“Ugh, we made eye contact. We totally did!”
“She’s so pretty!”
“Hey, you shouldn’t say things like that!”
“Why? She’s really, really, really pretty!”
The flood had ravaged the territory, and the children were faring no better. Some sported bandages over fresh wounds, while others were caked in grime, clearly having gone days without a proper wash.
“Hey.”
I beckoned to a knight nearby.
It was the same one who had lifted me so effortlessly earlier. I stared at his olive-colored hair for a beat, feeling a sudden, awkward tension. When I finally spoke, the words that left my lips weren’t what I had originally intended.
“What’s your name?”
The knight paused, his expression shifting into something unreadable.
“It is Zett.”
Duke Alzbeit had assigned a guard of carefully selected elites to Charlize. Yet, I hadn’t even bothered to learn the names of the men tasked with protecting me.
“Right, Zett. Is the entire territory in this state?”
“…That is my understanding.”
I had considered asking another knight, but he seemed well-versed in the local disaster.
“Then there’s no point in returning…”
I shifted my gaze, finally taking in the scale of the wreckage. It wasn’t just the landscape that was ruined. Everywhere I looked, people were groaning in agony—the sick lay huddled on the ground, while others sat aimlessly before the remnants of their collapsed homes, their faces hollow with despair.
Askin Remut was not the type to turn a blind eye to his own people. If the territory had reached this state, it meant the situation had spiraled far beyond what he could handle alone.
“It’s bothersome.”
“…Pardon?”
I turned toward him, then glanced at the children still peeking at me from the shadows. They flinched as our eyes met, but since I said nothing, they quickly resumed their intense, unabashed staring.
“Hey, I’m right. She’s prettier than the prettiest big sister in our neighborhood!”
“But aren’t we going to get in trouble? There’s a scary knight next to her!”
I chuckled at their hushed bickering.
“Eek, she laughed in a scary way!”
“Are we going to be punished?”
*What?* I was trying to smile nicely, you little brats. I looked away, my expression cooling.
“Bring me the head of the servants.”
“Why are you calling for them?” Zett asked, wary.
“Get food and water. Distribute it to the flood victims over there.”
“…Pardon?”
Zett hesitated, clearly confused. I frowned, and he scrambled to offer an apology. Before long, the head of the servants and the captain of the guard were standing before me.
“Give food and water to the flood victims.”
“…If I may, Duchess-To-Be, why would you…?”
“Can’t you see?”
I pointed a gloved finger at the people collapsing from exhaustion and those covered in mud, struggling to clear the debris.
“What am I supposed to do if an epidemic breaks out because they’re living in such filth, only for me to catch it?”
“Ah…”
“I have to keep coming here. Do you understand?”
I didn’t know how often I would have to return before I found an opening with my fiancé. If I suddenly started acting out of pure pity, it would only invite suspicion and plant unnecessary doubts in the minds of the Alzbeit people.
“U-understood!”
That excuse should suffice.
“However…”
“Are you suggesting you’re perfectly fine with me catching an epidemic?”
“No! No, I will go procure food and water immediately and distribute it.”
The servants wasted no time returning to the capital. It wasn’t long before I heard that a wagon—likely secured through a trading company—was already on its way, loaded with supplies.
“Tell the workers to repair those houses once they’ve cleared the debris. I don’t want to look at this wreckage a second longer.”
“…Yes, Duchess-To-Be.”
Upon hearing that, I issued orders for the site where debris was being cleared and construction was underway, then simply turned to leave.
Since it looked like it would take quite some time, I figured today was a wash; I might as well come back early tomorrow.
* * *
When I arrived home, I yielded to the maids’ insistence that I quickly change out of my dirty clothes, then sat on a comfortable sofa, sipping tea.
My body felt at rest, but my mind was restless.
‘Is the state of the territory really that dire?’
The image of the Remut territory I had seen earlier refused to leave my mind. Simultaneously, a question nagged at me.
‘Askin spoke of the annulment as if he could repay the money before long.’
If he could barely manage his own territory, where on earth would that money come from?
‘There must be a faction helping Askin, or a group cooperating with him.’
I recalled the contents of the book, piece by piece. I needed a place with vast capital, one that could cough up a large sum at once. Furthermore, it had to be a place capable of enduring the Alzbeit family’s wrath—a group desperate enough for Askin’s power that they would risk our hatred to secure his cooperation.
‘There doesn’t seem to be anyone like that at this point…?’
While I was deep in thought, I was summoned by my grandfather.
When I opened the office door and walked in, my grandfather sat at his desk with a grim expression. I braced myself for his anger, but when he saw me, he smiled. It wasn’t a beaming grin, but one filled with a strange, calculating satisfaction.
“Oh, Charl. I’ve heard the news!”
As soon as I sat down, my grandfather spoke up. He even stood up abruptly, walked over, and sat right next to me.
*No, Grandfather, why are you doing this?*
“You went to the Remut territory and caused quite an incident, didn’t you?”
“Pardon? An incident?”
“An incident in the best sense!”
I tilted my head in confusion. What on earth was he so happy about?
“As expected of my granddaughter. I never imagined you would exploit the flooding there in such a way.”
The words didn’t make much sense, but I decided to listen quietly.
“Yes, I received the full report. You summoned workers to restore the roads and ordered the repair and construction of buildings? You even dispatched extra food and water.”
“Ah… that was…”
“In exchange, you must have secured their land deeds, surely?”
I froze. *Pardon? What? What is this man saying?*
Did he honestly believe I had helped people who lost their homes and were injured only to seize their remaining livelihood? I was dumbfounded, and the shock must have been written all over my face.
When my grandfather saw my expression, he stopped mid-sentence.
“Why are you making that face? Don’t tell me… you received a different kind of compensation? Well, it’s fine even if you received it in cash instead.”
“…No, Grandfather. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
The smile vanished from his face.
“Hmph, so you mean… you did all that without receiving any compensation at all?”
“….”
“You threw money away into thin air?”
*Threw it away.* I realized that explaining I had saved lives wouldn’t even register with this man. As I struggled to respond to his callousness, my grandfather’s irritation only flared.
“You’re still young and naive. Don’t you know that if you help people who have nothing, they’ll only cling to you the moment they face the slightest hardship? You should have just spent that money on your own luxuries instead of wasting it on such useless things!”
I didn’t entirely fail to understand the cold logic behind his anger, but his reaction felt grotesque.
Besides, hadn’t I simply helped my fiancé’s territory?
Even leaving aside morals or sentiment, if my grandfather also considers that man a necessity, wouldn’t providing help be beneficial in the long run?
“Ha, I thought you had matured after traveling abroad… it was this old man’s grave miscalculation. This won’t do. I cannot keep my senseless granddaughter tied to that man.”
While I stood speechless, my grandfather had moved past his anger and nagging—the first and second acts—and had now played his trump card: total ruin.
“It would be better to annul the engagement, just as he said.”
“Grandfather.”
“This won’t do. I must send you somewhere where you’ll learn the proper value of money. It just so happens that among those who have sent marriage proposals, the Child family is the most suitable, so you had better go there.”
I was dumbfounded.
Seriously, this man had just decided his granddaughter’s fate in three seconds flat.
Now was not the time to be flustered by a decision that would send me to an early grave. If I let this stand, it would be finalized.
I forced myself to calm down and regain my composure. No, my dream of being a wealthy, unemployed person…! I cannot lose my dream and die!
“Grandfather, please calm down and listen to me for a moment, won’t you?”
“Hmph? What more is there to hear?”
“The reason I said I didn’t understand what you meant was because I thought you were only talking about receiving money.”
My brain whirred at high speed. This grandfather was the type of person who would lose his mind over a coin.
“Who said anything about free? What an absurd thing to say. Naturally, what use would it be to just take the land when it’s barren? I’m on my way back after lending it to the people—including interest, not just the land. I factored in the building renovation costs, construction expenses, and the price of water and food.”
“Did they actually agree to pay back the interest?”
“Do you think they care about interest right now? They could die at any moment!”
Grandfather’s sharp gaze turned toward me. It was not as cold as the look my fiancé gave when he was furious, nor as terrifying as the glare of my tyrant brother.
“……Is that truly the case?”
“Why would I lie? You’re the one who always says that lying is for those who are lacking.”