38 - Marquis Maron
Episode 38
"Princess."
Asta's handmaid entered with a polite knock. The loyal handmaid, who had followed her all the way from the Kasnatura royal palace to distant Grandis, approached her, saying she had heard strange rumors on the first floor of the inn.
"It's really strange."
"What is? What's wrong?"
"They say that Prince Vandision killed the family's heir, leading some woman, and annihilated the Winter Dukedom. And that's how he became the successor."
"...What?"
"And to top it off, he's trying to frame that woman as a villain and put her on the execution stand. To kill her and hide the secret."
"What? Oh, come on. What kind of weird rumors did you hear?"
"I also think it's absurd... But that woman's name is too famous."
"Who is it?"
"Hayley."
The handmaid's voice was very low as she said Hayley's name. Asta was also startled and stared at the handmaid with wide eyes. Hayley. It was a name that even she, who had lived as a commoner until recently, couldn't possibly not know.
"They said that Wizard was so evil that she sold her soul to a Demon. Cyril... I know that he tried to stop her by any means."
"Yes, me too."
"I heard that our kingdom also sent troops to capture that woman?"
"Oh, I thought it was strange too. Listen to this. There's an arms dealer on the first floor of the inn, and he used to do a lot of business in the north when the Winter Dukedom was annihilated. He says that mercenaries all know about it, and that even if they try to keep it quiet, the truth will come out someday..."
"Let's go down."
"Princess!"
Asta got up without hesitation. Then she opened the door and went down the stairs.
She wanted to meet the arms dealer and hear the story directly. Because Cyril wouldn't have done that, she thought she had to correct the misunderstanding.
She didn't want him, who was still suffering because of his background even after becoming the successor, to be swayed by such nonsense.
"Who is it?"
"Oh... I think he's gone. He's disappeared."
The man who was said to be an arms dealer had already disappeared. When she asked the innkeeper, he said that he was a person who did a lot of business between the three kingdoms, but recently, due to rumors that the Contaminated Zone was expanding, his deals were canceled and he was traveling around to his customers directly.
"What should we do? Should I go out and look for him?"
"No. It's okay."
Asta stopped the handmaid by grabbing her hand. If she acted too conspicuously in a city that the Order was blockading, her movements might be restricted.
"Where's Cyril?"
"He went out with someone from his family. He didn't look too good."
"Tell him to look for me when he gets back."
It couldn't be. Asta bit her lip in needless anger. Such a vicious rumor to Cyril, who was already having a hard time.
As she shook her head and tried to go upstairs, Asta stopped and asked the handmaid.
"That woman, Hayley. She's dead, right?"
"Yes? Oh, of course. No one has ever come back alive after entering the Contaminated Zone. If she were alive, that would mean the rumor that she's the Demon's daughter is true!"
"Uh-huh."
"Oh, was it not a daughter, but a minion? Or a Demon's bride? I've heard so many similar things..."
"Okay, stop it."
Light pink hair rippled behind Asta as she turned around. The handmaid quickly put a hood on her, but she couldn't block the gaze of a man who was leisurely enjoying his meal in the corner of the inn.
His white eyes narrowed and a deep smile spread across his face.
* * *
"Wow!"
Wow! What is it, what is it!
I woke up with a start. A loud cheer was coming from outside.
Ugh, geez, you scared me. Who's making such a loud noise from the morning!
When I opened the defensive fortress window that had been newly installed in my room, I saw Doraji on the ramparts with the women, watching the trees fall.
"Wow!"
"It's falling, wow!"
"Let's use that place as a field too, that place too!"
When I looked closely, my Doraji, who was crazy about food, was turning my entire territory into farmland.
I leaned against the shutter handle and shouted outside.
"Do it in moderation! Before I kick you all out!"
"Waaa!"
"I told you to be quiet! Do you really want to be kicked out?"
Of course, I was a powerless and insignificant lord, so no one took my threats seriously.
"Lord, are you awake? This morning, I sliced the pumpkin thinly and fried it with duck eggs in oil. It's the recipe you told us before, and everyone says it's so delicious! Here's some bread and soup too."
"Fatima."
"Yes?"
"How much food do we have left?"
"It's still okay. Reikart caught a deer in the Purified forest yesterday."
"Deer?"
"Yes! The fairy was so happy that the meat had increased."
Fatima smiled brightly and set the table. Various foods were placed on the round table in my room, along with a savory smell.
Pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin soup, freshly baked bread. It was a lavish meal that I couldn't have dreamed of until recently.
Outside, I could still hear the lumberjacks cutting down trees and the women singing as they worked in the fields.
They had tried to live outside somehow, even as fugitives, but they were greatly frightened when they heard the news that the Order was blockading the city.
Perhaps because they were simple people who had lived their whole lives in small villages like Selbon, they couldn't even imagine clashing with a large organization like the Order.
I put a pumpkin pancake in my mouth and asked.
"How much longer can we last?"
"It depends on what we can find in the forest, but I don't think we can last through the summer. There are families with children..."
"Can you call Reikart for me?"
"Yes, Lord."
Since the women of Selbon had entered Maron Keep, Fatima had been in charge of the kitchen and food management. She said that since there were more hands, she didn't have to do things like preparing ingredients, cleaning, or tidying up, and that she would spend her remaining time serving me as much as her own work had decreased.
Thanks to that, I had a maid, or a servant, or whatever, who served me even though it wasn't in my nature.
"Ugh, geez."
Why are the soup, bread, and pumpkin pancakes so delicious?
Reikart approached me as I ate my meal without even taking the sleep out of my eyes.
"You called?"
"Did you eat?"
"...I ate. Why?"
"About the deer. Where did you catch it?"
"The forest a little way into the Dark Lake from the stone wall... Why?"
Why does this guy ask me why whenever I ask him something?
"Where would be a good hunting ground? How much do you think we need to Purify?"
Reikart didn't answer right away, but stood there for a while, looking at me. His water-colored eyes followed my fingers busily as I tore the bread and dipped it in the soup.
I was a woman with a steel stomach that wouldn't get indigestion no matter who stared at me like that, so I nonchalantly stuffed my mouth full of bread.
Reikart chuckled and took out a map and unfolded it.
It was the map he had when he first entered Maron Keep. It was crumpled and dirty everywhere, probably because I, Doraji, Reikart, and Fatima had looked at it so much.
He realized that fact and frowned, then took writing utensils from my desk and drew a similar new map.
He drew terribly.
"Hey, is this a map? It's a mess. Your handwriting is okay, but what's wrong with your drawing? Didn't the Winter family teach children drawing lessons? No, in the first place, isn't a map a bit different from a drawing? Can't you just copy it exactly?"
"If you're so confident, why don't you do it yourself?"
"Give it to me!"
I was a diligent student in South Korea who had never missed a single art class from kindergarten and elementary school to middle school and high school.
In fact, I always got good grades in art practical skills, and that subject contributed greatly to raising my average...
"Ha."
Reikart raised only one corner of his mouth and said.
"Is this a map? If about ten earthworms passed by, they would leave similar marks."
