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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: The Emperor's Request
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But the emperor quickly composed his expression.
Arep wondered if he had just been seeing things.
“I heard the previous Dayamor Marquess had taken on a new disciple, but I never imagined it would be such a handsome boy.”
“Uh, uh....”
Arep, still dazed from the praise, hurriedly nodded.
“Th-thank you!”
“It’s an honor for me to meet a future knight. Come, take your seats. I can’t keep such esteemed guests standing.”
The emperor had the guests sit on the sofa before offering his apology first.
“I’m sorry for summoning you without notice.”
“You have to ask before visiting. ‘Can I come over?’!”
Nibelria shared a basic piece of common sense that even a child would know.
“Nini!”
Startled, Solles quickly tried to stop his little sister, but the words were already out.
“Hahaha! Quite right, quite right!”
Far from getting angry, the emperor burst into hearty laughter, clearly delighted.
“Young Lady Dayamor is absolutely correct a thousand times over! I’ve made a grave error this time. I failed to show proper respect to a lady.”
“You can’t do that!”
“I’ll be more careful from now on.”
“Okay!”
Nibelria flashed a grin and looked at Solles.
It was a gaze that said, Did I do good?
Solles, whose heart had plummeted to the pit of his stomach, briefly debated whether to scold her.
But she kept her promise.
Hello as a greeting.
Add polite particles to the end of sentences.
So Solles nodded. Nibelria giggled, Hee hee.
Majia wore an I knew this would happen expression but said nothing.
“Well then....”
The emperor cut straight to the main topic.
“I called you here because I have something to discuss about the mana stone mine.”
The remote mountain whose location they’d learned from the Evil Dragon Ater, which Armifera had personally gone to purchase.
Publicly, it was an impulsive gift from their aunt—the Mercenary King—to her youngest niece.
But in truth, it was a mine brimming with vast mana stone deposits.
“The Magic Tower Lord visited recently and confirmed the reserves. He grumbled to me about nearly freezing to death....”
“You could’ve waited until the snow melted to check....”
Even so, Majia had braved the midwinter chill and discovered high-purity mana stones.
Overcome with emotion, he’d kissed one—only for his lips to stick to the frozen stone.
“But we couldn’t afford to wait that long. In the end, look what happened. Lord Petra tried to flee abroad and got caught.”
Word was that the Prok Kingdom’s mana stone mining would begin next spring.
Yet Lord Petra had attempted to bolt before even a single mined stone hit the market.
“He must’ve pulled some shady stunt again.”
Majia replied with utter disinterest.
“It’ll come out in the investigation.”
The emperor nodded along. He wasn’t particularly invested either.
The guy was facing heavy punishment anyway—piling on more crimes wouldn’t change a thing.
Should I kill him with socks on or take them off first?
That was the level of his concern.
“In any case.”
The emperor fixed his gaze squarely on the children—especially Nibelria.
“Would it be all right if I borrowed that mana stone mine for a while?”
“Huh...?”
Nibelria drooped her eyebrows, looking troubled.
“Th-thief...!”
She huffed and glared at him.
“Why’re you sneaking behind my back...?”
Majia stared in bewilderment at Nibelria, who had squeezed herself behind him.
Still, he subtly shifted his back forward to give her space.
“Arep! Brother! That guy’s totally bad...!”
“No, no, no!”
The emperor jumped in hastily.
“I didn’t explain myself well enough.”
“Not wrong, though. He’s a tax-dodging thief, isn’t he?”
“Magic Tower Lord. Now’s not the time for jokes like that.”
The kid’s getting the wrong idea even more.
By now, Nibelria looked ready to charge at any moment.
A strange wrrrr hummed from her tightly pursed lips.
Arep subtly shifted toward Nibelria’s side.
As if prepared to shield her if things went south.
Solles, meanwhile, could only muster a resigned smile.
When we get home, I’ll have to earnestly suggest etiquette lessons for Nini to Mother and Father.
He thought.
“I’m not saying I’ll steal it. Ahem!”
The emperor let out a few awkward coughs before explaining the situation in simple terms.
This was a national secret not yet public—and perhaps never to be.
“You know Lord Petra borrowed money using the bank as collateral, right?”
“Mustache uncle!”
Nibelria answered without dropping her guard.
“Yes. The amount that man borrowed was enormous.”
The emperor revealed the first secret: the loan figure.
“Gasp!”
Solles clamped a hand over his mouth to stifle a cry. His eyes nearly bulged at the astronomical sum.
“Br-bro....”
Arep couldn’t hide his shock.
“Is it more than ten billion...?”
Ten billion was the largest number Arep knew.
Solles nodded with effort. Arep’s eyes now went wide as saucers.
“That much!”
Nibelria was just as startled. She simply didn’t grasp the exact scale.
“Lord Petra has no means to repay it. Not now, not ever.”
“Your Majesty.”
Solles asked.
“The Prok Kingdom’s mining hasn’t even begun yet....”
“Even if their mining succeeds flawlessly, it changes nothing for him.”
The emperor explained why.
That was the second secret.
“He fell victim to an investment scam.”
“A s-scam...?”
“He invested through a broker, apparently. Turns out the broker siphoned the funds elsewhere.”
After Lord Petra was captured mid-flight.
Inspecting the securities in his vault revealed they were all fakes.
“And Lord Petra himself seems oblivious.”
“Then why did he run?”
“As I said, that’s still under investigation.”
Solles’s heart grew heavy.
Beyond the bank collapse, he’s committed some other major crime.
As he fretted over what came next, Solles let out an Eh?
“Y-your Majesty.”
“Yes?”
“The entity that lent to Lord Petra was...?”
“That’s a true state secret. I can’t disclose it.”
“My apologies,” the emperor said firmly, though his smile remained.
In that instant, the children shivered as if struck by a chill wind.
They felt a glimpse of the emperor’s true nature lurking behind that smile.
“Your Majesty.”
Ignoring Majia’s sharp glance, Emperor Perator turned back to Nibelria.
“In any case, things are quite serious.”
“......”
“So, Young Lady Dayamor. Word is you’re the owner of that mana stone mine. I’d like your permission.”
“B-but that was a gift from Mom and Dad....”
The mana stone mine she’d obtained by offering all her beloved clothes and jewelry to the Evil Dragon Ater.
The children had found it to help their parents, who were struggling with the bank crisis.
Nibelria hadn’t claimed it for her own whims.
“I asked your parents as well.”
Yet the Dayamor couple had replied:
“It belongs to our daughter, so get her permission.”
“If our children agree, we’ll gladly accept the proposal.”
It was a gift infused with their children’s heartfelt sincerity. They didn’t wish to decide its use on a whim.
They could’ve dismissed it as childish nonsense—what did kids know, after all?
But the emperor had summoned the children.
And sought their permission with genuine sincerity.
“......”
Nibelria stared into Emperor Perator’s ash-gray eyes before slyly asking:
“If I lend it, what’re you gonna do with it?”
Tension made her forget polite speech.
But rather than correct her, the emperor answered with utmost care.
Using words and phrasing a four-year-old Nibelria could grasp.
“I’ll promote that a mana stone mine has been discovered in our empire.”
“I know promotion! Nini knows! It’s telling customers to buy your stuff!”
“That’s right. You catch on quick.”
Emperor Perator praised her cleverness.
Nibelria’s shoulders puffed up proudly.
The root of all this chaos was the investments in the Prok Kingdom’s mana stone venture.
Not just Lord Petra—plenty of others had poured money in.
Now, it was their turn to attract investments.
“If I promote the mana stone mine, lots of people will bring money to invest. We’ll use it to mine the stones and pay off the debt that bad uncle racked up.”
“...For our family?”
Solles couldn’t contain his emotions, his displeasure slipping through despite knowing better.
He couldn’t help it.
To secure it, Nibelria had surrendered every cherished dress and accessory to the Evil Dragon Ater.
Trivial to outsiders, perhaps—but a four-year-old had given up everything she owned.
And now, no matter how dire the empire’s straits...!
...No.
She shouldn’t think that way.
Solles swallowed his surging anger with effort.
Even in their darkest days of weakness and poverty, House Dayamor had endured by resisting greed.
That’s who we are.
Nobles bore duties.
Our parents approved it anyway.
They’d sought the mana stones for precisely that reason.
Solles quelled his agitation.
“...My apologies.”
He bowed his head.
“House Dayamor raises fine children.”
“Their home education is impeccable, at least.”
Far from rebuking him, the emperor and Majia regarded Solles with admiration.
Majia even gave his back a light pat.
“Don’t worry about that part. Your parents aren’t the type to be pushed around. If anything, they’ll come out ahead.”
