***

“I’ve followed you as you wanted, now tell me. What do you know?”

At the same time.

Yvette was sitting in a cafe with Viscount Magnus.

Perhaps because it was located deep in an alley and had a shabby exterior, there were no other customers besides the two of them.

When Viscount Magnus handed over a gold coin, even the staff left with an excited face.

Thus, only the two of them remained in the cafe.

“The Count is impatient. Getting to the point before the tea has even arrived.”

Viscount Magnus leaned back in his chair with a grin.

Yvette imperceptibly frowned at his attitude, which was not just relaxed but bordering on arrogant.

“It’s not like you really called me here to drink tea anyway.”

“Why do you think that? It’s such a pleasure to have tea with a beautiful woman like yourself.”

Yvette’s expression visibly worsened at the buttery whisper.

Barely suppressing the goosebumps all over her body, she continued speaking.

“You said you knew where my uncle was, didn’t you?”

“To be precise, I asked if you wanted to know.”

Viscount Magnus corrected her words, smiling lightly.

“If I say I want to know, will you tell me?”

Yvette asked cautiously.

In truth, she wasn’t particularly curious about Baron Larishi’s well-being.

Whether he was starving due to gambling debts or not, it wasn’t her concern.

But if Viscount Magnus was controlling him, that was a different story.

‘He must have some purpose.’

Viscount Magnus and Yvette Blanche were characters with no connection in the original work.

Yet, Viscount Magnus had intentionally approached her from the beginning, using Baron Larishi.

There must be some purpose that she was unaware of.

“It’s not difficult to tell you where your uncle is.”

Viscount Magnus continued in a leisurely voice.

Judging by his consistently relaxed expression, he seemed to think he had the upper hand.

“But it’s no fun to just tell you.”

“…Are you going to set conditions?”

“Don’t worry. It won’t be a difficult condition for you.”

Yvette inwardly sighed at Viscount Magnus’s smiling words.

It was fine when Noel said those words.

But hearing it from the mouth of a villain felt completely different.

“What’s the condition?”

Yvette asked him, ready to hear him out.

Viscount Magnus’s eyes lit up as he leaned towards her.

“I heard that the most mana stones are mined in your territory. Is that true?”

“…Mana stones?”

Yvette looked at Viscount Magnus with narrowed eyes.

‘Why is he suddenly talking about mana stones here?’

It was true that there was a mana stone mine in Blanche’s territory.

However, all the mana stones in the empire are managed by the imperial family.

So it was a stretch to say that the mine fully belonged to the Blanche family.

“It’s true that there are many mana stones in my territory. But what does that have to do with my uncle?”

“If you hand over some of those mana stones to me, I’ll tell you where your uncle is.”

“…What?”

Yvette stared at Viscount Magnus in disbelief.

‘So, mana stones were the goal all along?’

Mana stones referred to naturally occurring stones that contained magical power.

They could store mana, or conversely, mana could be drawn from them for use.

That’s why they were indispensable to magicians.

‘I didn’t expect someone of Viscount Magnus’s status to covet mana stones.’

Although he was a madman, Viscount Magnus was still an excellent magician, just like Kervel.

It was a bit strange that he, who possessed at least five times more mana than an ordinary person, would desire mana stones.

“…How many mana stones do you need?”

Yvette asked, intending to probe him.

Of course, she had no intention of actually handing over mana stones to him.

She just wanted to know why he wanted to get his hands on them.

“We’ll decide the details after I hear your definite answer.”

However, with his years of experience, Viscount Magnus was not an easy opponent.

“Sign this contract here. Then I’ll answer all your questions.”

Saying so, Viscount Magnus pulled out a crisp piece of paper from his br*ast pocket.

Seeing this, Yvette made a disgusted face.

‘He even prepared a contract already?’

This made it clear that he had intentionally approached her from the beginning.

‘I shouldn’t carelessly sign that.’

Knowing Viscount Magnus, he might have put some magical device on that paper.

As Yvette showed a moment of hesitation, Viscount Magnus’s eyes narrowed.

“Are you not curious about where your uncle is?”

“I’ve been taught not to carelessly sign contracts.”

In truth, she wasn’t the least bit curious about what Baron Larishi was doing or where he was.

But to figure out Viscount Magnus’s intentions, she felt she needed to play along to some extent.

“There’s no need to worry. I have no intention of harming you at all.”

Viscount Magnus smiled gently as he extended the paper towards Yvette.

Yvette, who had taken it reflexively, frowned imperceptibly.

‘No intention of harming, my foot.’

Even his attempt to control Baron Larishi was already harmful to her.

“…Well. This doesn’t seem like something a person who’s trying to bargain with my uncle’s well-being should say.”

Yvette placed the contract on the table with an expressionless face.

It seemed that she wouldn’t get the answer she wanted from him by speaking nicely.

“I don’t know what your purpose is, but I have no intention of handing over mana stones to you, Viscount.”

“Are you saying you don’t care what happens to your uncle?”

“Yes. I don’t care.”

Yvette answered calmly, without even blinking an eye.

“More importantly, I’m curious. What would His Majesty the Emperor think if he knew that a mere viscount was trying to lay hands on imperial property?”

“……”

Perhaps it was an unexpected counterattack, as the smile disappeared from Viscount Magnus’s lips.

He faced Yvette with a terrifyingly stern expression.

“Are you threatening me now?”

“Consider it a kind of warning. If you don’t mess with me first, I have no intention of messing with you either.”

Yvette shrugged lightly as she stood up from her seat.

Though she was pretending to be nonchalant, she was actually a bit scared.

‘Viscount Magnus is crazier than one can imagine.’

She couldn’t predict at all how he would react to her words.

“It seems our business is finished, so I’ll take my leave first.”

Yvette put strength into her legs to stand up from her seat.

But before she could even lift her bottom from the chair, her entire body stiffened as if tied with ropes.

Yvette looked up with a surprised face.

She saw Viscount Magnus smiling coldly.

“I wonder what makes you act so boldly.”

As Viscount Magnus flicked his hand, the chair Yvette was sitting on floated into the air.

“What is this…!”

Yvette struggled to break free from the chair in panic. However, her body, bound by magic, wouldn’t move as she wished.

“Don’t you know that I gave you a choice purely out of consideration for you?”

Viscount Magnus sighed as he slowly rose from his seat.

Then he picked up the contract and slowly approached Yvette.

“If I wanted to, I could make a worthless human like you move according to my will anytime.”

Viscount Magnus whispered into Yvette’s ear.

Yvette swallowed dryly as she met his gaze. It felt as if cold sweat was running down her spine.

As tension hung thick between the two,

With a loud ‘bang’, the cafe door suddenly opened without warning.

At the same time, a voice that seemed both familiar and unfamiliar echoed through the cafe.

“What are you doing to my fiancée?”