The Isolated Marchioness Just Wants to Make a Living
Chapter 37
Chapter 37
“Huh? Oh……”
Fortunately, Alpheus did not seem to sense anything amiss and merely nodded in a daze.
“Th-thank you……?”
A sudden silence fell over the dining table.
Philip and Rancy were staring at me too, looking at me as though I were some kind of alien life-form.
Alpheus flustered all on his own, muttering under his breath.
“I-is that not it? Then I’ll, I’ll do well……? Is that what I’m supposed to say?”
“Course you gotta do well.”
Rancy answered without much enthusiasm.
“So, speakin’ of which, My Lord Marquis.”
Then, he finally asked the question he had been holding back with immense patience.
“Did you bring back any money?”
At that, Alpheus grinned brightly.
“Nope, not yet!”
It was hardly something to say so confidently with a beaming smile.
“I told you. I left the 2nd Prince behind and rushed straight here. With the warps in such a mess, how could I leave my bunny-like little sister all alone here?”
At their master’s admission that he had brought no money, Rancy’s gaze grew icy cold.
“Then you just brought another mouth to feed, didn’t ya.”
Rancy narrowed his eyes and added,
“Just another place to shove down all them potatoes our young lady grew with so much care.”
“Um, is the financial situation really that dire?”
“For starters, we got no debt. Thanks to the young lady, we even won back a fair bit of territory. The only worry is makin’ a livin’ from here on out……”
Rancy let out a sigh toward the returned master of the estate, voicing his lingering regret.
“Honestly, borrowin’ grain to eat year-round and then payin’ it off catchin’ marang fish for a single season—we can’t keep livin’ like that no more.”
He was right.
According to the original story, the West, having just weathered a sweeping monster wave, was not going to enjoy continuous bumper crops like before.
Grain prices might have been cheap until now, but that would no longer be the case.
“By the way, Boss—no, My Lord Marquis, when’re the rest of the knights arrivin’?”
“Tomorrow morning, probably?”
A sigh escaped me on its own.
The elite unit Alpheus had taken to the capital was on its way. Since he said everyone was safe, that meant twelve more mouths to feed had just been added.
‘……They’re all going to eat a lot, aren’t they?’
I hadn’t anticipated this far.
I hadn’t expected to purchase the Beron region either……
‘……Wait.’
My eyes snapped wide open.
Shift your perspective, and the solution reveals itself.
I slowly turned my gaze toward Alpheus.
Sturdy muscles, a massive build, and tireless stamina.
‘The elite unit should be about the same, right?’
Besides, I had found “that” seed I wanted on Jejel Street!
A grin began to creep onto my face.
Alpheus flinched and tilted his head.
“Hm? Why are you smiling? It’s my first time seeing our princess smile, but why does it feel so chilling?”
They weren't just mouths to feed. They were labor!
5. An Invitation from the West
A month later, the Magic Tower.
“The ratio of monsters is decreasing!”
The largest magic stone in the center of the garden turned pink.
This magic stone possessed the function of displaying the proportion of monsters within the Empire by color.
For the past three months, the magic stone had remained a persistent red. It signified that monsters were overwhelmingly numerous—something unprecedented in the history of the Empire.
Because of this unprecedented crisis, the Master of the Magic Tower had been nursing a terrible headache as well.
“At this level, running the warps shouldn’t pose much of an issue.”
Having rushed down in a flurry, the Master of the Magic Tower breathed a sigh of relief. With transport routes across the Empire cut off, everyone had been crying out in distress.
The Magic Tower had also suffered, isolated from the world. In particular, the hunt for black magicians they had been pursuing so vigorously as of late had ground to a complete halt, as they had lost all contact with every region.
On top of that, people from all over were venting all their anxieties onto the Magic Tower.
“Are you absolutely certain the warps can be operational by midsummer?”
“Can we really trust you? We genuinely cannot live like this any longer.”
Thinking back on the dreadful past two months, the Master of the Magic Tower shuddered. Truly, if the warps were not activated as publicly promised, a riot seemed ready to break out.
“It’s not my fault the warps ended up in this state, is it? So why is everyone lodging their complaints with us? Hm?”
The Master of the Magic Tower whined.
“Though sadly, that is the way of the world!”
Having answered his own question, the Master of the Magic Tower let out a deep sigh.
“Instruct the tower’s slaves…… no, the magicians.”
Then, bringing his staff down with a sharp thud, he declared,
“Activate the warps!”
“W-will it really be all right?”
The slave—no, magician—asked.
“The errors in the warp gates down in the South haven’t been completely reviewed yet……”
“As long as it’s certain there won’t be casualties, just activate them! At this rate, even the Magic Tower will run out of food and have to take up farming!”
“B-but……”
“If a problem arises, we’ll handle it then! That’s far better!”
The Master of the Magic Tower shouted heroically,
“Because sadly, that is simply the way of the world!”
* * *
Across the vast lands of the West, warps began to flash with light.
Before long, Leopold and his knights arrived at the Grand Duke’s Residence of Nozen.
Though they had suffered the largest monster wave, paradoxically, the damage in the West was not severe. It was thanks to Leopold traversing the entire region to subjugate the monsters.
Unlike other monsters that lingered around hills or mountains, the monsters of the West encroached even upon the granary. Therefore, Leopold had not been able to rest until now.
Meanwhile, as midsummer drew near, the monsters began to quietly vanish without a trace.
“Winter is what worries me.”
Leopold’s adjutant sighed.
“If it’s already this bad now, what on earth will winter be like……”
Originally, the largest monster wave in the West struck during the winter.
In other seasons, even if a monster wave occurred, the knight orders of each territory were more than enough to resolve it.
This time, however, was entirely different. It would come as no surprise if another bizarre phenomenon were to strike in winter.
“Grandfather must be deeply troubled.”
Leopold let out a heavy sigh. It was because he now had to deliver a report regarding the black magicians as well.
Ever since meeting Brisa at Delfoben Port, Leopold had dispatched knights to every port. As a result, they were able to capture even more black magicians.
Had it not been for Brisa, they would have bypassed the ports where monsters had not appeared.
Leopold had intended to interrogate them personally. However, not long after being taken alive, every single one of them took their own lives.
“I need to be aware of who is targeting me and how.”
When she said that, Brisa had worn an unbothered expression. As though having her life threatened meant nothing to her at all.
No human being could truly be unaffected by such a thing.
‘It’s embarrassing that I have nothing to tell her.’
He felt uneasy having to deliver the news that the interrogation had failed.
Sure enough, as soon as Hilbery heard Leopold’s report, he let out a deep sigh.
“This is an exceedingly grave matter. I never imagined so many black magicians would set foot in the Empire, especially in the West…… and furthermore.”
The old Grand Duke spoke, his thick brows knitting tightly together.
“This unprecedented monster wave must be connected to them. We must gather more information. We must report to the Imperial Family as well……”
With a weary face, Hilbery pressed a hand to his forehead.
The monsters had vanished for now, but the aftermath was severe.
The spring harvest was practically ruined. Now, they had to rely on the midsummer crops.
Yet strangely, the once-fertile soil was no longer the same.
The Magic Tower’s reply had been: ‘The land may not have yet recovered from the influence of the monsters, so it seems best to simply wait.’
‘Which means they don’t know.’
Refusing to give a definitive answer meant it was nothing more than conjecture.
Hence, Hilbery was anxious.
What if foodstuffs ran scarce?
Not only the West, but the entire Empire might end up starving.