CH 26

Luke said in a proud voice as the thief looked on with numbness.

“That is Prause’s tree. that sprouted from the heart of the first Grand Duke Prause, who was a pure-blooded dragon, became a strong tree.”

The knights around him added a word.

“It is The pride of the Dragon family and their cousins.”

“The fruit comes out once every hundred years, and the Imoogi that eats the fruit will have the power of a dragon.”

“Luke, the best knight of the family, was going to eat the fruit that will be born next year. however……”

For a moment, the knights looked at me in unison.

“because a woman living in the imperial palace begged the emperor to make a crown out of the leaves and branches of that tree—”

Oh, I remembered.

“The half of the tree, which had been bearing fruit, was cut down by the emperor’s command of grand duke Prause.”

“….”

The light purple laurel wreath that was my 12th birthday present…..

‘I didn’t think it was made from cutting Prause’s tree.’

To briefly explain the situation at the time, it was like this.

It was fashionable to wear rare accessories and leave portraits among the young lady of that age to debut.

I also made my debut at the age of 12-

[“dad! mom! The other ladies wear rare jewelry…”]

[“I know, I know. But the women of the imperial family usually wear a laurel wreath on their debutante portraits.”]

[“Then our Frey should wear a laurel wreath made from the most beautiful and precious tree.”]

My father and mother made catalogs of precious trees from all over the world and showed them to me.

What caught my eye was, of course, the purple Prause tree.

‘The tree is purple, so it’s amazing at a young age…’

A brilliant color that other young ladies would never have.

It seemed that if I wore it on my head and left a portrait, I would be recognized as a member of the imperial family. I thought young people around my age would be amazed and approach me.

‘Of course, that didn’t happen.’

When I found out why the employees were sulking, I felt a chill down my back even though it was not a hot day.

In other words, this tree is a cultural property and treasure of dragon blood and its cousins, Imoogi. But because of my debutante, a branch of the tree was severely cut off, and I used it as an accessory. A branch that was bearing fruit.

‘No wonder the way you looked at me was unusual.’

What’s certain is that this is unforgivable. I asked them in a calm voice.

“It seems that I made a mistake when I was immature. I can’t compensate you with anything, but I sincerely apologize for the atrocities in the past.”

Then Luke laughed heartily.

“Haha, no. It’s a big deal that I can’t receive the dragon’s protection because I couldn’t eat the fruit that was supposed to open. We just have to wait a hundred more years for the next fruit.”

“….”

There were thorns in Luke’s words.

“But I think you now know why we don’t call Lady Frey Grand Duchess.”

“sure. I think that is a very reasonable conclusion based on rational thinking.”

Even I wouldn’t want to have a woman wearing a crown made from a precious tree of the family as my master.

I slightly avoided their gaze and greeted them.

“Thank you for letting me see the Grand Duke. Then I’ll go in.”

In such an embarrassing situation, the 306 line was the best.

* * *

‘Because of the atrocities of the past, life in the North will not be easy.’

Returning to my room, I thought for a while drinking tea with Lina. Because of my sins, it was impossible to expect voluntary cooperation. But even so, I couldn’t let the Grand duke’s employees treat me as invisible.

I’m gonna have to get to work without time to breathe.’ I brought up a question I had in mind from the moment the empress introduced the candidates for maids.

“Lina, come to think of it, Baron Holt is running the guild, right?”

It was a simple question, but Lina answered with a close shout.

“yes. However, the size of the guild is small, so it seems difficult to get the items the Grand Duchess wants.”

Lina seemed to think that I wanted some extravagant luxuries or rare items, such as a crown cut from a Prause tree.

To heal your tattered mind and body, it’s best to entrust your body and wallet and buy anything.

‘Now is not the time for that.’

If she cannot get rid of the image of an incompetent cultural asset vandal, the next two years and seven months will be difficult.

The plan to build intimacy with future male leads and baby transcendents is also a waste, Daniel’s Assassination? Of course, if I don’t have power, I can’t stop it.

It would be fortunate if I did not get killed by the spies sent by the queen or the prince. I decided to implement the plan I had been thinking about since entering the north.

“Lina. What kind of items does the Holt Merchants trade? These days, I’m more interested in things that are useful when forming assets rather than luxuries.”

“Then the guild of my family won’t be very helpful. The main sales at the guild are rose quartz which is mined in the southern mines.”

Rose quartz.

It is an item that is worthless at the beginning of the game. It has the same name as the mineral in the world I used to live in, but it has a completely different nature.

As the name suggests, it is a rose-colored gemstone, and it was mainly used for the rough ornaments of ordinary people due to its poor gloss. As ordinary people are the main demand class, it was characterized by the low price of raw stones because the price was cheap.

“Is the necklace that Lina is wearing right now also decorated with rose quartz?”

“yes. There are many rose quartz mines in the south instead of gold or diamond mines. Most of them are neglected because they are not commercially viable.”

Lina even explained how many rose quartz mines a certain family-owned and what the price of mines on the market was. This is the benefit of choosing her as a maid.

However, when it comes to rose quartz, I also had a lot of information.

‘I collected 50,000 of rose quartz to raise my mining skill level and proficiency.’

Having reached max level in a game that was my only hobby, I became obsessed with minerals and gems.

There was no reason.

[“Stone ring? Your parents left you without a first birthday party, so what do you mean by a stone ring?….”]

Because in my previous life, I had never had anything shiny.

‘It took me a while to find out that people were calling my character a mining maniac.’

I didn’t know that the knowledge I had then would help me in this way in my next life.

Thanks to that, I knew even information that no one in this world seemed to know yet. For example, how to process rough ore stones to have brilliance and value comparable to diamonds.

“Lina. I am interested in rose quartz and want to buy a mine. Can I purchase it through Baron Holt?”

“yes? But the rose quartz mine….”

“I know it’s not profitable. But I already have all the shiny ones.”

I added an explanation for the sake of plausibility, and Lina nodded as if she understood.

“I’m tired of expensive jewelry because I already have them all. I think the northern part suits a more simple feeling.”

“ah…”

“Of course, I will pay Baron Holt’s fee as much as he works hard. So could you write a letter of what I am saying and forward it to Baron Holt?”

Lina refused with a surprised face.

“No, Your Highness. What do you mean by a fee?”

“Lina came to the North for me, and I should also thank Baron Holt. It will also help Lina, who will later inherit her guild stake.”

The value of the mine owned by Baron Holt will rise without knowing the end.

Concealing my feelings, I recited the contents of my hopes for a transaction to Illina.

It was never a loss to Baron Holt if he could make this much profit by using useless rose quartz mines and gemstones.

In return, he’ll give me an encounter with the Spirit of Knowledge.

* * *

Meanwhile,  the imperial palace, Frey’s name was still going up and down.

Normally, it would have been mainly about the princess’s misdeeds or depravity, but after the wedding, the main content changed.

“For a person who has been judged for less than a year, she uses her divine power too well. Is it a natural talent?”

“however…Isn’t it a bit strange that a group of rats suddenly appeared?”

A maid asked. Then the other two maids were silent for a while.

As if they had promised, they looked at the prince’s office nearby, then moved their gaze.

“What’s so strange about this?”

“Anyway, it’s important that she finish the wedding well.”

“Shall we go clean the balcony now?”

The sound of footsteps got farther and farther away.

Tahar, who had been eavesdropping on the employees’ conversations from inside the office, walked away from the door.

“I’ll just cut down on that lowly thing like before.”

He spoke harshly and sat down in a chair. The Crown Princess, Garnet, who was sitting on the sofa, flinched and trembled.

Don’t worry, Your Highness. How great would the divine power of Frey be?”

“….”

“It was just gorgeous, it barely drove the rats out. Besides, we have Lydia.”

“Garnet. It’s not just that, Frey has become a different person.”

Tahar was bothered by Grand Duke Prause.

Daniel Prause looked at Frey, who was using his divine power, for a while.

And, as if he had made up his mind, he sent back the men secretly sent by the next emperor.

‘You fool. To choose a lowly background over me.’

The fact that all those with divine power turned their backs on him was highly likely to become a problem in the future.

Those who have already refused to be on my side, I must suppress them doing more intrusive things at this point.

Concluding, Tahar tapped the desk with his fingertips.

Watching Tahar’s reaction, Garnet shook her head, more like a well-tamed subordinate than a wife.

She immediately thought of a good way.

“majesty. Even if there is divine power, Frey has no place to attach to the Grand Prause.”

“….”

“But we are different. Breck, the eldest son of Count Vliette, is in the North.”

Tahar’s eyes, which had been a murky light since the wedding of Frey and Daniel, stood out.

If he did, he would know that his younger sister was being treated badly by the princess, who she looked down on, so he would be more aggressive.

“Is Breck Vliette still working hard in the North?”

“sure. Who turned the humble merchants from the north into prosperous businessmen in the capital?”

“Are you sure?”

“sure. I heard he has a lot of connections. The people-loving personality that used to cause trouble in the capital’s society may finally come in handy.”

“Then it will be easy work to find a skilled assassin.”

“….”

At Tahar’s direct question, Garnet swallowed dryly and nodded.