Chapter 74: Chapter 74: Ethan
Ting.
The maid gently placed a plate of steak on the dining table. Bennett slid it across to rest before Alia’s chair.
"Thank you, Bennett."
Bennett smiled softly and nodded, then picked up her own fork as the maid served the next dish.
Before either of them could take more than a few bites, a sharp voice cut through the air.
"How disrespectful. Do you have no shame? We were your biological father’s closest friends, and yet you couldn’t even wait for us before breakfast."
A sigh slipped from Bennett’s lips, her smile fading. She slowly turned her head toward the left, her gray eyes narrowing as a middle-aged woman swept into the hall.
The woman’s expensive green dress shimmered in the light, a jeweled fan half-concealing her face, her eyes looking at her slyly.
"Aunt Trina, I wanted to," Bennett replied coolly, slicing her steak in half with a knife. "But some people prefer to sleep longer than normal. What could I do?" She lifted her fork and returned her focus to her meal.
"Hmph! How rude you’ve become. Not at all like the cutie we used to know." Trina snapped her fan shut, her eyes narrowing in disapproval.
Alia’s lips twitched. She lowered her gaze to her plate, fighting the urge to scoff.
’Cutie? My brother? The same person who used to kick them every time they demanded something outrageous?’
Trina walked over and sat gracefully across from Alia, resting her chin on one hand as her eyes scanned them both."Tch, you two have grown so much."
"Not bigger than your greed," Alia muttered under her breath.
Bennett bit her lip, shoulders trembling as she tried to stifle a laugh at her sister’s jab.
"Sorry... what was that?" Trina tilted her head, feigning innocence.
"Nothing." Alia curved her lips into a polite fake smile. "I was just saying, it’s been ten years since I last saw you."
Trina coughed and nodded. "Yes, that’s true. It’s been ten years, time passes so quickly. Victor and I miss you two very much."
"Yeah, I can see that," Alia said, setting her fork down. "I’m full. I’m going to my room, Bennett."
Bennett nodded, glancing at Alia as she left.
"Ahem, Bennett, can I ask you something? You know, your uncle and I were talking about it since last night."
Hearing her, Bennett looked at Trina, one brow raised.
"What is it, Aunt?"
Trina set her fan on the table and swallowed. "Um... you know your uncle has found a crystal mine."
Bennett nodded, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "So? Isn’t that great news? What do you need from me?"
"Well... it is good news, kind of," she said, rubbing her finger against her cheek. Then she closed her eyes, forcing herself to continue.
"The truth is... the mine is in Blacknight territory, sooo..." She tapped her fingers together nervously. "Can we get the rights to mine the crystals? We could split the profits fifty-fifty."
Hearing this, Bennett blinked in shock, then shook her head with a wry smile.
"Aunt, you know how it works. Usually, forty percent goes to the commoners’ needs, fifty percent to the nobles of that territory for protection and other responsibilities, and only ten percent is left for the miners. How could I possibly give you fifty percent?"
"So what? Can’t you even do that? Nobody will know about the mine if we do this together."
Trina’s eyes lit up as she nodded, just as a man in a purple coat and trousers stepped into the dining room.
Bennett rubbed her temple in irritation. "Uncle, if the Emperor finds out, it’ll become a far bigger problem. I won’t agree, even if you say it a thousand times. If you two came here for this, then I can’t welcome you."
Victor narrowed his eyes, dark lines creasing his face as he huffed.
"Hmph, you’re still just a child. Where is Drohan? I’d rather speak with him."
Bennett slammed the table and rose to her feet, the sharp sound making Trina flinch. She glared at Victor and said,
"Uncle, even if you’re greedy, I still have a little respect for you. Don’t lose it with behavior like this. And as for Drohan, he’s dead. Didn’t you read the latest news? I’m the Duke of Blacknight now."
Victor’s eyes widened. As Bennett left, he turned to Trina, pointing toward the door she had exited through.
"What? When did that happen?"
Trina looked at him and slowly rose to her feet. "I don’t know... but I overheard the maids talking about it last night. That’s how I found out. I couldn’t tell you earlier because you were asleep."
"What should we do now? This kid won’t accept our request easily." Victor mutters, stroking his chin.
---
Hazel glanced at the book, then sketched on the paper. When she finally finished, she let out a frustrated sigh.
"It still didn’t work...ahhhh!" She stood up, crumpling the paper into a ball and hurling it at the wall.
Shhhhhh.
Her body froze as the paper suddenly ignited, burning to ash.
After a moment, her golden eyes lit up with pure excitement.
"Success..." she whispered, before jumping around the room in her pajamas, moonlight spilling through the window.
She quickly grabbed another sheet of paper and placed it beside the book. "I can do it...I’m so happy! I’ll finally be so near to achieving my dream... to create spells that even non–mana users can cast."
"Eh? What did you achieve to be so happy?" a voice called out, breaking her focus.
Hazel raised her hand, a golden circle flaring to life as her mana shone brightly.
"Who are you? How dare you break into a princess’s study room?"
Hazel relaxed as the intruder stepped forward into the lamplight, pink hair and matching eyes glimmering with playful mischief.
"So," he said, settling cross-legged in midair as if the air itself held him up, "care to tell me what you achieved that had you hopping around like that?"
"It’s you, bastard, tch, you scared me. If you hadn’t answered just now, I would’ve released the spell." Hazel said, shaking her hand to erase the runes from the air.
"Heh. It’s not so easy to hurt a Grandmage princess." Ethan replied.
Hazel gave him a deadpan look, then sighed and waved one hand. "Go on, Ethan. I’m not in the mood to talk. I want to research."
Ethan blinked, then put a hand to his chest, feigning injury. "Ouch, are you throwing your fiancé out? How hurtful."
Hazel’s lips twitched at his performance. She rubbed her temple. "Your acting is worse. Don’t do this on a stage or you’ll get a slipper in your head."
"So, what brings a great Grandmage and Duke here?" Hazel asked, perched on the edge of the table.
Ethan shrugged, ruffling his pink hair. "Well, I missed my fiancée, so I came to see her. Is there something wrong with that?"
"It is wrong. Don’t you know it’s not time to meet yet? ...Okay, forget it. Look, I’ve reached another step closer to what I told you about," Hazel said, her voice brimming with excitement as she eagerly opened the book and spread out the graphs.
Ethan kept nodding along, his eyes on the pages when hers were on him. But whenever she turned back to the book, he stole glances at her face, quietly studying her expressions as she explained.
"Hello? Are you even listening?" Hazel said with a frown.
"Ah, yes, of course I’m listening," Ethan replied quickly. "So, when are you going to introduce this method?"
Hazel’s excitement dimmed at his question. "I... don’t know. It’ll be very difficult to introduce. Not everyone wants commoners to have strength."
"Yeah... the hardest part will be getting the Mage Tower to accept it. Did you tell anyone about your research? After all, it’s your years of work."
Hazel closed her eyes, tapping a finger against her chin. "Hmm... I don’t think so. I haven’t told anyone. But I will tell Brother Bennett later."
Ethan’s eyes narrowed, a flicker of irritation flashing before he quickly concealed it as she looked at him.
"Yeah... after all, he is your brother."
---
"Bennett, are you awake?" Alia knocked on his door as the day began, her lips stretched into an excited smile.
"Yes, I’m awake. What happened?" Bennett opened the door with a yawn.
Alia planted her hand on her hip, narrowing her eyes. "Don’t you know what day it is?"
Bennett blinked. "Hmm... I don’t think so. Is it some important day?"
"Aish...." Alia smacked her forehead, then waved her hand. Bennett raised a brow as a group of designers entered, carrying thick catalogues.
"Don’t be so dumb, Bennett. It’s your first date with your fiancée."
"So," she said smugly, slapping one of the catalogues, "you need to choose the best dress to wear. Quickly, pick one."
"Eh? Are you saying I actually have to go meet the princess today?"
Alia nodded, puzzled. "Of course. Who else would it be, if not her?"