'What? It seems hyung-nim didn't tell her, then.'
Matthias narrowed his eyes.
Other noble families often planted spies, hoping to steal their mining techniques or operational secrets.
That was why they maintained strict control to ensure nothing that happened at the Kalmar Mine ever leaked to the outside.
'Suspicious.'
Yet how did that woman, Rose, know all this? Could she have been sent here on behalf of another family?
Just as Matthias was about to interrogate Rose—
"I did talk about the mine from time to time."
Dane's nonchalant voice reached them.
"…Yes, that's right. Lord Andersen also told me a bit about the mining work."
Rose finally answered with a faint smile— one unwavering even under Matthias's sharp gaze.
"I see. How many cubes did you make?"
"Yes, I gathered magic stones with the same wavelength and arranged them roughly like this…."
Rose and Dane began conversing in low murmurs.
"……."
Matthias watched them in silence. Since Dane was doing the talking, it was awkward to interject.
'It seemed like he deliberately intervened just now.'
Even so, if Dane had indeed shared that information, it was still a problem.
Sharing family secrets with a wife who hadn't even been in the household for a month didn't make sense.
If that woman harbored ill intentions or leaked this information to her own family….
'I don't even want to imagine.'
Matthias still didn't trust Rose. The intentions and track records of the previous madams who had entered Schmaichel Castle were too horrifying for that.
'Can't be helped. I need to stay sharp myself.'
He steeled himself inwardly.
He would never let himself be bewitched by some woman. He would observe the situation with cool detachment!
However.
"Excuse me."
The moment a blonde woman's voice reached him from behind—
"Gah!"
Matthias startled violently, making a mockery of his own resolution.
"Ah, I'm sorry. Did I startle you?"
The blonde woman covered her mouth apologetically. The way her sharp, elegant eyes crinkled was just….
'…Pretty.'
No, that wasn't what he should be thinking!
Matthias quickly banished the thought. He replied with a solemn expression.
"Not at all. What can I do for you?"
He had unconsciously pitched his voice as low as it would go….
Damn. Thank goodness the other knights hadn't seen that.
If they had, he'd have been the butt of jokes for a week.
"Yes, I was thinking of getting my lady's room ready in advance. Could you show me where it is?"
"Of course. This way, please."
Matthias led the blonde woman to an empty inner room.
He found himself gazing at her delicate profile and her deeply lowered eyes, and then—
"What's your name?"
His mouth had moved on its own.
"Me?"
The blonde woman swept her hair back and flashed a bright smile. She looked even prettier when she smiled.
"I'm called Lune."
"Lune… Miss Lune, I see. I am—"
"I know. You're Commander Matthias, right?"
"…Yes."
Somehow, even her voice was pretty.
The way she said his name with those full lips sounded so pleasant.
"Would you happen to—"
Just as Matthias was about to strike up a conversation with Helena—
"Matthias. Are you there?"
Dane's voice came from the office.
"…Please excuse me."
Matthias withdrew, thinking about how many times hyung-nim had disappointed him today.
"You called for me."
The disappointments didn't end there.
"You can head out for now. I'll call you shortly."
Dane, having finished his conversation with Rose, had just dismissed him.
"…Is it something I shouldn't hear?"
"It's a private matter."
"Private… Yes… understood."
With no other choice, Matthias accepted it and trudged out.
"……."
An overwhelming sense of exclusion washed over him.
He had stood by Dane's side for over ten years. He had treated Schmaichel as his own family and pledged his loyalty.
And yet here he was, being pushed aside by some tiny woman who couldn't even hold a sword and hadn't been in the castle for a month.
'So being good at magical engineering is all it takes?'
By the looks of it, she was talented enough to earn Andersen's recognition.
He could somewhat understand why hyung-nim, who had never spared a glance for the previous madams, acted differently with this woman.
'He always was a sucker for talent, though.'
Since they handled the highest-quality magic stones in the kingdom, they could never have too many talents in magical engineering.
What she had brought today alone was a remarkable Magical Device that could drastically improve mine operations.
'Still, as the lady of Schmaichel Castle….'
She was still lacking. In particular, the slight hesitation Rose had shown earlier still struck him as suspicious.
Since hyung-nim was blinded by love, he would have to stay vigilant and keep watching her himself.
'Just you wait. You'll thank me for this.'
Matthias gave a sharp snort and shut the door.
Kwang!
By the time he realized he'd slammed it far too hard, it was already too late.
"…The wind was strong."
He reopened the door to offer the excuse, then—
Tak.
—gently closed it. Then he scurried away before Dane could call him back.
**
"…That guy."
I frowned, watching the door that Matthias had quietly pulled shut behind him.
'Is he going through a belated puberty?'
Wearing his hurt feelings so obviously, wanting them acknowledged. I sighed, wondering if this was what it felt like to look after a foolish younger brother.
"Ahaha!"
Helena emerged from the inner room, bursting into giggles.
"Master, give it a rest. That guy was almost in tears."
"What did I do?"
"It's not what you did… it's the whole situation itself that's the problem."
Helena leaned against the table with a grin on her face.
"Think about it. You keep a dog, and then you bring a new chipmunk into the house. How would the dog react?"
"He'd be happy to have a friend to play with, wouldn't he?"
"Ahahahaha!"
Helena clutched her stomach and roared with laughter.
"That's exactly why you don't understand his feelings, Master. I could tell just by looking."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
I shrugged, then gestured with my chin toward Helena. Understanding the signal, she reached into her clothes.
"Here."
Several items were placed on the table. Rose leaned in with a curious expression.
"What are these?"
"I swiped these from the apiary Joel visits regularly."
Helena had thoroughly searched the place while the apiary owner was away and grabbed a few items.
Mead, medicinal syrup, medical salve, wax, candles, and so on.
"That's quite a haul. Good work getting all this."
"It was thrilling and fun, though?"
Helena said with theatrical pride, and Rose smiled softly. Then she began picking up the items one by one, examining each closely.
Tuk.
Lastly, I set the bundle of papers I had pulled from my coat down onto the table.
"Helena brought this too."
It was a portion of the apiary's transaction ledger.
'Here, take this.'
The image of Helena approaching me to proudly present it flashed through my mind. It had happened while Rose was asleep.
'…How did you get these?'
'I only pulled the specific pages with Joel's transaction records. I cut them out carefully so it wouldn't be noticeable.'
'That's not what I'm asking. You can't read, can you?'
'Way to hit a sore spot, Master. Shouldn't you hesitate before asking something like that?'
Helena scowled with a smile, as if to say she knew that was coming.
'I learned to recognize key words like "Joel" and "Schmaichel" in a crash course from Kasto. He's the only one who can read—everyone else is illiterate.'
'That couldn't have been easy.'
Helena clasped her hands behind her head and replied dismissively.
'It's important to you, Master, isn't it? So I had to hurry.'
I had figured she would do the bare minimum, just fulfilling her obligations. I hadn't expected her to be this proactive.
'Well, Master? Didn't I do well?'
Helena tilted her head, her eyes crinkling. Like a cat rubbing itself against your ankles, purring.
What Helena had brought was far too important to simply gloss over.
If Rose examined it, she could figure out what Joel was plotting—decisive evidence that could prove his crimes.
'Good job, Helena.'
So that was all I could say, brief as it was, while looking her straight in the eyes.
'Haa….'
A wistful sigh escaped Helena's lips. She looked satisfied, yet there was a longing in her eyes that craved more.
'…Yeah. This'll do.'
Eventually, Helena murmured as if convincing herself. Her face looked strangely wistful.
"The transactions with Joel… they're here."
Lost in reminiscence, I was brought back to reality by Rose's voice.
"He traded bulk quantities of candles. Looking at the amounts, these weren't for personal use."
"I suspect they may have been supplied to Schmaichel Castle."
"Candles…."
Rose tapped her chin, deep in thought.
'Almost there.'
Rose had probably already formed a hypothesis in her mind. She just needed the evidence to prove it.
"Shall we head out? We need to inspect the mine."
"Ah, yes."
Rose gathered the items from the table and handed them to Helena.
"Put these in my bag. I'll examine them later."
The two of us stepped out of the office together.
"Your Excellency."
Matthias, who had been waiting outside, bowed his head. The way he kept cautiously glancing at me reminded me of a puppy that had soiled the floor.
"I plan to have a quick look around the mine with my wife."
"Yes, understood."
At the lack of any rebuke, color returned to Matthias's face. He took the lead, guiding us.
"Your Excellency."
"Welcome."
As we walked, miners and knights who spotted us offered their greetings. We acknowledged them lightly and kept moving.
"These are magic stones we recently mined."
The gallery foreman brought over a few magic stones wrapped in cloth.
"Whoa…."
Rose exclaimed repeatedly at the sight of the magic stones. Their vivid color and translucent sheen were unmistakably high quality.
"So this is what they look like freshly mined."
"That's right."
We walked a bit further, approaching the Gallery 13 entrance.
Iron barriers had been installed at the entrance, and wooden support pillars were set up to prevent Gallery 13 from collapsing.
"We recently reinforced the interior support pillars. Gallery 4, where the ceiling cracks had worsened, has been closed."
Listening to Matthias's explanation, Rose carefully inspected the Gallery 13 entrance.
"So this is the starting point…."
She appeared to be considering where to install the Magical Devices at various points.
Then she pointed to a specific spot.
"What are those?"
Blue-glowing lanterns had been placed throughout the mine. Some were also hanging from the miners' belts.
"Those are lanterns made from Wisp Velvet. That's what we call them, but my lady might know them by a different name."
Matthias answered.
"Mana-absorbing moss, that is."