“I heard that you were broken off from your engagement.”
“I did mention it in the carriage a while ago.”
“That time, I only said I had decided to break it off, not that I had been dumped.”
Even though she had laid the groundwork first, he neither brought up the already widely known rumors nor pretended to offer clumsy comfort.
Behind his courteous manners was a calm, impenetrable wall.
‘I’ll need to shake this wall first.’
“It was neatly settled, and I’ve also reclaimed the Elbash Forest development rights.”
She slowly tilted her wine glass as she looked at him.
“Additionally, the authority to recommend who takes Count Meiyant’s position has also come into my hands.”
“……”
Clink, clink.
He reached out and gently swirled his wine glass. The wine inside formed a shallow whirlpool.
After a moment—
“Lady.”
His tone and atmosphere changed.
At the same time, his hand stopped moving the glass.
“If there is something you want from me, please tell me.”
His ash-gray hair shimmered under the light.
His pale face, carrying a languid expression, held a subtle sensuality in his gaze.
The motion of tilting the glass while fixing his eyes on her was almost seductive.
She, too, did not look away and took a sip of wine.
‘I’ve hooked him.’
Now the flow had completely shifted to Serdel.
Damon was the heir of a marquess family, but he had two half-siblings.
Their age gap wasn’t large, and although they couldn’t compare to him, his younger siblings were competent enough to be quite a threat.
Moreover, because his mother had died early, the current marchioness was the mother of those siblings.
To suppress them and firmly impress both the marquis and the vassals, he needed a decisive opportunity.
And Serdel intended to give him that.
“What should I want from you?”
“Anything. Whatever you desire, I will grant it.”
“Good. I like that answer very much.”
Just then, the meal was served.
“Then, shall we first taste whether the food you recommended is as delicious as they say?”
“An excellent idea, my lady.”
The two of them smiled at each other, each concealing their true intentions.
Overall, the meal was very satisfying. The quality of the food was high, and it was enjoyable.
“Was the food to your liking?”
“It was delicious. I enjoyed it thanks to you.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
After exchanging a few formal words, Serdel brought the conversation back to earlier matters and handed over a stack of documents.
“These are related to the Elbash Forest development. Please review them, and if there are any missing parts or things you’d like to add, I’ll give you a few days to organize them and send them back in document form. Once I review and feel confident, I’ll introduce you directly to my father.”
“You want to know my thoughts on the forest, is that it? Very well. However, I don’t think you need to give me several days. There are quite a few gaps.”
He quickly skimmed through the documents and immediately took out a fountain pen.
“Who organized this?”
“Count Meiyant. I brought the documents he returned as they were.”
“Hm.”
With a short hum, he immediately began correcting them.
There were flaws in the document.
“The Elbash Forest is a special case. It absolutely cannot be developed the same way as other forests. Even if there is a plan to drive out monsters, we don’t know how long subjugation will take…”
Damon accurately identified the issues.
“Above all, the number of monsters has not been properly confirmed. If we provoke them carelessly and more than expected come out, nearby villages could be affected. No matter how important development is, civilians must not be sacrificed. That includes your future reputation as well, Count.”
“There’s more that needs to be pointed out.”
She tapped a section of the document.
“Namely, that the imperial assistance we’ve secured is not unlimited in time.”
For a moment, Damon’s gaze toward Serdel shifted again.
“The monster count aside, we still lack accurate data on the mine’s scale or expected yield. There are too many unknowns.”
Although Serdel knew from her past life, at this point only a few months after the mine’s discovery, very little had been revealed.
“For the Empire, which despises losses, there is a high chance they will eventually withdraw their support.”
“I agree. For House Lovesta, this is the first discovered mine, but for the Empire, it is just another addition to its many holdings.”
“And once they withdraw, after we finish development and begin mining, they’ll naturally claim part of the rights.”
That would create problems for them.
‘In my previous timeline, the Empire really did withdraw midway.’
And once development was complete and full-scale mining began, they took a portion of the rights.
As the Empire’s ruler, there was no way to refuse when they came to claim what they saw as theirs.
‘Even though we didn’t receive full support, we still had to give up a portion.’
For House Cartalo, unable to show their displeasure, it must have been infuriating.
‘They suffered huge losses from monster subjugation, and the Empire didn’t even give them time to recover. Tch.’
Since they secured a mana stone mine, financial losses were quickly recovered and even exceeded—but the real problem was manpower.
Training a single capable knight took a long time.
In a sense, they were more valuable than money—the true assets of a territory.
To protect them, they even hired large numbers of mercenaries, but against the monster hordes it was useless.
In the end, many mercenaries, knights, and soldiers were sacrificed.
With no one left to defend it, the territory became easy prey, and every day was precarious.
‘And that Count Meiyant bastard caused a lot of trouble back then.’
His territory was close to the county.
At the time, he had been aggressively expanding into both the underworld businesses he had forcibly absorbed from Count Deriens and the surface trade world.
The mana stones from the Elbash mine were extremely pure.
Not comparable to stones from other mines.
Sensing profit, he shamelessly demanded exclusive trading rights for the minerals.
At that moment, even the prestige of having a genius knight as heir was useless.
Because Count Meiyant had already manipulated the Empire in advance, Cartalo had no choice but to accept the deal.
‘This time, I won’t let him take it!’
Not him. Never again.
“Your expression has changed again, my lady.”
Damon, having fully taken his eyes off the documents, looked at her with an unreadable smile.
“How interesting.”
He picked up his wine glass again.
“Now then, I would like to hear your evaluation of me. Should I prepare it in writing and bring it tomorrow?”
“No, that won’t be necessary.”
He had already identified the flaws in the documents at a glance and clearly understood priorities.
There was no need to test further.
“I’ll speak to my father.”
“Very well. Then I will await Count’s message.”
“Shall we leave then?”
“Lady.”
“…?”
“You still haven’t told me what you want.”
He set down his empty glass and stepped closer.
The seriousness he had shown while reviewing documents had already faded, replaced again by that languid sensuality across his face.
“What do you desire? Please speak freely.”
“We’ve only just held hands, haven’t we?”
“…?”
“Unripe wine only ruins the taste. When it has aged to perfection, that is when one should speak of desires.”
“An amusing way of putting it. Unripe wine… I suppose my position, threatened by my siblings, is much the same.”
What she wanted could wait until he had fully secured his position as head of the marquis house.
‘Opportunities to manipulate people should never be wasted carelessly.’
“Yes, I understand. Then when I am fully matured, I will hear your request.”
He lifted Serdel’s hand.
Then, after kissing the back of it, he naturally guided her arm onto his, escorting her.
“I had a very enjoyable time today.”
“I did as well. Let’s meet again.”
He watched her once more as she boarded the carriage, then closed the door for her.
