Chapter 108
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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Chapter 108
[Do you wish to meet me?]
A single new sentence had been added to the end of the letter.
"I want to meet you!"
Edwin clutched the note tightly in his hand as he cried out to the man.
He was the only person who understood my heart. Edwin refused to lose this man who had offered him solace and compassion.
"How can I meet the person who sent this letter? You know, don't you, sir?"
Edwin's gaze fixed upon the man with desperate intensity.
"Yes, of course I know. I also know the means by which to free Edwin from loneliness."
"Really?"
"Naturally."
Edwin's face brightened at the man's smile.
"Please let me meet the person who sent this letter! I want to become close with them!"
"That is hardly difficult. However, there is one thing you must observe, young master."
"What is it?"
"You must never let this letter be discovered. Both its contents and the fact that you have met with me must remain secret."
"I won't tell anyone. I've even hidden it deep beneath my bed, for fear someone might find it."
"Well done."
"So now you'll arrange for me to meet the person who sent this letter?"
"Before that."
The man bowed toward Edwin and raised his index finger.
"First, allow me to show you the way to ensure Edwin is never lonely again."
"What way is that?"
Edwin stared at the man with an expression mingling anticipation and tension.
"It is to eliminate Lucella and Lucian."
"Eliminate?"
Confronted with an answer he had never anticipated, Edwin's head tilted in confusion.
"What do you mean by eliminating people?"
"Precisely as I say. To remove them from this world permanently, so they can never appear before Edwin again."
"Permanently...!"
Understanding the implication, Edwin's face drained of color in shock.
"No, I don't want that!"
Edwin shook his head vigorously.
Though the resentment he harbored toward Lucella and Lucian was immeasurable, he had never once imagined them being removed from his presence.
They were his benefactors, after all.
They had not merely extracted him from the dark, cold Orphanage—they had restored to him his father and a warm home.
Even setting aside those reasons, such a thing was utterly unacceptable.
"People are not objects."
How could one speak of people as though they were toys to be tidied away?
"Yet it is the only means by which to free Edwin from loneliness, is it not? Those two are the very source of your suffering."
"That's...."
Edwin couldn't respond readily. Most of the alienation and loneliness he felt stemmed from those two people, after all.
"If you don't help remove those two people, the letter's author won't reveal themselves."
"How could such a thing exist!"
"Because that's the condition the letter's author has set for me."
The man gestured toward the letter with his chin. Fearing it might be snatched away, Edwin crumpled the letter tightly in his hand.
The letter's author was the only person who had ever understood his heart.
I couldn't lose the opportunity to gain a true friend like this.
"But...."
Unable to bear Edwin's continued hesitation, the man played his trump card.
"Are you truly content to lose Miss Agris?"
"That's——!"
At this, Edwin's head, which had been bowed toward the floor all along, snapped up.
"Surely you've heard the rumors, Lord Edwin. That Miss Agris and Lucian may become engaged."
The marriage prospects between Amelia and Lucian. This was Edwin's greatest concern.
"Even if those two don't become engaged, you'll lose Miss Agris to the young master regardless. That is, if Marquis Agris marries Lucella Rilprey."
"...."
"Not only will you suffer alienation, but you'll also lose your position as head of the household. And on top of that, you'll lose your only friend, Miss Agris."
"...."
"Are you truly content with all of this?"
Edwin's pupils trembled.
Nothing else mattered. Only Amelia, only and solely Amelia....
"...I'll think about it."
At the answer that finally escaped, the man's lips curved upward.
"Then let us meet again once you've made your decision."
With those words, the man abruptly took his leave.
"Sigh...."
Edwin gazed at the spot where the man had been and his expression crumpled.
I thought I'd finally escaped loneliness, yet here I was alone again.
* * *
"Did you stay up all night, Lucella?"
"Not exactly. I just tossed and turned a bit."
"Your eyes look hollow."
"Haha."
I offered an awkward smile to the maid's concerned words.
Ever since Claude delivered that whirlwind confession and departed, I hadn't slept a wink.
Whenever I tried to sleep, Claude would flood my mind, my heart would race, and my face would burn. I found myself repeatedly kicking the poor blankets in frustration.
Even after I managed to calm my racing heart, sleep remained elusive. There were far too many worries weighing on me.
If Claude and I truly were to marry, what would become of Lucian's future? How would the original story—which I'd thought would proceed smoothly—unfold? And countless other concerns.
As I wrestled with these practical worries, morning had already arrived.
After careful deliberation, I arrived at a single conclusion.
'For now, I must focus solely on raising Lucian properly and establishing him as the heir to the House of Bellomen.'
Was this the moment to turn my attention to men? After the Duke of Bellomen's spectacle at the Banquet Hall, nothing mattered more to me than solidifying Lucian's position.
"Today's newspaper, ma'am."
At the timely words, I emerged from the thoughts that had consumed my mind.
"Thank you for your trouble."
I accepted the newspaper from the maid. Shortly after, a maid brought me a perfectly brewed cup of black tea.
I sipped the tea and unfolded the newspaper.
The front page carried a story about the Emperor dispatching an investigation team to the Monster Forest.
'Soon enough, the truth about the vast quantities of mana stones buried in the Monster Forest will be revealed.'
Beyond that, various stories about politics and culture greeted me with the scent of ink.
However, those were not the areas that captured my interest.
"Let me see..."
I quickly flipped through the newspaper and opened the economics section. There, alongside various economic news, I found reports about newly promising ventures.
'I need to find a business worth investing in.'
I carefully read through the newspaper, drawing upon the original work's content.
For Lucian to become the next Duke of Bellomen, merely possessing mana stones would not suffice.
The land granted to Lucian and me was not particularly vast. This meant the quantity of mana stones would be limited.
To properly utilize them, I would need to invest the mana stones wisely and expand our influence. Only then could I create a decisive gap between Lucian and Edwin.
'The business that flourished in the original work... I found it.'
As I carefully scanned the economics section, my eyes widened upon seeing an advertisement on the final page.
[Ollender Furniture Company, seeking investors.]
The Ollender Furniture Company was a furniture business operated by Count Ollender.
Count Ollender, ambitious about his ventures, had pooled all his available funds and even taken out loans to launch a new business. It was the appliance industry.
He released a cooling wind magical device as a solution for comfortable summers. It was a concept similar to a fan from my previous life.
Upon its release, it garnered considerable attention, and Count Ollender soon amassed tremendous wealth.
However, the path to releasing the cooling wind magical device was far from smooth.
Not only were mana stones as raw materials expensive, but the labor costs of mages who infused magic into the stones were astronomical. It was only natural, as mages were premium talent.
Moreover, Count Ollender lacked proper investors. The nobility was too busy ridiculing his business venture as absurd.
This was why it took considerable time before the cooling wind magical device was released.
How could a mere reincarnator like myself know all this?
'Because there was a scene where Edwin purchased over a hundred cooling wind magical devices for Amelia, who disliked the heat.'
True to his nature as the original work's male lead, Edwin never spared expenses for his woman.
Under the pretext of caring for Amelia, he committed the extravagance of covering the entire bedroom ceiling with cooling wind magical devices.
'Back then, I clicked my tongue at such wasteful spending. Who knew it would prove so useful.'
Edwin, I'm sorry for cursing you.
I copied the address listed at the bottom of the advertisement onto paper.
Money and mana stones were important, but I intended to provide Count Ollender with the most crucial investment.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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