Perhaps because the land itself was not suitable for growing crops or raising livestock, hardly anyone lived in the surrounding area.
Carcel left a review before me.
“It’s peaceful.”
"Really? I thought that even if I buried someone, no one would know."
"So, did you buy this land?"
Carcel asked me a question I couldn't tell if it was a joke or serious.
I laughed a little...
"Hey, don't say such scary things."
"I was willing to help if it was really necessary."
"...If you say that with Carcel's face, it looks like you're serious, so please stop."
When I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye with such a suspicious look, Carcel finally burst into laughter.
"Because Asha's reaction was funny."
"Anyway, there is a reason I came here with Carcel today. It’s not just because you said you would help."
"I still intend to connect Asha with all the personnel and resources you need."
I pointed at the mountain with my fingertips.
“See that mountain?”
"Yes."
"There is a massive amount of magic stone buried over there."
"Okay."
Carcel's reaction was indifferent.
I turned my head toward him and asked.
"No, aren't you even surprised?"
"Hmm... Well. Knowing Asha's personality, I suspected you would have a plan of this magnitude. I just didn't know what kind of ore it was."
"I didn't think you would build a ranch."
"I told you from the beginning that the Count Delmore family has a bad reputation."
Carcel slightly raised the corners of his mouth and smiled meaningfully.
"It will probably be difficult to repay the 1,000 gold used to purchase this site in the short term with the profits from building the ranch."
"How did you know I borrowed money?!"
"...It is a guess."
Carcel smiled with his eyes.
I shook my head at him.
"After all, my family sold their daughter for money, and I didn't inherit any of my husband's property either."
"I thought that the only thing Asha could do was borrow a large sum of money using something as collateral."
"That's right. I borrowed the money through personal means, and I knew there was a magic stone mine here from the start."
Now, I decided to just be honest with Carcel.
"So we need to develop the mine quickly, but the problem is we don't have the necessary manpower. And we don't even know who to trust."
“Don’t worry about that.”
Carcel looked down at me and spoke kindly.
"I will select only the Empire's finest personnel and grant them the honor of working with Asha."
"No, what do you mean by honor? That's not it."
"I will get ready as soon as I get back today."
After saying that, Carcel seemed to be formulating a plan step by step in his head once again.
I wondered if I shouldn't have said it, but on the other hand, I decided to accept the help because it seemed more trustworthy than the connections I could find out through the Information Guild Master.
"If Carcel helps me, I’ll give you a portion of my shares as compensation later on.'
I had no intention of being shameless and not paying the price.
However, Carcel shook his head.
"It's fine. All I have is money."
"Even if you have a lot of money, you should be compensated for what you have done for me. The amount I would earn from that wouldn't be small."
Originally, ten years later, Baron Attilini's assets alone were valued at 3 million gold, and the annual cash flow generated from it alone amounted to 400,000 gold.
In Korean terms, the annual net profit is about 40 billion won.
In short, I achieved my dream of becoming rich in a romance fantasy.
'If only I could mine and refine it properly!'
Then Carcel smiled slightly and slowly opened his mouth.
“If that’s the case...”
"Yes."
"You can do this for me by granting me one wish later."
"Isn't that something that could be interpreted more broadly and ambiguously?"
At my words, he laughed loudly again.
"That's right. It's an unfair verbal agreement. What do you think? Are you interested in giving it a try?"
I glared at him and eventually nodded.
"Fine, let's give it a try. It's a verbal agreement, so if you ask for something too unreasonable, I'll just ignore you."
“That’s okay.”
Then Linea called out to me from a distance.
"Mother! Come here! Something is amazing!"
Linea's expression brightened as she shouted like that.
"What did yoy discover to make you act like that?"
“Shall we go?”
At the same time, Carcel reached out his hand to me.
I stared at his firm hand for a moment.
Then Carcel said, with a slightly embarrassed expression, as if making an excuse.
"I was worried you might fall over because the grass had grown so tall."
I eventually took that hand, too.
Even though I thought for some reason that it would be difficult to escape once caught.
It was difficult to overcome the desire to hold Carcel's hand.
And it would have definitely been difficult if we hadn't held hands.
Because it had not been maintained for a long time, the weeds were as sharp as the tip of a knife.
If I hadn't followed the path Carcel had already trodden, my legs would undoubtedly have been covered in wounds.
"Wow, I need to clear a path here quickly. I'm glad I wore boots instead of dress shoes today."
"Your clothes will probably be completely covered in dirt when you get home."
"Exactly. I'll throw away all of Linea's clothes, too."
I approached Linea with realistic concerns.
Near the carriage, servants could be seen mowing the lawn and setting up tents.
'It would have been tough without Carcel.'
It was impossible to even dream of a picnic without mowing the lawn.
Finally, as I approached Linea, the child stood up and held something up to show me.
"Mother, look at this! It's pretty!"
"I know, I've never seen a flower like this before."
I opened my eyes wide, fascinated by the beautiful flower with its mysterious blue light.
Carcel asked me.
"Can I take a look?”
"Yes."
When I obediently held out a flower to him, Carcel observed it closely.
“This is lavender.”
"Isn't lavender purple? This is a clear blue that's hard to describe."
"...I have received a report about this phenomenon somewhere."
After saying that, he asked for my understanding.
"Could I get a sample of this flower before I leave?"
"Of course, take as much as you want."
"Thank you."
Carcel handed the flower to Linea again.
Linea smiled brightly and accepted it.
I asked the child.
"Linea, aren't you hungry?"
“I’m hungry!”
Carcel also looked at his watch and nodded.
"It's already 2 PM, so it's understandable that you're hungry."
"Then, shall we eat? The food might spoil if we leave it any longer."
"I think that would be good."
Carcel let go of my hand for a moment.
"Huh?" Just as I opened my eyes wide, he approached Linea and bent down.
Carcel, contorting his massive frame as much as possible and bending down to one knee in front of Linea, asked the child.
"The grass is so thick that I'm worried you might get hurt, so would it be alright if I carried you to the table?"
Linea squirmed, as if she were a little embarrassed.
However, as soon as I nodded, the child opened both arms.
Seeing that, Carcel smiled faintly and carefully lifted Linea into his arms.
And he came over to me and took my hand again so naturally.
As if we were family, just as he once said.
I bit my lip hard.
'It's embarrassing... but good.'
Carcel once again trampled the grass first, then led me to follow.
I followed him in silence.
It was a back and hands that I could rely on.
***
Linea happily ran and played in the fields.
She even made flower crowns out of flowers and placed one on each of Carcel's and mine.
Since the journey alone took four hours, we had to leave at 4 p.m.
On the way back, Linea, having played to her heart's content, ran out of energy before us.
Perhaps having gotten used to being held in Carcel's arms, Linea fell asleep in his embrace this time.
Carcel looked completely at ease holding a ten-year-old.
"Isn't it heavy? You could just give it to me."
"Asha must be tired too, so please lean back and sit comfortably. I'm fine with this."
He said calmly.
"The day is already over."
The picnic actually ended in just an hour.
Still, thanks to what Carcel prepared, it felt more like a garden party than a picnic.
I spoke to him with gratitude.
"Thank you again today. Thanks to Carcel, I have so many things to be thankful for these days."
Carcel's expression crumbled at the sound of those words.
"I am even more grateful just to be by Asha's side."
"It really sounds a bit weird if you say it like that!"
"I mean it, so how can I beat around the bush?"
Now that you say that, I have nothing to say either.
"I don't know!"
I turned red and screamed.
To think we have to go for a few more hours like this, just the two of us.
Whenever my toes accidentally touched him, they kept curling into a circle.
Just then, due to the rattling carriage, I ran into Carcel again.
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