…Huh?

‘What’s this? Is he playing dumb?’

She had already heard from Froy about the true state of the place where the trial would occur.

There were small rifts near the mine, demonic beasts wandering around, and the environment had changed significantly.

Moreover, since the Marquis’s knights controlled that area, it was practically lawless. And he’s pretending not to know?

Staring intently at Geoffrey, Rosha coldly responded.

“Do you think the price of diamonds will fall? Are you afraid that a jewel from where the beasts are rampant won’t sell?”

“What, what! Are you branding me as such a rogue without evidence?”

“Why are you talking nonsense? Isn’t the evidence obvious when you go outside? You think we wouldn’t know?”

Cassis, perhaps infuriated, joined in the conversation.

From the start, Cassis seemed to have bad feelings towards Geoffrey, who now stared in disbelief:

“What? Did you just call it nonsense?”

“Yes, I did. Are your ears clogged? Should I repeat it?”

“You… insolent child!”

Geoffrey, apparently angered by Cassis’s unrestrained remarks, began to muster his magic. The tea cups on the table started to tremble.

It looked like a threat, and given Cassis’s short temper, he wasn’t one to back down.

“You’re using magic, huh?”

Cassis extended two fingers and a blue beam stretched out from the fingertips. Seeing the beam pointing towards him, Geoffrey shouted in alarm:

“Are you pointing a sword at me now? In this mansion?!”

“Does this look like a sword to you? It’s my power.”

Is this the dignity of noble fights? It’s truly sigh-worthy.

Rosha, noticing the imperial knights rushing in from outside due to the commotion in the reception room, shouted.

“Stop it! Just present the evidence, right?”

“…Do you have evidence now?”

Did he think she didn’t?

“Yes. Please bring what you’ve brought.”

Rosha instructed the knights who just entered the reception room to bring what they had brought in the carriage.

Cassis sneakily glanced at her. From the beginning, Rosha had always disliked his rude and disrespectful behavior, and they often fought because of it.

‘Well, if it were the original me, I would have been very angry.’

But now, she found it quite amusing. If not for him, she would have had to negotiate.

Rosha secretly gave a thumbs up, making Cassis’s face light up.

Soon, the imperial knights brought a large wooden box and placed it on the floor.

“Open it. It’s evidence.”

“…Is this supposed to be evidence?”

Geoffrey nervously opened the box, only to scream and recoil in horror.

“Aaah!”

It was understandable.

Inside the box was the corpse of a demonic beast, embedded with a mineral resembling diamond.

* * *

The beasts that came out of the cracks often changed their appearance to adapt to the surrounding environment.

So it wasn’t particularly strange that a demonic beast found near a mine had minerals embedded in it.

-I brought it just in case as evidence. Use it if necessary.

It was just something useful that Rosha had received from Froy in negotiations with Geoffrey.

However, Lysithea, unaware of what was inside the box, waited for them at the control area entrance and thought.

‘What’s the relationship between Lady Roshanak and Duke Echerzen?’

She saw the black carriage of Duke Echerzen from her carriage window. The Duke only allowed Lady Rosha into that carriage. Of course, it was because of the imprisoned Heres Lycaon, but she didn’t know that.

Misunderstanding the situation, Lysithea whispered to Joel on the opposite side:

“Do you think the two are secretly dating? Otherwise, why would the cold-blooded Duke Echerzen give such gifts?”

“I’m not sure…”

Joel, instead of being curious about someone else’s romance, wanted to return home, but seeing Lysithea’s excited face, he held back his words.

Lysithea, the daughter of Marquis Belice, who governs the northeast territory, has been a childhood friend with Joel, who was born in a vassal family.

Knowing Lysithea for a good 15 years, Joel knew everything about her.

Lysithea, contrary to her delicate appearance, had a bright and lovable personality. She loved flowers, cute animals, and romance novels.

From the age of eight, she also manifested a special ability.

-Joel, look! There are red pellets floating in the air!

Her ability was to absorb life force from living creatures.

Recognizing her power, Lysithea trained diligently, always saying there must be a reason she was granted this ability.

And the day finally arrived.

It was a trial.

-Joel, I’ve been preparing my mind for such events for over 10 years. You know?

-But Tia…

She didn’t even let him finish and ran out of the banquet hall. Joel immediately followed, and fortunately, it ended without any major injuries, but it seemed to have spurred Lysithea’s adventurous spirit.

‘She almost went on this trip without notifying the Marquis of Belice.’

Although the Marquis Belice tried everything to stop Lysithea from going, she didn’t listen. In the end, the only choice left for the Marquis was this.

-Please, Joel, come with our Tia. I beg you like this.

Joel couldn’t refuse.

Marquis Belice had provided him with much support after he lost his parents when he was young, and thanks to that, he became an imperial knight. Considering that favor, Joel naturally had to accompany Lysithea.

Then, Lysithea shouted with a surprised face.

“Ah, they’re coming!”

As she said, a carriage carrying Lady Roshanak was approaching.

The door of the black carriage opened slightly, and the figure of Duke Echerzen was revealed.

Froy Echerzen.

Despite the dubious rumor of being a murderer, people’s opinions about the Duke were divided solely because of his appearance.

His black hair, as elegant as velvet, and his shimmering purple eyes emitted an overwhelming beauty. With broad shoulders and a robust body, he came out of the carriage, wrapped in black clothes, looking cold and shadowy.

However, Lysithea wasn’t into such dangerous men. She said…

“He’s always good-looking, but I prefer the aide Cedric.”

Lysithea followed Lady Roshanak not just out of admiration and wanting to be closer, but also because of her brother, Cedric Aper.

Joel sighed.

One way or another, as Froy approached the stopped carriage, he asked Rosha, who was just stepping down:

“How did it go?”

“We succeeded halfway.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Thanks to the box you gave, we got permission to enter.”

Rosha waved an entry permit written by Geoffrey Lycaon. Seeing the seal of the provincial representative at the bottom, it was clear it was valid.

Ignoring the discontented gazes of the royal knights around, Froy asked:

“Then what failed halfway?”

“Well, there’s that.”

Rosha hesitated to speak because there were many eyes around, but Froy felt he knew. 

‘Considering the relationship between Marquis Lycaon and Count Aper, she probably asked for debt relief in return for solving Marquis’s problems.’

But, Marquis Lycaon might have no liquid assets because of overspending at the auction… 

Considering the situation of the territory, it’s not a straightforward cut, so probably a decision was made based on the scale of the damage.

And Rosha must have nodded.

‘Because she’s confident she can handle this situation.’ 

Froy was almost certain Rosha had a future prediction-related ability. Otherwise, the events so far couldn’t be explained.

But until Rosha spoke about it, he chose to play ignorant, as it seemed that’s what she wanted.

“Understood. Shall we go?”

Froy said with a slight smirk.

They divided the number of people appropriately into two smaller carriages, with Cassis and Joel following on horseback. The path to the mines was narrow, making it difficult for a large carriage.

“Eh, what’s this?”

Of course, they didn’t know.

As soon as they showed the entry permit and entered the controlled area, they encountered a group of bandits!