TVMS 27

CHAPTER 27

An undefeated card. In other words, a card that never loses.

What an appealing concept.

If it doesn’t lose, doesn’t that mean it either wins or draws? At the very least, a tie. That means… I might be able to avoid death.

So, if I use this well, I might find myself in situations where I can escape death.

“Huh, this is actually pretty impressive…”

With this new piece of information, the calculator in my head started ticking rapidly.

“……”

Seeing me sitting quietly with my mouth shut, they must’ve misunderstood and thought I wasn’t impressed.

Great-Aunt and the Grand Spirit spoke up in a rush.

“Of course, it all depends on how you use it. You can just forget about it if you’d like.”

“Right. Regardless, the ‘Lullaby of the World Tree’ is definitely a much better deal than the music box. Look at this, Lady!”

The Grand Spirit raised one hand, and a magical scroll materialized in the air.

The scroll unfurled before me, and I saw a list of prices.

Judging by the units, it seemed to be the price per unit. One, two, three, four… eight digits?

“What is this?”

“If you sign the contract, you’ll be given the mine— the one connected to the roots of the World Tree. This is the pricing chart for the ‘Lullaby of the World Tree’ that will be extracted from there.”

The Grand Spirit glanced at my expression, then added:

“Of course, for the only daughter of a wealthy noble family, this amount might not seem like much.”

“Ah, well…”

I was too flustered to respond properly.

Benjamin! Are you hearing this? Our 94th-ranked merchant group just hit the jackpot!

A scream of joy welled up inside me, but outwardly I seemed calm.

“And, Lady.”

The Grand Spirit continued eagerly, gauging my reaction.

“You just have to peel the ‘Lullaby of the World Tree’ off the wall. Compared to the music box, which requires sourcing materials and crafting each piece, this is far less trouble—yet the price is incomparable.”

Great-Aunt chimed in from the side.

“Didn’t you say earlier that you wanted a modest but stable and lucrative business?”

“That’s right! Look at this!”

The Grand Spirit snapped his fingers.

The magical scroll transformed into something like a classroom blackboard. Items began appearing on it in rapid succession.

“First. ‘Modest’? There are only two clients in the entire empire, so what could be more modest than that?”

“Second. ‘Stability’? Do we even need to say it? There are no competitors. You’re the sole operator in the entire empire. It’s a perfect monopoly. As long as the clients exist, demand will never dry up—it’s like an eternal spring.”

“Third. ‘Profitability’? Don’t even get me started. Look at Great-Aunt. She earned a comfortable living from this until she turned seventy. And if you ever feel like your allowance is running low, just hike the price a little. What are they going to do? You’re the only supplier.”

“Exactly! And while the contract has to be signed with the Crown Prince brothers, after that, you can use a representative. You don’t even need to meet face-to-face.”

“Above all…”

As if that weren’t enough, they pulled out their trump card.

“Have you thought about how delighted your father, Duke Carnell, would be?”

“That’s right! His daughter from the 94th-ranked, F-grade merchant group suddenly lands a top-secret royal contract, which was the hottest topic of the conference—and under such favorable terms?”

“He’ll fall out of his chair in shock! Hey, Lady. Don’t you want to see your stoic father completely stunned?”

“Forget all that—I’ll even beg if I have to. Please take this on. If you don’t, the World Tree and everything will just up and leave this realm. I’m serious, it’ll really leave!”

I flinched in surprise.

“Wait, no need to go that far…”

Was my expression really that sullen? They were pulling out all the stops to convince me.

“Alright, alright. You don’t have to push so hard. I was already thinking this might be worth doing.”

“Right?!”

The two elders lit up.

“Smart choice, Lady!”

“Then shall we summon the Crown Prince brothers? Is that okay?”

“Yes.”

I nodded.

Great-Aunt immediately opened the door and beckoned to Aldensis and Zikren.

“Lady Aristina has agreed. Isn’t that wonderful?”

Their eyes turned to me. Then Aldensis gave a respectful nod.

“Thank you, Lady.”

“No need to thank me. I just made a decision that benefits me.”

I responded calmly.

Shortly after, the contract was placed on the desk. Following the usual protocol of reviewing the terms, I pressed my seal firmly onto the document.

After completing the contract, we scheduled our next steps and future appointments.

Then, after bidding farewell to everyone, I left the Silver Dove Palace.

‘I’m exhausted.’

Only once I was alone did the fatigue finally hit me.

Too many things had happened in one day. I needed time to sort them out in my head.

‘I should contact the merchant group to let them know I signed the contract…’

But contacting them at this hour would make me look like a ruthless merchant boss.

Since it was late, I decided to head home first.

“Take me home.”

“Yes, milady.”

The coachman immediately steered the carriage.

Lost in thought, we soon arrived at the ducal estate.

I expected it to be shrouded in darkness, as usual. But to my surprise, the entire mansion was brightly lit.

‘Hmm?’

As soon as I got off the carriage, the head butler came rushing over.

“Milady! You’ve returned! The Duke has been anxiously waiting for you!”

“Father?”

Ah, right. With the ducal family’s intelligence network, word must have already reached him.

So that’s why he’s been waiting for me? Well, it was a huge success.

I walked into the mansion like a triumphant general. I headed straight to Duke Carnell’s office.

But then—

“Milady has arrived.”

As the head butler opened the office door for me, a chilling air swept over me.

‘Huh?’

Duke Carnell sat at his desk, arms crossed, staring straight at me. His eyes demanded an explanation.

Did I… do something wrong? I couldn’t think of anything.

“What’s going on?”

As I hesitantly approached, the Duke slid a piece of paper across the desk toward me.

It was a newspaper article.

…Aristina Bianca Rosen, infamous for her constant scandals, has once again drawn public ire for her senseless donation of one hundred million perels to the notorious Elf Cult…

Gasp.

I was too stunned to speak.

‘Those damn reporters!’

The Duke spoke coldly to me, who had gone speechless.

“When I told you to curb your spending, you said, ‘Yes, yes,’ but I guess you really resented it, huh? Is this your way of rebelling?”

That’s not it…

Knowing he hated excuses, I didn’t even try to explain. Instead, I quietly pulled out a document from my bag and placed it on the desk.

The title was printed boldly at the top, and my personal seal as the Rosen family’s daughter was stamped at the bottom.

Right beside it were the distinct golden dragon and red dragon seals.

“……?”

The Duke’s eyes widened.

“What is this?”

How could he not know by looking?

Perhaps his brain had frozen for a moment, because he asked in a puzzled tone.

“Exactly what it says.”

I shrugged.

“I won this contract at the merchant council. Originally, I applied for something else, but I ended up passing a secret trial and securing a deal with the royal family. Donating to the Elf Cult was part of a task they gave me—I had no choice.”

Confusion filled the Duke’s face as he listened. He really didn’t know anything about it.

I was surprised.

“I thought you already knew…”

His face flushed red.

“How would I know? You came home late last night and went straight to bed without reporting anything.”

Wait, what? The lights were off last night—was he actually waiting for me to report?

‘But I was sure…’

Didn’t he have Eunice track my movements?

Eunice is an excellent chief aide—he’d definitely have figured out a lot.

At the very least, it shouldn’t have been this much of a surprise.

‘Was that person not Eunice…? Did I mistake someone else for him?’

I briefly entertained the doubt—but it didn’t make sense. I was certain.