The Isolated Marchioness Just Wants to Make a Living
Chapter 23
Chapter 23
* * *
Having wrapped up the situation like that, Alpheus and the elite unit were rushing toward the marquisate.
Alpheus glanced down at the small bag.
“Ah… while we’re in the capital, I just have to buy a little present for Bribri.”
The mere thought of blowing soap bubbles on the hill with Brisa put him in high spirits.
Inside the bag, along with the soap bubbles, were balloons. He had picked them up at a stationery shop in the capital.
‘Still.’
Rational thoughts caught up a bit late.
‘Was there any food in that estate?’
Having crossed halfway across the Empire horizontally, he had realized that distribution networks were in absolute shambles everywhere.
It was only natural, with warp gates offline. Since goods like grain from the West weren’t circulating, everyone was on edge over food.
‘The East is fairly self-sufficient at least… but the Sears marquisate won’t be, right?’
Still, he had left Rancy behind, so he trusted Rancy was managing well somehow.
He probably put something on credit with a neighboring estate. And since they left a knight order behind, they should be able to cross small hills even if monsters were around.
‘Or didn’t they say there were relatives? An uncle living nearby… I think the lawyer mentioned that back then. Surely our uncle helped out a bit?’
Even so, in Alpheus’s imagination, Brisa was sitting upright, starving. It was a sight he had seen all too often while crossing the Empire.
The knights would be suffering too…
Of course, having come from mercenary backgrounds, they were used to hunger.
“Still, we’re almost there now.”
They, too, were riding while running on empty stomachs.
They had dried fish and seaweed brought from the East, but never enough to eat their fill. The hospitality of villages cut off from trade was hardly welcoming.
This was especially true the deeper they ventured into the Central region, which lacked large-scale farmlands.
Out of necessity, they had been selling off the gold jewelry handed to them by the 2nd Prince at cheap rates just to stave off hunger.
After riding for so long, the end of this journey was finally in sight.
“Everyone probably thinks we’ll only arrive after the warps are fully repaired, right?”
Alpheus grinned.
“How thrilled will they be to see us show up a whole month early! Everyone’s gonna jump for joy like they never dreamed we’d reunite so soon!”
Only then did the captain of the elite unit chuckle softly and pipe up.
“Won’t that Rancy guy just ask, ‘Did you come back as ghosts?’”
Though they had no energy left after riding continuously on empty stomachs, the thought of seeing their comrades made their hearts flutter with anticipation.
Alpheus smirked and gave a cheerful wink.
“Now then, has everyone rested enough?”
The war hero’s wink was so overwhelmingly bubbly that the elite unit could only sigh.
“Then shall we head out again! My precious Bribri, Alphi oppa is coming!”
With a resounding shout of spirit, the young man broke into a sprint toward the estate.
* * *
“Leo!”
Baron Forman stared at his maternal grandson with a look of utter astonishment.
“Why on earth are you here… Don’t tell me, were you… somewhere close by?”
I had once heard about Baron Forman from Leopold’s maternal cousin, Sylvia.
“My grandfather uses formal speech with Leopold in public settings. I suppose I’ll have to do the same when I grow older?”
In other words, Sylvia’s grandfather was Baron Forman.
“Still, even my grandfather speaks casually in private. That’s why I only plan to meet Leopold in private once I grow up. Just thinking about using formal honorifics with him already gives me a headache.”
Thus, when other people were present like now, Baron Forman was supposed to use formal speech with Leopold.
Yet he was clearly so shocked that he had slipped into his usual tone.
“Good heavens, Leo. To run into you here.”
I certainly hadn’t expected to meet Leopold here either.
Leopold, looking quite taken aback as well, glanced back and forth between me and Baron Forman.
“Well now.”
Even amid all this, blood was splattering behind him.
Without even turning his head, he unleashed Air Severance, which struck dead center against the boat carrying the fleeing Black Magicians. And just like that, the masked figures in white were submerged en masse.
Without even bothering to verify the outcome of that wide-area strike, the boy spoke with elegance.
“What an intriguing situation.”
In the manner of Western nobility, that translated to: ‘Everything is so completely unexpected that it borders on absurd, and I am dying to know every single detail of what led to this, so explain yourself this instant.’
Of course, I had no intention of explaining.
So I looked at Baron Forman with eyes full of betrayal.
“Maternal grandfather…? Then could you perhaps be… Baron Forman?”
I passed the ball to someone else.
The reason I had pretended not to recognize his identity all this time was simple.
‘Baron Forman is a capable intelligence broker.’
Which meant there was a high chance he would probe me with all sorts of sharp questions.
In contrast, I was a mere twelve years old.
Even if I had matured early, it was an age where one could easily fall for a seasoned informant’s leading questions.
‘What if I ended up blurting out something like knowing the future…?’
Then I would literally become a lunatic child.
‘…Too horrifying to imagine.’
That was why I wanted to avoid deep conversations with Baron Forman whenever possible. If I admitted I had figured out who he was, I would be obligated to answer him.
Titles aside, he was an elder and the maternal grandfather of Nozen’s next heir.
However, as long as I pretended not to notice, the maids and Philip naturally orchestrated situations so I wouldn’t have to answer.
‘Still, it can be used like this too.’
I blinked with a shocked expression.
“Didn’t you say you were stranded because your relative was in Baron Hawin’s territory?”
At my murmur, Leopold raised an eyebrow.
His gaze swept over his grandfather’s shabby attire.
“Not knowing you were… Baron Forman, I was terribly rude.”
Lowering the hood of my robe, I offered a polite, formal greeting.
Then, I added with an embarrassed air:
“I simply thought… since you said you were from the West, that I would just send you on your way once you were caught eavesdropping…”
The objective was to lay on the guilt and highlight my own generosity.
“And disguised you, lest Baron Hawin recognize your face and take revenge on your relative.”
The guilt trip continued.
“And even treated you to dinner…”
Rendered an old man who had deceived a kind child and freeloaded a meal off her, Baron Forman was flustered.
“I-I, well, you see, that is…”
Leopold’s eyes narrowed slightly.
His expression turned subtle, as if weighing something.
“The reason my maternal grandfather suddenly went to the Central region…”
Even while saying that, he blew up a few more ships behind his back.
“…is likely West business.”
That was aimed directly at me.
It meant: ‘I have a rough idea why, but it’s a matter you must never know about, so don’t pry any further.’
An aristocratic speech style that gave no one any leverage.
A default posture that rejected factions without making enemies.
A resolve never to shatter one’s neat and rational facade.
There was a reason Western culture had developed that way.
‘Because the West is the wealthiest land.’
A place where nothing was ever lacking and abundance was the norm. Hence, there was no desperation.
They never directly asked or demanded anything from anyone. After all, whatever they wanted to possess or know, they could resolve on their own.
I heard Philip whispering to Wendy from behind.
“Why is that young master only stating the obvious? Of course a Westerner went because of Western business—why else would he have come?”
“Tell me about it. Earlier, too, he just said he was curious about the situation, like he’s not paying attention to the conversation at all. Well, considering he’s dumping Black Magicians into the water like that, I guess it makes sense.”
The Northern mercenaries didn’t understand Western speech in the slightest.
‘True enough.’
I recalled the events from the original work.
‘That’s why it took Alpheus so long to cooperate with Leopold too.’
After all, Alpheus and Leopold had completely failed to communicate.
Coming to his senses, Baron Forman replied in Western noble speech as well.
“The tale I have to convey is so long, I fear I would have to speak until dawn.”
It meant: ‘Let’s talk later after sending these people away.’
Afterward, he flashed an awkward smile at me.
“I have been exceedingly discourteous, Young Lady Sears. In truth, I didn’t intend to hide it until the end…”
Which meant he had desperately intended to hide it.
“I shall not forget the kindness the young lady showed to an old man from the Western countryside.”
“It was my honor to host Baron Forman at Sears’s humble dinner.”
I curtsied gracefully.
Just then, Leopold stared straight at me and asked:
“So why did you come here?”
No way.
Both Baron Forman and I were thoroughly startled.
For Leopold to ask such a direct question!
‘I was just going to gloss over it smoothly.’
Baron Forman brought both hands to his mouth and gasped for breath. He seemed immensely excited.
