#130. Letter (1)
Because Yelena handled things well on the spot, Ivan mostly helped with the aftermath.
The punishment of Duke Titova, who was imprisoned, and the rebels who supported him.
Calming the chaos in Titova’s lands, giving proper compensation to the regions damaged by the Kartoff disease that Titova spread, and distributing the prepared medicine.
They also had to decide the fate of Count Perelman and others who had changed their minds halfway.
They had promised that testifying would wash away some of their sins, but it couldn’t simply be passed over as if nothing had happened.
So Ivan carefully investigated them and created standards of punishment, considering the seriousness of their crimes.
He organized all of this clearly and reported it to Sasha.
“And there are some unusual matters my lady must confirm.”
“What are they?”
“Yes, I’ve written them down here.”
Sasha looked at the report Ivan handed her and checked two points that especially caught her eye.
1. Relics found in a secret passage
It wasn’t strange that Titova’s old and complicated mansion had a hidden passage that no one had discovered before.
But the fact that the passage was filled with precious relics, hidden as carefully as family heirlooms, was suspicious.
The relics were from different times, some over a hundred years apart.
Even more, there were traces inside showing the environment had recently been arranged artificially.
‘Duke Titova believed firmly that his ancestors had hidden them there. It didn’t seem like a lie.’
Then was it someone else, not him, who hid those relics there?
Why? What could be worth giving up such treasures to the Titova family?
2. The woman in dreams of the scholar and botanist
Both the mage and botanist under Duke Titova claimed the same thing: a woman appeared in their dreams.
She taught them the curse that made Kartoff rot and die.
She gave them instructions, and when they followed her words in the dream, she showed them the future that would come.
Even though it was a dream, when they woke, the memory was as vivid as reality. It felt as if they were enchanted. They testified they accepted it as a “revelation.”
“Revelation?”
Sasha frowned, trying to remember where she had heard such a word before.
At that moment, Ivan carefully added:
“There’s something I couldn’t bring myself to write down, but you should know, my lady.”
“What is it?”
“They said the woman in their dreams looked like you.”
“…Me?”
Sasha’s eyes widened. Ivan added awkwardly:
“They said it wasn’t exactly you, but she looked so similar that they almost mistook her for you.”
“……”
“They were always pressured by Duke Titova’s constant words about you, so perhaps that caused such a twisted dream. I think I’ve troubled you with useless nonsense. Forgive me.”
“No, not at all. Thank you for telling me without leaving it out.”
Sasha stared at the report with a thoughtful, sharp gaze.
‘It could be nothing but coincidence, like Ivan says… but it feels too uneasy to ignore.’
Sasha noticed Ivan still standing there even after finishing his report.
“Ivan? Do you have more to say?”
He hesitated, then nodded.
“It really happened just as you said. So many people truly believed Duke Titova’s words.”
Ivan muttered with a stunned face. The incident had shocked him.
“Ah.”
Sasha remembered the day she had called Ivan and Yelena privately and explained Duke Titova’s rebellion plan and how to defeat it.
Ivan had asked her then:
“No matter what, would so many people really follow Duke Titova without question?”
He knew how much the Northerners liked and respected Sasha. He couldn’t believe they would betray her so easily.
He thought a rebellion by collateral families might happen someday, but not that ordinary citizens would support it.
But at that time, Sasha had smiled mysteriously and answered:
“Well, I hope so… but will they, really?”
Back then Ivan hadn’t understood why she was so doubtful.
But now, after seeing it happen, he couldn’t lift his head.
“My lady, after all you’ve done for them and for the North, they still believed such lies and agitation…”
Ivan looked miserable, unable to continue.
“It’s all right, Ivan.”
Sasha comforted him calmly.
“Don’t blame them. We, who know everything, could not believe those lies — but they didn’t know.”
She glanced at the black, dried Kartoff.
“With visible evidence in front of them, and when people they respected — from village elders to their wise neighbors — all said it was my fault, how could they not believe?”
“My lady…”
“They believed too easily because they never learned how to doubt. And from birth, they’ve been taught never to question those in authority.”
Ivan’s eyes widened at her words. He had never thought of it that way.
Sasha smiled gently and continued:
“It’s fine. Such things won’t disappear completely, but it will improve. More people are learning now. As their view of the world grows wider, they won’t be tricked so easily anymore. That’s bad news for those who try to exploit them.”
Ivan swallowed hard.
‘As expected, my lady…’
From the first time he met Sasha, he had known she was extraordinary.
The closer he worked with her, the more he realized she was far above ordinary people.
He thought nothing could surprise him anymore — but she always surpassed his expectations.
“Thanks to you, my lady, I’ve learned something new again.”
With deep respect, Ivan bowed, then returned to his work to continue following her example.
“Finally, it’s over.”
Left alone, Sasha let her shoulders relax at last.
“I’m tired.”
She leaned back in her chair and sighed. The built-up fatigue was washing over her.
“Huuh…”
This wasn’t the first time she had gone through such troubles. She had been acting head even when Dmitri was alive.
But why was it harder now than before?
She knew the reason.
It was because her strongest shield, the one who supported her fully, was gone. Facing the waves without a breakwater made her wear out faster.
Sasha blinked slowly and lifted her head.
Even though she had worked hard until yesterday, a mountain of documents still waited. Seeing them made her sigh again.
She rubbed her forehead and muttered:
“I wonder how many hours I’ll get to sleep tonight.”
Her head ached. Heat spread through her body.
‘…I really need rest.’
Sasha, known as a workaholic, felt her body warning her that she might collapse if she kept going.
‘If Pavel were here, he would have noticed right away and forced me to rest.’
Her heart sank with loneliness. She reached for something.
She couldn’t see Pavel just because she wanted to… but—
‘There is one way to comfort myself, at least a little.’
She opened a warm letter she had received yesterday, placed beside her papers.
The envelope was a little wrinkled from its long journey, but the heart inside was untouched.
She had read it already yesterday, but she opened it again. The familiar handwriting filled her eyes.
-
To my Sasha.
Here, where snow lies all year, the wind still cuts like knives. But there, spring must be quietly arriving. I hope you are living warmly and safely.
Are you sleeping well? Eating your meals on time? Don’t skip food just because you’re busy. Never forget your health comes first.
If you get even a little hurt, I don’t know what I’ll do when I return.
I don’t like how you always care for others before yourself. But since I am so far away, I can’t even scold you for it now.
Do you remember? You once told me resting is also important work. Don’t act as if you’ve forgotten those words yourself.
……(omitted)……
I miss you. I’ll come to see you as soon as I can.
-
From your husband, who loves his wife,
Pavel Volkov
Sasha smiled all through reading the letter. To ease her longing, she opened the bottom drawer.
Inside was a single, beautiful box.
She carefully lifted the lid.
Inside were all of Pavel’s letters, kept neatly.
Some had pages full of writing, others had drawings.
With his talent for art, Pavel had even drawn portraits of her. On the battlefield, he had not spared that talent either.
Through his drawings, Sasha could glimpse his life at the front lines.
“…If only I could be by his side. Or at least, if I could send a spirit to him…”
Though she could now freely summon even mid-level spirits, she could not reach the place where Pavel was. That land was filled only with demonic energy, not a drop of nature’s flow. Spirits could not enter.
She couldn’t send him military support, supplies, or even messages through spirits. She couldn’t hear news of him either.
Sasha regretted that deeply.
‘If only I had become a great magician instead of a spirit user.’
But wishing for the impossible only made her heart heavier.
So she went through Pavel’s letters again, looked at each drawing, and comforted herself.
The traces of his deep love slowly washed away her fatigue.
These letters were her only joy these days. She was certain it would remain so until he returned.
…But Sasha would soon learn that not all the letters from Pavel could be joyful.
