frowned slightly at the Marquis’s muttering.
‘This wasn’t in the original story…’
The thought of a wizard losing their magic was terrifying.
Of course, if someone offered a fortune to buy my magic, I might think about it briefly—but that’s my case.
‘For ordinary wizards, it would be utterly unacceptable.’
Especially lower-level wizards, who often take pride in being a wizard more than in the study of magic itself.
‘Many of them enjoy the prestige of the title “wizard” but never dig deeply into the craft of magic.’
As I organized the advanced information the Marquis had given me in my head, she continued.
“Anyway, my husband became an ordinary man like that… and from then on, he didn’t leave the house and was consumed by inferiority. I was busy too, so I didn’t have time to care for him. I was angry at first anyway.”
“That’s understandable. You married him because he was a wizard, so when his greatest asset disappeared, it must have been a shock.”
The Marquis was a singular figure in this empire in many ways.
She had inherited her title shortly after the law changed to allow women to inherit ranks.
She had also once been one of the most successful unmarried businesswomen in the empire.
‘Only after Quind Hotel had successfully established itself in the capital and expanded to several branches did she decide to marry.’
Being a noble, she couldn’t be free from concerns about heirs.
The problem was that she entered the marriage market relatively late, and there were few suitable candidates.
Men of similar status were already married, and those remaining had some issues.
‘So she widened the search and publicly sought a suitable husband for the Quind family.’
At the time, newspapers and magazines covered her search extensively; finding a husband for Marquis Quind became a nationwide spectacle.
After a rigorous selection process, she chose her current husband, who had extensive connections within the Mage Tower.
‘So he stopped leaving the house after losing his magic? That must have made his greatest advantage worthless.’
“You must have been very busy to support a husband who became an ordinary man.”
“Do you understand me? Most people called me a heartless wife for not consoling a husband who had fallen into despair.”
“Heh, there are people like us too.”
I sipped my tea.
“You two married with no feelings for each other, only conditions, right? So there’s no reason for you to defend him blindly.”
“…You’re the first person to say that to me.”
The Marquis looked at me with a surprised expression.
“The conditions I wanted disappeared, but still, recognizing my husband as a member of the Quind family was the maximum duty I could show.”
“That’s more than enough. I think you did what you should.”
She seemed pleased with my response.
The Marquis lifted the corners of her mouth slightly and, now with less caution, continued in a relaxed tone.
“After leaving him be, he gradually regained energy and started moving around. He started some charitable projects with a few wizards from the Mage Tower… then suddenly came to me with a proposal, saying the Mage Tower wanted to invest in Quind Hotel.”
“That must have been gratifying for you.”
“It was. I had thought he could no longer help me, and then suddenly he brought such a significant offer. At that time, I was trying to expand Quind Hotel, and operating it with only private wizards had its limits.”
“Of course, expanding a business requires larger investors.”
“Yes. But private wizards disliked the Mage Tower, so many tried to stop me from accepting the Tower’s investment. I had to persuade them and work hard to maintain a good relationship, like I do now.”
Haah—
The Marquis sighed yet again.
“In the end, the private wizards were right. The Tower’s investment was nothing but a poisoned chalice disguised with a sweet scent.”
“Does that mean your husband was scamming you?”
The Marquis nodded.
“Receiving the Tower’s investment meant their interference in Quind Hotel increased. They encouraged me to keep opening branches. I thought I could control things since the Tower couldn’t run businesses abroad, but… there were tricks.”
“Tricks?”
“The Tower itself couldn’t operate businesses, but lower-level wizards affiliated with it, without special titles, could do business freely once outside the Tower. My husband and the Tower exploited this. They created a shell company on paper and presented me with falsified documents.”
A paper company, huh.
I narrowed my eyes.
“You must not have doubted the documents, since they came from your husband.”
“Yes. At the time, my husband proposed expanding Quind Hotel overseas as well. I rejected it due to over-expansion, but he presented documents claiming the Tower and foreign financiers would invest and provide loans. The documents looked plausible, so I accepted the loan….”
The Marquis let out a deep sigh.
“It turned out the financial company was part of my husband’s fake company, and the contracts were all fabricated. The actual contracts were completely disadvantageous to me. And even after scamming me, he arrogantly claimed Quind Hotel as his if I couldn’t repay the loan quickly.”
“Hmmm…”
So the Marquis was played in a scheme orchestrated by the Mage Tower and her husband.
No wonder she didn’t respond to my letters offering financial help.
‘After getting such a huge betrayal, she couldn’t trust me.’
“So this was why you decided on a divorce. Even if divorce carries stigma, you can’t leave such a fraud in your house.”
“Exactly. Honestly, there’s no way to protect Quind Hotel from him. The Mage Tower is behind him.”
“Were there no evidence that the documents were fake or that your husband scammed you?”
“None. And I had lived with him for years; he’s my children’s father. I never imagined he would do such a thing.”
The Marquis’s expression darkened.
“I care more about my children than the hotel. Even if I lose the hotel, I cannot lose custody of my kids.”
“So… the children are more precious to you than the hotel?”
“Of course. Nothing in this world is more valuable than my children.”
‘Impressive.’
I blinked.
‘I’ve always felt I resemble the Marquis in some ways.’
Of course, I understood her reasoning. Businesses can be rebuilt, but children cannot.
‘However…’
Should I also speak honestly, like her?
In truth, even if my children could be taken, I could not give up my business.
My world runs on money, and thus money is the most precious thing to me.
‘I understand the Marquis’s words, but they don’t really touch my heart.’
Perhaps noticing my reaction, the Marquis smiled faintly.
“When I was younger, my business and I were the most important. But after having children, the rules of the world I live in completely changed.”
Young ladies will understand this once they have children too.
I simply responded with a smile to that whisper.
At this moment, her words didn’t matter much.
“So… did you discuss custody with your lawyer?”
“Yes, but the lawyer said it would be difficult for me to have both children.”
“Why? Even if you lost the business, the title and family are yours. For succession, the children should naturally go to you.”
“That’s the problem. They claimed the husband’s family also needed heirs.”
