The report from his subordinate was shocking.

“Is that really true?!”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

He let out a sigh at those words.

The document in his hand was mercilessly crumpled.

“D*mn it!”

The anxiety he had felt earlier was not unfounded after all.

The timing of the document arriving today, Ludwig coming here—the anxiety he had been trying to ignore circled at his feet. Unable to bear the frustration, the Duke paced around the room.

Even as he wandered aimlessly, his mind was focused entirely on one thing.

“The First Prince was wandering around the mine area…”

To be precise, it wasn’t the First Prince himself but his subordinates, but that wasn’t what mattered now. What mattered was that the First Prince, Ludwig, had been near the Hestin Mine.

‘Why on earth?’

Hestin had been an abandoned mine for a long time. There was nothing to see in the vicinity.
Nothing special about it.

Yet it was awkward to confront the Second Empress about this fact. After all, the place where the First Prince had sent his subordinates wasn’t actually the mine itself.

“What about our maid?”

“…I apologize. I’m told it’s impossible to place her there.”

“D*mn it all!”

The thoroughly crumpled document was thrown to the floor.

After Sezlin left for the palace, the Duke had tried to send a maid he had previously planted in the palace to Sezlin. But thanks to Ludwig’s preemptive move, he had lost not only the personal maid position but also the assistant position.

‘I can’t just let her go like this.’

She had just entered the palace.

He couldn’t just sit idly by. He needed to use her as much as possible while he could. That would make it easier to discard her later.

“I have no choice.”

It didn’t matter if there was no position available.

“Contact the head chamberlain of the main palace.”

* * *

“Certainly…”

His words trailed off.

Ludwig contemplated the method Sezlin had proposed.

And his conclusion was:

“This would turn the Duke upside down.”

He liked Sezlin’s proposed method.

“Your father will end up buying an empty abandoned mine instead of one filled with gold.”

Now that he knew about the mine’s existence, Ludwig could immediately claim it. In a week, when the mine auction begins, the imperial family would get the first opportunity to bid. After the imperial family, the Brioden ducal family would have priority to win the mine. Since other imperial family members wouldn’t buy it, Hestin would naturally have become the Duke’s property.

But with the First Prince as a variable, the Duke would be biting his nails.

“I’ve found out that the Hestin Mine will be the first one up for auction.”

“That works out well.”

“Since buying an abandoned mine outright would raise suspicion, I can say I’m just practicing
since it’s my first auction.”

“It would be good to come up with one more reason.”

Simply buying it for practice seemed a bit flimsy. At Sezlin’s words, Ludwig suddenly got up. She looked at him with curiosity. He went straight to his desk, grabbed a document, and returned.

Sezlin stared at the thick stack of documents placed before her. After briefly reading the contents, she furrowed her brow.

“This is—”

“While investigating the mine, I sent a search party to the area.”

Ludwig turned a page of the document.

“Since it’s near an abandoned mine, no one lives there. You have to ride for an hour to reach a
village.”

“And?”

“I’m thinking of building a villa there.”

“!”

“Of course, I don’t really intend to build one.”

His fingers brushed against the edge of the document. Sezlin blinked as she pointed at the paper.

“So it’s a deception.”

“Yes. He’s probably received a report by now.”

This was simply a ruse.

To prevent suspicion even if he bought an abandoned mine. Moreover, the topography wasn’t bad. It wasn’t unusual for a member of the imperial family to build a villa. As excuses go, it was quite decent.

After hearing Ludwig’s explanation, Sezlin slightly parted her lips. She had expected him to find a reasonable alternative, but this was better than she thought.

“Not bad.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“He’ll be anxious. Almost no one knows about this information right now.”

But now that an obstacle had appeared, the Duke, who had been moving according to plan, would be dismayed.

“If I end up buying it…”

“He’ll come to the palace soon. Ostensibly to see me. Using this as an excuse, he’ll go to
Ludwig’s office. After all, he’s your father-in-law.”

After visiting Ludwig like that, the Duke would make an offer.

“He’ll ask you to sell the mine back.”

No matter what price he paid, it wouldn’t match the gold pouring out of the mine. He would try to persuade Ludwig by any means necessary.

“Sell it back to him. Act like you have no choice.”

But the important thing here was the condition of Hestin. From the beginning, Sezlin had no intention of returning the mine intact.

Before selling it back to the Duke, they would extract all the gold from Hestin.

Then the Duke would be buying not gold, but an empty abandoned mine.

For an enormous sum of money.

“Not bad at all.”

This plan also appealed to Ludwig.

“Then I’ll send workers to mine the gold immediately.”

“Please do.”

They wouldn’t accept the Duke’s offer right away. The plan was to buy as much time as possible and sell the mine when all the gold had been extracted.

Only the Duke would be anxious.

“Let’s discuss additional details later. I think we’ve settled the main points for now.”

“Let’s do that.”

Now that their business was concluded, Sezlin, slightly tipsy, absent-mindedly placed her injured hand on the armrest of the chair. But as she stood up and put weight on it, she hastily bit her lip.

The sprained area was still troublesome.

“What’s wrong?”

When Sezlin couldn’t easily leave her seat, Ludwig also stood up. His shadow fell over her.
As Ludwig examined Sezlin’s condition, he easily found what was bothering her.

“I’ve been watching since earlier.”

“…”

“So you are injured after all.”

Feeling suddenly embarrassed, Sezlin hid her injured wrist in her clothes. Ludwig, who couldn’t have missed the action, let out a brief sigh.

From the looks of it, she wouldn’t agree to treatment here even if he insisted.

“I have a good medicine for pain. Take it with you.”

At Ludwig’s words, Sezlin’s lips moved slightly. Along with a bit of shame, something complex welled up inside her.

“…Alright.”

* * *

“I still can’t believe it.”

The next day, Benjamin, who had heard last night’s plan, drew a firm line. However, knowing his aide’s usual character, Ludwig calmly put down his pen.

“I never expected you to.”

“It’s not that I don’t believe it at all…”

Ludwig offered no response.

“She’s known as the most vicious person in society.”

“Not the most vicious. There’s the Second Empress.”

“That’s true, but… No, that’s not the point!”

Benjamin, who had inadvertently revealed his true thoughts, coughed awkwardly.

“You were cautious enough to have her watched. Moreover, the Second Empress and the Brioden family are now inseparably connected.”

“And yet she wants to completely empty her father’s coffers.”

“Your Highness.”

A troubled expression crossed Benjamin’s face. In truth, he had disliked Sezlin from their first meeting. First of all, she was from the Brioden family. Then there was how she had suddenly barged into his lord’s room to propose a deal. On top of that, her reputation was terrible.

To think she would be by his lord’s side. No matter how helpful the lady might be, he couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

“Don’t you think I brought her close for the very reasons you mentioned?”

“Of course I know you’ll handle it, but… she’s who she is. If you want to build power, there are plenty of other families to consider besides Brioden.”

Ludwig agreed with Benjamin’s point. It was a settled matter, but Benjamin was right. There were too many suspicious aspects to fully trust Sezlin.

No matter how desperate someone might be, people can change unpredictably when faced with different circumstances.

“If she’s harboring foolish thoughts, I’ll simply use her. Sending Sezlin to me means that Sezlin Brioden’s value is only that much to them.”

Perfect for using and discarding.

At least, that’s how the Duke would see it.

But the Sezlin he actually met…

—So you had me monitored.

—I understand. If it were me, I’d also think someone was crazy if they approached me like that suddenly.

A strange woman.

Surprisingly, that’s what came to mind when he thought of Sezlin. She was perceptive, and he could see why people called her wild, but she wasn’t impulsive.

‘…We’re quite similar in some ways.’

Her unfiltered speech, the way she seemed to have a screw loose somewhere—it was similar to himself. Of course, she would be offended if he said this out loud, but Ludwig genuinely found her interesting.

Beyond surveillance.

Personally.

“We’ll see as time goes on. I’ll send that guy as her guard, so don’t worry too much.”

“By ‘that guy,’ you mean…?”

As he continued his question, his face gradually filled with shock. The image of a certain man quickly flashed through his mind.

“Has he returned?”

“He should have.”

“…”

Was that a yes or a no?

Benjamin’s mouth closed at the nonchalant answer.

But only for a moment. Benjamin recalled the man Ludwig had mentioned. His shoulders trembled momentarily. How could he forget? In all the years of serving Ludwig, Benjamin had never seen anyone colder than him.

A shadow loyal only to the First Prince. The only one among his subordinates who had fought in every war by Ludwig’s side. He was obviously the best choice as both a guard and a monitor.

To think that person would be assigned to Sezlin. At this point, Benjamin had no choice but to accept it.

However, what worried him was:

“Will it be alright to put those two together?”

They were opposites.

In other words, they were incompatible. Those two.

‘Oh, good heavens.’

Benjamin shook his head. He had never even imagined those two in the same place. They were practically fire and water.

Benjamin looked at his lord, just in case.

Despite everything he had said, Ludwig’s attitude remained consistent.

“I’ll just tell them not to kill each other.”

Not one of them, but each other?

The urge to object occasionally welled up.

At that moment, along with his calm response, the corner of Ludwig’s mouth turned up. That smile revealed a hint of interest. In a way, he was like a mischievous child who had found a new toy.

Benjamin clutched the documents in his arms tightly.

Suddenly,

‘How did she end up with someone like him…’

He felt sorry for her.