Chapter 82
A week had passed since the mine development began.
I was now sitting in Lloyd’s office, listening to the progress of the mine development.
“As Your Highness said, there really was a vein. The ground is relatively stable, so the development is proceeding smoothly.”
“That’s good.”
I sipped my tea leisurely, but in reality, I was greatly relieved.
Since it wasn’t information I had confirmed with my own eyes, but information I relied on from the original story, I was inwardly anxious about what would happen if it wasn’t there.
‘If it hadn’t been there, I might have been sued for marriage fraud.’
Well, given the lie I’ve told Priscilla, it would be difficult for Lloyd to overturn the marriage later anyway.
Come to think of it, that lady has been quite quiet lately.
“How has Lady Priscilla been?”
“She still seems to be unwell. She hasn’t left her bedroom.”
Priscilla, who had collapsed from the shock of learning her son had an illegitimate child, was still bedridden, bearing the full brunt of her reckless rush to the Grand Duchy.
‘I’m grateful for that.’
Thanks to Priscilla being laid up, there was currently no one to interfere with Lloyd’s work.
Perhaps feeling a bit guilty that only his affairs were going well, Lloyd cautiously inquired about my situation.
“By the way, I heard His Majesty the Emperor is reinvestigating. How is that going?”
“I’m not expecting much. All the evidence and witnesses have probably disappeared by now. Reinvestigating would just be a waste of time.”
I had considered sending Mars’s ring to Theodora, but as I said before, it wasn’t decisive evidence.
So I decided to wait.
“Someone will come to collect this ring soon. I plan to catch that person and make them confess that Mars hired Kaihel.”
With high probability, Archibald Bright would come again.
It should be about time for him to show his face in the Grand Duchy.
‘They say words become seeds, so why isn’t he showing his neck yet?’
But speak of the devil and he shall appear, there are many who aren’t gentlemen, and even ghosts show interest when you talk about them.
Just as I thought I heard frantic footsteps in the corridor, Pablo burst in without knocking.
“Your Grace, we have an emergency!”
“Pablo, I’ve told you not to barge in like that when Her Highness is here…”
Lloyd rarely frowned at Pablo’s rude entrance.
I was also slightly annoyed, but…
“There’s been an explosion at the cat’s-eye mine. You need to go there immediately!”
But at his next words, both Lloyd and I had no choice but to spring to our feet.
* * *
Before the mine collapsed, work was in full swing in the Millennium Tree Forest.
“Hey, be careful there!”
The brown-haired miner unconsciously looked up and was startled by the falling pile of rocks, tumbling backwards.
“Aah!”
“See, I told you to be careful! That’s a rockfall danger zone!”
An experienced-looking miner scolded him harshly, but the man just grinned sheepishly.
“Thanks to you, I survived.”
“Tsk, even if the development is urgent, to bring in such a novice…”
Because they had recruited miners on a large scale, the work progressed quickly.
However, this also meant that many people with no prior mining experience were recruited.
Among them, this newcomer was exceptionally bad at the job.
He kept using his pickaxe in places that were prone to collapse, and somehow seemed to be working half-heartedly.
“How you manage to collapse everything with such weak pickaxe swings, oh! You’re driving me crazy!”
“Haha, using a pickaxe is harder than it looks.”
As if trying to subtly slack off, the new miner took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.
“Are you crazy? Where do you think you’re smoking! Didn’t you learn that smoking is absolutely forbidden in this forest?!”
“Aaah! That’s right, I’m sorry!”
The new miner was startled and threw the freshly lit cigarette over his shoulder.
Fortunately, the mine was full of rocks; if this had been a grassy area, it would have been a careless action that could have instantly created a sea of fire.
Because of this, the middle-aged miner just clicked his tongue and didn’t say anything about the flying cigarette butt.
“Why on earth are you doing mining work? It seems like other jobs would suit you better.”
“I think so too. As I expected, pickaxe work really doesn’t suit me. There’s an easier way.”
Gone was the face that always grinned at scolding, replaced by a sardonic smile tinged with self-deprecation.
The middle-aged miner instinctively shrank back at the sudden change in atmosphere.
However, the new miner suddenly shouted with his usual foolish face.
“Ah, I need to go to the bathroom for a moment! It’s urgent!”
“Huh? Hey, hey!”
How can you run like that in such a narrow mine!
There wasn’t time to stop him, but if he had tried, it was obvious they would have seen something they shouldn’t.
So the miner belatedly scratched his head.
“Tch, I should ask him later.”
No, maybe it’s better not to ask?
There’s always a reason why someone so young chooses such a harsh job.
Thinking about it that way, even though the newcomer seemed a bit foolish, he was a good person, and the older miner felt sorry for being too harsh on him.
He himself hadn’t been any more familiar with this work when he first started.
Elderly parents to support, a wife to feed, and the book expenses of a young son who disliked physical labor had made him a veteran.
‘Since they pay well here, if you’re going to start mining work, this place is better.’
When the newcomer returns, I’ll teach him properly from the beginning.
With that mindset, the middle-aged miner raised his pickaxe high to resume work.
Meanwhile, sturdy work boots were frantically running through the narrow passages of the mine.
The newcomer who said he urgently needed the bathroom passed through the long tunnel, and despite seeing suitable bushes, he kept running for quite a distance.
Only after running so far that one might think he was escaping did he stop and catch his breath.
Wiping the beads of sweat with a towel, he let out a sigh of relief.
“Hah, I shouldn’t have made unnecessary small talk. I almost got buried along with them.”
As if he would never enter the mine again, the man threw off his safety helmet and started walking leisurely towards the edge of the forest.
Then he took out a pocket watch from his pocket and clicked it open.
“Let’s see. Right, 5 seconds.”
The brown-haired miner looked back at the now distant mine and grinned.
5, 4, 3, 2…
1.
BOOM!
As soon as the countdown ended, a huge sound and flash occurred, and the mine collapsed.
“As expected, explosives are much easier than pickaxe work.”
The newcomer, or rather Archibald, laughed with satisfaction and rummaged through nearby bushes to pull out obviously high-quality clothes.
He casually put them on over his sweat and dust-covered body, lit the cigarette he had almost smoked earlier, and tossed it into the bushes.
Whoosh. The fire quickly grew, using the grass as fuel.
Even the millennium trees were helpless against fire, burning like ordinary trees.
With his back to the spreading fire, Archibald headed towards a side path with a spring in his step.
‘The Grand Duke’s castle will soon be empty, so there’s only one chance. This time, I won’t disappoint Gabriel.’
He will definitely retrieve Mars’s ring.
Archibald left the scene with a grin, strolling away at a leisurely pace.
* * *
At the news of the mine explosion and forest fire, Lloyd’s face turned deathly pale.
“What about casualties and injuries? What’s the extent of the damage?”
“It was a simultaneous explosion deep inside, so it completely caved in. The miners who were inside probably…”
Pablo closed his eyes tightly as if afraid to report, but persevered.
“…most likely died. Moreover, a fire of unknown origin has broken out. If we don’t act quickly to contain it, it could spread into a larger disaster.”
Lloyd’s fists trembled.
Explosives are often used when developing mines to facilitate work.
But they don’t use enough to cause an explosion of this magnitude.
Also, because the mine was inside the Millennium Tree Forest, they were instructed to use as small explosives as possible.
But if there was an explosion big enough to collapse the mine and a fire of unknown origin…
“It was a deliberate accident.”
The Grand Duke has many enemies.
Although he had lived quietly until now, he couldn’t be without enemies as Priscilla’s son.
But there had never been such a direct attack, not even in the original story.
Because of his position as the Grand Duke.
And I thought I knew who the culprit was.
BANG! At the sound of me slamming the table hard, Lloyd and Pablo stopped their serious conversation and looked at me.
“Your Highness?”
Lloyd, not yet understanding why I was angry, called out in bewilderment, but I couldn’t hear him right now.
I had been waiting, expecting him to target me directly, but to think he would try to get my attention by massacring civilians.
I was shocked by this method he had never used before.
“Archibald Bright, that son of a bitch…!”
I don’t know why he did something he usually doesn’t do, but I had no choice but to fall for his scheme.
I stood up abruptly, took a deep breath, and said quietly to Lloyd.
“Grand Duke, if you’re going to the scene right away, I’m coming too.”
