Chapter 83

* * *

At the sound of a knock, Erhardt raised his gaze. It was Heron.

Since Heron always reported after Damian's lessons, his visits were not uncommon.

"How was it today?"

"As always, he is excellent. His comprehension is quick, and his concentration is outstanding."

"I see."

"However... today, you should see this."

Heron placed what he was holding down.

"Did you find a new gem mine?"

"It's a sacred stone."

"......What?"

The duke asked, sounding incredulous.

"Prince Damian said he found it by chance on a tree near the Red Lake."

"......"

"It has already been verified. There's no doubt it's a sacred stone."

Erhardt silently focused his gaze on the sacred stone.

Seeing the clear, transparent red gem, a forgotten memory suddenly surfaced.

"Erhardt, I have something to tell you."

Yuria called him by his name whenever she wanted something.

That day was no different.

Given that it was just before his departure, he would have normally received encouragement from his wife, but that day was different.

"This is information that is very important to you. You'll be surprised when you hear it."

"What could be so important?"

"Hmm? My dear Duke Erhardt Schuetz. To get information, you have to pay a price."

Yuria smiled slyly.

"If it's a red gem like you, it would be nice."

"Do you lack funds?"

"I have more than enough funds, but there's something else I want. After this war, let's go shopping together."

"......Together?"

"Yes. You need to choose one too. Of course, I've already decided on the color."

"What color?"

"A green one like me would be nice."

Yuria's clear green eyes reflected him.

Although he had no interest in gems, he thought it might be okay to show some interest if she wanted it.

"Alright. Let's do that."

So he promised. When he returned, he would go with her.

But he couldn't keep his promise.

When he returned, it was already too late.

Erhardt's gaze fell on the red gem.

Should he have told her then?

That there was no color like hers anywhere.

The unspoken words weighed heavily on his heart. It was a familiar feeling.

The most precious things disappear so easily. It was a lesson learned through pain.

'So I must protect them before that happens.'

He said in a low, grave voice.

"Distribute it. However, keep the fact that it's a sacred stone hidden."

The Schuetz territory is known as cursed land. People wouldn't believe that a sacred stone was found here.

He would use this to his advantage.

The mining of sacred stones has its limits, and their value has skyrocketed year by year.

But if something so precious became as worthless as a pebble on the ground...

The temple would have no choice but to lower the price.

The higher the price of the sacred stone, the greater the impact would be.

"First, let's release it in the eastern market."

The duke tapped the marriage contract, which the temple in the east had yet to approve.

The marriage contract had to be submitted to the temple closely associated with each territory.

Eli had obtained approval from the northern temple due to the Oblie incident, but the eastern temple, which was Damian's original territory, kept delaying the approval.

The vow he made to the priest was to 'definitely approve the marriage contract.' If they pretended not to receive it, it couldn't be considered a breach.

They thought they were being clever.

But if he threatened them with the sacred stone, the eastern temple would have no choice.

"I understand. I'll sell it under the duke's merchant name. That would be more reliable."

The duke raised an eyebrow.

"But the finder is Eli, isn't it?"

"That's true, but..."

Heron unconsciously agreed, then looked at the duke in surprise.

"......Did you notice?"

"Damian is a quick and smart child. He wouldn't go near a dangerous lake."

In contrast, Eli would check anything that might help him, even if it meant getting hurt.

"So if Damian went near the lake, it means Eli was with him."

Heron was silent, acknowledging the duke's clear explanation. Indeed, it was hard to deceive the duke.

"But selling it under Lady Eli's name would be too risky."

"Can't we use another name?"

Heron hesitated at the duke's response.

Who could it be?

Someone who could convey the message to the temple while not directly revealing Eli's name...

"......There is one person."

"I think the same."

The duke smiled contentedly.

"After all, a strong in-law makes a daughter-in-law feel at ease."

A few hours later.

"......What? What is this?"

It wasn't surprising that Jerit, who had rushed over at the duke's command, gaped in shock.

* * *

A few days later.

"Huh? What's this?"

After finishing his service, a priest stopped on his way back to the temple.

"It sounds like music?"

A fellow priest replied.

"But there's no way an instrument that produces such a clear sound would be here."

"That's... true."

This place was filled with people who lived day to day. There was no reason for them to have an instrument that couldn't even help with their meals.

The curious priest stood in front of the source of the sound. It was a dilapidated farmhouse that looked like it would collapse at the slightest breeze.

Knock knock knock!

"Is anyone there?"

"......Who is it?"

A scrawny child peeked through the slightly open door.

"Hello, sister. I am Flynn, a priest from the eastern temple, here to deliver the word of God."

"I don't want it."

The child firmly said and closed the door.

Confused, Flynn quickly inserted his foot between the door before it closed.

"I'm not a strange person. I just followed the sound that seemed like the word of God."

"......"

The child looked at the priest with suspicion.

He smiled calmly. A smile was the best way to lower someone's guard.

"......Music? It's nothing special."

The child's guard seemed to drop as they fidgeted.

"It's just... a stone."

"Excuse me? A stone?"

"Sure. Do you want to see it?"

The child went inside and returned with something in their hand.

It was a small, red stone.

"Th-this is...!"

The priests were shocked.

Although they had never seen it before, they could clearly identify it.

"Is this a sacred stone?!"

The priest snatched it from the child's hand.

The startled child began to cry, but the priest ignored it and started to interrogate the child.

"Where did you steal this precious thing? Tell the truth!"

"I, I don't know anything. I just liked the sound it made..."

"You're putting on an act. We'll take this child to the temple."

"I understand."

Another priest grabbed the child's arm. The child struggled and burst into tears.

"Julia!"

At that moment, someone intervened. A woman who seemed to be the child's mother bowed her head.

"P, please, sir. My child has done nothing wrong. Please forgive her...!"

"To steal a sacred stone and still ask for forgiveness. How audacious! Since you are this child's guardian, you must come with us."

"We didn't steal it! We just received it as payment for work!"

"Nonsense."

The priest snorted.

"Sacred stones are valuable things that even nobles can't easily buy. And you say it was payment for work?!"

"Excuse me? But..."

The woman looked at them in confusion.

"These stones are quite common nowadays..."

"What?"

There was no trace of lies on her face.

"Is that true?"

The priests were taken aback.

Upon closer inspection, the red sacred stone indeed had small scratches all over it, as if it had been roughly handled.

"Where did you get this?"

"From, from Mr. Filtz's shop in the square."

The priests immediately headed to the square.

They saw a fish shop with 'Filtz' on the sign. He was enthusiastically trying to attract customers.

"What's wrong with the color?"

At that moment, Filtz, who was inspecting the fish, clicked his tongue and took something out. He then stuffed it into a fish's mouth.

It was the same red sacred stone. As soon as it was inserted, it sparkled, and the fish looked fresher.

The priests' faces turned pale.

"What are you doing with that?!"

They rushed to Filtz in shock.

"To use something so precious for this?!"

"Valuable? This?"

Filtz snorted.

"Take a look around. See how it's being used."

He waved his hand as if to say, 'If you're not buying, go away.'

Even priests were just flies if they didn't buy anything.

"Unbelievable."

The priests muttered in disbelief as they looked around the square.

But Filtz was right. The merchants in the square were using sacred stones casually.

'What is going on?'

The priests grabbed the people in the square and asked about the source.

Their answers were all the same.

"Apparently, it's a new product from the Amantha Trading Company?"

The Amantha family was a vassal of the Schuetz family.

To bring goods into the east, they needed Cleyder's permission.

The fact that the Amantha Trading Company had released this in the east meant...

'The Duke of Schuetz knows about this!'

The eastern temple was in an uproar.

The amount of sacred stones mined had been decreasing for years.

Desperate nobles offered higher prices, and as a result, the value of sacred stones soared.

'After raising the price to cover the losses, they were going to sell it...!'

Fortunately, it hadn't spread far yet.

The street merchants didn't know the value of the sacred stones. They had never seen expensive mana stones, so they didn't even think it was a sacred stone.

If they could collect them properly, they might prevent the worst-case scenario.

'But if the many market merchants find out...'

The worst-case scenario might still happen.

The head priest of the eastern temple immediately sent a letter to the Amantha family, pleading them to limit the distribution of the sacred stones.

The reply, when it finally arrived, contained nothing but Eli and Damian's marriage contract.

"Sir...!"

The trembling head priest of the eastern temple had no choice but to sign it.

A few days later, the sales of fish dropped sharply.

The lord had taken away the stones that were being used effectively, making the fish look less fresh.

"Sigh, why are the flies so persistent today?"

Filtz, the owner of the fish shop, grumbled and stretched out his arm.

Smack! A loud sound, and the fly was dead.