MLHRGD 122

#122. In Each One’s Place (1)

It had already been three months since Pavel left for the battlefield.

An unexplained flood of monsters, Dmitri’s death on the front lines, and Pavel’s sudden departure to war right after inheriting the title—

With changes piling up one after another, the Grand Duchy felt unsettled inside and out.

Sasha had more to do and heavier responsibilities to bear, but she steeled herself, thinking of Pavel fighting an even harder battle far away.

My role is important right now.

Sasha, who had already lived buried in work, focused even more.

“Still, it’s worth it.”

Since Sasha became acting head, not only the Volkov lands but the entire North began to change under her hand.

In the first year, she had been busy cleaning up the mess made by Count Tula and his faction. After that, she solved the backlog of problems one by one—and the money began to flow in.

Thanks to more than doubling the Volkov family treasury, she secured a budget rivaling the Imperial household’s.

Earning money had its own fun, but spending it was even better.

Sasha began in earnest to develop the domain with the great wealth she had gathered.

I used to play a game like this. It was a farming game, but you started with a little farm and grew it into a town, then a city…

But reality was no game.

With a few clicks you couldn’t throw up a new building and then cancel it if it didn’t suit you.

Sasha brought change step by step—studying many texts, taking advice, and thinking things through deeply.

She repaired the rough, inconvenient roads and built needed facilities across the land.

Since the region was cool in all four seasons and bitterly cold in winter, she had public bathhouses built in every town so people could wash with hot water at any time.

She also built shelters for the homeless, orphanages for children without families, and schools to ensure a steady supply of talent.

Talent supply!

This was the field Sasha, along with Ivan and Yelena, had long toiled over.

Until a few years ago, many bureaucrats working in Bellicordo Castle had been swept away with Count Tula and the Gorky family.

The sudden gap forced them to fill positions through recommendations and inquiries from elsewhere, but those hastily recruited couldn’t just be trusted and used right away—they had to be vetted.

They couldn’t keep going through such cumbersome procedures forever.

From a long-term view of development, a stable talent pipeline was necessary, so Sasha poured in the needed resources without hesitation.

Money exists to be used at times like this.

And this wasn’t all she began with an eye on the future.

Where there’s light, there are shadows.

As the domain prospered day by day, drawing people and money, problems also arose.

With the soldiers left in the castle alone, it was hard to maintain public order, so she formed a separate security force. She also organized a fire brigade to respond quickly to blazes.

Even so, not every problem could be prevented.

Minor issues could be handled by administrators, with Sasha only reviewing the final reports. But now and then, major incidents landed on her desk.

If she could solve them alone, she did; if not, many heads gathered to find solutions. She did not rule by fiat and create harm.

Because everyone in the Grand Duchy trusted and relied on one another, Sasha could give her all.

And so three months passed.

She sometimes felt tired, but every day was rewarding.

Under Sasha’s influence, the Volkov domain was clearly developing in a good direction. Seeing the tangible results filled her with pride.

But there still remained one problem that gave Sasha a persistent headache.

Every new week began with a meeting presided over by the lord.

In Pavel’s absence from the castle, Sasha took the top seat and led the meeting, handling the important agendas.

Today, as a new week began, the morning meeting opened as scheduled.

The hall, packed with people, was tense. It felt split in half by an invisible line, the two sides refusing to speak to each other.

Still the same, I see.

Sasha swallowed a sigh and took in the two groups.

Closest to the head table sat a cluster of nobles, brimming with airs. Most of them were unfamiliar to Sasha’s eyes.

Originally, the front seats were for the administrative officials who lived in the castle and worked with her.

But the uninvited guests had pushed the working staff to the back.

Uninvited guests.

These were the very ones causing Sasha trouble.

They had come for Dmitri’s funeral, then, with various excuses, settled down in Bellicordo Castle—collateral relatives and some members of the elder council.

Along with a few retainers who seemed connected to them, they tested Sasha’s patience at a time when worry for Pavel at war had already made her sensitive.

From the moment they woke, they prowled the castle, harassing the servants and picking fights with hardworking officials.

And that wasn’t all.

“Aren’t you spending money like water?”

Even with Sasha watching, they puffed themselves up and said things like this.

“If you keep splurging like this, there’ll be nothing left in the coffers! This is three years’ budget for a decent-sized domain! No matter how rich House Volkov is, how can you continue such waste?”

Flapping in his hand was a document summarizing the budgets spent on development projects led by Sasha.

Where did he get that?

While guessing how a sensitive document ended up in an outsider’s hands and considering when to cut him off, Sasha kept listening.

“Are you bad with numbers or do you lack any sense for money? Is there no one advising you?”

Bang!

Yelena slammed the table and sprang to her feet, looking seconds away from drawing her sword.

“You’ve gone too far. Are you insulting the lady acting as head?”

The middle-aged man who had been running his mouth—Baron Aul—flinched.

Avoiding Yelena’s fierce glare, he mumbled,

“N-no, who said I meant the lady? I… I meant the incompetents working under her!”

At his quick redirection, the working officials’ eyebrows twitched.

They had been baited by the nobles all meeting long; their faces darkened at once.

Displeasure spread through the hall. Just as the tension was about to explode, Ivan stepped forward on behalf of the officials.

“There was no breach of procedure, and no reckless pulling of funds. Everything has been executed according to the budget approved last year.”

Even on Ivan’s calm face, anger seeped through.

That should have shut things down, but Baron Aul snorted.

“According to the budget? So you passed such a ridiculous budget? Hah! And who reviewed it last year? Surely—”

Sasha cut him off.

“The late Grand Duke personally reviewed it, expressed his approval, and signed it.”

At the mention of Dmitri, Baron Aul, who had been so bold, jolted.

Sasha addressed him in a gentle tone, but her question was anything but gentle.

“And why were you so curious? What did you plan to do with that knowledge?”

“Th-that… well…”

The tables had turned.

Baron Aul glanced around.

All he met were looks of contempt—as if he were pathetic, ridiculous.

His face flushed scarlet.

This won’t do! If I back down now, I’ll be a laughingstock.

If he meekly sat after being pushed by a girl young enough to be his daughter, his dignity would be ruined, and his already small standing would shrink further.

So he raised his voice.

“Perhaps the late Grand Duke was too busy to review such matters in detail! And besides, affairs of the world must be handled flexibly according to the times. Hm! So we should draw up a new budget fitting the present situation, not last year’s!”

Out of breath, he finished his rambling. He likely had no idea what he’d just said.

“…Baron Aul. By what right are you issuing such orders?”

“What right? I am a member of House Volkov, my grandfather having personally received land and title from the Grand Duke of his time! I have every right!”

“A member of the house, is it…”

“Yes! As a great elder of House Volkov, I offer counsel for the good of the family. You would do well to heed it.”

Insolent to the extreme.

What did he just say?

That thought filled the heads of everyone present—from Sasha to the last official in the room.

Only Baron Aul felt satisfied, as if he had proven his authority.

Perhaps at his small estate he could strut like a king and spout such nonsense.

But this was Bellicordo Castle of the Volkov domain.

And the person he dared lecture, eyes wide open, was Alexandra Volkov.

I’ve heard enough.

Sasha narrowed her eyes.

Clueless, Baron Aul kept yapping, oblivious to the mood.

“And another thing. This is supposed to be a lord’s council, yet you seat all sorts of riffraff! Is this a council chamber or a marketplace?”

He shot a glare at the officials who were murmuring about him.

“The lady hasn’t been in the North long and doesn’t know our ways. Letting such types into this sacred council violates Volkov family tradition!”

“Family tradition? That’s the first I’ve heard of it.”

Sasha spoke mildly.

“In which part of the Volkov family law is that tradition written? I can’t find it in the laws and codes I learned.”

“Uh…”

He had no answer.

Months earlier, another noble had tried to trip her up using the family law, and Sasha had recited the code from start to finish on the spot—a tale that had spread like legend.

A clumsy lie would be exposed at once, and the shame would be worse.

When Baron Aul fell silent, Sasha continued.

“I know one thing: anyone belonging to House Volkov must obey the head of the house.”

Tok. Sasha lightly tapped the table. All eyes fixed completely on her.

“My husband lawfully inherited the title from the late Grand Duke. To fulfill his duty—protecting the North, and the Empire—he has gone to war. And…”

She paused, then slid a box within reach to the front.

Click.

Without a word, Sasha opened it. Inside lay a large black seal—impossible to ignore.

It was the head’s seal, entrusted to her directly by Dmitri in life.

With its imprint, any order was treated as bearing the head’s approval—the very proof of power to rule the house.