Chapter 100. Esteban’s shock 2021.01.16.
“I am still thirsty.”
As Duke Javier was taken to the capital, of course, he lost contact with Devlin. Veron passed the poisoning case, which was a gift he promised to give to Aidan, but he was not satisfied either.
[If you’re thirsty, drink water, Mabel.]
“It’s a sheep. Let’s read a book together while you and I are studying.”
[what? I don’t like it!]
The sheep ran out of the bedroom on the balcony, disgusted.
‘His name is Shinsoo, but he must study. By the way…’
I tapped the desk with my index finger while resting my chin.
“How do you hit Veron?”
Attacking an enemy country without justification is a great threat to the closely maintained national situation. In particular, if the great empire moves like Ermano, it will bring about a huge aftermath that will shake the entire continent. A small country was swept away and perished. Because of that, even if Dad didn’t like the behavior of the Devlin Empire, he couldn’t touch it. Furthermore, there was no excuse to make excuses because he did not leave evidence of how sloppy and naive Veron was. Occasional border battles were only direct friction.
‘Due to my father’s personality, it’s amazing that he’s been holding back this much.’
If Devlin left a little space, he would attack right away.
“Anyway, I don’t have the authority to command the military…”
The life of Emperor Baji, who is only an emperor in name, is so lonely today. Just then, the wind blew from the balcony. I thought Yangyang had returned, but it was Aidan who entered.
“I did as you commanded.”
Also Aidan. Work was also done quickly.
“Where did you put it?”
“I put it in the basement of the second guild hideout.”
“You need to stay away from the Rabid Pennant. It could be that you are familiar with each other. It’s hard to do anything.”
“I have prepared it in advance.”
Then I smiled contentedly. What I asked Aidan for was… abduction! It was also against the criminals who were being transported by the imperial army.
“good. Don’t even give the duke a sip of water.”
“yes.”
“If you’re bored, eat in front of him-”
After thinking for a moment, I immediately corrected myself.
“no. Then Aidan will lose his appetite. Leave it alone. Don’t even read the newspaper!”
“But there will be a lot to dig up.”
“Will that person open his mouth easily? Let’s start by drying it first.”
I got down from the chair with a ‘sweat’. Having kidnapped a tycoon, it would have been better to know in advance how Dad and Gustav would react. It’s not going to happen, but if Aidan left any traces, it would be necessary to deal with it. The way to the office with Aidan. Today, people asked me to shake hands.
“Aww! I have to work hard again!”
“Ahaha…”
I laughed awkwardly as I saw the lady-in-waiting running away saying that it would be fine even after paying the fine. It was the fifteenth time we shook hands. An attendant asked me.
“By the way, Your Majesty, where are you going?”
“Dad!”
“I envy His Majesty the Emperor. In my next life, I will definitely be born as Your Majesty’s father.”
After passing the people of Hwangseong making strange resolutions, I finally entered the hallway where the office was located.
‘I have to surprise Daddy!’
Seed of God After 9 years of experience, you will learn how to hide your presence with divine power. It’s not perfect yet, but I was learning from the teaching priest.
“Aidan. follow me quietly got it?”
nod I lifted my heels and walked stealthily toward the office. However, something was unusual about the atmosphere. bang!
“Who stole it!”
I was startled by the roar that was so loud that it pierced the office door, and I stopped there.
“Shh!”
After warning Aidan, he sneaked closer. The knight guarding the door immediately nodded as if he understood my meaning when he met my eyes. A conversation could be heard from inside.
“How much discipline was so loose that you let go of the sinner in the middle?”
“Fix it, Your Majesty.”
“The prisoner went missing during the transport, fix it? Would it be possible for you, Gustav?”
“no way. It is impossible.”
Today, aide Gustav was trying to walk a tightrope risking his life.
“Gustav Drubal.”
At the low voice of his father, Gustaf went back into the solemn work atmosphere.
“They say they were transported on a wagon after being tied up, but when they opened it during a short break, they said it was gone.”
“Who is the big man who dares to siphon off criminals against the imperial army?”
“Maybe Duke Javier tried to escape?”
“You mean that dull tooth? impossible. I must have been caught without even going a step.”
The conversation between Gustav and Dad continued fiercely. As I listened to the conversation, I was alert to see if there had been any mistakes that might have been discovered.
“It is possible that the duke has helpers, but haven’t the vassals abandoned him as well?”
“There is a possibility that I pretended to be like that in the first place.”
“…but something doesn’t make sense. I really don’t know who is benefiting from stealing the duke.”
“I don’t have anyone that comes to mind. I don’t know if anyone will benefit from removing it.”
“First of all, keep quiet. It shouldn’t leak out.”
“yes. Even the Javier family has not heard of the disappearance yet.”
Fortunately, it seemed that they had succeeded in stealing the duke without leaving any clues.
‘I have to go back now.’
I wanted to surprise my dad, but the atmosphere in the office was so serious that I thought it would be better not to meet him. If you get caught by your dad for fooling around, you might get suspicious. It was time to step back in the direction I came from.
“Mabel.”
“…?”
I turned my head at the voice calling my name, and my dad was looking at me with his arms crossed.
“I was waiting for you to come in, but why are you going back? disappointingly.”
“Did you keep waiting? Since when?”
“Ever since you were toddling at the end of the hallway.”
“Hup.”
Of course, I thought you wouldn’t know that I came to my excellent stealth skills, but you knew from the beginning…!
‘Are you saying that I’m not even suspicious!’
Even though I thought it was fortunate, somehow my pride was hurt.
“What’s going on up to here, Mabel?”
“Oh, do you want to see Dad?”
It was a rough word, but Dad’s face was colored with emotion.
“My lovely daughter.”
Dad lifted me up and held me dearly in his arms. Since I was caught by my father, I have become stuck and unable to escape for several hours. Even if you don’t, there are many things to do, so I was about to despair.
“Don’t ask me to bring you a delicious snack.”
“and! snack!”
I clapped my hands and smiled broadly.
‘Because Mt. Geumgang is also an after-dinner view.’
It wasn’t too late to give Veron a shot, even after eating a snack.
***
Midnight with the twilight moonlight on the window. As I lay down to sleep, I turned my head to see Aidan standing on the balcony. Then the red eyes reflected in the moonlight focused on me.
“Aidan. I have a question.”
“What is?”
“What does Veron hate?”
To be honest, I thought a lot about whether or not to ask. Because I know that Veron made Aidan do unspeakably terrible things, I’m afraid I’ll bring up my memory. However, no matter how much I thought about it, Aidan was the only one who knew Baron well.
“I’m sorry if I made you have a bad memory.”
“it’s okay.”
Aidan, who answered as if it was not a big deal, looked out the window as if lost in thought and looked back.
“Veron hates anything that gets out of my control.”
“Control?”
“yes. I get stressed out when things don’t go my way.”
Control…
“Then you’d hate to lose something?”
“yes.”
It made sense to see Aidan’s lingering feelings dripping from his exile in Ermano right away.
‘Then I’ll just take it away!’
I finally figured out a way to strike a blow at the Devlin Empire, and I fell asleep happily.
***
As soon as I got permission from my dad to go out, I bumped into Oscar.
“Are you going to Mei’s mansion or there again today?”
“huh. I was supposed to meet with ISTY.”
“Shall we go together?”
“no. ISTY is very shy, so I’ll go alone! You don’t have to worry because Aidan and Sir will go with you. Then see you later, Oscar!”
Fearing that Oscar might be following her, she spat out the words with a rapid-fire gun and hurried out.
‘Ehh. It’s hard to be a guild master!’
Thanks to frequent appearances, the knights didn’t think it was strange for me to go to the Maido Mansion.
“We will be waiting here, Your Majesty.”
“huh. Call the butler if you need anything.”
The easiest way to meet Casey without arousing his father’s suspicions was to use the second hideout, the Maido Mansion. Entering the passage that leads to anywhere in the mansion in Estee’s bedroom (there is no one there), I and Aidan immediately head to the room where Casey is waiting.
“Welcome, lady.”
“Casey. Why can’t I connect?”
I called on Casey, who had lost contact immediately. Then, Casey looked at Aidan with a sad face.
“joy. Ask the master about it.”
“Aidan? Aidan didn’t say anything.”
When I asked why I couldn’t reach him, Aidan said he would tell Casey and disappeared. I stared at Aidan and he explained why.
“Casey’s communication magic tool was defective.”
“Oh, I see!”
The doubt was finally resolved. Casey’s expression was still grim, but assuming that something was not right, I got to the point.
“Devlin is called a magical powerhouse because there are many magical ingredients that can only be found there, right?”
“yes. you’re right.”
“Are there plants that only grow in the Devlin climate?”
“yes. So, even if you take a seed and plant it, it cannot sprout. But why are you asking that?”
At Casey’s question, I crossed my arms and smiled leisurely.
“To try farming.”
***
This was a simple and surefire way to stimulate Veron’s desire for control. He steals the magic mineral that is the material for the first magic tool. Steal the second seed, sprout it, and distribute it to Ermano. As for the second, I suppose I did it somehow, but it took special workers to make the first plan a reality. Arriving at the Third Garden, I politely knelt down and knocked on the ground.
“Moles. anybody home…?”
I thought it wouldn’t come out because it’s been a long time since I’ve been calling, but after a while, a mole pulled its head out of the ground just a little bit.
[Kheung. What is it?]
“I came because I had a request.”
[Kheung…]
I was a little intimidated by his disapproval. However, in the field of stealing minerals, there was no one to catch up with the moles, so they had to lie down.
“Can we secretly take out magic minerals from the Devlin Empire?”
[It’s far away. I don’t like it.]
“Can’t you really?”
[The price is very expensive.]
“It’s okay! You can say anything!”
I cried proudly. It was because he was a man of enormous wealth, including the wealth of the guild. However, the price the mole demanded was beyond imagination.
[That much land. need. Or I don’t like it.] I didn’t
know they would ask for land equal to almost ten territories combined. If you give it to the moles, it will surely become an abandoned land because it cannot be used as agricultural land. A vast land uninhabited. Since moles are picky about their eyes, they must be fertile. I ran into a big problem before I even started.
‘…Lack of land!’
***
“Is Mabel down?”
“yes. You left a snack.”
“It’s a big deal.”
Upon hearing the escort knight’s report, Esteban went straight to Mabel’s bedroom. Inside, Mabel was sprawled across the couch, indeed without energy.
“Mabel. Why are you so weak?”
“no. nothing.”
“Tell me. Dad will take care of everything.”
“…really?”
Esteban suddenly felt better when Mabel, who would normally have refused until the end, showed interest for some reason.
“What are you worried about?”
“That’s what I want, but it’s a little expensive.”
It wasn’t that expensive, as long as the word ‘a bit expensive’ came out of Mabel’s mouth. Because Mabel never asked for anything expensive. From one day on, if Esteban offered her a palace or a deed of title as a gift, she would panic and even run away. Esteban asked Mabel lightly.
“Even if it is expensive, how expensive will it be? just talk what do you want to have Puppy doll? Delicious cookie?”
“earth.”
“…what?”
Esteban was shocked in a different way by the answer that was so materialistic.
