It was time for the crown prince and his entourage to depart. The emperor, together with the empress and the three grand ducal households, were present to send the crown prince off—a rather extravagant send-off no other envoy of any other kingdom has ever experienced.

It was hard to tell if they were doing it out of great fondness for the crown prince or perhaps out of fear of displeasing him.

Ingrid was also present.

She was honestly surprised to be there. Ingrid expected that she’d be locked up in her palace for a long time. After she answered her father’s question about whether she loved the crown prince, the grand duke left without saying another word.

She assumed he was really angry and didn’t want to see her. However, she woke up this morning with Elias outside of her door, informing her to prepare for the send-off of Crown Prince Aleric.

So now she is here watching the crown prince, who is currently speaking with the emperor, who was obviously kissing up to him. He is wearing an emerald-green tailored suit embroidered with gold, which brings out the beautiful purple color of his eyes.

Weirdly enough, the more she sees him wearing his princely garments, the more regal he looks in her eyes than before.

“It was nice seeing you here, Grand Duke Rasmus,” Grand Duke Eleazar of the house of Hatton greeted.

The House of Hatton has great military power, just like the House of Lennox. But comparing their strength would be like comparing a puddle to a lake.

The House of Haton was as powerful as a grand ducal household should be, while the House of Lennox’s power ran deeper.

It was known to everyone that the house of Lennox and the house of Hatton were not on friendly terms. They believed it was because of their pride as great military houses, so they often competed over who was more powerful.

“Indeed, it is a pleasure, Eleazar,” Grand Duke Rasmus responded perfunctorily.

However, known to a few, the House of Hatton was one-sidedly chasing after the House of Lennox’s shadow. Or is it more accurate to say that Grand Duke Eleazer is chasing after the mere afterimage of Grand Duke Rasmus—a pitiful but noteworthy struggle?

Some say that the House of Lennox has strength comparable to that of a kingdom, and some say their power is equal to that of the empire itself. But apart from that one time that he almost destroyed an entire kingdom because of his daughter, the Grand Duke hadn’t been showing the extraordinary power of his house apart from what is expected from a grand ducal household.

Grand Duke Eleazar sneered at Grand Duke Rasmus’ arrogance and said, “I heard you have been eyeing a certain copper mine in the province of Poro. As you know, his majesty has awarded the entire province to me for subjugating the barbarians at the eastern border. If you still want that copper mine, I can give you a fair price. Given the amount of copper that can be harvested from that mine, I think a hundred thousand gold coins is enough. How about it?”

Grand Duke Rasmus mocked the Grand Duke of Hatton in his heart. Given as a reward? Who were they kidding? It’s more likely given to him because the Emperor heard of the news that the House of Lennox was eyeing that newly discovered mine.

Ingrid looked at her father, whose face remained calm despite Grand Duke Eleazar’s provocation. She secretly pinched her father’s hand to remind him that he was supposed to react.

Grand Duke Rasmus’ eyes quickly changed. He glared at Grand Duke Eleazer. “Why don’t you just say that you wanted to rob me? That copper mine could mostly generate 10,000 gold coins in a year, and you want a hundred thousand for it?”

A look of delight appeared on Grand Duke Eleazar’s face when he saw how angry Grand Duke Rasmus was. He was about to provoke him further when a feminine voice chimed in.

“A hundred gold coins.” Everyone’s eyes turned to the Grand Duchess of Somerset, who suddenly joined the conversation.

“Grand Duchess Melissa, would you be so kind and stay out of this?" Grand Duke Eleazar said, sounding polite, though his words weren’t.

“I would love to, but your dumb estimates are getting on my nerve.” The Grand Duchess rolled her eyes. Unlike the other two houses, the strength of the house of Somerset comes from their great wealth. Their house came from a long line of merchants who gained fame in the world of business.

The current Grand Duchess, Melissa, more specifically, is deemed a genius among her predecessors. However, she wasn’t supposed to be the next matriarch of their house.

Though she was the eldest daughter of the previous grand duke, she wasn’t named as the successor, not because she was incompetent but because she’s a woman. And a woman would soon have to marry out of the family.

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“I also had my eyes on that mine when it was first discovered. I was the first to send a team of miners and prospectors to check that deposit. It turns out it was just a mid-size mine. At most, you can get about 4 tons of copper from there. A ton of copper can be sold for 2000 copper coins or 4 silver coins at most. If you mine that deposit for a year without stopping, you'll mostly earn 1,460 silver coins. Converted to gold, that’s about 121 gold coins per year.”

Grand Duke Eleazar’s face turned black and blue.

"Oh, cost and labor aren’t even included in that calculation yet,” Grand Duchess Melissa added. “So about a hundred gold coins or even less is a correct estimate. That’s just pocket money for my nephews in a month.” The Grand Duchess shook her head.

Ingrid watched the grand duchess in awe.

The previous grand duke of Somerset really wanted to give his position to his eldest daughter, Melissa. However, he also doesn’t want his daughter to live a lonely life. Sitting in that position means she’ll have to give up the prospect of getting married. There were, however, too few men who would willingly give up their family name for a woman. And most who want to are only after their wealth.

Grand Duchess Eliza of the House of Lennox was one lucky woman. She wasn’t just endowed with great beauty; she had a great husband who willingly left his family and his title in order to be with her.

But to become the grand duchess of the House of Somerset, Grand Duchess Melissa gave up on such a dream. She swore to never marry unless it was with someone who, like the grand duke of Lennox, was willing to leave everything for his wife.

“Hmm, then I guess it’s my luck that I did not end up buying that copper mine,” Grand Duke Rasmus said while nodding his head as if he never thought that the mine would generate so little profit.

Grand Duchess Melissa gave him a complicated gaze. She didn’t believe that the Grand Duke knew nothing about how useless that mine is to them, who are abundant in wealth. But she kept her silence.

“Well, I guess that copper mine is all yours, Grand Duke Eleazar.” Grand Duke Rasmus let out a hearty laughter and slapped Grand Duke Eleazer, who is now completely red in anger, by the shoulder.

On the other hand, while the two Grand Dukes and the Grand Duchess are busy in their casual banter, Iris managed to slip behind the crown prince without anyone noticing.

“Your highness, about last night..." Iris trailed.

“Mmm, it was quite suspicious, wasn’t it?” The Crown Prince said while smiling at the crowd. “Do you think my ability has gone quite dull? To think that I would actually forget to turn the mana lamps off.”

Iris lowered her eyes and said, “You didn't forget your highness. I went and double-checked after you and the lady left. The lights were off.”

A noble holding a box made of ebony stepped forward. Iris quickly retreated into the shadows.

The man handed the gift to Vernon, who was standing beside Aleric, before bowing to the crown prince.

“Crown Prince, I am Count Clifford. I trade rare gems for a living,” he introduced.

Vernon opened the ebony box, and inside lay an elaborate necklace that features a string of small oval-shaped emeralds, intricately set in a chain made of white gold encrusted with tiny diamonds. The size of the emerald’s grew bigger and bigger as it reached the center, where the biggest emerald, the size of a woman’s thumb, lay beautifully.

Aleric gestured for Vernon to hand over the box to him.

Count Clifford smiled when he saw the interest in the Crown Prince’s eyes and eagerly explained, “That necklace is called Celeste. It means celestial beauty and grace. Since we have the gems, we plan on extending to the jewelry-making business, and that is the best among our very first creations.”

“Count Clifford, is it?” said the crown prince.

“Yes, your royal highness.”

“Can you make me a set of earrings and a bracelet to go along with this?”

“Of course, your highness!” Count Clifford quickly replied.

Aleric nodded approvingly. “I will be back after three months. I expect it to be finished by then.”

“As you wish your highness," Count Clifford bowed and retreated, joy evident on his face. He really struck luck this time.

Crown Prince Aleric handed the ebony box back to Vernon. “Keep that safe.”

“Your highness,” Iris patiently called after the count left. Aleric motioned for her to continue. “That night, I stood guard by the shadows outside Lady Ingrid’s chamber. However, I never saw Lily enter her room.”

Aleric fell silent for a moment.

“Did you tell Ingrid about this?” He asked. His gaze landed on Ingrid, who seemed amused while watching the leaders of the three power houses in their empire banter. Her lips were slightly tugged upward, and her emerald eyes twinkled like the beautiful stars.

“No, your highness. The lady loves Lily very much. It’s still unclear what Lily’s motives are. Telling the lady now would prove to be counterproductive.”

Aleric nodded. “Keep an eye on that Lily in the meantime. If she proves to be a danger to my wife, eliminate her. Preferably in silence.”

Aleric walked towards where the grand dukes and grand duchess were standing and greeted them with a smile. “I never knew that the three grand ducal houses were this close.”

“Crown prince!” The three of them greeted Aleric as they bowed.

“Have you thought about my proposal, your highness?” Grand Duchess Melissa asked as the crown prince kissed her gloved hand.

“It was indeed a rather enticing proposal, Grand Duchess. I shall give you my reply upon my return to my empire.”

Grand Duchess Melissa smiled, pleased.

The crown prince then moved to where Ingrid was, who was trying her best to make herself small beside her father. A cunning smile appeared on Aleric’s lips as he took the back of her hand and placed it on his lips.

Ingrid lifted her eyes, and their gazes met. In their minds, both of them were complimenting how beautiful the other’s eyes are.

“Ehem,” Grand Duke Rasmus coughed to break the annoying spark between them. Ingrid quickly took back her hand and looked away.

“Grand Duke Rasmus,” Aleric said with a smile.

“A month," Grand Duke Rasmus said.

Ingrid, Aleric, and all the people around them who heard what he said looked at the grand duke with a confused expression.

“If you return after a month, I shall give you my daughter’s hand in marriage,” he declared in an unusually loud voice.

“Papa?!”

Everyone’s jaw dropped in surprise. The crowd then broke into commotion as people began to speculate as to what caused this sudden turn of events.

The news quickly traveled to where the emperor and the emperor is. The Empress's face quickly became unsightly as a hint of jealousy appeared in her orbs. Meanwhile, the emperor looked like a fish who had been taken out of the water. To think that the crown prince had attentively listened as he subtly insulted his brother with his words.

Meanwhile, Crown Prince Aleric’s smile broadened.

“Then I look forward to getting my bride in a month.”