“Her Highness the 7th Princess, me?”
"yes."
“I can’t leave..."
Anais kept her mouth shut before speaking.
This is because she suddenly felt skeptical about the act of waiting for someone who had no intention of meeting her.
At that time, Michael said something that penetrated her heart.
“Her Highness tell me that she will never waste Countess’s time."
“She did it?”
Is it because it was a comforting statement to someone who was wasting their own time?
Anais felt strongly that she should not refuse.
“It’s okay if it’s just for a little while. Please guide me.”
" Come this way."
Anais took Michael's escort and went outside the main banquet hall.
She saw pearl shell rooms lined up in a dark, deep double hallway.
The chosen location seemed to suggest that the upcoming meeting might turn into a secret sexual encounter.
Michael stopped in front of the red velvet curtain marked with a certificate of use.
“Please enter safely. I will wait here.”
"Yes."
Anais stared at the layered curtains for a long time and swallowed dry saliva.
She felt nervous for some reason and took a deep breath.
She gently pulled the string hanging next to the curtain. A clear bell rang softly and the curtain was pulled back.
The person sitting on the couch greeted Anais with a smile.
“Welcome, Lady Lucyard.”
“Ah, Anais Lucyard meets Her Highness the 7th Princess.”
“Please sit comfortably.”
"Thank you."
It is no exaggeration to say that the true protagonist of today's banquet, the 7th Princess, was indeed there.
The naughty Princess who had no presence before and was often ignored
The whispers that she had suddenly turned into a noble lady with 10 years of experience were true.
A quiet elegance was felt in the Princess sitting with her back straight.
'Why did you call me anyway?'
Anais kept thinking about it all the way to the pearl shell room.
Anais couldn't think of a single thing that could have led to a connection between Eve and herself.
A mysterious light appeared in Anais' light blue eyes.
I saw this and smiled and opened my mouth.
“It would be better for Countess to tell me your business before you get into unnecessary trouble.”
Yes. Because of the imperial commission project, Count Lucyard is in great danger.
“I asked to meet with Countess because I thought I could help you.”
It was hope found in a completely unexpected place. Anais couldn't hide her excitement.
“Are you letting me meet Her Highness the Third Princess?”
“Umm.’’
There was a need to correct misunderstandings. I asked calmly.
“What do you plan to ask when you meet the Third Princess?”
“Of course, I will ask for the restrictions on the use of firearms to be lifted.”
As the price of magic stone soars, it is not magic.
It has been a while since the traditional method of heating water with fire became cost-effective.
If their small business could use a fire-like restaurant, they would be able to avoid deficits.
That was the breakthrough Anais thought of.
However, I said with a sad look on my face.
“I guess you didn’t know. The 3rd princess recently moved to the capital. Agenda to strengthen arson prevention regulations, she uploaded it. The Third Princess is acting exactly the opposite of Countess’s expectations.”
Anais couldn't help but gasp in shock.
Meanwhile, I was considerate of her and continued speaking in a cautious tone.
“Didn’t Countess also find it strange? The mining rights to the magic stone mine belong to the imperial family. It is managed exclusively. The price of magic stones rises started at the beginning of this year, but the decline in mining volume must have been felt even before then. The 3rd princess, it’s hard to believe that she didn’t know about this when she entrusted the bath business to Count Lucyard.”
“Why on earth did the Third Princess tell us...?
I calmly opened my mouth.
To answer Anais' question, I had to tell a fairly long story.
“Lucyard’s architectural children’s company has a high level of trust and also has a good relationship with the artisan workshop and the guild of architects. Exclusively distributed building materials such as silver cypress and a lot of patented architectural technologies such as glass domes. I heard you are doing well. Even I am the Emperor, when I think of a construction business, the first person that comes to mind is Count Lucyard.”
“That’s too much praise, Your Highness..."
“Recently, Father has shown interest in the development and reconstruction project of Hadelun. Soon, we will expand the area of Hadelun, clean up slums and old districts, and build water and sewage systems. You will be trying to push ahead with the facility construction project. The scale of the business is very large.”
“Oh, then, even if the bathing business incurs a loss if only I could hold on for a little while...!”
"no. The Third Princess will not let that happen.”
"Yes?"
“The Third Princess plans to drive all construction projects to Chansley and make huge profits.”
The Chansley Merchant Marine is one of the three major merchants in the empire, and it is a gift to Brigitte.
It was also a place to raise political funds.
The moment the name of the leader was mentioned, Anais felt goosebumps rising all over her body.
I continued my explanation to the frozen woman.
“Chansley merchant is making efforts to acquire construction-related businesses. If you want to be entrusted with a business from the imperial family, you will need to have a certain level of assortment. Unfortunately, the Chansley top is running out of funds right now. So..."
“So, you are saying that they are trying to ruin our family’s trading company and then take it over at a low price!”
Indeed, Ana Is, known as the Countess, was smart.
Thanks to this, I didn't have to say the cruel conclusion out of my own mouth.
“How could that... How could the 3rd Princess do that to our family...!”
“Countess Lucyard..."
Of course, Anais felt betrayed and couldn't control her anger. She said, gnashing her teeth as she glared into space.
“I can roughly understand why Chansley’s upper management ran out of funds. Aren’t you hoarding magic stones?”
"Yes. The 3rd Princess already knew everything. However, they can’t sell it right now because it would be difficult if it became known, so they are temporarily in financial trouble.”
"Ha! Our family is having such a problem right now, and the 3rd Princess is taking advantage of it. Making a comeback...!”
Anais's hands, folded on top of her dress, were trembling.
Tears welled up in her wide, sky-blue eyes as if he couldn't overcome her anger.
Anais confessed with a pained face. Before she knew it, her anger had turned into a sense of self-destruction.
“I was foolish. Even in this situation, I still want to trust the third Princess. At this rate, it's like I ruined Lucyard... Ugh..."
“It’s not your fault. Don’t blame yourself.”
The fact that she became prey to a big guy called Bridgett... Who will be able to accept it easily?
I comforted her with sincerity.
“Excuse me, Countess.”
When Anais' trembling did not subside, I decided to borrow the power of magic.
I walked closer to Anais and folded my hands over her trembling hands.
A warm magical energy flowed into Anais through the contact.
"Ah... Thank you, Your Highness.”
With the power of stabilizing magic, Anais was able to calm down.
Sky blue eyes, shaking away tears, turned to me. The spirit of a future Countess was evident in her staring eyes.
“I remember what you said at the beginning of our conversation. Your Highness, you can definitely help our family. You said there was.”
I nodded.
"Yes. If you just invest the initial cost, there is a trick to supply hot water at a low cost from then on.”
“I will pay the full price in the name of the Lucyard family. Please tell me the way.”
I smiled at the eyes filled with desperate anticipation.
Now it was my past life's turn to help.
“To put it simply, it is a method of taking excess heat from somewhere else and using it.”
“Please explain in detail.”
“Uhm, I understand. I don’t mean to tease Countess, but let me explain the peripheral story first.”
The past life only provided the correct answer, and the solution necessary for persuasion was up to me in this life.
I used memorization magic to pull the materials I had collected and organized while visiting the library.
“Excuse me, Countess.”
When Anais' trembling did not subside, I decided to borrow the power of magic.
I walked closer to Anais and folded my hands over her trembling hands.
A warm magical energy flowed into Anais through the contact.
"Ah... Thank you, Your Highness.”
With the power of stabilizing magic, Anais was able to calm down.
Sky blue eyes, shaking away tears, turned to me. The spirit of a future Countess was evident in her staring eyes.
“I remember what you said at the beginning of our conversation. Your Highness, you can definitely help our family. You said there was.”
I nodded.
"Yes. If you just invest the initial cost, there is a trick to supply hot water at a low cost from then on.”
“I will pay the full price in the name of the Lucyard family. Please tell me the way.”
I smiled at the eyes filled with desperate anticipation.
Now it was my past life's turn to help.
“To put it simply, it is a method of taking excess heat from somewhere else and using it.”
“Please explain in detail.”
“Uhm, I understand. I don’t mean to tease Countess, but let me explain the peripheral story first.”
The past life only provided the correct answer, and the solution necessary for persuasion was up to me in this life.
I used memorization magic to pull the materials I had collected and organized while visiting the library.
Then I lifted my index finger and started drawing in the air.
White light left an ink-like trace at my fingertips.
“Bread is something that cannot be left out of the staple food of all classes of subjects. A long time ago, each household used to bake their own bread, but these days, bread is baked throughout the system. It is baked at grocery bakeries and supplied to each household. To meet the supply, almost all bakeries run their ovens all day long. The heat generated here is excessive. Therefore... All you have to do is build a water tank near the fire pit, connect pipes, and supply hot water.”
White light left an ink-like trace at my fingertips.
“Bread is something that cannot be left out of the staple food of all classes of subjects. A long time ago, each household used to bake their own bread, but these days, bread is baked throughout the system. It is baked at grocery bakeries and supplied to each household. To meet the supply, almost all bakeries run their ovens all day long. The heat generated here is excessive. Therefore... All you have to do is build a water tank near the fire pit, connect pipes, and supply hot water.”
“That way... !”
Anais couldn't hide her surprise after hearing the explanation.
She stared blankly at the picture of the oven and pipe that I had drawn with light for a long time, then opened her mouth.
"Oh my God...Why didn’t I think of that before?”
“Until now, I was able to use magic stones abundantly at an almost free price. No one came up with a way to raise it.”
After defeating the demon dragon Galamut 200 years ago, the reserves of the magic stone mine, which was created by crystallizing the corpse of a demonic dragon, were enormous.
Magic stones were distributed cheaply and raised the standard of living of the people of the empire.
However, where there is light, there is bound to be darkness.
I lowered my eyes and added.
“If I had a personal wish, I would say that the distribution of magic gemstones would be normal. Even if things return to normal, I hope that lowering the value of mined magic stones will disappear.”
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