Chapter 21: Chapter 21

“do you have anything to gain?”

“of course.”

antes leisurely took a sip of wine, his face showing no hint of foul play.

is it really true? luna doubted, trying to pierce the true intentions of antes. but it was futile; she could see nothing.

“what do you gain? you’re not going to answer with ‘our happy times together’ like last time, are you?”

if so, beware. i will punch that handsome nose of yours.

with this determination in her heart, luna questioned, to which antes, pushing an empty glass towards the center of the table, stood up and responded.

“if we date, i’ll tell you.”

“i should know to answer if i’ll date you.”

“not necessarily.”

luna also stood up from her seat insisting he should tell her, to which antes replied with a stern face.

“even if i tell you, you won’t agree to date. you’ll make your choice based on your feelings, regardless of what i gain.”

“well…”

“so, even if i tell you what i gain, it will only satisfy your curiosity.”

“that…”

…but. luna shut her mouth, questioning how well he seemed to know her.

“why not go to bed now? you seem to have drunk a lot of wine.”

you might fall. before antes finished speaking, luna swayed, unable to control her drunkenness.

it was as if antes knew luna wouldn’t be able to stand straight from the amount of alcohol she had consumed. wrapping his arm around her waist, he asked her gently.

“do you need help?”

knowing that if she refused, he would just leave, luna grabbed antes’s arm around her waist.

she could have called emma or laura if he left her, but then she would certainly be teased for not being able to control her drunkenness.

“…support me carefully. if i fall and get bruised, i’ll be angry.”

“of course. i’ll do my best.”

his response was soft, but somehow sly.

luna, glaring at antes, entrusted herself to his support.

* * *

in the morning, when the message came that baron peils was looking for him, duke rodrian, who showed signs of annoyance, soon nodded to his servant to let him in.

“sorry for disturbing you so early, duke. i have something to say, so i came to see you.”

the baron who entered the duke’s study greeted politely, but the duke finished his response with just a nod, not putting down his book.

“i came to see you yesterday, but you were out, so i had to come early today.”

“let’s skip the preamble and go straight to the point.”

“ah, yes.”

the duke replied coldly, but it was nothing new, so the baron nodded and quickly brought up his main point.

“actually, i want to retire.”

“retire?”

“yes.”

at the word ‘retire’, the duke raised his eyebrows. the baron had been working without complaints for decades, and now suddenly he wanted to retire.

the duke put down his book and asked the baron.

“do you have enough money to choose retirement?”

“no, it’s not about the money, but actually my daughter luna…”

the baron tried to explain, but the duke cut him off without listening.

“so, what do you plan to do after you retire? it’s not like you have any outstanding abilities.”

“well, yes, but my daughter…”

“and your territory is not very significant, isn’t it? it would also be hard for you to find a job elsewhere at your age.”

“…”

finally, the duke closed his mouth as if he had said everything he wanted to say. it seemed like he had said everything that came to mind when the baron mentioned retirement.

even though he was deeply displeased, the baron, not backing down, responded with a smile, trying to gauge the duke’s mood.

“haha, as you said, duke, i was going to keep working at least until luna gets married, but a gold mine was discovered in our territory, so i decided to retire.”

“…a gold mine?”

“yes. as you know, duke, our family doesn’t have anyone who can manage it. so i’m going to retire and manage the gold mine.”

“was there a gold mine in that worthless piece of land?”

“haha, yes, surprising, isn’t it? i was surprised too.”

the baron laughed heartily, and the duke, who had been silent, lost in thought.

gold mine. gold always had high demand. therefore, those who owned gold mines passed on wealth from generation to generation.

that there was a gold mine in the peils territory.

even though he was already a wealthy duke, he couldn’t deny his greed. after a long thought, the duke made a proposal to the baron.

“congratulations. a gold mine, could there be anything better? but isn’t it too much for the baron to manage alone? i’ll lend you some people.”

“ah, thank you for your consideration, but it’s okay. i’m already in talks with the merchant guild management. they seem to be taking care of everything.”

“the merchant guild management?” the duke asked as the baron seemed to speak as if he’d heard it from somewhere else.

“in fact, it wasn’t me who discovered it, but my daughter, luna. that extraordinary child took care of everything on her own, including finding management and proceeding with the contract, so i’m just reaping the benefits of her hard work!”

the duke, not pleased with the explanation he’d heard, ordered with a dissatisfied face.

“if there are any penalties, bite the bullet and cancel the deal. wouldn’t we obviously be able to offer better? why didn’t you tell me first? get it wrapped up properly. we’ll take care of the management too. then the baron won’t have to quit his job, right? it suits you better to work in the ducal estate rather than managing a gold mine.”

the baron, who had not expected the duke to hold him in such high esteem, expressed his disapproval.

“i apologize, duke. i appreciate your kind words, but as soon as my successor is found, i plan to leave.”

as he spoke with determination about his intention to resign, the duke could no longer hold onto him. annoyed, the duke waved his hand, indicating him to go away.

“yes. then i’ll pass on the message to find your work successor.”

with that, the baron respectfully acknowledged the duke’s order and left the study.

it had always been uncomfortable to engage in conversation with the duke, who never failed to ridicule him. but that won’t be the case for much longer. once he quits working for the duke, he’ll never have to see him again.

thinking about it made him feel lighter.

the baron arrived at his office, trying to shake off the discomfort from his conversation with the duke. as usual, he summoned the servant who was about to leave the room after placing the documents.

“what can i do for you?”

“i think i need to find my successor soon. as soon as possible.”

“your successor… sir, are you quitting?”

the servant asked back with a face similar to the duke’s, ‘if you quit this job, how will you make a living?’

the baron, already drained from the conversation with the duke, simply nodded at the tiresome explanation.

“yes, that’s why i want you to find it as soon as possible.”

“have you informed the duke?”

“of course. now that everything is done, don’t worry and find my successor.”

“i see… understood.”

once the servant left, the baron, now finally alone, began to sift through the mountain of documents while getting lost in his thoughts. he wondered how he ended up quitting this job that he couldn’t even take a break from when his beloved wife died.

it would have been nice if he had known about the gold mine in the peils territory earlier. then, maybe his life and luna’s would have been a little different.

he regretted not paying more attention to his territory instead of neglecting it.

but now it was all useless to think about it. time couldn’t be turned back, and it was too precious to waste on regrets.

from now on, he and luna would live well together, without envy of anyone.

thinking this, the baron began to rummage through the pile of documents.

* * *

fersen, who had been driven out of the baron’s estate and spent the night drinking, woke up with a start at the barrage of insults from his father.

“i can’t stand the thought of giving my title to a guy like you!”

“ah, father…?”

“are you now drinking and not even showing up at the dining room!? can you still proudly say you are the heir to the duke!?”

despite fersen bowing his head with a pale face at the duke’s rebuke, the tirade didn’t stop.

“and you, what on earth were you doing while baron peils’ daughter found a gold mine and made a contract with some company!?”

“…eh?”

a gold mine?

fersen asked his father with a face stained with hangover and sleep. the duke, seeming irritated by his face, gritted his teeth and raged.

“you’re responsible for getting that contract back to our side! go down and check how big the gold mine is!”

once he finished speaking, the duke left the room, leaving fersen behind.

fersen, who had not yet fully recovered, massaged his aching head and asked his attendant.

“what on earth happened?”

“i don’t know the exact details, but if i summarize the duke’s words, it seems luna peils found a gold mine and made a contract with some company.”

“what…!?”

so, luna’s talk about the gold mine and whatnot was real? and that too with antes merchant guild!?

as fersen agonized over his throbbing headache, he was served a refreshing drink with honey.

while he was gulping down the water without even catching his breath, the servant relayed new information.

“i’m not sure if it’s because of the gold mine, but baron peils has expressed his intention to retire. he asked for a successor as soon as possible. so he said he’s preparing an announcement to find his successor.”

“…damn.”

if even the baron said he wanted to quit, then the probability of it actually happening was high. in this absurd and stifling situation, fersen sighed after finishing his drink.

he was angered at the sight of luna and antes together and was unable to properly assess the situation. this was the result.

‘did antes trick luna into a contract with him?’

given luna’s naivety, it was a strong possibility.

‘antes must have sweet-talked luna, who discovered the gold mine, into signing a contract with him. they even spent the night together!’

the thought of it made his blood boil, and he couldn’t stand still. he couldn’t just let this happen.

he had to snatch both the gold mine and luna from antes.

but he couldn’t rush to luna right away, so fersen ran to the baron’s office, with whom he had a good rapport.