Chapter 28
I was secretly anxious when I realized the carrot maid was gone and I couldn’t get Blake’s help.
“Why do you need a brown wig?”
“If you can’t get it for me, then there’s nothing to be done. Let’s just pretend this never happened……”
“No, no. I’ll get it for you as soon as I can.”
I never thought I’d get the wig so easily.
It really was a satisfying deal.
Maybe I really do have a knack for being a merchant?
Indulging in such idle thoughts, my mood was light as a feather on my way to the office.
“Good morning, Miss Lacey!”
“Good morning…”
*Rumble…*
*Boom!*
The weather was atrocious, however.
This time, my vision, which had been wiped white, turned pitch black. Silence fell between the soldiers and me.
“……The weather is so gloomy. You must be having a hard time standing guard.”
“Hardly, ma’am. Just being out of the rain is a great fortune in itself.”
True enough.
Just looking out the window, I could see the rain pouring down so heavily it seemed like it would pierce right through the helmets of the patrolling soldiers.
Forget getting soaked through; it was a miracle if they didn’t slip and fall on the muddy ground.
“He’s right. The Lord and the knights are probably getting rained on as they make their way back right about now.”
We had received word not long ago that they had successfully repelled the monster invasion.
Multiple casualties, but no deaths among them.
Most injuries were minor.
Considering they were facing monsters that terrified the continent, these were losses worthy of praise.
However, the initial estimate of two weeks had long passed, and they were now approaching a month.
At first, I was anxious and impatient, thinking they were taking too long. But at some point, my feelings changed.
It was when the pain in my ankle had noticeably subsided.
Maybe I could start lessons as soon as Ash Canis returned?
Once that hope took root, my ambivalence towards the apothecary also faded. After all, that plan was only possible if I recovered as quickly as I could, even if it meant relying on the effects of that hellish, soup-like medicine.
“I hope everyone returns safely, without any more injuries.”
Lately, I’d been praying morning and night by candlelight.
For Ash Canis’s safety, that is.
If he got hurt, my plans would fall apart, so I had no choice but to desperately pray for his safe return.
“Just as Miss Lacey wishes, everyone will return in good health.”
“Ah, have we kept you too long? We lit the fireplace because it’s chilly. If you’re cold, please warm yourself by it.”
Maybe I should have prayed this morning to be spared from chills or falls.
“Yes, thank you for your consideration.”
The door the soldiers opened for me closed, perfectly sealing off the inside from the outside.
The office was filled incessantly with the crackle of the burning firewood and the sound of rain beating against the windowpanes.
Standing alone in the square space, I could feel my muscles tensing with nervousness.
Even though the Lord’s office was so vast you could fit ten of my room inside and still have space, it triggered my trauma.
Just yesterday, I could have opened the window wide to relieve the tightness in my chest.
*Tap! Tap! Pitter-patter-pitter-patter—!*
If I opened the window now, the decorations would get drenched and knocked over by the wind and rain, and a seasonally inappropriate blizzard of documents would ensue.
“Sigh. I guess I’ll take it easy today.”
It wasn’t like the expedition was arriving this evening anyway.
And it wasn’t like Ash Canis would be sitting at this desk handling work right now either.
I set the cleaning tool basket I’d brought on the floor and picked up the duster.
“Huh?”
But compared to yesterday, the state of the desk seemed noticeably different.
Were the documents piled higher? Their positions had changed too.
Swapping the duster for a cloth, I approached the desk.
As expected, the titles and headers of the documents were completely different from what I’d seen yesterday.
“He won’t be able to rest when he gets back; he’ll have to work right away.”
This year’s farming plans, the selection of a city administrator, and so on.
I hadn’t realized there were this many matters requiring the Lord’s approval.
It made me newly aware of how the leader’s absence affected administration.
“Eupheria has Tritan, so there’s no worry at all…… Whoa!”
*Thump—* *Rustle—!*
I let my guard down.
I should have been more careful when wiping between the stacks of documents.
To repeat the mistake I made on the first day…
Well, at least Ash Canis hadn’t returned yet.
Rationalizing it that way, I crouched down and began gathering the scattered papers.
“Let’s see. This one and this one are the same document…”
At least I’d only knocked over the top part with my elbow. Just imagining if I’d toppled an entire stack sent a shiver down my spine.
“And that one is… huh?”
The moment I reached for a document and saw its title, I froze.
〈Report on the State of the Kingdom of Eupheria〉
It felt like I’d been struck on the back of the head.
Every nation wages unseen information wars, of course.
But actually seeing the evidence with my own eyes wasn’t exactly pleasant.
However, it didn’t change the fact that this was something I desperately needed right now.
News of Eupheria, which I couldn’t learn from Daniel’s memories or Nina’s letters, would be contained within.
Closing my eyes tightly, I turned the cover with a prayerful heart.
“Regarding the Faderuk Mine Development Project?”
The Faderuk region is land my father received from the Yenenhaft Empire.
To be precise, from the local noble who ruled Faderuk.
It’s an undeveloped territory, densely covered with mountains and fields, though people do live there.
Grandfather found the opportunity to expand the border without war sweet, but he was less than pleased with my existence.
So, I had no choice but to live in a remote royal villa far from the capital.
Then, one day, the decisive event that led to my entry into the royal line occurred.
When I was about five, news arrived that a magic ore mine had been discovered in the Faderuk mountains.
Expert opinion suggested the deposits were immeasurable, and so on.
It was then that my father declared: If Lacey is not recognized as royalty, Faderuk will be returned to the Empire.
Just close your eyes and permit one illegitimate child, and the nation’s standing will change.
There aren’t many monarchs in the world who could resist that temptation.
And so, I officially became royalty. Sadly, Grandfather passed away from a chronic illness while drawing up plans for the mine development.
However, the mine development project, which seemed poised to proceed rapidly after the national mourning period, was frozen instead.
Despite the ministers’ urging and complaints, my father did not yield.
“Lacey, both the mine and Faderuk are entirely yours. So, do as you wish once you come of age.”
When I heard those words, a vague hypothesis came to mind.
Perhaps my mother, who passed away not long after giving birth to me, was related to the noble who ruled Faderuk.
At that time, the Yenenhaft Empire was in turmoil due to a civil war. The situation was so dangerous that my father risked crossing the border with me, a baby who could barely open its eyes.
By the time the new imperial family had suppressed the rebels and taken control of the imperial palace, countless records had already been lost.
When I learned that records related to Faderuk were among them, I couldn’t hide my disappointment either.
But it was okay.
My father loved me more than enough to make up for my mother’s absence.
I was the one who was sorry for not being able to do anything for him.
I was ashamed to bear the stigma of being the daughter who killed her father, a regicide.
I must return to Eupheria and catch the culprit.
I began reading through the report.
*Flip—*
*Flip—*
*Flip—*
“……They’ve decided to put the mining rights up for auction.”
The thought of that land my father protected for me being dug up by others made my blood boil.
But the reality was that I could do nothing about it now.
Wiping my eyes with my sleeve, I came across some strange content.
“Regarding the agreement on the mining priority rights promised by King Edwin…”
Mining priority rights?
When was this promise made?
I have no memory of my father mentioning it.
Since he emphasized that ownership of Faderuk was mine, if there were any changes to the plan, he would have told me.
“It is reported that the new King, Tritan, is showing signs of wanting to break it off?”
Tritan isn’t the type of shallow child to be that stubborn…
The bigger problem was Ash Canis.
It was disheartening to imagine how that belligerent man would take this document.
He might even lead his knights, their fatigue not yet shed, straight to Eupheria.
“I absolutely must not let him see this.”
For a moment, my vision went completely white.
When I came to my senses, I found myself tearing up documents and throwing them into the fireplace instead of firewood.
If someone came in midway, it would be disastrous.
Swiftly, like a criminal trying not to leave evidence…
“What are you doing there?”
Suddenly, there was a presence.
A soldier? But it was a voice I’d never heard before.
Simultaneously, it was the moment I was about to burn the last sheet of paper.
I slowly turned my stiff upper body.
*Rumble…*
Drops of water fell *plip, plop* from a dark cloak, soaking the carpet profusely.
I raised my gaze, but his face wasn’t visible through the thick, unkempt hair and beard.
The intense gaze piercing through the hair made my breath catch.
It was like the visage of a monster from a fairy tale that devours people.
*BANG—!*
