“So, no one is able to move the gold coins? They suddenly multiply or become extremely heavy when touched?”

I asked with a bewildered expression after hearing the entire story.

“I’ve also been busy with Rose’s matter, so this is my first time back here. Though I haven’t experienced it myself, according to my subordinate’s report, that’s the case. Perhaps it’s because these were treasures guarded by the Spirit King, as you mentioned.”

‘No, Lord Lucian. You didn’t believe me when I said I summoned spirits, did you? Looking at me with that late-onset chuunibyou gaze of pity.’

After the night I fainted while bringing Rose, this is my first time coming to the Ash Forest.

The gold coins that once filled the space created by the Spirit King now densely covered the forest floor.

“Lord Ramin, try picking up a gold coin.”

At Lord Lucian’s command, the man called Lord Ramin tried to lift a gold coin, but immediately it multiplied with a ‘pop pop pop!’ sound. Lord Ramin dropped the coin in disgust. It was clearly impossible to move them in this state.

“I apologize.”

“Just as reported…”

Darius and Lord Lucian wore serious expressions.

“This is troublesome.”

“Your Grace.”

I whispered softly into Darius’s ear.

“Would Your Grace like to try picking one up?”

“Me?”

“Just try it once for now.”

Darius picked up a gold coin with a dubious look. It was the same coin Lord Ramin had just dropped in disgust.

“Hmm?”

As expected.

“Is it heavy? Is there any difference from a normal gold coin?”

I raised a finger to shush Lord Lucian, who was widening his eyes in surprise.

“As expected, Your Grace and Her Grace have special abilities different from others…!”

“Be quiet and hurry, Lord Lucian, try touching a gold coin too.”

Lord Lucian hesitantly picked up a gold coin. The coin remained calm in his hand as well. As if it wasn’t a magically enchanted coin at all.

I sighed.

“As I thought.”

I whispered the secret of the gold coins in a volume only Darius and Lord Lucian could hear.

“Actually, these gold coins are under a spell. It’s magic that prevents anyone from taking the coins if they’re thinking of personal gain rather than public benefit.”

Didn’t I almost get trapped myself when I momentarily drooled over the coins in front of Sylphid?

“The fact that you two can properly touch these coins means you’re truly pure-hearted people without greed.”

As expected of the male lead. And the knight commander trusted by the male lead. I wasn’t wrong to trust Lord Lucian.

“You mean, the soldiers of the Grand Duke’s household couldn’t properly move the coins because…!”

It means they all had at least one selfish thought when seeing the coins in this forest.

“Well, it’s not like humans can remain completely unmoved when seeing such an enormous amount of gold coins. Even if they don’t actually act on it, a small fantasy might cross their minds.”

Not that I’m saying this because I was shaken myself.

Lord Lucian’s eyes were blazing with anger towards Lord Ramin behind him. Well, even so, a knight should have more sense of responsibility than a common soldier. Even though I’m the Grand Duchess.

“This is wisdom passed down from our ancestors. We must immediately replace all the knights and soldiers who participated in excavating the coins in this forest…!”

“Lucian, if we arbitrarily replace people, who will be left in our castle?”

Surprisingly, it was Darius who stopped Lucian as he was about to lose his temper.

Darius maintained a calm expression even when faced with soldiers of corrupt discipline.

“Soldiers whose hearts waver at the sight of gold coins, I cannot have such men under my command.”

“A leader can’t always have subordinates to their liking. A commander should know how to manage the battlefield with the cards they’re dealt. Your excessive righteousness is your weakness, Lucian.”

“Your Grace’s words…”

“First, have all the soldiers and knights in this forest touch the gold coins.”

“Pardon?”

“As expected of Your Grace.”

I smiled brightly at Darius’s words. Like a true couple, we were both thinking the same thing.

* * *

A long line formed in front of the Ash Forest.

“Next person.”

“Yes! Soldier Jabet reporting as summoned!”

Some kind of test was taking place in front of a pile of gold coins.

“Lucian, how is it? We should have counted all the excavated gold coins by now.”

“They are the same type of gold coins as those found in the jars at the castle by Lady Anette last time.”

“The same type? You mean those ancient gold coins that collectors gather, which would fetch double the price if put on the market?”

“Precisely, My Lady.”

“Goodness, then this amount…”

A heap of gold coins was piled in front of Darius, Anette, and Lucian.

Their conversation seemed somewhat awkward, and their manner of speaking was theatrical, but the bewildered Jabet didn’t notice.

‘What are they trying to make me do? Everyone who went into the tent at the lord’s summons came out shaking their heads. Just how difficult a task are they planning to give?’

* * *

Jabet’s hands trembled on his spear at the thought of standing before the Grand Duke, the ruler of the North, and his beautiful new lady.

He didn’t even glance at the gold coins laid out before him. Those coins weren’t his anyway.

“Jabet, was it?”

The beautiful lady smiled brightly at Jabet.

“All you need to do is move these gold coins over there. It’s not a difficult task.”

“Yes, uh? The gold coins… you say?”

Wasn’t it said that the coins in this forest were under a spell and couldn’t even be touched?

“Someone like me?”

“Give it a try. Who knows? If you move the coins well, you might receive these gold coins as a reward, Jabet.”

Jabet moved his hand towards the pile of coins in a daze. Even as he did so, he didn’t expect anything to happen.

“Oh…?”

“Hmm, you’re someone who can touch the gold coins without any issues.”

Darius nodded, looking closely at Jabet’s face. Lucian also wrote down Jabet’s name separately on a piece of paper.

Jabet had seen with his own eyes someone get crushed by multiplying coins when they mishandled them when he first came to the forest. But now, nothing happened.

“It seems Lord Lucian lost the bet again.”

“It would be better if you had more faith in your subordinates.”

Anette and Darius teased Lucian with smiles. All three of them were normally such high-ranking individuals in the North that Jabet wouldn’t dare even make eye contact with them.

“I’ll remember your name. You may go now.”

“Pardon? Pardon?”

“Your task is done. Next person.”

“That’s two passes in a row, surely the next one will fail.”

“Is it better if someone fails? Wouldn’t it be better if they don’t? Really, Lord Lucian.”

“Your intuition is terrible. It’s best not to trust your sixth sense. On the other hand, Anette’s intuition is quite reliable.”

“Speaking of that intuition, I predict a failure this time.”

“But My Lady, didn’t you just say it’s better if they pass?”

“But after two consecutive passes, statistically it’s time for a greedy person to show up again. So far, about one in four has been a good person.”

“You keep beating me to the punch, My Lady, so I can’t help but lose.”

“Lucian, are you daring to express dissatisfaction with my wife?”

“More importantly, can’t you both speak more naturally? How many times has it been, and you’re still so stiff?”

“I think we’ve improved a lot since the beginning.”

The three were already preparing for the next person. Jabet had no choice but to leave the tent, scratching his head.

“What in the world…”

The ungreedy Jabet didn’t yet know that a good military life awaited him in the future.

* * *

“So this is all of it?”

After about two hours, the aptitude test—no, the gold coin discrimination test—was finally over.

Towards the end, rumors had spread that the higher-ups were taking note of who could move the coins in the tent, but the coins unerringly picked out even those who were pretending to be good on the outside.

“One in three soldiers passed, and one in four knights. Fewer on the knight side.”

“We plan to prioritize those who passed for important positions in the future, trusting their character.”

Conversely, knights who openly displayed their greed like Lord Ramin would likely face negative consequences in future promotion reviews.

The most important things in the military are supplies and provisions. If honest people handle the money, life in the barracks will improve significantly.

When the able-bodied men who could handle the selected gold coins each carried a load to the castle, the troublesome transportation was completed in just half a day.

After finishing the transport to the castle’s underground storage, Darius, myself, and Lord Lucian faced each other.

As I fiddled with the magical gold coins that hadn’t lost their shine despite the long years, I finally muttered with a serious face.

“This is problematic.”

“Yes, it is a problem.”

Unable to follow the conversation between Darius and me, Lord Lucian alone frowned.

“What do you mean, problematic?”

“The mountain of gold coins itself is the problem, Lucian.”

“Most people have issues just touching these coins, so how could we possibly use this mountain of gold?”

The coins would surely pop and multiply if handed to a merchant right away.

What merchant wouldn’t feel greed at the sight of gold?

“Well, we could use these coins as collateral to borrow goods. At least they’re physically here.”

“And if asked why we don’t use these coins to buy goods directly, we could make up some appropriate circumstances.”

“But with acting skills as stiff as earlier, transactions would be really difficult.”

True to their nature as honest knights, no matter how much they practiced, Lucian and Darius’s acting skills didn’t improve.