I Didn’t Save You To Get Proposed To - Chapter 8
Chapter 8 Escape From the Imperial Palace (8
“I summoned Delhi Keynes, saying I needed to check something, but he kept sending me his agent, saying he was busy. Isn’t that strange?”
“Wizards were once thought to be freaks. They are not the type of people who listen to others.”
“A servant who had been rushed to the tower returned today. He isn’t even listed on the tower. It’s suspicious.”
“Perhaps he hasn’t officially registered as a wizard yet. Furthermore, the Duke of Geoffrey made a significant investment.”
“Then we’ll all be doomed together.”
“Ridan!”
“In any case, all property is at risk. Don’t put money into a tertiary investment.”
In frustration, the Duke Roziad slammed his fist on the table.
“Everything is for you! Studying should be enjoyable as well! He’s paving the way for you to study your favorite theology without having to worry about making ends meet for the rest of your life! That’s my final gift!”
“Father,” he says.
Ridan stated his position without elaborating. He’s only recently reached adulthood, but he’s always maintained his cool.
“Don’t try to deny reality. You ran a criminal background check with me. Besides, I can’t even contact him. This type of bad feeling almost fits.”
“……”
Duke Roziad was forced to stop speaking as a result of the words. It hit the nail of the head.
“That my father thought of me is enough for me. So we should put an end to the third round of investment.”
“I, I—accepting all of these facts—.”
“Father,” he says.
Ridan gripped his father’s hand, which had already begun to become weaker. The green eyes behind the round glasses were calm.
“That’s perfectly fine. Leave this to me.”
“How—”
The Duke sighed, as if taken aback.
“Who provided you with this information?”
Ridan responded in a pleasant but measured tone.
“I’m going to pay her a visit right now.”
He hasn’t figured out who Delhi Keynes is yet, but to think this woman was aware of it.
“What kind of person is she?”
*****
After delivering the letter through Sera, I was finally able to receive visitors within a few days.
Ridan Roziad was a young man with neatly tied pink hair and round glasses.
He had scholarly, slender, and refined taste.
He appeared surprised to see me.
“A lot—”
He coughed in vain after pondering words for a while.
“You’ve lost a lot of weight.”
“Ah, yes.”
“How is the Duke doing?”
I looked at his face, which appeared to be on the front page of the newspaper, announcing that he had received a perfect score on the College Scholastic Ability Test.
“Delhi Keynes is missing. I can’t keep in touch. He’s probably on the run.”
“Ah, oh my.”
By the way, crooks have a good sense. Apparently, the moment he recognized being suspected, he would have stopped everything and gone into hiding.
“However, we were successful in avoiding tertiary investment.”
“Then—”
“It won’t be the same as it used to be, but managing a Duke won’t be difficult. It’s all thanks to you. Thank you.”
I felt a sense of separation from the face that spoke like a middle-aged aristocrat, despite the fact that he had only recently reached adulthood.
Sera then appeared with the tea. There was, of course, no tea food.
Ridan took a polite sip of tea, but his face hardened immediately.
I said with a blink.
“If you want, you can spit it out.”
The Young Master, who most likely grew up eating only good things, is likely to have eaten the first tasteless food he has ever eaten.
But, as a nobleman, he swallowed the tea water and sighed.
“Ah, yes, the treatment—”
“It’s gotten a little worse since the war started.”
“This is what—”
He said this without even looking at the teacup, as if he didn’t want to look at it.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t believe my taste is in the range where I could enjoy this.”
‘Just say it’s not tasty.’
The aristocrats appeared to be complicating this speech.
“That’s why you’re so slim.”
Of course, I’ve lost a lot of weight compared to the banquet, but I haven’t been told I’m slim enough to go anywhere.
‘He has a habit of beating around the bush.’
“But how did you know?”
“Yes?”
“You’ve been locked up in the palace for three years. Can you see the future by any chance? I believe that there are still ancient temples in Artise—”
“No, that’s isn’t it!”
I shook my head.
The original work had already been destroyed, but I knew I’d get in trouble if I pretended to be a prophet.
“The scammer used to work at Artise.”
In any case, the scammer has disappear, and Artise is a war chest, so there will be no way to confirm it.
In other words, if some dubious content leaked, I could sell Artise’s name unconditionally.
“There was a person who suffered in the same way when I was in Artise, but when I heard the Duke’s story, I just recognized it.”
“—Is that so.”
Ridan said with a slightly disappointed look.
“The Duke will continue to support us. If you tell me only what you need, such as clothes, new tea leaves and meals, immediately—”
“No, not that one.”
I cut him off at once.
‘I couldn’t clean my mouth with such little help.’
“I don’t need that, but I actually have another request.”
“Yes?”
I had asked for a reward from the start, so I figured it would be best to be straightforward about it.
“When Artise is destroyed, my disposition will be made public. I want Duke Roziad to be on my side at that moment. I want to be free.”
Ridan raised his round glasses.
“It is not a difficult request. That is something I believe we should do.”
“That’s a relief.”
“There is enough justification to insist on freeing the princess from the peasant, because the Princess has practically no power or value as a hostage.”
‘He’s polite and objective in his way.’
“Well, I look forward to your kind cooperation. And there’s one more thing…”
I smiled with a service-oriented grin.
Ridan coughed as he stared blankly at my face.
“Can you tell me about the other one?”
“Could you please meet Young Lady Irene, Ridan?”
There was another victim, now, where all of Delhi Keynes’ subconscious fraud was revealed.
Duke of Geoffrey.
Everyone in the Duke of Geoffrey’s household will be in panic, but only Princess Irene will be fighting to make a living from her business.
Irene Geoffrey.
Unlike Ridan, who is only mentioned a few times in the original novel, Princess Irene has her own story.
She has had an interest in business since she was a child.
But, despite the fact that the family is on the point of ruin as a result of the Duke of Geoffrey’s objections, she is eager to start her own business and raise her family.
Excellent business abilities eventually led to the establishment of a family, although it was a bit later down the road.
This was due to the so-called ‘rolling time.’
I planned to save her from bankruptcy and win her over to my side.
“Young Lady Irene?”
“Yes.”
“Uh.”
“Tell her I have a good business item, I’d like to discuss it.”
“Oh, business?”
Ridan’s face was filled with disbelief.
“I’m not sure how to put it, but… Young Lady Irene is frequently overly active and self-assertive, and she has clear preferences and dislikes.”
We didn’t talk much, but I figured out Ridan’s way of speaking.
‘That means the princess has her own way.’
I was already aware of her fiery personality. I shrugged as if it didn’t matter, but Ridan spoke up.
“And you haven’t left the palace since you arrived in the Empire. If you don’t meet with each other about the project—”
I couldn’t take it any longer and stepped in the end.
“Are you concerned, Young Master Ridan, that I might make a bad impression on Princess by saying something that doesn’t make sense?”
Ridan’s face was flushed with embarrassment, but he didn’t deny what I said.
“So, uhm… It is important not to make enemies if your goal is to be free.”
“I’ve never been out of the palace, so I called Young Master Ridan. So please trust me.”
Ridan had a confused face. I could see him inadvertently touching the teacup and taking it off right away.
“I understand you don’t trust me because we haven’t met in a long time.”
It was natural for him to be concerned, so I decided to persuade him to have a little more faith in me.
“However, just as Young Master believed in the gold mine, I hope you’ll believe in me and allow me to meet you again.”
Ridan sighed slightly, but when the phrase “gold mine” was mentioned, he nodded without hesitation.
“I see what you’re saying.”
I felt like I was getting closer to freedom.
******
Irene Geoffrey, the Duke of Geoffrey’s youngest daughter, who was about to go bankrupt, came to see me the day after she spoke through Ridan.
“Didn’t the Princess save the Duke of Roziad from bankruptcy?”
Irene, with her red hair and sloppy skin, stared at me, desperately.
“I heard you had a good business item, so I rushed over here.”
Sera brought out the tea.
Fortunately, Ridan sent me basic items like tea leaves immediately after he left yesterday, so I could make her a proper cup of tea.
“I heard you’ve had a long interest in business.”
With a calm smile, I said.
“Do you have any business ideas?”
“I was thinking about the timber business—because the reconstruction project would begin once the Artise conquest was completed successfully.”
“However, the initial investment in wood will cost a lot.”
Irene sighed, as if my words had stabbed her in the back of the head.
“Furthermore, fast-paced business people have already begun to dominate.”
There are many intelligent people in the world.
If Irene, who was entering the business for the first time, had an idea, it was highly likely that it would have been done by others.
“That’s correct. That’s why I was worried when Ridan told me about you.”
Ridan sat still next to Irene, saying nothing.
In fact, I expected only Irene to arrive, but I’m not sure why Ridan followed her.
“Make the Duke’s servants to collect and dry the Arina petals. We’ll have to hurry because the flowers are falling.”
I said it thinking it would be the last time I used the original story.
“The Artise endemic diseases are active at this time of year. The Artise are safe because they have resistance, but the Imperial forces will suffer.”
“Oh my goodness.”
“If you are sent to Eastheim as a result of an injury, it will spread to your family. We’re going to need Arina petals for the cure, and they’re going to be out of stock.”
Irene had no reason not to accept the offer because it didn’t require any investment in the first place.
