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Chapter 5
I tried acting cute in my own way, but it didn’t seem to please him much.
Dayton’s slightly furrowed brow showed no sign of relaxing.
Just as the document Dayton handed me indicated, Melissa practically had no assets under her name.
‘What can you expect when even the emperor can’t properly remember his daughter’s name?’
Still, I couldn’t just sit around doing nothing.
‘Money makes more money. If I start with absolutely nothing, it’ll take way too long.’
What’s the point of knowing the future?
What good is it knowing that Samsung will rise, or that some company will become the greatest conglomerate in the universe?
If I don’t have money to buy stocks or invest.
Without capital to seize opportunities, all that information is useless.
‘Starting from the bottom has its merits, but…’
I had a long road ahead. I couldn’t afford to waste time like that.
I wasn’t just aiming to become some rich merchant.
I planned to take everything I could possibly have.
To the point where no one could threaten or ignore me. Enough to turn the tables on those who once tried to control me.
If Melissa’s brothers could have it, there was no reason I, their sister, couldn’t.
Even the empire itself.
To do that, I needed solid “ammunition” going forward—money.
Seriously, it’s not like I’m trying to cheat anyone.
I raised my voice lightly toward Dayton, who still looked stiff.
“Ah, so you don’t have money?”
“……”
“You called me broke and all—what’s this? You’re already penniless?”
Dayton let out a hollow laugh and shook his head.
“What exactly do you need? I can at least buy you what you require.”
He answered so easily, as if he’d given up trying to understand.
Well, that’s much better than questioning and doubting everything.
Pleased with this ideal attitude, I smiled brightly.
I’d spent all night thinking about the best way to make money, and nothing beat real estate.
During the long night, I searched through maps and rediscovered that eternal truth.
Of course, I found a good prospect too.
“Have you heard of Ine?”
“If you mean Ine, isn’t that the cursed land at the far eastern end?”
The eastern region was cold year-round, but Ine was especially harsh.
“That’s not a place where people live.”
“It isn’t now. But once a mine is discovered, that’ll change.”
“A mine? I’ve never heard of one there…”
People of the empire avoided Ine, calling it cursed.
Because of the harsh weather and strange phenomena.
Lights drifting across the night sky like someone’s flowing garment.
Auroras shimmering in mysterious colors before fading away.
The empire’s people feared that beauty.
Like a demon using beauty to seduce, like a sweet serpent’s tongue.
They believed it was meant to lure people.
‘If you face the demon’s veil, you go mad.’
That belief showed just how much they feared Ine.
On top of that, the savage beasts roaming the land added to the terror.
Especially the “Golden-Beaked Crow,” found only in Ine, known for its extreme ferocity—sometimes called a servant of demons.
They loved shiny things and reacted violently to loud sounds.
When the Second Prince discovered the blue diamond mine, he used their nesting habits to locate it.
The problem was—they were huge for birds and extremely aggressive, attacking people on sight.
But if you found them, you might as well have found the mine.
“Ine isn’t cursed, and it’s not a forbidden land.”
To medieval minds, it might look like a curse.
But to someone with a modern, scientific mindset, it was just a natural phenomenon.
And of course animals in extreme climates are aggressive.
Even humans would go mad if survival became that difficult.
“Try dropping your prejudices. It’ll become the most beautiful land there is.”
Owning that place would be the same as monopolizing blue diamonds.
As far as I remembered, it was the only mine of that scale in the empire.
Imports from other continents were rare and tiny—sold at outrageous prices.
‘There was never enough supply.’
In the original story, the Second Prince later claimed it and used it as a source of funds.
Thinking of the wealth ahead made my lips curl up.
As I exhaled in excitement, Dayton, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke.
“Is there really a mine in such a place?”
“Of course. It’s quietly waiting for me in Ine.”
At my humming reply, Dayton stroked his chin, looking suspicious.
“What’s your source?”
“Well, if you’re that curious, try looking into it through ‘Rabbit.’”
“‘Rabbit’? How do you even— No, never mind.”
Dayton fell into thought with a long sigh.
“Acquiring Ine itself isn’t difficult.”
Of course it wasn’t.
Finding the current owner wouldn’t be hard, and they’d likely sell it cheap.
“That is, if what you say is true.”
“If?”
I raised an eyebrow, but Dayton continued.
“No one will want to go there. If it’s a mine, we’ll need workers. Housing, food…”
“……”
“There’s no infrastructure there, so we’d have to take full responsibility for the workers’ lives…”
His voice lowered as he calculated.
“And developing a mine requires enormous funds.”
“…You don’t want to do it?”
His indifferent expression wavered for a moment.
His naturally sharp features made him look intimidating—that was Dayton’s trademark.
He knew it and used it well, pressuring others into submission.
But that only worked on the weak.
‘He still thinks I’m one of them?’
Annoying, but understandable.
You can’t change someone’s perception overnight.
I nodded like a generous boss.
Dayton sighed lightly and added,
“We can’t invest a large sum based on unknown information. And more importantly, does this mine even have that much value?”
“Once you see the ore, you’ll be convinced.”
“Do you have a sample?”
I clapped once. Dayton glanced at the table.
“No. You’ll have to bring it.”
“…Who?”
Instead of answering, I grinned at him.
*
Dayton climbed the snow-covered mountain, brushing off snow piling onto his head.
“Ha…”
Each breath stung his lungs with the icy air.
Getting to Ine wasn’t that difficult.
Using warp magic, they reached a nearby eastern magic tower—the only remaining trace of ancient magic.
“What a hassle…”
Things were spiraling in unexpected directions.
Ever since he met Melissa’s sharp, gleaming eyes.
Ever since she shed her “foolish princess” mask.
‘I thought you were like me… but I was mistaken.’
The Second Prince had said that after killing the assassin.
‘When did you grow so attached to my useless sister?’
The prince, who never forgave betrayal, wasn’t angry.
If anything, he seemed amused.
He probably saw Melissa as insignificant.
For now, he was focused on his power struggle with the First Prince.
‘Did she pretend to be a fool all this time, foreseeing this situation?’
Considering how different she was now, it was possible.
Thinking of her stirred something strange inside him.
It happened when he killed the assassin on her orders.
And now again, with Ine.
His reason told him this was madness.
But when she told him to go, he couldn’t refuse.
Like that “demon’s veil.”
“……”
The sight was breathtaking.
Brilliant, multicolored lights shimmered overhead.
Was this what it meant to be enchanted?
“Damn it…!”
Snapping out of it, Dayton looked down and pulled out the map.
Along with the note Melissa had given him.
A map marked with an X, and a note in surprisingly cute handwriting with tips.
‘It should be around here.’
He’d circled the area multiple times.
With snow everywhere, it was hard to navigate.
“There’s supposed to be a triangular rock at the entrance, right?”
“With this much snow, it’s hard to tell, sir.”
The guide shook his head.
[If you can’t find the path near the destination, shout loudly. You’ll find the exact location of the mine. :)]
Dayton frowned at the childish smiley face.
Shout? Would the mine respond or something?
“Ha…”
He crumpled the note and cleared his throat.
“Ah—AHHH!”
The sound didn’t come out as loudly as expected.
“S-sir! You must never shout in Ine!”
The guide panicked.
Ignoring him—
“AAAAAH!”
His voice rang out more clearly this time.
“AAAAAH!”
“A-are you crazy?! Something bad will happen!”
The terrified guide fled.
“AAARGH!”
Dayton shouted once more with all his strength.
