CHAPTER 19……………………………………………
Rosnelli raised her hand, calming Natasha, who was extremely angry.
“I understand. I’ve heard there are nobles like that these days. But I’m not a noble who resorts to petty tricks like that, village chief.”
Rosnelli interlaced her fingers, supporting her chin with a serious expression.
“I’m planning to build a village. A hot spring village. It’ll be large in scale, so I wanted to bring in real villagers. There are many poor people in Certa due to the recent floods, right? People who have lost both money and places to go—truly penniless. I’ll build them houses and hot springs instead, with zero interest and no collateral. It doesn’t matter what kind of business they start, how much they earn, or how long it takes.”
“W-why would you go that far for us?”
The village chief asked, unable to understand. It was a natural reaction. While others struggled to accumulate wealth, and nobles were busy hoarding money for themselves, why would this woman—who wasn’t even a king—personally try to help the poor without being asked?
“If someone has enough will to become self-reliant, they’ll work hard. I won’t just lend money recklessly. Only those who show clear intent for rehabilitation and build credit through counseling will be eligible for additional loans. Think of it less as repaying me, and more as contributing to the expansion of this village. And I’ll use that money to help even more of the poor.”
Rosnelli had a lot of money. As the daughter of a marquess’s family, she already possessed vast wealth, and after the Silentiium business succeeded, she had more than she could ever spend.
But Rosnelli was a warm-hearted person who couldn’t just leave excess money sitting idle. Even in her previous life, she had supported abandoned animals, poor children, and global refugees. In this era, there were surely even more impoverished people than in the 21st century.
Wasn’t this what “noblesse oblige” meant? Those with money should know how to give.
“Money only gains value when it circulates. I have too much of it, and it’s a waste to let it sit. I proposed this because it allows me to help the poor while expanding my business. I don’t intend to take losses. If I provide money, people should also show effort and a will to rebuild. Village chief, do you trust me now?”
Rosnelli smiled brightly as she finished speaking. The village chief looked at her with admiration, having been overwhelmed by her rapid and confident explanation, then cleared his throat and asked.
“Then… what should I do now?”
“First, I’ll personally begin by interviewing the villagers. Natasha and my staff will conduct the first round of interviews. After that, I’ll personally interview those who show enough will to recover.”
Even if Rosnelli wanted to practice noblesse oblige and help the poor, she couldn’t save everyone. She intended to support only those who clearly showed willingness to rebuild their lives—those who wouldn’t waste money on gambling or useless things.
The village chief nodded firmly, as if he had made his decision.
“I’ll do it. I will also contribute. Thank you, boss.”
“You’ve made the right choice. I’m a bit impatient, so I’ll send Natasha as soon as possible. Natasha, are you available today?”
Natasha smiled.
“My schedule always follows the boss of Silentiium. I can leave immediately.”
A few days later,
Through Natasha and the staff’s first round of interviews, 50 representative villagers were selected and came to Silentiium. Rosnelli met with them for a long time, asked about their circumstances, and ultimately decided to support all 50 of them.
“You picked good people, Natasha.”
“Ah, it was nothing…”
Natasha blushed happily at the praise.
Looking over the villagers’ individual reports again, Rosnelli said,
“Let’s divide them into groups based on their tendencies. Five people per team. Each team will take a joint loan. We’ll only start repayment once a certain amount is reached. And we’ll assign joint responsibility—if even one person fails to repay on time, the entire team will face penalties.”
“Will that really work? What if they end up fighting…”
“Whether they cooperate or not depends on them. It’ll succeed. That’s how Professor Yunus received the Nobel Prize for the Grameen Bank. He’s an impressive man.”
“Professor Yunus? Grameen Bank? What’s a Nobel again?”
“It’s a secret.”
Rosnelli smiled, and beside her, a handsome “statue” suddenly popped into view.
“What’s a secret?”
The statue even spoke. Natasha jumped back in shock—it was none other than Leonhardt.
Rosnelli, however, remained calm and slightly lifted her skirt in a formal gesture of respect toward the crown prince.
Natasha still couldn’t get used to this. The prince, who was normally as rare as a shooting star in the palace, was suddenly appearing here beside Rosnelli like this. Had they become close without her noticing?
But Rosnelli didn’t look at him like she was close to him. She wore a formal smile and asked,
“Do you need something, Your Highness?”
“Not particularly.”
“Then why—?”
Her gaze clearly asked why he was here at all. Leonhardt paused for a moment, looking at her.
“Who is that?”
“Pardon?”
“Who is this Yunus person that makes you so bright-eyed?”
“Oh, you wouldn’t know even if I explained.”
Rosnelli answered very briefly. So briefly that Natasha let out a small sigh.
…Ah, boss… I don’t think that’s what he meant…
“So you’re saying I wouldn’t understand even if you told me?”
“Yes. He is not someone Your Highness needs to concern yourself with.”
Rosnelli waved her hand casually, as if it were nothing important. And in truth, it wasn’t. There was no Nobel Prize in this world, and Professor Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank, obviously did not exist here. It was just a small advantage from being a reincarnator—a cheat skill, so to speak.
‘I should just brush it off to avoid complications.’
She shouldn’t have brushed it off.
‘If I’m not careful, I might end up revealing I’m a reincarnator or talking about the original story. I need to watch my mouth.’
But it was already too late.
Whatever conclusion had formed in Leonhardt’s mind, Rosnelli had no way of knowing.
Leonhardt stared at her in confusion, then turned to Natasha. As if saying, “If your master won’t answer, you do it.” Natasha immediately looked away, pretending not to see anything.
As a servant or secretary, one sometimes had to pretend not to hear or see certain things from their superiors. Especially in situations like this.
Unexpectedly, Leonhardt backed off easily.
“I see. If he’s someone I wouldn’t understand anyway, I won’t be interested.”
And he turned away.
Rosnelli, wondering if he had come just to ask that, followed after him.
“Do you need anything else?”
“No.”
His responses had become noticeably shorter. Whether that was just her imagination or not, his expression and stride were clearly irritated.
Rosnelli was worried about one thing: this temperamental crown prince getting annoyed again. Silentiium’s motto was simple—quality hygiene and quality rest. The prince’s condition was crucial to its future.
While she was confident she could improve his health, stress was the root of all illness—and his own personality might be part of that stress. If he kept frowning like that all the time, the hot springs wouldn’t even matter.
“So what exactly are you dissatisfied with?”
“I never said I was dissatisfied.”
Rosnelli stepped in front of him, stood on tiptoe, and pressed her index finger against his furrowed brow.
“It’s clearly deeply creased. There’s no way you’re not dissatisfied. Tell me what part of the service you’re unhappy with, and I’ll fix it. As the owner responsible for your care here at Silentiium, it’s my duty to take excellent care of my customer.”
“…It is true that taking care of customers is the duty of good service. Rosnelli. I have no complaints. About the service. The hot springs, the meals, the massages—everything is perfect. This is the best retreat I’ve ever seen.”
Rosnelli’s face brightened.
“If you could say that in front of other nobles too, it would be great for marketing.”
“Isn’t it already famous enough?”
“What I want is to open a second and third Silentiium branch across the entire Empire of Lobea. I told you, didn’t I? Our goals aren’t so different—you and I both want to create an ideal empire.”
He had meant something else entirely—that his dissatisfaction had nothing to do with the spa services.
But faced with Rosnelli’s bright smile, Leonhardt couldn’t bring himself to be sarcastic or mocking anymore.
In fact, he almost felt a little guilty.
To think he was being petty and jealous over something personal like whether she had a new lover, when she was so sincerely dedicated to her work…
