Daughter
"Hmm…"
I placed down the letter and rubbed my forehead. Truthfully speaking, I was quite puzzled.
Why did Edward want to come here? He wrote me a letter indicating his plan to visit in the coming days, but it was more of a notification than it was a request. I was sure he was already on his way here.
"What's his purpose in coming here? Does he want something from here? He's already obtained what he can from me, right? Is there something else that he wants? What would that be? What have I not thought of? I only have a coal mine, and it still hasn't begun normal operations thanks to the war," I contemplated.
I planned to go visit the coal quarry to see if there were any issues. At the moment, the North was at risk. The steam engine was rather useless being just collecting dust. If they relied on solely timber to power it, there would be serious issues.
The steam engine had been made, which meant that the next biggest problem was whether or not a sufficient amount of gold could be obtained from our place. The trend exhibited was indicating that humanity was starting to discover the magic coal offered. With war behind them, humanity finally had the freedom they desired and were empowered to pursue development. As such, humanity was on the path to pursuing a nicer life. The biggest obstacle was production abilities; however, there was a single piece missing from that.
Money, commercial goods, capital, production all look as though they are repeats of the concept, but that didn't hold true for this era, yet. Money had yet to represent capital. Commercial goods had yet to be split through capital. Production abilities had yet to connect with money. Howbeit, owing to the imminent change to production possibilities, they would become one complete puzzle, each connecting to the other. Next, production ability would consist of "fertile" products. At the same time, the production ability would create inadequacy of a certain resource - currency.
Currency would become capital next. In time, currency would no longer represent just businesses with tangible products. Very soon, people would pay for their risks with currency. Businesses would use money and time to create value. Currency would soon vanish. Value, on the other hand, would never disappear. People would use currency to buy businesses that were rather intangible and gradually develop into modern businesses.
Increased production abilities will promote more spending. More spending will promote the circulation of capital. This 'capital' is, in essence, a river that never stops flowing, which will eventually become an ocean. Said ocean may appear vast, produce big waves and seem peaceful. In reality, however, the underside of it would be littered with countless corpses. To put it simply, coal was extremely vital at that point in time. Whoever could get their hands on it would be able to rule the entire empire henceforward.
I needed to control this world. I planned to leverage the shares I acquired to create a continuous stream of income. Then, I'd control the coal mine. Once the bank sees the coal mine, they'd understand that I could pay my debts, meaning that I'd be able to pay the interest with my annual income. That was enough.
"Is the reason for Edward's visit because he's seen through my plans, or is he here to try and join hands with me? Neither seems viable to me… I can't figure out what his goal in coming here could be? How can I deal with him? Whatever. I'll counterpunch whatever he throws my way when we get there," I decided.
I couldn't be bothered reading the letters from the miners at the coal mine and, therefore, tossed them straight into the fire. I didn't need to hear what they had to say. They shouldn't have sent me their letters. I was only in charge of providing them with land, not providing them with miners.
I stole a gander at Veirya, who was behind me, and hid Lucia's letters to me in my shirt. Lucia's letters had a trace of her scent that I'd never forget… Our relationship would never develop any further. That being said, I wanted to know what she wanted to convey to me. If it was purely for romantic purposes, I would need to deal with it properly, and d my best to not leave any traces behind.
I stood up, and Veirya followed suit.
"You. Turning now?"
"Yeah."
I subconsciously pressed my hand to my chest where Lucia's letters sat… Veirya didn't seem to make anything of the gesture. She, instead, inquired, "Can I. Sleep together with you, then?"
"Together…?"
I'd love to sleep together with Veirya even if we didn't do anything. Unfortunately, Leah couldn't sleep with us; else, I was worried she'd try to strangle Veirya in the middle of the night.
After a shudder, Leah ran up to me: "No!! Leah wants to sleep together with Papa! Mama Veirya, you've hogged Papa for so long already! Leah should be the one who stays with Papa!!"
"So. Can we. Sleep together, then?"
I shook my head: "Veirya, it's not a very wise idea to sleep together. How do I put it…? Sorry, Veirya, but I'll have to sleep together with Leah. Otherwise, she'll feel lonely at night. You remember what she did last time, right?"
Despite her expressionless visage, I could sense that Veirya was somewhat disappointed. She compassionately nodded. Angelina came over and stroked her back. With a smile, she explained, "You two haven't gotten married yet, after all. An engaged couple can't sleep together every night now, can they? Don't worry, though. You can get married now. After you get married, you can have your own child."
"Child…? Besides Leah?" Veirya queried.
"Of course. It'll be your biological ch-"
I pulled Leah into my chest and stated, "Let's discuss that at a later point. Let's end the conversation here for tonight. We've travelled for a long time, so I need to take Leah up to sleep."
I didn't want to discuss the topic in Leah's presence. Leah's relationship with us at present was healthy. Leah had already fallen silent upon hearing the topic.
"Uhm."
Veirya seemed to notice the problem with the topic. Leah hugged me particularly tightly in return. Though she didn't explicate her thoughts, I could sense her unease. And so, I reassured, "I'll never leave you. You'll always be my daughter, Leah. No matter what happens, you'll always be my daughter…"