Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: The Heiress's Proposal
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“Aaaargh!!! That damned debt-collecting hag’s granddaughter!!”
“Your words are too much, Sir Ezekiel. My grandmother is at least a dozen years younger than you.”
It wasn’t all that strange for Anya to show up in person.
Damian’s proposal was the kind that any merchant would come running for with fire in their eyes.
Mana potions were the most widely circulated item in the Empire.
Numerous companies were already locked in fierce competition, and latecomers didn’t even dare to enter the market.
But the results of Damian and Dylan’s research could upend the entire landscape. So they had no choice but to move quickly.
The Hilton Merchant Guild had long traded with the Mage Tower as well. It wasn’t difficult for Anya to gain permission to enter.
The odd part was that Anya had a key to the mansion.
“What business do you have with the Hilton Merchant Guild?”
“Sir Ezekiel received quite a bit of help from the previous lord in various matters.”
Old butler Edwick explained on her behalf.
“This mansion is half-owned by the Hilton Merchant Guild.”
That was why Anya could enter through the front door so boldly.
“Anyway.”
Anya shook the prototype Damian had sent her, her eyes gleaming. Ezekiel had already fled outside the mansion.
“You two made this monstrosity?”
“That’s right. Didn’t I mention it before?”
“You did. Of course, I thought it was just a ploy to distract me at the time.”
“Um...”
Dylan still couldn’t grasp what was happening.
A few days ago, he’d only heard that Damian was bringing in an investor.
“Is that really Anya Hilton?”
“Yes. The head of the Hilton Merchant Guild, Anya Hilton. And you must be the mage, Dylan Falco?”
“Y-Yes, that’s me. Uh... you look really young. I mean, not that...”
“I get that a lot, so don’t worry about it.”
Anya flashed a bright smile. At that expression, Dylan trembled like a mouse facing a snake.
“You coming here in person means you’ll accept my proposal?”
“Of course. But first, I have a question.”
Anya shifted in her seat. The sparkle in her eyes faded, replaced by sharpness.
“What do you want from the Hilton Merchant Guild, Sir Damian?”
From Anya’s perspective, Damian’s proposal didn’t make rational sense.
Even as one of the Empire’s three great merchant guilds, it was public knowledge that Hilton lagged behind the other two.
If it came down to competition, Hilton couldn’t win.
Yet Damian hadn’t even considered the other two guilds. It was Hilton alone.
It was incomprehensible from a merchant’s viewpoint.
“Or do you have some... special feelings for me...”
Anya cupped her cheeks with both hands and twisted her body coyly.
“......”
Neither Damian nor Dylan reacted much.
“Ahem. That was my secret weapon of a joke, but no response.”
“...The reason I chose Hilton is simple. You put me first.”
The other two guilds had already picked their sides. One invested in Michael, the other in the Empress.
Even if he dealt with Marriott or Forrest, their top priority wouldn’t be Damian.
This wasn’t just about mana potions.
Through them, Damian would secure operating funds and carry out his other plans.
“I knew you were extraordinary, but...”
Anya smiled sweetly as she spoke.
They hadn’t discussed specifics, but they’d already been eyeing each other as potential partners.
“You’re aiming higher than I expected.”
She knew about the other two guilds’ moves as well.
For Damian to choose Hilton amid that meant he intended to keep some tension with those other powers.
Of course, Anya wouldn’t know Damian’s true intentions. He had no plans to tell her yet.
‘If I said I’m aiming for the throne...’
Would she keep that sly merchant’s smile, or make a face like any surprised girl her age?
“Miss Anya?”
“Oh my, Miss Agnes. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Agnes had returned from a brief outing. She must have continued investigating traces of her half-sibling.
“Ah, you’re here about that potion, right.”
“But why is Miss Agnes here...? Ah, the regular conference banquet.”
Damian had heard the rumors that he’d become Ezekiel’s disciple.
He’d need a partner for it, and naturally, that role fell to Agnes.
“You’ve... changed a bit. Your aura, I mean.”
“A lot has happened.”
The first time he’d met her after the cruise ship ball incident, Agnes had seemed quite unstable.
Her father murdered by a bastard, her family taken by her uncle.
Betrothed to that bastard by her uncle, yet she’d always played the perfect fiancée.
‘To be precise, it was all an act.’
Anya was gifted at reading people’s minds. More than auras or magic—it was a must-have skill for a merchant.
Agnes’s interactions with Damian so far had all been theater. And that mask had started cracking after the cruise ship ball.
“Oh, sorry. You’re in the middle of something important... Should we reschedule for tomorrow...”
Now, no trace of that mask remained. The way she looked at Damian brimmed with goodwill.
Anya found the sight quite intriguing. Such a scene was rare in noble engagements.
How genuine were things between them? Anya was curious.
“No need to apologize. If anything, I’m the one stealing your time.”
Anya suddenly stood from the sofa, her face like a cat spotting a fish.
“As a merchant, passing up this opportunity would be foolish. But traps always lie in the specifics. Let’s take our time discussing the numbers.”
With that, she tugged at the cowering Dylan’s sleeve.
“Mage? Would you mind showing this lady around the tower? I’m lost after so long.”
“Huh? The only lady here is Miss Agnes... Ah, no, I mean...”
“Wow. You’re not even perceptive enough for talent talk. Get up already.”
Anya dragged Dylan to his feet.
“Do enjoy yourselves.”
Old butler Edwick also bid farewell to Damian and Agnes before following them.
“Do you know about Anytic?”
“That needlessly complicated game that relies purely on luck?”
“Hoh, you’re not teasing me on purpose, are you?”
Damian and Agnes blankly watched the three until they left the mansion.
‘They were talking about a promise. If I leave those two together, something fun might happen?’
Anya, her face hidden by a magic tool, strolled the Mage Tower streets with a grin.
Of course, she wasn’t slacking off.
“Yes, exactly. The grinding needs to be done in three stages for stability. You have impressive knowledge of potions for a merchant.”
Dylan played no small role in potion production. So she needed a precise read on this man too.
A few hours later.
“What!? You only sparred with swords!?”
“Yes. That was the promise.”
“No, no, no. Two young people in their prime, engaged no less, meeting just to swing swords around? That doesn’t make sense!”
“That’s how it’s always been.”
Argh. Anya clutched her head and groaned.
She’d cleared out on purpose so they could have some intimate time. But things unfolded completely contrary to her expectations.
* * *
The three gathered again in the Tower Lord’s room.
“The banquet will proceed as planned.”
The feast required bringing a disciple, who in turn had to bring a partner—an odd rule.
It was a scheme to position Ezekiel as the next Tower Lord, based on the belief he could never meet the conditions.
The plan had failed both before the regression and now.
But now, there was a chance to change her fate entirely.
“Do you really need to? Just give that thing to me.”
“Why is it yours, Ezekiel? We’ll decide the owner through proper procedure.”
“Argh, seriously. When lives are on the line, that’s not what matters.”
“What is this ‘thing’?”
Damian cut in. Leaving them be would just waste time on pointless talk.
“Our master’s memento. A necklace called the ‘Tear of Eternity.’”
At those words, a seductive voice echoed from Damian’s soul.
[The Tear of Eternity!!]
Gremory’s excitement reached Damian. Her usual sleepy vibe was nowhere to be found.
[I want that. More precisely, I want you to have it.]
Demons sometimes made requests of black mages even after contracts.
Refusing brought no penalty, but complying yielded solid rewards.
This time, though, the condition was unusual. Rather than offering it to her, she wanted Damian to keep it.
[I know you’re planning something fun with the dream demon’s power.]
The message was clear: Secure the Tear of Eternity, and she’d share new knowledge.
He didn’t know its value. But if Hell’s lord knew of it, it was no ordinary item.
“What’s the proper procedure?”
“Oh, my disciple. Your master is touched.”
“What are you talking about? I want it for myself.”
“You impudent brat!”
“Ahaha. You two are hilarious.”
Knock knock. Footsteps approached from beyond the door. Ariella snapped her fingers, and it opened on its own.
“Sir Damian? And Sir Ezekiel too...”
It was Guardian Dennis. He wore the same bewildered expression.
“Now everyone who matters is here.”
Only Ariella, who had arranged this meeting, remained unchanged.
“Did you tell Guardian Dennis about the prophetic dream too?”
“Yes. He’s the most trustworthy among the guardians.”
“Tower Lord. These two were the ones you mentioned?”
“Yeah. They’re the ones who can change my fate. But first.”
Snap. Ariella suddenly flicked Ezekiel’s forehead.
“Didn’t I tell you not to question a master’s qualifications if you’ve never raised a disciple?”
“What does that have to do with hitting me?”
Ariella pointed at Dennis with a smile.
“This child is my disciple.”
“Tower Lord!!”
“This is a private gathering. Call me Master.”
A roar escaped Dennis’s lips.
“Why would you...”
His face flushed, veins bulging. He was beyond excited.
“Uh, since when?”
“Quite a while. Over ten years now. He was small and cute when we met, but these days, not so much.”
This was the Mage Tower. If you had the skill, even a criminal’s bloodline earned respect.
But the Tower Lord’s disciple was another level. It was personal.
As Tower Lord and Archmage, she dealt often with the Empire’s other powers. A disciple from a traitor’s line would stir controversy.
“You’ve kept it hidden well until now. Why reveal it?”
“We’re about to do something important. We need shared secrets.”
“Then should I call you little sis too?”
“No thanks. I don’t want to hear that from you.”
As the three bantered, Damian organized his thoughts.
Dennis’s identity was shocking, but it also narrowed down the culprit.
‘Michael or Rubia after all?’
Dennis joined the orthodox faction after that incident. If avenging his master was the motive, abandoning his guardian post made sense.
‘His behavior before the regression was off too.’
On second thought, his cynical reaction to bloodlines clashed with how he’d charged at Saliva like he wanted to kill him during the civil war.
That didn’t make Saliva the culprit either. There was some other reason.
“Hmm? You’re deep in thought.”
Damian looked up to find Ariella’s face close.
“It’s not sorted enough to explain yet.”
Even if it were, he couldn’t say.
His deductions relied on the regression.
“So, Tower Lord’s...”
“Use the proper title.”
“...plan for the banquet?”
“None in particular.”
“What!?”
Everyone panicked at her sly smile. This was about changing her own fate, yet she was the most relaxed.
“It’s a conclusion I reached after serious deliberation. Simply...”
Ariella’s gaze turned to Damian.
“I’ve decided to let the variable move freely.”