“I should treat him to a meal later.”

“More importantly, please talk about Lady Reneaula. How are you doing at the First Prince’s palace? Since you’re a maid now, you won’t have to do difficult things, right?”

Silvia sparkled her eyes. I smiled faintly.

“It’s more tiring than when I was a maid, Silvia…”

Floria, seeing me, rushed to me with a delighted expression and grabbed my hand.

“Sister, how long has it been? How have you been all this time?”

“Thanks to your concern, I’ve been well, Your Highness.”

“Is there anywhere that hurts? I’ve been worrying all this time, and now that I see your face, I feel relieved.”

Floria looked me up and down with a worried expression. But unlike Matthias, who worried about my well-being, she seemed to be searching for any changes in me.

After exchanging brief greetings, I handed Floria an envelope. It was the same document I had received from Cahillen a few days ago.

“What’s this?”
“It’s information about the iron mine that the First Prince is planning to purchase. It’s an item that came up for auction, but it seems that the mine contains not only iron but also rare minerals, catching the interest of the First Prince.”

Floria quickly pulled out the documents from the envelope and skimmed through them.

“It looks ordinary; are you saying there are such rare minerals inside?”

“Yes. I can’t exactly identify the minerals, but if the First Prince is paying attention to it, it’s not an ordinary item. Being rare means that the supply is limited compared to the demand, so it will undoubtedly be worth bidding for. If this mine falls into the hands of the First Prince, his already abundant financial power will become even more robust.”

An opponent with an enlarged financial power was never a welcome occurrence.

It made dealing with them all the more difficult. Floria, whether or not she believed in this document, would likely try to purchase the mine as a precaution.

“Moreover, the price seems lower than expected, as if the true value hasn’t been properly revealed yet. If you have it, it will undoubtedly be beneficial.”

In truth, I still couldn’t be sure whether this was genuine information or a trap using me.

However, facing Floria, who was scrutinizing me suspiciously, I felt the need to show her some results, whether she believed it or not. It seemed she had lost some composure during that time.

‘I wonder what happened around this time in the original.’

Reflecting on it, I sighed inwardly. At that moment,

“How did you obtain this document?”

Shana, who was standing behind Floria, asked with a suspicious look.

“The First Prince is a cautious and meticulous person. It wouldn’t have been easy to steal it.”

“I happened to pick it up under the bed. The First Prince has a habit of looking at documents before going to bed. Normally, I wouldn’t make a mistake, but as I was reaching under the bed, I was able to get hold of it. It was just luck.”

Since I couldn’t answer that I received it directly from Cahillen, I spit out the excuse I had prepared in advance.

“By chance? Are you asking me to believe that?”

Shana frowned. I went on assertively in the face of her increasingly suspicious expression.

“You don’t have to believe it. But if this is true, you might regret it later.”

To ascend the throne, various abilities were required, and among them, financial power was also included.

For those moderate factions who didn’t follow principles and ideologies but sought practical benefits, there was no more definite way to win them over than giving them what they wanted.

In that regard, Cahillen was excellent. Whether the tactics and experience gained on the battlefield could be applied to business or if he had an exceptionally sharp mind, every business he touched succeeded.

‘Although it’s strange when you think of a person who can’t handle a difficult-to-drink mint-flavored cake.’
Second Prince Eric was the opposite when it came to managing finances, being quite careless. However, since the outer domain had a vast upper echelon with ample funds, it adequately supported him.

As a result, Floria harbored resentment towards the Queen who viewed her with disfavor but couldn’t immediately act against her. However, if the information about this iron mine was genuine, there might be no need for her to endure it.

Whether Cahillen gave me the documents knowing this or not, from Floria’s perspective, curiosity was inevitable.

‘Especially since it’s a mine that the First Prince is actively interested in.’

In Floria’s eyes, scanning through the documents already half-read, a desire was kindled.

“Your Highness, the First Prince is not one to carelessly let documents slip. It might be a trap.”

“True. There’s no harm in being cautious.”

Floria handed the documents to the concerned Shanna, smiling gently as she looked at me.

“It might be challenging for Your Highness to adapt to unfamiliar places. I’m very grateful for your efforts.”

“Not at all. It’s something I should do. I’m just glad to be of help, Your Highness.”

I smiled innocently as I faced Floria.