“Oh, welcome. Lady Christine Yusten!”

“I apologize for being late, Your Highness, Your Grace.”

I briefly apologized to the two for being late, then sat down in the chair to the left of the princess seated at the head of the table. The duke sitting opposite me greeted me with a nod. I nodded slightly back to him and then looked towards the princess.

“I heard you wanted to see me, Your Highness. Did something happen at the imperial palace?”

“No, nothing like that. I just wanted to let you know how the matter you worked so hard on for me turned out.”

“I see. Did the dowry sent from the Laska Empire arrive safely?”

“Yes, it arrived this morning. The hundreds of emeralds filling the box were so beautiful that Countess Jelut, who opened the box with me, couldn’t close her mouth in amazement. You should have seen it.”

“Haha. I see. Was it only emeralds that arrived? What about the official documents transferring ownership of Elsi Castle to you, Your Highness?”

As I asked, the princess opened her eyes wide and answered.

“My, I didn’t know you were more interested in the territory than the jewels. I’m starting to like you even more.”

“You flatter me, Your Highness.”

“Haha, don’t worry. I properly received ownership of Elsi Castle as well.”

The princess burst into hearty laughter as she spoke. Then the duke, who had been listening silently, asked me.

“You seem particularly fixated on receiving ownership of that Elsi Castle, just as when you first explained this plan to me. Is there perhaps another reason why you must acquire that castle, besides organizing the border?”

At his sharp observation, I smiled meaningfully and replied.

“Do you know why the land of Elsi Castle is so barren, Your Grace?”

“Well. Isn’t it because the soil quality was poor to begin with?”

The duke asked, tilting his head. I shook my head. Then I looked at him and the princess in turn as I answered.

“It’s because there’s a large amount of magic stone buried underneath that land.”

The duke’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Magic stone?”

I nodded.

Magic stone was a rock containing a small amount of magical power, a mysterious object that allowed even those who were not innate witches or mages who had trained for a long time gathering mana to use simple magic.

Due to the high demand for mages but the small number of white mages who could handle healing or elemental powers like fire and water, magic stones that allowed one to use magic without ability were always traded at high prices.

For such an item to be buried in that land, any person in power would naturally be interested in that territory.

Sure enough, the princess who had been listening to my conversation with the duke also opened her eyes wide and asked me.

“Why is such a precious thing there……! Do you also know how much is buried there?”

The princess asked me urgently. I recalled my past life memories and answered.

“I believe there’s enough for all imperial citizens to use without trouble for at least 10 years, Your Highness.”

“It can’t be! Then this is no time to dawdle! We must send mages immediately to investigate that place!”

“I will summon the mages of the White Knight Order tomorrow and order them to investigate and explore Elsi Castle.”

The excited-looking princess and the duke who looked calm but had reddened ear tips spoke one after another. However, I shook my head as if to stop them.

“No. It’s not possible with the mages under your command, Your Grace.”

“What do you mean by that? Are you saying the skills of the mages under my command are woefully inadequate for this task?”

The duke asked with furrowed brows. I nodded firmly and answered decisively.

“Yes. As I mentioned earlier, there’s an enormous amount of magic stone buried in Elsi Castle. To extract magic stones containing that much magical power, wouldn’t you need a mage with magical power as strong as that magic stone mine? Also, after extracting the huge magic stones, an enormous amount of magical power would be needed to break them into smaller, usable pieces.”

I paused briefly to catch my breath before continuing.

“The reason why the fact that a large amount of magic stone is buried under Elsi Castle hasn’t been revealed until now is also because of that. I heard that all mages felt strong magical power from Elsi Castle, but didn’t even dare to approach that mine. Because they could lose all their mana and even their lives if they recklessly tried to get their hands on the magic stones.”

“I see. Then what circle of mage would be needed to acquire all that magic stone?”

The duke spoke to me with a contemplative expression. I replied in a calm voice.

“At least 8th circle or higher.”

“……What?”

“Even the court mage Sir Toth is only 7.5 circles, let alone 8 circles. To find a mage of that level, we’d have to look among those magic tower bastards, but they’ve even reached an internal agreement to eliminate magic stones whenever they see them, saying it takes away their source of income. So they’ll absolutely never cooperate.”

The duke asked in disbelief, and the princess sighed with one hand on her forehead as she added.

I quietly burst into laughter at their reactions. Then I said as if to reassure them.

“Don’t worry. I know a mage who would gladly help with that task.”

“Who might that be?”

“A person called Sorcerer Emlyn. One of Duke Yusten’s vassals.”

“……Would the duke’s vassal be willing to help us?”

The duke said, raising one eyebrow after hearing my words. I shrugged and opened my mouth.

“He’s not exactly a person with strong loyalty to the duke. Nor is he the type of person who clings to Duke Yusten seeking power or wealth. However……”

“However, what?”

The duke asked back. I smiled bitterly and replied.

“The problem is that the person he’s loyal to is Danae.”

“……Lady Danae Yusten?”

“What an unusual taste that one has.”

The princess and duke said in turn. The bitter smile on my face deepened.

“……Danae once gave up something very precious for him. It seems he thinks he owes Danae a great debt because of that incident.”

“Can we win over such a person to our side?”

The duke asked in a doubtful voice. I replied with shining eyes.

“We can. No, we must. He’s someone who will be of great help not only in this matter, but also in uncovering the deaths of Princess Liz and my father in the future.”

The duke’s eyes widened slightly at that answer. The look in his eyes as he gazed at me became strangely deeper.

The princess looked at me with a trustworthy gaze and said.

“Alright. Then we’ll leave that matter entirely to you, Lady Yusten. Send a letter to me and the duke whenever you need help. We’ll help as much as we can.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“I should be the one thanking you. It’s more than enough that you stopped my engagement, but now you’re saying you’ll uncover my elder sister’s unsavory death as well. I’m ashamed that I doubted you at first.”

“Your Highness……”

I trailed off, moved. The princess held my hand tightly and smiled kindly. Then she spoke to me in a somewhat mischievous voice.

“Ah, it’s a thousand pities I’m not a man. If I were, it might have been me paying compensation for breaking the engagement instead of the prince.”

“……Your Highness. Your joke goes too far.”

“Haha, is that so? But I’m truly regretful! It’s such a shame to have missed the chance to gain such a beautiful and wise companion!”

The duke said with furrowed brows. The princess burst into hearty laughter as she looked at him, who somehow seemed displeased.

I quietly reddened at the tips of my ears and just sipped the cold tea in front of me. I felt embarrassed yet happy at the princess’s direct praise.

* * *

The tea time between Princess Ella, myself, and the duke continued afterwards.

The princess still spoke to the duke in a voice mixed with laughter, and the duke bluntly responded to her words. I listened to their conversation while taking small bites of the dessert they had pushed towards me.

Just as the conversation was wrapping up, the princess was about to get up when she suddenly looked at me.

“Ah, right. Come to think of it, I had something to give to the lady.”

“To me?”

I asked her with wide eyes. The princess nodded once and then gestured to the maid standing behind her. As the maid held out a black box, the princess smiled meaningfully and said to me.

“Open it.”

I opened the box with a dazed expression.

Inside was an emerald necklace so beautiful it elicited involuntary admiration. Dozens of thumb-sized emeralds surrounded by hundreds of small diamonds looked as if a flower made of jewels had been plucked and made into a necklace. I turned to look at the princess with surprised eyes.

“What is this……”

The princess looked at me with kind eyes and answered.

“It’s a gift to you from Prince Justin and me. I originally called you at this time to give you that, but I forgot about it because you told us such surprising news about Elsi Castle.”

“I’m not sure if I should accept something so precious, Your Highness.”

I said with a dazed expression. The princess asked me.

“Why, is it burdensome?”

“To be honest…… Yes, it is, Your Highness.”

“Still, accept it without hesitation. That is, if you don’t want to make me and Prince Justin look like ungrateful people.”

The princess added firmly. I just stared at the necklace, not knowing what to do. I was worried whether I should accept such a great reward when I had only helped them for my own revenge. I was also concerned that taking this might fuel Danae’s suspicions. As I hesitated, the princess spoke to the duke.