“Asil, could you please help me sell some land?”

“Uh, what?”

I approached Asil for assistance, feeling as if I were roasting beans over a fire. Asil rose abruptly from his seat as if he’d been shocked, stiffening like a plaster statue.

“What, what did you say? Evelyn, you want to sell land?”

“Yeah.”

“What, what are you selling?”

Fear clouded Asil’s eyes.

It was understandable; Evelyn didn’t actually own any land at the moment. So, what could she possibly be selling?

I shrugged and handed him the land document I had obtained from Douglas earlier.

“Zachary County. Douglas gave it to me earlier.”

“…Douglas?”

“Yeah.”

It seemed like Asil momentarily thought, ‘There’s no way he would just give it away.’ To preemptively clear any suspicion, I added,

“I got it in a trade with Douglas. It isn’t stolen.”

“You traded with him?”

“Yes.”

“And he willingly gave away the Zachary territory?”

“He did, calling himself an ‘Ora’bi man.’”

Asil’s eyes narrowed. I wondered if he doubted me, so I added hastily,

“He traded it willingly. No theft involved.”

“Oh… So…”

Now Asil seemed to understand, sighed, and relaxed. I looked at him puzzled.

“Why?”

At my question, Asil snapped back to attention and shook his head.

“Oh, nothing. You want to sell Zachary’s territory?”

“Yes.”

Asil’s face showed both disbelief and amusement. Knowing that Asil wouldn’t mock Evelyn, I nodded without understanding why he wore such an expression.

“If you’re going to buy new land, why not choose better land? What about Ella Barony? I’m offended. How about trading with one of my lands? You want something? How about Ditel County? It has a gold mine!”

“…”

Was I crazy? I barely managed to resist the shock and refused.

“Never mind. Ella Barony will do.”

Fortunately, Asil believed everything Evelyn said. He just gave in and took the land deed from me.

“Okay… It’s a land that will sell quickly and its value has increased well.”

“Please buy Ella Barony as soon as possible.”

“Why the rush for Ella Barony, what’s so attractive about it for our Evelyn?”

Asil asked with a meaningful smile. Feeling uncomfortable, I turned away.

“I just liked the name.”

“Is that so?”

Fortunately, Asil seemed to accept it without much doubt. But you can never be too sure.

“Still, it’s a bit of a shame to let go of Zachary County. Should I buy it?”

“No!”

“Evelyn?”

I blurted out, louder than I intended. At Asil’s puzzled call, I hastily closed my mouth.

Zachary County will suffer drought this year. It will become a barren land with no hope of prosperity.

Why make excuses and stop him?

While I desperately racked my brain, Asil surprisingly gave up first.

“Okay, if Evelyn says no. I’ll sell Zachary County clean.”

“Asil?”

Why did he give up so easily? Was he planning to buy it back later after soothing me with his promises?

With a doubtful expression, Asil seemed to understand everything I was thinking and reassured me.

“When did I ever lie to you? If Evelyn doesn’t want it, there’s no need to buy it.”

“Still, it’s profitable land.”

“Even if the profit is good, it can’t compete with Evil Headquarters. And we have more than just Zachary Territory as our estate.”

Not just one?

Sometimes I’m amazed at the wealth of this family. Those under Praviche will never starve…

“Anyway, Zachary County will sell quickly. I’ll bring the land deed for Ella Barony with the payment later.”

With a clear expression, free of any lingering doubts, Asil relinquished Zachary County. Knowing that he owned other lands and that Douglas had willingly given up Zachary Territory, I felt that everything had been resolved smoothly.

Although it ended strangely, I began to get up from my seat.

“By the way, this Douglas seems to be getting more dishonest as time goes on…”

“Huh?”

My eyes widened at Asil’s muttering.

“What did you say? I didn’t catch that.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Forget it.”

Asil said goodbye to me with a smile, as always only showing me his good side, and urged me to leave quickly.

Even though I’m the most idle person in this household, am I as busy as Asil? It felt strange that he was in such a hurry to send me away, but since I had finished my business, there was no reason to stay any longer.

Although the conclusion felt strange, I convinced myself that good things are good things and calmed down.

* * *

That evening,

The Praviche family gathered in one place. To be exact, Evelyn was missing.

Asil, who had called the family meeting, solemnly spoke first.

“Evelyn sold Zachary County.”

The eyes of the three lions fell on Douglas. He shifted uncomfortably, his shoulders twitching.

Henry asked, confused, “Wait, why does Evelyn have that land? Douglas, did you give it to her?”

“I gave it to her on the condition that she call me ‘Brother.’”

Asil looked directly at Douglas and shrugged with a hint of disdain.

“For some reason, she kept bragging about it to me.”

Douglas avoided Asil’s gaze, embarrassed.

Not long after handing over Zachary’s territory to Evelyn, Asil had come to talk business. In the excitement of Evelyn calling him “Brother,” Douglas had bragged to Asil.

“Evelyn called me ‘Brother.’”

“What? Evelyn?”

“Yes.”

“Are you delusional? Did you pass out and dream up nonsense while recovering from a blow to the head from Evelyn?”

“Face the reality, Asil. I heard it clearly. She called me ‘brother.’ It means I’m the true elder sibling, no matter how much you rant about being her brother. It’s a pity you don’t appreciate the majesty of being a brother…”

“She called you young master, not ‘brother.’ Stop exaggerating.”

In an instant, Douglas’ plush sofa became a bed of nails. Embarrassed, Douglas tried to shift the blame to Asil.

“How did you find out? You weren’t eavesdropping again, were you?”

“I didn’t have to eavesdrop. Evelyn came to me and said she sold the land and wanted to buy Ella Barony.”

“What? Evelyn wanted to buy Ella Barony?”

Pushing the incapacitated Douglas aside in the face of the merciless truth, Henry leaned forward to confirm. Asil sighed and nodded.

“Yes.”

“Why would she buy such a worthless place instead of leaving the good land alone? If she wanted Ella Barony from the start, she could have just told us instead of selling and buying again.”

“I don’t understand it either, but for some reason Evelyn wanted to sell Zachary County quickly. She practically jumped when I agreed to buy it.”

The expressions on the faces of the four became strange.

A girl who had no interest in land was suddenly buying and selling land. She had even threatened to get an invitation to Walpurgis not long ago, obviously for this purpose.

Henry murmured, “Has Evelyn been acting strangely lately?”

“More importantly, she bought Dahlia’s Radiance on Walpurgis Night. What’s so good about that unlucky gem with the unfortunate name?”

“Don’t tell me she still has a crush on the Crown Prince.”

Douglas’ ominous remark startled Asil and Henry.

“Oh, come on! Don’t talk nonsense!”

“Our daughter has finally come to her senses and won’t accept such nonsense!”

Douglas was verbally beaten, with Tara being the one to save him.

“Anyway, Evelyn found out about Walpurgis Night…”

Tara’s serious tone made everyone’s faces even grimmer.

The Praviche family regularly received invitations to Walpurgis Night, a black market auction exclusively for selected nobles.

They had kept Evelyn ignorant of its existence for years.

Tara muttered, “Marquis Celestian might have let it slip.”

Everyone knew that Marquis Celestian pretended to be clean.

Still, they had no reason to stop Evelyn. Since she turned eighteen this year, Evelyn had the qualifications to enter Walpurgis Night.

But only until then.

Tara asked, “Did Evelyn want Dahlia’s Radiance?”

“Yes. I heard it clearly.”

Asil nodded vigorously. Tara grinned.

“Then she shall have it. Make arrangements for her to get it.”

“Honey!”

Henry exclaimed in shock. But where did Evelyn’s stubbornness come from? It was Tara, of course.

“What’s the problem? If our daughter wants to see it, of course we should let her. We were the ones who taught her to get what she wants, right?”

Tara’s argument left the three men speechless.

Of course, Tara knew what they were worried about. So she decided to take some precautions.

“But in exchange…”