Chapter 176: Chapter 176
"Hmm."
Ios crossed his arms and glared at Rubica.
"You're not going to ask for something I can't get you later, right?"
Of course not. Rubica didn't have any death wish, so she shook her head.
"And I can't give you any of my underlings."
Of course, she didn't want the dragon's underlings. She pushed back what she wanted to say and smiled brightly again.
"What I want the most is for you to make the flowers bloom beautifully…"
"Oh, enough with that annoying nonsense."
Rubica immediately shut her mouth with a 'hup' sound. Ios thought about it for a moment and then turned to Minos.
"I'm not losing in this deal, am I?"
"I'm sure you are gaining a lot in this deal."
"But I'm not so sure about it…"
"Then you can write a contract."
Ios nodded. Rubica looked at the goblin worriedly, but he blinked at her when the dragon was not looking. It looked like Minos was trying to help her, so she nodded. The goblin quickly took out paper and started to write a contract for them.
"And not that tree and not that flower."
Ios stood right next to Minos and started to add all kinds of restrictions to the contract. Soon Rubica realized the goblin had come up with the idea to actually help him.
There was a condition called 'things Rubica cannot demand', and it had several names of plants she had never even heard of before. Moreover, she spotted the 'rights for the Golden Land' at the end of the list.
It was good that she hadn't requested that to the dragon.
"I will get the roses for you. Why don't you leave first?"
"Oh, yes. I must go to water Zelda."
With that, Ios vanished. Minos transformed into human form again and time started to flow normally.
"How dare you say that to, huh?"
Ann started to yell, but then she was surprised. The man who had just been rude to Rubica was now gone, and Minos smiled as if everything was fine.
"Wasn't here another man only a moment ago?"
"I don't know, I didn't see any other man."
"But I was told two men were waiting for you here…"
"Oh, you must mean Os. I sent him back to the bank because I forgot to take care of something."
The maid with the flower vase also blinked, but it wasn't like she could say anything else when the duchess was saying she hadn't seen anything.
"I must have seen an illusion, it must be my old age."
A banker talking down to Duchess Claymore? That sounded too strange even to Ann, so she dismissed the thought. While they laid refreshment, coffee, and tea for her, Rubica looked at a mirror on the wall and almost burst into laughter.
There had been five ribbons on her chest, but now there were four. She didn't have to ask the goblin to know who had taken it.
"Haha, then Your Grace, may I resume?"
Rubica looked at Minos smiling awkwardly. She had many questions she wanted to ask, including what Ios was thinking she was.
'Thinking about it now, he called that black stone a mermaid's heart.'
When she thought of that, she recalled the ring she was keeping in secret. She realized the blue stone on it could not be a stone but something else.
"But I want to ask you something…"
"Please, ask me anything."
Minos said, rubbing his hands. Rubica had a nymph as her husband, so she had similar rights to her husband in the nymph's territory. Gaining her favor couldn't be bad.
"Ann, could you have Elise bring the ring in my bedroom's drawer?"
"Yes, Your Grace."
Soon Elise came with a ring that was carefully wrapped in cloth.
Rubica made everyone else leave the room and showed it to Minos.
"Please, take a look at this ring."
The goblin took out a magnifying glass and examined the ring carefully. It filled his green eyes with shock. Rubica then anxiously asked, "Do you know what it is?"
"Umm…"
How much was he supposed to tell her? He gulped hard.
'As she was surprised by Ios's magic, she probably doesn't know her husband is a nymph.'
If the nymph was hiding his true identity on purpose, telling the duchess about it would only make him pay for it.
At least Ios was simple and easy to fool, but nymphs were smart and could be extremely merciless once they were angry. However, he didn't want to enrage the duchess either.
Goblins lived at the lowest place among many creatures and they preferred to make many relations to survive.
"This is a gem made from Iber's tear."
"Iber's tear?"
First the dragon of the Golden Land, and now the dragon who was slumbering at the northeast end of the Seris Mountains. Rubica didn't know what to think. What kind of person had Arman been that he was involved with such entities?
"As Iber has been slumbering for almost five hundred years by now, this thing has to be at least that old."
"It is that old?"
"Well, yes."
"Then, can you find its previous owner?"
Minos almost said, 'Well, only your husband the nymph is capable of having such a thing,' but then he shut his mouth. He could smell the danger. Saying the wrong answer could make him lose his head.
"Well, I'm afraid I don't know how to find its previous owner."
"But I really want to find him… oh, what about Ios? He must know how."
"Well, why don't you ask your husband?"
"I've already asked, but he couldn't find him."
Minos swept on his neck with a hand. It was good that he didn't answer her question. He had almost told her what the nymph was hiding. He had truly saved his own life today.
"How can I find the man when even a great man like your husband cannot find him?"
"Well, I guess you are right."
Rubica seemed so disappointed. Why was that? Minos got curious. Goblins tended to forget about great dangers because of their curiosity.
"But why do you want to find this ring's previous owner?"
"That's…"
Rubica grasped her skirt. She hadn't been able to tell anyone about that. Even if she did, people would have just thought she was mad.
However, she had just witnessed magic. She thought this clever goblin would believe what no human believed.
"During the time of my death, I came back to the past from the future."
"Was it this ring's doing?"
As she had suspected, the goblin was not surprised. She then started her long story.
Her story was wonder after wonder. Especially the part about the weapon that could kill a dragon. Minos just couldn't believe it. Compared to that, the fact that the ring had brought her back in time was rather unsurprising.
Minos was sure Duke Claymore was Arman. Humans could not use tools of magic made with a dragon's tear. They only responded to strong creatures like dragons and nymphs.
But of course, the duchess didn't know about that. Minos really wanted to tell her the man she was looking for was right next to her, but not being able to control his mouth could bring him the nymph's punishment.
"I want to find him."
However, Rubica looked so sad and it moved his heart. The nymph was hiding the truth even if the woman he loved was so sad and missed him so much, and it didn't look right.
In the end, Minos surrendered to meddling, the second strongest instinct of goblins right next to curiosity.
"I think… I can help you find the man."
"You can help me find him?"
Rubica was surprised to hear that.
"But can you let me gain an audience with the duke?"
"You want to meet Edgar?"
"Yes, I want to meet him, but it's not easy to gain an audience with him. Wouldn't he meet even a man like me if you ask for it?"
Minos rubbed his hands and tried to look greedy to not make her suspicious. However, she couldn't just say she would do that for him.
'Would that be alright?'
How would Edgar react if she asked him to meet Minos so that she could find Arman? Of course, he would grant her wish, but he was going to get hurt. She, however, didn't want to hurt him.
"Can't I do anything else for you?"
"No, you must let me meet the duke."
Minos said quite firmly. What Rubica wanted was a wish that couldn't be granted if Minos didn't get to meet Edgar, but she didn't know that and sighed.
She wanted to find him and tell him she loved him so badly, so why was she hesitating like this? It was her own heart, but she couldn't understand it.
'That is exactly why I must meet him again.'
Her heart was unstable and swaying. She had to meet Arman again to find out about her feelings. She didn't know if Arman would remember her. As he hadn't come to find her till now, he probably didn't.
Maybe her reunion with Arman could be nothing but disappointment. However, she couldn't accept Edgar's love without meeting him first. Sometime, to start something new, you must finish what you have been doing first.
"I wish to tell him about it myself… but then I cannot let you meet him today."
She didn't want to send Carl or a maid to tell Edgar about it. At least, she had to tell him herself. Minos didn't want to meet the nymph without any safety measures either.
"I do not want to meet him today either. Just send me a message when the duke agrees to meet me, and I will come immediately."
Minos said so and politely bowed to Rubica. This whole thing was not bad for him. He rather thanked Rubica. If the future was about to unfold as Rubica said, he couldn't guarantee Ios's life, much less his own.