In the anti, outside the city, pri minister Windrider, his closest n, three sons and Emmah had found the site of the luminite mine, the sa one whose location Sigrid had shared with the emperor.
According to the new plot of the novel, a doctor that was treating Emmah by chance happened to have a crystal from the mine, he thought it was useless but Emmah had a feeling that it was special and she took it from him.
At the mont, she had no connection to the Ye family but she had a greater impression of the pri minister, he had spoken up for her many tis in the royal court. His son Lysander had sent her flowers, hoping that she got well soon and expressed a desire to call on her whenever the opportunity was presented. So, after she was removed from the Vale, she visited the mage estate and spoke to a mage who identified the crystal.
Emmah was not without resources, she had made more than a few connections in the orphanage. She had handed out a few scraps here and there, acting like a savior so many of the children worshiped and run errands for her like her personal servants.
Even better was that a few of the older boys had crushes on her. They were willing to do anything for her so she one that was a knight to look for the luminite mine following information which the doctor provided.
Ard with a map and crystal in addition to her special mage constitution and the so called mysterious divine voice in her mind, she led the pri minister by the nose, bringing him to the mine.
When they arrived in Duck village where the mine sat, unfortunately it was already occupied. Pri minister Windrider, a man of great ambition could not have been more displeased to witness this.
The air was noisy with the rhythmic clanging of mining axes, piles of glistening raw crystals were stacked carelessly on the ground. The pri minister’s eyes glistened with greed as he took in the thousands of crystals being unearthed.
If they were as special as Emmah had said, this one mine could elevate his status, turning him into the richest man in Eldoria. He could be dozens of tis richer than the entire royal family together, with wealth and power, he could control the king as he desired.
His eyes took in the people running the operation as he plotted their deaths in his mind but ca to a pause when he realized that it would not be so simple. Knights on horses were supervising the operation, watching over workers whose faces were sared with soot and exhaustion.
These knights had the sigil of the Thorin family on their chests. Did this an that the Thorin’s had already beaten him to it?
"Who else did you tell about this mine?" he asked Emmah.
She was sporting a frown on her face, clearly unhappy to find that the mine had already been discovered. It was not what the doctor had told her, according to him the mine with the useless crystals had been unoccupied for over twenty years.
"I told no one." she assured him.
She saw doubt in the eyes of the pri minister and added, "I even killed the doctor to make sure that the secret would never be revealed to anyone else. Who the hell are these people?"
"Thorin’s." Lysander growled out. His dislike for the Thorin family dripped from his mouth.
Emmah looked around, she could not see anyone from the royal family watching over the operations of the mine. "It seems the king is not aware of the existence of this mine, if the royal family was involved, there would be more supervision, tents and royal knights."
Lysander’s eyes twinkled as he ca to realize what this possibly ant for the Thorin family, it was cri, one whose consequences were grave. Finally, the opportunity for revenge against Sigrid had presented itself.
"Father, do you suppose that it is an illegal operation?"
Pri minister Windrider feigned outrage imdiately, "How dare the Thorin’s hide such a valuable mine from the king! They are violating the laws of the kingdom for personal gain. I will report this to the king imdiately."
Despite his fake outrage, a flicker of greed still burned in his eyes, turned on his heel, his cloak flying behind him heroically. Those he had co with followed, they did not see the look of regret and pain in his eyes.
Emmah was partly leaning against Lysander as they walked to the carriages, she looked back one last ti and clenched her fists. She had not managed to benefit from this mine, how could Sigrid and the Thorin’s be allowed to?
What she could not get, Sigrid could not be allowed to possess.
"Pri minister, if the Thorin’s can hide one mine, is it possible that they are hiding others?" She paused a question.
The pri minister paused his steps for a mont and he considered her words, they were not so out of the box.
"Lysander, investigate the Thorin’s more closely. If we report them for illegally operating one mine, the king will take back its ownership and give them a light punishnt after all, they are the family of the crown princess. If they own more than one mine however, the entire family could be hanged or lose their nobility and beco commoners."
"They have gold, a lot of it and yet they do not own any gold mines. I saw chests of gold in the Vale, all property of the crown princess and none were given to her by the crown prince. I suspect that the Thorin’s have one or two gold mines that they are hiding. If we can find them and spread the news publicly, the king will have no choice but to follow the law in dealing with them."
The pri minister nodded a little more and gave Emmah an approving look, she had the gift of foresight and she an enmity with the Thorin’s. The more he thought about her qualities, the more a bold idea ca to him.
"Miss Emmah, you said that you were raised without a father, I find that to be very sad. A woman with your beauty and talents is only worthy of nobility. How would you like to beco my daughter?"
Emmah gasped, it seed her trip had not been for nothing.
**************
After Sigrid narrated her tale, ti moved slowly and the Thorin’s spoke in whispers, waiting for the frozen crown prince to have a reaction. Tea was served, it went cold and it was removed, fresh pots were brought, hardened bread was taken away, soft cakes were served.
"How long do you suppose he is going to remain like that?" Duchess Mila asked Sigrid.
"I don’t know, nobody in our family reacted like this when they heard about the possible future waiting for us all." Sigrid poked Roland’s cheek with one finger. "You don’t suppose that we have fried his mind."
"With what, oil?" Lord Paxton questioned and he laughed at his own joke.
Nobody accompanied him in laughing so he awkwardly cleared his throat to cover up the laughter.
"So, are we going to stay here all day waiting for him to regain his senses?" John asked.
All the Thorin’s looked at the still frozen Roland, wondering how they would handle him now. Had they frightened him into stupidity?
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