Chapter 71
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: The Mine (2)
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‘Did he get some dirt on her or something?’
Mathias tried to make sense of Dane’s behavior with reasoning that was surprisingly close to the truth.
“What do you mean pretty……”
Mathias muttered absentmindedly before suddenly stopping.
‘Huh?’
Her sparkling eyes full of life, flushed cheeks, and upright posture.
Rose’s figure, combining all these elements, was… more captivating than he’d expected.
‘Something’s different?’
In Mathias’s memory, the Rose who had arrived back then in a rickety carriage on the verge of falling apart had eyes cast downward without confidence, a sullen face, and slumped shoulders.
At the time, he’d thought there was no way his brother would even glance at a girl like that.
But now……
‘Ugh.’
He couldn’t be sure.
The innocent smile blooming on Rose’s face was brilliant enough to light up this barren, rugged mine.
“Shall we head back?”
“Yes.”
What stood out most was his brother’s attitude.
The way he looked at Rose was so sweet that it even made Mathias wonder if there was some charm he hadn’t noticed.
He wasn’t the only one with those thoughts.
“Ugh, that bastard’s ruthless.”
“You wait, seriously. Got anything else to bet?”
After Nils had cleaned out their pockets, the knights shook out their hands and stared toward the castle gate.
They nudged each other with their elbows.
“Hey, didn’t you say Madam wasn’t pretty?”
“She is pretty.”
“She’s cute.”
“Still, my type’s that blonde next to her……”
“Hey!”
The knights not assigned to the escort detail reacted favorably.
No matter how inexperienced they were with women, it was a response that couldn’t be faked without sincerity.
“Man, seeing her like that……”
“Hmm…… His Excellency’s got good taste……”
Some rested their chins on their hands, looking enviously at Dane and Rose.
There was no overt display of affection, but the warm air lingering around the two was enough.
The sight of them pressed so close together was ticklish yet oddly heartwarming.
“Ah, it’s cold. So damn cold.”
One oblivious guy among them grumbled.
“Damn, I need to get myself a girlfriend too. I’m dying of jealousy here.”
“Wasn’t romance banned in our knight order?”
“No one ever banned it. That might be the real problem.”
“It’s not that we didn’t; we couldn’t.”
A shared bitterness sparked outrage among the knights.
“No fair! His Excellency’s the only one enjoying sweet romance!”
“While he rolls us around in this rocky hell! Right in front of us! Argh!”
“Maybe this is a silent order for us to start dating too?”
“You’re still twisting things your way, huh.”
Mathias was finding it harder and harder to ignore the voices around him.
“Everyone, shut up.”
He ground his teeth and barked the order.
“Yes, sir.”
“Ahem.”
The knights hadn’t even noticed Mathias.
He stood there like a rigid statue, blending into the castle walls.
‘Watch yourselves, all of you.’
‘Here he goes again.’
The knights exchanged glances behind Mathias’s back.
They already knew he’d thrown a hysterical fit over something related to the Duchess before.
They desperately managed their expressions, pretending nothing had happened.
Thud, thud.
Mathias calmed his pounding heart and descended toward the gate.
The other knights followed, lining up behind him.
“Greetings, Your Excellency. I hope your journey here was safe.”
“Mm.”
As he bowed, Dane, who had been escorting Rose, nodded.
Dane Schmichael standing in front of the Calmar Mine with his wife……
Even if he loved his wife, he needed to separate personal and official matters. At this rate, he’d hand over the family’s treasures too.
‘I didn’t see anything. Brother’s just standing there alone.’
Mathias barely resisted rubbing his eyes and desperately averted his gaze from Rose.
If he didn’t, he’d lose all dignity as Knight Captain and blurt out,
‘Brother! Agh! How could you bring a woman all the way here! Huh?’
Like the bad habits from his squire days.
Ignoring that redheaded, bushy-tailed squirrel of a woman was the best for Mathias.
But Dane had no intention of letting it slide.
“Captain, this is my wife. She’ll be accompanying me on the mine inspection today.”
“……Yes, Your Excellency.”
His brother had introduced her first, so he couldn’t just brush it off.
‘My wife… my……’
He shoved the rolling acorn-like words out of his mind and,
“It’s an honor to meet you. I’ll do my utmost to ensure you’re comfortable.”
Mathias responded with polished courtesy.
All the other knights were watching. No matter what he thought inside, he had the judgment not to show it.
“This is Knight Captain Mathias. He leads the knight order and takes full responsibility here in my absence.”
Rose beamed at Dane’s introduction.
“Sir Mathias, nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
As Rose showed friendliness first, Mathias barely hid his gruffness and replied.
“Have you? What did you hear?”
“That Your Excellency trusts you greatly. That you’re a reliable comrade who’s been with him for a long time.”
“Yes.”
Mathias gave a curt answer. Any more, and his bubbling frustration might spill out.
‘At least Brother introduced me properly.’
He’d planned to make her cry if she strutted around as the Duchess or tried to put him down.
But Rose just smiled as if that was enough.
‘Won’t he introduce that one?’
Honestly, Mathias was more curious about the blonde woman standing demurely behind Rose.
“Let’s go in.”
But Dane turned as if the introductions were over.
“Yes.”
As Mathias followed his gaze, he spotted the maid uniform under the blonde’s robe.
Apparently, she was the Duchess’s maid.
‘Wonder what her name is.’
Mathias set aside his rising curiosity and took the lead.
“I’ll guide you to the office.”
As he walked diagonally ahead of the two, his eyes lingered on Rose.
‘No, that robe?’
Wasn’t that an expensive, precious winter robe embroidered with mana stones that she was wearing?
It was something Mathias had begged for and still hadn’t gotten.
‘He really handed over the family treasures.’
Lips twitching, Mathias led the three into the office.
“You must want to rest from the journey first, but,”
Dane stood before the table inside the office. It was the large central table they used to discuss mine management with Mathias.
“Let’s handle the urgent matters first.”
Mathias finally relaxed.
‘As expected of Brother.’
The raid had made him anxious, so he’d brought his wife, but mine business wouldn’t suffer.
He’d been wary of his love-struck lord neglecting duties or the woman swallowing the family whole.
Brother was cool-headed and wise, distinguishing public from private even with his beloved wife.
With that thought, Mathias moved to send Rose to the side room.
“Yes, then Madam should—”
Shuffle.
Dane suddenly spread the mine map on the table.
“?!”
Mathias froze in shock.
That was the core secret of the Calmar Mine, the pillar upholding the Schmichael wealth.
Spreading such confidential documents right in front of his wife?
And that wasn’t all.
“What do you think?”
Dane even brought a lamp to help Rose see better.
Unbelievable. His respected brother was failing to separate public and private.
“Your Excellency, if I may—”
As Mathias couldn’t hold back and opened his mouth,
“Let’s see…… This must be the tower.”
Rose leaned in closer, adding fuel to the fire. She began scanning the map meticulously, pointing with her finger.
“The nearest tunnel from this tower is here. Within a 150-cubit radius from there… Yes, this spot would be good.”
Dane listened to Rose with utmost seriousness.
“What are you talking about right now?”
Mathias couldn’t hold back and asked.
“Oh, we’re placing these.”
Rose answered.
At her gesture, the maid who’d stepped back brought a box. Inside were several small cubes and a magic tool with a black screen.
“What is this?”
“A position-tracking magic tool.”
A grid pattern appeared on the tool’s screen. Manipulating the button beside it made a blinking red dot appear on the screen.
“It tracks and shows the positions of these cubes. Maximum range is about 150 cubits.”
“……!”
Mathias jumped in surprise, looking back and forth between the tool and Rose.
‘A stalker?’
Oh god, he got it. This woman was going to monitor his brother’s every move! She did have ulterior motives!
While Mathias was lost in wild delusions,
“Handing these cubes to every miner isn’t practical. How about giving them to tunnel chiefs or squad leaders?”
“Good idea.”
Rose and Dane were deep in serious discussion. Mathias awkwardly joined in.
“……So you’re giving those cubes to the miners?”
“Yes. To track their positions in case of accidents.”
Mathias looked at Rose anew.
‘……She made something pretty ingenious?’
Tunnel collapses in mines happened frequently enough.
In the Calmar Mine, they reinforced supports as much as possible and had experienced squad leaders watch for signs of collapse.
Even so, the mine’s unique environment made accidents hard to prevent entirely.
“If monsters suddenly attack, it’s hard to respond. With this, we can grasp the situation quickly if something unexpected happens.”
“That’s true, but……”
Mathias fiddled with a cube, inwardly impressed, but a doubt arose.
“Why did you suddenly make this? Did Your Excellency order it?”
“Oh, no, it’s not……”
Rose hesitated in her answer.
“……I thought it’d be useful for the mine.”
It was a brief pause, but Mathias didn’t miss it.
“You seem to know a lot about mines? Did news of accidents reach the capital?”
“……”
Rose glanced not at the probing Mathias, but at Dane.