WBESFL 16

Eleanor took Anna with her every day to explore Oklama thoroughly. Holding the map of Oklama that Lisa had obtained, she walked around diligently.

Starting with the Merva Market they visited on the first day, she checked out the large farming districts, the only medical center, and intermediary trading companies that sold grains and fruits externally—one by one, she inspected them all.

What she saw with her own eyes as she explored on foot was completely different from the Oklama she had known. She had thought it was simply a peaceful vacation spot, but life in Oklama came with many difficulties.

Being a rural territory, development was slow. With agriculture as the main livelihood, there was deep concern over potential droughts. Those working outside of agriculture struggled to maintain stable income. External inflow was minimal, making it hard to rely on tourism income alone.

Baroness Pongfuri was making efforts in many areas to alleviate the people’s hardships.

Each time Eleanor discovered one of her aunt’s various efforts, she felt proud—but also gradually wrapped in a strange emotion.

That was because many administrative documents from early last year onward listed Vanessa as the acting baron.

Vanessa was handling administrative duties that her aunt couldn’t personally attend to—some were small yet crucial.

“Try to get along with Vanessa if you can. She knows Oklama well. Being friendly with her won’t harm you in any way. Eleanor, if you want to rise to a certain position, the people around you matter. Vanessa is someone you’ll need.”

After reading through several years’ worth of administrative documents, Eleanor recalled her aunt’s words. Now that she had looked into Oklama herself, she could understand why her aunt had said that.

But still—

“Is she really someone I need?”

Looking at the deep mark Vanessa had left on those documents made her wonder.

The position of acting baron—something typically filled by a vassal or noble—was held by a sponsored child.

Living in the castle together was one thing, but being appointed a representative? That seemed too much.

In such cases, it wouldn’t be strange for someone to try to overstep their bounds and gain more authority.

Eleanor tapped her pen against the desk. If left alone, this girl might become an obstacle to inheriting the Pongfuri barony.

If that turned out to be true, Vanessa needed to be sent away from the castle.

But as someone who had only recently arrived in Oklama and had little influence, Eleanor found it difficult to act.

“Or am I just being too negative?”

“Sigh…”

Eleanor let out a deep sigh. Lisa, who happened to be entering the study, heard it and looked worried.

“My lady, is something wrong? That sigh was really heavy.”

“It’s nothing. More importantly, what brings you here?”

“A letter of invitation has arrived for you.”

“An invitation?”

An invitation? In this remote rural territory? Eleanor looked puzzled as Lisa handed her a neatly wrapped pink envelope.

A noble family’s name was written in elegant cursive on the front.

“The Duvar Viscount family? They’re the lords of the Levin territory.”

Levin was a neighboring territory about an hour away by carriage from Oklama. Eleanor had never paid it much attention, but she had heard it was generally larger than Oklama.

“Yes. I heard the lord there has three daughters around your age.”

“Oh? So this is a ‘let’s be friends’ move.”

The letter was long, but the content was simple: they were inviting her for tea. A light tea party.

Eleanor twirled her pen thoughtfully. Tea parties with noble ladies had been routine in the capital, but was it really necessary even in Oklama?

Back then, as the count’s daughter, she had played a central role. Now, her goal was to inherit a title.

“This territory doesn’t even have much interaction with Oklama, does it?”

Though they were neighboring areas, the lords and the territories themselves were quite different in nature, so they were rather distant.

It was even said the people had fought in the past.

So, their relationship couldn’t be clearly categorized as close or distant.

“Yes. But it seems they started some exchanges recently, after Miss Vanessa arrived. Since she’s around the same age, probably that helped. But still, it’s surprising, right? Vanessa’s a commoner. The baroness just favors her.”

Lisa shrugged. Eleanor looked down again at the Duvar family’s invitation, her expression surprised.

More than surprising—it was downright strange.

It’s rare for noble ladies to associate with commoners.

Some nobles do befriend commoners, lacking a strong sense of social hierarchy.

But this wasn’t that kind of case—it was clear from how much effort was put into the invitation aimed at befriending the “Count Sticof’s daughter.”

“Miss Vanessa also received an invitation.”

At Lisa’s words, Eleanor made her decision. Returning the invitation to the envelope, she said,

“Tell them I’ll attend. And prepare my dress.”

She needed to assess whether Vanessa was truly a threat—and finding out about her relationship with neighboring noble daughters seemed like a good place to start.