Mark spoke fluently. He seemed to know the details particularly well despite it not being about real estate.

“You know quite a bit, Goldman.”

“I have connections with the Magic Tower from previous dealings.”

I see. As a broker, he must meet numerous people.

“If you don’t mind, may I mediate a meeting with the Magic Tower? If you wish, I will contact them.”

“What? Is that possible?”

She was surprised by the sudden proposal. Does this person have that kind of power? A broker who had nearly gone bankrupt?

“I’ve known the person in charge at the Magic Tower for many years, so it won’t be difficult to bring it up. If I explain your good intentions well, they will unlock their barred gates.”

He emphasized the word ‘I’ as he spoke. Well, if it’s not legally prohibited, there’s no reason they absolutely must avoid her. If Mark explains things well, that’s good, and if not, that’s fine too.

“Then thank you. The Magic Tower must have incredibly fascinating magical tools, right? Things that others can’t see or possess. I need such things. How else would I be worthy of being the Duchess of Penvernon?”

She added a few words. It would be troublesome if he revised his impression of her. She needs to appear as a vain duchess all the way through. That’s her character approaching divorce.

“You are my precious client, my lady, so of course I should do this for you.”

“Not at all. It was helpful for me as well.”

Fortunately, Mark didn’t seem to have any particular suspicions. She responded lightly to his courtesy.

“If it weren’t for you, my lady, I would surely have gone bankrupt already. Thank you again. How could I forget your great kindness?”

Mark’s voice sounded somewhat solemn.

Gratitude? She felt bewildered. Had she done something deserving of such thanks? True, she had helped him recover from near bankruptcy, but that was because she had her own intentions.

She felt slightly guilty because she had chosen Mark thinking that a broker who was both pitiful and not too clever would be better for the goods she was going to buy anyway.

Well, um. I understand, but actually, I didn’t do it out of any genuine goodwill……

“I will definitely make this happen, if only to repay your kindness, my lady.”

However, Mark was so sincere that she ended up feeling a bit sorry for him.

* * *

Thanks to Mark Goldman, she was able to meet with a mage from the Magic Tower. It was the result of his efforts on her behalf.

“It is an honor to meet the Duchess of Penvernon.”

The Magic Tower’s mage was different from what she had expected. She vaguely thought it would be an old man with a white beard wearing a modest robe, but the person before her was more like a soldier than a mage—a middle-aged man.

‘But all the mages I’ve seen in fantasy were like that……’

Several familiar figures flashed through her mind. Mr. G, Mr. D, and so on.

The Magic Tower’s interior also betrayed her expectations. She thought a place like the Magic Tower would have moving portraits and flying furniture, but what was this? It was no different from any other building.

“Pleased to meet you. I am Alisa Penvernon.”

“Please call me Pilgrim.”

The man before her was tall and appeared sturdy. There were several scars on his face. His clothes were extremely ordinary. If she hadn’t met him in the Magic Tower, she wouldn’t have known he was a mage.

“I’ve heard a lot about you from Mr. Goldman. I hear you handle the practical operations of the Magic Tower.”

“Yes, that’s correct. However, what brings you here?”

「It was obvious that a noble lady who appeared in a brilliant dress adorned with sparkling jewels would have nothing significant to discuss.」

For a moment, a sentence without a subject flickered through her mind. Of course, she knew all too well who that sentence belonged to.

Pilgrim’s face was stern as he looked at her. His expression was like an iron fortress that wouldn’t let even a needle through.

“Well, actually, I came because I wanted to sponsor you.”

“Sponsor…… you say?”

Pilgrim leaned slightly toward her.

“Yes. I heard the Magic Tower is always researching new magic formulas.”

“That’s correct. We are conducting research to either create new magic formulas or improve existing ones to make them more useful. However, my lady, about sponsorship……”

“Of course, I mean sponsorship for that research.”

As she spoke, Pilgrim’s body gradually leaned forward. Now he seemed to be completely focused on her words.

She explained about buying the golden bird and how that sparked her interest in deciding to become a sponsor. Still, his expression remained unchanged, making it difficult to gauge his thoughts.

“Haven’t others made such proposals before?”

She became slightly anxious. Was sponsorship or investment completely impossible?

“That’s correct.”

“……Because the Magic Tower refused?”

“No. Rather, this is the first time we’ve received such a proposal.”

Ah, so that was it. There’s no reason they would dislike an offer of investment.

Only after hearing his answer did she let her guard down.

「Developing magic formulas costs an enormous amount while making it extremely difficult to achieve plausible results. There weren’t many things possible with the current magical technology.」

If so, it would be even more difficult to receive sponsorship from nobles.

‘Noble ladies would prefer sponsoring artists over things like this.’

Magical items are certainly interesting enough to show off to people. However, the fundamental purpose of soirées is socializing. Showcasing artistic activities like art or dance would give a much more elegant and refined impression than items from eccentric mages.

Therefore, her proposal must have been quite attractive to them.

“Would this amount be sufficient?”

She quickly wrote down an amount on the paper on the table. Without much deliberation, it was an amount she thought might be enough.

Then, Pilgrim’s facial muscles, which had been rigid to hide his thoughts, trembled slightly.

「This amount for just that reason?! Madness! Pilgrim was shocked.」

“You must think I’m crazy?”

“What?! No, not at all! How could that be.”

When she deliberately pointed out the thoughts she had read, Pilgrim’s shoulders suddenly rose. It seemed like this might be the biggest reaction he could show.

“Please give us some time. We will discuss it.”

She asked them to consider it and left.

A few days later, the Magic Tower contacted her again. The content was, of course, ‘We gratefully accept your most generous offer.’

Things progressed rapidly. On her next visit to the Magic Tower, she was able to meet Gallard, the Tower Master.

“This is Tower Master Gallard.”

“My goodness, what an honor to meet such a distinguished person.”

She found herself speaking respectfully without realizing it. To think that the head of an organization would clear his schedule to meet her. It was clear how valuable a sponsor she was.

Her waist automatically bent at an angle in front of the elderly man. Perhaps because she grew up in a Confucian nation, it was difficult to be casual with older people.

“The honor is mine to meet such a noble person.”

Gallard smiled. The deep wrinkles on his face seemed to exude traces of time.

Gallard and Pilgrim explained to her about the Magic Tower’s research. It was to show her how her sponsorship funds would be used.

“It requires more materials than I thought.”

“Magic is an exchange, my lady. It’s artificially borrowing power inherent in nature. To borrow, one must pay a price, and we need a process to learn what price must be paid to borrow it.”

Gallard called the principle of magic an exchange. To use magic, one must pay a price, and only those who could communicate with the source of power could pay that price. In other words, a possessor of magical power was needed.

‘How fascinating.’

Would the author have set this up too? It might be in the author’s setting notes that weren’t used in the novel, but at least it wasn’t in the parts I read.

“Then do Their Graces the Dukes use their abilities in the same way?”

She casually threw out the question.

Gallard suddenly stopped speaking. For a moment, it seemed as if not just his words but even the air had stopped.

“The Duke’s power originates from dragons. Such great power does not require payment, my lady.”

Gallard spoke like he’s worshipping that power. His voice trembled slightly, and his words seemed to carry a tone of admiration.

“That is your husband’s power. Anyone with magical power cannot help but worship it.”

In this age where the abilities of the ducal family that defeated five dragons were fading, Rashid was therefore an object of admiration and fear, jealousy and praise.

For someone of the Tower Master’s stature to speak like this about such ability… How could the Emperor not be wary of him? Even though the blood of the imperial family and the ducal family were bound by an oath of submission and loyalty, it was no wonder the Emperor was restless at this point.

“Ah, and I would like my sponsorship to be used extensively for this kind of research.”

She steered the topic back to its original direction.

The research they showed her was diverse. Some had minor effects but seemed close to completion, while others looked quite impressive but would likely take a long time.

The projects she pointed out were naturally the latter kind. Those that cost a lot of money but had uncertain timelines for results.

Isn’t this kind of research always half fraudulent anyway? Like those papers that cost a lot but end with ‘further in-depth research is needed.’

“Wouldn’t it be more rewarding when such research is completed?”

“You are absolutely right.”

The two agreed with her words.

Receiving their deep gratitude, she handed over the gold coins she had prepared. Gallard and Pilgrim beamed with joy. It was amazing to see such expressions from two people who had seemed so stern.

They were so pleased that she could savor feeling like some kind of happiness fairy. It felt like she was making purchases with Rashid’s fortune.

* * *