Viscount Ainsworth looked a little hesitant but he agreed to talk with me and we shifted to the library.
"Care to explain what this is?" I asked as I showed him the paper which carried the reports of the losses that Duke was facing.
"My Lady you shouldn't trouble yourself with this, you're recovering-"
"Tell me." I insisted and he pursed his lips staring down at the papers before pushing them towards me.
I looked at the bundle and started reading through the papers. With each paper, my frown deepened and I looked up at him once I was done reading.
"Is this the complete report?" I asked and he fidgeted.
"The rest is with His grace."
"You guys checked that place before buying it, right?" I asked.
"Yes, my Lady!" He spoke, his voice coming a bit high-pitched but then he sighed, "We were successful for the first few days but then..."
"Did you talk with the owner?"
"Yes, but he just said that it was simple business and..."
"And?"
"If the Duke is unlucky then that's not his problem." He said looking down and I sighed.
"Who is this smart and lucky fellow?"
"C-Count Stanson."
"Hm..." I hummed as I looked at the papers.
"Get me the complete report and if there's the reports about the soil tests then that as well. Also, have you run tests on the ores that you got from that mine?" I asked and Viscount looked a little confused.
"We checked the soil but... not the ores."
"Get it checked, I'm pretty sure it was fraud." Viscount nodded.
"I'll get it done, but, my Lady... are you really trying to solve this problem?"
"Do you think I'm fooling around then?"
"But, even His Grace couldn't- I mean- His Grace has filed a case against Count Stanson in the court already so..."
"All the more reason for me to get into it then," I concluded.
The matters with the court were always tricky and time-consuming so, it gave the perpetrators enough time to cover their tracks. If it wasn't too late then I might just find something.
"Pardon?" Viscount stared at me and I stood up.
"Bring the papers to my room after dinner."
"But, my Lady-"
"I'll be waiting," I said as I walked out of the library.
I returned to my room and sat down pondering on the situation that I had just discovered.
The Duke probably got phished into a trap of buying a mine which was supposed to produce iron ore and to buy it he spent a lot of money. But in the end, it turned out to be just an empty place with nothing but rocks and dirt so, there was no profit.
The Duke filed a case against the Count who sold the mine but it seemed like nothing was going on a positive side.
If anything, it was just going to end up as a great loss for the Duke if something wasn't done soon.
Just as I was thinking of finding a way to go on site to have a look at the mine the system notification popped up.
[You have received a new task from the Defender of Divine Glory.
{Investigate the mine with Rune Aurelius.}
Rewards: Complete knowledge of the skill of Mana Eyes.
Failure: Loss in the business.]
The look at rewards made me smile.
"Sweet. But how am I going to get there?" I wondered aloud.
[If you accept the task you will be teleported to the location.]
"But why is Rune included in this?"
[Goddess of Wisdom says it's dangerous for a young child to go alone.]
"Exactly." I agreed with her.
[Defender of Divine Glory clarifies that the young child is you.]
"Hah?! That guy is twelve, he's a kid too."
[Goddess of Wisdom asks you to have trust.]
I ran my hand through my hair as I found it frustrating to deal with these two people. They were not only nosy but also demanding at times.
I wondered if Rune knew about this loss thing and whether it would be a good idea to take him along. I was having my doubts but then again, the task specified that I should do it with him so, I guess I had no choice here.
"Fine, have it your way," I muttered.
I decided to talk with Rune first so that he wouldn't be freaked out when we went to that place using the system's magic. And also that we would arrange this investigation at night so that nobody would see anything and we would go and return quickly.
With the plan made, I got changed and went to have dinner with the Duke and Rune.
Duke Aurelius seemed like the kind of person who didn't let any problem come to his children. After his wife died, he had been balancing his work and his children on his own.
He didn't remarry even though he was getting proposals but devoted himself to Reina and Rune so that they wouldn't feel the absence of their mother. Considerably different from the one bastard that I knew.
He seemed like a good guy in general but if he got swindled like that then it was a concerning thing.
The dinner was an everyday thing for us, where the Duke and Rune would talk and try to make me speak.
"Well, I was thinking of buying you a new dress since you're growing so well, Reina." The Duke said with a smile and I forced a smile.
"I'm fine with my present clothes, father."
"What? But you're outgrowing them and it's not comfortable, is it? This weekend let's go to the town or would you like for the dressmakers to come visit you?" He asked.
He was a good actor. The fact that he was facing some serious issues wasn't even visible on his face.
"Let's go out in town then," I said and his smile brightened.
"Then I'll add it to my schedule."
"I want to go as well!" Rune added.
"Sure, I'll buy you both whatever you want."
The atmosphere was pretty much like a normal family but I couldn't relax. I had to complete the task, it was weighing on my mind like a ticking timebomb.
[Goddess of Wisdom asks you to take it easy.]
[Defender of Divine Glory tells you to enjoy dinner time with family.]
"Didn't I tell you to stay out of my personal matters?" I thought and the notifications disappeared.
After dinner, the Duke returned to his study while Rune said he would escort me to my room.
"We'll finally get to go out in town together," Rune said with a smile.
"You seem quite happy about that."
"Of course, I am. It's the first time that you will go outside of the mansion." He said and I recalled the fact that in this life "I" was bedridden all the time so, it was my first outing.
"Right..."
"Are you not happy about it?" He asked.
"I am but there's something else that's bothering me," I admitted and he stopped and looked at me with a serious expression on his face.
"What is it?"
I looked up at him, still hesitating as I could see he was really young and if he got into trouble then it would be my fault.
"Uh... It's nothing." I said and he frowned.
"Reina, please tell me. I will do anything to help you, I'm your older brother!"
His eyes shimmered with determination and I couldn't look directly into them so I simply asked him to come to my room.
He followed along and once inside I showed him the papers that I had gotten from Viscount Ainsworth.
Rune had no idea of what was going on so, he was shocked beyond his senses to see that we were actually facing losses and even a court case.
"B-But father didn't tell us about it!"
"Maybe he didn't want us to worry about it," I said and Rune frowned glaring at the papers.
There was a knock on the door and I opened it finding Viscount Ainsworth standing there with another bundle of papers. I stepped aside and let him in.
He gasped as he saw Rune already in there and after a little bit of questioning he confessed everything.
"How could father not tell us? This is a serious problem." Rune snapped and I sighed.
"His Grace didn't want Young Master and My Lady to worry unnecessarily," Viscount said.
"Unnecessarily? This thing is-"
"Brother," I cut in making him clamp but mouth but slam his first over the table as he was really angry.
"Viscount, you did your work you can leave now," I ordered making him look at me with questioning eyes.
"Pardon me asking, but what will you do with this, My Lady?" He asked and I glanced at Rune who was also looking at me.
"That's something that we will decide," I gestured at myself and Rune making his eyes go wide.
"But-"
"Also, keep it a secret from father."
"Pardon, what?!"
"Do as she says, Viscount," Rune spoke up.
"Don't tell father we know about this."
Viscount Ainsworth looked troubled as he faced both of us before giving in and leaving the room.
Once his footsteps disappeared I and Rune faced each other and he asked.
"So, what are we going to do about this?"