A sanctuary where she could escape, even for a moment, from the stifling life of a Grand Duchess and from her tiresome husband who is obsessed with her.
"Don't worry, Idelin."
Raphael reached out with his other hand and hugged Idelin around the waist.
A firm grip pulled her forcefully, giving her confidence and a sense of stability.
And Raphael whispered with an angelic face.
"Because I'm always thinking only of you."
At such a sweet whisper, she squeezed her eyes shut again.
She had no choice but to shove her own neck into the snake's mouth.
***
At that moment, Carcel spoke to Asha with conviction.
"Asha, next time, I will never leave your side."
"You're still doing that now."
Asha laughed as she tapped the thick forearm that was hugging her.
"I don't want to be apart."
Carcel was at a loss for what to do, like a puppy with separation anxiety—no, like a wild beast.
The very fact that they dared to do such a thing to Asha and Linea was unacceptable.
"How about we bury the Young Duke while we're at it?"
"Yes?"
"Then the thing Asha was worried about wouldn't happen in the first place, and wouldn't all the problems be solved?"
Carcel rubbed his forehead against Asha's neck as if acting spoiled.
He felt relieved only when he could feel Asha's warm and soft body.
'Just now... when that ill-mannered bastard attacked Asha and Linea.'
Carcel bared his teeth so that Asha could not see.
In an instant, hostility surged up to the point where his vision turned red, and anger spread to the veins in his fingertips in a flash.
Furthermore, that gaze of Raphael Belmand.
He was clearly evaluating Asha as if he were about to do it.
Unable to shake off his lecherous habits toward his wife, who is priceless to him.
Carcel had briefly covered his vision, hoping she wouldn't see that dirty gaze.
Even though Asha was too innocent to know, everything was visible to him.
If it had been a private conversation, he would have challenged him to a duel, but Asha is someone who does not want to cause a disturbance.
Carcel learned what patience is after meeting Asha.
Instead, he hugged Asha from behind and buried his face in her shoulder.
“I really can’t stop you.”
Asha finally let out a low laugh, reached back, and gently stroked Carcel's hair.
He relaxed comfortably at Asha's touch.
His mind was soothed by the refreshing scent emanating from her.
"Asha, I heard Isar has something to discuss regarding the poison. Will you go?"
"Great."
"They said they would give Linea a tour and asked if I'd like to come along."
As expected, Asha nodded obediently.
“Sure, whatever!”
Little did they know that the next day, Carcel and Isar would be bickering!
***
"Asha, I have something to show you briefly before we leave."
"Yes?"
After dressing Linea, I had just entered the bedroom to quickly change into my going-out clothes.
Carcel carefully handed me a document.
"What is it?"
I took the document without thinking, and for a moment, I was speechless.
'One. Ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million, ten million, hundred million...’
A document with an amount I had never seen before appeared before my eyes.
Even if you convert this into Korean won... it is roughly an amount beyond common sense.
But why is this under my name?!
"Carcel, doesn't it look like this money is in my name? Is something wrong with my eyes?"
"You saw it correctly. This only shows the total assets. In reality, it is an example of assets divided across multiple accounts. This cash is the amount invested in bonds, stocks, and the upper limit."
Carcel explained to me, pointing to each one with his fingertips.
"Other real estate documents are on the back page, and the corresponding income and revenue from the estate are listed here.
"No, no! Wait!"
Everything's fine, but why is it in my name?!
"Uh, but... why is this registered under my name? Not Carcel's?"
"Yes?"
It was Carcel who was actually dumbfounded by my question.
"Isn't Asha the mistress of the house? I should have given it to you long ago, but there was more work to sort out than I expected, so I should be the one apologizing for giving it to you now."
“Well, then..."
Carcel smiled and nodded brightly.
"Yes. I am a beggar now."
“Carcel!”
Where is there a man who gleefully declares that he is a beggar!
I shouted, choking back tears.
"No, there's a limit. If you put such a huge asset in my name, what am I supposed to do? I don't have the confidence to manage it."
"Don't worry. The property managers will take care of it, and Asha just needs to receive the monthly reports."
My hands were shaking.
I can't believe Carcel trusts me this much.
I asked him cautiously.
"Yeah. Mother, does Mother know this? That the fate of this family rests in my hands?"
Even for my mother, she might be surprised and oppose such an unconventional move...
"Huh? She told me to do that first."
Carcel answered blankly.
"Yes?!"
"She told me to impose a heavy sense of responsibility and duty on Asha, as she might run away."
I squeezed my eyes shut because I felt dizzy, as if I were somehow tightly bound in a spiderweb.
'Mother...!'
I can't live like this family; they're like obsessive psychos.
In the end, I handed the documents over to Carcel.
"I'm too timid to hold on any longer. I'm terrified."
"Now that I have to live off Asha, you must take responsibility as the head of the household and look after me."
Carcel blatantly teased me.
Even though he saw that my complexion had turned slightly pale, he couldn't take his eyes off my face.
"Asha, so now the fate of me, my mother, and everyone in this household rests on you."
"Ugh!"
"Now Asha is mine."
Isn't this the real deal, yours, my handover?
I eventually nodded weakly.
Anyway, given Carcel's personality, he isn't going to return the title just because of an argument.
"I'll try managing it myself for now, and if that doesn't work out, I'll ask Carcel for help."
Then Carcel looked at me affectionately and asked.
"Is it very burdensome?"
"I suppose so. It’s not like it’s just a few pennies. As the saying goes, only those who have tasted good food know how good it is; I’ve never managed such a large sum of money before."
"It's fine. I just wanted to show you this so that even if Asha spends as much as you want, my bank account won't be wiped out."
I wanted to be rich, but now that I actually am, I realize that a cowardly person like me can't even splurge on money.
Faced with such an overwhelming amount, I felt as though even the desire to spend money had vanished.
I nodded resolutely.
"Yes. Then, shall we pack up Linea and head to the Magic Tower?"
This was one thing, but urgent matters came first.
I'll have to look into it more closely after I get back.
So, I took Linea with me and headed to the magic tower.
***
I had never looked closely at the magic tower before.
The magic tower we headed to by carriage was as high as the Tower of Babel, soaring endlessly toward the sky.
“It’s beautiful.”
Tower of ivory.
This massive tower, whose exact construction date is unknown, has been owned by the Tower Masters for generations, and the events that take place within it cannot be governed even by the laws of the Empire.
In exchange for the Magic Tower contributing to the development of the Empire, some freedom is guaranteed.
However, since the Tower Masters have a pact with the Imperial Family, they can't even dream of something like treason.
Rather, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the Magic Tower brought about the Empire's Golden Age.
'They are even capable of trading with countries on the opposite side of the empire by establishing a teleportation transport network.'
And it was Mr. Isar who led this golden age, no matter what anyone says.
We were guided and teleported to the floor where he was.
Before even getting a proper look inside.
“Mr. Isar!”
“Oh, are you here?”
Isar's laboratory was truly....
“Pig pen.”
"What?"
“It’s very impressive.”
Overall, it was a mess.
Unknown experimental tools were connected endlessly, creating a precarious situation like dominoes.
It was filled with unidentified specimens, glowing ores, and bubbling liquids.
And that too, filling an incredibly vast laboratory!
"It seems like the laboratory is endless. Is this magic too?"
"No. I mean that the scale of the experiments I have to handle over the next month alone is this large."
You have to do at least this much to be called an unparalleled genius.
I was fascinated, so I just kept my mouth open and nodded.
Then Carcel, who was holding Linea, said.
"Is it okay for Linea to visit this pigsty? I'm worried it might hurt her lungs."
"This is a meticulously planned laboratory, yet it looks like a pigsty."
"So, why did you call? Has anything been revealed about the poison?"
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