After making his confession with a shy smile, Prince Antonio carefully looked at me.

I quietly verified the true meaning of his words.

It was the rational feelings that Prince Antonio had for Delfina.

Come to think of it, there may have been more signs to notice.

The same goes for the actions of Prince Antonio, who was called Wood and Stone, who tried to build a special friendship with my sister.

Examining the engagement letter sent to Delphina was probably an act he had no choice but to do because he was unable to express his interest.

According to her younger sister, there was a period when Prince Antonio avoided her for a while, so it must have been one of the so-called ‘avoidance because she likes it’ phenomenon.

First of all, I posed a clear question to him once again to determine the extent of his feelings for Delphina.

“Are you saying you feel romantic feelings for Delphina?”

“Love feelings, of course it’s not that I have such a light attitude toward her.”

“Yeah?”

“Because I have no intention of ending my relationship with Lady Delphina as a romance.”

I didn’t know what to say, so Prince Antonio continued talking to me, who was at a loss for words.

“Her spearmanship is so beautiful that it shines. The fact that he can use blue energy even at a young age, and the confidence that he does not run away while facing an overwhelmingly strong opponent are the same.

There is no way I can end my relationship with Lady Delphina, who might be the youngest spear expert, to be a romantic partner in the academy.”

“… … .”

“In addition, as a member of the same student council, I watched her work from the side for quite a while.

Lady Delphina’s talent is too precious to stop at the student council president of the academy. That’s why I want to provide a wider stage for her to play an active role.”

“Is that why you built a warp gate in the Perdalos estate?”

“I heard that she has been managing the Perdalos estate almost alone for three years. Wouldn’t it be a good experience for her to learn a little more complicated management while still a student?”

It was a very good story for Delphina to anyone who simply listened to it.

Practice was not allowed, and failing was directly linked to great losses in the realm of territory management.

As Prince Antonio said, it would be a good story for Delfina to have such experiences while still a student.

Not to mention if you succeed, you will be given time to recover if you fail.

That alone couldn’t fully explain why Prince Antonio had even installed a warp gate in the Perdalos estate.

If he really wanted to find out about Delphina’s talent and get his hands on it, there would have been an easier way than this.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if it wasn’t necessarily this way?”

“… What do you mean?”

“If you are thinking of taking Delphina into the prince’s concubine, wouldn’t it be better to make her depend on the prince a bit more before creating an opportunity to show off your little sister’s strength and abilities?

Of course, as an older brother, I would feel sorry for my younger sister if I said such a thing, but even if the prince took Delphina with him to an official event a few times, the younger sister’s wedding will be blocked on its own.”

No matter how descendant the succession rank was, the royal family was the royal family.

Even if Prince Antonio made up his mind and tried to take Delphina as his wife, the younger sister would have no choice.

If the prince does something similar to what I said in an official setting, Delfina’s wedding will be left with only two things: becoming Prince Antonio’s concubine and not marrying at all.

Since she is a sister who is good at using calculators, she will decide that it is much better for her to become Prince Antonio’s concubine than to live her whole life in a venom studio.

Even though it was less than a year, there was no way that Prince Antonio, who had seen her up close, couldn’t even get that much insight.

It was a little difficult to understand her behavior of trying to go far away by saying that she was giving grace to her sister.

“That’s right, that’s the easiest way to get Lady Delphina in my hands.”

“You have thought about it.”

“But that only puts her body in my hands, and I don’t think I’ll be able to win her heart in a real sense.”

“… … Yeah?”

“I sincerely intend to make Lady Delphina my main wife.”

“… … .”

“Of course, if I took the daughter of a newly born viscount noble as my main wife, there would be voices of opposition, so raising her status is only the first step.

Didn’t you tell me before You are no longer interested in becoming Perdalos’ successor.”

“… That’s right.”

“If her status is changed from the daughter of the viscount’s family to the legitimate successor to the count’s family, the voices of opposition will diminish a lot.”

I looked at Prince Antonio’s face, wondering if he was joking, and his face was serious, not joking at all.

Only then could I admit that he was treating my sister with more sincerity than I thought.

Then, from now on, what I had to do was decided.

“I heard the prince’s heart well.”

“Then I’m glad.”

“A man like Prince Antonio is showing undeserved interest in my younger sister, so as an older brother, of course I should cheer him on.”

“Thank you, Prince Conrad Perdalos.”

“So now I will give you some advice. That you can’t take Delphina’s heart this way.”

Upon hearing my answer, Prince Antonio tilted his head slightly.

“… What do you mean?”

“At first glance, you might think that siblings are slandering each other, but my sister is basically a person who doesn’t trust most people.

In other words, it would be better to express that you have a distance of mind that is okay even if you are betrayed at any time.”

“… Yes, I was vaguely feeling it. As far as the fact that there are very few people with whom she has more than a certain degree of closeness.”

“In particular, one of the things she is most wary of is ‘favor without price’.

If someone treats you well for no reason, you will surely come back someday to get the price, and you will refuse any favors you cannot handle.”

“… That’s why you’ve been against my planned city plan for days. With a business of this scale, not even Lady Delphina or the entire Perdalos family would be able to handle it.”

“Even if she somehow forced her sister to push this business plan, Delfina’s heart would still be wary of the prince. You know that the prince wouldn’t want that to happen either.”

Hearing my words, the prince nodded his head up and down.

“Then, what should I do? I have already crossed too many points to undo.”

“Proceed with the prince’s plan as it is. However, you can put everything related to this business as a ‘debt’ to Delphina.”

“… You want me to put you in debt?”

“If the prince’s unrequited favor he intended to bestow upon my sister is weighed down as a debt of a definite amount, Delphina will be able to escape from the ‘hospitality without recompense’ that Delphina is most wary of. If that happens, I will act in a way that accepts the prince’s proposal for now.”

“Right… .”

“If that happens, no matter which way this planned city project goes, it will be a good direction for the prince. If it works, it works, if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work.”

“… I understand that things go according to my plan when things go well, but what does it mean when things go in a good direction when things go wrong?”

To Prince Antonio, who still seemed to have doubts, he continued to explain what kind of person his sister was.

“First of all, when it works out, it’s like Prince Antonio’s plan. Delphina will be recognized for her abilities, and the status of the Perdalos family will rise. As a bonus, the younger sister’s debt to the prince will also be paid off.

Even though my sister may not trust people, she has the personality to repay kindness, so she will never forget the kindness of Prince Antonio, who gave her a branch to elevate the status of herself and her family.”

“right.”

“When it doesn’t work out, it’s not that bad. First of all, since Delfina will not be able to repay her debt to Prince Antonio, she will be in a position where she cannot easily refuse the prince’s words for a while. Then, naturally, you will have more and more time to spend with my sister.

From then on, you can do as the prince judges. You can increase your sister’s future debt and give her another chance, or it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take her away using the debt you’ve already incurred. It won’t be that difficult to attract Delphina, who owes a heartfelt debt to the prince.”

Maybe I didn’t expect that the words to tie Delphina into debt would come out of my mouth, but Prince Antonio’s eyes widened as he looked at me.

“You say such scary things even to your own family.

Will you be okay though? When business doesn’t go well, a situation that is almost no different from a sale or marriage will unfold, right?”

“It’s okay, I just need to make my sister happy somehow.”

“What do you mean?”

“I am saying this because I think that if Delphina is sent to Prince Antonio’s side in any form, she will ultimately be happy.”

I had already heard enough of his pure love for Delphina.

Even when viewed objectively, Prince Antonio was a person with both status and honor that Delfina liked so much, so he was a good opponent for Delfina as well.

At least, it would be a much better future than the marriage that had been sold to a loveless partner like her sister in her previous life.

Of course, it would be necessary to ask Delphina for her opinion on the marriage itself.

“Okay. Since you’re saying that, for now, as you advised, let’s put this business on her debt.”

“Thank you for your understanding.”

“I didn’t expect to hear thank you for putting a debt on the front of my family. Like your sister, the Perdalos are a very strange family.”

Certainly, Delphina has a very strange personality in my opinion.

It’s about my sister, but I couldn’t help but nod my head in silence.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

After the conversation with Prince Antonio, he immediately explained to Delfina how the situation had ended.

First of all, the project to build a planned city in the Perdalos Territory was decided to proceed with interest-free debt.

The fact that the manager of the business decided to leave it to Delfina as originally planned.

Other than that, the business period, the amount of the debt, and the liquidation period were decided by Delfina directly with Prince Antonio.

Since that field is not my specialty, it would be much more reasonable for Delfina to agree directly.

After hearing my explanation to the end, Delphina’s expression softened.

“Well, then this business case, including the cost of installing the warp gate, is not a courtesy without a price… ?”

“That’s how it is.”

“Everything, I’m glad… . I was nervous that I might have to accept a favor I couldn’t handle… .”

Delfina was probably the only lady who was relieved to hear that she would owe tens of thousands of gold coins in her name.

Delphina let out a sigh with a relaxed expression, sweeping her chest, immediately cast off her worry-filled expression and returned with a bright face.

“Now that it’s like this, I’m going to be really busy from now on!”

With these words, he began to spit out the business plan he was envisioning.

“First of all, the most necessary thing in the process of creating a planned city is the construction of a commercial complex. Perdalos doesn’t have much to offer as a tourist resource, so building a commercial complex to attract outside guests is probably the most important thing.

It would be nice to build a secondary industrial facility there as well. Since there is a warp gate, it will be easy to import raw materials and export industrial products, and if you have a special souvenir unique to Perdalos, it will help attract people.

Oh, in order to do that, you will have to secure water resources by renewing the canal construction, and additionally housing facilities… .”

Looking at Delfina’s return through the eyes of a businessman as soon as she got out of an unknown debt, it seemed that it would probably take some time for Prince Antonio to win his sister’s heart.

It was a day that I was quite looking forward to when this young lady, who knew nothing but honor and status, would notice Prince Antonio’s affection.