Chapter 25

Erirot pulled in a staggering five hundred million gold in just one day.

And as a bonus, he earned the Duke’s trust.

Amidst everyone’s amazement, Erirot smiled secretly.

‘Thank you, sir.’

He muttered to himself.

* * *

Even after Diamond and Erirot left, the Duke was in a very good mood.

He stroked the reinforcement stone and chuckled.

Debussy, the viscount, said as he moved his teacup,

“Lord Diamond seems to finally be on the right path with the Duke.”

“Why is that?”

“Surely, the young lady didn’t really find the reinforcement stone and offer it to the Duke, did she? It must have been Lord Diamond’s instruction.”

“You still lack the ability to read people.”

Debussy, the viscount, was taken aback.

“Pardon?”

“Have you really observed Erirot?”

“What do you mean...?”

“If it were his father’s doing, wouldn’t he have glanced at his father to confirm if it was correct, even once?”

“...”

“But his gaze was fixed on me from start to finish.”

As if he knew the flow of power even at such a young age.

Debussy, the viscount, narrowed his eyes as if deep in thought.

“Now that you mention it, he was quite unusual even when he was at the castle.”

Discovering the land where the dragon bones were hidden.

Saving the Duke during the attack.

Bringing a medicine with unheard-of effects as a birthday gift.

‘And now, the reinforcement stone.’

“How could the young lady accomplish what even adults couldn’t, so easily? It’s incredible luck.”

“Do you remember what was written in the first patriarch’s diary?”

“How could I forget?”

“All luck is inevitable.”

Even if Diamond’s hands had touched the reinforcement stone, it was Erirot who made him hand it over.

Debussy, the viscount, raised his eyebrows in delight.

‘Perhaps I’ll get to see it.’

A mere three-year-old, raised in the 12th Tower, surpassing all his cousins.

* * *

When we returned, pulling no less than five carts filled with gold, people were amazed.

The managers stammered as they watched the servants move the gleaming gold ingots.

The soldiers whistled in amazement.

Enzo looked at his father in shock.

“So, the young lady earned all of this? How...?”

“The old man gave it to me.”

“Five hundred million gold, just like that? And in the territory of Diamond, who is practically at odds with the Duke?”

“Erirot’s answer was very pleasing.”

“What kind of answer?”

Father frowned and muttered, “Damn,” but didn’t answer.

As if he didn’t want to say it out loud.

Miguel, who had instructed the servants to move the gold, approached me.

“Should we move all the gold to the treasury?”

“No!”

“Then...?”

“To the budget storage.”

Everyone’s eyes focused on me.

Father also looked surprised.

“Erirot, that’s the money you earned. Move it to your treasury.”

“But... the wall needs repairs, the weapons need to be replaced, and the flood relief funds need to be distributed.”

“What?”

“It’s for sharing. Erirot, because I’m the lord of Diamond’s territory!”

The managers’ eyes widened.

The soldiers and servants all looked at me with wide eyes.

Father’s expression hardened.

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

“It’s dangerous to have too much money. The young lady shouldn’t have too much.”

“...”

“And I want to be happy with my father and the people of Diamond’s territory.”

Then,

“Young lady...”

“The young lady...”

The managers, who had been looking at me with teary eyes, gathered around me and cried.

They must have been under a lot of stress.

‘But this is for the good of everyone.’

In the future, due to certain events, prices will skyrocket.

For example, if an old Seoul apartment that used to cost 70 million won now costs 1.7 billion won.

So by the time I can use this money, it will be like pocket change.

‘But I can’t keep the reinforcement stone forever either.’

If the reinforcement stone is in Diamond’s territory, there will be many who will try to take it.

For safety, it needs to be disposed of.

‘So I need to invest in the territory now to earn more money in the future.’

And to catch the eye of Grandfather.

As I endured the adults clinging to me, Father picked me up.

“The territory will borrow the money from you. When you need it, I’ll return it at the current market rate.”

Then he ordered the managers to draft a loan agreement.

‘At least he’s honest.’

But it’s good for me too, so I nodded, “Okay!”

The money I lent to Diamond’s territory was 200 million gold.

The managers, who were being scolded, shouted,

“Long live the young lady!”

“Long live, long live the young lady!”

I chuckled.

The castle became busy.

There were mountains of tasks to handle, but they were stalled due to lack of funds.

Now that we had the money, the bottlenecks were cleared, and the work flowed smoothly.

“With this money, we can buy orichalcum weapons...!”

“Hold on, hold on. The wall repairs are urgent. We need to mix dragon bones to make it sturdy...”

“Purification wells! We need to install them in each village...”

The managers’ faces shone even after working all day.

I passed by the room where Father, the managers, and the barracks commander were having an energetic meeting.

“Young lady, a guest has arrived.”

The maid Betty approached me with quick steps.

“Who is it?”

“In the reception room of your room.”

I nodded and went upstairs.

Han Jihyuk was sprawled on the sofa in my room’s reception area.

“What’s up? What’s the matter?”

“I always have something...”

He looked very tired, sipping his iced tea.

Only then did he seem to come to his senses, sighing deeply.

“I got caught by the scammers from yesterday and was chased around. I almost jumped into the sea.”

“You’re still alive, though.”

“Do you think I got chased once or twice?”

Seeing Han Jihyuk proudly say this, I shook my head.

Han Jihyuk, shivering, said, “Now that I have no money, if I get caught, it’s death.”

I pointed to the bag I had placed under the sofa.

“Open it.”

Han Jihyuk opened the bag with a puzzled look.

Then,

“Wow─!”

He was so startled, as if he had seen a monster, and quickly closed the bag.

“T, t, t, this...”

“...”

“T, t, t, gold, t, t, t, gold...!”

Han Jihyuk, clutching his chest, panted heavily.

I lifted my glass of milk and said,

“38.5 million gold for the auction, plus 30 million as promised.”

“...!”

“Now you’ve reached your goal.”

Han Jihyuk’s goal was to gather 50 million gold to leave.

He wanted to settle in a distant country and live like a noble, commanding people.

I took something out of my pocket and placed it on the table.

“This is a special token of gratitude.”

“What is it?”

“A new identity.”

Han Jihyuk’s eyes widened.

He picked up the identity badge I had placed.

[Han Jihyuk.

Born in 1203, Astra Diamond Territory.]

The reason Han Jihyuk had been chased by the people he had scammed was that he couldn’t forge a proper identity.

Even if he had a roughly forged identity through a broker, it would be easily exposed to nobles who could access personal records.

So I...

“Miguel, can you do me a favor?”

“If it’s a favor...”

“I have a friend who gave me the reinforcement stone. He’s being chased for doing something bad. I want to help him so he won’t be chased anymore.”

“Ah, I understand. I’ll help with that.”

Indeed, the butler of a villainous family.

Miguel, without asking what the bad thing was, answered reliably.

Miguel could enter every part of the territory.

Of course, he could access the records room where the territory’s registry was kept.

So inserting a document for a boy named [Han Jihyuk] into the registry was nothing.

That’s how a new boy named [Han Jihyuk] was born.

‘Indeed, you need to plant helpers everywhere.’

As I was smirking to myself, Han Jihyuk said,

“What’s with Han Jihyuk? No sense of...”

He grumbled, but his eyes didn’t leave the identity badge.

“Thanks, Jihyuk.”

“...”

“Now you can live as you wish. Don’t work hard, and don’t do things you don’t want to. And if─”

“Hey.”

Just as he was about to say something, Han Jihyuk cut him off and frowned.

“Do you think I’m an idiot?”

He suddenly frowned and continued.

“I saw you earn 30 million gold in less than a week, and now you’re telling me to leave?”

“What?”

What is he talking about?

I looked at Han Jihyuk, dumbfounded, but he was very confident.

“50 million gold! The cost to pay to an illegal immigration broker! The salary for a servant in old age! It’s all calculated! I need to live very frugally!”

“Can’t you earn a bit more?”

“That’s not the point!”

But why is he angry at me?

Is he crazy?

Han Jihyuk cleared his throat and looked at me.

“You’re responsible.”

“...?”

“Since you made me greedy for money, you’re responsible.”

You were already greedy for money.

“What do you mean?”

“Keep me around and use me!”

“I...”

“No, I can’t go, I can’t go! If you kick me out like this, you’ll be possessed─ Uh!”

I quickly covered his mouth.

Of course, there was no one in the reception room, and the soundproofing was good, but I was still worried about the guards outside the door.

“Be quiet─”

“Then why did you call me Jihyuk?”

“...What?”

“Why did you say you understood my feelings? When you were going to throw me away... Damn.”

Han Jihyuk’s eyes reddened.

I had forgotten, but he was just a twenty-year-old boy.

A young boy who had been reborn and gone through all kinds of hardships must have felt lonely.

I sighed deeply.

“Just listen to me─”

“I can’t go!”

I gave Han Jihyuk a light tap on the forehead.

“I need to talk too!”

“I was going to ask you to work with me.”

“...Liar.”

“I’m serious.”

The original plan was to plant Han Jihyuk outside.

But if I forced him, who knows what he would do with that personality.

I gave him a choice.

Would he run away and live as he wished?

Or...

“If you help me, you can live without running away.”

“...”

“You can live comfortably here without running away.”

“...”

“I’m very kind to my people!”

With my eyes closed, I lifted my chin, and Han Jihyuk snorted, “Damn.”

I opened one eye and looked at him.

Han Jihyuk, who had been looking at the air, cleared his throat and said,

“So, how comfortably will you let me live?”

In <Bing.Heuk.Son>, Han Jihyuk was Dalia’s enemy.

Han Jihyuk, originally having all his money stolen by a one-eyed man and becoming a cripple, was the catalyst for his blackening.

‘Damn world.’

Because the world didn’t give him a way to live honestly, he struggled desperately, even if it meant being despicable.

But if he was pushed to the brink like this, there was no other way.

‘I’ll kill them all.’