Chapter 15
“‘There’s a mage with so much money, using it for such a great cause! How wonderful!’ That’s what I said.”
“That’s not it at all! You said ‘wasting money.’ I heard it clearly, why are you lying?”
“Ah, this adult is too busy to play with a little kid anymore! I’d better be going!”
Under his continued interrogation, Aniella shot up from her spot. Little Philip shouted something after her, but she pretended not to hear and quickened her pace.
She had wondered who had so much money to pay 3 gold per dragonfly, but if it was Duke Paiki, known as one of the empire’s wealthiest men, it made sense. To him, 3 gold was probably like the crumbs that fall on the table when you tear bread—nothing compared to someone like her, who had to scavenge every last crumb. Aniella had one task now.
She ran home, opened the lid of the glass piggy bank hidden under her bed. It contained 12 gold in total. With that money, she went out and bought a dragonfly net and a wooden box of a suitable size.
By the time she returned to the riverside with her net, little Philip and his group had already left. Relieved there were no competitors, she began catching dragonflies like a madwoman.
At first, she wasn’t very good, but she soon got the hang of it. Thinking of each dragonfly as 3 gold fueled her motivation tremendously.
She wanted to catch the rare, completely red dragonfly that little Philip had shown her, but it truly lived up to its ‘rare’ name. No matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t find one.
“Just one! Just one 20-gold dragonfly!”
She muttered pleadingly, but it was no use. Eventually, the sun began to set. Aniella stopped catching dragonflies and hurried toward Duke Paiki’s mansion.
She hadn’t caught the 20-gold one, but she had caught 21 ordinary dragonflies. At 3 gold each, that would be 63 gold. Even after subtracting the cost of the net, the box, and the useless newspaper, she’d still have 50 gold left.
“50 gold!”
Aniella had only eaten one piece of bread in the morning and had been running around all day, but the thought of 50 gold strangely gave her strength. Having walked diligently all the way to the Duke’s residence, she boldly announced who she was.
“Hello. I am the daughter of Viscount Mullier.”
She had to establish herself as a nobleman’s daughter first; otherwise, in a grand mansion like this, she could be thrown out before even stating her business. Her tactic seemed to work, as the maid, who had been looking at her suspiciously, softened her gaze slightly.
“Yes, Miss. What brings you here?”
“I heard His Grace the Duke is purchasing dragonflies. I have 21 of them. They’re all still alive!”
Aniella held out the box. The maid looked back and forth between her face and the box, then made a very apologetic expression.
“I’m sorry, but we are not purchasing any dragonflies.”
“What? What do you mean? I heard clearly that Duke Paiki buys dragonflies for 3 gold each! Isn’t that true?”
Had she been tricked by that little Philip?
Aniella’s mind went blank. She had invested her entire fortune; this couldn’t be happening. She desperately hoped the maid would say it wasn’t so. Fortunately, the maid shook her head.
However, despite her desperation, the maid’s next words were shocking.
“The quantity the Duke ordered for purchase is 2,000 dragonflies. That child just sold the 2,000th one.”
The maid gestured with her eyes to where little Philip was, munching on a cookie with crumbs around his mouth.
Aniella’s legs gave way, and she collapsed, unable to believe the reality. The maid asked if she was okay, startled, but Aniella didn’t have the strength to answer.
Little Philip approached her as she sat slumped on the ground.
“You acted all high and mighty because you’re an adult, but you’re too late.”
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