A few days passed. The investigation into the ingredients of the hair loss medication was completed, and Baron Gobet’s guilt was confirmed. He was stripped of his title and exiled from the empire.
The barony, along with all the wealth the Gobet family had accumulated, was seized by the imperial family. Naturally, the barony’s export rights were also revoked.
Thanks to this, Summerhill could now export radishes and cabbages not just in summer but at any time, if desired.
“Well, since Summerhill’s harvest season is from July to early September anyway, it doesn’t really make much of a difference.”
I spoke while crunching on a cookie, sitting at a small table set up for me in one corner of Caesar’s office.
As expected, Caesar, who was reviewing documents at his desk, responded.
“Since it’s come to this, I could just give you the land that used to belong to Baron Gobet. That way, you could export not just in summer but in spring and winter as well, don’t you think?”
I blinked, wondering if I had misheard.
“…Pardon? You’re giving me what?”
“The land. Along with a title.”
What in the world…? I slowly placed the cookie I was holding back onto the plate. Caesar spoke of land and titles as casually as if they were chocolates or cookies.
“You were the one who uncovered all this. Exposing the smuggling operation is something that deserves a reward.”
“But…”
“Someone has to manage it anyway.”
I rolled my eyes. …Was that so? When I thought about it like that, it kind of made sense.
“I’ll also give you the baron’s fortune, so you can carry around dozens of teleportation scrolls now.”
Caesar spoke with a hint of irritation. He had been unusually sensitive about money ever since he heard that I had to borrow money from Olche to buy a communication artifact and couldn’t afford a teleportation scroll.
“Now that I think about it, Baron Gobet’s land is too far away anyway. How would I manage it while traveling back and forth?”
“I told you, I’m giving you the fortune too. You could buy dozens of teleportation scrolls with it.”
Instead of replying, I just laughed. Land, a title, and even wealth. It would be a lie to say I wasn’t tempted, but I didn’t need it right now. As I said, it was too far away to manage properly.
“I’m not joking.”
“Yes, I know. What His Majesty really wants is for me to be so busy managing that distant land that I end up neglecting imperial affairs and rarely see you, right?”
“What? That’s not what I—”
I abruptly stood up from my seat.
“Since we’re on the topic, I should go visit Summerhill. Since Your Majesty seems to want me far away.”
I giggled, and Caesar pressed his lips together. It seemed he had just realized I was teasing him.
“I’ll be back.”
“…Take care.”
Despite looking annoyed, Caesar still responded to my farewell. I smiled, opened the office door, and turned to look at him one last time.
Caesar had already buried his face back into the documents. I stared at the top of his dark head for a moment before stepping out of the room.
‘That can’t be it.’
Even after several days, I couldn’t shake off what had happened.
Why had the footage inside the artifact disappeared? And why had Caesar, as if he knew something, urged me to play it quickly?
Maybe it was all just a coincidence. Maybe Caesar had simply dismissed the baron’s words as bluster.
But if Caesar really had interfered, the method was a problem.
The baron had said that the footage existed until just before he tried to manipulate the artifact. There was no way he would have shown something so important to someone else.
Which meant the only time Caesar could have erased the footage was in those few minutes when the baron took out the artifact and was cornering me.
‘The footage disappeared before Caesar even touched the artifact.’
Erasing it in those few minutes without even laying a hand on it would have been nearly impossible. Unless…
‘Unless Caesar has some kind of special ability…’
I shook my head vigorously. That couldn’t be.
If he had such an ability and had been using it freely, that meant he had lied to me. Lied about failing to awaken his powers.
Caesar… Caesar wouldn’t do something like that. What would he even gain from lying?
To clear my head, I quickened my pace. It would be better to focus on work in Summerhill.
Of course, my reason for going there was the export business. I had been too busy dealing with Baron Gobet’s territory to properly tend to it, so I needed to finish what I had started.
Since I had taken full responsibility for the business, I planned to oversee it for at least a year, traveling back and forth. Having worked so hard to secure the export rights, I had grown quite attached to them.
As I hurried along, I suddenly heard someone calling my name from afar.
“Evelyn!”
Huh? I turned my head and saw Katana sprinting toward me from the far end of the imperial palace corridor.
“Katana?”
Panting, Katana came to a stop right in front of me.
“What’s the matter? Why are you in such a rush?”
“Evelyn, where are you going?”
“Hm? Just heading to Summerhill for a bit.”
“I knew it! I’m coming too!”
“To Summerhill? Why?”
I looked at Katana with a puzzled expression.
“What do you mean why? I never got to visit when the lottery trial project took place! I was the one who made the paper for it!”
Back then, Katana had been living in a shack in the black market. I hadn’t brought him along because it was too dangerous, but he had never even mentioned wanting to go.
“But what would you even do there? I’m going for work.”
“Your mom and dad—Baron Chester and the baroness—kept saying how beautiful Summerhill is!”
“Oh…”
Only then did I understand Katana’s reasoning.
Ever since Katana started living in the imperial palace and our family got a house in the capital, he had met my parents a few times.
At first, he only met my father because of the lottery business, but later, my mother joined as well. We had invited him to our capital home for dinner a few times.
My mother, in particular, found Katana adorable. She seemed to think his slightly rough manners were just a sign of his spirited nature.
“I really want to see it! I promise I won’t get in your way!”
Katana clenched his fists eagerly. Since there was no reason to refuse, I nodded without hesitation.
“Alright, let’s go together then.”
****
The moment we arrived in Summerhill, I regretted not bringing Katana sooner.
“Look, Evelyn! A squirrel!”
“That’s a Eurasian red squirrel.”
“So cute!”
Katana was shouting in excitement at everything he saw. And this wasn’t even a particularly beautiful place—just a mountainside where I had come to check on the progress of the farmland.
Thinking about it, after getting expelled from the Mage Tower, Katana had lived in the black market. Then he had moved into the imperial palace.
The black market hut had seemed surrounded by ponds, forests, and trees, but they were all illusions created by magic. This might have been his first time seeing real nature.
“Look at that tree! It’s huge!”
Katana suddenly took off running toward a tree that was several times his height.
“Katana, be careful not to trip!”
“Okay!”
Whether he actually heard me or not, he quickly disappeared into the distance. He had the kind of energy that made it seem like he could run around for hours.
Leaving Katana to enjoy nature, I focused on my work—checking if the land was being cultivated properly and ensuring the farmers’ lodgings were well-prepared.
Some time passed.
“Evelyn!”
I was in the middle of talking with a farmer when a young girl’s voice called my name.
‘Has Katana finished playing already?’
“Well then, take care. I’ll come again soon.”
“Yes, my lady.”
As I stepped away from the field, I heard my name being called again.
“Evelyn!”
Where in the world was she? I looked around and spotted a group of people approaching from down the slope.
‘Huh?’
They were closing the distance quickly. As they got closer, I realized they were all familiar faces—the maids, attendants, and knights of the former crown princess’s palace. Leading the group was none other than Floria.
‘…Floria?’
“Evelyn!”
Floria waved her hands excitedly and ran toward me, immediately throwing herself into my arms.
“Y-Your Highness? How… How are you here? Why… Why did you come?”
I instinctively caught her in my embrace, utterly bewildered. Why was Floria here?
“I came to see you, of course!”
“…What?”
“Today was the day you were supposed to visit me, but you didn’t even send a message.”
Floria pouted as she pulled away.
“So I checked and found out you were here! You’ve been busy with this whole export business lately, haven’t you?”
“Ah… I’m so sorry. I’ve been so overwhelmed that I forgot to send word.”
I still didn’t fully understand the situation, but I apologized anyway.
“It’s fine! That’s why I came to find you myself!”
“But, Your Highness, coming all the way to Summerhill so suddenly… Didn’t you have other plans today?”
“I had a few lessons, but… I decided to turn this into a field trip instead.”
As she said that, she averted her gaze slightly.
I immediately understood her true intentions.
‘She just wanted to skip her lessons.’
Realizing that eased some of my guilt. I chuckled and played along.
“Hands-on learning is important, after all.”
“Right?!”
As we laughed together, I noticed another small figure in the distance—Katana.
He was returning with a tiny red squirrel in his arms, his clothes covered in dirt.
He was smiling brightly, but the moment he saw the people in front of me, his face hardened. He hesitated before stepping behind me and whispering,
“Evelyn, who are these people?”
“Ah, well…”
I glanced between Katana and Floria. Now that I thought about it, this was their first time meeting.
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