The Villain Carries the Holy Sword – Chapter 56.1

Chapter 56.1: A Chance Encounter (1)

Tap, tap, tap.

Oleciren stared blankly into space, tapping her pen on a blank sheet of paper as if she were worried about something.

It was unlike her usual self, who had been handling work without hesitation.

“…….”

Isoel looked down at Oleciren, who was lost in thought, and left for a moment.

“Please have a cup of tea.”

When she returned, she was carrying a white tray with a cup of sage tea that she had just brewed.

“Sorry. You must be worried because of me.”

Oleciren took the tea with a bitter smile. It was a far cry from the finest sage tea served in the royal palace.

However, the sincerity and heart put into it were the same, so Oleciren felt warmth spread through her.

Isoel asked her,

“Is work difficult? If so, perhaps it is time to hand it over to Crowl’s officials.”

Since Arian Crowl took power, the administrative affairs of Count Crowl’s territory had almost come to a standstill.

Other areas continued as usual.

However, matters related to finance were sensitive, and without the approval of the Count who appointed them, the officials could not possibly overcome the local nobles who were as cunning as snakes.

The administration had been struggling along somehow, but then Arian died, and the original Count, Garick, returned.

However.

“Not yet. At least, Lord Count Garick needs to recover before the officials can work.”

Count Garick was still bedridden.

His authority had yet to reach every corner of the Count’s territory, so Oleciren was filling the void with her title as the First Princess.

Oleciren gulped down the hot tea and took down the cup with some tea leaves left.

She smiled at Isoel and slightly tilted her wrist, showing the empty cup.

“Thank you as always.”

“I apologize that this is all I can do.”

“Nonsense. I wouldn’t have come this far without you, Isoel.”

Princess Oleciren.

And her one and only knight, Isoel.

The Royal Library.

The Lindbloom Academy’s Restricted Section.

And lastly, the Sealed Archives of the magic tower ruled by Count Wareham.

Isoel, who knew everything, including how Oleciren became a witch, had traveled everywhere with her to find a solution.

Therefore, they knew each other very well.

Isoel looked at Oleciren for a moment. She was trying to figure out how to bring it up as carefully as possible.

“You seem different from usual.”

Oleciren knew Isoel as much as Isoel knew her, so she spoke first.

“Yes, you would usually say that rest is also part of work if I’m tired, but you’re just spacing out. Is there something else bothering you?”

Screech—

Oleciren turned her chair.

It was late at night, and Crowl’s officials had already left work.

Outside the square window behind her, a pitch-black sky and brightly shining stars were spread out.

“Isoel.”

The windowpane was opaque.

The dim light of the magic lamp in the room flickered, reflecting on the gray-haired Oleciren and the dull blonde Isoel.

Oleciren looked at Isoel, who was looking at herself in the window.

“Do you think I can be king?”

She couldn’t bring herself to voice her concerns about her mother, Carla Audrey, whom she thought was from a humble noble family.

“Yes.”

Isoel answered without a moment’s hesitation.

“You are more fit to be king than anyone else, Your Highness.”

“You know I didn’t start this because I wanted to be queen. I was just struggling to survive because I would be killed if anyone found out I was a witch……”

Cain Ethelred.

Oleciren tried to say his name but swallowed it back down.

She couldn’t bring herself to say the name of the man who had shown her a way to live by becoming king when she had only wished to survive.

“I don’t know much about difficult things.”

“That’s a lie. The students of the academy who were pushed around by you would cry if they heard that.”

The corners of Isoel’s lips rose slightly.

Those days, which had now become a distant past, made her smile.

“But I do know this. You were the only one who saw me for who I was, when no one else did.”

“…….”

“If you can read people so well, Your Highness, you are definitely qualified to be king.”

“Well, if Olivia had met you first, do you think she would have done the same?”

Isoel thought for a moment.

What would the Second Princess Olivia do if she met her back then?

Olivia, who was so terribly clever and good at hiding herself, would have given up for sure.

However, Oleciren, both now and then, would do what she had to do, no matter how dirty it got.

“Luck is also a qualification of a king.”

However, Isoel did not say those words out loud.

She was qualified to be king.

But would Oleciren be happy if she became king?

“Isoel, you’re quite the joker sometimes.”

Oleciren chuckled and began to look through the documents she had been looking at before. Isoel looked down at her profile as she always did.

It was her duty to protect that appearance, and it was her belief to protect her, no matter what choice she made.

Isoel deliberately let go of the reins on the deep worries that Oleciren was having.

She knew that Oleciren would find her way soon enough.

Thud—

Oleciren went through a few more documents and then tapped a spot with her pen.

“Qaclington Mine.”

Isoel’s eyes narrowed as if trying to remember something.

“Something seems strange here. Isoel, bring me the geography book of Crowl’s territory. I need to look into the past tax records.”

“Yes, My Lord.”

Unlike the officials who had become accustomed to it over decades, Oleciren, who had been going through a vast amount of data in a short period, had a small suspicion.

It didn’t take long for that suspicion to surface.

Oleciren lined up the tax records for the past ten years.

“Look, what do you think?”

Isoel frowned.

She didn’t know much about administrative work, but something was definitely strange.

“It’s too consistent.”

Even though it was a mine, the tax revenue from Qaclington was always the same.

It was clear that the existing officials, accustomed to the old ways, had not paid any attention to it.

Swoosh—

Oleciren opened the geography book that Isoel had brought and looked for the Qaclington Mine.

Tap, tap—

She tapped her finger on the ‘Qaclington Iron Mine’ marked on the map from a hundred years ago.

“If it’s been a mine for so long, we should have known about it. That means it’s not that big.”

“Yes, this is the first I’ve heard of it.”

“But if they’ve been mining here since ancient times, and the taxes haven’t changed……”

Oleciren rolled her eyes, trying to piece together the possibilities.

There was no problem since the taxes were being paid properly.

But it was suspicious.

There could be another, larger source of income that was being hidden, or in extreme cases, it could have been taken over by illegal forces and used as a front.

It was a rare case, but not unheard of.

“Ah!”

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