‘He’s trying to sever ties with the Wettle Duchy.’

Iobel was curious about why Rishi wanted to sever her ties with her family, but it was a personal matter, so she decided not to ask. It was enough to know that the Green family intended to sever ties with the Wettle family.

If she had to choose between the two families, it was obviously the Green family. Not because Iobel was Kei’s friend, but anyone would make such a judgment.

“Got it, Kei. Thank the Countess Green for her advice.”

+++

Rishi, who returned to the room, looked down at the black stone she held in her hand.

The black stone was an ordinary stone that could be picked up anywhere.
The important thing is a small black ore that shines even darker between the gaps of the black stone, as if absorbing light.

This is Merthium.

Merthium is an ore that can hold mana for a very long time and has been used as a material for magic stones. Although it is possible to make magic stones without using Merthium, placing mana in ordinary ores makes them easily breakable or damaged.

On the other hand, magic stones processed with Merthium can be used permanently.

The problem is that Merthium is not easily found, and the stored quantity is not abundant, making its price exorbitant.

Even the amount of Merthium, smaller than a fingernail, embedded in this stone cost 10 gold, and it was difficult to obtain.

Rishi rolled the black stone on the table.

‘The Crown Prince will have an extraordinary body.’

Rishi also needed a top. She knew of a good one, but she currently lacked the funds to immediately break ties with that top through trade. In this situation, the Crown Prince would be useful in breaking ties with that top.

She could have mentioned the top’s name today, but she postponed it until next time. If she mentioned the top’s name as if waiting, it would only reveal her side of the game.

I don’t need it, but I’ll tell you for your sake.

It was better to give advice at this level.

‘Now that the Crown Prince knows what to investigate, the problem with the top of Woven will soon be revealed. As the Crown Prince, he won’t want to help the Second Prince, so he’ll withdraw and come to me alone.’

Within a month, the Crown Prince was needed.

Even without setting a specific date, Rishi was confident that the Crown Prince would soon come.

Rishi sat slantingly by the window, leaning against the window frame and looking up at the sky.

It was a night with a bright full moon in the azure sky. The night sky densely woven with stars was particularly beautiful.

‘In my past life, there was almost never a moment when I leisurely looked up at the sky like this.’

Krishna would probably insist on going to bed early to improve her skin condition the next day, but sleep did not come.

‘I feel a bit excited.’

After realizing that she had regressed, Rishi painted a big picture in her mind.

Turning a picture that existed only in her mind into a real picture seemed like a difficult process, but it was easier than she thought.

It felt as if an invisible force was helping Rishi.

Tick[Dash]

With the sound of the door opening, Kei entered the room.

“Iobel says thank you for the advice.”
Kei walked towards Rishi and said. Kei, who was standing next to Rishi, looked up at the sky and mumbled,

“Is it already a fortnight? Somehow…”

“Rishi, do you want to go out with me? Oh, do you need to sleep early for tomorrow?”

“It’s okay.”

Rishi was curious about where Kei was going. She held Kei’s hand and descended from the window frame.

“It was cool how you didn’t shrink in front of Iobel. Iobel envied me for having a wife like you.”

“Because I have a wife like me?”

“Yeah, I felt really proud. I didn’t know I would feel so proud not because of my abilities but because of my wife.”

The two held hands tightly and left the main villa.

Rishi liked the feeling of Kei’s fingers, thick and snug against her own.

No matter where or when she stumbled, it felt like he would firmly support her.

“But where are we going?”

“To a place with no people.”

“Why such a place?”

Kei turned to look at Rishi and asked. Rishi also turned her head, making eye contact with Kei.

Was it because of her mood? His bluish eyes were shining more brightly than usual.

“But why such a secret act?”

The low-pitched voice strangely passed through Rishi’s earlobe.

Rishi’s face turned red.

“A secret act…”

“Let’s go, Rishi.”

Kei quickened his pace.

For some reason, various scenarios of secret acts between a man and a woman in a deserted place filled Rishi’s mind. The thought of such acts made Rishi feel nervous.

But strangely, she was not scared now. Instead, a sweet anticipation bubbled up, warming her entire body. Her heart was beating faster than usual, going thump, thump, thump. Her mouth felt dry, and she swallowed awkwardly.

Kei left through a small door rather than the main gate of the mansion, heading toward a forest dense with trees, a bit away from the lake, dark enough to be dim even during the day, with various plants flourishing.

The rustling sound of leaves in the wind was sweetly stimulating her hearing.

As they went further in, the bushes rose higher, reaching chest height. As they pushed through the bushes, Rishi’s heart beat even faster.

What is he planning to do?

How far does he intend to go?

Is he planning to do it here?

Suddenly, Kei stopped walking and pulled Rishi’s wrist, leading her. Kei wrapped his arms around Rishi’s waist as she was pulled along, lowering their posture.

“Don’t make a sound, Rishi.”

Of course, she would try not to make any noise.

But could she really avoid making a sound?

Even just feeling his breath on her cheek reflexively made her want to moan.

Just seeing his shadowy face made her breathless.