Today was the day to finally erase the ‘forbidden stigma’ engraved on her father.
Damia sat in the drawing room and waited, feeling a bit impatient. The room next to her was mostly quiet, but occasionally, she could hear her father let out short groans of pain. She was worried.
‘Are you okay?’
Of course, it wasn’t that she didn’t trust Heinrich. He kept his promises to Damia, even while he was busy with the case against the High Temple and digging up evidence.
“Lady Damia.”
As if he had not slept well recently, Heinrich’s complexion was haggard. But his eyes shined brightly like a cat’s in the dark.
“Among the high priests who were detained, I found a man who engraved the brand on your father. In exchange for agreeing to remove the brand, we let him go.”
It was something she had wanted so much. The reason she had entered this fight in the first place was to save her father.
“Thank you, Your Royal Highness.”
She bowed her head deeply with sincerity. She could feel Heinrich’s gaze touching the top of her head.
“After your father is cured and Akkard is healed, are you planning on returning to the North?”
Heinrich asked. Damia affirmed without much thought.
“Probably. As you know, we are not a family with presence in the capital.”
She was, if anything, a provincial aristocrat. And, of course, being a country-side noble meant she was inferior to the powerful central nobles immersed in politics and with many connections living in the capital.
“What are you going to do with the family business when you return? As far as I know, the Primula family’s biggest source of revenue was supplying the Great Shrine at the High Temple.”
Heinrich held his chin and raised an important question. Damia, who was still worried about that, calmly confessed her feelings.
“I’ll have to discuss it a little more with my father first, but… … For now, we are envisioning a business to transport grains and fruits to the North. As you know, the North is barren, and food is always scarce.”
Of course, the scale of their business would be much smaller than when the High Temple was their client, but they had no choice. They would instead choose the dignity of freedom than being a dog on a leash.
“Hmmm.”
Upon hearing her words, Heinrich fell into thought.
“After I get this job done.”
He was fiddling with his fine brown hair before opening his mouth.
“I intend to pursue trade with the desert kingdom, Bedan, in earnest.”
“Bedan?”
“Yes, the oil they used to make ‘Pollution’ or Devil’s Tears.”
Damia nodded. She, too, was deeply impressed with the use of petroleum in this incident and through the information and knowledge provided by his alchemist, Kurd.
“There is no oil in our kingdom. And because Bedan is too far away, we haven’t imported oil in mass quantities yet. So when it’s brought in, all you can do with it is use it in lamps.”
“That’s all I know, too.”
“But Bedan has studied this oil and used it quite a bit in various applications. So I looked into it a bit more, and it’s very impressive. For this reason, I would like to promote oil trade, but it has been difficult to find a suitable person.”
Somehow, she could guess Heinrich’s next words. Damia quietly bowed her head and waited.
“Count Primula has already visited Bedan several times, and has delivered countless items that the Great Shrine wants without any problems over the decades. So, Lady Damia…..”
Heinrich smirked and then grinned widely, tapping his lips with his finger.
“Do you have any intention of becoming a central nobleman?”
Of course, Owen was thrilled to hear this. Becoming a central noble of the capital was like facing a strong wall; breaking through and entering high society was challenging and near impossible.
Even if he was promoted to a marquise rather than a count from the North, he would still find it hard to enter the central noble circles. Heinrich’s proposal was that generous.
Clearly, he was a prince worthy of respect by his subordinates. Thanks to this, Owen was very careful with the unexpected power granted to his family.
Because of this, he was able to freely engage in the task of removing the forbidden stigma that was quite painful.
‘Is it all over?’
Damia, who had been waiting all the time in the drawing room, listened to what was happening inside. It was so quiet that she couldn’t tell if the job was over or not.
Creak-
The tightly closed door had finally opened, and she saw Owen’s face inside. His face, wet with sweat, looked tired, but his expression was bright.
“Did you wait a long time, sweetheart?”
“Father!”
Damia got up reflexively and looked at the nape of his neck. But with Owen covering it with his hand, she couldn’t see well.
Today was the day to finally erase the ‘forbidden stigma’ engraved on her father.
Damia sat in the drawing room and waited, feeling a bit impatient. The room next to her was mostly quiet, but occasionally, she could hear her father let out short groans of pain. She was worried.
‘Are you okay?’
Of course, it wasn’t that she didn’t trust Heinrich. He kept his promises to Damia, even while he was busy with the case against the High Temple and digging up evidence.
“Lady Damia.”
As if he had not slept well recently, Heinrich’s complexion was haggard. But his eyes shined brightly like a cat’s in the dark.
“Among the high priests who were detained, I found a man who engraved the brand on your father. In exchange for agreeing to remove the brand, we let him go.”
It was something she had wanted so much. The reason she had entered this fight in the first place was to save her father.
“Thank you, Your Royal Highness.”
She bowed her head deeply with sincerity. She could feel Heinrich’s gaze touching the top of her head.
“After your father is cured and Akkard is healed, are you planning on returning to the North?”
Heinrich asked. Damia affirmed without much thought.
“Probably. As you know, we are not a family with presence in the capital.”
She was, if anything, a provincial aristocrat. And, of course, being a country-side noble meant she was inferior to the powerful central nobles immersed in politics and with many connections living in the capital.
“What are you going to do with the family business when you return? As far as I know, the Primula family’s biggest source of revenue was supplying the Great Shrine at the High Temple.”
Heinrich held his chin and raised an important question. Damia, who was still worried about that, calmly confessed her feelings.
“I’ll have to discuss it a little more with my father first, but… … For now, we are envisioning a business to transport grains and fruits to the North. As you know, the North is barren, and food is always scarce.”
Of course, the scale of their business would be much smaller than when the High Temple was their client, but they had no choice. They would instead choose the dignity of freedom than being a dog on a leash.
“Hmmm.”
Upon hearing her words, Heinrich fell into thought.
“After I get this job done.”
He was fiddling with his fine brown hair before opening his mouth.
“I intend to pursue trade with the desert kingdom, Bedan, in earnest.”
“Bedan?”
“Yes, the oil they used to make ‘Pollution’ or Devil’s Tears.”
Damia nodded. She, too, was deeply impressed with the use of petroleum in this incident and through the information and knowledge provided by his alchemist, Kurd.
“There is no oil in our kingdom. And because Bedan is too far away, we haven’t imported oil in mass quantities yet. So when it’s brought in, all you can do with it is use it in lamps.”
“That’s all I know, too.”
“But Bedan has studied this oil and used it quite a bit in various applications. So I looked into it a bit more, and it’s very impressive. For this reason, I would like to promote oil trade, but it has been difficult to find a suitable person.”
Somehow, she could guess Heinrich’s next words. Damia quietly bowed her head and waited.
“Count Primula has already visited Bedan several times, and has delivered countless items that the Great Shrine wants without any problems over the decades. So, Lady Damia…..”
Heinrich smirked and then grinned widely, tapping his lips with his finger.
“Do you have any intention of becoming a central nobleman?”
Of course, Owen was thrilled to hear this. Becoming a central noble of the capital was like facing a strong wall; breaking through and entering high society was challenging and near impossible.
Even if he was promoted to a marquise rather than a count from the North, he would still find it hard to enter the central noble circles. Heinrich’s proposal was that generous.
Clearly, he was a prince worthy of respect by his subordinates. Thanks to this, Owen was very careful with the unexpected power granted to his family.
Because of this, he was able to freely engage in the task of removing the forbidden stigma that was quite painful.
‘Is it all over?’
Damia, who had been waiting all the time in the drawing room, listened to what was happening inside. It was so quiet that she couldn’t tell if the job was over or not.
Creak-
The tightly closed door had finally opened, and she saw Owen’s face inside. His face, wet with sweat, looked tired, but his expression was bright.
“Did you wait a long time, sweetheart?”
“Father!”
Damia got up reflexively and looked at the nape of his neck. But with Owen covering it with his hand, she couldn’t see well.
