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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: The Locked Door
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At that moment, Elena's expression turned icy.
Damian realized his mistake, but it was already too late. Elena snapped back at him sharply, as if reacting to his words.
"Why? It's okay for you, but not for me?"
Elena shot up from her seat and approached him like an enraged wild animal. Damian hesitated and tried to explain.
"It's not that it's not okay. You can meet casually if you want."
But those words only provoked her further. Elena's eyes widened as if she'd heard something outrageous.
"What did you say?"
"I have no intention of meddling in the Madam's love affairs. If you wish, you can meet whenever you like. Just... uh..."
"Shut up."
Elena cut him off coldly, as if she had no desire to hear more, and Damian clamped his mouth shut.
For a split second, her twisted expression looked hurt.
But as if it had never happened, Elena dragged Damian out the door with a blank face.
Damian couldn't say a word and could only let himself be pushed out. He was already dazed by her expression.
"I'm not some lecher like you. If you want to date, go ahead and have your fill. I have no interest."
With that, the door slammed shut. There was a click— she had locked it.
It was the first time she had locked the door from inside while he was here.
Until now, Damian had known that leaving the door unlocked was her silent permission for him to enter.
But he pretended not to know. Even if the door was open, he couldn't enter the closed fortress of her heart.
Damian was a man with some shame. He had chosen one rabbit over trying to catch both.
Still, deep down, he had been relieved that the door never closed on him.
Coming in person to relay a message that a servant could have delivered was practically checking if the door was open.
Of course, Elena seemed oblivious to his feelings and just found him annoying, but that didn't matter.
Damian lingered in front of the closed door for a long while. His face kept crumpling as he felt pathetic and worthless.
"You idiot."
He cursed himself and plopped down in front of the door.
But the miracle of the door opening from the inside never happened.
Inside a hotel near the Evis Mine. The long-awaited reply from Elena finally arrived.
I tore open the letter with excitement and skimmed it.
[If what you say is true, I'm willing to accept the conditions you mentioned.
I'll be heading to the castle tomorrow, so I should arrive within a week at the latest.
Come back to the castle with that evidence you mentioned in the meantime.
If you do, I'll believe you and proceed with the matter.]
I knew it.
I pondered with a serious expression at Elena's demand for evidence.
In my last letter, I had made her an offer.
The Evis Mine would soon receive the spirits' blessing, so if she bought it beforehand, I wanted 10% of the profits from this place as payment for the information.
It might seem greedy, but Loena wasn't the type to mince words or put on airs, so Elena wouldn't find it suspicious.
Surprisingly, I was adapting quickly to life as Loena. It felt like I had become her for real.
"At least she's willing to make a deal with me."
The fact that Elena hadn't outright rejected my demand meant my persuasion had worked pretty well.
Of course, I had subtly leaked info from the novel, so she had no reason not to believe me.
I already knew, from the novel, how the spirit fanatic would identify land blessed by spirits.
Sorry, but in human affairs, the first to claim has priority.
Of course, I'd only learned it from text, so the real challenge lay ahead. But luckily, I had real spirits with me.
I stared intently at the white butterflies fluttering around me.
Since they only materialized with my permission, no one had noticed their presence.
I recalled the conversation from when I contracted with them.
—Actually, purifying polluted land depends on the spiritist's capabilities. In ancient times, groups of spiritists would combine their powers to cleanse it.
'That's different from what you said earlier. You made it sound like you could do anything... This is a scam contract.'
—Scam? I was just stating the general case. It's different with you.
—Yes. With proper training, you could do it alone.
I thought they were backpedaling right after the contract, but thankfully, the spirits weren't that weak.
According to them, spiritists draw power from the land's spiritual energy to awaken their abilities.
As the number of spiritists increases, that power disperses. But I'm currently the only spiritist in this world.
In other words, I'm monopolizing all the spiritual energy of this land.
'This feels like hitting the jackpot.'
Who knew Loena had this hidden talent.
Well, she never went near Delrus flowers, so she must have missed her awakening and died young.
I only stumbled into it while trying to impress Akid by tinkering around.
'So, I'm pretty amazing, huh?'
—Yes. That's why you must never let others know you're a spiritist.
'Why?'
—Because you'd be in danger.
'In danger?'
—Humans are frightening and cruel. Many have grown accustomed to smiling while pursuing their own gain.
—Once they learn why spiritists vanished, you'll never want to tell anyone.
—I don't want to lose another contractor.
The spirits didn't specify exactly what happened in the past.
They just shuddered and begged me not to tell anyone I'm a spiritist.
It seemed related to the scarcity of records about spirits and their reaction.
They nagged so much that I agreed to keep it secret for now. The problem was, to get evidence for Elena, I needed the spirit fanatic's help.
I had to find that spirit fanatic and make a deal ASAP. And I knew an effective way to convince him.
Turn him into a successful fanatic!
Normally, fanatics don't get their fix, but I could make him a true devotee.
With real spirits right here, if I let him witness them in person, he'd come crawling on his knees begging to join up—no persuasion needed.
But the spirits vehemently opposed it, so what could I do?
I know from the novel that the spirit fanatic isn't a bad guy, but the spirits don't.
I had no desire to reveal myself as a spiritist right now anyway.
The continent's pollution hadn't started yet, so there was no urgent need for a spiritist.
Plus, with past dangers mentioned, caution was wise.
I couldn't predict when the shadow of death hanging over me—starting from the plague—might shift to another accident.
"Well, there are plenty of ways to persuade him."
Luckily, like the spirit fanatic, I was an Akid fanatic too.
Fanatics understand fanatics best.
I knew exactly what they like, what gets them excited.
So, without revealing I'm a spiritist, I had more than enough bait to lure him.
He'd pass through here soon anyway. I quietly waited for him to bite the other bait I'd prepared for the spirit fanatic.
And soon enough, as expected, he took it.
Inside a tavern near the Evis Mine. A ragged-looking man entered, paid for his meal, and waited for his food.
His name was Henry Conner, the eldest son of the Conner Baron family. Obsessed with spirits, he had become a wanderer, traveling the country for over ten years.
His life's wish was to see a spirit at least once before dying, but sadly, nearing thirty, he hadn't even glimpsed a spirit's toenail.
Yet he still believed spirits existed.
His family disapproved of Henry chasing mythical spirits.
His mother's pleas to come home had stopped long ago. Though he roamed the world, his skills kept him afloat.
Today, as usual, he reaffirmed his faith in spirits and took a spoonful of the fresh stew.
A boisterous conversation from the next table caught his ear.
"Heard the Hadelrus Grand Duke Heir and his wife are staying here. The mine's shut down too—everything okay?"
"How should I know what the big shots are up to? They're just enjoying a rare vacation. Man, even for a Grand Duke household mine, the vacation pay's pretty generous."
"Lucky bastards. Should've applied to Evis Mine myself."
One miner clapped his shoulder enviously, and the last one rubbed his nose and continued.
"Lucky? Thinking about how the Duchess Consort went missing in the mine and nearly got us all executed still gives me chills."
"But they found her, so it's fine. Anyway, where was she, and what was she doing?"
"Don't ask. While we were desperately searching for the Duchess Consort, she was digging up artifacts."
"Artifacts?"
"Thought it was just a rock at first, but the appraisal came back pretty good."
"What the hell was it?"
"Dunno. Something about a fossil imprinted with a spirit's footprint."
Clang!
No sooner had the man finished than Henry jumped to his feet. His spoon clattered to the floor, but he ignored it.
He strode to the next table and asked in an excited voice.
"Did you just say a spirit's footprint?"
