He made a profound statement and then smiled as though he knew nothing. She couldn’t believe that someone who had just said such things would act that way.

“Have you ever met the Grand Duke, Master?”

This wasn’t something a stranger would say. He clearly knew Raphael very well.

“No, I’ve only seen him from a distance.”

“…….”

That was a blatant lie. Raphael had never revealed himself at official gatherings. There were rumors about him, but few truly knew him. Yet the Master spoke as if he knew him well.

Moreover, he claimed to have never met Raphael, even though he was doing business in Siegfried? It wasn’t just any business; it was the largest in the Empire. Amelia sighed and then uncrossed her arms. She had no evidence, despite her suspicion of him lying.

“Will the Emperor realize that the brooch is fake?”

There was no need to blush over something so trivial. What mattered was that the Emperor bought the brooch today. Even if he wanted it so badly, he would regret it the moment he held the brooch in his hands at the price of 800,000 gold coins. His winning bid was surprisingly too high, even for him.

He would investigate more meticulously, and if it turned out to be a fake, he would return it.

“Of course, the brooch is not fake, but…”

If he realized the magic within it was incomplete, he would be furious. He would do anything to get his money back.

“The Emperor most likely had the brooch inspected by the imperial magician on the spot.”

“What?”

“They even appeared in the auction house together.”

Amelia froze in surprise at the mention of the imperial magician. It was more than she had anticipated.

“After confirming there was no problem, he left.”

How could the Master recognize something that even the palace magician didn’t notice? It was more than just a simple trick. But even if she asks, he won’t give her a proper answer.

“Don’t worry about that. The emperor doesn’t even know what it is and will keep wearing it every day. Just in case someone tries to steal it.”

“…Alright.”

The emperor would probably do that for real. Everyone who actually had the brooch would probably do the same. They always lived in constant fear of when the brooch might disappear. The current emperor didn’t trust anyone, not even his own children. He was always suspicious, constantly testing people.

The fact that he didn’t have a crown prince was evidence of that. The first prince, Patrick, firmly believed that he would become the crown prince. But the position of crown prince was taken by Aaron, the third prince, whom no one expected.

“What do you plan to use this large sum of money for, Your Highness?”

“For now, 150,000 gold is the Master’s share. Including the price of the sword.”

“That’s more than the percentage specified in the contract.”

If it weren’t for the Master, she wouldn’t have been able to sell the brooch for such a large sum of money.

“Let’s call it a bonus.”

Amelia’s gaze turned to the box filled with gold coins in front of her. The return of capital was more than she had anticipated.

“Then I will invest this money in Your Highness’ upcoming item.”

“But I haven’t even told you my plans yet.”

At first, she intended to invest in the upcoming business district.

“You’ll know by observing people. I can tell whether a person can smell money or not.”

“And I am someone who smells like that?”

“Yes.”

Amelia’s eyebrows slightly furrowed when he mentioned the word ‘smell.’ Someone immediately came to her mind, someone who once told her that she smelled.

“From now on, I plan to buy land in various places, including buildings.”

“Investing in real estate is stable.”

Seeing the Master’s expression lose interest as soon as she mentioned investing in real estate, Amelia tried to suppress a smirk. It seems that he had high expectations for her.

“After earning this much money, it’s good to play it safe.”

He seemed to hope for another great accomplishment, just as they did with the brooch. Amelia just smiled meaningfully.

“I will select some good real estate in the capital and let you know. There are probably a few places that will generate immediate profits.”

As expected, Master was the best businessman and business partner wherever you looked. He immediately played the card she wanted.

“Oh, that’s okay. It’s not the capital.”

“What?”

“To be precise, it’s the old downtown area.”

Even if it was the capital of the empire, there were clearly positives and negatives. The more you went towards the new city, the more prosperous it became, and people’s footsteps never stopped. In contrast, the downtown area became desolate, and the number of illegal residents and immigrants increased. Naturally, the crime rate rose.

“You mean the original city center?”

It’s a place where no one wanted to live in. The emperor always had a headache about the old downtown area. And there were plans to redevelop it. It was actually included in the empire’s capital development project, but no one knew about its existence yet.

How did Aaron find out about this? It was a plan that only the emperor knew. Did he sneak into the emperor’s bedroom?

“All of the old downtown.”

“Your Highness… If it’s old downtown….”

“I know. Find out about any land or buildings that can be purchased.”

The Master remained silent after hearing her words. There was no doubt that he thought she was crazy. She had the same reaction when Aaron bought land and buildings in the old downtown area.

“Yes, I understand.”

“If it’s you, Master, it’s possible, right? Taking over the land and buildings owned by the person who has a firm hold on the old downtown area.”

There was another reason why the emperor’s plan, which he so desperately wanted, could not be brought forward. The reason why the old downtown redevelopment project took 10 years. The old downtown area had suddenly become like a separate world. And there was someone ruling over that place like a king. From the perspective of the imperial family, it was the biggest project being watched by the empire’s citizens. They couldn’t forcefully demolish it.

“I will do my best.”

Even if he said this, Amelia knew that he would succeed. But why didn’t the emperor seek the assistance of the Chester merchantry? Was it because he wanted to do it purely on his own merits? The emperor’s attachment to the old downtown area was nothing but for achievements. The emperor wanted his own achievements to be remembered for generations to come.

There truly were no special reasons. That’s why the emperor was even more difficult to please. He was suspicious and didn’t trust anyone.

“Surely you don’t plan to invest all of the remaining amount.”

“I’m going to buy as much as possible.”

At first, her plan was to purchase real estate in the business district being built in the old downtown area. But with more money coming in, it was also possible to invest in the entire redevelopment zone.

“That’s a change from your original plan.”

“I have more money, don’t I?”

She had a significant amount of 650,000 gold in reserves, but it wasn’t enough for her to leave. Even if she had tens of millions of gold, she would still be insecure. And she was not living alone. She didn’t want Leonel to give up on the studies he wanted to pursue because of her.

“Do you have to be so aggressive with your investments?”

In the Master’s eyes, she might appear to be rushing in recklessly, like she was gambling. It wasn’t much different in reality. But she had her reasons for having to do so. She didn’t have enough time.

A maximum of six months. Everything had to be completed within that time.

“His Grace the Grand Duke won’t be pleased¹the author actually used the word “쪼잔하다” (slang), which is often used to describe someone who is tight-fisted or has a narrow perspective on things, refusing to be generous or open-minded.”

“It’s for retirement funds.”

Amelia burst into laughter at the words ‘won’t be pleased.’ In truth, she was itching to say how narrow-minded Raphael was.

“But by any chance, do you wear perfume?”

The Master had commented on her smell earlier. Now he was asking if she had sprayed perfume on herself.

Lately, Raphael was causing quite a scene, and Amelia had been feeling stressed. At first, she thought it was because of some scented products, so she stopped using perfume altogether. She even switched to fragrance-free cosmetics in case it was because of the smell. But looking at the faint twitch on his face, it was still the same.

“Is it because you smell something strange?”

“No, it’s because I like the scent.”

Judging by the look on his face, he wasn’t lying. If even the Master said so, then it must be true that she smelled of something.

“I don’t spray perfumes or anything like that.”

“Really?”

“I never use anything that makes me smell, no matter what.”

These days, she avoided anything with a fragrance, as though she were extremely sensitive. But even the Master was saying the same thing. Surely Leonel, Ann, and Jane must have told her directly if that were the case?

Though the kind Leonel would not say a word to her even if she smelled bad.

“That’s strange.”

Before she could ask what was strange, a hazy pair of brown eyes approached her nose. Without any time to compose herself, she felt a hot breath near her neck.