Chapter 35
“I’m breaking off the engagement. I’ve already told Rey.”
“Ohhh! Dear heavens! Thank you so much!”
Scrooge threw both arms into the air, staring up at the suffocating ceiling, and burst into a fierce declaration of faith.
Poor Scrooge, he’s truly been blessed today.
Now, first things first—I had to get that money back from him.
Donghee narrowed her eyes and combed through the ledger Scrooge had painstakingly updated, tears and all.
“Stop thanking God already. Anyone would think you’re in the middle of a revival meeting. Wow. The total comes to 160 gold.”
In Korean won, that was nearly two hundred million.
Holy hell, she really was insane.
“You’ve already finished calculating?”
Scrooge stepped closer, his voice tinged with disbelief.
“No. You wrote it right here. 160 gold. In big, bold, red letters.”
“Ah… so I did.”
He must’ve been so consumed with resentment that he wrote down the amount he gave Rey in red ink. Blood-red, like it was a scream of despair directed at Chloe Grace.
“Did I get a written IOU from him?”
Please tell me I did. If I didn’t even manage that… I should just die.
Donghee tensed and stared at Scrooge. And that’s when it happened.
“…Who are you?”
The question came out of nowhere. A chill ran down Donghee’s spine.
Had he figured out her true identity?
She swallowed dryly and forced her voice to remain calm.
“What do you mean ‘who’? I’m Chloe Grace!”
“That’s impossible!”
Scrooge’s eyes widened in disbelief as he barked the words.
“W-What are you talking about?”
Donghee felt her vision darken. Was this how it ended? Burned at the stake like some kind of witch? She began contemplating running for it when Scrooge spoke again, his voice heavy with doubt.
“Our lady… never studied. Ever. Not once. There’s no way she even knows what a written IOU is…”
“Hey!”
Donghee snapped, her voice cracking across the room like a whip. Scrooge jumped back in surprise.
“Ack! You startled me!”
“I know. I know everything! I was just pretending not to!”
She was irrationally angry now. She shouted, just to make a point.
“You weren’t pretending. You were practically a different person…”
Scrooge slowly backed away, suspicion still gleaming in his eyes.
“I said I know.”
As Donghee fumed and glared, Scrooge awkwardly smiled and pointed at the ledger.
“One hundred and sixty gold. That’s the amount I gave Young Master Rey… without a written IOU.”
No IOU.
“So I didn’t write one.”
Scrooge nodded.
He looked at her like she was pathetic for just now realizing it—but there was also a hint of relief in his eyes, like finally she was getting it.
“I’m gonna lose my mind.”
Sure, she could easily cover that amount now. But this wasn’t about money anymore.
Her pride wouldn’t let it go.
No. The only way to settle this was to stomp them flat and wring out every last coin they had.
“Find out what business Rey’s trying to start.”
She would be there at every step of the way, waiting with a smile, ready to crush him until there was nothing left but pulp.
After finally calming her anger, Donghee visited the village again, where construction was still underway.
The chill in the air hinted that winter was near—her breath puffed out in visible clouds. She felt the urgency.
“Any news from the ones we sent to buy fabric?”
Donghee wrapped her coat tighter as she addressed Handsome.
If she was this cold while dressed warmly, how must the villagers feel?
Fortunately, the maids, eager for the special bonuses, had been sewing tirelessly, day and night. Thanks to them, the clothes for the children of Morta Village were progressing well.
Today, they were sending out the first batch of finished clothes.
Donghee looked behind her at the wagon following the carriage. It was stacked with boxes filled with children’s clothing, all repurposed from Chloe’s frilly dresses.
Thanks to Chloe’s consistently childish taste, the kids’ clothes were colorful and cute—if nothing else.
But they were still too thin for this weather.
“They arrived yesterday. They’re supposed to buy the fabric today.”
“They took bodyguards, right?”
“Yes. Twenty of the most trustworthy men recommended by Red Bear’s captain, led by Vice-Captain Urun.”
“Good. If they get ambushed on the road, we’re screwed.”
It had taken real effort to get those materials—no way she was letting bandits walk off with them.
That’s when it happened.
Ding!
A cheerful chime rang, and a bright blue status window popped up in front of Donghee.
– For the noble lord who toils day and night to revive a poor territory!
For the one who dreams of feeding her people warm rice and hearty meat stew!
As a basic, basic, BASIC—
Okay, enough.
– You’ve finally reached the bare minimum! Hehe.
The message cut itself off awkwardly, ending with a smug little laugh.
It didn’t feel like a system message. More like an annoying younger sibling.
– A new mission for our newly upgraded user!
You’ve created a previously non-existent material by combining Komo tree sap and Tia stone.
Now, upgrade it so it can be used on a larger scale.
Upon completion, we’ll remove the time restriction on unstable activation zones.
YES. Absolutely YES!
Time restriction gone? That was the jackpot.
Donghee barely held herself back from shouting in joy. If Handsome hadn’t been there, she would’ve jumped up and screamed.
So… she had to upgrade what she’d made?
“What else should I mix with the Komo tree and Tia stone?”
The material was hard, sure—but the quantity was tiny. At this rate, they’d need to chop down thousands of Komo trees to use it for construction. Not to mention, it hardened too fast.
So basically, she needed better efficiency.
Donghee felt a twinge of excitement.
Once she returned to the castle, she’d start experimenting right away.
Morta Village was changing rapidly.
What once looked like a hopeless ruin was now unrecognizably transformed.
Clean, paved roads. Repaired homes. White smoke curling up from chimneys thanks to heating.
Donghee looked around, blinking as her nose stung with emotion.
“Young Lady!”
“Whoa! It’s the Lord!”
It was the children who spotted her first.
The adults, busy working, only noticed her arrival after hearing the kids shout.
She had purposely left the carriage outside the village to sneak in quietly.
“How have you all been?”
The kids swarmed her instantly.
“Yes! We had porridge until our bellies hurt this morning!”
“My mom said it’s all thanks to you!”
“Mine too! My dad said so!”
The weather was getting colder, and the children wore layers of old, oversized clothing. That meant the adults were likely sacrificing warmth—but no one seemed to mind.
Donghee smiled, watching them.
Their noses were red from the cold, but their eyes sparkled with joy.
“Today, I brought you all clothes to wear.”
“Clothes?”
Some of the children blinked in surprise. They had never received clothing as a gift before. They couldn’t even process it and just stared at her with wide, hollow eyes.
“Handsome.”
Donghee called out, still a little embarrassed every time she said his name.
He immediately signaled to the staff.
The servants near the wagon began distributing the clothes.
The garments were made in three broad sizes: ages 3–6, 7–10, and 11–14.
If time allowed, they would’ve made more specific sizes—but winter was almost here.
Big clothes could be folded or wrapped.
“Are you really giving us these?”
Even as they held the gifts in their arms, the kids couldn’t believe it. They kept asking, just to make sure.
And each time, Donghee nodded and smiled warmly.
“Put them on. You can wear those for now.”
“Waaaah!”
The kids ran off toward their homes, clutching their clothes like treasures.
As they arrived, a cascade of alerts rang in Donghee’s ears—villager favorability increasing rapidly.
She sat in the carriage with a satisfied smile, listening to the cheerful sound.
Before the villagers could come swarming in with thank-yous and declarations of eternal gratitude, she slipped back into the carriage.
“You’re not going to meet the townsfolk?”
Handsome looked at her with a gentle smile. He was clearly proud of how far she had come.
“There’s still a lot to do. Besides, hearing the same thing over and over gets boring.”
Even her grumbling couldn’t wipe the grin from his face.
About thirty minutes after leaving Morta Village…
“Steward.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Handsome, who had been dozing off with his mouth open a moment ago, snapped awake with perfect posture and a crisp voice.
Donghee couldn’t help but laugh internally.
“What was the name of the village next to Morta again?”
His eyes widened at the question, then returned to their usual respectful expression.
“It’s Enol.”
He was confused—how could the Lord not know the name of a neighboring village?
Then he remembered the old Chloe and nodded in understanding. Of course she wouldn’t know. The former lord never cared about anything beyond herself.
“How far is it?”
“The villages branch out in all directions from Grace Castle. Enol is about three hours away by carriage—straight shot.”
“That far?”
“Yes. There’s a vast stretch of wasteland between.”
“So it’s hard for the villages to interact.”
“Yes.”
Even as Morta improved, there had been almost no contact from neighboring villages.
Not surprising, considering how Morta had been before.
When people were starving to death, they didn’t have the strength to walk to another village.
“Let’s head to Enol.”
“Pardon? Enol Village?”
“Yeah. Winter’s coming fast—we have to move quicker.”
