Chapter 100
Chapter 100
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: Betrayal
"It's using greenhouse cultivation. Where's the paper and pen?"
Taylor rose from her seat.
She went into the room and returned with paper and a quill pen.
"You build a house like this. But you fill this part with glass. That way, sunlight comes in, right? And if you use magic to keep the inside warm, you can grow crops regardless of the season."
Ah... like a greenhouse?
The north's harsh cold meant the three-branched nine-leaf herb, the main ingredient for Yin-Yang Liquor, could only be cultivated from late spring through summer to autumn.
About six months a year.
With greenhouse cultivation... it could be grown year-round?
"That's a great idea! Get it ready right away."
I nodded in approval, and Taylor beamed brightly.
"Aw, come on. You're giving me that precious liquor. Of course I have to."
Raoul's ears turned red at her teasing words.
Luna glared at Taylor and said,
"Ahem... let's drop this. It's too embarrassing to hear anymore."
"Aw, you squeezed Aiden so ha—mmph!"
Luna clamped her hand over Taylor's mouth and yelled,
"I said stop it!"
After the commotion, Luna and I were in a carriage heading to the Grand Duke's palace.
"Sigh, it drains the life out of me."
She looked utterly exhausted.
It must have been shocking, after all—someone else seeing us together like that.
Honestly, as a man, I felt some shame, but I was far more interested in the greenhouse idea.
Luna covered her eyes with her hand.
She muttered in a gloomy voice,
"I never thought Taylor would really settle down in Vain."
Before coming here, she'd been thrilled about a magic shop opening, but now she was downcast.
"Still, aren't you two friends?"
I knew they chatted casually when alone.
"No way! Why would I be friends with a lesbian like that?"
Luna raised her eyes, clearly displeased.
"But you seemed to talk pretty casually earlier."
"Well..."
She glanced away.
"We've known each other a long time..."
At first, it had been a simple friendship.
They were same-age friends who got along well.
That's when Taylor had hidden her feelings and approached slyly.
Then, just before blooming as a mage and heading to the Magic Tower...
She confessed to Luna but got rejected.
After that, she disguised herself as a man and lived as one.
Eventually, the crazy woman even proposed publicly while pretending to be male.
If her true gender were exposed, her head would roll, but Luna, not wanting to kill her friend, kept silent—and that's how it stayed.
"Well, seeing Taylor happy isn't so bad, right?"
Luna glanced at me.
"I want to get married soon. I'm tired of this secret dating."
I nodded slightly at her words.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A few days later.
Taylor visited my office with a long rolled-up sheet of paper tucked under her arm.
"What's up?"
"The greenhouse cultivation you mentioned last time."
Ah, right—we'd talked about ways to increase three-branched nine-leaf herb production.
"Yeah, think it's feasible?"
She nodded at my question.
"Of course. But the materials will cost a fortune. Here's the blueprint I drew up."
Taylor unrolled the paper.
It was a detailed building design.
"This whole section is glass. I noted the thickness—don't deviate too much. This is the frame; it needs to be metal. And here's the drainage."
I studied the intricate blueprint closely.
"And this is the key part: the magic system to maintain temperature. It's the most expensive..."
She pointed to the high price she'd written on the paper... and I was stunned.
"That's way too expensive."
Taylor shrugged at my response.
"Can't be helped. Magic always is."
The astronomical sum made me stick out my tongue in shock.
Even if Yin-Yang Liquor made money, wasn't this bigger than the belly?
The magic system installation was costly enough, but the real issue was the magic stones needed afterward.
Consuming that many daily in winter wouldn't be easy.
I immediately gave up.
"This won't work. Too pricey."
"Too bad. Anyway... what about the Dragon Heart and unicorn horn?"
She grinned slyly.
I stood up and said,
"Came suddenly, so I didn't prepare. Wait here."
"Where you going?"
To the puzzled Taylor, I said casually,
"Liquor storage."
"Oh?"
"Don't do anything weird. Just wait."
I headed to the liquor storage after telling her that.
In the basement of the Grand Duke's palace.
This was where Yin-Yang Liquor was stored.
With perfect humidity and temperature, past Grand Dukes had used it for aging liquor.
"Nice and cool."
Compared to the approaching summer heat, the chill here was refreshing.
"Now, where's the Dragon Heart...?"
Huge oak barrels lined both sides.
Knowing they were all filled with Yin-Yang Liquor made me feel secure.
We had way more stockpiled than last year.
And even more incoming soon.
Passing the Yin-Yang Liquor section, a massive oak barrel caught my eye.
This was the premium brew, Dragon Heart.
Currently, only the Emperor could drink it—a truly rare liquor.
You couldn't buy it even for money.
I carefully positioned an empty bottle near the metal tap on the barrel.
-Click.
The clear sound of glass meeting the tap.
Turning it...
-Glug glug glug...
Dragon Heart slowly filled the bottle.
"Amazing. Distilled liquor, huh."
Yin-Yang Liquor was hard to call tasty.
It had that plant-like fishy aroma.
Dragon Heart, though, didn't have much of that.
High proof, maybe?
I couldn't fathom how it was strong without sugar, but I wasn't an expert anyway.
Once the bottle was full enough, I tightly closed the tap to stop the flow and headed back with it.
-Creak.
"Back?"
Taylor looked pleased as the door opened.
"Yeah. Not done yet. Hold on."
I carefully laid out a sheet of scrap paper on the desk, then grated unicorn horn with a grinder borrowed from the kitchen. Grayish-white powder accumulated bit by bit on the paper.
"That's unicorn horn?"
Her eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"Careful. It's expensive."
I ground it slowly until enough piled up, folded the paper slightly, dumped it into the bottle, and sealed it.
"Here you go."
Handing her the bottle, Taylor asked with a mischievous grin,
"But... why use something so precious for an aphrodisiac? Unless..."
She smirked slyly.
"Luna's too much for you with her raging libido?"
-Flustered.
"Hehe, be honest. Luna's sex drive is off the charts, right?"
I couldn't deny Taylor's words.
"Must be the Swordmaster thing? Raoul pesters me endlessly at night too."
She cupped her slightly flushed cheek with one hand.
"Honestly, even I struggle sometimes."
"And you're taking that?"
"Pfft... dying from it would be a fine death, right? Plus, as a woman, I'm curious."
I couldn't comprehend her beaming smile.
Was she saying nights were tough or not?
No... was dying in ecstasy even a good death?
Her thought process was beyond me.
"Anyway, thanks. I'll head out."
Once she left, I sighed inwardly.
No real gains after all.
Her blueprint was too impractical for mass use.
"Whatever."
I got back to work quietly after she left.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ That night.
-Knock knock.
The familiar sound from the window made me get up and open it.
"Hehe, miss me?"
Luna, right on schedule.
She greeted me with a bashful smile.
Come to think of it, we hadn't met today.
Usually five or six times a week, but occasionally a miss.
"Doing well. Oh! Taylor stopped by today."
"I know. She dropped by my office earlier."
Ah... so she went straight to Luna after me?
Makes sense; no way she'd visit the palace and skip Luna.
I shrugged and said,
"Anyway, she came about the greenhouse..."
Luna perked up at my words.
"Oh? The thing to harvest three-branched nine-leaf herb even in winter?"
"Yeah. But it seems tough."
Enormous facility costs.
Unclear efficiency per area...
Maintenance would be insanely expensive too.
And the risk if it failed was huge.
"Aw... why?"
Maybe my negativity dimmed her mood instantly.
"Costs too much. And no guarantee of success."
The Grand Duchy's finances weren't bad.
But to fuel even bigger explosive growth, some investment was needed.
With massive private investments already, expecting more from them was unrealistic.
So we needed to step up... but fiscally, it was tricky.
"Can't be helped. Oh, right! Aiden, good news."
"Huh? What?"
"There was a betrayal. By Duke Etil, even."
"What?"
Why smile about embezzlement...?
That wasn't good news.
"Just found out recently. Remember when Taylor ambushed us before?"
"Yeah."
"Duke Etil leaked our info to her."
"Ah..."