Chapter 5 Part 5
“Why are you smiling? You could have just not given it to me!”
“You were the one who insisted I give it to you. Don’t you remember?”
“What…!”
Only then did Violet recall, and her words were caught in her throat.
It was Violet herself who had urged Kanus to give everything away.
‘You took the best and most precious things for yourself, though.’
Thinking about it now, it seemed like Violet was never satisfied with whatever Elia had.
Elia pushed Violet away with a calm expression.
“And I didn’t take back what I gave. What I handed to Sir Kanus remained with him.”
The lake that Kanus had held was gradually drying up, now showing its barren bottom.
The only oasis in the desert had turned into a death land, devoid of a single blade of grass.
“Don’t lie. They said it was you who caused the lake to dry up!”
“How could I make a perfectly fine lake dry up?”
“That…!”
Violet faltered, unable to provide a clear answer to Elia’s genuinely curious question.
“There must have been some way!”
“Really? It’s surprising to hear Sir Kanus said such a thing.”
Elia sighed, seeing her sister so unreasonable.
Violet’s expression subtly shifted.
“…You’re not involved with my fiancé, are you?”
Elia almost laughed out loud at the absurdity.
‘She’s even suspecting such things now.’
Though she had interactions with Kanus in the past, she had left the royal family after marriage.
Doubting her married sister… it was questionable whether there was any trust between Violet and Kanus at all.
“Why would I have any dealings with someone who says such strange things to you?”
“But…”
Even after hearing the answer she wanted, Violet looked uneasy.
Elia embraced her troubled sister with a sympathetic smile.
“You don’t need to worry. But… be careful with your fiancé. That’s my advice as your sister.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Violet frowned.
“Just a little ma… Ugh!”
Risha appeared beyond the corridor. Noticing Violet belatedly, Risha immediately shut her mouth in surprise.
“Risha, what’s going on?”
“Well… the newspaper delivery has arrived.”
The newspaper, previously blocked from coming through, had finally arrived.
Elia received the newspaper. On the front page was a portrait of Kanus.
Violet was the first to read the headline.
“Sir Kanus Denmar, enslaving migrants… What is this?”
A shocked Violet snatched the newspaper from Elia.
The first page was filled with articles exposing Kanus’s hidden misdeeds.
In the empire, slavery and usury were illegal, and nobles who profited from these were subjects of social scandal.
“This is why I told you to be careful.”
Elia sighed. Violet looked at her sister in horror.
“It seems the journalists caught wind of it. I couldn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to get hurt.”
Elia explained what had happened.
Witnessing Kanus’s atrocities while reclaiming the abandoned desert and her efforts to stop them.
“No way… That’s a lie, right?”
Violet clung to Elia, hoping she would deny it.
Elia avoided her sister’s gaze and murmured.
“I should have stopped the reporters…”
At her words, Violet’s hand slipped away.
“I have to go back. I need to go to the capital and confirm the truth…”
Muttering to herself, Violet left the corridor.
Her hurried footsteps faded away. Once the sound was no longer audible, Aksion sighed.
“Truly, the princess is nothing like you.”
“Only half the blood is in common.”
“That’s a relief. It would have been better if it was none at all.”
Even at Elia’s joke, Aksion remained serious. This made Elia laugh.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“No, it’s just funny.”
Even his confused expression was amusing. The worries she had in the garden earlier now seemed trivial.
“I’m glad you think so, but… what is that in your hand?”
“Oh, this.”
Aksion’s gaze had unknowingly fixed on her clenched hand.
If he hadn’t pointed it out, she wouldn’t have realized she was holding it. When she opened her hand, sparkling jewels were revealed.
“These are the gems from the desert.”
“Yes. I was thinking about how to deal with the sapphians.”
These are valuable gems that would quickly sell if put up for auction.
But flooding the market with too many would devalue them. Hence, they couldn’t be released all at once.
Listening to Elia’s story, Aksion took the gems.
Gazing at them, he muttered.
“How about processing them?”
A sapphian was beautiful but notoriously difficult to work with.
Despite its enchanting appearance, it was an object that could contain magic.
Initially found as small grains, a wizard could process them into larger sapphians, significantly increasing their value.
‘The problem is that there are only a few artisans who can process and make jewelry out of these.’
Not every wizard could handle a sapphian.
It required a wizard who wasn’t overwhelmingly powerful but had fine control over their magic.
‘Wait a minute.’
At that moment, a scene flashed through Elia’s mind.
In this novel, the secondary characters were all saved by the heroine.
The insignificant wizard Popetcherian was one of them.
‘The troublemaker of the Magic Tower.’
Barely accepted into the Magic Tower, he was later expelled due to his lack of magic.
The heroine, who had become a saint, took him in.
Touched by the heroine’s kindness, Popetcherian utilized his talent to successfully process the sapphians, eventually becoming her exclusive jeweler even after she saved the world.
‘He should be running a jewelry shop in the capital by now.’
He had chosen to make use of his craftsmanship instead of his lacking magic.
However, due to a lack of capital, Popetcherian’s jewelry shop was struggling in a back alley.
‘He probably doesn’t know yet that he can handle sapphian.’
Maybe this was the opportunity she had been waiting for.
“I need to prepare to go to the capital.”
“I will accompany you.”
* * *
Several days passed after Aksion’s reply.
Preparations to head to the capital were complete, but it was a pity to leave the precious northern spring so soon.
“Risha, it’s tomorrow, right?”
“Yes. Everything is ready. I’m so excited to go to the capital, my lady!”
Risha clasped her hands and her eyes sparkled.
Having lived only in the north, Risha seemed to be looking forward to the trip very much.
A letter from the imperial family arrived just as Elia finished her preparations.
Elia examined the letter Risha handed her.
‘It’s the empress’s seal?’
The wax seal bore the empress’s symbol of peonies and birds.
Elia opened it to check the contents.
‘Violet has been refusing food?’
It was a request for her to come and take care of her sister, who had fallen ill due to issues with her fiancé.
‘This is ridiculous.’
The absurdity made Elia crumple the letter in her hand.
Indeed, the empress had always been this way. Pretending to care for Elia while always urging her to yield everything to Violet as the older sister.
‘Well, it’s a good coincidence.’
She had to go to the capital anyway.
‘Let’s see how much she whines.’
The empress was also one of the targets of Elia’s revenge.
* * *
The next morning everything was ready for the journey to the capital.
‘It rained yesterday.’
The heavy spring rain at dawn had turned the ground into a muddy mess.
Seeing this, Risha tried to call for a servant.
“I’ll lay down the carpet right away.”
“No, I’ll be riding a horse today anyway.”
Elia tapped her booted foot.
Today she was dressed in a shirt, vest, and pants. Unlike heavy dresses, the comfortable, active clothes were quite to her liking.
As Elia adjusted her shirt, she heard the distant sound of galloping hooves. Dust clouds billowed.
“Greetings, Princess.”
Standing before her were the knights of the Mahart family.
—
Hey there! just wanted to let u know that i created a discord server (https://discord.gg/MmW9vpjgvn) for all my novels updates. feel free to check it out!
