Chapter 2

Ran checked her dress. The black mourning clothes made her face look paler. She held down the lace veil with her hand.

The lace covered half of her face.

‘Then they won’t be able to see my expressions.’

Standing at the door of the conference room, Ran cleared her thoughts for the last time.

The meeting would soon begin, and the agenda would be the next lord’s issue.

‘You can do it.’

I don’t want to be appointed by my uncle to become the head.

She had self-confidence in becoming a lord.

Ran herself was at the meeting.

‘Blue Flame.’

She was able to wear the Blue Flame. ‘Of course I’m not 100% sure.’

The spirits here have names.

Just as humans have their own names, the spirits also have names and their names are hidden.

If you know their name, it is possible to manipulate the spirit.

And she is the original author.

Of course, she also knew the name of the spirit. So, when she wears the ring and calls the name, then she won’t burn herself.

The owner of the ring was of pure Lachia blood.

This also means they are the lord of the Lachia family. It was a way for no one to raise an objection.

‘Well, there will be issues with regard to the bloodline later, but I’ll just have to say that I’ll be a temporary lord. Being recognized is the most important thing right now!’

Perhaps everyone will be surprised and disoriented, and if I find the gap in their defenses, it will happen somehow. Ran thought so, and breathed deeply.

After inhaling, she lightly put her hand on the doorknob.

That alone opened the huge door without a sound.

“Sorry for being late.”

Ran greeted them lightly and the counts raised themselves.

There are three families that serve the Duke as vassals.

Wilde,

Lance,

Illuminity.

The three families all had their heads.

In this era, where the succession of Duke’s was not as common as it used to be, only formalities remained.

‘The second and third sons of the Duke of Lachia were well placed in the Knights or Administrative Offices.’

And her uncle, Baron Lindbergh, along with others, in key positions.

Originally, he should also be a spy’s retainer, but he was avoiding the oath of loyalty under the pretext of his uncle’s position.

꒰♡ ˚₊︶︶︶꒷꒦꒷︶꒷︶︶꒦꒷︶︶꒷꒦

꒰♡ ˚₊︶︶︶꒷꒦꒷︶꒷︶︶꒦꒷︶︶꒷꒦

“We got together early.”

Yustaf said so and pulled the chair out.

Ran sits down with a slight nod to him under the black veil.

Then when Yustaf sat down, all the gathered people sat down.

Then, “Hmm.” Baron Lindbergh coughed and drew attention.

“Why don’t we get right to the agenda? Isn’t there only one reason we’re here?”

Some frowned in their hearts at the first attempt to lead the meeting, even though Yustaf and Ran have not yet spoken.

But Yustaf didn’t say much and nodded.

“That would be good.”

Baron Lindbergh bowed his head with a somber face.

“I am still very heartbroken about the departure of my brother and his wife and my young nephew. But the Duke’s heir is still alive. I have a niece and a nephew left.”

He coughed again and said.

“But Yustaf is still underage, so I think it should be Ran.”

Then the baron said with a frown.

“Ran has succeeded the Duke’s last name, but she is not of the Duke’s blood. So how can she become the lord?”

“Uhhh!”

Baron Lindbergh raised the authority of the former state of Lachia. Baron Lance wanted to say something more, but Ran raised her hand slightly.

The table became quiet.

She stood up and spoke slowly.

“I know a lot of people are concerned about me being the owner of the house. But it’s also true that Yustaf is still a minor.”

Ran looked back at Yustaf. The veil blurred her face.

“So I’d like to hold a temporary lord position for just two years until Yustaf reaches adulthood.”

A temporary lord.

There was a slight murmur at the new word.

“As soon as Yustaf comes of age, I’ll hand over the duke title to him. And if there’s anyone who’s talking about my pedigree being a problem.”

Ran took a light breath and said to Yustaf.

“Can I borrow your ring for a moment?”

A cold silence filled the room.

Yustaf looked at Ran for a moment and slowly took off his necklace and handed it to her.

Baron Lindbergh looked at the symbol of the family with greedy eyes.

Blue Flame.

If you can’t put that on, you can’t be a real family member.

Ran took the ring off the necklace. The blue jewel glistened.

Without hesitation, she stuck the Blue Flame onto her finger.

At that moment, a blue flame burst out.

“No!”

“Oh, my God!”

Some flinched and moved back, and some got up from their seats.

Yustaf also unknowingly grabbed her wrist.

‘Istalief! Calm down!’

Ran shouted loudly in her heart. The flames that seemed to swallow her were sucked back into the ring.

Silence filled the hall.

Ran raised her hand for everyone to see, feeling her hand shaking.

Her finger sparkled with cyan. Everyone looked at it with a look of alarm.

Yustaf’s blue eyes also shook greatly.

Everyone seemed to have stopped breathing.

“No way!”

It was Baron Lindbergh who screamed all of a sudden.

“What doesn’t make sense, uncle?”

Ran replied calmly.

“The ring, you can’t wear it because of bloodline. It can’t be worn unless you’re a Lachian!”

“That’s right. You can’t wear it unless you’re the lord. So that’s why the ring recognized me as a temporary lord. As someone who can safely hand over this position to the next owner.”

“Sure…..”

Lindberg’s voice trembled. Ran is a useless woman without her own strength.

So he can manipulate Ran as much as he wants. He can get Ran to marry his son. Well she can’t marry someone by herself because she doesn’t have pure Lachian blood.

But now that she’s the ring’s master, Ran has enough authority to not be shaken.

‘No, not yet.’

Lindbergh bit his lips.

She’s still a little girl.

There is nowhere to lean on if it turns out that she is in a bad situation due to her family’s situation.

Besides, the Duchy’s debts are mountainous.

He didn’t know if she knew, but he had lent money to the Duchy. So, she still owes him a debt.

Lindberg licked his dry lips and said,

“Yes. The ring has accepted her.”

Isn’t he supposed to be on her side anyway?

It was just a little different from his plans. Lindbergh regained his composure.

“Is there anyone who disagrees?”

No one raised any disagreement. No, I couldn’t believe what happened in front of me.

“Then I’ll wrap up the meeting with Ran being the temporary owner.”

After Lindbergh spoke loudly, everyone let out a deep sigh.

Ran also lost her strength from her shoulders. She pulled the ring from her finger and handed it back to Yustaf, then she said.

“You don’t have to call me Lord. You don’t have to greet me formally either. I’m just a temporary Lord.”

Ran said so and looked at the vassals.

Everyone is looking at each other with suspicious and strange faces.

Not all three families swore loyalty to Lachia.

‘Wilde is definitely on Yustaf’s side.’

Baron Rance is so prim that he wouldn’t ever betray his duke.

‘The remaining vassals turned to Count Illuminity.’

The Count, whose reddish-brown hair looked like a lion, is now in his early 40s.

An inscrutable person.

That’s how she described him in the original.

Count Illuminity, the Duke’s assistant, was also the closest relative to succeeding after Baron Lindbergh.

However, he is not as outspoken as Ran’s uncle.

‘I wish he could be Yustaf’s strength.’

Ran thought so and smiled at him, but the count didn’t respond.

‘But I’m the author? I know all the basic settings?’

Ran thought so and smiled.

“Then let’s finish the meeting. I’ll make time for those who want to stay and talk.”

Ran ended the meeting saying so. But no one moved.

Everyone had something to tell Ran.

She sighed and spoke slowly.

“We’ll meet you one by one in the back room.”

Yustaf stood up and said.

“Come with me.”

Ran nodded.

The small room, attached to the back of the conference room, was designed for intimate conversation and was plainly decorated in a soft tone.

Ran sighed and sat down on the cream sofa and offered him a seat.

“Sit down.”

Yustaf sat down and crossed his legs. Ran scanned his legs to his head.

‘As expected of the male lead.’

He was much more handsome than I imagined, but just as I thought he’d be.

I don’t know how he does that.

“What did you do?”

“Huh?”

“With the Blue Flame.”

“Well, I told you. I’m just being recognized as a temporary owner.”

Yustaf’s blue eyes narrowed at Ran’s words.

“If that was possible, there would have been no one who died from wearing the ring.”

“I’m Lachian, too. I wasn’t sure about it….. I’m not sure.”

Yustaf’s movements paused at Ran’s words.

“It’s a gamble.”

“Gambling to burn to death.”

“It didn’t seem like there was any other way.”

If I could borrow his uncle’s hand, he would certainly be hostile towards me.

Even if I don’t, the surroundings make life difficult.

Yustaf still seemed doubtful, but let it go.

He looked back up with a certain expression on his face.

“So what are you going to do now?”

“I’ll have to pay the debts first. The financial issue is the most urgent.”

“What about me?”

“Go back to the Academy and graduate.”

“If I refuse?”

“What am I going to do without you here?”

Ran smiled lightly and said,

“It’s okay to leave Lord Ross here.”

“To you, sister?”

“I’m saying it’s okay to have him act as a watchman. Don’t have Ross do anything unnecessary.”

Yustaf looked at Ran for a moment. Is this an attempt to separate Lord Ross from him?

It’s not easy to find a reliable escort.

‘Of course, the Imperial Academy is protected by magic.’

That’s why the Duchess couldn’t get to him.

“All right.”

Yustaf nodded.

“Leave Ross here, and you can take someone else with you.”

“But one thing.”

“Huh?”

“Why are you doing this?”

When Yustaf said that, Ran smiled strangely.

‘Because I felt sorry for making your life difficult in the original?’

I can’t say this.

“Because we’re family.”

The answer, however, is not a lie.

Until the real heroine comes.

Until she comes and falls in love with you, and becomes happy.

I was going to do my best to cheer for you.

‘And I’m going to look for the second male lead.’

Why did I make the male lead and the sub male lead live such hard lives?

At fifteen years old, a middle schooler, he grew up with a blackened dragon’s heart with lungs filled with blood.

Ran slowly regretted it in her heart.

‘But before that, let’s deal with the debt first.’

It’s only after a long time that the Lord finds it, but Ran decided to find and use it now.

It was a mine in the ice wall.

Mana Stones.

There are wizards in this world. Well, many people have heard the story of Ivrea, the great wise man who raised the ice walls, built doors, and built houses.

Wizards were so common that every lord above the position of a count had one or two wizards.

However, there are no wizards in the Duchy of Lachia. The reason was simple.

This was because the great wise man, Ivrea, banned the wizard from entering within 10 kilometers of the ice wall.

There are stones called Mana Stones that contain mana. Using them, the wizards designed a magic tool to work without continuing to inject it with mana.

But soon the interest in magical items waned. Since the Mana Stone’s are not very pure, they are consumed fast. Considering the maintenance cost, it was better to just hire a wizard.

Although it was said to have failed, there were some places that used Mana Stones instead of candles because of the faint lighting, Only the existence of the magic tool craftsmen that managed to keep magical items relevant.

‘But the Mana Stone’s in the ice wall have a huge amount of reserves and a high purity.’

In short, what seemed impossible so far, was possible.

It was as good as bringing coal or oil to the chemical fuel market.

‘And I, the original author, can go one step further.”

The hexagonal Mana Stone, just like crystal, is transparent like ice due to its high purity.

The first ice crystal discovered by Yeoju is colorless and transparent.

However, there are not only transparent ice crystals in the mines.

‘Red and blue Mana Stone.’

This Mana Stone was the reason why the great wise man, Ivrea, kept the sorcerers away from the ice wall.

The mana from these mana stones have a very different nature than the current mana, and the mana used by wizards.

It’ll ruin a wizard’s life.

In other words, a wizard cannot use magic because as soon as a wizard comes into contact with the Mana Stone, their abilities are weakened and they become useless.

That’s why he strictly warned them not to approach the ice wall.

‘Man can’t handle it.’

In the magical world with Dwarves and Elves, races at the western end, they are magic stones.

‘In other words, we can exchange with different ethnic groups.’

Ran smiled in her heart. Minerals that only the Dwarves and Elves could handle were traded at a considerably high price.

‘The North can’t start a vast food business anyway.’

The mana stone business will secure us financially, but the trade with the Dwarves and Elves will not be bad.

‘But the first step is finding the mine……’

After thinking, Ran sighed.

Where’s the location?’

Then, cutting off her thoughts, Yustaf said.

“Sister.”

“Huh? Yeah.”

“I’ll return to the academy soon.”

“You’ll come back after graduating, right?”

“Because sister is the current head now.”

“Just temporarily.”

“May you overcome the Blue Flame.”

“No.”

With a frown, Ran raised her hand.

“That greeting is too much. The Blue Flame is yours. I’m fine with ordinary greetings.”

Ran added furtively.

“And we’re family.”

At those words, Yustaf looked straight at her and said,

“I’ve never thought of you as family.”

I felt a sharp stab in my heart.

Ran smiled awkwardly and said, “Really?”

Yustaf replied to her response with a casual greeting and left the room.

Ran sat down helplessly.

‘Not yet.’

At this rate, I may be kicked out by Yustaf as soon as I give up the position as a lord.

But even if it happens.

‘You have to do what you have to do.’

But maybe I should save some of my allowance….

Ran thought so, and pulled the rope to let the next person in.