Mikael, who had stepped away from Elisha, hurried to the vanity and began rummaging through perfumes.
Opening each bottle one by one and smelling them, Mikael searched for a scent as similar as possible to the one Liliana had, then sprayed it onto Elisha’s body.
Elisha, wearing a bright smile, looked at Mikael in surprise as he pulled her into an embrace.
“Now it’s right.”
“…!”
Mikael, holding Elisha, gestured to Shuna. Shuna bowed her head in greeting, then closed the door and left.
Once the two were left alone in the room, Mikael devoured Elisha’s lips without restraint.
Elisha, dazed, had no choice but to be carried along by him.
After being laid on the bed, her pale pink dress removed, and the moment their bodies overlapped, Mikael whispered by her ear.
“Haa, Liliana…”
Elisha felt her heart grow cold.
While holding her, Mikael continuously called out Liliana’s name.
At the realization that she had become a substitute for Liliana, anger surged within Elisha.
She should have pushed him away, but even in that moment, she couldn’t, because of the thrilling sensation of being held by him.
Mikael didn’t let Elisha go all night.
And when morning came like that, she was alone.
The warmth Mikael had left on the sheets had long since disappeared.
Elisha clutched the sheets and swallowed her tears.
***
After finishing her education as Princess Consort, Liliana looked over a calendar in the office.
Before she knew it, a month had passed since the engagement ceremony and her entry into the Imperial Palace, and it had become May.
“I should start preparing.”
She meant securing funds to make Estevan the Emperor.
Not official funds, but hidden, secret funds that wouldn’t be visible.
And with that money, she would build Estevan’s power.
Liliana took out a map and marked a circle with a pen.
“So there’s a treasure trove here.”
The place Liliana marked was an abandoned mine located in the eastern part of the Empire.
Originally, it had been a diamond mine, but since everything that could be mined had already been extracted, nothing more came out of it, and it had been put up on the real estate market at a cheap price.
But.
“No one knew there was a magic stone mine there.”
In the future, Consort Isabella tried to build a villa there, but the workers discovered magic stones, leading to its development.
“That’s when massive profits were made.”
Magic stones were extremely rare minerals.
They were very useful when mages created artifacts. Also, since their reserves weren’t abundant, they were traded at high prices.
“It’s truly a jackpot.”
Liliana smirked and took out a communication orb.
The person on the other end was the Information Master, Jerdin.
“Hello, Jerdin~”
— You seem to be in a good mood.
“I found something incredible.”
— I am curious.
“The Pemara mine located in the East.”
— Isn’t that an abandoned mine?
“Officially, yes. But if something else is buried there, then the story changes.”
— Something else?
“For example, magic stones?”
Jerdin asked in a surprised voice.
— If that is true, it is a jackpot. If it is certain, that is.
“Right. For now, keep a close eye on Count Ruber, the owner of that place. We need to know when he plans to put it up for sale.”
— Understood.
After entrusting the task to Jerdin, Liliana ended the communication. Then she stretched widely.
At that moment, Jennifer entered the office carrying refreshments.
“I have brought dessert.”
“It’s chocolat chantilly. It’s my favorite cake.”
“Please try it.”
Liliana cut a piece of cake with her fork and put it into her mouth.
“Mmm, this is exactly the taste. It’s really delicious.”
“Her Highness Consort Isabella specially sent a renowned pâtissier to the detached Palace.”
“Really?”
‘That woman is really going all out. Seeing how hard she’s trying to somehow tie Mikael and me together.’
The cake was truly delicious.
Liliana had mentioned last time at lunch that she liked desserts, and she immediately sent a pâtissier like this.
“Tell the pâtissier that the cake was really delicious.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
After eating the delicious cake, she felt energized.
A moment later, Anna entered carrying a basket. Inside the basket were invitations addressed to Liliana.
“Are those the invitations that came today?”
“Yes, they are today’s.”
Since getting engaged to Estevan, invitations had been pouring in for Liliana.
All of them were trying to test the waters to decide which Prince’s side to take.
“I’m getting sick of writing replies to invitations.”
“But you still have to write them.”
“I know.”
Liliana picked up her pen again.
***
Consort Isabella was personally watering flowers in the greenhouse garden.
After a moment, a man entered the greenhouse garden. He was a gaunt middle-aged man in his forties.
“I pay my respects to Your Highness the Imperial Consort.”
As the middle-aged man bowed, Consort Isabella greeted him with a gentle smile.
“Welcome, Brother.”
He was Count Ruber, Consort Isabella’s older brother.
“Did you bring what you mentioned before?”
“Yes, I brought it.”
What Count Ruber brought were documents related to the diamond mine.
Consort Isabella looked over the documents with a serious expression.
“Hmm, so there are no more reserves. Is that certain?”
“Yes, it is certain. Nothing more will come out of that place.”
“It cannot be helped. Dispose of it.”
“I will do so.”
Count Ruber stepped back.
“Ah, Brother.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“I heard His Majesty has ordered a crackdown on illegal gambling these days. It would be best to lie low for a while.”
Count Ruber had been operating illegal gambling dens under Consort Isabella’s orders to generate secret funds.
But now that the Emperor had ordered a crackdown, they had no choice but to be cautious.
“I will keep that in mind.”
“You may go.”
After Count Ruber left, Consort Isabella plucked a beautifully blooming flower.
“If one flower is too beautiful, the others are bound to grow jealous.”
In many ways, a flower that blended well with the others was the best.
***
The next day, a message came from Jerdin. Liliana entered the office, cast a soundproofing spell, and accepted the communication orb.
— Master, the item you mentioned has been put up for sale.
“Really?”
— However, no magic stones have been found. It seems that might not be the place.
Jerdin had conducted a separate investigation but found nothing.
Liliana spoke.
“Listen carefully.”
— Yes, please speak.
Liliana recalled how the worker had come to discover the magic stones.
When there were no more diamonds left to mine, Count Ruber put the mine up for sale.
But no one wanted to buy an abandoned mine.
In the end, he gave up on selling it and changed his plan to bury the mine and build a villa there.
At that time, a worker who had gone inside to place explosives to collapse the abandoned mine accidentally ignited them.
The ignition was supposed to happen only after all the workers had exited the mine, but he dropped the torch he was holding by mistake, causing it to ignite.
As a result, the explosives went off before all the workers could escape.
And some time later, miraculously, one person came out alive, holding a magic stone in his hand.
According to the worker, he had been caught in the explosion and fell deep into the mine, where he saw a wall engraved with strange letters.
To survive, he followed the wall, and there he saw a place embedded with pure white crystals.
He didn’t know what they were, but since they sparkled like jewels, he brought some out.
That ore was the magic stone.
After hearing the worker’s account, Count Ruber invested a massive amount of funds to excavate the buried mine again and discovered magic stones deep within.
‘The owner of that mine was Consort Isabella.’
It was truly astonishing. She had put it up for sale, but when it didn’t sell, she planned to build a villa, and because of a worker’s mistake, magic stones were discovered.
Wasn’t it truly ironic?
But this time, she decided to make that irony her own.
“Jerdin, purchase that mine. After acquiring it, I’ll personally find the buried magic stones.”
— Understood.
After entrusting the purchase to Jerdin, Liliana smiled as she imagined Consort Isabella pounding the ground in regret.
“Now I just need an excuse to go there…”
Liliana looked through the bundle of invitations Anna had brought.
“Here it is. Marchioness Travia’s charity auction.”
The estate of the Marquis Travia was located in the eastern region.
“It’s a suitable place for an outing.”
Liliana picked up the invitation, stood up, and headed to the Sapphire Palace.
After arriving at the Sapphire Palace, she went to find Estevan, but she was told he had gone to the training grounds for sword practice.
Liliana headed straight to the training grounds.
At the training grounds, Estevan was swinging his sword, drenched in sweat.
His opponent was Leon.
Liliana watched the two spar for a moment.
Leon was holding his own better than expected.
‘He’s an aide, but his skills are quite good.’
The Leon she had seen before didn’t seem like someone who suited swordsmanship.
But seeing him spar with Estevan like this, his skills were quite decent.
‘That aside…’
His skill was still remarkable.
