Exhausted yet feeling a sense of relief, Ravina made her way back home. The walk was rejuvenating, with the wind gently brushing against her sweat-dampened skin, bringing a soothing coolness. Her exercise routine was more than just a means to stay fit; it also helped unravel the knots of stress in her mind. Embracing the tranquility of the moment, she strolled without any worries or concerns. Upon reaching the manor, her spirits lifted further. Approaching her door, her steps were light, and she opened it with a contented smile.
Unfortunately behind that door was a very displeased young girl. Her cheeks were puffed up as she turned to face Ravina. The energy around her seemed to push her brown hair up when her eyes locked on to her mistress. Within the fear that the normally charming girl brought out, there was also a bubble of tears.
Ravina went white. All the tension that was released in that afternoon returned, preparing her for the impending confrontation. But before words could be exchanged, the girl, Siet, collapsed to her knees, her tears flowing freely as she expressed her worries in a heart-wrenching cry.
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Seit had given Ravina an earful. Her slightly justified rant would have been effective, if not for the fact that the young maid diligently tried to serve the recipient of said rant. At first, Ravina felt bad for leaving before telling her, especially when she heard about how she raced all around the castle for her. But when Seit kept interrupting her own rant to ask what Ravina needed, the young mistress could only try and hide her smile as the cute kid complained.
Finally, the mature girl interrupted her. “Alright, I understand.” with a smile, Ravina pulled Siet’s hand into her. “It must have been hard.” The manor was massive after all. It was practically a castle, large enough to host a large village. This young girl dashed around endlessly in worry after she returned with tea only to find Ravina gone. It was only when Mathus called for her that she learned Ravina left of her own free will. Ravina chose not to mention that Siet should have gone to the butler in the first place.
“My lady.” Tears formed in the young maid’s eyes.
“Alright, you must be exhausted!” Ravina declared. “As such, you should join me in the bath, it's so large it won't matter anyway.” Indeed, the bath was impressively large. Rather than being attached to her room, but given its own in the same hallway. The private bath could hold six people comfortably and was designed to keep both temperature and renew the water. This delightful amenity was a legacy left by a pampered young countess, Avila, who had once been married to a member of the Ravenshield family, Duran.
Duran may have hated the forced marriage as well as his wife, however, despite how annoyed he acted on her request he went above and beyond for her. It was for that reason alone that the house of the raven had indoor plumbing. heated water and colored rooms that epitomized both warmth and comfort.
Despite the young maids' objections, Ravina wouldn't have it. She assisted in undressing the maid like she had helped her remove her own clothes and then coaxed the hesitant girl into the bath. As they settled into the warm waters, Ravina felt the tension wash away while the young maid couldn't help but relax in the warm waters herself.
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“Are you okay?” now dried and dressed Ravina asked the young maid. Her face was red, embarrassed that she behaved so poorly in front of her young master.
“I’m fine. Please don't leave me without a word next time!” She complained.
“Sorry,” Ravina repeated. “Anyways did the butler give you anything for me?”
“Yes, he gave me a few books and some documents.” Siet swiftly pulled out a few bound record books and some documents and placed them on the desk.
Ravina’s heart sank when she saw them. “All of this?” she asked.
“He said there was more but this was what was relevant. If you want the rest he said all you needed to do was ask.” Ravina felt a chill at the idea that there was more waiting for her.
“No…” she whispered. “This is more than enough.” She took a deep breath. She could just let it go. But…
Pulling the books closer she started the work. She didn't need this but she couldn't let the challenge go. She had some drive to win. The warmth of the bath left her as she reviewed the dense materials before her.
Quil owned the largest mine, The Goldwel Mine. An odd name for an iron mine but nevertheless, The Goldwel Mine was over 100 years old and was responsible for a large portion of iron in the Rockwel Region of the territory. It employed roughly 300 miners and was one of the largest mines in the Rockwel Mountains.
The Watch owned a small mine next to the Goldwel Mine. Venchenchi Mine was named after an old baron's lover, he gave the mine to his daughter and her daughter now owned the mine. Like the Goldwel Mine, the Venchenci Mine produced a lot of iron however it was famous for being the place where the large blue Beryl gem refined into the Lost Lovers Ring came from. It was older than the Goldwel Mine but produced a lot less, with only 27 miners pulling out only about 50 pounds of iron a day.
It was a lot but the Goldwel pulled over 500 pounds a day.
Obviously, Goldwel produced more ores and made more money than Venchenci, however, the latter was a legacy mine famous for its story of two lost lovers, even a story behind a ring pulled from the mine worth more than both mines combined. One was worth a great deal of money while the other was famous and had a massive amount of sentimental value. In true form, the Venchenci had a romantic retreat built inside a dry vain, complete with a hot spring.
The problem came from the fact that there was a large vein of iron ore found between the mines. While Goldwel was slow to expand to it, the Venchenchi quickly dug to lay claim to the ore. Both parties claimed it and iron production in the region was slowing down due to a recent ore shortage. So leaving it alone for now was out of the question.
Ravina was left with figuring out who owned the ore and the mines. The mines could easily be cordoned off and access restricted. However, they both demanded the other's mine as restitution and the ore wasn't found. Magic could identify where iron was but it wasn't accurate and only an estimate could be given. As such they knew it was there but didn't know exactly where to dig. It seemed extreme to her but she had no idea what this world's legal system was like.
“Seit,” she called with her eyes closed and her fingers holding the bridge of her nose.
“Yes, my lady?”
“Can you have Mathus call for an expert in mining and legality relating to this area for me? The sooner the better.” for now she was leaning toward leaving the o in the Goldwel mine. It was larger and could process more. Furthermore, they were not responsible for any deaths related to this incident. Venchenci was more of a historical mine anyway. They didn't need to expand and seemed to have stopped a long time ago. It was odd that they were trying to expand now.
“Of course, my lady, I'll go tell him now.”
“Thank you, oh before you go.” stopping the maid as she opened the door Ravina stood up. “You can go ahead and be done for the day. I'm going to sleep early today and get a head start on this tomorrow. Please let Aurelia know that I will be busy so she can get the next few days off.”
“Of course my lady, then I will help you get changed before I leave.”
“Right, thank you.” She was still uncomfortable with the assistance but she was becoming more and more accustomed to her help.