If I Disobey the Duke

Real Look (4)

Oh, how his chest hurt. After today was over, it seemed that this happiness would no longer come.

If so, then he would engrave the image in his eyes.

Lily soon saw an unfamiliar purple flower.

What is this? It looks a morning glory, but it’s a little different…

“Mother… She said that she grew up in a country where flowers were sunny all year round. She gave me my name…”

Lily, Crocus, Dandelion, Antonio. They were all traces left by her mother.

A faint smile appeared on her face as she recalled it. “Flowers are not just pretty, they are useful.  They also help a lot financially. Gold mines are often found when looking for places where Equisetum grows. So…”

(Equisetum – the field horsetail.)

Lily, who had been talking for a while, stopped.

Because at some point she realized that she was talking to herself.

“I am so…  I was thinking… It must’ve been boring…”

“No. Talk more.”

Lily bowed her head as if doubting her authenticity.

Vlad muttered to himself, “I heard you really like this… It’s great.”

Lily’s face slowly heated up. She reached out her hand to the bunch of flowers that were blooming red. She took a flower and put it in the braid by her ear.

…A little childish?

She hesitated, but she had already done it. Lily looked back at him with an embarrassed smile. “How is it? I want to try something like this…” she swallowed her words and froze.

He had already been looking at her.

But it wasn’t the kind of gaze with red eyes that seduced her and entangled her.

He seems to be looking at something very lovely.

Just infinitely soft and sweet.

It harbored a feeling she had never received in her life, a feeling she didn’t even know she craved for herself.

She trembled.

That gaze looked… desperate.

Her lower lip trembled. His gaze made her heart flutter.

She instinctively knew. That one day she would break into something she had never known.

If she took one step closer to him, then it was over. Something unknown in her head warned her. If she crossed the line between them, there was no turning back.

Lily wasn’t ready to cross that threshold yet.

She avoided his gaze as she closed the door.

As if the clouds had gone, the bright golden sunlight fell into the garden.

The snow reflected the winter sunlight, much like the glass walls did.

Lily didn’t know what Vlad’s expression was.

“Outside…  It’s so cold, how did you manage the temperature and humidity? It’s strange that it’s much warmer here than in the castle.”

He looked at her. “We buried copper tubes on the floor of the greenhouse. There is a separate management for each area, and hot water is circulated to maintain heat.”

Sge was once again startled and looked at him again.

His characteristic gray eyes were back. His indifferent expression, like an iron mask, was also put on again like a shield.

Lily slowly calmed down. “Ah… I see.”

She turned her back, trying to ignore her heart, which was still leaping out of her mouth.

Anyway, his response was also quite surprising.

Copper tubes were buried in this wide area.

“A plan to install the copper tubes in the castle is in the process of being established. In three years or so, you will be less likely to get a fever.”

You’re going to install it in that huge castle…?

Despite the surprising revelation, his expression was still calm.

“The castle… Isn’t the area too big?”

“There is a separate bed and bathroom for sleeping. It’s slightly time-consuming… Anyway, it’s proven that it is technically possible.”

“With such construction… What about the castle’s durability?”

“The skeleton of the wall looks thin, but it is a structure made of iron. You can join metals using gunpowder techniques.”

He answered Lily’s questions with the utmost sincerity. He didn’t underestimate her. He was simply explaining the information he knew in a calm manner.

The more Lily heard him, the more distant her mind became.

Even a glass building of this size was already shocking. A copper tube, a steel structure.

Iron was unconditionally owned by the imperial family, and copper was practically the most precious metal.

Does Arcadia even have a mine where they get money from?

Everyone in the Empire knew that Arcadia, especially Cadis, was a tightly closed city.

In a nutshell, it was practically an island on the map.

Was he saying that making that kind of money in this city was reasonable?

If you are using it from your budget…

“Is it okay to spend your money on something like this? How are alternative tax revenues funded?”

She looked around her garden slowly as she realized something.

Lily’s mouth slowly opened.

She had realized it herself. Where the astronomical fortunes of the imperial level come from.

She turned to Vlad.