“Ah, I made a mistake without thinking. Please forgive me.”
Liliana hurriedly released Mikael’s hand and apologized, blushing as if embarrassed. Mikael felt pleased.
“It’s alright. It is fine.”
“Thank you for being understanding. Then I will take my leave.”
Liliana bowed her head slightly, turned around, erased her smile, and laughed coldly.
For now, she had to reassure Elisha.
Because when someone thought they had achieved what they wanted, having it taken away was the greatest despair.
When she stepped out from the terrace, Estevan was waiting in front of it.
He approached and whispered into Liliana’s ear.
“Your acting was excellent.”
For a moment, Liliana’s face reddened.
“You saw?”
Instead of answering, Estevan shrugged.
“How much did you see?”
“From when you started dabbing your eyes with the handkerchief? Impressive crying performance.”
He pointed at her thigh.
“Does it hurt?”
It seemed he had seen her pinching her thigh hard to force out tears.
“In times like this, Your Highness could just pretend not to notice. You are mean.”
Estevan let out a small laugh and brushed Liliana’s side hair back.
“Mikael’s expression was quite a sight. He looked like he was overjoyed while staring at you.”
Liliana grabbed his wrist that had been brushing her hair aside, curled her lips, and teased him.
“So you were jealous. Seeing how Your Highness is acting like this.”
“Who knows?”
Seeing Mikael coming out from the terrace, Estevan deliberately wrapped one arm around Liliana’s waist and pulled her closer.
“I might be jealous.”
When he spoke near her ear, she felt his breath, and slightly flustered, Liliana smiled provocatively and brought her lips near Estevan’s ear.
“This is how you provoke someone.”
Liliana’s lips brushed lightly down along Estevan’s neck, a dizzying touch that almost met but didn’t quite.
“…!”
His arm wrapped around her waist tightened involuntarily.
Liliana gently removed his arm.
“There are many eyes watching. You should maintain your dignity, Your Highness.”
Estevan let out a deep sigh and shook his head as if she was impossible.
“Let us go. We should greet the distinguished guests.”
“Alright.”
Liliana deliberately linked arms with Estevan and turned around.
She could feel Mikael staring persistently from behind, but she ignored it.
Having realized that there were things he wanted but couldn’t have, he would fall into deep despair.
For someone who had always obtained everything he wanted, not being able to have something would be a cruel despair.
And then he could slowly fall into the pit of hell.
***
The first night of the Founding Festival.
Mikael left the banquet hall and returned to the Emerald Palace.
He took out a bottle of liquor from the cabinet, opened it, and gulped it down.
Then he threw the bottle aside and left the room to find Elisha.
Elisha frowned when she saw Mikael enter reeking of alcohol.
“Your Highness, have you been drinking?”
“What did you say to Liliana?”
“What do you mean?”
“Liliana cried. Because of someone like you.”
Elisha’s face twisted.
“Liliana saw me in a mess in the lounge and was surprised. So I clung to her while crying.”
Elisha held her stomach as if it were hilarious.
“And that naive girl said she would go confront Your Highness. So I did not stop her.”
“You…”
“I know Your Highness cannot do anything when it comes to Liliana. At times like this, I am so glad Liliana is my friend.”
Then Elisha added, as if granting a favor.
“Still, I did not tell her about what Consort Isabella did to me today. I held back.”
At that moment, Mikael’s eyes darkly flickered.
“Shuna, leave. And make sure no one comes in.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
With a sly smile, Shuna left the room and locked the door.
Mikael turned his head and reached out toward Elisha.
In an instant, she was thrown onto the bed without even being able to resist.
“I’ll make you understand your place.”
Mikael’s crazed gaze bound Elisha in fear.
At that same time, Liliana quietly left the Imperial Palace with Estevan.
Wearing robes, Liliana cast magic on Estevan in a secluded place.
His hair turned chestnut, and his eyes changed to brown.
To deceive the people of the Magic Kingdom, she layered multiple spells, reinforcing them so firmly that they couldn’t be seen through.
After changing Estevan’s appearance, Liliana transformed herself into the form of an ordinary woman with short hair and freckles.
She also changed her clothes into plain attire that merchants might wear, and made Estevan appear as an escort wearing light leather armor.
“Your Highness, listen carefully. I am Cat, the Head of the Cats Merchant Company that Baron Mille purchased to handle the distribution of magic stones from the abandoned mine, and Your Highness is my guard, Wolf. Understood?”
He looked at her with dissatisfaction.
“Why are the names like this?”
“What is wrong with the names?”
“They are animal names.”
At his complaint, she let out a small laugh.
“I just made them up temporarily, so please bear with it.”
Estevan reluctantly agreed.
“Understood.”
“Good, then shall we go?”
Liliana moved with Estevan to the place where they were to meet Baron Mille.
After joining him in a carriage, they immediately went to meet the people of the Magic Kingdom.
The Magic Kingdom’s people were waiting in an old building in District J that Baron Mille had arranged in advance.
Inside the building were Prince Ricardo, his aide Liam, and two guards.
“Have you been waiting long?”
Baron Mille smiled broadly and led Liliana and Estevan into the building.
“Are they the ones?”
“Yes. This is the Head of the merchant company who will distribute the magic stones, and this one is her guard.”
Liliana smiled gently and greeted him.
“Hello, I am Cat, the Head of the Cats Merchant Company. And this is my guard, Wolf.”
“Ricardo von Baharus.”
“Then, since introductions are over, shall we get to the main point?”
Liliana smiled brightly as she looked at Ricardo.
She calmly accepted his gaze that seemed to pierce through her.
Ricardo frowned.
‘I can’t see anything.’
The moment the three entered, he had cast a detection spell and examined them. But strangely, he couldn’t sense anything.
“The merchant head is younger than I expected.”
“It is a newly established merchant company. It has not been long since we started.”
As if she had been waiting, she threw out the bait.
“You wanted to confirm it, so I brought it myself.”
Liliana placed a small box on the table.
“Please check.”
When the box was opened, transparent magic stones appeared.
Ricardo examined them.
“This is…”
“They are high-grade magic stones with 99% purity.”
Not just one, but every magic stone filling the small box had 99% purity.
“So the rumor was true.”
In truth, he hadn’t been convinced before coming to the Empire. But seeing it with his own eyes was astonishing.
“This is impossible. There are this many magic stones with such high purity?”
“It is still too early to be surprised.”
Liliana took out a magic recording orb from her pocket and activated it.
The magic recording orb showed miners extracting magic stones from an abandoned mine, loading them, and transporting them.
“All of those are these magic stones?”
“Yes, all boasting 99% purity.”
“This isn’t a lie, is it?”
“I expected you to say that, so I prepared something bigger.”
Liliana nodded to Baron Mille. Then Baron Mille had a servant bring in a large box.
She opened the box and showed it to Ricardo.
Ricardo’s eyes widened as he saw the magic stones filling the box.
He quickly checked the purity of the magic stones.
“This can’t be…”
That all of these magic stones had 99% purity was astonishing.
With this amount of magic stones, it would be more than enough to treat his nephew.
“Let us begin the deal.”
“Alright.”
As if she had been waiting, Liliana took out a prepared contract.
“Please read it.”
After reading the contract, Ricardo looked at her with a dumbfounded expression.
“How expensive.”
“At this level, we are already offering it cheaply. You know how much 99% purity magic stones would sell for if they went to auction.”
“Fine. But I have a condition. We will monopolize this deal.”
“You mean for us to distribute only to the Magic Kingdom?”
“That’s right.”
Liliana pretended to think it over, then nodded.
“Alright, let us do that. But we also have a condition.”
Ricardo frowned.
“Say it.”
“You will sell us adamantium, which is produced only in the Magic Kingdom.”
“What?”
