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Chapter 29

At Emilia's praise-filled response, the Viscount's stern expression softened.

He seemed to be picturing his beloved granddaughter.

"Indeed! After that, she even started growing and cultivating the plants herself."

He took a sip of the tea Emilia had brought and continued.

"Seeing the struggles of the people in my territory, she insisted on doing something about it. Of course, it's hardly appropriate for a noble lady, but what could I do? Since she wanted to, I had no choice but to let her."

Viscount Ardel clicked his tongue, but there was a hint of pride in his tone.

"Oh my. It's not easy for someone so young to think about the hardships of the people."

"Ahem! That trait, she inherited from her parents."

As Emilia smiled and listened to the Viscount's stories, his mood had softened considerably compared to before.

"My grandson is no slouch either! That boy, since he was little, could solve math formulas in a snap..."

Just as he was about to move on to stories about his grandson, the reception room door opened.

"Miss Emilia? Why are you here...?"

Herald, carrying documents, looked bewildered to see Emilia standing beside Viscount Ardel.

Catching the oddity in his words, the Viscount asked,

"Hm? She's not a maid?"

"Ah, yes..."

Emilia smiled awkwardly and grasped the trolley handle.

She'd brought in the tea in Laura's place, and she figured it was time to leave.

The Viscount's expression seemed much more relaxed than before, after all.

Meanwhile, Herald, after a moment of puzzlement at seeing Emilia, quickly hardened his expression again.

He had more urgent business than wondering why she was here.

He approached the sofa and set the documents on the table.

"If you're so curious why the business proposal was rejected, see for yourself. I've also noted the reasons for the rejection. It may seem impressive to you, but results like that are achievable by anyone."

Herald sighed wearily.

"You know very well that coming here like this won't change anything."

Ah, those words...

Emilia glanced sideways.

Just as expected, the Viscount's face flushed with humiliation.

He lowered his head silently and clenched his fist.

Herald flinched.

But the Viscount didn't take any further action. Because the young aide's words had struck a nerve.

He, too, as the lord of a small territory, knew that his current behavior was a nuisance.

But still...

He wanted to know why his grandson's business proposal had been rejected.

It wasn't out of favoritism—the technology his grandson had developed was genuinely remarkable.

The results were reportedly incomparably higher than existing technologies.

From the Viscount's perspective, he simply couldn't understand.

His gaze fell on his own wrinkled hands.

Yes.

He couldn't claim that no personal feelings were involved.

His son and daughter-in-law had died early in a carriage accident, leaving him as the only family his grandchildren had.

For now, they weren't seriously ill, but he could feel his body aging day by day.

Naturally, he worried about his grandchildren.

He wanted to leave them a means to live without major worries even after he was gone.

At least enough to care for the people in their territory and manage their own paths.

Fortunately, the children had overcome the grief of losing their parents and found their own talents.

He'd thought how proud he would be if they succeeded with their lifelong research.

But contrary to his hopes, his grandson's business proposal had been rejected.

After a brief disappointment, he'd thought—

Was it really so hard to review it just once more?

His grandson had devoted years to researching that technology.

He'd acted out of that selfish feeling, throwing a tantrum.

But with a cooler head, he could clearly recognize his own shameful behavior.

"...I've been rude."

Viscount Ardel said in a dejected voice.

Just as he was about to rise with his heavy body—

"Excuse me, if you don't mind, may I take a look?"

Emilia broke the silence and asked the Viscount.

"...You, miss?"

At the Viscount's bewildered expression, Emilia calmly added.

"Yes. I can read documents somewhat, so I think I might be able to explain things in a way that would satisfy you a little better."

The Viscount, with no particular objection, slowly nodded.

After all, even if he looked at the documents on the table, he probably wouldn't understand them.

With his permission, Emilia came and sat on the sofa.

Among the business proposals she'd reviewed while helping Herald before, none had belonged to the young lord Ardel.

But having seen others, she should be able to identify the issues with this one.

Let's see.

She picked up the young lord Ardel's business proposal.

Hmm.

From the very first page, an atrociously messy handwriting greeted her.

For someone exhausted from reviewing countless documents, it would be very unwelcome.

Emilia first flipped to the last page to check the reason for rejection.

Insufficient efficiency compared to existing technology.

Honestly, the reason for rejection was clear and hard to dispute.

But given the Viscount's attitude, there seemed to be something different about this case...

Emilia examined the documents again from the beginning.

"A project to improve energy extraction efficiency from magic stones"...

Aside from the nearly illegible handwriting, the proposal's content was substantial.

Objectives and expected outcomes, phased implementation strategies, budget plans.

The section explaining the energy extraction method was exceptionally detailed.

Then Emilia noticed the figures in the experimental results section and tilted her head.

With a hunch, she asked the Viscount.

"Hmm. By any chance, does your grandson read many books from the Zaredan Kingdom?"

The Viscount nodded.

"Yes, he does. My daughter-in-law was from the Zaredan Kingdom."

At that, Emilia examined the figures in the experimental results once more.

Especially the units written beside the numbers.

"Could the issue be with the units used here?"

"The units?"

Both Herald and the Viscount looked puzzled.

"Ah, I mean, perhaps the figures written in this document are using the units from the Zaredan Kingdom."

The Zaredan Kingdom and the Empire used different units for measuring energy.

And the Zaredan Kingdom's unit was larger than the Empire's.

Emilia did some mental arithmetic and spoke.

"So, converted to the Empire's units, that would mean extracting 16 mr of energy per 1 gram of magic stone."

"Pardon?"

At Emilia's words, Herald's eyes went wide.

"W-wait, could I see that too?"

Herald asked urgently, and Emilia handed him the document.

Herald practically pressed his nose to the paper, examining it closely, then blinked.

It did indeed look closer to the Zaredan Kingdom's unit, wr, than the Empire's mr.

Herald recalled the time he'd reviewed this document.

I vaguely remember...

After being put off by the migraine-inducing handwriting at first glance.

He recalled only checking the results, being disappointed, and flipping past.

And Emilia, watching the slightly dumbfounded Herald, thought:

Given his surprised reaction, he must have assumed the Empire's units were used.

In such cases, of course...

It would have been better to convert to Imperial units, or write both.

But from the young lord Ardel's perspective, he'd properly written the units, so he probably thought it was fine.

"Wait a moment. Then, truly..."

Herald stammered.

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