-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: A Sweet Temptation
-----------------------------------------------------------------
After returning to the ballroom and gracing the event with his presence, Marquis Epekel boarded the carriage back to the estate with Reshuan.
*I’m just glad it didn’t turn into a bigger incident.*
Even after receiving first aid, Reshuan did not wake up right away.
It was because the amount of magic stones he carried with him was insufficient.
This was the first time she had been this sick since she was a child.
Marquis Epekel stopped Ryan, who was about to call the royal physician, and asked him to procure some magic stones without any questions.
To a bewildered Ryan, he cryptically shared a part of the secret.
*‘It's essential to save Reshuan. She has a different constitution than others. She needs magic stones.’*
It would have taken too long to fetch the magic stones needed to save Reshuan from his own estate.
It was wiser to ask Ryan for help like this.
Besides, wasn’t Ryan in love with Reshuan? Everyone in high society knew of his feelings. That was why Marquis Epekel could confide in him more easily.
Ryan secretly ordered his attendants to bring the magic stones.
His agitation did not easily subside. Flustered by the sudden situation, his heart was in turmoil.
He felt as if his granddaughter might leave him just like this. Just as his daughter had left with that scoundrel.
…And just as she had died.
*My child, I cannot let you go like that.*
Fortunately, that did not happen. After using the additional magic stones, Reshuan awoke with her usual bright smile.
But Marquis Epekel's hands were still trembling.
*‘What happened, Grandfather?’*
Reshuan smiled, not noticing anything amiss.
After hearing about the situation, the first thing Reshuan worried about upon waking were the potential rumors her collapse might cause.
It was all for the sake of her grandfather's reputation.
“I'll go back and reassure everyone, and tell them I'm sorry for worrying them.”
His granddaughter, so busy looking after her grandfather without even knowing the precise reason she had collapsed, was endearing.
Reshuan held his hand tightly. Marquis Epekel hugged his granddaughter close.
The warmth of her in his arms was so precious.
“I must have been too tired lately.”
It was Reshuan's voice that roused him from his thoughts.
“It seems so.”
Although he agreed with Reshuan, Marquis Epekel had not yet figured out why she had collapsed today.
What on earth was the reason Reshuan had fallen into a critical state today?
There was only one possible reason.
*There's nothing else it could be.*
Marquis Epekel thought of the mountain of magic stones that had been piled up to repair the broken door.
Magic stones react to other magic stones. They were often used in mines to find new veins or locate remaining deposits.
“I feel terrible for inconveniencing Lady Etoile when I collapsed.”
“It's all right. I will extend my gratitude to her separately later.”
Marso Etoile had left with Prince Darcy, who had appeared like a comet today, and only returned near the end of the ball.
There was no time to speak with her as she boarded her carriage immediately.
His plan to speak with Marquis Etoile during the ball had also fallen through. The Marquis had left his seat due to the sudden additional demand for magic stones needed for the damaged palace property.
He couldn't help but envy the fact that even after supplying the imperial family and taking his own share, they still had magic stones to spare for emergencies like this.
The fact that House Etoile had a surplus of magic stones left a bitter taste in his mouth.
This was especially true because Marso Etoile herself had mentioned today that she might give him magic stones as a gift if they became closer.
Seeing them use magic stones as if they were water made him feel sick.
*It seems their magic stones haven't run out yet.*
Unlike his own mines.
If there was a god, things shouldn't be this way.
*Shouldn't they go to the one who needs them most?*
Moreover, Marquis Etoile was a man who was utterly indifferent to his own flesh and blood.
After all, despite attending together, he didn't even know where his own daughter was.
But he was different.
After the magic stone mines suddenly dried up, he had stopped all his previous deliveries and was now gathering magic stones solely for Reshuan.
For her life.
*This must be my karma…*
He shouldn't have thrown his daughter out like that. Although she wasn't exceptionally healthy, his daughter, who had never once been sick, had weakened in an instant.
He thought she would yield and come back, but his daughter stayed by her lover's side until the very end. Reshuan was the precious child his daughter had given her life to birth.
*How surprised I was when I first met her.*
Her bright smile, a mirror image of her mother's, was enough to plunge the marquis back into his memories.
However, Reshuan was sick. Very sick.
Everyone said she wouldn't live past fifteen.
But the marquis could not bear to lose the only blood relative he had found again.
So he searched far and wide…
And in the end, he saved Reshuan.
But the method was not a perfect one. It was no easy task to revive a body that had been on the verge of death.
Reshuan required more and more magic stones with each passing day.
Marquis Epekel let out a deep sigh.
He always felt anxious thinking about Reshuan's future. He would have felt that way even with a stockpile of magic stones, so how much worse was it now that the opposite was true?
“Grandfather, what are you thinking about so deeply?”
At Reshuan's voice, the marquis smiled benevolently.
“It's nothing. I was just thinking how beautiful you are.”
“…You're too kind. I'm sorry for worrying you today.”
“You already apologized. It's not your fault.”
His granddaughter was as lovely as ever.
Holding Reshuan's delicate hand, Marquis Epekel smiled kindly.
“How was the ball today? Did you enjoy it, at least?”
“I did. Any time spent with you is always enjoyable, Grandfather.”
Reshuan said with a smile. Marquis Epekel's heart grew warm.
After his daughter left him, he had thought he would never find happiness again…
*Reshuan, you are my miracle.*
His granddaughter had reawakened emotions he thought were long dead.
He wanted to protect this girl, no matter what.
So that Reshuan could live her entire life without a single worry.
So that she wouldn't follow in the footsteps of the daughter he had lost in vain.
“Did you have a good time, Grandfather? No, you must have been so startled because of me…”
“No, it's quite all right.”
“I also troubled Prince Ryan. I should send him something later.”
Marquis Epekel flinched at the mention of Ryan's name. Noticing this, Reshuan tilted her head.
Marquis Epekel quickly changed the subject.
“He would appreciate anything, as long as it's from you. Come to think of it, I haven't seen the prince at the estate lately.”
Now that he said it, it was true. Ryan, who used to frequent the Epekel main house, had been absent.
Reshuan blinked and then said in a clear voice.
“…Yes, that's because I haven't invited him.”
“Why not?”
“…I felt I needed some time to reflect on myself.”
Marquis Epekel's eyes widened at Reshuan's words.
“What is there for you to reflect on?”
Reshuan gazed at Marquis Epekel, who always took her side, before explaining.
“There were things I used to avoid, as long as they didn't harm me directly.”
“…Reshuan.”
“If someone was good to me, I suppose I wanted to think it was all right.”
“That's natural for anyone.”
“But when a line is crossed, I should have known how to act accordingly. Not just watch from the sidelines.”
Reshuan slowly shook her head.
“Though I feel I've realized it too late.”
Marquis Epekel realized that Reshuan was passing a turning point in her life. She was going through another period of maturation.
At times like this, there was only one thing he could say.
“Your grandfather will always support you.”
“Thank you. By the way, what were you and the prince talking about earlier?”
“…It was nothing important. We were just talking about you.”
Marquis Epekel evaded the question. He hadn't realized Reshuan had seen them go to the drawing room.
Reshuan felt a sense of unease as Marquis Epekel, who usually answered her questions honestly, changed the subject.
There was nothing strange about his behavior, yet it was suspicious.
It felt like there was something more, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
“If you say so, Grandfather, then I'm sure it's true.”
But pressing further would only make the marquis uncomfortable. She didn't ask.
Yet, the question remained.
***
Marquis Epekel recalled the conversation he had with Ryan.
“Marquis Epekel, you must have heard that the supply of magic stones is dwindling.”
After moving from the ballroom to the drawing room, they had closed the door and begun their talk.
“For Reshuan's sake, if nothing else, the supply of magic stones must remain steady.”
“…That is correct.”
Ryan had learned of Reshuan's condition. He could expect his cooperation from now on.
“In that case, I have an urgent matter to discuss with you.”
Just cooperation? This could even hasten the marriage.
“This will be good for both Reshuan and you.”
“What is it?”
Marquis Epekel's face lit up. A marriage proposal? The imperial family owned two magic stone mines. Their veins would be the last to dry up, which meant Reshuan would be safe.
But the words that came from Ryan's mouth were unexpected.
“Join me in bringing about the downfall of House Etoile.”
“…Pardon?”
“I will give you one of their magic stone mines in return. Your mines have run dry, have they not?”
Since he could no longer supply the imperial family with magic stones, it wasn't strange that the prince knew the state of his mines.
Regrettably, his mines had been the first to run dry.
“You need a mine, don't you?”
Marquis Epekel had never possessed a large quantity of magic stones to begin with.
The wealth of House Epekel had been accumulated through the distribution of magic stones. He had been complacent, believing the supply would never run out.
He had tried to recover magic stones belatedly, but that too was not easy.
People who noticed the decrease in the circulation of magic stones began to hoard them.
The imperial family was also continuously reducing the distribution, and Marquis Etoile was cutting back on trade from the mines his house owned.
The amount of magic stones he managed to gather by scouring the back alleys was meager.
Ryan's proposal was undoubtedly an irresistibly sweet temptation.
But in that moment, Marquis Epekel's opinion of Ryan changed completely.
Now, in his eyes, Ryan was nothing more than a detestable son of a bitch.
