Jircniv stood by the window of his study, gazing at the imperial city bathed in moonlight.
Several documents were spread out on the table.
The top document is a background investigation of Arche Eve Lil Field.
Her father, Baron Field, was once a landed nobleman.
However, due to his incompetence, he managed his territory terribly, resulting in years of tax losses and causing immense suffering to the people.
Jircniv was stripped of his noble status and his lands confiscated during the Great Purge when he was fifteen.
But out of a kind of mercy, or rather, out of respect for that family's century-old history.
He retained his baronial title and was given a meager annuity.
But that pension was far from enough to maintain the "decent life" he wanted.
So he borrowed money.
Borrow from merchants, borrow from nobles, borrow from usurers.
The borrowed money was used to buy expensive vases, exquisite tableware, and gorgeous clothes to maintain the "aristocratic" facade that was already riddled with holes.
His wife, also a noblewoman stripped of her status, was equally obsessed with that false sense of dignity.
They have three daughters: Arche, Ureirika, and Kuuderika, twins, who are five years old this year.
Now, they are in debt to loan sharks.
Three hundred gold coins.
One hundred of them were used to buy a vase.
A vase.
Jircniv's lips curled up slightly.
That wasn't a smile; it was a mockery.
They mocked the man's stupidity, the woman's vanity, and the once illustrious family that had fallen so low as to have to sell their daughter to pay off debts.
"His Majesty."
A deep voice came from behind.
Jircniv did not turn around.
"Explain."
"Mr. and Mrs. Fields have agreed. Three hundred gold coins and two daughters. They will be sent to Mr. Higashino Makoto's residence first thing tomorrow morning."
Did they hesitate?
"No."
"No?"
"No. Their eyes lit up when they heard 'three hundred gold coins.'"
Jircniv was silent for a moment.
"That's good."
He turned around, walked back behind his desk, and sat down.
Deep purple eyes stared at the document, at the two names.
Ureirika, Kuuderika.
Five years old, twins, blonde hair and blue eyes, said to be very beautiful.
"Higashino Makoto said he likes Arche's face."
He said in a low voice.
"Then he should like them. After all, they're sisters, and they look alike."
"His Majesty."
"Um."
"Would Mr. Higashino Makoto... refuse to accept?"
Jircniv was silent for a moment.
I don't know, but it's never a bad thing to try.
He leaned back in his chair, his deep purple eyes staring at the ceiling.
"He doesn't like beating around the bush. So, we'll just give it to him directly. If he doesn't accept it, we'll take it back. If he accepts it, that's best."
What if he doesn't accept?
"It doesn't matter. Just ask him directly what he wants. Anything the Baharuth Empire has, we'll give. As long as he's willing to help control those things under the tomb."
Jircniv's voice was calm.
"We need to build a relationship with him. Not to exploit him, but to make contact. He cured Leinas's Curse, he dissuaded the Foresight from their deaths, and he informed the Baharuth Empire about the tomb. He has done a great deal for the Baharuth Empire. The Baharuth Empire needs to repay him."
"So, you gave him two little girls?"
Jircniv chuckled softly.
"Not two little girls. Two little girls who can make Higashino Makoto happy. He likes Arche's face, so he gave him someone who looks like Arche. The fact that he has a little girl with him shows that he doesn't reject children. The fact that he cured Leinas's Curse shows that he is willing to help others."
He paused.
"So, give him two little girls who need help. He probably won't refuse."
His subordinate remained silent for a moment.
"Your Majesty is wise."
"Go ahead. Deliver it first thing tomorrow morning."
"Yes, sir."
The door closed.
Jircniv leaned back in his chair, his deep purple eyes staring at the ceiling.
"Higashino Makoto..."
He murmured the name, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Will you like this gift?
No one answered. Only the wind outside the window rustled the curtains softly.
Ureirika was awakened by a commotion.
She opened her eyes and saw an unfamiliar ceiling.
The air was filled with the smell of wood and dust, as well as some indescribable, unfamiliar scent.
She sat up and found herself in a carriage. The carriage was moving, and the rhythmic sound of the wheels rolling over the gravel road filled the carriage.
Kuuderika sat beside her, her long golden hair disheveled and draped over her shoulders, her emerald green eyes filled with fear.
Her lips trembled, and her fingers gripped the hem of her skirt tightly, her knuckles turning white.
"Elder sister..."
Her voice was very soft, so soft that it was almost inaudible.
"Where... where are we?"
Ureirika did not answer.
She didn't know.
All she knew was that the two of them had been sold by their parents for a large bag of gold coins.
Don't be afraid.
She reached out and took Kuuderika's hand.
"No matter what happens, your sister is here."
Kuuderika's tears finally welled up.
She threw herself into Ureirika's arms and cried like a child.
Although she was a child herself, at this moment, she was more like a child in need of protection than ever before.
Ureirika held her sister in her arms, gently patting her back. Her eyes were fixed on the fields and villages rushing past the window.
Her expression was calm, but her heart was trembling.
After all, they were abandoned by their own parents.
They were told that they would now belong to their "master," a man named "Higashino Makoto."
The carriage stopped at the entrance of the Singing Apple Garden.
The car door opened, and a man in a black uniform stood outside, looking at them expressionlessly.
"Get down."
Ureirika took Kuuderika's hand and stepped down from the carriage.
The sunlight shone on them, turning their blonde hair golden.
They were wearing the white nightgowns they had worn to bed the day before, barefoot, their toes curling slightly on the cold stone pavement.
"Come with me."
The man turned around and walked into the hotel.
Ureirika, holding her sister's hand, followed.
In the hotel lobby, Higashino Makoto was sitting at a table in the corner, drinking black tea.
Illya sat opposite him, her long silver-white hair shimmering golden in the sunlight, her crimson eyes gazing curiously at the two blonde little girls.
"Mr. Higashino Makoto."
The man walked up to him, stopped, and bowed slightly.
"A gift from His Majesty the Emperor."
Higashino Makoto put down his teacup and looked at the two little girls.
Long golden hair, emerald green eyes, and a delicate face.
They stood in the center of the hall, wearing white nightgowns and barefoot, like two baby birds pulled from their nest.
"Gift?"
Higashino Makoto's brows furrowed slightly.
"Yes. They are Arche Eve Lil Field's two younger sisters. Twins."
The man's voice was calm.
"His Majesty said you liked Arche's face. So, he sent you someone who looked like Arche."
Higashino Makoto's brows furrowed even more.
This incident caught him off guard, and he didn't particularly like such unexpected events.
"Where is Arche, and where are their parents?"
"Arche was unaware of this. Their parents, on the other hand, sold them out of wedlock."
"Sold."
"Sold?"
"Sold it. Three hundred gold coins. To pay off the loan sharks."