The Isolated Marchioness Just Wants to Make a Living
Chapter 30
“I’m scared, I’m so scared… Whenever Mother gets like that, I’m terrified.”
A long time ago, on the nights when Mother was consumed by madness, I would cry in the arms of a maid.
Comforting me, the maid would say,
“My lady, as long as we do our best, it will be all right. If we serve her well, the Princess will return to us. Think of how brilliant she is. It’s only because we can’t serve her the way they did in the Royal Palace of Riente. Everything will be fine if we just try harder.”
So I tried. I did everything in my power to be the perfect daughter for my mother.
Yet nothing changed. Mother’s madness only worsened by the day.
Even so, this time, there was still only one thing I could do.
‘…Let’s do my best.’
Just as I always had.
‘Let’s start by doing well. Everyone is thrilled right now, saying they survived thanks to me.’
If I proved even more capable, then if the black magicians ever made secret contact, people wouldn’t hand me over like my uncle did.
“If the criminals of Sebon dare harm the bloodline of Sears, Nozen, as the head of the First 5 Families, will never stand idly by.”
It was true that hearing those words had made me feel a little better.
Still, it was somewhat miserable. That was why I pretended all the more that everything was fine. As if none of it scared me in the least.
It was then.
“My lady, my lady!”
One of the shopkeeper children from Jejel Street held something out toward me.
“Would you trade wheat for something like this too? It’s completely useless, but…”
My eyes widened as I looked at the child’s hand.
This was exactly what I had been looking for. The seeds that people had put aside, thinking, ‘We don’t really need to eat these.’
The very thing I had been certain would turn up among them.
“It’s not useless at all.”
I spoke, brimming with delight.
“It’s the exact thing I was looking for.”
Now that we had begun harvesting the potatoes and more than half the field was empty, this was the perfect crop to sow right away.
I planned to plant them in the newly acquired Beron Fief as well. Not merely for short-term survival like right now, but for a long-term food supply.
* * *
The Hawin Baronial Mansion.
“Mother!”
Dahlia shrieked at the top of her lungs.
“Have you gone mad like that girl’s mother? You’re handing over Jejel Street?”
Baroness Hawin smirked.
“Why would I ever do that? Calm down, Dahlia.”
“What? But you already signed everything and…”
“It’s only handed over for a short while.”
As if she had never begged before Brisa, Baroness Hawin lifted her chin with a venomous look.
Dahlia’s eyes sparkled.
“Mother, do you have a plan?”
“We certainly can’t leave that insolent brat alone.”
Baroness Hawin let out a scoff.
“Since things have already come to this, I intend to get rid of her for good.”
“What?”
Dahlia’s eyes went wide in shock.
“Is that even possible?”
“I’ve already thought of a way.”
Baroness Hawin spoke with total composure.
“Dead men tell no tales. We can simply pin the blame on those scoundrels who kidnapped your father. They’re criminals anyway.”
Baroness Hawin stroked Dahlia’s hair. Then, she whispered in a cajoling tone.
“Normally, I would handle everything on my own, but I think I’ll need your help for this. We need someone her own age to keep her occupied without raising suspicion.”
Dahlia’s eyes gleamed.
“Anything, Mother.”
Mother and daughter were once again in complete accord.
“After all, this is all for our family.”
* * *
Midnight that same day.
Accompanied by Philip, I headed toward Erolamo Hill. It was the place where the kidnappers had told Baroness Hawin to ‘secretly bring five sacks of wheat.’
Erolamo Hill sat on the border between Jejel Street and the County of Joachim. In other words, it was teeming with monsters, making it an area people could not easily traverse right now.
The largest zelkova tree they had mentioned was now visible just ten paces away from the Sears Marquisate.
“The hill isn’t very high.”
Philip narrowed his eyes and said,
“If it’s only the kind of monsters living on a hill like this, we could wipe them all out and come and go as we please.”
“Well, that’s true.”
I nodded.
“Though for the Hawin barony, it would have been impossible without a proper knight order.”
The County of Joachim, which bordered Jejel Street, fully encompassed a river. Just like Erenta.
While no Marang Fish could be caught there, it was a river teeming with large freshwater fish. On top of that, it possessed the widest plains in the Central region. This meant they could easily hold out for about three months without having to scrape by like us or the Hawin family.
‘Especially since it isn’t winter.’
“Hey, you know Luman from the Joachim count’s family, right? If nothing goes wrong, I think I’m going to be engaged to him.”
Dahlia hadn’t boasted about marriage talks with the Joachim count’s family for no reason.
“Ah, Luman Joachim. Out of all the Central nobles, I always thought he was the most obnoxious.”
And I hadn’t cursed that house for being utterly devoid of humanity for nothing, either.
Even with talks of an engagement underway, and knowing full well how desperate things were in the Hawin barony, they hadn’t extended the slightest helping hand.
‘They must have figured there was no need to trade with the Hawin barony and weather the crisis together.’
If they had mobilized the count’s entire knight order, clearing out the monsters on the hill would have been trivial.
In a sense, it was a rational decision.
Well, the Joachim count’s family acting purely on cold calculation wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for us, either.
“Anyway, we’re almost there.”
I spoke calmly.
“Transport the five sacks of wheat for us.”
That was what Baroness Hawin had said earlier.
“When your uncle was betrayed by his own fiefdom residents and ended up like this, whom in the baronial mansion could I possibly trust? Especially when it comes to wheat… Right now, plenty of people would sell their souls just to steal it.”
She wasn’t wrong. Even as she said those words, Baroness Hawin and Dahlia had been staring intently at the leftover sandwich I hadn't finished.
I had slowly nodded my head.
“Understood.”
Then I had called over a maid.
“I’m full. Just throw it to the stray dogs passing by.”
It was a petty cruelty.
Regardless, Baroness Hawin had said with a stiffened expression,
“Now then, just come to the foot of this hill. Since I cannot trust your knights, you must come in person, and if they see other people, they might harm the Baron, so only bring one person to carry the sacks…”
I had agreed to everything and sent them away.
That was what happened this morning, and after reclaiming Jejel Street, I had been busy giving orders for various tasks.
‘Hah…’
I had secured Jejel Street and Beron for a mere five sacks of wheat.
Originally, I was the one who was supposed to be sold for wheat.
Even if that future was gone now, I had never once forgotten it.
“My lady.”
Upon arriving at the foot of the hill, Philip, who was carrying all five sacks of wheat by himself, spoke.
“Should I leave them here?”
“Well, shall we? Leaving them should be fine.”
It was then.
“Brisa!”
Dahlia came running out from the darkness.
“Brisa, you came!”
“Yeah. I’m here, so I’ll be leaving now.”
“No, not yet! They said to move the wheat under that zelkova tree over there.”
Dahlia stared pointedly at Philip.
Among me, Dahlia, and Philip, the only one who could possibly carry five sacks of wheat was Philip, of course.
“Don’t go.”
Dahlia grabbed my arm tightly.
“Mother said it’s dangerous for children to climb the hill. She said monsters might come down even if it’s just the entrance. You’re the same age as me, after all.”
“Well, all right.”
I gave a single nod and turned to Philip.
“Go ahead.”
“Then I’ll be right back, my lady.”
Philip bowed his head politely to me and headed toward the entrance of the hill where the zelkova tree stood.
Dahlia kept a firm grip on my arm until Philip was completely out of sight.
Just like that, only the two of us remained at the foot of the hill.
“Why don’t you let go now?”
When I spoke nonchalantly, Dahlia merely shrugged.
“I can’t. I’m too scared.”
It was at that exact moment. Someone covered my eyes and mouth from behind.
“Mmph!”
The moment Dahlia let go of my arm, someone scooped me up into the air. It was undoubtedly someone from the Hawin barony who had been waiting nearby.
“Phew.”
As I flailed my arms and legs, unable to even scream, Dahlia’s voice drifted up from below.
“Let’s get moving quickly before that knight comes back.”
“Ah, aren’t we killing her right now?”
“Not yet.”
Dahlia spoke primly.
“If we want to reclaim Jejel Street and Beron, we need the acting lord’s signature. We have to go meet Father and finalize the contract first.”
It was a relief that I didn’t have to pretend to scream since I was gagged.
‘That’s right, Dahlia.’
I thought to myself, kicking my legs half-heartedly.
‘That was the very reason I couldn’t kill your father on the spot.’
Because territory had to be exchanged through legal documents.
In the distance, the sound of Philip whistling on his way back from the zelkova tree could be heard. At the same time, my captor and Dahlia slipped onto another path, hushing their footsteps as they went.