I Stole The Duke - Chapter 101

Wow—of course.

Eliana silently marveled at the soldiers’ sheer physical strength and efficiency.

“It’s such a relief the soldiers won’t have to survive on oatmeal porridge anymore.”

Once again, Eliana poked Michalis right in his sore spot.

“…Why are you leaving out the fish?”

His defensive instincts kicked in immediately.

“You may rest now.”

A grizzled knight gave the mobile staircase a firm shake, nodded in satisfaction, and stepped back.

“Yes, understood. For the Duchy!”

“Sir Aner.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

As the soldiers who had lugged the staircase away vanished like fairies, Michalis offered his arm to Eliana to escort her up. But before that, he called out to the knight again.

“Paint the White Pearl entirely black—inside and out.”

“Understood.”

To hide the exposed magic circles, the only option was to cover them completely. By tomorrow, the White Pearl would begin its new life as the Black Pearl.

“It’d be best to place the wind magic here. There are three masts, so let’s start with three prototypes…”

The moment she stepped onto the deck, Eliana pulled out her notebook and got straight to work.

“If you apply magic, won’t the Tower notice?”

Michalis was torn. As much as he adored Eliana’s initiative, he couldn’t help worrying for her safety.

“What if we use mobile magic arrays instead?”

Her pen paused mid-sentence.

“Mobile?”

“We could inscribe the magic circles onto wooden panels, then only nail them into place when needed. Once we’re done, we remove and store them.”

“…Ah.”

Michalis was genuinely awestruck. Eliana had a remarkable ability to find solutions in ways no one else would’ve thought of.

“In that case, once we determine the panel size, I’ll have mounts installed on each mast.”

“Then we wouldn’t even need to hammer them in. Perfect.”

Today, everything between them seemed to flow in perfect harmony.

“Shall we go below?”

“Yes, let’s.”

The duke and his wife descended the narrow steps into the ship’s interior.

Oh, thank goodness.

Eliana had been slightly anxious about the smell, but she was immediately reassured. The new warship carried no stench—just the rich, clean scent of fresh timber.

“Fireproofing spells are doable, but… I don’t think there’s any replacement for the drainage spell. We might have to keep the Tower’s version.”

Conditional magic of that level required a high-ranking mage to design. Eliana wasn’t a mage—just a “user”—so trying to replicate it herself was out of the question.

“I don’t think it’s a problem.”

“You think so?”

Thank goodness this world doesn’t have copyright laws…

Considering how much the Tower had extorted from them over the past thirty years, she didn’t feel too guilty about using their magic as-is.

“There are a lot of cabins on the Vilasehir.”

“That’s the executive officer’s room. The captain’s quarters are over here.”

“Wow…”

As Michalis swung open the heavy door, Eliana let out a gasp, covering her mouth with both hands. Inside was a fully equipped command room: a large conference table, a desk, a wall-sized map board, and a spacious bed. It still lacked rugs and bedding, but it looked ready to sail at any moment.

“There’s glass in the windows.”

Of course, they were made of glass—but Eliana immediately frowned.

If a cannonball hits that, it’s basically a death sentence.

The captain’s quarters were, by necessity, one of the ship’s most vulnerable spots.

“We rarely expose the stern, so you needn’t worry. Most naval battles are fought side-to-side.”

Sensing her unease, Michalis gently reassured her.

“Still… I’m going to cast a tenfold reinforcement spell on that glass.”

Eliana’s pen resumed moving in her notebook. There was no reason to increase the odds of becoming a widow.

I should dig through my tomes to find a spell that can deflect cannonballs…

“It must get cold at night too. Hmm… we’ll need a climate control spell.”

“……”

Michalis was speechless as he watched her. It seemed Eliana planned to cover every inch of the ship in magic.

“Come here.”

After a moment of silent awe, Michalis dropped to one knee in front of her.

“…What?”

Eliana blinked, startled. His broad back loomed suddenly large before her eyes.

“I’ll carry you around from now on.”

“Wh-what are you saying…”

She nearly dropped her pen again.

“Um… Please don’t. Michal.”

Her husband, normally so composed, was acting completely out of character—and it was starting to feel overwhelming.

“Then let me hold you.”

Rising to his feet, Michalis gently opened his arms. There weren’t many ways to express the fullness of his heart.

…Okay, that I don’t mind.

Eliana quietly slipped her notebook and pen into her bag and stepped into his embrace.

“Eliana… Thank you. For coming into my life.”

Michalis wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly as if to shield her from the world. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have such an extraordinary wife by his side. He even felt thankful to the father who had brought them together.

“Michal… I—mmph?!”

Just as she began to speak, her lips were caught in his. Eliana’s hand gently cradled his cheek.

“……”

“Haah…”

Michalis lifted Eliana into his arms and thrust even deeper. The intensity made even the root of her tongue ache, and her breathing grew increasingly ragged. Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, and her legs clung firmly to his waist.

“……”

It had been a long time since they shared such intimacy—ever since their return to Flencia. The mood quickly became heated.

Damn it…

It was frustrating that the bed had only the frame set up. With no other option, Michalis placed Eliana on the meeting table and quickly began unbuttoning her riding jacket.

“M-Michalis, h-here…?”

“Please, don’t refuse me. If I don’t have you right now, I might lose my mind.”

Her jacket fell to the floor in an instant.

“U-uh… okay.”

What could she say when the Duke himself was about to go mad? As her blouse was hurriedly unbuttoned—almost torn apart—Eliana simply nodded, stunned.

Four hours later.

“Um… Michalis. My legs… I can’t stand.”

“I’ll carry you.”

Thanks to that nod, Eliana wasn’t able to leave Villasehir until well into the night.

The day of the negotiation with the Tower finally arrived.

Ugh, what is this? How can they keep a guest waiting this long?

Olive sat cross-legged on the reception sofa, practically steaming with irritation.

“Is the Duke not here yet?”

“There are still ten minutes until the scheduled time.”

The fact that she had arrived two hours early didn’t seem to matter to anyone.

“Why is time crawling like this?”

She took a big gulp of her iced ade. It was already her third drink with ice—quite a rare luxury in the South.

Why did I have to be born with green hair?

Legionty, who had come along as her aide, was nearly at his limit trying to cater to her every whim. Judging from how she specifically chose him to accompany her, it was clear she expected him to fill in as a father figure at any time. Today, of all days, he hated the color of his hair more than ever.

Exactly ten minutes later, Michalis and Olive sat face to face at the negotiation table.

“I didn’t expect the Master of the Tower to attend in person,” Michalis said, his eyes resting on the black robe that shimmered faintly with gold. No matter how many times he saw it, it never gave him a good feeling.

“That should tell you how important this matter is.”

There were no formal greetings.

So, Duke—what’s your play?

Olive leaned back with confidence, her gaze full of arrogance. Soon, she’d enjoy watching this proud Duke squirm.

“I’ll get straight to the point. I request that you withdraw the plan to increase the magic usage fee.”

“And why should the Tower do that?”

No sooner had Michalis finished speaking than Olive let out a small scoff.

If he gets on his knees and begs, maybe I’ll settle for doubling the rate instead of tripling it.

“Sir Iadis. Show him.”

Despite Olive’s insolent tone, the Duke remained perfectly calm.

“Yes, Your Grace.”

At Michalis’s quiet command, Iadis stepped forward and opened the book he had been holding.

“What is that?”

Olive asked flatly. It looked to her like nothing more than a photo album filled with still images from a memory crystal.

“These are ruins from the floating continent of Sardis, dating back to the ancient magical era.”

With both mages’ eyes fixed on the book, Michalis’s calm voice echoed through the room.

“…What?”

Olive’s mouth fell open before she could stop herself.

Those are the ruins my master searched for his entire life…

“Can I… can I take a closer look?”

Legionty stood up abruptly, eyes wide. Anything connected to Sardis was like an unreachable dream for mages.

“Don’t touch it.”

Just as Legionty, clearly entranced, approached the book, Iadis shut it firmly right in front of his face.

“T-then I’ll just look with my eyes. I-I need to verify if it’s authentic.”

“Sir Iadis. Let him see.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

With Michalis’s permission, Iadis opened to the middle of the book.

“This is…”

Legionty leaned in so close, he was nearly burying his face in the pages, examining the photographs of the ruins.

“M-Master… This is…”

The stone structures had a distinctive architectural style, and the ancient language carved into the walls was clearly visible. It was indeed an ancient script—but different from the version currently used at the Tower.

“There’s no doubt. These are the ruins of Sardis.”

If these ruins were found under the sea, then they had to be the remains of Sardis. There was no further need to confirm their authenticity.

I need to show this book to my master. Damn it… then what about the fee…

Olive’s jaw tightened, and a frown formed between her brows. If anyone was going to pull a hidden card, it should’ve been the Duchess. She hadn’t expected anything like this.

“My goodness… If the structure has lasted this long, even after thousands of years, that means ancient protection magic is still active!”

Legionty couldn’t contain his excitement. This book could become a priceless artifact of the Tower.

“If you withdraw your plan to raise the fees, I’ll give you the book.”

“That’s not enough.”

Olive hadn’t come all this way just to back down so easily.

“Sure, the book is impressive. But it’s not going to bring in an extra 12.6 billion lumens a month.”

“Master!”

Legionty burst out, scolding her without even thinking. She had just said something dangerously reckless.

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