“Why would you acquire it if it’s a worthless mine?”

“My dream was to own a gold mine.”

Upon hearing the continuation, Luna unknowingly furrowed her brow. It was no different in the Antes station.

He adjusted his stance to use force again at the most absurd nonsense in the world.

“Why can’t you believe? Even if I had all the gold in the world, I never actually had a mine where gold is born. That’s why I just want to own one.”

It’s neither affection nor authority, but Luna’s expectations for the Crown Prince were getting lower. Her doubts whether such a person could lead the Empire as an emperor grew.

Luna and Antes looked at Callion with pitiful eyes.

“Of course, I’m not saying I’ll leave it as a mere decoration. Although in small quantity, gold will be produced, so I plan to turn it into a profitable business. For example, developing it into a tourist spot where you can mine gold with an admission fee.”

But upon hearing the continuing explanation, they had to withdraw their scornful gaze. He was actually planning a quite plausible business.

“Even if they won’t gain much, people will come with hopes because it’s gold after all. That means there will be a need for a workforce to manage it, creating new jobs.”

“…You mean to cover management costs with admission and additional income.”

“Yes. It won’t be a loss, and it’ll also benefit the Empire. I’ve been planning this for a while, and now that I’ve heard the young lady discovered a gold mine, I think it wouldn’t be bad if rumors spread that young lady is also investing with me. How about it, are you convinced now?”

With confidence, Callion finished his answer, a smirk curling on his lips.

It was quite a princely dream to acquire the mine with good intent, which couldn’t be ignored. From the beginning, there was a willingness to sell when he said he would buy the mine for a simple dream.

“If you really ensure that there will be no loss for me, then okay. Let’s do it.”

Even with Luna’s approval, Antes didn’t object. He too thought it was a good deal.

“Now that we’ve agreed, it’s good to call a lawyer to sort things out. It’s better to review everything in writing as there might be loopholes.”

It was necessary to review it slowly in writing as words could be embellished to sound like there would never be a loss.

“Smart. Yes, contracts should always be handled cautiously.”

Callion also agreed with Luna’s thoughts as he had no intention of cheating either.

During the time a servant went to call a lawyer, Antes asked Callion the question that had been nagging him.

“The Lady found the new gold mine on the day of the New Year party, but when exactly did you hear about this? It seemed like you requested a conversation with Lady as soon as the reveal ended. Did you have someone stick around?”

The timing didn’t match for Callion to hear the rumor, decide to propose to Luna, and strike a conversation after the reveal.

Callion answered as if it was a foolish question.

“Have someone stick around? I just saw and heard it myself.”

“You saw and heard it yourself?”

“Yes. I was in the hall long before it was revealed that Antes was having an affair with another young lady. Just thought there might be something interesting.”

“…”

Antes sighed in frustration at the highly distorted statement. If Fersen was annoying due to his incomprehensible talk, Callion was just insane.

“It was fun to hear the nonsense of young lord Rodrian for the first time in a while. I haven’t seen young lady Granada either, but she seemed not okay.”

Callion couldn’t hide his joy in others’ misfortune. How could someone become more annoying with age, he was very happy about it.

“You seem to have gained a lot of patience. In the past, you would have landed a punch and become the offender. Ah! Is it thanks to Lady Peils?”

As Callion teased, Antes was about to grab his collar when:

“Ah, young lord Antes…?!”

At the right timing, Royer appeared and hastily held onto Antes’s waist, looking pale.

The three were closely attached(?) to each other, a rather unsightly scene.

Seeing the trio, Luna looked at the imperial knights standing at a distance.

Isn’t it your job to deal with this reckless guy who dared to touch the Crown Prince?

“Hmm…”

“Hmm, hmm.”

But when their eyes met Luna’s, they awkwardly coughed and avoided her gaze. They stood idly, watching the spectacle as if enjoying a fire across a river.

At first, they didn’t know the situation and had a standoff with Antes, but as they heard the conversation, it seemed unnecessary to interfere.

The two knew each other for quite a while, and Callion didn’t mention anything about handling Antes, so it was better to stay out of it.

Due to that, the authority returned to Luna again. It would have been a pity if any of the three had tripped and ruined the glass greenhouse in their confrontation.

Although there was neither grace nor dignity, Luna gathered attention by tapping the table lightly with her palm.

“Please don’t fight in someone else’s mansion. If you don’t mind being dragged away by the guards, you may continue to fight.”

It was a threat that wouldn’t work at all, yet Antes obediently let go of the collar and sat back down.

Of course, his expression wasn’t obedient. He was just angry and annoyed, but since Luna told him to stop, he stopped, it was closer to that intention.

Callion was left awkwardly, who had unnecessarily picked a fight with Luna, who suppressed Antes very simply and quickly.

“Antes being this obedient, the Empire will soon be ruined.”

If the Emperor had heard Callion, who made that remark, he would fall clutching his back. The Crown Prince tidied up his ruffled collar.

Although he said that growing older had strengthened his patience, still listening to others and behaving modestly was not like him.

“If the Empire falls, it’s all because of you.”

The corners of Callion’s mouth raised at Antes’s unfazed retort.

He wanted to tease Antes for a couple more hours, but unfortunately, it was slowly becoming time to leave.

“Then we should hurry to sort out the mine issue.”

Callion, suddenly serious, brought up business again as if he had never teased or joked with Antes.

It seemed right that this wasn’t a matter suddenly pushed forward after a day or two of consideration, he laid out the plan he had briefly explained earlier in detail, step by step.

“My plan is excellent. If the contract is signed, we’ll start investing right away.”

Thanks to that, the smoothly concluded Royer was quite impressed by the seemingly plausible plan and swallowed dryly.

Of course, if he had been there from the beginning, the impression would have been less.

Anyway, the fact that the Crown Prince and Luna were collaborating for the Empire, and that he was to mediate that contract, he couldn’t control his swelling heart.

‘Yes, this is what a lawyer is! It’s not a lawyer who takes care of a young master who beats up another noble!’

He sincerely appreciated Luna. This direction wasn’t a common connection but a golden one. It made him want to resign from his current position and beg Luna to hire him officially.

While Royer was having such thoughts alone, Callion finished his preparations to return to the capital. It had been a long time since he met Antes, and they had spent quite a time together.

“I’ll be looking forward to the documents on my return. Please review them at your earliest.”

The Crown Prince, who said so, was about to get on the carriage when a carriage passing through the mansion gate appeared. It was Rosemary’s carriage with the seal of Marquis Vincent.

As soon as the carriage stopped, the Crown Prince greeted Rosemary, who hastily descended.

“We meet often. The heir of Marquis Vincent.”

To this, Rosemary hurriedly greeted back.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness.”

“Well, I really should go now. I’ll look forward to our next meeting.”

Before she could ask anything, the Crown Prince got on the carriage and left Rose Mansion.

The Crown Prince had come and gone even before the appointed time, prompting Rosemary to demand an explanation from Luna.

“What on earth happened? Wasn’t he supposed to visit in the afternoon…?!”

“Ah, yes. That was the plan but he suddenly visited in the morning. I was also surprised.”

She couldn’t understand why he would promise to come in the afternoon if he was going to break it like this. Luna expressed her shared frustration to Rosemary, who was rolling her eyes at the incomprehensible situation.

“I was also quite taken aback as I had just woken up, but anyhow, it was resolved well. It wasn’t like he came in anger. Um, a bit different from what I had thought but he wasn’t a bad person.”

“A not-bad person…?”

Rosemary was shocked as Luna assessed the Crown Prince favorably.

What the heck happened while she wasn’t present, to cause such a change overnight?

“Yes. He was a bit mischievous, noisy, and sudden, but he was a good person. There was also a side of him working for the Empire.”

Luna, who responded so, smiled and suggested to Rosemary that they should go inside as it was cold, and continue their conversation.

Upon this, a confused Rosemary looked at Antes.

It’s natural to get angry or jealous when a lover mentions another man as a good person, but for some reason, there was no particular change in Antes’s expression.

‘What on earth is this situation…! When did he dislike Lady Luna talking to others! Surely because the opponent is the Crown Prince, he’s bowing down …?!’

Or perhaps because he’s the Crown Prince, he thinks he can do better, so he’s letting her go, that cliched mindset of letting go because he loves her.

‘What should I do then…?!’

What if Luna really becomes the Crown Princess? Rosemary, who had fallen into a pit of absurd delusions, looked gloomy.