~Chapter 45~
Chapter 3. The North Wind nor the Sun—Yet the Traveler Takes Off His Coat Alone
I got out of the carriage and blinked in disbelief at what I saw.
There was a huge crowd of estate people at the foot of Mount Varg—no, now my mountain—on the border of Alnor.
Since the stingy Duke wouldn’t lend me any workers, I took a chance and asked Berry to contact her father, Thompson.
I said I wanted to check if the land I just bought was any good and asked if he could help.
“If Madam needs us, of course we’ll drop everything and come running!”
“That’s right, we Northerners never forget a favor—or a grudge.”
Some faces I recognized.
They were carpenters from Norveln village, including Thompson, whom I’d seen at work sites before.
But the people across from them were all strangers.
Right then, they spoke up.
“We apologize for greeting our savior so late, madam. Please forgive us.”
“Hm?”
“You may not remember, but during the collapse accident—”
I tried to recall, but it was definitely the first time I’d seen them.
I just nodded with a vague smile, pretending I remembered.
They must have meant the day I got caught up in the mine collapse after visiting the monastery. Things were so chaotic back then, I didn’t have time to look at anyone’s faces.
Berry whispered to me.
“The miners’ guild is just as tight as the carpenters. They said they’ve been waiting for a chance to repay your help during the collapse, madam.”
“I never did it for a reward.”
“But people can’t help how they feel! The North might be cold, but people’s hearts here are warm.”
I looked at the smiling miners.
This was the kind of people I always wanted to see back when I was just an official.
Ah.
It felt strange.
My eyes stung a little, but in this freezing wind, if I shed even a drop, I might lose my skin.
I cleared my throat loudly and called for the guild leaders.
Thompson from the carpenters and a miner named Bolik came over and spoke.
“We heard you want to use Mount Varg, madam.”
“Yes, what do you think?”
Bolik, the miner, spoke first.
“The miners from Alnor say Mount Varg is worthless woodland. But I think differently.”
“Alnor is surrounded by mountains, so it’s hard for them to check every slope carefully. Their skill level is nothing compared to ours. I think they just never knew the real value of this land.”
“Could I ask you to do a new geological survey?”
“Actually, I already took a look. There are several ways to find an ore vein, and I found a quartz vein in a steep canyon.”
Bolik explained that gold is often found with quartz—a good sign.
Then Thompson spoke.
“I brought something to show you. Look at this.”
He had a young branch from a frost-thorn tree that grows deep in the northern Lombard mountains.
Thompson peeled the bark and split it in half.
“See here? The color’s a bit reddish, isn’t it?”
“I’m not sure…”
“That’s why I brought a sample for comparison. This one’s from another mountain.”
The color was a bit different, just as he said.
Bolik noticed first.
“That’s a metal reaction.”
“You’re sharp as always!”
Thompson laughed and congratulated me.
“You bought some very good land, madam. We’ll have to dig to be sure, but if the wood turns red like this, it means there are a lot of minerals below.”
“I see.”
I nodded as if it was all new to me.
In truth, I already knew from my past life that there was a huge gold mine in Mount Varg, but it would be strange if a clueless ex-princess knew that sort of thing.
Thompson and Bolik looked at me with excited eyes.
“So, what do you want to do now?”
“As expected. I want you to take on the job.”
“We’ve been waiting for you to say that! This could make you rich, madam—we’ll start right away.”
“No, not yet.”
“What?”
They stopped, surprised.
Usually, when nobles thought there might be an ore vein, they demanded to start digging right away and report results as fast as possible.
Depending on whether it was gold, silver, copper, or iron, their future depended on it, so being impatient was normal.
So my calm attitude confused them.
“Isn’t it dangerous to work in this season? One wrong step and you could slip.”
“We do this for a living! We work in any weather—rain, snow, you name it.”
“Just because you’re used to it doesn’t mean it’s safe. The slopes here are steep; it’s not like working on the church or monastery.”
“…”
“Wait until the weather gets warmer.”
I started making plans in my head.
The stingy Duke probably wouldn’t let me use the safety gear from Lombard Castle, so I’d have to buy new equipment.
If there was an accident, I’d be in trouble as the mine owner, so I decided to limit work hours and pay them well to focus only on mining.
Thinking of the huge cost hurt, but—
After all, these people trusted and followed me.
This is what it feels like to have the trust and support of so many people.
Just as I thought that, my eyes and nose almost started to run again, so I lifted my chin high and acted proud.
This time, it was really dangerous.
“Let’s keep everything we talked about today a secret for now.”
“Of course, madam. You saved our lives—we’ll obey only you from now on.”
“It’s great you’re loyal to me, but I’m not taking responsibility if the Duke gets mad at you.”
“Hahaha!”
They laughed like it was a joke.
But I was serious.
After shrugging at the thought that it was their lives, not mine, I heard the sound of horses from across the road.
It was the Duke’s mountain guards.
Did I already get on his bad side?! Just how far does his influence reach?!
The knights tied their horses a little way off and came over to bow deeply.
I accepted their greetings quickly, planning to slip away, but clueless Thompson started chatting with them.
“What brings the mountain guards here? Isn’t this outside your area?”
“It used to be.”
Apparently, Thompson knew the guards pretty well from his work all over the North.
I used that as an excuse to leave the group.
From behind me, I heard them talking.
“The Duke gave orders. Wild animals might show up, so we’re here to clear the area.”
“You mean the lord himself?”
I was surprised, too.
As far as I remembered, Mount Varg wasn’t under the mountain guard’s authority.
They usually protected the rough land along the northern wall.
Mount Varg was in the far north of the continent, but it wasn’t physically close to the black northern wall.
The elite knights, trained to fight monsters, had no reason to come all this way just for a few wild animals.
Could it be for me?
I told myself not to get carried away.
This was getting ridiculous.
…Even so, I couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed.
Stop with the silly daydreams and think of something else.
I turned to Berry—who was always with me, just in case I needed her to “negotiate” with wild animals.
“Thanks to you, the food lately has been perfect. How did you know what I like?”
“You mean food? Should I get the lunchbox I brought?”
“No, not that. I know you told Bertolt about my tastes.”
“Um, I’m really sorry to say this, madam, but… I’m not good with the court language, so I don’t know what you mean. Did I do something wrong?!”
Berry looked like she had no idea.
She even panicked and dropped to her knees to apologize faster than light.
I tried to help her up—even though I couldn’t budge her—and was quietly shocked inside.
If it wasn’t Berry, then that really meant the Duke was paying attention to my meals.
He noticed what I liked and told Bertolt what to do.
Why?
‘So, could I borrow some castle workers? I want to check the land I just bought.’
‘No.’
When I asked the Duke for castle workers, this is what he said.
He said there were already plenty of people who wanted to help me, even without his involvement.
I thought it was nonsense.
Who would genuinely want to help me? No one did before, and now I’m even more disliked…
I don’t get it.
If he’d lent me the castle workers, I would never have noticed the goodwill from the carpenters and miners.
Because in the past, I always expected kindness to turn to cruelty.
Realizing there are people who trust and support me now… that’s all because of the Duke.
I stopped and stared at the backs of the knights, still talking with Thompson.
It felt like someone had dropped a small stone into a perfectly still lake.
