Stephanie begged Christine to make quail braised in wine.

‘If I take good care of Stephanie…. Ludwig might soften his heart too.’

Hope rose in her gloomy heart. Then she remembered a case of wine she had acquired recently.

‘Should I use that?’

Christine headed toward the wine cellar with somewhat lighter steps.

As she was about to go down to the basement, Anton hurried after her.

“Madam, do you need something?”

“I was just about to call for you, what perfect timing. Did you store the wine we brought in earlier properly?”

“…Are you going down to check on it now?”

“Yes, why?”

Anton’s expression was somehow displeased.

“It’s fine. In perfect condition. I checked it just yesterday.”

“Ah, that’s Anton for you. Actually, I was planning to cook with that wine….”

“If I may be so bold, Madam. Must you do this today? Or perhaps you don’t trust my word that it’s been properly stored?”

Anton had never asked such a direct question before. Christine unconsciously waved her hands in denial.

“Anton, how can you say that? Of course I trust you. I trust you more than anyone.”

“Then perhaps you could check the wine another time.”

Christine was gradually becoming upset. Even though she relied on the chief chamberlain to manage the household because she couldn’t properly do it herself, this was too much.

It felt as though she needed his permission just to go look at some wine.

Suddenly, Werner came to mind.

‘Is Anton treating me this way because my husband is neglecting me?’

She tried to quickly deny such a ridiculous thought, but Anton seemed to fan her ominous suspicions by stepping closer.

“His Grace mentioned that he’s invited Dame Margrit in two days. We must make thorough preparations to ensure there’s no repeat of the previous unfortunate incident.”

Christine’s face flushed red at Anton’s words. How dare he bring up that incident.

Such rudeness would have been unimaginable from the usual Anton. Even if he had committed some offense, he was the type to apologize immediately.

But he ignored Christine’s embarrassment and took the lead.

Christine followed him back upstairs with her head lowered like a scolded child. And she realized there was no one around whom she could share these miserable feelings.

‘I’ve heard that most mothers confide in their grown daughters at times like this…. I truly have no one.’

Lost in self-pity, she didn’t notice Anton sighing in relief.

In truth, early that morning, Daphne had sought out Anton dressed for going out. She ordered him to keep an eye on her personal maid, whom she had locked in the wine cellar.

It was not a request but a command in every sense.

He had asked what the maid had done wrong, but Daphne remained silent. It seemed as if she was questioning whether she needed to explain such matters, so Anton kept his mouth shut.

‘A broken engagement, then a sudden marriage. And now locking up a maid. What on earth is happening to our Miss!’

Anton was doing the worrying that Christine should have been doing.

⁕⁕⁕

As Daphne had predicted, a long line had already formed outside the building housing the department that managed underground resources. She craned her neck, looking around in all directions, when a man raised his hand high.

“Over here!”

He had been guarding the area for three days already, which allowed him to secure the second place in line. When Daphne approached, the man quickly offered his spot.

“You’ve really gone through a lot.”

“Not at all. Considering whose request this is, I waited quite happily.”

Contrary to his words, the man looked utterly haggard. It was the natural result of spending three days without proper washing or shelter. Still, he scratched the back of his head with a good-natured smile.

“It’s not much, but here….”

The man waved away the gold coin Daphne offered.

“Please don’t do this. If the professor finds out I received compensation from you, he won’t let it slide.”

The man shuddered as if the mere thought was terrifying.

“Besides, he promised to let me join the next project if I complete this mission, so I’ve already received more than enough.”

The projects led by Zenos were positions that not only students but even researchers desperately wanted to be involved in, even just once.

“I had to make this impolite request due to unavoidable circumstances, so I’m truly grateful that you accepted so willingly. I’ll put in another good word with my brother for you.”

When Daphne smiled brightly, the man stared blankly before hurriedly turning away. Judging by how he knew to distinguish between coming and going, he seemed likely to fare well under Zenos.

Daphne reviewed her documents once more while waiting for the government office to open.

The bill that Zenos had mentioned to her previously had passed yesterday.

The main agenda appeared to be permanently closing the imperial storage that housed magical artifacts, but this was merely a deception.

The noble faction had exploited a loophole allowing them to submit multiple agendas at once while only making one public.

‘Now they’ve resorted to railroading bills through.’

Some people glanced at her and whispered about whether she was cutting in line, but Daphne simply ignored them.

Who were they to point fingers?

The people gathered here were subordinates or proxies sent by members of the noble faction.

The imperial faction was reaping significant profits from the trade led by Werner. In contrast, the noble faction mostly stayed within the country and had many officials who relied on taxes.

The problem was that the imperial faction earned more money the harder they worked, while the noble faction faced limitations. There weren’t many ways to extract taxes without incurring public resentment.

So they had squeezed out the “mining rights.”

‘I don’t know who came up with it, but it’s rather clever.’

Daphne had to acknowledge that much.

Whether gold or silver, the right to mine belonged to the landowner. The problem was that almost all veins ran horizontally, not vertically.

Consequently, landowners whose properties contained parts of the same mine engaged in daily disputes. Lawsuits were common, and sometimes people took revenge or even committed m*rder when dissatisfied with the outcomes.

So they created a new law specifying that whoever obtained mining rights had the qualification to mine regardless of what resources were buried there, and would split the profits equally with the landowner.

It was a reasonably good law that could eliminate the endless disputes. Moreover, the country could collect taxes twice—from both the landowner and the miner.

‘The problem is they twisted it strangely to fatten the noble faction’s pockets.’

They had added a clause allowing mining rights to be purchased in advance and passed it. This was possible because they outnumbered the imperial faction.

And as soon as this bill passed, they all gathered here to buy mining rights.

They glanced at Daphne but soon lost interest. Seeing her ordinary attire wrapped tightly in a robe, they probably thought she was a proxy like themselves.

But Daphne had decided to handle this personally.

She had initially planned to ask Gabriel to set someone up in advance. However, since he was under Kartun’s strict surveillance, she had no choice but to use Zenos instead.

‘He probably doesn’t know I’m getting help from Zenos, since I broke his wrist not long ago.’

Finally, the government office opened, and Daphne went inside to purchase mining rights.

When the person at the front of the line went in to buy the rights and didn’t come out for quite some time, the people behind began to stir.

Since Daphne was next in line, she could wait somewhat more comfortably.

‘It was barely enough using everything Zenos gave me, but if I add what Father provided….’

She could buy more than half of the Empire’s mining rights.

But it was best to avoid unnecessary noise. She double-checked the names of the lands she had marked in advance.

Eventually, the person at the front came out with their purchased rights, and Daphne went in next. She selectively bought only the prime locations she had marked beforehand.

These were places where gold veins, silver, or magical stones would be discovered later.

‘With this, the future noble faction’s reliable source of funds has become mine.’

Among them were those who had played a part in k*lling Werner and Ludwig, as well as those who had demanded repayment of debts from her and Fabian, heaping unspeakable humiliation upon them.

She would pay them back one by one. In this life, she wanted to live peacefully for once.

After finishing her business, she came outside. She quickly scanned the surroundings. An ordinary carriage in the most secluded spot caught her eye.

The coachman was the old man who guarded the entrance to the guild.

Daphne surveyed the area once more before approaching the carriage. The old man descended from the driver’s seat and opened the carriage door. There was no “Welcome” or “Please get in” or any words at all.

Daphne smiled wryly.

‘Come to think of it, I’ve never heard this person’s voice. Even though I’ve lived twice, there are still so many things I haven’t experienced.’

It seemed like things wouldn’t be boring, making her look forward to what was to come.