Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The Imperial Academy

As its name suggests, it was an institution of higher education established in the Empire

With a full-time dormitory system, the Emperor traditionally came from the Imperial Academy, so the majority of the aristocracy sent their children to the Academy.

The resulting graduation reunions will be a great place to build some connections

Originally, the House of Lachia usually kept their distance.

So, Yustaf, who is the first to enter the academy from Lachia, attracted a lot of attention,

There are three dukes in the Empire.

Ice-wall’s Lachia, White Silver’s Miro and Rose’s Usla

Among them, Lachia was the most closed off and secluded.

As such, people were curious and had many fantasies

The place where the last of the great sage fell asleep.

The ice wall

The door that actually exists.

And a family history that is much longer than the Empire’s.

For aristocrats who value tradition and lineage, Lachia was special

In fact, the first empress, who founded the empire, was a descendant of Lachia.

They even have their own greetings that sounded so nice.

In fact, Yustaf was not interested in such a thing, he thought it unpleasant and annoying to say the greeting

It was a greeting to the Duke. But after he spoke out with a cold and scomful face, no one greeted him again

Yustaf, who gained the room with the privileges of a duke in his last year, opened the letter with ease.

It was a letter from Ran.

Since he came to the academy, she had sent at least one letter a week.

It was the usual scenario.

After she took over as the temporary Lord, she would report every little detail on what had happened in the mansion

Her meeting with uncle,the details about debt, and the financial situation.

And I’m so tired, even complaining

Yustaf read the letter without noticing that he was smiling

The last one was ‘Graduate quickly and come and help me.’

‘Seriously

‘Is she really trying to get acknowledged as a family member and help me become the head?

Yustaf scanned through the letters with his fingertips. That way, he can read the content of the letter properly.

(not part of the tl, but I don’t know where to put this comment, if the succeeding parts are like flashbacks, can we italicize it? Just to make some clear transition) Yeah I think that’d be a good idea

My stepmother was a great beauty,

I’ve never seen such gold hair and vivid green eyes. And his new sister, who just stood there while holding her skirt.

He felt comfortable with them.

Their Northem summery green eyes with soft, shiny wheat hair

With great expectations, comes greater disappointment. And the moment I was overcome with disappointment, I fell into despair

*That day

The day when he climbed a tree and fell on top of Ran.

That day was a turning point.

Ran, who was unconscious, had died and came back to life as a different person

– Yustaf, I want to be a real family with you. The voice whispered with a friendly smile.

Yustaf closed his eyes, opened them, and reached for the next letter

The second was Ross’ letter. Ross was meticulously reporting Ran’s activities.

*There’s a cave

What’s in it?

This was not mentioned in Ran’s letter.

‘Besides, how do you know that cave? There’s something in the cave that can pay off our debt?’

Questions arose in a flury.

Yustaf reached out to the ink bottle without hesitation. He wrote down his questions and sealed the letter.

The receiver, of course, was Ran.

The execution of the accountant was quick.

A list of his sins was posted throughout the territory. Some of the people were delighted that the first punishment the Lord dealt was the death penalty, and that it was the first step in stopping corruption, while others turned pale.

Some people shouted that the death penalty was too much and that the new Lord was cruel

Ran ignored everything.

Unfortunately, the confiscated property did not have much value.

“Where the hell did you use all of this?’

Ran groaned at the list of assets that were less than what she had thought. She knew they had used them for gambling, but she didn’t know they had spent this much on gambling

Many of the accountants were disciplined and fired.

Administrative’s work has been increased, but the administrator’s did not open their mouths.

It was because everyone knew that the Lord was the one who is most overworked.

Her study was the last to turn off the fire, and the first to be lit.

So when Blaine returned, he was surprised to see the pale complexion of the housekeeper and her darkened eyes.

“Are you all right?”

It came out unknowingly. Lan grinned and nodded.

“I’m not dead yet, so it’s fine. I have heard that your mission was a success?’

“Yes, I found the cave. And I found what you said, but…”

Blaine carefully placed the basket down. Ran quickly opened the lid and looked inside

There was a mana stone the size of an arm. When Blaine saw her face brightening, he added,

“But it’s not a jewel.”

“Yes, it’s not a jewel. It’s a Mana Stone.”

“A Mana Stone? One this big?

Ran nodded when she saw how surprised Blaine was.

“This transparency, this hardness. A high-purity Mana Stone looks like this.”

Blaine blinked. He had seen magical items and Mana Stones several times.

But all the Mana Stones he saw looked like ordinary stones.

Ran tapped the Mana Stone lightly with her hand.

Making magical items isn’t hard. It is also not difficult finding mana stones either. But the purity of mana stones in the market is so low that mana gets consumed too quickly.

Now, there were magic craftsmen who made magic circles and enchanted magical objects. They didn’t use a high-level wizard because it would cost a lot of money.

Even if you are not a wizard, you can draw a magic circle. Magic craftsmen were low-wage workers.

“But if these mana stones are supplied, things will be completely different.”

As long as there are enough mana stones, there are countless things you can do without a wizard.

Blaine nodded at Ran’s muttering

“That’s right.”

“Yeah. I didn’t know you’d find it this fast. It’s all thanks to Blaine.”

“No, it’s not.”

Blaine answered politely, with his eyes down.

“Okay, then.”

Ran grinned and touched the mana stone with her fingertips.

“I’ll look for a business partner.”

Lan’s head was spinning. She was the original author, and she had quite a few settings that she didn’t write about

Top Businesses.

The empire has three top businesses. If Ran had to choose one of them to deal with, Golden Rose is the best.

Ran took a deep breath and looked up

“Lord Blaine, may I ask you one more question?”

“You don’t have to ask You can order it.”

At his polite words, Ran felt relieved. Ran picked up a pen and drew a picture on a piece of paper.

“Have you ever seen a tree with leaves like this?”

Blaine nodded at the sight of her painting. So did Ross.

“I know. It’s quite a common tree in the North.”

“Is that so?”

Ran looked at the window for a moment.

“Well, no, it’s not the right time yet, so let’s put this off.”

Ran said while folding the paper

“Good job. Go get some rest.”

Blaine saluted and left the study. Ran sat down.

Ross looked at the Mana Stone on the table and asked.

“How did you know?”

“Hmm?”

“That there’s something like that.”

“I wasn’t sure either.”

Ross looked back at Ran with wonder, Ran, in the meantime, was thinking of a believable story

“I thought there might be some reason why the wizards couldn’t come here.”

“Also, do you even have any interest in magic and Mana Stones?”

Ross was dumbfounded and asked. Ran nodded and added.

“And remember when I went to the door before, that time when I got lost?”

Before I reincarnated as Ran, the real Ran had actually got lost on her way to the door

When her mother found out about it later, she claimed it was Yustaf’s doing and punished him

“I know.”

Ross’s face had stiffened.

That day, the stepmother picked up the rod, and young Yustaf’s back was covered with blood. Even now, there is a scar on his back.

“I found it then. So when I combined my childhood memories and old data, I thought, “Maybe.

Ran smiled awkwardly and shrugged her shoulders.

“I was just lucky”

Ross did not answer.

She was lucky

That’s what she said, but it’s not easy to combine fragmented data into one and draw conclusions

That’s a ridiculous conclusion

But Ran came up with it, and there was an answer.

Pure Mana Stone

Even though Ross was not familiar with commerce, he knew the value would be enormous.

The Duke will be free from debt.

“Why didn’t you tell me beforehand?”

“It will be embarrassing if I’m wrong.”

Ross stared at Ran, but she just smiled and said,

“Now that I know for sure. I should send a letter to Yustaf and to the Golden Rose too.”

“Golden Rose?”

“Yeah, one of the top three businesses. Wouldn’t we be able to trade this with them?”

Having a high value product is like winning the lottery.

There’s a lot of work to be done,

Furthermore, in order to trade red and blue mana stones, they need a group of people with connections to the western end.

Now, it will be possible to do anything that we could not have been done before because of the lack of magic power in the Mana Stones.

The possibilities for the future are simply endless.

‘Besides, the only place where such high-purity magical stones can come from is the Ice Wall’ In other words, it’s like getting oil money.

Ran grinned

With this, Yustaf’s suffering was over And then the heroine, from a different dimension, would fall from the sky to meet the male lead

Heroine

Ran suddenly remembered the word. The name of the heroine is Sina. She was a lovely heroine.

“This time, I’ll work hard on the story.’

I feel sonry whenever I think about it.

“This time, I’ll do you a favor.”

Yustaf and Sina will live happily ever after

‘This time, I’ll grant you a favor.”

And Yustaf and Sina will have a happy ending

Of course, there are problems that money can’t solve, but at least, money won’t be one of them.

That alone seems to solve half of the problems.

“Once the work is done, I have to find the second male lead…’

He would have been enslaved by now. It’s still too early, but I have to look for him before the end of next year.

The real hell will begin next year at an illegal toumament.

Even so, I already saved the male lead for now…!

Ran bit her lips.

Two years

“If she can endure this for two more years, Yustaf will inherit the position as the Lord.”

‘Also, Yustaf will graduate in half a year

“Then the position as temporary head will just be for appearances.”

‘I hope it will happen soon.’

Ran thought so and reviewed the letter once again

There were no mistakes

“Oh, right.

Ran added to her letter for Yustaf.

-Bring some talent!

Yustaf tilted his head when he saw the phrase at the end of the letter

Some talents

The Imperial Academy was definitely a place for connections

Most of the Academy’s students are nobles. But since a hundred years ago, the emperor also allowed commoners to enter in order to raise forces against the nobility,

If you pass the examination, you will be exempt from a huge entrance fee for those who do not have a title.

The majority of graduates end up in the lower management of the Imperial Palace,

Yustaf tapped his desk lightly.

“There are a few people that caught my attention.’

‘I’m tired of socializing at the Academy, but that’s another problem.’

“You can do it in eamest.

Even though he watched the people at the Academy closely, he had never recruited anyone directly.

It was because his father, the Duke, was still alive, and doing such things would also support his stepmother.”

“Look, you are still alive, and yet your son is already preparing to become a Duke.” It was obvious that she would say that

But Ran became the head of the household

‘It’s a direct order from the Lord, so it’s okay.”

Yustaf folded the letter thinking so.

The detailed data on the Duke’s debt suffocated him. To think that the debt amounted to this much. It’s at the point where the Duchy’s revenue won’t be able to cover it.

‘But’

Mana Stones…

Yustaf touched the Blue Flame. A cold, cool surface that doesn’t get warm no matter how much you touch it.

Yustaf liked it.

‘Really, your decision was correct.’

Yustaf whispered at the Blue Flame while he was lost in his thoughts