CH 36

In fact, these mines turned out to be diamond mines, and we bought them out at a bargain price.

Since ancient times, the Lund Kingdom was the richest on the continent in terms of diamonds.

Of the ten mines, two were occupied by the royal family, and the rest by the nobility and the rich.

But fortunately, the largest mine owner in the Lund Kingdom was now teetering on the edge of the battle for the succession.

This successor, in trouble, planned to secretly get rid of the mines, grab the money and flee.

After receiving this information, we shoveled all our money into a pile and secretly bought out three diamond mines. This was followed by explosive growth.

Having collected a considerable fortune and armed with the information coming to us, we invested in the felting craft of the Lund Kingdom.

The royal family wan’t interested in this area, but it was widely known among the people that the wool of the Lund Kingdom was good, so the results were not long in coming. Soon the wool of the Phoenix organization became very popular throughout the continent.

Others tried to imitate our craftsmen and copy their creations, but we were still the number one wool seller.

So, in 4 years we have become a colossus on our continent.

“After that… I’ll have to drink.”

Jed took a deep breath and straightened his back.

“Eli. I want to know what’s going on.”

I turned around after watching the scenery outside the window.

“I need news about Agrita Empire.”

Jed opened his eyes wide.

This is understandable. He never heard a word from me about Agrita Empire. He also didn’t know my background.

All he knew was that I was a native of Agrita.

He may have heard of their escaped empress, but it wouldn’t have occurred to him that she was standing right in front of that person.

As soon as I arrived in Lund Kingdom, the first thing I did was change the color of my hair and eyes.

Before leaving, my father gave me two bracelets that allow me to change the color of my hair and eyes.

One was for me and the other was for Carlisle.

I have had pink hair and brown eyes since I arrived in the Lund Kingdom, so Jed wouldn’t have noticed anything special about me.

Jed stared at me for a moment, asking for news of Agrita, once a taboo in our dialogue.

“News from Agrita? News in general? Or something specific?”

“Duke Croft. I need news about the Duke.”

When I gave out the answer, Jed’s face twitched. He immediately became interested in this case. After all, it was clear as day that I was looking for Croft for a reason.

Maybe now Jed will understand who I am.

And if so… Naturally, he will understand whose child Carlisle was.

The existence of Carlisle, which until now has been well hidden, will be known to others, but I still trust Jed.

He was no longer a stranger to me.

I knew him from the inside.

He rummaged through the papers on the table. Then he took out a few sheets and picked them up.

“Duke Croft has made a lot of noise in recent days. We receive a lot of information. All this is about the Duke.”

When he said that, goose bumps ran down my spine.

I was so hoping that nothing happened…

I slowly picked up the papers.

And the further I read, the harder it became on my soul.

Why is my foreboding always so accurate?

Jed asked anxiously when he saw my pale face.

“Eli, are you okay?”

My father’s position was not much better than I expected.

My father fell into a trap.

“…No, I’m not okay.”

However, my voice didn’t falter.

* * *

“Mom!”

I was standing in front of the academy in deep thought and then I heard Carlisle’s voice.

Looking up, I saw Carlisle jump out of the academy door.

“Everything is well?”

“Yes! It’s so good that my mother came for me!”

Carlisle laughed, unable to hide his excitement.

Stroking Carlisle’s hair, I took his hand.

“Today mom will buy you all the sweets you want.”

“Really?!”

Carlisle’s eyes widened.

“Yes.”

There was so much food in the market that Carlisle liked. From candied fruits to ice cream and delicious grilled duck kebabs.

This is a heavenly place for children with a sweet tooth.

Of course, this wasn’t a very healthy meal.

“Then can I have a barbecue, ice cream and sweet bread?”

However, Carlisle asked another question, folding his fingers one by one.

Those brown eyes looked at me full of expectation.

This is my baby and he is so cute.

If Carlisle had a tail, he would definitely wave it now.

I wanted to play with his puppy enthusiasm, but I held back.

“Ha. You can take what you want. But don’t eat too much of the bad stuff, okay?”

“Yes!”

Holding my hand tightly, Carlisle walked excitedly through the market.

At that moment, he was the happiest of all in recent times.

“Are you happy?”

Carlisle poked through the duck meat and laughed, vanilla ice cream in hand.

“Oh, yeah!”

His smile filled me with quiet awe. I brushed the sauce off Carlisle’s mouth and stroked his plump cheek.

“Mom, can we come here tomorrow and the day after tomorrow?”

With a twinkle in his eyes, asked Carlisle, taking a bite of ice cream.

It seemed that this young angel was deeply intoxicated by the taste of the enchanting market.

If Carlisle liked it, I could come here every day, but in light of the latest news, I was no longer so sure of it.

We may have to leave the Lund Kingdom.

“Okay… We’ll come again when there’s time.”

“When will be… yeah.”

Frustrated, Carlisle’s eyes lost their sparkle.

Maybe we don’t have to run again?

I looked up at the sky, which had already begun to darken.

Although it was safe here, it would be better not to walk the streets at night.

At that moment, when I thought that it would be nice for us to return home, I froze.

Carlisle stared off into the side.

Following his gaze, I discovered the following scene:

The child held his father’s hand, pointed at the doll and said:

“Dad, buy, please, buy it.”

“No. We just bought you some toys recently. Mom will scold us.”

“But I really want it.”

Is he older than Carlisle by a year or two? The father consoled the sad boy riding on his neck.

It was the daily life of a well-to-do family, and there was nothing special about it, but I felt my heart tremble.

Because I saw Carlisle looking at the boy with envy.

I knew that Carlisle was growing up little by little and interested in his father’s existence.

For Carlisle, the family was his mother and Helen, but the kids at the Academy had a mom and dad.

After entering the academy, he became especially curious.

“Where is my daddy.”

I couldn‘t lie to young Carlisle that his father was dead, but I said that he lives far away, because this was the situation of adults.

Like the warrior from the fairy tale I read to Carlisle, his dad travels to distant lands and does good deeds.

Since then, he hasn’t asked anything about his father, so I thought everything was okay… But it’s not.

My heart pounded faster at the sight of Carlisle, who could not take his eyes off that happy rich man.

“Carlisle, would you like me to invite Uncle Jed?”

Carlisle liked Jed.

His grim face brightened.

“This is great!”

“Good. Mom will invite Uncle Jed tomorrow. Then let’s go home.”

It was already dark, because for some time I stood there in prostration.

Urging on a breathless Carlisle, I energetically headed home.

“…And having defeated the villains, the prince finally returned to his rightful place. The only prince worthy of the crown became king. He put an end to the conspirators and became a fortress for the people who supported him in their time.”

Closing the storybook, I gently stroked Carlisle’s hair.

“…Did Mom and Prince live happily ever after?”

“Of course.”

“Then… When my dad defeats all the bad people, will he also live happily ever after with us?”

I couldn’t easily answer such a question.

We will never live together.

No matter what I say, it will hurt him. I don’t want to do this right now.

I smiled and tried to squeeze out a yes, but saw that Carlisle had already completely closed his eyes.