114. Diamond Mine (1)

Once upon a time, mineral therapy was a popular treatment method. It was a folk technique claiming that if patients carried minerals on their bodies, the bad energy causing illness would transfer to the stones, resulting in recovery.

Because of this, people began buying minerals one after another, and among them, transparent quartz was considered ideal for absorbing negative energy.

However, no matter how much quartz people carried around, illnesses didn’t heal. Thus, the mineral therapy trend ended, and simultaneously, quartz mines lost much of their value.

But now, Anette had ordered the purchase of a quartz mine that produced stones with no practical use.

〈Actually, that mine…… was part of the former Lady Pochet’s dowry. So…… my late Anette’s, I mean, our mother. Haha, our mother, yes. It was our mother’s dowry.〉

Instead of presenting logic, Anette rambled on.

〈When mother was dying, she said this mine should definitely be passed down to me, sob sob. So when I was getting married, I said, ‘Father, please include that mine in my dowry.’…… Sir Daniel knows too, right? That I don’t get along with my stepmother.〉

For a more dramatic explanation, she added this setup about the quartz mine owned by the Pochet family.

〈But seeing this, my stepmother whispered in my father’s ear that there must be something special about the mine since I insisted on having it…… No, no, my stepmother probably did that because she hates me. Mother, I’m sorry! You wanted to give it to me!〉

The contrast between the villainous Lady Pochet and Anette, the pitiful filial daughter. The narrative was perfect. Daniel was already crying.

Whether that mine was truly brought as a dowry by the former Lady Pochet or not, who cares.

It’s all lies anyway.

〈Sir Daniel, now you understand what this mine means to me, don’t you?〉

〈Sniff…… My lady. I will definitely return that mine to your arms! For the sake of the late Lady Pochet too!〉

If one were to investigate thoroughly, numerous facts would emerge—such as the mine not being part of Lady Pochet’s dowry, or Anette never actually requesting the mine be included in her dowry.

But Anette trusted Daniel.

Daniel respects me.

Likes me.

So even if there are some strange points in my story, he will believe me steadfastly!

* * *

Objective report? Value as a mine? What use are those? It originally belonged to Lady Anette, a precious mine left by her mother—of course it should be brought back to her!

“Your Grace, I have something to report.”

Before carrying out Anette’s order, Daniel didn’t forget to report to Darius first.

After hearing Anette’s heartfelt story from Daniel, Darius rubbed his face. His sculpted profile turned serious.

“No matter how much it costs, secure that mine. It belongs to my Anette. I will definitely return it to her, as it should be.”

“Yes, I won’t spare any expense either. Lady Anette’s precious memories come first.”

“Ah, when buying the mine, don’t use Inkheart’s name. Since they were so spiteful when she asked for it as part of her dowry, they might not sell if we express interest under our name. Just in case, use an intermediary for the transaction.”

“As expected of Your Grace. How thoughtful.”

Thanks to Anette’s outstanding performance, there was a crisis where they almost bought a “useless abandoned mine” for 100 times its market value, but fortunately, that crisis was averted by Nicola Graus’s timely intervention.

“Investment for increasing territory revenue? Are you crazy? How can a quartz mine generate profit in this day and age?”

“But Master Nicola! That abandoned mine may look like just an abandoned mine, but it’s actually not an ordinary abandoned mine. Inside it contains Lady Anette’s memories and her mother’s love for Lady Anette……!”

“What nonsense! An abandoned mine is just an abandoned mine! Who would pay money for garbage!”

“Sob, Master Nicola, you don’t know anything!”

“If you have that much money to spare, buy it at half price! No, a quarter of the price! It’s clearly a bad asset, so if you’re determined, you could get it for an eighth of the price!”

“No matter how capable Master Nicola is, what good is it! You only know numbers and don’t understand people’s hearts! That mine, that mine…… can’t be expressed in numbers!”

“Aish, stop whining! A man with a body as big as a mountain, crying like this!”

After Nicola, who couldn’t stand watching anymore, stepped in for the mine negotiations, the “quartz” mine in the South was transferred to Inkheart for one-eighth of its original price.

“Who on earth is the fool buying this useless mine even at one-eighth the price…… No, haha! This mine has a great location! You’re getting it at a really good price!”

Until the moment he stamped the sales contract, Marquis Pochet didn’t know who was buying his mine.

Of course, he also didn’t know that gems more valuable than gold would soon be extracted from it.

He thus unknowingly became the person who sold a diamond mine to his son-in-law for the lowest price in the kingdom’s history.

* * *

And so, through this process, I now held a large piece of quartz…… no, a diamond rough stone in my hand.

‘Is this…… a diamond?’

“Sniff, if your mother in heaven could see this sight, she would surely be relieved.”

Sir Daniel looked alternately at me and the glass lump…… no, diamond rough stone in my hand with reddened eyes.

“Anette, no matter what it costs, I’ll definitely give it to you, so if something like this happens again, please tell me first.”

As I watched Darius saying that no expense was too great for such matters, I suddenly felt a piercing gaze. The owner of that gaze was Nicola Graus.

“You really wanted this quartz mine.”

“Yes.”

“Reeeally?”

“Yes.”

“This quartz mine that the original owner happily sold for one-eighth the price?”

“……”

“My lady, if you admit now that it was for creating a secret fund, I’ll be lenient.”

The tax officer Nicola Graus hated nothing more than wasting money and illegal accumulation of wealth.

I had heard that even diamond rough stones go unnoticed by ordinary people, but when someone as sharp-eyed about money as Nicola Graus said this, somehow…….

‘Did I really just throw money into the air?’

I worried that I might have become a fool who paid money for a mere rock.

No, that can’t be. I believe in the original work. The original work wouldn’t have lied to me!

‘And be-be-besides, I haven’t tried cutting it yet!’

What made diamonds the queen of gems was the invention of the brilliant cut.

Throughout long history, the East valued jade while the West valued rubies or sapphires more highly.

That was until the brilliant cut was invented, fully revealing the light hidden inside diamond rough stones.

The brilliant cut removes more of the rough stone than previous cutting methods, but in exchange, makes diamonds shine the brightest.

“Boyer.”

I called for the blacksmith Boyer, avoiding Nicola Graus’s gaze.

In the original work, God pointed out which mine would yield diamonds and even taught the brilliant cut method to make diamonds shine brightest, but I had to figure it out on my own.

And that…… Boyer would discover it.

“As the best blacksmith in the North, I trust you and have a special task for you.”

How would he figure it out?

“In my dream, my mother specifically told me to entrust this quartz to you! She said something special would happen!”

“Y-your mother appeared in your dream, my lady?”

“Yes! Others may say this is just common quartz!”

Bang, I slammed the quartz…… no, diamond rough stone on the floor. Crack, the marble floor cracked.

Hmm, it is indeed a diamond rough stone. That’s a relief, truly.

“This hardness! This extraordinariness! And my mother’s words in my dream!”

As I waved the rough stone, Daniel quickly explained to Boyer beside me.

“Boyer. This quartz was meant to be inherited by my lady from her mother, but was taken away due to the heartless actions of those Southern people, and has only now been recovered from the mine. As she said, it’s a very special item.”

“I-I had no idea it had such a story. Now that I hear it, it does look different from ordinary quartz. As a blacksmith, when I look at it……”

Now’s my chance! Seeing Boyer already half convinced by the tragic story, I quickly interjected.

“Right? Even you can feel something special about it?”

“Huh? Y-yes, yes.”

“My mother’s foresight in specifically naming you in my dream was indeed correct.”

“Pardon?”

“Cut this. Make it sparkle. Brilliant cut…… well, anyway, even if less than one-tenth of the current size remains, that’s fine. Consider this practice material and experiment freely, just make sure the final product is properly submitted. Make this room filled with light, that’s all you need to do!”

“What?”

“Boyer, I believe in you! And so does my mother!”

I don’t have divine revelations like Evangeline, but I do have Anette’s mother’s name. I’m sorry, Anette’s mother whom I don’t even know properly.

‘It’s all being used for a good cause. So please understand.’

“You want me to cut this? Make it sparkle? This…… lump of stone?”

I ignored the confusion of Boyer, who had been summoned only to suddenly be entrusted with such an important task.