C109
"What does this mean?"
"I'm not sure what you mean."
As she responded thoughtfully, the Empress took a refreshing sip from the tea cup in front of her.
"Literal that. Young Master Birod is a good candidate. I don't say this just because he's my nephew."
When she speaks of Young Master Birod, she refers to the grandson of the current Duke of Birod and the son of the young Duke of Birod. If there's no issue, he will inherit the Duchy. Moreover, rumors say he has a good personality, so many people would welcome him as a husband. Of course, I have no interest whatsoever.
"Thank you for your words, but I still have no thoughts about dating or marriage. I just got divorced."
I had already married Leandro, who was said to be the best candidate for a husband in the empire, and then separated, so there's no way I'd be happy with this proposal. Above all, at a time like this, I could quickly discern the Empress's true intentions...
"No? For someone like that, you seem quite close to the second prince."
It was for this reason as well.
"You danced with the second prince at Her Majesty's birthday party before, didn't you? The person leading the contract between the magic stone mine currently owned by you and the imperial family is also the second prince."
"... That's right."
"And yet, you two have no relationship? How am I supposed to accept this?"
I feel annoyed after hearing this. I don't know why I have to listen to these questions as if the Empress were interrogating me. I'm upset because for several days, I haven't even had the chance for a proper conversation with Terence.
"I actually...!"
It's been a few days since I tried to tell Terence the whole truth in the mining village, but I failed due to unexpected guests. After that, Terence and I were busy giving instructions to the influx of engineers and workers, dealing with villagers anxious about the changes, and coordinating contract details. I saw him often, but it was always just a brief face-to-face encounter surrounded by people. There was no space to talk about my transmigration or the goddess's blessing, and there wasn't enough time. Subsequently, the situation wasn't much different in the imperial palace. I had nothing to do but discuss contract details, but Terence, who was in the lead, seemed busy meeting various people, including the Emperor.
"In reality, he's very busy, and I feel sorry for him."
One of the reasons he was so busy was because I had left many of the cumbersome aspects of the mining operation to the imperial family through a contract. If I hadn't done that, I would already have been busy dealing with all the people flocking to the magic stone mine like a pack of dogs. That's because it's not just a magic stone mine; it's a magic stone mine producing top-quality magic stones. The world is currently in chaos. The discovery of a new top-tier magic stone mine and the fact that the owner of this mine was none other than me, famous for divorcing the young Duke Cassius, left everyone in a cauldron of shock. People talked about the changing price of magic stones every day, the power relationship between the imperial family and the temple, or the divorced woman who changed her life in an instant. Also, according to the letter Diana sent, there is a steady stream of guests requesting to visit Ambassador Leok's residence.
"In the past, they ignored me for standing up to Cassius..."
Well, it's natural since magic stones are widely used throughout society. Moreover, the magical power of a high-grade magic stone was equivalent to a thousand medium-grade magic stones of the same size. The value of high-quality magic stones can be seen just by observing the tremendous influence the temple, which was the sole provider of high-quality magic stones in the empire, has had in various places.
The gift for me that the goddess mentioned in my dream meant not only hastening the moment of the meteorite's fall but also this. The Andala mine, which should have been a high-grade magic stone mine, turned into a top-tier magic stone mine! In hindsight, this seemed to be the reason why the divine beast we fought against was much stronger than described in the novel. Magic stones are created with the power of the divine beast, and as the power of the divine beast became stronger, the level of magic stones also rose by one level. My faith in Goddess Miella, which seemed almost nonexistent, seemed to spring forth from the depths of my heart. At least a little.
"Goddess, I still don't like your personality, but I'll accept the higher-level magic stones."
However, despite my gratitude, I found myself in a quite bothersome situation. Being the owner of the top-tier magic stone mine in the empire and owning only one of the two high-level magic stone mines, including the Andala mine, had completely different weights. Perhaps, if I had been the owner of a high-level magic stone mine, I wouldn't have let her unmarried nephew, whom the Empress in front of me also valued, fall in love with a divorced woman.
"Tell me. Do you really have no relationship with the second prince?"
I opened my mouth while looking at the Empress, whose eyes were shining intensely.
"I didn't say we have nothing to do with each other."
"Then?"
"I might be presumptuous, but His Royal Highness was a good friend of mine and is now a great collaborator."
"A close friend and collaborator."
The Empress, who was tilting her tea cup, raised her eyebrows.
"So, is there any possibility that you two can develop a relationship beyond that?"
I tried to say, "There is no such possibility."
—……..
But curiously, the words didn't come out. Instead, Terence's face came to mind.
The face that celebrated my divorce as if it were his own, the face that told me I didn't have to tell the truth if it was difficult, and the face that told me to go out first while he was agonizing in the mine.
Without even realizing it, different words spewed from my mouth.
"I guess only the Goddess knows."
I smiled faintly.
"In the first place, you never know what will happen with a person's affairs."
A heavy silence fell over the table.
The Empress's gaze seemed to pierce through me. The Empress's ladies-in-waiting who attended us also held their breath.
"This is the last kindness I will show you."
After a while, spoke the woman who held the highest position in the Asteroth Empire.
"Marry my nephew."
"I apologize."
I felt eyes staring at me from all around at my simple and clear refusal.
From the ladies-in-waiting's perspective, I must have seemed very arrogant for not following the Empress's orders, as I was a nouveau riche who only owned a mine.
The Empress's thoughts weren't much different.
"You are a fool. Do you think the second prince has true feelings for you?"
She clicked her tongue.
"He's just using you. Even if he whispered his love to you, I'm sure he has another agenda."
Her tone of voice also changed to be more condescending towards me than before.
"I tried to proceed with the conversation smoothly and with a compassionate attitude, but it didn't work."
It was a very coercive attitude, but what I had to say remained the same.
"I'm sorry."
"... Is that your response to my mercy?"
"I have nothing more to say."
The atmosphere now was so heavy it was almost bloody.
But suddenly a laugh came out of the Empress's mouth.
"Do you think I mentioned this proposal because I coveted the mine or to create a rift between you and the second prince?"
"Excuse me?"
"Then you completely misunderstood. I pitied you and wanted to introduce my nephew to you as compensation."
"... My knowledge is limited, so I can't understand what Your Majesty is saying."
The Empress smiled coldly.
"There's no way the imperial family would allow a top-tier magic stone mine to be owned by a single individual, right?"
* * *
At that moment, Terence was in the emperor's office.
The emperor looked at his other son, Mikhail, standing before him with stern eyes.
"You should send away Princess Cassius, whom you let into your palace. Why do you come here and make a scandal?"
Mikhail made a strong appeal to the emperor.
"Your Majesty, isn't Liena's whereabouts important at this moment? The problem is the mine, the mine."
"What's with the mine? Terence is handling things well."
"Your Majesty agrees. The Imperial House of Asteroth should own the mine. Is there any law that prevents the imperial family from having the higher-quality magic stone mine than the temple?"
The emperor sighed softly.
Terence knew his father emotionally agreed with his younger son's words. He was someone who sought the benefit of the imperial family more than anything, and he knew it was more advantageous for the imperial family to own the entire mine than to receive only a part of Ethel's magic stone.
But what would happen if everyone knew that the mine belonged to Ethel Wallace?
In that regard, Ethel's decision to spread this information to the media as soon as she confirmed there was a magic stone in the mine was correct.
Just before leaving for the Andala mines, she left a stack of letters to her trusted lawyer, Sharon.
If she sends a signal, she must send the letters to the designated address. The recipients were various newspapers.
After leaving the mine, Vinetta arrived in the capital and transmitted Ethel's signal to Sharon as previously requested.
Although there was no evidence, it was too shocking to ignore, so some of the newspapers that received the letter published the news in their newspapers, claiming that there had been such a tip-off.
Then, when the imperial family started to move seriously, they sniffed it out, and it began to appear in the headlines.
Therefore, no matter how desirable the top-tier magic stone mine was, it was difficult for the imperial family, which valued honor and reputation, to move easily.
The corners of Mikhail's mouth lifted at the emperor's lukewarm response.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. This son will bear all the infamy."
He had realized that his father wouldn't actively stop him.
"What do you plan to do?"
"I already sent the elite private soldiers of Duke Birod."
The intention was to seize the mine by force.
"It's for a cause; we just have to correct it later."
---------------------
Empress's Palace.
The Empress kindly told me about her plans and those of her son.
"Our family has been willing to do many dirty things for the imperial family since ancient times. It's just one more thing."
To thank her kindness, I also told her something the Empress didn't know.
"Actually, I knew it too, Your Majesty."
"What?"
"I heard that an uninvited guest visited my mine again."
I had a friend who could immediately know if something was going on there.
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