chapter 06
Dale carefully checked the revised documents with his own eyes before handing them over to the priest.
“Submit it as is.”
“Ah, y-yes! O-of course, Your Majesty!”
“Your Majesty?”
The priest immediately prostrated himself under Dale’s sharp gaze that looked as if it could sever heads.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t see anything or hear anything. I won’t remember anything from today. I’m very good at forgetting… Huh? Who are you again?”
His reaction seemed to be exactly what Dale had hoped for, and he turned away without hesitation.
He retrieved Enya’s coat, which he had hidden in a corner of the temple.
“……”
Around him were statues and paintings praying for the love of couples, placed throughout the temple.
With an unreadable expression, Dale curved the corners of his lips into a faint smile.
“You said you wouldn’t regret it… right?”
He recalled her words with a cold, detached look that was the complete opposite of the expression he had shown Enya.
But just like the coat now in his hands, she wouldn’t be able to escape.
“Lady Enya Lockhart.”
A subtle satisfaction flickered in his eyes.
Without glancing around, Dale strode out of the temple with long, purposeful steps.
“…Huh?”
Just then, a woman who was entering the temple caught sight of him.
“That man… isn’t he the one who lives in the hill house in the Grunwald estate?”
“I think you’re right.”
The women who recognized him began whispering curiously.
“Why would he come to the temple all of a sudden? Maybe he came to pray, like us?”
“No, look at that document.”
One of the women narrowed her eyes at the papers Dale was holding.
And at the woman’s coat he carried.
“Wait a second… is that a marriage certificate?”
“What?! What about Lady Adeline?!”
The village women let out a dramatic gasp.
“Lady Adeline probably doesn’t know. She’s been so excited, saying she wanted to invite that man to her birthday party.”
“We should tell her quickly.”
“Who on earth did he marry?”
The women followed Dale stealthily.
And they clearly witnessed him draping the white coat over a young woman.
She was stunning, with silver hair and sky-blue eyes.
“She’s gorgeous…! Where did a woman like that suddenly come from?”
“I heard someone moved to Grunwald recently. Could it be her?”
They all stood in stunned silence.
“Let’s hurry and report to Lady Adeline.”
“All of this was given by the villagers as wedding gifts.”
“There’s a lot.”
Dale and I were eating dinner—cooked entirely by him—while looking at the fruits, rice, and meat stacked in a corner of the living room.
They were all wedding gifts from the people of Grunwald.
But that was just a pretext. It was clear they were more curious about who the handsome bachelor had married.
“You’re quite popular, Dale.”
He scratched his head shyly and covered his face.
“I’m sorry.”
“You’re not denying that you’re popular.”
“No, I didn’t mean it like that…”
His cheeks turned red as he cupped them with both hands.
So he does know he’s popular, huh?
‘Well, he’s handsome, has a great personality, and helps out with all kinds of village chores.’
Dale wasn’t just good-looking and kind.
After retiring from mercenary life for some unknown reason, he had settled in Grunwald and lived quietly doing odd jobs.
Grunwald was a poor territory with barren land and scarce employment opportunities, making it hard to attract young workers.
Putting it nicely—it was simple and peaceful.
Putting it bluntly—it was impoverished.
Dale had lived here for the past six months and had helped the village elders with hard labor during that time.
In Grunwald, the space between houses was wide, yet people knew things like exactly how many forks each household had. Everyone was close-knit.
Not ideal for someone like me, who had many secrets. But if used wisely, it could be a good place.
‘Because this is where Hexagon’s massive herb field is cultivated.’
The original story begins when I’m 22.
I’m 20 now. That leaves two years before the plot starts.
But why did the emperor send the empress decree so much earlier than in the original?
Is early marriage common?
Or does he know I don’t like him?
I don’t think the rumors have spread…
We’ve never even met in person.
‘I haven’t even managed to get a portrait of him yet.’
Very few people knew the emperor’s face, as he had ascended the throne at a young age.
At best, those who had seen him included my father, Duke Lockhart; the emperor’s aides; his knights—
And his friend, Marquis Cassion Schultz.
The emperor strictly avoided showing his face and even wore a mask at official events.
I asked my brother, who’s one of the emperor’s knights, to draw me a picture—but with his doodle skills, it was a lost cause.
“Forget the emperor for now—what matters most is the herb field.”
I muttered to myself.
In the original novel, the villainous Duke Hexagon cultivated a massive herb plantation.
And it was located right here in Grunwald.
“Dale, has anyone from Duke Hexagon’s side ever come by here?”
“Not that I know of.”
“Really? Not yet, then.”
That means I should get to it first.
“Did Duke Hexagon do something to you, Miss Enya?”
“No, nothing like that.”
Not yet, anyway.
And I had no intention of letting him, either.
“Dale, could you look into any idle land I could use?”
“Are you planning to farm?”
“No, no, that’d be too expensive. There isn’t much arable land in Grunwald anyway.”
Aside from what I had to pay Dale, I had about 100,000 Crovats left.
Yeah.
I was broke.
Resting my chin on my hand, I shook my head slowly.
“I just need the biggest, cheapest land available.”
“This is the place.”
The land Dale introduced was about an hour’s walk from my house—a barren field just in front of the lord’s castle.
It was a bit far, but I liked it.
Because it was the cheapest plot in all of Grunwald.
“It’s right in front of the lord’s castle—why is it so cheap?”
The land Dale showed me was vast—big enough to fit ten mansions.
Yet it only cost 10,000 Crovats.
It was practically being given away. Was it cursed or something?
“Because it is cursed.”
“…Haha.”
Wait, seriously?
I suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.
Why would Dale recommend cursed land? There must be a reason.
“It’s cursed, but it’s the cheapest.”
…He really focused on just the ‘cheap’ part.
I stared at Dale, unable to hide my disbelief. He looked at me with a gentle smile.
“Besides, curses won’t work on you, Miss Enya. That’s why I thought it’d be a good location.”
“They won’t work on me? What kind of curse is it?”
“The lord is currently ill. So no one wants to buy land near the castle.”
That explained the desolation around here.
Grunwald’s castle hadn’t been maintained and was so old it looked abandoned.
“Didn’t you say you sometimes work at the castle? Do you know what illness the lord has?”
“There are rumors that he sees ghosts.”
“Ghosts?”
Even I, someone who’s possessed, hadn’t experienced that.
The lord sees ghosts?
“But the rumors are likely false.”
Dale laid out his robe on a flat stone and gestured for me to sit.
I sat down and listened intently.
“A few years ago, the lord lost his child and child-in-law in a carriage accident. Since then, he’s been raising his granddaughter alone.”
“I see…”
“Do you know of the neighboring territory, Kidland?”
“Yes. It’s a wealthy region, right?”
Though both Grunwald and Kidland were located along the Gonia mountain range, Kidland was blessed and prosperous, while Grunwald was pitifully poor.
“Come to think of it, weren’t they originally part of the same family?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Dale looked at me with a small smile.
Grunwald and Kidland had once been a single territory, but a few generations ago, the Count of Grunwald granted the Kidland branch a viscount title and divided the land.
Technically, Kidland was a collateral branch of Grunwald.
But something felt off.
Would they really have given all the good land to a collateral line?
Grunwald had an heir too.
