Hopefully, at Your Mercy - Chapter 25

Chapter 13.2

“Without magical power, you wouldn’t recognize them anyway. Haven’t I already confirmed their presence for you before?”

The man who had stepped forward, dismissing Delinda, was Crameld, a mage and an acquaintance of Lord Cavila.

With an irritated flick of his magic staff, Crameld sent a flow of magic into the walls of the mine. A faint glow appeared as the magic struck the rocks, causing small spots of light to flicker across the surface.

But the glow faded quickly. Looks like Crameld wasn’t skilled enough to maintain the magic for long.

“Look! The stones are reacting to the magic!”

Lord Cavila exclaimed excitedly.

Delinda had always suspected he might be a con-artist, though he was technically the son of the lord who owned this territory where the mine was located.

A few years ago, Cavila had been cast out of his family due to his gambling addiction, barely clinging to the title of “Lord” by the skin of his teeth.

One day, while he was bouncing between gambling houses, he received news that his father, the lord, and his two older brothers had died in a carriage accident. The man who had once gambled in the back alleys of the capital suddenly found himself the successor to the lordship.

Upon becoming the next lord, he quickly appointed a proxy to handle the affairs of the territory. He had no interest in spending his entire life stuck in a small, rural territory.

His plan was simple: the proxy would manage the territory, while he enjoyed a luxurious life in the capital, siphoning off the territory’s funds for his indulgences.

However, as the successor, he had to attend his family’s funeral. It was during that visit that a cave was discovered deep within the territory’s forest.

When he first saw the red gems embedded in the cave’s walls, he assumed they were rubies, but they turned out to be spirit stones. He recognized them because someone had once used one as collateral at a gambling table.

‘If only it had been a ruby mine instead.’

Spirit stones were rare, but they were difficult for ordinary people to handle.

Developing the mine required substantial funds, and finding proper distributors proved to be even more challenging. Without the right connections, selling them through conventional channels was nearly impossible.

After discovering the mine, Lord Cavila began searching for investors.

But who would trust a gambler who bounced from one gambling house to another and actually strike a deal with him?

Even the few who were willing to trust him offered outrageous deals, demanding full ownership of the mine in exchange for money. It was clear they were just opportunistic thieves.

That’s when he met Rose. Somehow, she’d gotten wind of his situation and offered to introduce him to Duke Schultz.

However, she made one thing clear. She didn’t care if he was pulling a scam, as long as he paid her fairly.

[The duke is a very honest, sincere, and benevolent man, so be sure to negotiate the contract carefully.]

Her words were veiled, but the message was clear.

Take the gullible duke for everything he’s got.

Lord Cavila felt a little insulted at Rose treating him like a con-artist.

But the terms were actually quite favorable for the duke, aside from the fact that the spirit stones were too scarce, the development costs were suspiciously high, and there was “that” condition.

“See here, Your Grace! Now you have your confirmation. Lady Delinda, you can see the glow coming from the spirit stones, can’t you?”

Lord Cavila proudly puffed out his chest.

Duke Schultz tightened his grip on Delinda’s hand as they walked through the cave. After taking a few steps deeper inside, the duke whispered to her in a low voice.

“Delinda, is there anything suspicious about this? I dismissed the incident in the drawing room the other day, thinking you were simply unwell…”

His voice was full of concern. When Delinda responded with, “Huh?” the duke repeated his question, still sounding worried.

“You confirmed it for me before, haven’t you? That the spirit stones here are indeed genuine?”

…What? I have?

Delinda pressed her hand against the cold cave wall, trying to make sense of what was happening.

The duke was now saying that his daughter, Delinda—the so-called “Foolish Noble Lady”—had confirmed the authenticity of these spirit stones.

But only someone with magical powers can detect the quality of spirit stones.

In other words, that meant Lady Delinda possessed magical powers, and the duke was aware of it.

And it seemed the duke was keeping her magical powers a secret from the world.

‘So it’s just like Prince Iskan said. Lady Delinda really does have magical powers. Does her father, the duke, know about it too? Is this a secret just between us?’