Elsewhere, someone was discussing a shortage of funds. The money had to be prepared within two weeks. Once the funding was settled, he would go and teach Dorothia as agreed.
There was a newspaper on the table. The man casually glanced at it. On it was the news of the first prince and Elodie dissolving their engagement. That would certainly make Dorothia happy.
So he went into the young lady's room. Dorothia sat dejectedly in front of her dressing table, not even practicing her authority. Hadn't she always said that Elodie was just a powerless, illegitimate girl, while she herself possessed the authority of one of the four great families? The only difference between them was authority. Only by constant practice could she become better. Even with this damned skin condition, she could still make an antidote for it, but she had to start practicing.
With that, he tossed the newspaper in front of her. On it was the news she liked to see. He said coldly, "I'm heading back. Remember to practice your authority. Don't slack off."
Dorothia's authority could only be used by him.
"Please come in, Miss Lily. I received your letter."
Standing under the umbrella was Elodie, a little annoyed. "Mario, if you keep sending letters like that, you're going to cause trouble." Since she did not have any friends at all, signing it that way only made it look weirder.
But Mario did not believe she had no friends. Elodie, however, said, "Seriously, I don't have any friends. Back to business."
The results of the investigation were in. The man's name was Gave, and he lived in the Duke of Angelos's estate. He was the master of the Southern Magic Tower.
Mario casually asked how she felt now that the engagement was dissolved. Happy?
In that case, it was definitely closer to happy. She was not going to get married in the future anyway. And although the plot had already deviated from the original, she had no idea how things would go from here. But once Estelle appeared, the first prince would surely fall for her. And before long, Elodie would leave House Pedia, become independent, and depart the capital, Somnia.
Ashen came by to congratulate her on the broken engagement, and told her what he had found about the mercenary king Ryan. From Ryan's birth to his appearance in Somnia, there was not a single trace to be found, as if he did not exist at all. Even though the emperor's confidants said he came from the slums, they still could not track down any record of him.
Having gotten this far, Ashen only became more serious and wanted to dig even deeper. Elodie believed her brother would definitely find something.
But the moment Ashen mentioned compensation, she immediately played dumb. She had to go remind Martha to prepare her bath water. Thanks, brother. See yourself out.
The little fox was putting on a very good act at her side and was clearly enjoying her brother's massage. Elodie added a mild warning. "My brother's authority is erasure. If he touches you, you'll die."
The little fox looked utterly incredulous.
The next day she went to find Aces, only to discover that the Western Magic Tower was in utter chaos. Aces, on the verge of collapse, declared that everything was ruined. That was the temperature-maintaining magical device he had sunk all his assets into. The product had already launched, but only two units had sold.
Aces was furious. Now everyone was laughing at him, and Elodie's money had gone down the drain with his.
But something was wrong. According to the original story, this product had been very popular. Although the process was not described, maybe it flopped first and then went viral, so she could not give up yet. After all, it had only just launched. The product presentation had not even been held.
She needed to inspect the device first. She then discovered that Aces had actually made a device that maintains a hot temperature in the middle of summer, which was basically like trying to sell electric blankets in summer.
But she would make this device a success. Aces, however, had lost confidence and was planning to switch to developing combat magic circles. But this concerned Elodie's money. She absolutely could not let it end like this.
So she proposed a bet. There were still five hundred units in stock. Next time they launched, they would definitely sell out.
Aces found it unbelievable, but did not really care. After all, if they did not sell, the one who lost would be her.
They fixed the deadline at one week after the product presentation, and everything had to be done her way. If Aces lost, he would cast a spell for her once. But what Elodie really wanted was money.
At that moment, the crown prince walked down a certain corridor. This was where he and Elodie had first met. She had been very young then, lost, yet pretending nothing was wrong, leaving a deep impression on him. She had not seemed to be waiting for anyone. More like she hoped no one would notice her. Because that impression was so strong, he had sent someone to help the child.
At the time, the crown prince had not known that the girl was his fiancée, nor had he known that making an engagement could be as easy as breaking one.
His father's condition had visibly improved. It seemed the Duke's daughter had not lied about having an excellent alchemist in her family. The emperor distrusted anything related to Pedia. If he knew the antidote had come from the Duke's daughter, things would be even more complicated.
The dissolution of the engagement was now in its final stage. Barring surprises, it would be officially announced today.
Elodie seemed like a child with a very strong pride. Had she hidden her fangs?
In truth, the one who had poisoned the emperor was already clear. But even knowing that, the emperor was powerless. From the moment he lost his health, the empress's faction had gradually seized real power. The emperor's impotence only made the crown prince's position more difficult.
Previously, the emperor had told him to choose Angelos. Thinking about it carefully, there was no way he could marry Dorothia. That would be taking the easy way out, and he did not want to. The emperor had even joked that only a girl like Elodie would be willing to marry a strange-tempered man like him.
This matter would surely stir up a storm, and the crown prince could not help wondering whether Elodie would feel pressured because of it.
Meanwhile, after the engagement was dissolved, Elodie was over the moon. She was finally free. She even made a commemorative clipping, treating it as a milestone. Now she could openly plan her trip out of Somnia with an easy mind.
Of course, before she identified the mastermind behind the assassins who had tried to kill her, she would remain with House Pedia for the time being.
Only one thing remained: making money. As long as the product launch went well in a few days, she could sign with a trade company and distribute the magical tools across the entire continent. In other words, as long as the presentation went smoothly, she would get rich overnight.
During preparations, however, she still had to keep brewing the antidote she had promised the crown prince. Doing it behind the Duchess's back was exhausting.