The Lester duchy had not merely engaged in simple transactions with the black mage. They sponsored black mages to develop and operate a business selling related magic tools.

There was a reason why the family’s wealth had grown despite no notable external business achievements in nearly 10 years.

Thousands of people died because of the black magic tools they sold, and the damage to the empire was enormous as they sold indiscriminately to other countries as well.

However, using the power and influence of the family, they brazenly escaped detection each time and have been living well until now.

This covert and cautious operation that had been taking place beneath the surface was caught when the black mage who partnered with the duchy secretly made a private deal with the Dom merchant guild.

Marquis Grant discovered the connection to the Lester duchy while investigating the black mage who made the magic tools.

“That’s when the two families became close. The Marquis wisely chose to draw the Lester duchy to the Crown Prince’s side instead of blackmailing them.”

Of course, even so, the Lester duchy had to comply with whatever the Marquis demanded, as they had a fatal weakness exposed.

This became even more severe after Demian arrested the black mage while tracking the black magic bomb. When he finished the knightly interrogation and handed them over to the authorities, Frederick prevented the Lester duchy from being implicated as well.

After that, the Lester duchy became the right hand of the Crown Prince, taking over the roles of the Grant marquis family and the Vandermir duchy.

“They’re quite bold. Even just purchasing black magic tools is severely punished, yet they invested directly and sold them.”

“People always ruin themselves due to endless greed. As long as we have this contract in our hands, the Lester duchy is nothing more than a small fry we can eliminate anytime.”

Lucas smirked and laughed heartily. He had been worried about the existence of a duchy that could become the center of Frederick’s support, but now it seemed he could ease that burden.

When Arasila finished her story, he spoke up this time.

“I found out about a new merchant guild Frederick has started dealing with. It’s called the Habitz Guild, a newly established one from earlier this year.”

It was a small-scale guild primarily engaged in trade with other countries, but the flow of funds surrounding them was extraordinary.

On the surface, they imported everyday items like groceries and furniture, but they dealt with renowned guilds from other countries or the payments were expensive compared to the goods, so vast sums of money were exchanged.

“By my guess, their true identity seems to be a guild specializing in smuggling. They’re pretending to be a small guild buying and selling minor goods externally to avoid detection.”

“That makes sense. If it were truly an ordinary guild, there’s no way His Highness the Crown Prince would have started dealing with them.”

“The problem is that there’s little information circulating about them since they’re a new guild. Not many people know about them, and their relationships with other guilds aren’t very deep either.”

Lucas groaned softly as he crossed his arms. It wasn’t easy to approach stealthily without Frederick noticing.

The small scale meant fewer people working inside, which in turn meant a higher chance of being discovered if they sent their own person in.

It was Reilly who offered a solution to the two people lost in thought.

“I’ll try infiltrating that guild. I have connections in the guild world, so it shouldn’t be difficult to get introduced as an employee with a laundered identity.”

“Hmm, you, Reilly…?”

Arasila narrowed her eyes and stared at Reilly. He raised his hand enthusiastically and promoted himself more actively.

“I was originally skilled at disguising myself and deceiving people for surprise attacks. Even if I get caught, I’ll never mention your names, so please entrust this to me with peace of mind!”

“But when we first met, you immediately spilled information when I threatened your life.”

“Ugh!”

Clutching his chest as if struck in a vital spot by Arasila’s words, Reilly spoke desperately.

“That, that was because I thought I could get help from you, sister! I know I must never speak even if I die when it comes to avenging Brady and my comrades.”

Reilly clenched his fist. If he hadn’t said he came to catch the owl back then, he wouldn’t have taken Arasila to his comrades’ hideout either.

Arasila quietly looked at Reilly, who seemed particularly strong in loyalty and friendship. It seemed not bad to entrust him with the role of a spy.

She glanced briefly at Lucas, who nodded slightly as if agreeing. Arasila opened her mouth towards Reilly, who had a pitiful expression.

“Alright, I’ll entrust this to you then. Go in and steal the transaction records related to the Crown Prince, the Lester duchy, and the nobles associated with them.”

“Yes! Understood!”

Reilly answered with determination. Unlike Brady, his identity remained unknown, so it was worth placing hope in him.

After that, Arasila and Lucas made plans for what to do next. Their ultimate goal was to denounce Frederick’s treason in front of the Emperor.

From now on, they had to gather forces and build a support base that would empower them at that time. For this, Arasila decided to expand her influence in social circles, while Lucas would do so in political circles.

For some, it didn’t suit their aptitude, while others showed more talent than expected. But steadily moving forward was similar for both.

Under the summer sun when all things showed more vibrant life than ever, Arasila held tea parties every week.

Her tea parties, favored by the Grand Duchess of Kiston and supported by the Hugo marquis family, saw increasing participants day by day.

“Arasila Vandermir, becoming the new axis of social circles?”

The scale of the gatherings grew rapidly enough for such newspaper articles to appear. Arasila made friends regardless of family background and drew them to her side.

By the end of summer, she had become someone the young people in social circles admired and followed, while adults watched her with a mix of boldness and pride.

In autumn, when the sky was clear and the trees were dyed in vibrant colors, she lived even busier. It was thanks to her diligent focus on confession potion research and education as the next Magic Tower Master.

The more she proved her skills and passion, the more people viewed Arasila separately from the unfortunate incident her husband caused.

“I’m curious about how the Magic Tower under Arasila’s leadership will be. I regret being born 10 years too early.”

“Let’s work hard following our senior’s example. That’s how we’ll become mages we won’t be ashamed of in the future.”

Her reputation within the Magic Tower, which had faltered briefly, improved even more than before, and the confession potion research sailed smoothly. All of this was achieved by Arasila, who gritted her teeth and worked hard behind the scenes.

As time passed like that, winter came when even the air touching the skin felt freezing cold.

Arasila took care of the servants and guarded the mansion as its mistress. Thanks to her efforts, it maintained exactly the same appearance as last year without anything broken or changed.

“Madam, I’ve cleaned the fireplace in the study thoroughly. The training ground reorganization is also complete.”

“Well done. Now, could you organize the dressing room? Put the out-of-season clothes in the back and bring out the winter clothes.”

She always kept even unused spaces and clothes clean and tidy. With the mindset that the owner might return at any time.

She also celebrated birthdays modestly with Audrey and Colin, even for the absent person. This too stemmed from the thought that the birthday person might return at any time.

Thus, Arasila spent four seasons alone in the vast mansion. She first came here at twenty-one in spring, and now she was already turning twenty-three.

As the year changed, she deliberately avoided mentioning Demian in front of people. The more she spoke of him, the deeper her longing grew, and it was painful.

But that doesn’t mean she ever forgot about him.

Arasila saw Demian in the blazing sun. She felt him in the passing wind. She thought of him looking at the snow covering the whole world.

Demian was present in every moment.

She was alone, yet not alone.

Knowing this fact well, in the painfully slow passing time, there was only one thing Arasila wished for.

To be together in the coming spring.

And it had been a year since Demian left.

Isaac ran against the fiercely blowing wind. Although his skin, roughened by exposure to harsh weather, felt like it might tear, he didn’t stop his legs.

Halfway through, he nearly slipped on an ice patch but barely regained balance and dashed into the guard post. He climbed the stairs three steps at a time.

Thump thump!

As his excited fist knocked on the door, a heavy voice echoed rather than a knock.

“Come in.”

With permission from inside, Isaac immediately opened the door wide. Unlike him with his thoroughly disheveled hair and flushed face, Demian was sitting neatly in front of the desk.

However, he too seemed to have been waiting for something, maintaining a motionless posture with his arms crossed, doing nothing.

As their gazes crossed, Isaac shouted in an excited voice.

“Commander, the allied foreign tribes have officially sent a surrender document!”

“Did you bring it?”

“Yes, it’s here!”

Isaac, who walked majestically towards Demian, pulled out a rolled-up paper from his chest. Demian calmly checked its contents.

It contained an apology for the border invasion, a plea to end the war now, and a request for amicable reconciliation and agreement.

They had sent everything the Empire wanted without missing a single point.

“How is it, Commander? Is there a problem? Should I go and get it again?”

Isaac asked urgently. Demian silently exhaled deeply and put down the paper.

For the past year, he had thrown his whole body into battle to accept this defeat. He carried out uncompromising attacks to make the other side raise the white flag first. Only then could he gain a flawless and perfect victory.

Finally reaping the fruits of that effort, the corners of Demian’s mouth curved into a smile. He spoke to his subordinate who was waiting tensely for an answer.

“There’s no problem at all.”

“Re-really?! Then we…!”

“Yes, pack your bags.”

As soon as the words ended, Isaac let out a scream that could have been a cheer or a shriek. Unable to contain his rising joy, he rushed outside. Even in the midst of it, he diligently gave a salute.

Demian got up from his seat and approached the window. When he opened it, a chilling wind blew in, enough to wake him up completely.

Hmm, so it’s reality, not a dream.

As the cold sensation confirmed this, even the last bit of anxiety remaining in a corner of his heart seemed to be blown away by the wind.

The victorious cheers of his subordinates outside spread like waves. In fact, Demian was just as happy, enough to want to shout.

Instead, he burst into low laughter and looked up at the sky. It’s particularly clear and vivid today without a single cloud. Like someone’s eyes.

“I want to see you soon.”

A low murmur flowed through his lips. Demian closed the window and began tidying up the desk.

The faster he prepares, the faster he can depart, right?

Demian, who plucked out only his pen from the container full of pens, left the conference room with light steps.

Now that the fight that seemed like it would never end has finally come to an end, it’s time to return to the side of his loved one.

Arasila’s expression while reading the research report was not very bright. It had been several months since there was no progress in the confession potion research, like a ship hitting a reef.

Although they had figured out the correct cultivation and management method for Dilai flowers, they were still failing to revive them. Even trying to improve similar varieties was of no use.

Nothing could replace the Dilai flower, nor could they perfectly reproduce it.

“It failed this time too.”

Arasila said, almost like a sigh, as she closed the report. They had proceeded with development by importing plants from other countries famous for having similar effects to the Dilai flower.

Everyone had placed quite a bit of hope on this one, but the results were still not promising. The expressions of Sally, Rudy, and Eric were all equally gloomy.

“Please, just one! Even just one would be good, if only we had a seedling or seed of the Dilai flower. Then everything would work out…”

Sally muttered, clutching her head. Unfortunately, because it had gone completely extinct and even specimens couldn’t be obtained, they couldn’t move forward despite having reached the final stage of research.

“Hasn’t anyone secretly kept one? If we search the whole empire, wouldn’t at least one person turn up?”

“Honestly, how long has it been since it went extinct? Even if anything remains now, it would just be crumbs.”

Rudy retorted with a tired face, dark shadows deeply set under his eyes. It was the aftermath of barely giving up after clinging on until dawn, unable to believe the development failure.

“Even that would be something. We could revive it even with just a root fragment.”

“That’s true. Then, where should we start searching? Since Dilai flowers grow well in cold places, shall we start investigating from the northern regions?”

“Yeah, I think it would be good to start from the coldest area in the north.”

As Eric joined in, spouting unrealistic words, Arasila, who had been watching, lightly tapped the table.

“Everyone, pull yourselves together. How can you be so discouraged after failing a few times? Take a few days to clear your heads and rest, then let’s start again.”

At her words, both scolding and comforting, the three nodded, barely regaining their strength.

Arasila, who acted as if nothing was wrong in front of them, only let out a heavy sigh full of concern after getting on the carriage alone after work.

‘This is driving me crazy, we’ve been researching for over a year, what should we do about this…’

She lightly bumped her head against the carriage wall.

If the confession potion research succeeded, they planned to use it when denouncing Frederick’s rebellion.

Of course, they were steadily gathering evidence that Frederick couldn’t deny even without the confession potion, but you never know. They might need a secret weapon.

However, it was frustratingly unbearable that the research hit a wall, not understanding her desperate heart.

‘Nothing’s working out. I’m also irritated that Demian’s news suddenly stopped.’

Articles related to the northern war had disappeared a month ago. Upon investigating the cause, it was said that information was being strictly controlled near the border.

Knowing that not being able to know the progress of the war was closer to bad news than good news, Arasila had been having trouble sleeping lately.

‘…Should I go to the north once under the pretext of investigating Dilai flowers, as the kids and Lord Roberts suggested earlier?’

She was secretly tempted, but soon gave up. If she was caught wandering around the north, it might cause harm to Demian.

As the carriage approached the mansion, Arasila composed her expression. She didn’t want to show any sign of difficulty in front of others.

At that moment, the silhouette of someone standing in front of the mansion caught her eye.

‘…Huh? Audrey?’

For some reason, Audrey had come out to the gate and was waving her hands urgently.