Chapter 79
"Mine...?"
Violet asked back blankly.
"Yes, mine. I’m going to buy a mine in the name of Pellet Company, Violet."
"Oh, yes...."
The answer was yes, however, his face showed that she didn’t understand.
That’s understandable.
"I know, mines are expensive."
That’s right.
A mine has a similar price to a single estate.
Depending on what is buried, there are times when the difference is several times.
"I’m sorry, Lady Florentia."
Violet raised one hand carefully.
"What kind of mine do you have in mind?..."
"It’s a coal mine."
"Oh, I don’t know if that’s possible."
Violet seemed to be calculating the amount of money I gave her when I opened this Pellet Company.
"I’m not going to use the Pellet Company’s money, Violet."
"But even a relatively cheap coal mine would cost a thousand gold."
The monthly wage of ordinary workers without special expertise is about three silver.
And when 40 silver pieces are gathered, they are worth gold.
In this situation, I get 8 gold per month just by breathing as Lombardy.7
After adulthood, this money rose to 20 gold.
Of course, the money I need to live a basic life is one thing.
Since I was born, this money has been steadily piling up in my safe at the Lombardy bank.
After my father’s ready-to-wear business started and made Clerivan my man.
I left all the money I had saved to Clerivan and invested it at the Gallahan clothing store.
And the result, of course, was very successful.
"Clerivan, do you have enough money?"
I looked back at Clerivan, who was enjoying tea scents and asked.
"Well, it doesn’t matter if the price of the mine doesn’t exceed 3000 gold. If it goes beyond that, it takes about a month to raise funds. We have to make it cash."
"That’s fine."
Violet looked stunned when she heard me and Clerivan talking casually.
"3000 Gold..."
He murmured quietly as if that money wasn’t real.
I guess she still needs a little time to get used to it.
"Anyway, if we’re going to carry out the businesses we’re thinking about in the future, we should take this opportunity to raise funds."
With this single investment, Pellet Company will be one of the best in the Empire.
I assure you.
Clerivan asked me, smiling significantly.
"You have a mine in mind."
As expected, Clerivan.
He’s good at reading my mind.
"An old coal mine in the Lira region in the northwest would have been auctioned off. It belongs to the Lencanta family. The size of the mine itself is quite large, but the expectation of the amount of coal left over is very low."
In my previous life, the story of the Lira mine was quite famous and was talked about for a while to shake the entire empire.
The Lencanta family, which owned the Lira region, did not harvest properly due to the continuing drought.
However, they had to pay fixed taxes to the Royal Family every year, so they borrowed a fortune from other nearby families.
In order to pay off the increasing debts, the coal mine, one of its old assets, is auctioned off.
It’s such a poor coal mine.
The last time they did mining was decades ago.
But, a gemstone, which had never been found before, is buried beneath this old coal mine.
A gem that, when polished by a proper craftsman, is the kind of jewel that everyone aspires to obtain, regardless of the Imperial Family or Aristocracy.
"At that rate, it would be a successful bid with 1,000 golds."
Violet, who seemed a little alert, said in a cautious voice.
"If we don’t have a competitor, we might be able to lower 600 gold."
Clerivan was also optimistic.
But I shook my head.
"2000 gold."
The original winning bid was 1800 gold.
I was just going to put 200 gold higher.
It was a simple auction where each person was given only one chance to bid, so it was easy to win the bid if you knew how much the other person would spend.
"You’ll have to spend about 2,000 gold to win the bid."
"What?"
Two people were surprised.
"It’s not worth 2,000 gold for an old coal mine, Lady Florentia."
Clerivan stopped me.
Of course.
If it was a newly discovered coal mine, there would still be a lot to be excavated.
2,000 gold is too much.
"You said it a little while ago. If you don’t have a competitor, you can lower the price."
That was what Clerivan said a little while ago.
"There will be competitors on the contrary, so we can’t help but go up in price."
"No matter how competitive they are..."
"Angenas will bid for it."
In my previous life, it was Angenas who won the mine and hit a huge jackpot.
It was thanks to the jewels found in Lira that Empress Rabini continued to maintain her power and bribe the nobles to empower Astana even though her relationship with the Emperor gradually deteriorated.
The office became quiet.
Then Clerivan gulped.
"Certainly, if you’re going to deal with Angenas, you’re going to have to risk that much bleeding..."
Angenas has recently been rapidly growing in size with aggressive investments in mining.
"Maybe it’s not just a coal mine?
"Why do you think so, Violet?"
"Angelas already has enough coal mines. Even if there’s a coal vein that hasn’t been discovered yet, there’s no reason for Angenas to overdo the cost of development."
Violet with her fingers on her chin began to think aloud.
"But it’s common to secretly send a specialist to re-evaluate the mine before you go to auction. You may have other information that the Lencanta’s don’t know."
I watched Violet’s deduction with pleasure.
"Gold mines? But gold mines will be more aggressive. We’ll have to get it somehow. However, considering that the winning bid is ambiguous, I don’t think they want to show it as much as possible....."
And I could see one realization on Violet’s face.
"..."
But Violet rather shut her mouth.
So I told it on behalf of her.
"Iron ore."
"But iron ore..."
"It’s an unauthorized possession to Angenas."
Iron ore, a military resource, was mostly subject to the Imperial monopoly.
When iron ore was found in their lands, they were often rewarded to the Imperial Family, raised the title, or granted another land.
Of course, Angenas did not do that.
They did not release the mine because of the low iron reserves, and officially became a family that owned an iron.
"But what I want is not iron ore."
In the first place, iron reserves are small.
Of course, it has a separate use.
"For now, the rest of the story is told after winning a bid for the mine."
If I pour out all my plans now, I will only add to the confusion between Clerivan and Violet.
I stood up and instructed Violet.
"Find out about the Lira Coal Mine, Violet."
"Yes, Lady Florentia."
Violet’s eyes burned with a firm will, as it was her first task from me.
"And Clerivan comes out in a few days to visit the Capitals"
Jewels found this time cannot be handled by ordinary jewelers.
You need a very experienced and talented craftsman in the Empire.
Only in their hands will the gemstone shine.
Now that I’ve stolen it from Angenas, I plan to get it right.
Angenas, who will miss the mine right in front of his nose, had a stomachache and rolled around.
Lombardy repays the good tenfold, and the evil of his enemies tenfold.
Well, you should keep it in your heart.
Who’s trying to steal my dad’s business?2
* * *
Early in the morning, I left for the Capitals with Clerivan.
Of course, the tour of the Palace with my teacher.
I dressed up with a little more care than usual.
On my neck, I wore a flower-shaped necklace carved out of a whole ruby from Perez.
It’s easy to move around as the highway used by thousands of people every day is well-maintained from the Imperial Palace to Lombardy.
Before long, we arrived at Sedakyuna, a bustling area mainly used by the nobility in the Imperial Capitals.
Our first destination was a bakery called Caramel Avenue, which opened recently in Sedakyuna.
It was a popular place because of the old-fashioned atmosphere with good use of marble and charred wood decorations.
I left her alone on purpose today, but Laurel was also a huge fan of this place.
"Welcome."
A neat-looking employee greeted us with a smile.
It was an impressive employee with deep amber eyes, with curly brown hair brushed off nicely.
"My name is Bate, an employee of Caramel Avenue. May I show you upstairs?"
Display and sales were available on the first floor, while dessert and tea were available on the second and third floors.
"No, I’m going to buy a cake."
"Yes, then I’ll take you over there."
The more I looked at it, the better it was for dessert shops.
I stood behind Bate in front of a display stand with more than 30 different kinds of desserts.
"Hmm."
Everything looks delicious.
It’s hard to choose.
I knew it. Don’t worry about it.
"Give me everything."
"...Yes?"
Bate asked with a smile on her face.
"I can’t choose. Please give me both 2 desserts on display here."
The famous ’from there to there’ shopping law.
"Oh! Please divide the packaging into two."
Being rich is the best.6
I watched the interior of Caramel Avenue, waiting for it to be packed.
"I’ll pay the bill."
Clerivan stepped up and said.
"Yes, go ahead."
It’s going to be handled by Pellet’s expenses anyway.
But Bate, who was going to give the bill, stares at Clerivan’s face.1
"What is it?"
"Oh, no. I’m sorry. May I help you with the bill?"
When offended Clerivan asked, Bate, smiled, and quickly apologized.
"Take one of the packages home and eat it with Louryl, and send one to Perez through the top of Lombardy. Is it possible?"
"Yes, Lady Florentia."
Then I look away, and Bate’s amber eyes look at me like she saw Clerivan a while ago.
I smiled softly.
"Go, Sir. Clerivan."
"Yes, Lady."
Clerivan followed me with two large boxes of cake in both hands.
And the gaze of Bate, an employee of Caramel Avenue, followed persistently until we got on the carriage.
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