It was a familiar face. Viscount Totair.
One of the senior executives my father often brought to the mansion.
For convenience, it was better to persuade this one person than to deal with random underlings. He was that high up.
He had a stern appearance, a flat tone, and a brutal honesty that often put my father in a tough spot.
Even that damn Devon would often return to the mansion fuming, claiming he had been insulted by him. But to me, everything he said sounded reasonable.
To sum it up, he was an uncompromising man when it came to the interests and management of the territory.
I smiled confidently and greeted him warmly.
“Viscount Totair, thank you for organizing the situation.”
Viscount Totair blinked his shadowed, dull eyes.
“I didn’t do it to be thanked, Count. Do you understand your responsibility as the head?”
“Of course. This decision is solely for the prosperity of the territory and the well-being of its people.”
“This is an absurd proposal. Proper procedures were not followed, and the person involved was not even consulted.”
Viscount Totair spoke in a weighty tone and gestured toward my uncle. My uncle, still in shock, cleared his throat and nodded, glancing at me disapprovingly.
“Uncle, I’m sorry. I must have startled you.”
“Do you think I jumped up because a bug crawled past my feet?”
At his cool reprimand, I lowered my eyebrows and smiled.
If I had approached my uncle first to persuade him, rumors would have spread, and despite his good intentions, the executives might have used him as a pawn in their power struggles.
Since I entrusted him with management, it was only proper for me to cut off such confusion at its root.
This meant I had to act in a way that might seem like I was ignoring my uncle’s authority… but it was unavoidable.
I had to make sure he appeared not as a powerless figurehead losing control, but as a shadow ruler with real influence.
Viscount Totair let out a deep sigh before speaking in a resigned tone.
“Let’s say the delegation of authority is settled. But reducing the supply price for the imperial deal and doubling the budget for nonprofit organizations… How do you plan to cover the financial shortfall?”
As Viscount Totair voiced his displeasure, others murmured in agreement. The finance executives, in particular, glared at me.
I smiled and brushed my hair back from my neck.
“I plan to start a jewelry business exclusively for knights using Lebron minerals.”
“What…?”
Viscount Totair’s stiff, wooden-like face twisted in shock. The executives began murmuring.
“Are you saying you want to cut and refine LeBron?”
“Yes. In other words, we lower the unit price and diversify the product range to sell to more people. Right now, LeBron mining is limited each year, which is why the price is so high.”
“But that—”
“Rarity value? That’s important too. But rarity only matters when it’s not tied to survival. Even now, there are knights in foreign lands who go into battle without LeBron. We prioritize our own citizens, of course. But the important thing is, they also have families to protect.”
“…Foreign lands? The annual export volume is already limited.”
“That’s why refining is necessary. By diversifying the product range and adjusting prices to include design costs, we can lower the financial burden while expanding sales. If we sell to more knights, both domestically and abroad, it will boost revenue and business growth. And of course, imperial knights will respond positively. LeBron is smaller than regular minerals, but up until now, they’ve been carrying it inefficiently.”
Besides, even after refinement, raw LeBron minerals would still be in demand. Once knights learn that refining is possible, they’ll start hiring artisans to rework their weapons with it.
The executives erupted into louder complaints.
They called me an ignorant child who didn’t understand the world, questioning how I could be entrusted with such responsibility. After all, people believed that refining Lebron would strip it of its power.
Right now, I must have looked like nothing more than a pampered girl who had lived her whole life under her father’s protection.
As the murmuring grew, Viscount Totair remained calm, staring at me intently.
“Are you being reckless because of what you recently experienced? The world is not so forgiving. You’re past the age for childish bravado.”
That was a harsh statement.
This time, my uncle spoke up.
“Etricia, it’s good to have ambition. But you know refining Lebron is impossible. Even your father… I can’t support you on this.”
My uncle trailed off, looking troubled. The executives shot me doubtful glances. Some of Devon’s former lackeys snickered, treating this like a spectacle.
I smiled and signaled a nearby employee to bring a small hammer and a piece of Lebron mineral. I also requested monster blood.
Soon, the employee returned with a tray carrying the requested items. Everyone watched without blinking, wondering what I was up to.
I picked up the translucent, rough mineral, examined it, then struck it with the small hammer.
Crack! The Lebron shattered, with one fragment flying to the corner.
The room filled with shocked and confused gazes.
I then lifted a glass bottle containing a small amount of monster blood. The dark purple liquid swirled as I opened the cork and poured it onto the tray. Then, I brought the Lebron close to it.
The monster blood bubbled violently, resisting the Lebron’s presence. Bubbles formed and burst, shifting and merging like living cells.
But it didn’t disappear. After all, LeBron wasn’t a holy stone that completely erased monster power. It inflicted hallucinations, ringing ears, and burns, but it didn’t destroy monsters outright.
I withdrew the Lebron from the blood and looked around at the dumbfounded executives.
For a group managing dozens or hundreds of subordinates, they suddenly seemed rather weak-willed. I smiled.
“The idea that refining Lebron destroys its power comes from a historical event where the first subjugation unit was wiped out. That was the first-time refined Lebron was supplied. Not a single knight returned alive. The Lebron found at the scene, along with their bodies, was disposed of per the bereaved families’ request. The loss was so great that even I remember it.”
That incident led to relentless protests against the Buell family. We had to compensate and apologize repeatedly.
I even remember seeing my father drinking all night in front of my grandfather’s portrait.
After that, my father never dared to refine LeBron again.
Retesting was possible, but he had learned a harsh lesson—his reckless actions could cost lives.
LeBron was limited in supply. A single mistake could mean a knight’s death. So he opted for a risk-free business model.
Naturally, imperial citizens also developed a negative perception of refining Lebron.
But that incident was caused by improper refining techniques and a misclassification of the monster’s level.
To refine Lebron properly, a general method wouldn’t work. It needed to be combined with finely cut magic stones that had resistance to monsters.
And during that battle, they had been caught off guard by a high-grade monster they thought was low-level.
‘It was truly a tragic event for the knights and their families.’
As I gathered my thoughts, the executives, frozen in shock, snapped back to reality.
“L-Let me verify this!”
“Me too!”
One by one, they rushed to test the shattered LeBron. Some skeptics demanded a magic recording device to capture the results.
I clapped my hands to regain their attention.
“Of course, monster blood alone can’t fully prove Lebron’s efficiency. There may be side effects. That experiment…”
“I will conduct it.”
Viscount Totair, who had been standing in shock, raised his hand with newfound enthusiasm. His once-weary eyes now gleamed with sharp calculation.
“Thank you, Viscount Totair.”
“But… how did you know?”
His lingering astonishment made his eyes twitch.
Haha. I gave him an awkward smile.
This was actually something he had discovered through sacrifice and determination in the original story. He even helped Devon live a peaceful life in the end.
I might have stolen his credit, but what could I do? It was a perk of being reincarnated here.
I flashed another lighthearted smile and glanced at Devon’s former lackeys in the corner. They looked displeased that our conflict had been resolved.
I gestured toward them and spoke to Viscount Totair.
“I think it’s time for an organizational restructuring. You understand what I mean, right? I’ve already divorced him, so I can’t have traces of my ex-husband in my territory.”
Viscount Totair sighed deeply.
“Pardon my rudeness, but proper communication with personnel is also a quality a leader should have.”
“I already said I would leave management to my uncle. Didn’t you hear?”
“I still prefer to serve you.”
I smiled.
