Chapter 22

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“I got a reply this morning. Mining varies every month, but it is said to be around a ton unless there is any special change.”

At first glance, you may think that there are many, but considering that Full Moon Stone is distributed throughout the empire, it is not a very generous amount.

In addition, if I want to compress and form biological stones, the volume will be smaller.

“Well, Full Moon Stone is a rare mineral.”

According to the top, the amount will increase gradually because they are looking for a new mining site, but in fact, I am not sure. It’s not that easy to find a new mining site.

“I got it for now. Send my gratitude.”

“Yes. I’ll send him a reply by the end of the day.”

Monica calmly replied and wrote down the schedule in the notebook. I looked at her pleasingly due to her appearance.

As I always feel, our Monica is really good at work. She’s a talented person. Even though I can’t figure out her character.

Monica, who felt my deep gaze, looked up.

“Is there anything you want to say, miss?”

“Oh, never mind. Just continue what you’ve been doing.”

“Okay, I see.”

As expected, in the dictionary of Monica… there is no “Why?” and she just continued to take notes again.

While staring at her a little more, I turned to the documents related to Full Moon Stone.

“By the way, with this amount of mining…”

How much money can I save for a month? My forehead has seriously narrowed down. Recently, I realized that I liked money a lot.

No one in the world hates money, but I am so happy to live in this world because I was given a huge amount in just a span of time.

Who said money can’t buy happiness? As I live, money is enough. Capitalism, hooray.

At this point, I decided to forgive my old friend Zera for selling me off.

To be honest, isn’t 6,000 gold a bit of big money? When will commoners earn money and touch that kind of amount? If it’s that much, I’ll have to get it for now. Of course, I decided to pinch her cheek hard instead of my hair when I see Zera next time.

I am thinking that I am very generous and so I thought I’ll write down a letter.

“…It should not be like this. Should I really be sending a letter to Zera?”

At a sudden thought, I gently put down my pen. In other words, there is nothing I couldn’t contact.

Even if I was stabbed in the back by Zera and dragged like a dog to the capital, Zera’s intention was not bad. I took out a new piece of paper without hesitation.

It is easy to fill in the contents because there is no need for formal greetings between Zera and me.

After completing the letter in an instant, I fixed the envelope with sealing wax and handed it over to Monica.

“Monica? Send this to Zera in Ferron, in the eastern village.”

“Yes, my lady.”

If it’s Zera’s personality, she’ll reply within two days unless she screams somewhere.

I then started my listless work once again.

It is already dinner because I ate in-between, ate snacks, and spat out my heart a little because of Leonhardt who popped out of the window, swallowed it again, and had a busy day.

Monica left work first, was stuck in the office, and someone knocked on the door.

“My lady, can I come in?”

“Oh, Becky. Come on in.”

“Y-yes.”

Seeing her excited nasal voice, the lottery resulted in Becky’s victory. Isn’t it cumbersome for them to swallow whenever something happens?

“What’s going on?”

“A letter had arrived.”

“Huh? Already?”

It’s morning when I sent her a letter, but I already got a reply?

No matter how magical it is, it is extremely fast. But it’ll take half a day. It is almost as if she had sent it as soon as she had received it. Wow, Zera is fast. As expected, she really is impatient.

“She’s from the East, isn’t she? Give it to me.”

When I was reaching out with my hand, I paused before her response.

“No, it’s from the imperial family.”

“In the imperial family?”

“Yes. The messenger just came by.”

Becky, who nodded brightly, put the letter on the desk.

A gold seal was attached to the luxurious envelope.

In the middle, two lions that looked like they would eat each other were drawn. It really is the pattern that is meant for the Rohatin Imperial Family.

“…It is real”.

What’s going on in the imperial family? I opened the envelope without hesitation.

There was paper inside that looked as expensive as the envelope.

It was a letter paper poured with light pink water, and as soon as it was opened, a subtle flower scent bloomed. It’s really cool that a piece of paper is luxurious. As expected, people who have a lot of money make a fortune.

I slowly opened the paper while looking around.

Naturally, the first few lines were useless greetings.

I hope your family is peaceful and healthy, and the weather these days has been calm.

After skipping quickly, I went through the main topic.

「…so we would like to ask Amelia Cedric as a candidate for the Battle for the Empress’ Throne.」

Hmm, I’ve been working these days, so my eyes have become dimmed.

I rubbed both eyes and read the letter again.

「Candidates for the Battle of Empress Throne.”

“What kind of crazy—”

I didn’t misread it. It was the same after I checked it a few more times.

At the center of the letter, seven letters, “Candidate for the Battle of Empress Throne” were clearly written in the letter.

“What does this mean?”

While muttering absurdly, I recalled the fact that I had forgotten a few beats slowly.

… Right, the Imperial Family had issued something a while ago. Only then did I recall the contents of the original plot.

The male protagonist, that is, the emperor of Rohatin, is a figure who received the throne earlier after the Previous Emperor died.

The problem was this man is an excessive workaholic.

He went in and out of the country, having no partner, let alone empress, during the eight years of his reign, he strengthened the power of the imperial family and took care of the situation. And that was when he was 29 years old.

Because of this, the ministers’ worries had escalated.

Every day, they would rush to the emperor and scold him, saying something about the future of the empire.

The emperor, who couldn’t bear it, announced the Battle of Empress’ Throne.

Naturally, the nobles of the capital welcomed it in vehemently. There is a huge opportunity for all the outcasts of the imperial family to come back as a powerful one right after.

They all end up doing useless shoveling when Tricia appears anyway, but originally, humans wouldn’t know that for sure ahead of time.

All of the most prominent families put in their application, but only the Cedric Duchy was the exception.

At that time, Amelia was still missing, and my brothers were not the great men to put up with it.

In addition to exaggeration, it is more realistic for Leonhardt to dress up and raise the concern of reality.

“But why is this coming to me?”

Nevertheless, the deadline for the Selection should have ended a long time ago. It should be roughly around the time I was carrying laundry in the eastern village.

So it is right for me to be excluded from the candidate list at the very beginning.

“Is it possible to designate a candidate for the Selection in the imperial family?”

As far as I know, it’s not. The Selection is a form in which each family selected one candidate and put in the battle, and the imperial family gathered and examined them.

I’ve never heard of a letter flying directly from the imperial family like this.

“Lady, what’s wrong? Is there any bad news?”

Becky’s question came to me as she wrapped her arms around hers.

I looked at her with shaking pupils.

At that moment, something passed by my mind.

Wait, no way.

“…Becky.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“Is this letter only for me?”

“No, one went to the main building…”

Bang! Even before Becky’s words were over, the door of my office opened as if they wanted to break it.

The feeling of anxiety became a reality as it is.

It was none other than Bastian who opened the door. As if running straight from the office of the main building, he had not taken off his glasses.

I lowered my gaze slowly. He had the same letter paper I received in his hand.

I’m in trouble.

“…Amel.”

As he mumbled, Bastian walked in at once and stood in front of my desk. When he saw the letter in my hand, his expression hardened as cold as ice.

Phew, Bastian, who took a deep breath, reached out to me.

It was at that moment, his posture was so elegant.

“Will you give it to me?”

“What?”

“Give me that.”

He laughed with his lips quivering. If he didn’t give it to me right away, I am about to kill someone.

Honestly, I am a little scared. He is so scary.

I handed over the letter with a vague gesture. Bastian accepted it and tore it apart without any hesitation.

A bunch of flower-scented paper was scattered in the office.

…Cherry blossom ending?

By the time I was staring at them blankly, a low, subdued voice was stuck in my ear.

“That crazy b^tch.”

[t/n: Oh that word ‘b*tch’ is for dogs and not for women. He was referring to a man]

I think I just heard something incredible.

Obviously, Bastian cursed at the emperor with his own voice, right?

Looking at Becky, his eyes were wandering with a contemplated face. Close your eyes, Kim Becky.

It is fortunate that this is the annex. If it had been done outside, it would have resulted in imprisonment for insulting the royal family.

I didn’t want to break up with my blood relatives instantly.

“Um, brother.”

“Amelia.”

Bastian and my lips opened almost simultaneously.

It was the first time he called my name furiously.

You can kill people with your eyes. Didn’t Bastian have already sent about seven people to the underworld?

I closed my mouth tightly and gave him a heads up to tell me first.

Bastian raised the corners of his mouth visibly as if he was barely trying to find silence.

I’m sorry, but I feel like I’m living with a smile.

“Just pretend you didn’t see anything. You don’t have to remember this.”

“But…”

“It’s okay, I’ll take care of it.”

Bastian gritted his teeth and laughed. I’m most scared when my first brother says this.

However, because of the situation, I couldn’t answer anything.

What if he touches me and then he suddenly goes crazy and rushes into him?

It is possible enough for this crazy Bastian.

By the time there was an awkward silence, Becky intervened between us.

“… Um. Master, My Lady.”

She said cautiously.

Me and Bastian’s eyes went to Becky.

“What’s going on?”

Bastian’s low voice was laid out.

Becky, hesitating, took out another same letter from her arms.

Why is that coming out there again…?

“They said the first letter will be torn apart.”

“And there are 28 more cards left.”

Bastian’s expression became grim.