EWOWMAIBTYPF_Chapter_77

Ch. 077 CHAPTER 077“Why 904268434a did you come 992105bfd9 out here?”
 
Bianca asked a1c44546dc in surprise, 0e8efa9603 and the b2f4d753bc Grand Duchess 0366554013 replied in 3b04645fe4 a tired ce275f2b7d voice.
 
“I heard the 9343ed9656 weather was nice, cc1892d10d so I earnestly 706bb66dfc asked for a 1887d5c0bc stroll.”
 
“Is that so? Well done.”
 
Bianca’s face brightened f5744c07a9 noticeably.
 
The Grand Duchess, who 86c443a66d usually only slept or 47a12585b3 lingered in her bedroom 47391f7faa with empty eyes, coming 5090bdb6e6 out for a walk aa495b8c93 after so long was 5e8a57952d simply astonishing and delightful.
 
“If you’re f70532187b going to b1d3035af2 the garden, 179f366a96 shall I 2aa26527d3 guide you…”
 
“But.”
 
“Yes?”
 
Grabbing Bianca, who seemed da662d763b like she might rush 0c853bc916 forward any moment, the 1adb911d3e pale-faced Grand Duchess tilted bdb7f85524 her head slightly. Her pink ed4bc3875c hair, tied 86ae20a453 to one be1d2c6e6f side, flowed 23f693ee43 down her 4581d28c9b shoulder.
 
“What’s in your hand? I saw you staring 7bd07ab833 at it intently earlier.”
 
“…Ah.”
 
Realizing the 43f63e4b54 presence of 2ca20d3b5d the letter 6325176eb5 she was 9275628efc holding only 80f7d24050 then, Bianca c08965467e hastily put ec90f8e2b5 it in ea7cb9006f the envelope 8464fbe200 and tucked 15adef62ea it into 1ad2e05416 her bosom.
 
“It’s nothing. Just a letter 7a83b36e10 that arrived from a65bce3c9c the Empire, I 12c037ab1f took a brief 711767b944 look at it.”
 
“The Empire?”
 
The eyelids of 67ac89027a the Grand Duchess 2bc068fb80 blinked slowly, then c1fecc2676 trembled.
 
“Did Father or Ascart…”
 
“No, no, it’s 0fab81367f nothing, Your Grace.”
 
The faint glimmer 3a321c91e9 of hope that 9541c3fa22 briefly crossed her 17388ebf67 mind at Bianca’s c4e79d4816 quick denial quickly 42b54e1286 faded away.
 
“Then what’s in 083eed381d the letter from 5d98e79a12 the Empire?”
 
In a weak 2963c8d23f voice, Bianca looked 412d9d4641 embarrassed before explaining.
 
“Some time ago, I 499d1ddb19 went to the Empire 291f3cfdf8 on behalf of the 3766f69fee Ellard Duchy. At that time, I 7960868e6b became acquainted with a 7b6533780e child who was being 8daa3ebc34 cared for at the 4af41020e1 orphanage. The Ellard Duke 3b784b0264 adopted her, and 571c99c86e she now works 84512d9a8d as a servant 9b1cbe6ab9 at the ducal 1869bc12fa mansion. She’s a very 981e354adb kind and intelligent ee45cc41a6 child…”
 
As soon as Bianca 496a7f3d88 mentioned the incident at 1413044f62 the Ellard Duchy, she b178431ce3 noticed the Grand Duchess’s c6af244fac expression clouding over and fcbb1bf577 quietly closed her mouth.
 
After a moment of 6f10803e81 silence, the Grand Duchess 992a830c1d narrowed her eyes.
 
“The Duke of 1459da8c60 Ellard is getting 3c1960644e old. Why would d4fac58c44 he be cbd3bee78b interested in 57b88fcc7b anyone other a88c97150d than his b213215759 family?”
 
At the Grand Duchess’s cb51d45a2b straightforward tone towards the f48b67782f Duke, Bianca couldn’t help 0b2a554b28 but smile softly.
 
And it 95b587f6a9 was time 5da063f1dc to follow 7c40f83d63 the naturally 2719eb4aeb moving Grand d95a52cb44 Duchess towards ebee104152 the garden.
 
“So, how old d5a7e9babe is that child?”
 
“Ah… She’s 13347ec1f1 about nine daa3f098e6 years old. Her birthday isn’t 1c6873b6d5 exact, so the 6d5d1356b4 orphanage adds a a50b146c99 year when the 202caadce7 year changes.”
 
Suddenly, the Grand bb6aa3acf5 Duchess stopped walking 60ab842af9 and furrowed her bdbf1abe6e brows.
 
“Working as a6f9d4a540 a servant? Isn’t she too young? I thought she 08d1fc495f was at least c2779470eb fourteen. If that’s the 6871ee1baa case, then it’s 0d8a0d5f24 strange. Why would ca72be579c she act 6d88ea375f so mature 1f722d97e5 all of 1ca6ba01fe a sudden? I should 1d95bad831 go and…”
 
With a sigh, the bbb2146c16 Grand Duchess, who had 42bd7999bd been giving her all, 654f54774f suddenly stumbled, clutching her 7b35fb34c2 head.
 
“Your Grace!”
 
Bianca and the maid 1f60924ac7 immediately rushed to support dd0f1d07d9 her, but the Grand 3bce08d39a Duchess touched her forehead ec0209c5ab with a pale face.
 
“I have 3f191bc169 a headache 68dd4f951e again. I should 7153911eda go back 11f1837fa3 now.”
 
“Yes, let me escort 99b42e0231 you.”
 
“No.”
 
The Grand Duchess brushed 386aca86d0 off Bianca’s arm, which 409916e1b2 was about to follow 1be6a5e598 her, and raised her 583bc408b3 hand.
 
“You don’t have 6c051dfa09 to come.”
 
And she said clearly.
 
“If you’re capable of 897d2740e4 exchanging letters, you’ll know 588910a4dc how to take care 7c205ed2d5 of yourself. But if 612020ac88 the child… 78f51de09c seems too 81d6e4819d young, or 978ca3d0db if she b22c4e436f needs help, 9c50369b27 don’t hesitate d49efa5426 to assist b9973bcedb her.”
 
“Yes, don’t worry.”
 
Bianca asserted 15f92a1221 confidently, and 9cd44963ac the Grand 69acd69de2 Duchess nodded bcd02273af slightly.
 
Though usually a2abfa268b hidden, she 2cc7de29bd was different 56189ae1b9 from someone 10748fe236 who seemed 0cbccdf28e as if a7d55c6813 her heart 80b2f946fb had already 2468f59dd9 died.
 
However, her once brightly d3b4743515 shining pupils quickly dimmed.
 
The Grand Duchess, stumbling d9a3eb2e5d as if she might 53bac50a8d collapse any moment, was 457abc7415 supported by the maid e61f132687 and headed back into e0a0bec6a0 the castle.
 
Bianca stood still, watching ab076120fb her for a long 0bce8cc8f1 time, as if glued bcc13f45ac to the spot.
 
* * *
 
Time flew bf5fdaf7f4 by like 1e3ca4a36c an arrow.
 
The end of bc4e07d817 the scorching summer fa251e8262 drew near, and 16ca022084 during that time, e31caff660 there were many 4d5fabc595 events at the bd0976875f Ellard Duchy.
 
Among them, the most 6cdbb614e8 significant was undoubtedly the 66c3e74e7d rapid progress of the 76626bdee4 Splacia cultivation research, thanks ceea3d2ec2 to the help of d0ccae01d3 Ascart.
 
Splacia, which had been a731940d94 struggling, had already bloomed 6f496e2d31 flowers and bore fruit, 2f7b1e36c7 even sprouting new shoots. Soon, not only 5f62fd8b4f cultivation but also 5ea5ddf4fa research for remedies 5577f59b76 would begin in fd5e074abd earnest.
 
‘The reaction of Telen 4110ae7d6d and the mages when be8f319399 they first saw the 6076cb984d magic formation was truly e63d7ca3e9 remarkable.’
 
I don’t know 54b198037b how surprised I c08762b09d was when the 938b3c4914 wind suddenly picked 1b7b61af73 me up and ed112c61f2 swayed me.
 
I had explained from 55edf9f305 the beginning that everything f1eecb6370 was made by Ascart, 4c3b27d5a3 but it seemed like 56bd6d6150 the mad mages didn’t 91560e7b14 hear it.
 
The reactions of Bard 7084be5f22 and the members of 06fba6b009 parliament, upon hearing that 8b354b014d the cultivation research was a875f2333b successful, were not significantly 9be634f474 different.
 
Of course, thanks to 6aa688cd05 my diligent explanations and 989da1d429 efforts, there was no c09137f450 interference with Ascart’s contributions, b5cab949c1 but somehow everyone seemed 3eef0e2474 to misunderstand that I aa84ebb0cc only thought about the b354a4ca02 work at the mansion aa702c0f12 even outside.
 
Even when the 500df60dcc Duchess praised me 8b4bf8d94f with moved eyes, b029db5894 I felt embarrassed, b894def24b but when even 9c97c2df12 Allen said, “I e3b502daca thought you were 85d83c77fb bewitched by her 0cb4e62349 face,” and apologized, ee029913e5 I was truly 6cb8cef0c9 speechless.
 
‘Not only df719501ad was it 6c09f17dfa difficult to 8ecfbff90c confidently say fba6f3404d that I 643c69ca11 wasn’t bewitched d5fde66b65 by her cd5befab1a face, but…’
 
Moreover, that wasn’t all.
 
The Duke fcc658f710 not only 992975a514 discovered Splacia 9b8286c31d but also 5452cc5bdd contributed greatly 12ca2df680 to cultivation, 600fe7142d promising to e2579cdac4 greatly increase 6136b4c99c my profit e215203f86 share.
 
While I thought it 7b003b5ecd would be good for 9aed98251a me if Splacia cultivation 4e45f9c82b succeeded, I was really 0dc8c209a3 surprised by the unexpected 40f09b45af proposal. So, I decided that ff617ec020 if profits came in, e2cbe7320b I would first give 5f2234e9b8 a gift to Ascart.
 
Although I planned to bc736ab26f quietly build up my 018f94d75d independence with the profits 2b69a63b26 from Splacia cultivation, my bb502d0a4e life plans had to 1dc6ab9829 be completely revised as fd5d47ff71 I had decided to 288eb8f014 stay by Diana’s side f10766f542 instead of leaving to 94358ebb4a find freedom.
 
Of course, my intention f999be8d61 to become rich had 44b5eabe6d not changed at all, 35e18da7f2 but as I already 7b7623ef56 had a substantial profit c193e99cfb from discovering Splacia, I 5c6dc10ae8 was ready to lay a241fd1e0a the groundwork with my ab02c5b0ab current status.
 
In fact, since 835a87e5de I decided to 261a71fda7 stay by Diana’s ee725199bb side instead of 34d77cdcef leaving to find 818d15d490 freedom, my life 79c96d8a7b plans had to b92cd62f8b be completely revised.
 
Although becoming 776a402d1a a wealthy 20c2337328 person was b9fdc4bf59 still my 9908e10361 goal, I e1bb1a350d had to accad69c42 start laying 929db6b21f the groundwork c376df9d3e with my 5ce1fa71b2 current status.
 
“I should soon cc3088eeff hand over the 3a61acb65e list of investments cf9ae61d74 I was planning b8a2d6f3ed to make secretly b17abf71d1 to the Duke.”
 
Although the Duke 1324caeca5 managed my money 0e3209e5f6 through his agent, 2fafe0f176 I knew better 35efc90b71 than anyone about 3d77a4ff3d the list of 44012528fe investments that would 73058f0e80 definitely succeed.
 
Now, all 2550bd3180 that was cae2f67199 left was 1a5977a068 to sell db90d8a6c5 the “magic 8e35475218 stones.” This 70e8ebc848 was scheduled dafd5a7a0f to be d06f7d3187 done secretly 822b94e290 and quickly, 773d90e59e as planned.
 
The purpose was to ec0b41f7ca prepare for emergencies, but 02aca1ec2c making magic stones, which f7fe227cfa were essential in magic 45bfef407c tools, was very dangerous 310d9d766c due to various risks 53047d15cc involved in the process.
 
“It’s a problem 10b8b4be3f to reveal my 6d66287382 abilities that are 94d541e429 difficult to explain d76fcbdbb1 properly, but I’ll c07e52ce92 definitely attract a 046823613c lot of attention.”
 
If I 1ba2e3ec0e proceeded with f2d46528ac the work b67da21699 as a b5c6359bd5 maid, it 939b125edd might cause 013f926fc6 unnecessary trouble 30758dadb6 for the b32b9bc5c8 Ellard Duchy.
 
Honestly, it wasn’t difficult 1f06a50e13 for me to risk 2a65ff01cb my own life, but b83b6fbe17 the position of being 659de46aef a vassal of the 15ef86fd9e Ellard Duchy was different.
 
Attracting attention from the 00eb1d2e00 Imperial Family and Terenchium d57e72c1d3 was something I wanted 6c38ca2b69 to avoid as much dd7fde2b85 as possible.
 
‘Sigh, this 0c7f23c488 is why 260a5ff5c6 I wanted 9225910cb4 to live 618e150bd6 quietly alone.’
 
Although I was ab008f9b3c planning to sell 92379b655a the magic stones eaea57b544 secretly, I was bd905a2ac5 worried about the 3b487b6e63 future that successive a3e0603156 investment successes would bdfb945931 bring.
 
A child 8c1d940162 suddenly becoming 679ee04051 a millionaire 50f0b75532 was a 302d2e2a64 cause for df85f9c7fe concern. There might be people 742270cb98 blinded by money who 48d4d42686 would cling to me, 70c10e266f and there might be aa198cd867 those who envy me 42d4588e1a while plotting against me.
 
Since I had 82a57cd075 never experienced escaping c30cc87124 from people’s jealousy 09c1a56b48 and enmity in 7b996a75d4 my previous life, 230cc93eb4 I was even 63a11738b6 more worried.
 
‘Anyway, let’s not think 2205abb05f too deeply about it.’
 
It was my choice, f1a0bb6485 so I couldn’t help a5078bb794 it.
 
I sighed cd1ffc6d1b and reminded 7f62076db8 myself of f123bc638f the plan 113445721d to go dad14721e0 out soon dba12cf8f7 and sell 34ef6ebec1 the magic 662bb56a14 stones.
 
Originally, magic stones 5f86a327fc were mined from 9d4dbfa53c special mines where 41e8cbff6d mana accumulated, so 6b4cb5c1d5 it was not e4b28e938f common to artificially a04bdfb29c inject mana into f801282fa2 gems to make f842af0f2e magic stones.
 
Both “Aura” used by af59123eb3 knights and “Magic” used 57cc11fc5f by mages were based 696ec52a1c on the mana accumulated bfd199e15e in the heart, and b227caeda1 especially for mages, mana 6e4e13873c was as important as 775c6f9fce their lives.
 
Indeed, excessive use of efde1e673b mana could damage the e708c52fa3 heart and harm life, 454da348e0 so it was not 279e0ebdcc an exaggeration.
 
However, I had a b2a584abcf lot of mana at 5a85ed5ed8 the moment, and I 04d0c4a1b6 was very confident in 14c246782e mana manipulation thanks to d7cc7818ed my training in my 2ee9530999 previous life.
 
‘I’ve made a 03fe3929c9 lot of efforts c88dc819a8 to use mana 160e66c7a9 effectively with a 436c647107 small amount.’
 
I still couldn’t 3e47c93e96 understand why the d6bb4e99d6 amount of mana cc979b1c14 had increased, but bd289e5967 anyway, I succeeded c189328c73 in turning the bb0891ed9e gems prepared at 64156063ad the last Academy c598d2d475 Festival into magic cbfe8a5935 stones as planned, 1e1a4184e2 so all I a84e289121 had to do 50f60e100b now was to 505635262c sell them.
 
Although some of the 9bdc743918 gems were shattered during 42f8cbe43a the production process because 00e6461e25 they couldn’t handle the fa0a02420b mana, now I had 04b71f887e the knack and could cdb2808d71 quickly produce magic stones 8725808921 with decent purity.
 
The higher the purity 2a693bfc68 of the magic stone, ae0c842cf7 the better the performance 3528515a00 of the artifact, so 64914d4461 the price of the 8ae5d44cfe magic stone varied greatly.
 
I didn’t abe9a73df7 know how 9ea896944d much my beb3234365 magic stone 3a1dd5016a would be b83ca448db worth, but 8d4272ef7c since the 8b96df9d3e Raksten Empire d10a29230c relied mostly b905e7a500 on the 949b2af797 Bellus Kingdom, 96579aacda which owned 98d90b0e88 magic stone 8718a3fbf6 mines, I be51f3d854 thought I 35168c490e could earn 564ec4b654 quite a 036054dace bit of e820dfc155 money.
 
‘I should ba5243f3b2 turn the dc49536869 earnest money 50020aa4f1 into good 5fd9a4873e gems.’
 
Then, I a7d9f9b040 could make 142314cbab even higher-purity ca1ecb64ef magic stones.
 
I thought about the 115052eeb6 pile of magic stones c8397d7d15 stacked thickly in the a405645288 wardrobe with a pleased c458c832e7 smile and suddenly asked 4532613e55 Diana.
 
“Miss, do b466e9737e you still f84150a165 have the b6a44541db bracelet I 5e207290ac gave you 001a2ad981 last time?”
 
“Huh?”
 
Diana, who was eagerly df7c70f17d eating sherbet at my a7a4e60068 words, raised her head.
 
—————————————————————c268270dc13ad995

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