Chapter 47

* * *

The story was getting longer.

The baroness, who was not in good health, had entered the cabin with Waborck to rest.

Originally, her son Jerit should have been by her side, but he had to finish the negotiations with Tarrum.

Jerit waited anxiously for the conversation to end.

However, as time passed, their faces became increasingly serious.

"Absolutely not!"

When Tarrum emphatically stated for the eleventh time that it was impossible, Jerit finally couldn't hold back and spoke.

"Mr. Eli, is there any problem?"

Eli turned to Jerit with a troubled expression.

"Is our request too unreasonable for them?"

"Or, did they ask for too much compensation?"

"That's... "

Eli hesitated, then glanced at Tarrum.

Understanding the signal, Tarrum shouted in a loud voice, as if the ground itself was shaking.

"We are with our benefactor! We will not work unless we are together!"

Eli looked at Jerit, who sighed deeply.

"Mr. Eli... You are so kind."

Jerit's face was momentarily filled with gratitude, but it quickly turned to disappointment.

No matter how earnest he was, Eli was still too young.

'No, before that, I might be beheaded by Duke Schuets for doing something unnecessary.'

The thought of the terrifying duke made his body shiver involuntarily.

'But if we can make a contract with them, it will be a great help to the ducal palace.'

He wanted to make this deal succeed.

After some contemplation, a good idea came to him.

'Merchant training.'

Eli was about to be adopted into the Amanta family.

Since a marriage between a commoner and a noble was impossible, Jerit knew that she was to be adopted as a foster daughter.

If he could make a contract with his merchant guild for the purpose of training, and share the profits accordingly...

The duke would have no reason to object.

"Mr. Eli."

Having made up his mind, Jerit looked at Eli seriously.

"We desperately need your help."

"My help?"

"Yes. Please work with our Amanta Merchant Guild."

"Me?"

Jerit's words made Eli's eyes widen in surprise, and she quickly covered her mouth.

"Of course, there will be compensation. First, let me explain..."

Eli didn't lower her hand even as Jerit continued his explanation.

But she couldn't help it.

Laughter kept escaping, so she had to cover her mouth.

The fact that the corners of Eli's mouth were curling up was a secret known to no one.

By the time the baroness had composed herself and stepped out of the cabin again, the contract had been signed.

* * *

On the way back to the castle in the carriage.

Jerit couldn't wipe the smile off his face.

He felt he had finally done something to help his father.

"You look very happy, Jerit."

Baroness Viera smiled faintly as she looked at Jerit.

Realizing his mistake, Jerit laughed awkwardly.

"Thinking that the baron might be pleased... I couldn't help it..."

He scratched the back of his head and bowed his head, embarrassed.

"I haven't achieved anything significant until now..."

He said this with a self-deprecating tone, then suddenly raised his head, realizing it wasn't appropriate to say in front of his mother.

Sure enough, his mother's face was tinged with sadness.

Jerit was very awkward around his father.

After Jerit was born, his mother Viera's health deteriorated, and she developed the Occlumency disease, which caused her memory to fade.

This was why Jerit called his father 'baron.'

"Still, the baron will be very pleased with this. I'm sure of it."

Jerit tried to sound cheerful.

His mother Viera, perhaps understanding his effort, smiled faintly, suppressing her sadness.

"Yes. I think so too. He will be happy to know you've worked hard."

"...Yes."

He was grateful for his mother's unwavering belief, but also felt guilty because her smile was tinged with illness.

Jerit felt it was his fault, and it pained him.

But today, he couldn't show it, so he forced himself to sound cheerful.

"Everything has been going smoothly since Mr. Eli arrived."

"So that's why you've been hovering around Mr. Eli?"

"Mo, Mother...!"

Jerit's face turned red at the accurate observation.

She smiled without saying much, but Jerit couldn't help but close his mouth, knowing she was right.

"You're just like your father, you know."

"Father?"

"Yes. He talks about Mr. Eli a lot."

Viera smiled softly, as if recalling a scene.

"Everyone loves him."

"Yes. I think so too. Although... there's that label attached to her."

Eli was undoubtedly a smart and clever girl.

But the label 'thief's daughter' that followed her name was enormous.

That's why everyone initially opposed bringing Mr. Eli into the ducal family...

'I hope she doesn't get hurt.'

Jerit wanted to protect Eli, even if it meant incurring the royal family's displeasure.

'But to do that, I need to make a good impression on the baron...'

"Mother."

After a moment of contemplation, Jerit hesitated before speaking.

"Should we explain today's events to the baron?"

"What?"

"The ability to communicate with beasts is a very rare skill, isn't it?"

Only a few members of the royal family and the minority clan could communicate with beasts.

Although all members of the minority clan were killed during the war, it wasn't impossible if Eli had their blood.

"If we explain today's events to the baron, he might... "

"Jerit."

Viera cut him off abruptly.

Her tone was unusually firm. Jerit looked at her, slightly taken aback.

"You must never tell your father about today's events. Do you understand?"

"...Why? It's a rare ability, but if she has the blood of the minority clan, it's not impossible."

"Jerit."

Viera's wrinkled hand gripped Jerit's. Jerit flinched involuntarily.

"I know Mr. Eli is exceptional, but... "

She hesitated, her lips trembling, before speaking with difficulty.

"All members of the minority clan are dead. Besides... it's a unique ability of the royal family."

"Really? But Mother, what does that have to do with Mr. Eli...?"

Suddenly, Jerit's eyes widened.

"Mother, that's absurd. How could you think such an outrageous thing!"

"I know. But what if... The item Mr. Eli's mother stole from the royal family hasn't been identified. It could be a royal treasure, or perhaps—"

"..."

"Perhaps the child of His Majesty."

Jerit looked at Viera, bewildered.

Viera averted her gaze, then shook her head as if scolding herself before looking back at Jerit.

"Surely you know that the Empress Cartia will stop at nothing to make her son, the Second Prince, the crown prince."

"..."

"That's why we must keep this a secret. It's for Mr. Eli's sake."

"..."

"Do you understand what I mean?"

Viera squeezed Jerit's hand, as if seeking a promise. Jerit nodded.

"...Yes, I understand."

* * *

It was a night of silence, with a full moon hanging in the sky.

I slowly opened my eyes.

Perhaps because I had experienced too much, I couldn't fall asleep easily.

Jerit's explanation was very long.

He added various simple explanations to help me understand, but in a nutshell, it was this:

Let's work together.

If communication with the Tarrum clan was impossible, there would be delays in weapon production, so his proposal was natural.

Of course, there was no reason to refuse.

Since I was still too young to establish a merchant guild in my own name,

'But if I learn from Jerit, I could subtly introduce my ideas to the market.'

I could improve on any shortcomings and demand shares if the products were good.

'What kind of product should I make?'

I needed to create something suitable for the market.

With these thoughts swirling in my head, I couldn't sleep and tossed and turned.

"..."

I stopped tossing when I heard Demian mumbling in his sleep.

Since we arrived at the ducal palace, we had been sharing a room.

The butler Franz had soon arranged a separate room for me, but it hadn't been long since we started using separate rooms.

"Demian, can't you sleep? Why does your face look like that?"

"I'm fine, really?"

Of course, Demian said he was fine, but it was an obvious lie.

When I stared at him, demanding honesty, he finally admitted that he had been having nightmares.

It seemed that even with good training and plenty of delicious food, the anxiety in his heart couldn't be easily dispelled.

In the end, I said I would share a room with Demian again, and the duke, for some reason, reluctantly agreed with a displeased look.

'If I keep this up, I'll wake the kid.'

I quietly slipped out of bed, carefully removing my hand from Demian's.

Since I couldn't sleep anyway, I thought I might as well take a walk around.

When I cautiously opened the door, a dark corridor was revealed.

The unique cold air of the ducal palace occasionally brushed against the flames of the lamps.

It wasn't very dark because there were lamps at regular intervals, but it felt a bit different.

'Well, no monsters will suddenly appear in the middle of the castle, right?'

Unless it was a ghost...

Just then, a terrible sound, like a thud, came from somewhere.

I stopped in my tracks.

'What is that?'

This terrifying sound?

'Is it really a ghost?'

I perked up my ears.

I had heard that if you meet a ghost while planning something big, you'll have great success.

'Ghost! It's a ghost!'

Although I found ghosts more frightening than people, I gleamed with excitement and took a step forward.