The Isolated Marchioness Just Wants to Make a Living
Chapter 39
‘Collecting information on black magicians?’
There had been no mention of this in the original story.
‘It’s because Leopold caught them ahead of time thanks to me!’
Originally, the black magicians had slipped through the western ports undetected.
But when Leopold caught them red-handed, the future shifted.
‘If things I don’t know about keep happening like this… maybe I’ll finally regain my sanity? Just like ordinary people who don’t know the future.’
A faint glimmer of hope began to stir within me.
“I’ve never seen a black magician in the Central region,” Alpheus said nonchalantly.
“Of course, there might be some, but none caught my eye. Ah, though I did run into a few in the East on my way here.”
“I see. Should you come across any other information, please do let us know at any time.”
At any rate, Baron Forman was utterly delighted when we treated him to dinner.
“Oh, veal steak! You must be able to serve beef now that exchanges with the County of Joachim have begun.”
In truth, it was beef from the cattle we had started raising ourselves, but I didn’t bother pointing that out.
After a moment of visible hesitation, Baron Forman cleared his plate completely.
“I suppose the etiquette of leaving a little food behind on one’s plate ought to be done away with now.”
I agreed with him.
“I’ve thought so for a long time, Baron. Leaving food behind is truly the most dreadful of all western etiquettes.”
In a time of impending food shortages, it really was an anachronistic custom.
Offering a gentle smile, Baron Forman looked out at the garden. It was the very plot of land where Alpheus had been diligently farming just moments ago.
“What are you planting out there, young lady?”
“Corn.”
We were planting corn in both the front and back gardens.
Since it was midsummer, our choices of crops were limited. Corn seeds had been hard to come by, but fortunately, as soon as the warp became operational, we managed to procure some from another region.
To pay for them, we had to sell off the rest of our potatoes.
‘That was how penniless we were… and we still are.’
Now that the warp was working, Alpheus had said he would ask the 2nd Prince for the reparation money once more.
However, the reply from the Imperial Family went like this:
[The 2nd Prince received an imperial command to investigate the ‘Curse of Sleep’ and was dispatched to the South yesterday.]
“Well, it’s just an investigation, so he should be back soon. Once the Prince arrives at the Imperial Palace and reaches out to me, I can just head over right away. Guess I’ll wait on standby until then.”
And so, Alpheus had been farming while waiting for word from the 2nd Prince.
Contacting the South directly wouldn’t have done any good anyway. According to official protocol, the 2nd Prince had to petition the Emperor directly to secure the reparation funds.
“Wait, why plant corn so suddenly…?”
“I had a feeling grain production in the West wouldn’t be what it usually is this year.”
Baron Forman flinched, as if I had hit a sore spot.
“How did you know that?”
“You only have to visit the seed market to hear news like that.”
In fact, I had gone to the seed market in person. It had been the most urgent matter at hand, after all.
It was right then.
“Well then, shall we depart?”
Alpheus reappeared, neatly dressed in fresh clothes.
“So, um, what you’re saying is that we’ve been invited, right? Right, I’ll get ready at once! Let’s head out as soon as you finish your meal!”
“Pardon?”
Baron Forman, in the middle of eating his milk pudding dessert, froze with his spoon in midair out of sheer bewilderment.
He offered an awkward smile.
“Ah… You intend to come along as well, My Lord Marquis? And you mean to leave right this second?”
Alpheus tilted his head quizzically.
“Brisa is still quite young, so, um, shouldn’t a guardian accompany her? Ah, or is there a specific date set for the invitation?”
“Ah, well, th-that is true, but… As for the timing, there is no particular rush, so you may simply let us know and visit whenever it is convenient for you.”
“Aha! Then let’s go right now! Right now is the most convenient time for us!”
Alpheus beamed brightly.
“To be honest, I need to collect… no, beg… no, ask the 2nd Prince for a favor, so, um, if not now, I really don’t know when I’ll have the time.”
He was determined to get this trip out of the way as quickly as possible, since he would have to rush to the Imperial Palace like lightning the moment the 2nd Prince contacted him.
Baron Forman glanced at me with a troubled look.
“Um, might I ask what Lady Brisa thinks about this…?”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” I said with a sigh.
“How many times have I told you not to make that ‘um’ sound in the middle of your sentences?”
Though I was the one originally invited, there was no reason to leave Alpheus behind.
I had already wanted to give him some firsthand experience with aristocratic households anyway. If his first stop was the Forman barony, that was wonderful. At the very least, Baron Forman was not the kind of person to openly look down on him.
“Then I shall go prepare! You’ll be coming with us as well, Baron!”
Alpheus declared grandly.
“A trip with our Bribri… no, Brisa! I’m so excited!”
I sighed and gave him a stern warning.
“Don’t act so excited. You have to keep a serious face once we get there. You heard him, didn’t you? The West is suffering from a massive headache because of those black magicians.”
“Ah, really? I’m sorry…”
“You shouldn’t say you’re sorry so easily, either. It makes it sound like you owe them something in return.”
“Gah, I see. Then I should do this instead.”
Without a word, Alpheus bowed his head deeply toward Baron Forman.
I stomped down hard on his foot.
“Bowing your head is even worse. Especially toward someone of lower rank, that is something you must never do. It only puts everyone in an awkward position.”
“I-Is that so? Then, um, what should I do if I’ve already bowed like this?”
“Just collapse flat on the floor. Then claim you didn’t bow, but fainted from anemia, and call for a doctor.”
Listening to our exchange, Baron Forman let out an awkward chuckle. His expression clearly showed he hadn’t expected us to insist on heading to the West this very second.
‘Of course, nobody sets off the moment they receive an invitation.’
Even so, I had no intention of opposing Alpheus’s plan.
‘According to the original novel, the warps will remain unstable from here on out.’
In the original story, only the southern warps were described as being a complete mess, but that didn't guarantee the western ones were perfectly fine.
It was entirely possible that problems in the West simply went unmentioned because they lay outside the protagonist’s sphere of activity.
‘So while they’re saying there are no major issues, let’s move quickly.’
Naturally, I couldn't say that out loud, which was why I sided with Alpheus.
‘If I go to the West, maybe I’ll run into Leopold? After all, the Forman barony is his maternal family.’
More than that, I had a new objective now.
‘I need to hear the full story from Leopold.’
I wanted to survive. To do that, I had to uncover the true identity of those bastards who had targeted me.
Even if the black magicians of the Kingdom of Sebon merely wanted to kill me because I carried the blood of Riente, I still needed to understand the full picture of the situation.
‘I can’t just sit here with my hands tied, knowing nothing until I’m struck down.’
And there was one more thing.
Whether it would actually come to fruition was uncertain, but I wanted to see the lands of the West with my own eyes.
‘If the novel’s plot holds true, problems will keep cropping up across that vast territory…’
No matter how hard we tried to achieve self-sufficiency on our own, an increase in agricultural productivity across the entire continent would ultimately benefit us the most.
The vast, fertile expanse of the West was an irreplaceable resource in and of itself.
‘I won’t meddle out of turn… but if they ask for help, I should at least look into it.’
Of course, the chances of that were slim.
‘Who knows if a mere guest will ever get the chance to step in, though.’
I was, after all, a child who knew her place.
Regardless, for many reasons, I wanted to reach the West quickly. Even if it went against standard noble decorum.
‘Well, it wasn’t my decision anyway—it was Alpheus’s.’
Baron Forman, upon thinking it over, seemed to decide it wasn’t such a big deal after all and nodded readily.
“Then please, stay for a few days while you are there,” he proposed gently.
“You might also want to visit the pride of our territory, the Magic Library.”
And so, one hour later.
Having gathered our party, we decided to head to the Central Warp.
“Now then… The West… Nozen… in front of the Magic Library… Wesean Cave.”
Baron Forman calmly entered the coordinates into the warp device.
Warps were typically constructed in secluded, out-of-the-way places where ordinary people didn't wander. Thus, the Central Warp where we currently stood was situated atop a hill.
“All right, here we go.”
And just as we all stepped onto the massive warp platform and the magic circle began to envelop us—
“Whoa, whoaaaa?”
“Wh-Wh-What’s going on? Something feels wrong!”
Both Alpheus and I felt a strange disturbance as our toes began to tremble violently.
‘No way! The warps are malfunctioning already?’
Right when the sheer panic made me want to scream—
“Eek!”
“Aaaaaargh!”
Unable to hold back my scream, I clung tightly to Alpheus.
“Brisa! Brisa!”
Like magic, solid ground met the soles of our feet.
However… this place was not the cave we had anticipated.