The reason for the massive wealth of the Louizette Count’s family was that they were the first to dive into the mining development industry.
I was already aware of this much from reading the novel. However, during the lesson, I realized that the truly important details were never mentioned in the novel.
The Count’s family started mining after acquiring undeveloped mines and obtaining the mining rights from the royal palace. They mined relentlessly, not even knowing how many mountains they had bought.
From these mines, they extracted not only precious metals like gold, silver, and diamonds but also coal and other fuels. Among these, the most valuable was the magic stone, regarded as a divine gift. The Louizette Count’s family became as wealthy as they are now because of these magic stone mines.
I realized that money indeed begets money as they earned from selling jewels from the cheaply bought mountains, bought more mountains, and mined more valuable minerals.
It seemed inevitable that the rich get richer, and the poor stay poor.
“But then, there were objections to the Count’s family monopolizing the mining rights, right?”
“Yes, my lord. As expected, our Countess is quick to understand!”
Hanna didn’t miss praising me in between her explanations. It seemed like just sitting there and nodding was enough to warrant praise.
Had I ever received such unconditional adoration and affection before…? Certainly not in my previous life. Feeling somewhat overwhelmed, I straightened up, sat up straight, and pulled my shoulders back.
“But the Count’s family could continue monopolizing the mining rights because…”
“They had a powerful backer.”
Hanna nodded. Before I even spoke, she already knew what I was getting at. It was a simple principle: if people are complaining but nothing changes, it means someone more powerful is backing them up.
“So, it was the Toskur Grand Duke? And that’s why you were so subservient to him? But the timelines don’t match. This story must be over 30 years old.”
“Half right. The reason the Count’s family was under the thumb of the Grand Duke is correct, but the real power behind it was not the Grand Duke himself, but his mother, Lady Marina.”
“Lady Marina?”
Shouldn’t there be a more exalted title than just ‘Lady’ for the mother of a Grand Duke?
“Yes. She was, let’s say, a lover of the previous Emperor…”
Though Hanna trailed off, I understood what she meant. The Toskur Grand Duke was the son of the previous Emperor and his lover, not his wife.
〈Why was my nephew so angry? I didn’t even properly greet my uncle whom I hadn’t seen in a long time.〉
〈Do I have another uncle besides the one under Grandmother Melania’s care?〉
I remembered the tense conversation between Karl and Franz at the train station when I returned to the capital. What was incomprehensible then suddenly made sense.
If Franz is the son of the Emperor’s lover, he would be an uncle to Karl, who is roughly the same age. Their relationship must indeed be complicated.
Moreover, judging from their conversation, Karl did not seem to acknowledge Franz, who was not born of a formal marriage. No wonder sparks fly when they meet. I nodded understandingly.
“The previous Emperor really cherished Lady Marina. He would grant even somewhat unreasonable requests if they came from her.”
“Surely, it wasn’t thanks to that person that the Count’s family was able to monopolize the mining rights?”
“You’ve hit the nail on the head. Lady Marina practically made the Louizette Count’s family into the wealthy dynasty it is today.”
So, the pillow talk of Lady Marina played a crucial role in elevating the Count’s family to their current status.
“But nothing comes for free. What did she want in return for maintaining the Count’s family’s monopoly on the mining rights?”
“She wanted to be the nominal owner.”
“Of what?”
“Of all industries utilizing magic stones.”
“Every industry? So from mining to processing and selling, everything?”
“Yes.”
“Wow… so she wanted to be a shadow boss, doing everything as she pleased behind a figurehead? And the Count’s family just agreed to this?”
“It was better than losing the rights to another family. The details of the agreement should be in the contract, which only the head of the family can access. I haven’t seen it myself.”
That’s why Franz could command Celeste as he pleased. What belonged to Celeste was, in fact, his mother’s property.
“Oh, my head.”
The relationship between Franz and Celeste was much more capitalistic than I thought. It wasn’t just a simple romantic relationship as portrayed in the novel.
More like a relationship between a boss and a subordinate.
“So where is this Lady Marina now?”
“I’m not sure. After the previous Emperor’s demise, she left for ‘recuperation’ somewhere far away.”
Was it really for recuperation? More likely, she went into hiding, fearing repercussions after losing her powerful protector.
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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