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Chapter : 08
At the words that it was for Cedric’s sake, Helene relaxed her tightly knit brow just a little.
However, only the faint wrinkles disappeared; her expression itself did not soften.
“Please explain in detail.”
At least the fact that she showed interest should be taken as something positive.
Marianne continued in a calm, gentle tone.
“There’s a mineral vein that no one knows about yet except those here. It produces top-grade diamonds. It’ll take some time to set up the facilities, but once mining begins, the results will be satisfying. I want those results to help Cedric and the ducal household.”
“……”
“May I first ask where this mineral vein is located, Your Highness?”
As Helene continued to remain silent while taking a sip of water, Fabrice cautiously asked in her stead.
Marianne set down her glass and looked at Helene and Fabrice. Seeing one face subtly stiff and the other wearing an awkward smile, she could guess what they were thinking.
They probably wanted to say, Don’t lie to us.
‘Well, believing a claim with no evidence right away would be a problem in its own way.’
Giving Fabrice, who was cautious yet not rude, a mental bonus point, Marianne nodded.
“That’s a good question. You know about the Xsana territory, right?”
“Yes. The former lord of Xsana died without heirs… It should have reverted to the crown, but since it was barren land with nothing of value, it was neglected over time.”
“Hm. Then that makes it even better. Right there—on Mount Xsana—a diamond vein is hidden.”
“……I see.”
Fabrice nodded with an expression that clearly showed he didn’t believe it at all. As he quickly smoothed over the distrust that had surfaced on his face, Marianne let out a small chuckle.
Then she lowered her hand onto the table.
“Let’s send people to Mount Xsana to verify whether what I said is true, and then continue this discussion.”
Neither Helene nor Fabrice were easy people. And Marianne wasn’t such a masterful speaker that a few words would make them believe her outright—so the only option was to let them see it with their own eyes.
“If you want, I can go with you to Mount Xsana myself.”
“That place… the terrain is extremely harsh.”
You know it well.
As Fabrice said, Mount Xsana was very high and steep. There were no plants or animals suitable for food, and no resources that seemed profitable at a glance. That was why, according to the novel, it took so long for people to discover that a diamond vein lay deep within the mountain.
Marianne tilted her head slightly and continued.
“That’s exactly why I’m saying this. If I, a princess, walk up a mountain path where even a carriage can’t go, you’d trust me a little more, wouldn’t you?”
“……There’s no need for you to go that far. However, Your Highness.”
“Yes?”
Helene, who had remained silent throughout Marianne’s exchange with Fabrice, slowly opened her mouth.
Her cool, settled eyes fixed on Marianne—the princess who, contrary to rumors, was neither arrogant nor violent, and thus all the more worthy of caution.
“Why are you going to such lengths for Sir Cedric?”
It was a polite but razor-sharp question. Certainly, from Helene’s perspective, it would be hard to understand why the emperor’s daughter would care for Cedric.
She couldn’t exactly say it was because she didn’t want to die.
After a brief moment of thought, Marianne smiled softly.
“If you’re curious, then please check Mount Xsana first. If my words turn out to be lies, you don’t need to come back.”
“That’s—”
Helene narrowed her brow, about to continue, but Marianne’s hand was quicker.
“I’m tired, so let’s end today’s meeting here. It was a productive time, Marquis Hill. And you as well, Aide Hill.”
Helene and Fabrice withdrew. It was so quiet that her earlier worry about an unnecessary clash felt pointless.
‘That’s a relief.’
Leaning back in her chair, Marianne replayed the conversation they had just had.
In front of Helene and Fabrice, she had tried hard to appear composed, to speak like Princess Marianne.
But both then and now, her heart was still pounding violently.
‘I didn’t realize it when I read it, but being a knight is scary.’
She recalled Helene, whose mere presence had exuded such heavy pressure even while sitting still. Shaking her head, Marianne pushed the thought away. Bad for her heart.
‘Still, I said everything I needed to. The choice is up to Helene and Fabrice now.’
A sigh escaped her—half relieved, half regretful.
“Uh?”
“Huh? Oh, sorry. You were looking at your picture book, and I interrupted.”
Come to think of it, Cedric was sitting in front of her. Marianne apologized to Cedric, who had widened his eyes in surprise at her sudden sigh.
“Uuu.”
Cedric tilted his head cutely and held out the picture book toward her.
“Shall I read it to you?”
“Uuun.”
As Marianne took the book and tried to turn to the first page, Cedric shook his head. Stretching out a thin finger, he pointed to the page he had been looking at.
Where his finger landed was an illustration of the story’s protagonists—a brother and sister—sitting in a flower field, making flower crowns.
“Do you want to see flowers? In the north… hm, no. We should be able to get some.”
“U!”
Cedric wiggled his fingers. From the way his lips moved, it seemed like there was more he wanted to say, but the sound of the door opening made Marianne turn her head, leaving it unclear.
He couldn’t speak yet anyway, so she wouldn’t have understood. Still, feeling oddly regretful, Marianne rubbed the illustration of the flower crown and looked toward the door.
The person who entered was Chloe.
“Your Highness, Sir Cedric. I brought cookies. They’re freshly baked, so they should be warm and delicious.”
Smiling brightly, Chloe approached with a tray piled with cookies—so many they looked like a small hill.
“Uuu!”
Hmm. Marianne looked at the sparkling-eyed Cedric for a moment, then smiled awkwardly.
‘They both seem to like them, so it feels wrong to rain on their parade.’
Working enthusiastically was good, but this was still a time when they needed to save money.
There had been so much food at the late breakfast that most of it went uneaten, and if snacks were made in such large quantities too, dinner would surely be overly lavish as well.
‘…Money aside, it’s such a waste to throw food away!’
Even though she had possessed a princess’s body, Marianne had been an ordinary commoner until recently.
That was why she felt uneasy seeing the imperial kitchen prepare enormous feasts that were mostly discarded untouched.
Even that morning, aside from the satisfying meal she’d eaten, the sight of so much delicious food left behind kept nagging at her.
“Your Highness, please have some.”
“Uuu!”
But she couldn’t show it in front of Chloe, who was offering the cookies with such a bright face, or in front of the excited Cedric. What was already made couldn’t be helped.
“Okay. Thank you.”
For now, she’d eat, and later—before dinner—she’d quietly mention it to Amelie.
Marianne resolved this as she took a bite of a warm cookie, and at the same time marveled at its crisp, melting taste.
“Mmm, it’s good.”
“Right? Julia put in plenty of butter and vanilla beans. And these have lots of chocolate chips, too. Since she hasn’t baked cookies with good ingredients in a while, Julia looked very happy.”
Chloe smiled brightly. Watching that cheerful smile made Marianne’s conscience prick painfully.
Desserts could be stored and eaten again, so maybe she should ask them to simplify the meals instead. But even the cookies brought now were enough to last two or three days.
‘But they look so happy… If I say something, won’t they be disappointed and gloomy?’
While Marianne agonized between conscience and practicality, Cedric—who had been busily eating cookies—tilted his head.
Then he picked up a chocolate cookie and offered it to Chloe, who was pouring tea.
“Ah, u!”
The child let out a small sound, as if urging her to eat. Then he picked up another cookie and held it out to Marianne as well.
“Oh my. Thank you very much.”
Chloe said, accepting the cookie in a deeply moved voice.
Marianne was just as touched. Whether because he didn’t want to enjoy the tasty cookies alone or simply on a whim, the fact that he shared them with Chloe—someone who belonged to the ducal household—made her heart feel warm.
If they slowly grew closer like this, perhaps Cedric wouldn’t spiral out of control, and they could part ways after spending time together in a good way.
‘Even though he’s so cute that it already feels sad to think about parting…’
Marianne was cautious by nature. As someone who was originally supposed to die—just an extra—she knew that twisting the plot too much could cause a butterfly effect often seen in romance fantasy novels, hurting herself or someone else.
She shouldn’t be greedy. She should be satisfied with the simple fact that she was alive now.
“U?”
…One cookie should be okay, right?
Marianne accepted the cookie and smiled gently.
“Thank you, Cedric.”
Maybe because Cedric gave it to her, the cookie tasted especially sweet and delicious.
“Your Highness, please have some black tea with it.”
“I will.”
Marianne lifted the teacup, faint steam rising from it.
But before she could taste the pleasantly bitter black tea that would pair so well with the cookie, a sharp knock echoed in her ears.
“Young Duke, and Your Highness. This is Miel. May I enter?”
Chloe, who had been tidying the teapot, paused and looked toward the door. The urgency in Miel’s voice was such that even Chloe’s usually cheerful eyes showed a hint of alarm.
Marianne, too, felt a flicker of unease.
Had a monster appeared? But this wasn’t the Hill territory, and monsters weren’t supposed to appear in the north for at least another five years.
“Come in, Sir Miel.”
Let’s stay calm.
After a short deep breath, Marianne answered. If it were truly an emergency, Miel wouldn’t have knocked—he would have opened the door outright. He might even have broken it down.
Since he knocked politely, it couldn’t be that bad.
“I apologize for interrupting your tea time.”
“It’s fine. What’s going on?”
Thinking positively, Marianne asked as Miel entered. He bowed his head slightly and replied with a dark expression.
“The entrance to the ducal estate… has been occupied by soldiers. There were no troops stationed at the residence, so we couldn’t stop them. I’m sorry.”
Marianne bit her lip. If she hadn’t restrained herself, she might have blurted out, What the hell are you talking about?
“Which faction do these soldiers belong to?”
“They did not identify themselves. However… they are bearing the imperial flag.”
