Still with half-unfocused eyes, Valen stuck his head out.
After checking Liselotte’s now-clean hand, he wrinkled his nose and muttered gruffly.
“See? I told you divine power was clean. Good thing it didn’t leave a scar.”
Maybe the sight of people huddling around Liselotte and whispering was bothering him.
Virki, who had been blinking at her with tear-soaked eyes, had somehow moved to stand in front of her.
Suddenly wedging himself between Eren and Liselotte, he tightly hugged Liselotte’s arm and looked up at her pitifully.
“Lise, healing magic stones are really good too.”
Perhaps thinking she showed more interest in divine power, he was desperately trying to promote the magic stones.
That sight made him seem a bit like a child, which was also cute.
Liselotte gently patted his head as if soothing him.
“I know. I like healing magic stones too.”
“Hey, Lise. I don’t have to supply magic stones to House Gloria anymore, right?”
“…I suppose so? Since the contract was terminated.”
After glaring at Brody once, Virki clung to Liselotte’s arm and shook it as if hanging onto it.
“There are tons of lower-grade magic tools that come out while making high-grade magic tools at the Magic Tower. Do you want them, Lise?”
No matter how much they were called lower-grade magic tools, if they were made by the Tower Master, they wouldn’t be shoddy tools.
In the first place, the more magic tools there were, the better.
There were more than enough people in the North who could use them even if Liselotte didn’t use them herself.
“Really?”
There was no reason to refuse when someone was offering.
When Liselotte asked again casually, Virki grinned.
“Yeah. You didn’t even take a commission fee, Lise. And the Eastern region you asked for instead of the commission fee is a pretty useless area anyway.”
As Eren approached, Virki skillfully grabbed Liselotte’s arm and spun halfway around.
Liselotte quickly pulled on Eren’s clothes with her free hand.
When she sent him a look saying she would handle it herself, Eren’s eyelids trembled slightly.
He looked displeased, but instead of reaching out, he clenched his hand into a tight fist.
Liselotte smiled brightly at Virki and asked again.
“Really? You don’t have to take care of me like that…”
“For Lise, an exclusive contract would be fine. But add a special clause that the contract is terminated if Lise isn’t there.”
“Hm… instead of that kind of special clause, how about a contract that stays valid as long as I visit the Magic Tower regularly? And when it comes time to renew, you can end it whenever you want, Virki.”
She was going to get divorced later anyway.
If the contract with the Magic Tower were to fall apart just because she was gone, wouldn’t that be a nuisance?
Virki had been scared of Eren at first, but now he seemed to be getting fairly used to him.
She believed that if they spent enough time together, he would realize that Eren was a completely different kind of person from Duke Gloria.
At her suggestion, Virki’s expression brightened.
“Visiting the Magic Tower regularly? I like it!”
She planned to have the contract written up cleanly.
To the point that it could be used as a standard for future dealings with the Magic Tower.
Liselotte smiled as she brushed down his fine, long hair.
“Then I’ll draft the contract later and send it to you.”
***
The Grand Duke estate had been noisy since morning.
All the servants were hovering around the front of Liselotte’s room.
Beyond the wide-open doorway, the piles of magic tool boxes stacked high captured everyone’s attention.
Among the magic tool boxes, Ail was smiling so brightly that the corners of his mouth nearly reached his ears.
He looked down at the contract in his hand and muttered.
“This is truly…”
His sparkling eyes looked as though he were gazing at a beloved lover.
Flash, Ail lifted the contract with both hands, his voice filled with emotion.
“A magic tool exclusive contract…!”
For some reason, even his skin seemed to be glowing more than usual.
The eyes visible behind his glasses were also sparkling more than usual.
Carefully tucking the contract against his chest, Ail took out a bundle of letters tied with a string and showed them.
Inside the room, he respectfully presented the bundle of letters with both hands to Liselotte, who was sitting across from Eren at the tea table.
“Your Highness. Do you see this? These are all requests to do business with House Keilos going forward.”
“I see… that was really fast, Ail.”
“The Magic Tower even said they would supply those expensive healing magic stones anytime as long as we provide the materials. Isn’t that incredible?!”
“Yes, it is. You really do look happy.”
It wasn’t only Ail who was happy.
The servants who had gathered to watch were all staring at the magic tools.
Because they were items too expensive to be commonly used, it seemed everyone found having such a large quantity of magic tools unfamiliar.
Liselotte opened one of the boxes that had taken over the table and rummaged through it.
“Let’s see…”
She took out a white, round, orb-shaped magic tool and gestured to the garden maid who was waiting.
“M-me?”
As the maid approached hesitantly, Liselotte placed the magic tool into her arms.
“This would be good to place in the garden or along the walking paths. It regulates the surrounding temperature.”
“Wow! I’ll install it today!”
“This one can identify whether food contains poison. It would be good to place it in the dining room.”
“Wooow. Your Highness, are we really allowed to use something like this?”
“Of course. It is not a high-grade magic tool, just a lower-grade one. The Tower Master basically discarded it to me.”
She also handed one to Marsha, who had been watching with curiosity from the side.
“This one prevents blisters from forming on your hands. You work so hard already, Marsha, so it would be good for you.”
“Your Highness…!”
Perhaps overwhelmed while pouring tea, Marsha covered her mouth with her hand as if she were about to cry.
“Shouldn’t Your Highness be the one to use it instead? Your skin is delicate, so you get hurt even from the slightest touch…”
‘They say people from the North even have different skin…’
At Marsha’s remark, Eren, who had been sipping his strong tea, slid his gaze toward Liselotte.
Feigning ignorance shamelessly, she forced it into Marsha’s hands.
“It is fine. I have healing magic stones.”
“The Magic Tower really is different. Even if it’s called lower-grade, this would still be worth quite a lot…”
Despite what she said, Marsha seemed secretly pleased.
Meanwhile, Eren’s expression as he stared at the boxes filled with magic tools was nothing but serious.
Because of that, even after receiving magic tools, the servants suppressed their joy, read the room, and quickly left the room.
Unable to watch any longer, Liselotte let out a sigh and asked only after the servants had disappeared.
“Eren, why are you fighting with the magic tools? Relax your eyes.”
“…Do you like magic tools?”
“There’s no reason to dislike them, is there?”
Most people probably liked them.
But Eren’s expression, which had grown serious along with the question, showed no sign of easing.
It was a stark contrast to Ail, whose face seemed to be glowing.
“Alright, we’ll classify the magic tools by product and distribute them according to their intended use.”
Following Ail’s instructions, the servants carried away the boxes of magic tools once the sorting was finished.
Watching them, Liselotte made a small gesture.
“Ail. Go out and tell Hedmilton to send a response to the damages lawsuit regarding the joint subjugation with House Gloria.”
“Ah, so you are planning to wrap up that lawsuit as well. Understood.”
“And the work related to the joint subjugation that I am currently handling, I would like you to take over from now on.”
No sooner had she finished speaking than both Ail and Eren looked at her at the same time.
Was it really something that drew attention so instantly?
Ail, whose eyes had been sparkling with excitement just moments ago, wiped it away and placed a hand over his chest as he asked politely.
“It does not matter to me since it is work I have been doing originally… but did something happen all of a sudden?”
Well, because the handover needed to be done cleanly to avoid problems later.
That was also why she had changed Virki’s proposed special clause to one where Liselotte would visit regularly instead.
It would be troublesome if the support suddenly stopped.
“For now, I will focus on wrapping up the lawsuit with the East. As for the controlled area, Hedmilton will organize and hand over the report.”
Satisfied by the excuse she had prepared in advance, Ail accepted it without resistance.
“Ah, right. You do have so much work. I understand. Please do everything you want to do, Your Highness. Please do it all.”
He bowed deeply and left the room with the servants without a hint of suspicion.
However, Eren’s gaze remained fixed on her.
Worried that he might notice something, Liselotte smiled brightly and told him her plans.
“Eren, I asked my brother to help arrange a teatime with Father. When he contacts us later, we can go together.”
