“My grandmother was by his Majesty Romero’s side the moment that turned him into the ‘lover murderer,’” Baron Fabrice Bellang spoke in a low voice.

I was sitting with Demy and Percy between my legs. The Baron and his wife picked some cleaner spots on the ground and sat down. It was because the story was getting long.

“Although they became enemies, because they were friends at one point…… My grandmother personally took her corpse, cremated it and took the headdress as a keepsake.”

The Baron’s grandmother, Ingrid Bellang, was an amazing person. Protecting the Emperor through all the mess was probably difficult enough on its own, but she even held a funeral for her old friend who died as a bitter enemy.

“However, as you are well aware, the late Majesty did not stop the war even after Julite’s death. They say that he was like a wild beast roaming the battlefield for someone to get revenge on.”

I slowly nodded my head. That was what the history books said as well. Romero Riester never brought up words like cease-fire or negotiations. All he wanted was the total and complete surrender of the Holy Kingdom. It led to the two nations fighting every few months when it was short and every few years when it was long. It was an intense war of attrition. It was amazing that the Imperial family and the Royal family’s authorities remained firm despite such a drawn out war.

Of course, this world was within a novel. There were similar events in Earth’s history as well, but…

“Then did your grandmother retire as the Warring Era came to a close?”

I asked. The Baron smiled bitterly.

“No, your highness. She wished for that but his Majesty had her withdraw much earlier.”

“Excuse me? Why so?”

“He said that after putting Julite to death with his own hands…… It was difficult to see my grandmother’s face as they had all been friends. I’m sure there were a lot of memories.”

I fell into silence. My head seemed to understand how Romero felt at the time. Looking at Ingrid would have pained him, as he would recall the days spent with Julite. As a result, he wanted to get rid of his loyal knight as well. He was basically out of his mind.

“As a result, his Majesty granted her some land farthest south from the Imperial Capital and bestowed the title of Baroness to my grandmother. That is this place.”

“……I think your grandmother must have been upset,” I answered honestly.

Ingrid had given her life to support the Emperor and had been devoted to him since long before the war. But to be given a small distant territory and only a Baroness title… I would have been very disappointed. She was basically kicked out. She might have even felt skeptical, wondering if all of her efforts were really worth so little. However, the couple laughed out loud. Demy and Percy both tilted their heads to the side.

“Haha. I’m sure she was. I heard that she ranted about it in public places every so often. However… My grandmother was a commoner but caught his Majesty’s eyes with her skills, allowing her to fulfill her dream of being a swordswoman.”

‘Wow, I didn’t know about that.’ My jaw dropped. It was an extremely amazing achievement for a commoner to rise to the position of the Emperor’s coachman.

“It was not a beautiful goodbye, but his Majesty did allow her to fully enjoy her prime, so…… I heard that she longed for her friendship with the late Emperor even until her death.”

“……”

“Plus, there was a lot for her to do here.”

“There still are a lot of things to do,” I responded to the Baron.

The couple seemed to like my sense of humor as they laughed out loud again.

“Yes, your highness. We have been living like this since the day my grandmother first settled down in this place.”

I quietly looked at the couple. People grow up being influenced by their surroundings. I grew up that way and so did my brother and Eunseo. That was why I was sure that these two middle-aged people also grew up learning from the actions of the adults around them. They were nurtured in a way that allowed them to aid the residents of the territory by selling a precious holy artifact like the headdress and for the territory lord to personally do manual labor. They were nurtured in a way that allowed them to persist through the loss of their children.

‘The people who taught them must have all been wonderful people.’

“How wonderful that you were able to find the diary of such an amazing person. I am extremely happy as well.”

“It definitely is, your highness. I plan on reading through it with my daughter starting today.”

“Prince Jesse.”

Lady Bellang quietly called out to me. The Baron and I both looked toward her.

“I hope I am not being disrespectful by saying this, but may we please show you the work that we are doing?”

My eyes opened wide. The Baron became anxious and whispered.

“Honey.”

“We are only able to continue thanks to his highness’s assistance. I believe he has a right to know.”

Lady Bellang’s voice was gentle yet firm. Her firm gaze made the Baron agree with her.

“……You are right.”

He then looked back at me. Demy and Percy tilted their heads to the right this time. I couldn’t help but do the same. ‘How much of their work are they planning on showing me?’

*

‘Hello readers of QNW, becoming a farmer is very difficult!’

“I’ll push after one, two, three. One!”

– Clunk!

The wheel that was in the mud instantly came up to the dry ground.

Christelle scowled and looked to the side. The Imperial Crown Prince, who had completely ignored the timing, was looking down at her with a triumphant look on his face. He seemed happy and proud that he rescued the carriage on his own. I scoffed while mediating the situation.

“Are you planning on fighting again? We need to finish our delivery before the sun sets. Shall we go?”

‘…….’

“You did wonderful, your Royal Highness. Thank you very much.”

I didn’t forget to give the fitting praises and thanks. Crown prince finally twitched one of his eyebrows before getting on the carriage.

‘Maybe I need to give him some snacks in a little bit too.’

That was how we delivered the firewood made from the disassembled spinning wheels to different parts of the territory. It was difficult because of the unpaved roads, but it was a worthy endeavor. For reference-

‘Y, y, y, your Royal High, eek!’

‘Senior! Are you okay?’

The crown prince’s face was not great for the hearts of the old and the weak. By the end, only Christelle and I got off to deliver the firewood to the door. In addition……

“Tada!”

Surprisingly, our main character fixed up the barn properly! Of course, the servants helped her out, but she at least had some dexterity. She even received compliments about how she achieved the dao of nailing and cutting the planks cleanly.

‘Maybe she just struggles with things like knitting that requires her to sit in one place for a long time?’

“Wow, it looks new!”

“Pink Princess, you’re amazing!”

The children that the Baron was looking after ran over to clap and shower Christelle with praises. Christelle happily snorted before looking up at the Lord’s Castle. The crown prince was standing by the window. ‘Oh dear.’

Tithé was the MVP at the next task.

– Shaaaaaaaaaaa!

– Moooo

The Baron’s cows took a bath before entering the newly remodeled barn. Clean water poured down from the air whenever Tithe flapped his fins. There was no need to work our butts off to go get some water from the well.

“Holy Almighty God!”

“Oh esteemed Divine beast-nim, you are great and mighty!”

The servants bowed down to the ground in worship. The Harp seal’s black eyes folded like pancakes with joy. Sir Johann used skilled movements to brush the cows and calmed the calves. He and young Baroness Elody even milked the cows once we led them to the barn.

‘You really know how to do everything. I have to really dig into your past, don’t I?’

‘Hahaha.’

He just laughed and smiled at Christelle’s honest comment. The meals and snacks tasted delicious after working all day.

‘I could probably take a long nap if I just close my eyes.’

On the second day, we received an extra task of looking after the children. The Baron still seemed apologetic toward us, but Lady Bellang seemed like she adjusted well to doing manual labor with the Imperial family. We sat around with the kids who couldn’t even reach our hips and enjoyed ourselves.

“Jane-nim, what do you mean by that?!”

Ganael shouted with a magazine in one hand.

“It is exactly as I stated. I think that you, Catherine, are a waste for Archduke Heathcliff.

David, who was supporting the other side, smiled solemnly. Christelle and I had to try so hard not to laugh. The crown prince wiped his mouth with his gloved hand.

The story that we ended up reading for the children were the up-to-date images of < Reason, Sensibility, and Holiness > in the latest episode of the magazine that was released on the fifteenth. We had no choice because they had read most fairy tales until they were tattered and the books in the library were too difficult for children.

‘ReSeHo is really fun, but isn’t it too stimulating for the kids?’

‘What happened next? What happened, mister?’

‘The next part has not been released yet,’ Benjamin warmly responded.

‘Then will priestess Catherine run away with young lady Jane?’

‘They are going to leave young master Hippo by himself?’

The children smartly stabbed at the heart of the matter. This love triangle political drama had too much MSG to feed to kids.

‘I should make sure to take the magazine with us when we head back to the palace……’

– Neeeeeeigh!

“Wooooah.”

And so arrived the morning of the 18th. We finished our fruitful two nights and three days of escape from the cold. Well, everybody other than the crown prince was planning on staying another night, but I decided this escape had ended because our group was splitting up. All of the Baron’s family came out to greet the crown prince as he left.

“The results of your knitting looked great, your Royal Highness. Thank you for all of your hard work.”

“……”

“Thank you for coming with us, your Royal Highness. I know you are very busy.”

I smiled as I said that. The young man’s orange eyes burned up with a clear sense of stability. I was happy to see that he didn’t look tired.

We had done all sorts of things such as picking up nuts and finding mushrooms in the forest and fixing up old farming equipment. The Holy Knights went out to catch some wild boars and deers for people to eat as well. Lady Bellang was happy to see that the condition of the leather was good. There had been many reasons for us to all laugh together.

Christelle had one thing to say about everything we did. ‘This is the true farming life.’

“I will look into what I can do for your territory upon my return.”

The crown prince said that to Baron Bellang before getting onto the carriage. The couple, who had been showing their respects, quickly responded.

“Your Royal Highness, you have already shown us so much benevolence……”

“I have no intention of taking away your autonomy, so you can relax.”

He gave that short response before going inside. David silently chuckled behind him while the couple, who didn’t know what to do, just bowed even deeper.

‘I knew he’s a good guy.’

– Screeeech!

“Okay, go and wait for us. Make sure to listen to his Royal Highness.”

– Squeak!

“Don’t bite his office desk. It’s apparently very expensive.”

Rhea and Perry rubbed their noses with mine before going onto the carriage as well. They were earth attribute divine beasts but they really liked their fiery big bro. So what else could I do but let them go?

“Please take care of them and their snacks, your Royal Highness. It will probably be good to send them things like dried fruit so that they can store them and eat as they want. See you on Monday!”

Christelle clearly delivered her requests to the crown prince. David nodded in his place. I used some hand motions and mouthed some words to get my message across.

‘Necklace. Use it if you are struggling.’

The young man scowled. Click. The carriage door closed at the same time.

*

They say you usually don’t notice when people walk in, but it is clearly visible when they leave. The crown prince was the perfect example of that. It felt oddly empty, potentially because the tallest punk was gone. They didn’t show it, but Sir Johann and Christelle seemed to be feeling the same way.

‘It would have been good if that punk could have participated in the opening ceremony as well.’

“Well, we can just come again next time.”

– Ooooooooong

Tithé, who was on Sir Johann’s back, harped in agreement. The winter sun was short, so everything was as dark as the dead of night despite only being past dinner time. However, there were plenty of stars in the sky, making it perfect for hiking.

– Step step…….

– Step step……

Calm footsteps filled the dirt path. We had tea time with the Baron and his wife during the day and spent time listening to the stories of the past when the Lord’s Castle was being built.

Of course, we did all sorts of odd jobs as well. My body felt warm after doing manual labor that I couldn’t do and had no reason to do in Juliette Palace. Baron Bellang finally seemed to accept us as fellow laborers by the third day.

‘We are high quality manpower (only in status). Please take good care of us.’

“Are you planning on feeling the breeze by the lake?”

“Yes sir…… My plan is to show you the canal that was built thanks to his highness’s assistance.”

Elody shyly answered Sir Johann’s question. I had no idea that this was the path to the canal…

– Neeeeeeigh!

It was at that moment.

“Woah, woah!”

– Clack, clack!

The loud sounds of horse’s hooves and wheels struck our ears. We turned in shock. A carriage with a large and elegant crest urgently stopped by the Lord’s Castle. A woman, who seemed to be a servant, quickly alighted. Demy warily stared with Percy on his back. I barely managed to read the letters in the darkness.

“…..Sarnez?”

“Wet nurse?”

We heard Christelle’s voice. We exchanged perplexed gazes.

The middle-aged woman amazingly located Christells’ clear voice and ran over with teary eyes. She must have been crying the whole way here as her eyes were red.

“My goodness, Baby Miss Chris!”

“What are you doing here? Did something happen at home?”

“Our Baby Miss, you are still so little but how pitiful……”

Christelle’s wet nurse grabbed Christelle’s white hand and started getting emotional. The main character calmly consoled her.

“Wet nurse, I won’t know unless you tell me. What is going on?”

“The Lord…… Sob, the territory Lord is in critical condition! Your father!”

The wet nurse was almost screaming. Christelle’s face stiffened up.

This happened on the evening of December 18th.

—
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