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**\<Chapter 21>**
“I can’t do this.”
The first to raise the white flag was Yana. She walked up with a very angry face.
“……”
“Your Highness!”
No matter how many times she called, there was no reply. Yana looked ready to grab someone by the collar.
Edel carefully checked the spot where her hand had touched.
There was a faint trace of gold. It looked like it had leaked out by chance through a small crack. Not enough to call it a gold vein, but enough as evidence.
When Edel smiled brightly, Mei and Geneva, who had come closer, looked confused.
“Why are you smiling like that?”
“I thought I might need to give that guide some advice, but now I see I don’t need to.”
“What do you mean?”
“Look at this.”
Edel raised her hand, showing the trace of gold.
At first the three of them wondered what she was doing, but when they realized what it was, they were shocked.
Edel smirked, as if to say *I told you so*.
“Well? Can you believe me now?”
“B-but!”
Geneva was so startled that she couldn’t even finish her words.
Edel shrugged and stood up.
“Let’s keep this a secret until we properly discover the vein.”
The three stood frozen in place, unable to move.
Edel walked a bit ahead, then clapped her hands once, “Clap!” Only then did they snap out of it.
Their faces had gone completely pale.
“This is impossible…”
Since the four of them weren’t moving at all, the annoyed guide stormed over and shouted.
“That’s enough! Can we go back now?”
“Of course.”
Edel pushed the three girls forward. They walked absentmindedly, still dazed.
Sensing the change in atmosphere, the guide frowned and asked,
“Did you find something important?”
“…No.”
Mei, the first to recover, gave a faint smile and shook her head.
The guide puffed up proudly and began leading them back.
The three ladies stayed silent, lost in thought. Not a single word was spoken on the way back.
As they were about to leave Ruhob lands, Mei finally spoke slowly.
“How did Your Highness know about this?”
“Because I’m special.”
“……”
Mei didn’t answer, but her narrowed eyes and stiff lips showed her displeasure clearly.
Edel giggled at this uncharacteristically undignified expression.
“Your Highness, I really can’t understand this.”
Yana and Geneva also stepped forward.
“How did you know?”
“I told you, because I’m special.”
It wasn’t a lie. After all, how many people in the world could rewind time and live again?
Seeing Edel’s smug face, the three muttered with clear dissatisfaction.
By the time they realized it, they had already returned to their lodging.
After being paid, the guide finally brightened and left.
As they unpacked, Kia quickly pulled Edel toward the bath.
“Kia, look at this.”
Kia turned curiously.
“This is…!”
Her eyes widened when she saw the trace of gold.
“So it’s true—there really is a gold vein in Ruhob!”
“It will take some time before it’s fully found, but it won’t be long now.”
Relieved that Edel had been right, Kia nodded happily.
After a relaxing bath, Edel came back to face the still-shocked three.
“First, let me tell you how much I’ll invest.”
They lifted their heads with suspicion, but what Edel said next shattered every doubt.
“Twenty million decibels.”
“…What?”
“I said twenty million decibels.”
“……”
The silence pressed down heavily. Their eyes shook like an earthquake, and their lips trembled until they turned pale blue. They were that shocked.
“Tw-twenty million decibels…!”
“That’s almost all of Your Highness’s fortune, isn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
It was dangerous to risk everything.
But what did it matter? Edel’s path—past, present, and future—was nothing but thorns and gamble.
All or nothing. And Ruhob’s gold vein was as close to “all” as it could get.
“Now, what about you three?”
Their faces showed a mix of emotions, even fear.
Behind this foolish-looking princess, it was as if a halo was shining, yet the sum she spoke of was so outrageous it seemed insane.
“…I,”
Mei finally spoke. Edel gestured for her to continue.
“I cannot fully believe Your Highness’s words. But there are times when one must have faith.”
“So then?”
“I will… invest seven million decibels.”
It was less than Edel’s, but still an enormous amount—nearly her entire fortune.
“Lady Kartner…”
“If Lady Kartner invests that much, I can’t back down either!”
With Mei’s decision made, Yana and Geneva also called out huge amounts.
“Thank you all for trusting me.”
Edel, satisfied, wrapped up the meeting. Still, the three were too stunned to move.
At Edel’s signal, Kia came forward and served them cold tea.
“Since you’re not leaving yet, I suppose you still have something to say. Very well, let’s have some casual talk.”
But in truth, Edel wasn’t yet close enough to fully join their circle. If the Ruhob investment succeeded, then she would be.
Still, laying some groundwork wasn’t a bad idea.
“…We heard from Madam Jane. That Your Highness gave brooches to your attendants?”
Since everyone else hesitated, Mei sighed and spoke.
Edel brightened.
“So you’ve heard about that too.”
“Why did you do it?”
Geneva and Yana also stared at Edel with curiosity.
“No need to look at me with such burning eyes, Lady Chekhov.”
“No one was doing that.”
“Well, anyway, there was no big reason. I simply wanted to reward those who’ve served me for a long time.”
“No matter how I think about it, that seems very inefficient—”
“How much did you spend?”
Geneva suddenly cut Yana off. Everyone froze.
“Even so, it’s rare for someone to give gifts to attendants all at once.”
“Lady Beth, it’s rude to ask such things.”
Mei scolded, and Yana glared, but Geneva stubbornly pressed on.
Edel burst into laughter.
“Not that much. Maybe seven or eight hundred thousand decibels. Just under a million.”
“That’s amazing! Up until now I thought I could understand Your Highness, but now I really can’t.”
“I told you, I’m special. Hard to understand, I know.”
“Yes, yes.”
Seeing Geneva pout, Mei and Yana quickly pulled her back, worried she’d cause another scene like at the tea party.
But Edel didn’t stop her. She actually enjoyed Geneva’s blunt honesty.
“Well, I think that’s enough chatting.”
Yana quickly covered Geneva’s mouth and spoke.
Edel nodded with satisfaction.
“You may go now. I look forward to working with you.”
Dragged away by the other two, Geneva disappeared, leaving Edel to finally turn away.
Her feelings were strange. Maybe because, for the first time, she was truly standing at the beginning of social life.
Whatever it was, those three were certainly interesting subjects to observe.
—
—
The Ruhob inspection ended, and Edel planned to visit the Ez River alone, partly to keep an eye on Cassian.
“…You three again?”
Yet somehow, the three girls stuck to her like leeches.
“Shouldn’t you be going back?”
“If we’re not around, Your Highness might steal or hide money. So we’ll stay until the end.”
“Do you realize how rude that sounds?”
“Our fate depends on this. We must risk rudeness if we must.”
Calmly replying, Mei mounted her horse, followed by Yana and Geneva.
Edel covered her face with a hand and laughed.
Well, it was fine. If this helped build more friendship, all the better.
Clicking her tongue at their slyness, Edel mounted as well.
It didn’t take long to reach the Ez River. The scenery soon changed.
“Oh dear.”
The damage was worse than expected. The dam had collapsed, and many houses had been swept away by water.
Thankfully, this place was developed enough to manage. Otherwise, there might already have been disease outbreaks.
The Ez River had once belonged to the fallen Wobel Kingdom. With its wide waters, it was a great trade route.
So when the Empire conquered Wobel, they immediately poured effort into developing it.
Thanks to that investment, even though the rest of Wobel had become ruins, this place recovered quickly.
No wonder the Marquis of Basant, with his useless wastelands, envied Cassian.
“It’s been a while since I came to old Wobel lands.”
Wobel had once been the second strongest kingdom after the Empire. But Edel’s father, the Emperor, had crushed it so hard it could never rise again.
Even so, their spirit wasn’t broken. Even after the fall, they preserved their culture and even prepared revival movements.
A real headache for the Empire. They had expanded territory and prestige, but hadn’t expected such stubborn resistance.
The three girls also didn’t look pleased. Yana especially looked at the Wobel refugees with contempt rather than pity.
“Old Wobel was a rude and arrogant nation. Being conquered by the Empire was a blessing. Who knows how they’d survive otherwise.”
“But even so, with the dam collapsed, the damage is still not so bad, right?”
Geneva, unlike the others, didn’t seem to hate Wobel so much. She even looked a little intrigued.
Seeing them argue nonstop, Mei quietly separated the two.
Meanwhile, Edel’s thoughts were elsewhere.
The old Edel would have agreed with Yana. But now, no. She saw Wobel as a useful card to play.
So the strange light in her eyes was not hatred.
After a long road, they finally reached where Cassian was.
He froze like a statue when he saw Edel, as if he couldn’t believe it.
He walked up absentmindedly and touched her cheek. Edel tilted her head slightly, letting him hold her face.
His heavy touch proved her presence. Looking pained, Cassian pulled her tightly into his arms.
For some reason, his body seemed to tremble faintly.
His hand stroked her back, then hesitated, lost.
But in the end, he accepted it. Resting his face on her shoulder, he stayed like that for a while.
From a distance, Yana crossed her arms with clear displeasure. Edel chuckled at her predictable reaction.
“What’s wrong with you?”
At last, Cassian pulled away and looked into Edel’s eyes, still holding her shoulders.
His eyelashes trembled, and his lips were turning pale.
“Why do you look like that? Aren’t you glad to see me?”
“What do you mean?”
“Your face has gone white.”
“…Has it?”
Cassian touched his face, surprised. His skin felt cold. He blinked, then smiled faintly.
“Then let me borrow Your Highness’s warmth for a while.”
Once again, Edel found herself pulled into his arms.
If he acted like this even in front of others, something serious must have gone wrong.
She didn’t like how it felt like he was draining all her body heat, but she slowly stroked his back anyway.
A low groan slipped out from him.
Only after a long time did Cassian finally let go, his face looking calmer. He turned to the three girls.
“Lady Kartner, Lady Beth, Lady Chekhov.”
“We greet you, Duke Dwelsen.”
Though in light travel clothes, the three gave polite bows. Cassian smiled warmly.
“I didn’t expect this. I’d heard rumors, but to think Her Highness is truly with you.”
“They’re not bad. I think they’ll be good allies.”
Edel spoke loudly on purpose.
Cassian, instead of disliking it, looked genuinely pleased that Edel had allies.
“While you’re here, I’ll make sure you stay comfortable.”
“All right.”
Edel answered casually and followed him.
“Hmmm…”
Mei’s blue-gray eyes glinted strangely as she watched the scene.
—
