Chapter 75
“‘I’ve become way too careless. Pull yourself together, me!’”
I was groaning over the absurd thoughts running through my head when Damian, the Master of the Tower, looked at me and asked,
“Are you feeling unwell, by any chance?”
“No, I’m fine…” I replied.
“The artifact I gave you only provides pain relief; it doesn’t cure the illness itself. Even so, you shouldn’t overexert yourself.”
In fact, Damian had opposed my journey to the Veldert territory. And it made sense—last time, I stubbornly insisted on going to the region, and I ended up collapsing on the way back.
But I had business to attend to in Veldert territory anyway.
“‘There was someone who said they saw the Saint, Henesia, around here.’”
I had no intention of dying pointlessly like in the original story. I planned to receive treatment from the Saint and prolong my limited lifespan.
In the novel, the Saint’s appearance and awakening of her powers come later. And while helping her in a crisis is supposed to be Polyus’s role, I wouldn’t let them become particularly close, as in the original story.
Even though the novel had diverged and Polyus wasn’t quite the same, a powerful event like meeting the Saint could still unfold as it originally did.
I had been tracking the Saint’s whereabouts through the Information Guild.
Her name was Henesia—a beautiful woman with mysterious blue-silver hair.
“In the original story, they met in the southern part of the Empire, so I would have focused my search there. But someone saw her in Veldert territory?”
If I hadn’t been bound by the original story’s information, I would have found her long ago. I clicked my tongue.
“Who would’ve thought a fallen noblewoman like the Saint would travel such distances? In the novel, she lived in poverty—I can’t imagine what transportation she used to reach the southern Empire.”
Anyway, unlike the original story, it would be me, not Polyus, who would receive the Saint’s favor.
Even after parting with Polyus, who had the blessing of the fairies, thanks to Damian’s artifact, I no longer needed painkillers. But my illness wasn’t completely cured yet.
At least I didn’t need to worry about side effects from painkillers, so I wouldn’t collapse like last time. But the illness itself was still progressing.
Since I was going to receive treatment anyway, I wanted to regain my health as quickly as possible. Then I could handle business more freely.
Of course, I didn’t feel as if I were about to die in a few months like in the novel.
“Maybe it’s because I feel pretty good when I’m with Master Damian… my body feels better for no particular reason.”
Still, Damian kept glancing at me, checking my condition.
Well, I suppose my father had been angry at him last time I collapsed. Given what happened, it was understandable he would be concerned.
“It’s okay. I have the artifact you gave me.”
I shook the artifact in my hands and the bracelet on my wrist as I continued.
“Thanks to them, I’m free from the side effects of painkillers. I wouldn’t have collapsed like before when I overused them.”
“You said you were fine, yet you overused painkillers back then as well?”
“Ahaha… well, I took a lot one day and then none the next—it seemed efficient that way.”
That wasn’t what I intended to say. Why was the arrow pointing this way?
I smiled brightly, pretending not to know, and changed the subject.
“Anyway, the artifact you gave me is really amazing. Thank you again.”
“It’s nothing special. It just contains a bit of my magic…”
“Nothing special? Since I started wearing this artifact, my life has improved so much! Both my illness and the side effects of painkillers were terrifying.”
After I repeatedly praised how much the artifact had improved my quality of life and how significant what he did for me was, Damian finally nodded.
“But… aside from that, it doesn’t really have other functions. It would be nice if it had self-defense abilities.”
“No, that’s not necessary.”
I grimaced, recalling the heavy protective artifacts Damian had once wrapped around me when I went to rescue a hostage.
Those huge, heavy things—impossible to carry around casually…
“My wrists hurt just thinking about it. Besides, I always have my guard knights with me.”
Damian seemed like he wanted to argue, but when I stood firm, he finally nodded.
“But we still need to prepare quickly…”
“Yes?”
“Nothing.”
No, saying that makes me curious.
Frustrated at my own lapse in vigilance, I was about to press Damian for an answer.
“Master Damian, my lady, we’ve arrived in Veldert territory.”
We had just arrived, so Damian immediately stood up from the carriage.
“Ugh…”
Frustrating, so frustrating.
Still, Damian quickly got out of the carriage and offered his hand to me with a neat expression.
“Please, alight, my lady.”
“Even so, my condition is much better than last time, despite arriving in Veldert territory.”
“I understand. But you must rest at intervals.”
“Phew, such relentless nagging…”
As we bickered while getting out of the carriage, the retainers I had seen at the ball came out to greet us.
“Ah, Master Damian has arrived. Apologies for our unpreparedness.”
“It’s fine.”
“Please come this way… ah, Lady Clotilde has arrived as well.”
Since this wasn’t a formal visit, we had to enter quietly. Baron Zelden’s assistance was essential.
“If Polyus or the Count of Veldert found out, it could be troublesome.”
I had heard it a few times, but calling Damian “Master” felt strange.
“Kind of cute,” I thought with a small chuckle.
Although very handsome, he seemed stern and cold at first glance, yet calling him that somehow sounded like treating him as a little kid.
But I couldn’t linger in such thoughts for long.
Walking through the territory with Damian and my hood up, my initial excitement quickly faded.
“…This is bad.”
The basics of agriculture are water. But Veldert territory, known for its fertile plains, was struggling from drought.
“This is all because the neighboring territory blocked the water channels,” Baron Zelden said in a low, harsh tone.
His usually calm face twisted into a scowl.
“Has it been like this for a long time? Has the higher authority done nothing?”
“Yes. At this rate, this year’s crops are nearly ruined.”
A dismal sight. Clearly, the water channel issue with the neighboring territory needed urgent resolution.
“But the Count of Veldert and Master Polyus are just being dragged around by the neighboring territory. Are they even attempting negotiations?”
Baron Zelden seemed unable to calmly explain the situation, though he tried. Usually, one would first complain about the neighboring territory, but instead, his complaints focused on Veldert and Polyus.
“And yet, they raised the tax rate amidst all this!”
“…How much did they raise it?”
“Under various pretexts, roughly double.”
I was speechless. They surely knew the neighboring territory was causing the crop failures. Raising taxes under these circumstances? Are they out of their minds?
“They claim that agriculture is affected by external factors, so they’ll use this opportunity to conduct business. But frankly, the red sun crystal business is already ruined. They just want to pay off remaining debts.”
“And they didn’t reduce taxes when they profited from the crystal business!”
Exactly as I expected. Polyus had always been extravagant. With the main sources of income—me, Josephine, and Clara—cut off, it was unsurprising.
“And now they want to cover it with the peasants’ taxes?”
Raising taxes while unable to negotiate with the neighboring territory… I was angry just hearing it. How infuriating it must be for those involved.
“No wonder Baron Zelden was clinging to Master Damian at the ball.”
If there’s nowhere else to appeal… the lord is in such a state. I sighed softly.
“Have you petitioned the royal family about the neighboring territory’s tyranny?”
“That is…”
Unlike before, Baron Zelden hesitated before answering. A strange tension filled the air.
“Huh?”
Perhaps because I wasn’t directly involved with Veldert, it felt like he was being overly exclusive, addressing me almost defensively.
