My family has always been religious, making constant offerings to the temple.
I have not.
Anyway, when the Great Hall burned down, my family made a large donation to restore the temple, and in return, the temple gave the Lockharts a great gift.
Much of the land has been set aside so that only members of the Lockhart family will have access to the cemetery where the bodies of our people lie forever.
It is a place that is forbidden to enter, even to priests, and only the closest members of the Lockhart family can enter.
Years ago, I found a flower blooming in that large area of land.
The windswept weeds had dispersed their seeds, some of which had taken root around the cemetery.
Most of them were rare herbs that grew in the temple.
Cassion rubbed his eyes and turned to me, his mouth open in disbelief.
I can get robbed and lose money, but no one will steal my bunches of seeds and grass.
So that was my safe haven.
Cassion, who was still surprised, looked at me in disbelief.
“Do you boldly declare that you stole your family’s property?”
“Those seeds don’t belong to the temple, so they have nothing to do with the empire, and nothing to do with my family.
I personally took them from the temple.”
There was nothing wrong with that.
The temple owns the property.
The temple had given us the land.
“My parents don't even know I got it.”
“What do you really want?”
I opened the bag up and down.
“I have some Cyristella seeds, and I have an improved variety, number B-1367.”
“…….”
Then a wave of laughter exploded.
Cassion threw his head back and laughed loudly.
Cassion shook himself and wiped the tears from his eyes.
"I can see why Dale can't live with himself.
It must be hard to get bored with the princess by his side."
Cassion chuckled and wiped the smile off his face.
“I understand.
Let's make a deal.”
Cassion said as he squatted down and moved to the other side.
His eyes were sharp and his gaze was full of interest.
"You won't simply give it to me.
What does a princess expect from me?"
Cassion was as sharp as I expected.
“The moment you take it, you will be the one who deceived the Emperor.”
“For now, I will be, because I will pay you, and I have no pretense that the land belongs to the temple.”
“Tell me everything you know about the Emperor.”
Cassion was the emperor's man, and was inclined to loyalty.
“……What do you want to know about His Majesty?
Perhaps the princess knows more than I do.”
“I don't even know the Emperor's real name or what he looks like.”
"Good……."
Cassion raised an eyebrow suspiciously.
“I understand, please tell me, Princess Lockhart.”
“Well, I should marry the Emperor, but I'm in love with Dale, he's a commoner, and we're friends, so we have something in common: we have to protect him from the Emperor.”
"……Yes."
Cassion shook his head and wrapped his arms around his head, his body trembling like an aspen as if he was about to cry.
Was he overreacting?
What's wrong with him?
Was he that afraid of the Emperor, or because he was so close to him?
“So tell me everything you know about the Emperor so I can avoid him, and then we can find a way to keep Dale safe?”
"exactly."
“Oh, is this really…….”
Cassion gritted his teeth and wiped away a tear.
I think I heard a giggle coming out of his mouth?
“I could get in trouble if I do this wrong.”
He held his head as if it was a bit annoying.
“Well, then, what's the price?”
Cassion wrote the number two on a piece of paper and held it up.
two?
Two million?
“For what, the seeds that will save the lives of the tower wizards and the Marquis?”
“This is the price of one seed.”
“However, two million is a bargain, and I am not in business.”
“Who said 2 million?”
Cassion motioned for me to calm down and sit down.
He straightened two fingers.
“Twenty million.”
“...!”
“Wouldn't it be worth it?”
Cassion's smile was suspicious, and I was still not convinced that he was going to do me a favor, but there were some things in this world that didn't lie.
the money.
I wouldn't say no.
I extended my hand to show him.
“Twenty five hundred.”
“2200.”
“Twenty five hundred.”
“Twenty three hundred.”
"amazing."
Cassion's eyes lit up as she took his outstretched hand.
“I haven't seen someone as evil as you in a long time.”
"and."
She gently released Cassion's hand.
“There is another condition.”
“This is not fair……”
"What?
If I do that, am I out of a job?”
“…….”
A faint remorse appeared on Cassion's expression.
* * *
From one corner of the dark Grunwald Forest, a green light spread like a veil and disappeared in an instant.
Dale, who had been using the scroll to travel long distances, stumbled momentarily from his upright position.
“It's still there.”
He felt better for a moment, but his physical condition did not recover.
Dale sighed, feeling an uncomfortable rage in his weak body.
However, Enya is here.
He always came back to Enya's side, and now he was glad that he could.
Even if he couldn't come out and say he was the emperor.
“Very cute……!
Is this all you have?
Is there more?
He heard Enya's voice when he arrived home.
It's impossible for her to be home alone and talk to someone.
“Isn’t it nice to have something like this?
The princess has nothing and wants a lot.”
“I'm not treating you like this, have you forgotten that we haven't written our contract yet?”
“This is what the world calls theft when it comes to someone like a princess.”
It was very clear to him.
Bang!
Sensing something was wrong, Del opened the door to see Enya and Cassion pulling out a piece of paper in each hand.
“Dale!”
Enya greeted him with a wide smile.
The paper went straight to Enya.
Enya won.
Aaah!
The force caused Enya to fall, and Dale rushed to catch her just as she was about to fall.
“Ouch……, thanks for catching me!”
“You came early today, didn't you?”
Stunned, Dale took off his jacket and handed it to the servant.
While Dale shook his head in confusion, the servant explained the general situation to him.
He also told him that the Marquis of Cassion came to the house a long time ago.
Dale's feeling of being on top of the world turned to resentment as he came down to earth.
“Why are you two together?”
At the time he wasn't sure.
Enya and the strange man are alone.
He didn't know what happened, but what he saw now stuck in his mind.
Their conversation seemed very normal.
It was only their third meeting, and they seemed to bond more quickly than before.
For a moment, the blood in Dale's neck rose, but he remained outwardly calm.
“Enya, did Marquis Cassion Schultz break into the place?”
“No, he had some business to do with me, merchant to merchant, something like that.
Ha-ha-ha.”
She hid something behind her body.
He didn't know what it was, but it was clearly something important, and something she couldn't show him.