Chapter 74
Chapter 74
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Children's Academy Entrance Exam
-----------------------------------------------------------------
When I revealed my honest intentions, he dry-washed his face as if at a loss for words.
“…….”
‘He’s not saying no outright. The vibe seems pretty good?’
I decided to push forward playfully and asked,
“The mine, I mean. You don’t absolutely have to contract with the imperial palace, right?”
Ambassador Heinrich muttered with a crestfallen expression.
“The crown prince’s close aide stole our duchy’s technology, so contracting with the imperial palace... It wounds our pride.”
The contract with the imperial palace had essentially fallen through. But conflict was plain on his face.
And understandably so—from the duchy’s perspective, the empire’s imperial palace was the best trading partner. Besides, the duke would likely assume they were contracting with the empire’s crown prince.
‘But he’s conflicted. That’s what I’m banking on! We really need that magic stone mine!’
For our family to grow even richer and for Dad to bolster his aides with more mages, the Michel Mine was essential. I grabbed his arm tight and coaxed him gently.
“Then how about contracting with the Sien Merchant Company of the Mirmod family instead?”
Ambassador Heinrich’s eyes filled with confusion for a moment. With a half-dazed look, he asked back.
“......Pardon? The Sien Merchant Company.”
“The Mirmod family might not be the imperial family, but they wield that kind of power in the empire. The Sien Merchant Company is just as solid as the Yoter Merchant Company!”
‘Judging by his face, a little more persuasion and he might cave!’
It was something I’d planned to say before being dragged to trial, but I had to finish it now.
“Mm, um! Mind if I sell it a bit more?”
“Y-Yes......”
I grinned mischievously and pulled the contract from my pocket with a flourish.
“I even helped save the older brother and sister merchants from the Cheraph Company! Their protest broke my heart. I helped prove they’d had their techniques stolen once we got to the courtroom.”
Then I slyly slid the contract toward him with a small wink.
Staring at the contract, he worked his lips as if dumbfounded.
“Th-That is, if I may... your age......”
I beamed and spread both palms wide, showing all ten fingers clearly.
“Ten years old!”
It was just as Ambassador Heinrich blinked in stunned silence. The parlor door opened.
“......Sien, time to go.”
Hold on.
He didn’t overhear everything I said, did he?
I blinked. And right then, Ambassador Heinrich spoke.
“......Regarding the Michel Mine, I’ll sort it out soon and get back to you. I need to discuss it with His Highness the Duke as well.”
That was when Dad took my hand and spoke to Ambassador Heinrich.
“Collaborate with Mirmod.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s been approved by His Imperial Majesty.”
My eyes went wide.
‘What? Dad cut a deal with the emperor?’
The crown prince had indeed been outrageously rude to Mirmod, but I hadn’t expected Dad to secure the Michel Mine.
Dad’s negotiation skills were improving by the day.
***
While Sien marveled at Mathias’s negotiation prowess, Mathias was pondering his clever daughter’s future.
Back at the Mirmod estate from the imperial palace, Mathias gathered his close aides and declared,
His aides, tense after his clash with the crown prince, awaited his orders.
With a calm expression, he said,
“Our daughter seems to have the gift of foresight. How should we educate geniuses early? Should we send her abroad to study?”
His aides wore expressions of utter unfamiliarity at Mathias’s doting display.
But as always, some among them lusted for power.
One aide, his face scarred with vicious scratches, quickly chimed in.
“Rather than studying abroad, what about the academy?”
“......The academy?”
“Yes. I hear noble children usually go there to build friendships!”
Mathias’s eyes narrowed.
As the aide hunched his shoulders under Mathias’s murderous gaze, Mathias spoke carefully.
“Are there many good children at the academy?”
“......Pardon?”
Stunned briefly by the words “good children” from the fearsome Mathias’s mouth, the power-hungry aide nodded vigorously.
“Yes! There must be lots of good children! She’ll surely make many normal friends and form bonds with fine ones! It’s better than staying at Mirmod!”
“Very well.”
Mathias Mirmod knew full well the crown prince’s pettiness.
Though he’d humiliated him on a grand scale, the prince’s lust for power and inferiority complex meant he might not give up targeting Mirmod.
He could even sway family elders to pressure Mirmod from all sides and target Sien again.
It was time to prune the branches inside and out.
“There’s something I realized from this trial.”
“Wh-What might that be, sir?”
“First, how brilliant our daughter is.”
The aide masked his cringe and calmly feigned admiration. His acting skills were honing daily amid his boss’s daughter-love.
“......Ah, as expected, sir! Haha! And the other one?”
“We must crush anyone who dares bully our daughter from the root.”
Mathias’s gaze turned icy.
In his hand was a document detailing the elders’ collusion with the crown prince.
It clearly proved they’d sold intel on Sien’s activities to the prince for kickbacks.
“We can’t let her see us handling trash. As a bonus, sending her to the academy briefly works out well.”
Through this incident, Mathias had resolved himself.
He’d send Sien to the academy for a taste of normal life, and in the meantime, seize complete control of the family’s power.
***
Some time later, inside the Mirmod estate.
“Come here, Sien.”
Before I knew it, I was plopped onto Dad’s lap. Rolling my eyes as I sat there, Dad murmured quietly.
“You must be curious what I discussed with the emperor.”
“......”
He’d read my mind. As I clenched my tiny fists in tension, Dad whispered in a low, steady voice.
“I can’t hide everything, so I’ll tell you the whole story, Sien.”
“......Dad?”
Dad’s demeanor felt a bit off. Gripping my pink hair tightly, I sank into thought. It felt like he was protecting me by keeping me out of it, like a child should stay back......
‘But it also feels like he sees me as a partner. Did I bring up the partner thing first?’
As if confirming my hunch wasn’t wrong, Dad hugged my shoulders close and continued softly.
“Listen well, Sien. After the trial ended, I reported the crown prince’s misdeeds to the emperor. The prince has lost much of the emperor’s trust.”
“......I seeee.”
Pretending zero interest with big doe eyes, I clung to Dad’s arm and asked again.
“So what happened?”
“The emperor never fully trusted the crown prince anyway...... The grand duke from the borderlands—Sebastian, the emperor’s bastard son—is coming.”
My eyes sparkled.
‘Ah, Grand Duke Sebastian—the crown prince’s nemesis and fated rival!’
The grand duke was the emperor’s illegitimate son from another woman, leader of the opposing faction.
He appeared as a villain in the story, but if the novel’s male lead—the crown prince—was such a pathetic sleaze, the grand duke’s character might differ too.
Just like how the Mirmod family was depicted as a den of demons, yet brimmed with warm people including Grandma.
Dad hesitated, then spoke.
“Grand Duke Sebastian is also Dad’s friend.”
“Wow! Dad’s friend! Introduce me later!”
Blinking, I leaned fully against Dad’s shoulder. But instead of agreeing to introduce me, Dad quietly said,
“Sien, Dad’s not done talking yet?”
“Hm? More fun stuff?”
I was starting to feel sleepy and tired.
“Fun stuff...... Actually, Dad’s really curious.”
His tone was peculiar. Rolling my eyes at him, I asked,
“......Hm?”
“How did our baby know about that swan figurine buried in the family warehouse?”
I flinched. Yeah, in a rush, I’d spilled a lot of original story info I knew.
‘......Couldn’t be helped, but it’s natural for Dad to suspect.’
I hung my head silently, but Dad continued.
“What you want, how you think, what you’re living for. And......”
Dad whispered low in my ear.
“The secret you’re hiding from me.”
I flinched again.
I feared he’d discover I’d reincarnated—that I was actually a vicious person. That Dad might start shunning me.
So I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them.
Yeah, in times like this......
“Y-You’re hiding stuff from Sien too, Dad!”
Throw a tantrum and sulk—that’s the way!
But in that instant, Dad’s body went rigid.
‘Huh, weird? Looks like Dad’s hiding something from me too?’
I eyed him suspiciously.
And right then, a burly man I assumed was Dad’s aide burst into the room.
“D-Did you hear the news, sir?”
Dad’s arms around me stiffened.
“......What news?”
How strange.
Dad’s voice right now sounded just like a villain deeply annoyed at having his tea time with his favorite person interrupted. I gazed at him full of doubt.
“......Hm?”
I fixed a questioning look that way. The aide man fixed a trembling gaze back at us.
“You’ve heard the emperor has summoned the grand duke back, right?”
“Yes.”
A bored tone, as if asking if that was all to barge in here for. Feeling proud at Dad’s villain mode, I giggled—then paused.
No matter how I thought about it, Dad’s villain mode seemed a bit too embodied.
“......Ahem.”
Dad cleared his throat shortly, then spoke in a somewhat flustered tone.
“Mm, so what’s the matter, Eiji?”
Now he sounded like the Dad I knew......
I tilted my head, then leaned my little body back on his shoulder.
“The pope and Saintess Melodya are departing on the Path of Light pilgrimage. The temple’s been awfully quiet—it’s suspicious. Do they have some scheme?”
‘Path of Light’ pilgrimage?
I widened my eyes and stiffened.
‘This only comes up near the very end of the original [Life of Melodya]?’
I wondered why they were leaving for the Path of Light so suddenly.
Near the end of the original [Life of Melodya], the pope and Saintess Melodya set off on the Path of Light pilgrimage. Upon returning, Melodya marries the crown prince back in the empire—that was their happy ending.
‘The Path of Light just highlights their tragic romance; I don’t know exactly what happens there......’
For now, the temple was Mirmod’s enemy, and Melodya’s future husband—the crown prince—was our foe, so figuring out what they’d gain on the Path of Light seemed key.
‘Yeah, the imperial palace will be tied up with the grand duke and crown prince’s power struggle for a while—less direct fights with Mirmod.’
Having taken a hit from the fake daughter fiasco, the crown prince would stay even quieter.
Deep in serious thought mapping the current situation, Dad continued.
“Leave the temple aside.”
“Yes.”
I perked up my ears. I wanted more juicy info from the kind-but-ugly-faced villain uncle. Then Dad said,
“The unsettling mood in the family...... No, wait.”
Dad suddenly scooped me up.
“Sien,”
“Y-Yeah?”
I forced the corners of my mouth into an innocent, clueless idiot child grin. But Dad just smiled and hugged me tight as he opened the door.
“Sien should go to bed now.”
‘Nooo? I need to know what’s going on in the family too!’
Eyes wide, I clutched Dad’s sleeve and whined.
“......Sien wants to listen too!”
“Sien needs sleep. After you wake up, Dad’ll tell you fun stories.”
And so I ended up in my room with a warm fireplace and tasty milk.
But at that time, I had no idea.
What future awaited me the next day......
***
“Th-This is ridiculous!”
I slapped a hand to my face and half-screamed.
“Sien needs to go to the academy now too.”
“The Imperial Children’s Academy? That’s absurd! I still have tons to do!”
I needed to investigate why Melodya and the pope left for the Path of Light so fast, monitor the family situation, and plant more villainous thoughts in softie Dad’s head. So why......!
“You do have a lot to do. Like going to and from school.”
“Dad, the Sien Merchant Company......”
“The family accountant will handle it for a while.”
“......Sigh.”
......Big trouble. No escape routes.
Eyes huge, I shook my head vigorously.
But Dad......
“Sien should make lots of friends your age and have fun.”
......and shipped me off!
***
At the same time, inside the imperial palace.
Saintess Melodya—who was supposedly departing for the ‘Path of Light’—sat face-to-face with the crown prince and Princess Anessa.