C97
Even after Liena and Roland disappeared, Duke Cassius remained there in silence for a long time.
"Father."
After a while, Leheim, who had followed them, returned. The duke asked his son, who was holding his forehead with his hand.
"Why are you holding your forehead?"
"Oh, this? I kept telling him not to go, but my grandfather hit me with the cane he was swinging."
"..."
"It's fine. Liena stopped grandpa and gave him a punch."
"...go quickly and get treatment."
"Are you going to leave the two like this? I agree with my father that staying with grandpa won't be good for Liena."
Leheim frowned.
"That person has been looking at my brother and me with evil eyes for a long time."
"Maybe it's because he resembles me."
The Duke Cassius, who was looking at his son's face, turned toward the stairs.
"I don't intend to wait and see."
His voice was firm, as if he had made a decision.
"I have a paternal duty."
Duke Cassius entered the office and called the intelligence department of the duchy.
Soon, one of the spies working for Cassius appeared.
"You called me?"
"Investigate secretly the whereabouts of Liena and my father. Uncover what they are doing and what your purpose is, and report it to me."
"...Without Lady Liena's knowledge?"
The duke almost asked why he was asking such an obvious question.
However, when he closely examined the embarrassed face of the spy, something came to his mind. This man was brought into the family by Liena herself.
The decision was swift. In an instant, Edman drew his sword with a simple movement and pointed it at the man's neck.
"D-Duke!"
"Stay still."
He then called the most trusted people among his subordinates.
Even before Liena set foot in Cassius, they served as loyal servants to the duke.
"Silently lock him up in the dungeon."
"Yes."
After they took the man away, Duke Cassius gave the remaining man the same order as before.
The person who received the order this time went to carry out the master's instructions without showing the slightest doubt or agitation.
"Is this what you wanted to say...?"
The duke, who was left alone, murmured as he recalled what Kayden had told him in secret before.
[—These days, in Cassius, there are too many people acting for the young lady instead of the duke.]
He truly didn't realize it at that moment, but now he understands that Liena's intentions have changed. The duke's common sense told him.
If the man hadn't been captured a moment ago, he would have run straight to Liena and confessed the whole truth to her.
Moreover, whenever Liena saw someone in trouble or a talented person, she used to introduce them to the family's work.
It was safe to say that there was hardly a place in Cassius where Liena's hand had not been extended.
"In the worst case, I might have to change the water completely."
Duke Cassius's sigh deepened.
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"Here we are. This is the abandoned mine."
The girl who decided to guide us to the abandoned mine pointed with her hand to a ramshackle entrance halfway up the mountain.
I handed the girl a silver coin.
"Thanks for the guidance."
"I'm really grateful!"
The way her face lit up was so cute that the corners of my mouth loosened.
"I heard that a meteorite fell nearby a few days ago, is that true?"
"Yes, I saw it clearly! It exploded in the middle of the night! The sound woke up many villagers."
"Has anyone found the meteorite?"
"No. I said I would go look for it with my friends, but my parents scolded me."
The girl raised her eyebrows.
"It's not dangerous, but if I have time, I should help with household chores. All the adults are busy. They say we have to work to pay taxes to the lord."
"..."
This area was originally the County of Wallace.
However, when the count couldn't repay the money he had borrowed using his estate as collateral, the area was handed over to his creditor, Viscount Cainbert.
"It seems like they're squeezing the people very hard."
The situation in the village we found yesterday and today seemed difficult, and the residents looked tired.
The caution that would normally be shown toward outsiders was less than expected. They didn't even seem to have the energy to worry about others.
Although he hadn't received the borrowed money, the situation wasn't dire.
If he had exploited the people to this extent over the years since taking over the territory, Viscount Cainbert would have more than made up for his losses by now.
"As expected from the novel, he's a villain."
In the novel, Viscount Cainbert claimed ownership of the abandoned mine when its true value was revealed. Although Liena scolded him immediately.
As a viscount, he had to fall to the ground and repent. The mine was the only land in this area that he didn't receive from Wallace.
Count Wallace tried to reduce his debt in exchange for a seemingly worthless mine, but he was rejected by Viscount Cainbert.
There were times when that person's lack of conscience also helped.
"I have to go now! My mother will prepare dinner, so you must return for the meal."
The girl left those words and descended from the mountain.
She was a neighbor of the tourist accommodation where we were staying, and since it was a small village with no decent restaurants, we were indebted to that house for our meals. Of course, I paid generously for the food.
"Well, shall we go then?"
I went out dressed in comfortable clothes and looked at Terence and Vinetta in turn.
"You must never take off the cloak I gave you!"
"I'll keep that in mind. However..."
Vinetta tilted her head and looked at her cloak.
"This is a magic resistance artifact, isn't it? Does it have any utility in a place like this?"
Then, she made a sound like "Ah!"
"As for the magic barrier artifact you gave me earlier, do I have to fight a magician? Is there an enemy lurking inside?"
"Well, that's..."
There was a high possibility that there would be a fight with something worse than a magician, but no matter how I looked at it, it was strange that she knew it in advance. For now, I have no choice but to look around.
"If my assumption is correct, something tremendously magical is happening in this mine. If we get caught up in it, wouldn't these be useful?"
Fortunately, Vinetta seemed convinced with my explanation. Terence chimed in.
"You're right. There's nothing wrong with being prepared. I'll use it gratefully."
"Then, let's go quickly!"
Soon, we entered the dark mine, each holding a lamp.
Vinetta took the lead and said that her job was to protect Terence and me. Thanks to this, I walked alongside Terence.
Chrr, chrr.
"Ouch!"
Suddenly, a rat appeared out of nowhere, and Terence caught me when I almost fell. His arm seemed quite strong.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
"Be careful. It's been closed for a long time and is not well maintained."
He picked up one of the large rocks rolling on the ground.
"This is everywhere... Mmm?"
For a moment, his eyes took on a different color.
"What's happening?"
"Wait a moment. I want to infuse some magic."
Terence's hands turned a dark red. Then the stone began to glow. The light was as bright as the lamp we were holding.
"Oh!"
It was such a beautiful light that I couldn't help but exclaim in admiration. Terence closely examined the stone.
"Judging by its glow, it must be at least a high to superior-grade magic stone."
Magic stones have the property of emitting light in response to magical power, and it is said that the better the quality of the magic stone, the brighter the light it emits.
"Your assumption was correct."
His voice was tinged with slight excitement.
"Although this place used to be a magic stone mine, they wouldn't have left high-grade or superior-grade magic stones lying on the ground like this. In other words, this magic stone was originally an ordinary stone or a low-grade magic stone that wasn't worth bringing out."
"Moreover, as far as I know, even in the past, even if the mine was thriving, you could only get mid-level magic stones."
"Then, it's safe to say that after the mine was abandoned, this stone transformed into a higher-grade or superior-grade magic stone."
We looked at each other and shared a smile.
I was particularly happy, feeling as if I were flying.
"It's a high-quality magic stone; now I'm rich..."
"Perhaps it's even better."
"Oh, is it really better?"
It was widely known that there was only one mine in the vast empire that produced the highest-quality magic stones, and it was owned by a temple.
"You never know. Considering the amount of magical power felt in this magic stone, we can't rule out the possibility that it's of the highest quality."
Thanks to reading the novel, I knew very well that only high-level magic stones could be obtained here, but I thanked Terence for at least speaking kindly to me.
"Just imagining it feels good; I like it."
If she becomes the owner of a first-rate magic stone mine, she will not only live off her money, but she will instantly become one of the richest people in the empire.
At that moment, Vinetta, who was ahead, returned.
"There's a fork. Which way do we go?"
As she said, the tunnel in front of us had two branches.
Terence asked me.
"We've already confirmed that the magic stone in this mine has changed, but is there any need to delve deeper?"
It might be a reasonable question, but I had to see the meteorite that fell here as soon as possible. I needed to become the true owner of this mine.
"Personally, I want to search for the meteorite..."
At that moment, the entire mine shook.
Terence and Vinetta quickly went on alert.
"Ethel! Stand behind me!"
"Be careful!"
A strange sensation ran through my whole body. It was a feeling similar to when Miella scared me in my dream.
It wasn't as overwhelming, but the feeling was similar.
After a while, without any special events, the strange sensation diminished, and the vibrations in the mine ceased. But it wasn't without problems.
"The path leading to the exit is blocked."
Announced Terence, hitting the transparent wall that had suddenly appeared behind us. It was a development that didn't exist in the novel.
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