Chapter 13

The Third Prince, Orca Lupes.

In the novel, he seemed to have stepped down from the fight for the throne because of his weak condition, but in reality, he was an ambitious man who wandered all over the empire under the pretext of recuperating, while in fact collecting talents to be on his side.

Altair was the best amongst the Orca’s collected men.

The third prince’s brothers, who were careless because they did not think of him as a rival, collapsed helplessly against him with Altair at the forefront.

After Orca had conquered even the emperor, the nobles who did not support him died. Nadia was also swept away by this chaotic typhoon and had her neck cut off.

Ugh… 

Just thinking about the brutal purges depicted in the novel gave her goosebumps.

“When is the meeting?”

“Two months later.”

It was neither near nor far.

It will be the meeting between a man who will become a villain and a man who leads him down that villainous path.

It felt like her well-attached neck was getting colder for some reason, so she unwittingly hung her hand by her nape. At her action, Altair furrowed his brows and strode to the front of the bed, covering her with the blanket up to her chin.

“Anyway, for now, get some rest, your face is pale.”

“Okay…”

She answered firmly and shut her eyes tightly, but her sleepiness had already disappeared.

Will Altair and Orca be meeting for the first time this hunting season and get closer?

However, in the novel, it was revealed that the two men fought together on the battlefield and formed a bond.

When war broke out with a neighbouring country facing the border, the emperor sent the third Prince Orca to the front line to promote the image of ‘The imperial family themselves is fighting for the empire’s sake!’

Orca was known for his unstable health, so he was typically sent to death. Everyone thought he was going to die on the battlefield.

However, Orca, as if ridiculing everyone’s expectations, returned to the capital confidently with a glorious victory. From then on, he began to show his true nature.

Maybe there was a hidden setting that was not revealed in the novel!

Orca and Altair could have known each other before the war, or that their relationship started this hunting season…

“Stop.”

Altair’s resolute voice interrupted her train of thoughts.

As she was thinking about Altair in her head, she was startled and flashed her eyes open when he lightly tapped her forehead with his finger.

“I can hear the sound of wheels in your head rolling all the way over here. It’s two months away until we have to meet the Eastern nobles, so you don’t have to think about it too much.”

“That’s not-…”

“Go to sleep.”

Before she could say anything more, Altair’s large hand covered her eyes. In an instant, as the darkness fell upon her vision, she felt a strange sense of stability.

Furthermore…

His hand is surprisingly warm!

Thanks to Altair’s warmth on her face, the languor she had forgotten filled her body again.

Little by little, countless thoughts faded away and a peaceful sleep quickly came over her.

❈❈❈

“I’ll be attending the Eastern Nobility’s meeting for hunting season in two months.”

After examining Nadia’s condition for a moment, Altair returned to his office. At his declaration, Pavel, who was organising the scattered papers on the desk, tilted his head.

Back when the former baron was the owner of Aylesford, Altair often accompanied his parents to meetings. But it was the first time he decided to go on his own since he took over the title.

“Why there? You’ve not once looked at the invitation and just said it was annoying.”

“It just happened to be like that.”

Altair said simply, but it was by no means simple.

The other nobles would show up nicely dressed and with a large number of servants, but it was certainly not the case for Aylesford.

“My Lord, we would have a lot to prepare. You know that, right?”

When Pavel asked as if to confirm, Altair nodded with his usual expressionless face.

“We’d have to hire servants. So far, I’ve left it alone, but now that we have a mistress, I can’t do it roughly like I used to.”

“That’s right.”

It’s not wrong.

The situation of Aylesford, which had maintained extreme efficiency so far, was unusual. But considering the ordinary nobles, it was true that Altair, as well as Nadia, should enjoy what they could.

“But money is the problem… Ah!”

Pavel, who had been speaking anxiously, soon came up with a good idea.

“By any chance, did the Madame ever tell you that we can use the money she brought as  dowry?”

Even when the nobles got married, the division of private property was strict. The dowry brought by the wife in marriage would be her own property.

In case of a divorce, that money could also be taken by the wife, so it would be considered shameful for the husband to touch it.

However, depending on the family’s circumstances, there were many cases where the wife put her asset forward.

In any case, they had already joined as a family in which they shared joys and sorrows together. Pavel thought that the good-natured lady might happen to willingly offer her dowry after checking the estate’s circumstances.

However, Pavel’s beautiful vision was shattered by Altair’s next words.

“The dowry is my wife’s property. Even if she offers it to you first, you have to reject it. Do not covet anything weird, Pavel.”

“Why would I ever squander her fortune? It’s just because our situation is so bad. Getting ready to go to the meeting right now is a bit…”

“I am going to accept Rembrew’s request.”

Annoyed, Altair cut off Pavel’s words, which tended to prolong into a ramble. Pavel widened his eyes in surprise at his master’s words.

“You’ve already rejected that though? It’s too risky because there are so many variables.”

“Instead, the pay is high. If we go this once, we’ll be fine for a year.”

“True, but it is too dangerous. You would have to deal with dragons, not normal beasts…”

Pavel couldn’t bear the words he’s saying so he bit his mouth shut tight.

The dragon was the most powerful among the beasts in the Eastern mountain range. It was a creature that couldn’t even get a scratch on its skin by strikes with mere swords. Thus, only knights who used Aurors could deal with it.

Altair was the only one with Auror in the East.

The Lembrew territory, which suffered the most damage due to the haunting of dragons, desperately called for help with a huge reward. Still, Altair refused their request in consideration of the knights’ safety.

But things had changed. (T/n: because Altair is such a simp -_-)

“I’m only taking the most elite, leaving those who would get in the way. I’ll announce it to the knights. Have the supplies we need for the expedition prepared.”

“It would be better if you just ask Madame to help you…”

When Altair glared at him fiercely, Pavel couldn’t utter any word further.

He was the Baron of Aylesford, and the Lord’s orders were absolute.

“..I understand.”

Pavel bowed his head with a sullen face, but an idea popped up in his head.

If the Lord can’t do it, I’ll do it!

It may be presumptuous as the butler, but he thought the Madame would understand the situation.

It was funny for him to have such a strange belief, but he thought it probably wouldn’t be wrong.

❈❈❈

Perhaps it was thanks to lying in bed and resting all day, her body felt very light the next day.

Nevertheless, her heart was still heavy with unresolved questions, so she was deeply troubled by the invitation Altair had given her.

Why did Altair join hands with the third Prince and become a villain in the first place?

Considering that he asked her if she knew the third Prince, the current Altair didn’t seem to have any contact with Prince Orca.

She had put together a few possible scenarios in her head.

1. He became loyal to the person named Orca because he had taken a liking to him.

2. Orca lured Altair, who was desperate for money, with the wealth of the imperial family.

3. There was an event that made Altair think he needed power, and his interest coincided with Orca.

The third case is unknown yet…

But there was no need to worry about the second case.

Why would anyone have to be worried about their finance once they’ve found a manastone mine? He would become the richest man in the empire!

She crossed out the second scenario in her head, then only the first one remained.

The Orca in the novel definitely left a good impression though.

The gentle prince with silver hair and orange eyes was popular with everyone. It was even more so because he always smiled, so much that his eyes could rarely be seen properly.

But once he erased his smile and the cruel look in his eyes was shown, the impression he gave off was sharper than anyone else!

It could be said that he was a fox-like person.

He had a natural talent for attracting people.

If Altair became Orca’s person for the same reason as the first possibility, then how could she ever prevent the collusion between the two?

No matter how much she thought about it, she could only come up with childish solutions such as ‘Let’s gossip as much as possible so that Altair has a bad impression of Orca!’

Nevermind. The meeting with Orca is in two months anyway.

For now, she just had to do what she could. That was to find the manastone mine and enrich the estate.

I’ll have to explore the mountain range to find the Manastone Mine!

It would seem strange if his wife, who was originally from the distant capital, claimed that there was a mine in the mountains, but it was not the time to proceed with such a view.

Would it be better to ask the knights for the search?

The knights of Aylesford knew more about the mountain range than anyone else, and they could also deal with the beasts that often hovered around there. For that, they could not be more suitable for this role.

But I don’t know if the knights will listen to my request or not…

If she were to consult with Altair first and then go ahead with the plan, she would be able to easily get help from the knights. However, until the existence of the mine came to be known, she wanted to proceed with the work unofficially.

If a large-scale search was made through the Lord’s official order, yet the Manastone Mine’s not found, she might lose face.

She was afraid that Altair would criticise her for lying and using the manpower pointlessly. And she might be kicked out for not being worthy of his wife.

So let’s keep it a secret first!

After she had put together a plan in her head, she jumped up from her seat.

❈❈❈

She needed a bribe in order to ask someone for a favour.

She put the sandwiches made by the strong chef in a large basket and headed to the training ground.

She filled the basket with the intention of handing it out to all the knights, but it was heavier than she thought, so she felt like she was going to sweat just by moving.

She had already grasped the location of the training ground. And as she approached the entrance and looked inside carefully, lucky enough, she did not see Altair.

I think the timing is right…

As she hesitated and peeked in to see if she could disturb the knights who were training so hard, her eyes met with Blan’s, who was sitting on the floor wiping his sweat with a towel.

When she barely smiled and waved awkwardly because she was in an unfamiliar situation, Blan jumped up from his seat like someone struck by lightning.

“Madame?”

When Blan called out to her softly, the knights who had been training hard stopped moving one by one. As everyone’s eyes turned to her, she became even more embarrassed and her face turned a little red.

“Madame?”

“The Madame is here!”

“What? Why is the Madame here?”

At the sound of the murmur, she wanted to run away right that instant, but she couldn’t because she had something to ask of them.

“I thought everyone was having a rough time, so I brought you some snacks.”

“Yes? Snacks?”

Almost immediately, Blan ran to her and took the basket.

It’s incredibly heavy though…

When she saw Blan lightly lifting the basket with one hand, she was astounded as her mouth slightly gaped. Before long, Cain, upon approaching her, looked into the basket and asked.

“Did you make it for us, Madame?”

“Yes. They’re sandwiches, but I’m not very good at it, so the chef helped me…”

The knights were staring at her as she prattled. It felt like the courage she had with her the moment she left her room was diminishing little by little.

“If you don’t like it, you don’t have to eat it…”

Upon saying so, she sheepishly stretched out her arm to retrieve the basket. It was then…

“WOAH! Thank you, Madame!!”

The knights cheered and rushed to the front of the basket.