Chapter 17

On the other hand, Mrs. Sarah was puzzled.

“Leilan Marsh? That place is……”

“It’s a wasteland.”

Reinhardt ruffled her hair in response to Mrs. Sarah’s skepticism. Mrs. Sarah kept her mouth shut at her words. Dietrich also had a curious expression on why she wanted to accept such a desolate land, but he did not dare to ask.

“When do I have to leave to meet the conscription?”

“You should leave as early as possible. You can receive food support from the Nathantine estate, but until then, you have to prepare food in the estate…….”

Mrs. Sarah hesitated because there wasn’t enough food from the castle’s stock for the 15 guards who usually go on a trip. Reinhardt scratched her temple.

“There’s nothing we can do.”

Reinhardt untied the necklace around her neck. Dietrich’s complexion changed.

“That’s …….”

“There are some scratches, but at least you will have enough money to buy food with it.”

It was a single pearl left behind by Reinhardt’s mother, the Marchioness.

Johana had bought all of Reinhardt’s jewels but left this necklace because it didn’t have any value- from a noble’s perspective. And even if the necklace had some flaws among the merchants, it was calculated that there would still be people who would buy it.

Even Mrs. Sarah, who didn’t know the importance of the jewel, knew that this was the only jewelry Reinhardt had. Mrs. Sarah carefully held the pearl, but there was no hesitation in taking it. Reinhart smiled contentedly.

“Will anyone buy it?”

“Some merchants came to the estate to sell food a few days ago. We will see if there are any merchants who deal with such things.”

“Maybe that’s not enough.”

Reinhardt looked around and sighed. During the northeast’s winter, food is expensive. A flawed gem, on the other hand, is of no great value. How many people would want to buy jewels that they can’t even eat, not to mention that the jewels even had scratches?

“Once you figure out the way, please do that first.”

“Viscountess.”

Dietrich belatedly stopped her, but Reinhardt waved her hand.

“I have no regrets as I already wore all kinds of jewelry when I was still the Crown Princess.”

“….”

“It is said that when a young woman wears pearls, she sheds more tears. What happened to me was unfortunate, but it’s ok.”

Dietrich sighed when he saw her talking, even mentioning a superstition that she wouldn’t normally believe in.

“Hurry up and get ready to leave!” Reinhardt said as she lightly slapped Dietrich on the back and drove him out.

“Okay, I understand.”

Dietrich grumbled and left Reinhardt’s office first. Reinhardt was about to sit down at her desk when she made eye contact with a woman who hadn’t left the room yet. It was Mrs. Sarah.

“Mrs. Sarah?”

“…… Yes.”

“Is there anything else?”

The corners of the old lady’s eyes were full of wrinkles. It has only been two months since Reinhart met the old lady, who had been running this cold estate alone for decades. She continued to act consciously to honor Mrs. Sarah, but….

‘Maybe she’s feeling a little bit left out.’

Unsurprisingly, it was only when Mrs. Sarah came to her office that she found out that the conscription order had been so excessive.

Reinhardt was shocked when she heard about it in the stable, so she immediately called Mrs. Sarah to her office to get a brief explanation and began to discuss it with Dietrich.

Besides,

[Leilan Marsh? That place is……]

Mrs. Sarah said earlier with a surprised look on her face, but Reinhardt didn’t explain it to her and cut her off by saying that she knew it was a garbage land.

‘Is it necessary to explain?’

“Ah, Mrs. Sarah, a little while ago… … ”

“You don’t have to explain it to me.”

Surprisingly, the old lady decided to cut off Reinhardt who opened her mouth as soon as she was about to explain. Reinhardt blinked and Mrs. Sarah spoke again.

“There must be a reason why you want to buy the land even though you know it is garbage.”

“…… uh…….”

“Baron Nathantine’s land is not so good. As is the case in all of this northeast, there’s never been enough land to pay for one knight’s rent. There is very little good land.”

In a nutshell, the only land you can get in the north is garbage, but at least they could get a better piece of garbage. In her words, there was still a little bit of trust in Reinhardt.

The old lady bowed her head politely.

“I’ll find a merchant who buys pearls.”

“Thank you. And…… it’s nothing.”

Reinhardt waved her hand as she was about to say something. The old lady nodded and left the office. Reinhardt smiled bitterly.

That’s why just like this, you will be isolated from the land and treated as a really incompetent person if there was no turf in the Leilan Wasteland.

* * * 

It was late at night when Wilhelm came to her room.

Wilhelm was not free to pack his bags because of the sudden drop in conscription. Moreover, Wilhelm had been harshly told that he might end up as a rental knight in Nathantine’s estate.

What if the boy who follows her gets a shock from her sudden words? She thought about it, but worrying about his absence was a luxury for Reinhardt now.

So she just waited while reading a book in her office.

This estate was so poor that there were only a few books. The only thing in the library was the genealogy of the Faeldon family, and a couple of books that didn’t even look interesting, titled [The Abolition of the Cold Weather].

As she skimmed through the Faeldon family’s lineage, there were the names of some of the Marquis relatives at the very end. Reinhart thought of the woman who didn’t give her much affection but didn’t dislike her either.

‘If I had known that I would inherit her name and survive, I would have treated her a little more kindly.’

Reinhardt shook her head as she thought so. Although the Linke couple had no children, their relationship was strong. But as soon as Hu Linke brought Reinhardt and named her as one of the members of the family, the atmosphere in their relationship changed slightly.

If she were to describe it, it’s like their warm relationship became lukewarm. Considering the rumors the Marquis had to deal with because of Reinhardt, it was worth it.

‘If I was the Marchioness, I would’ve beaten myself with a whip and let me starve.’

She tried to connect the Marchioness to the story of a common evil stepmother everywhere in her life, but she couldn’t because it was unimaginable.

Reinhardt passed [The Abolition of the Cold Weather]. It was a book that summarized when and how the lands in the northeastern part of the empire were incorporated into the empire, what specialties were, and the story of the Fram Mountains in the far north.

‘Let’s see, the author…… ’

Reinhardt’s eyebrows furrowed as she checked the author. Lil Allanquez. It was a very familiar and embarrassing name. Perhaps it was another family with the surname Allanquez, but there was no other family that uses the surname Allanquez other than the Imperial family, so this book must’ve been written by a member of the royal family.

Besides, it’s Lil.

‘Isn’t this the famous nickname of Amaryllis Depafina Allanquez?’

Amaryllis Depafina Allanquez was the name of the first emperor who founded the Allanquez Empire. Among the few magical heritages left on the continent, she obtained the Holy Grail and sword that the saint made with the hope of a great leader, and created the Allanquez Empire.

‘…… no way.’

Being the first emperor also meant that he was too busy to spend the rest of his life in the empire. It was said that Amaryllis Allanquez herself enjoyed jokingly saying, “I have lived nine lives.” So she had time to write a book?

Reinhardt looked at the book. On the back of a thick piece of paper, the name or affiliation of the person who copied it should be written, but there was no such thing. The contents were too wholesome to be a book that was secretly distributed.

‘Maybe this is an… abridged copy…..’

Reinhardt smiled bitterly.

It must be just another person in the imperial family she does not know, given the name of Amaryllis. Reinhardt glanced over the book again.

{‘In the cold regions of the northeast, wetlands are often useless land that have been frozen for more than a year and a half…….’}

The second half talks about the adventure towards the Fram Mountains. But the story about the author that he went through the demons to meet the dragon was somehow too imaginative to be true….

‘Isn’t this a scam?’

That was then. Cleverly, someone knocked on Reinhardt’s door. It was obvious who it was.

“Come in,” Reinhardt smiled and said.

It was Wilhelm. His black hair was messy and he couldn’t see well, so he seemed to have come straight from work. The boy stepped in cautiously and stood a long way from the front of her desk. Reinhardt opened her eyes, holding the book.

“Why are you so far away?”

“Uh, it’s that,” Wilhelm answered with hesitation, “I didn’t have time to wash up…….”

“What did I tell you?” Reinhardt let out a small laugh and put the book down. “I’m used to the smell of knights’ sweat. You can come closer.”

Growing up in a castle after Linke, she didn’t hate the smell of sweat from the soldiers. Sometimes, Reinhardt had found the smell comforting on her father. Not to mention that Wilhelm’s appearance reminded her of Hu Linke who was constantly sweating as he would rub his hands on his lovely apple pie (Reinhardt). Reinhardt couldn’t help but smile.

But Wilhelm was rather hesitant. His black eyes flashed a confused light towards her.

“You’re familiar with it…….”

“Of course.”

“…… Because of Dietrich?”

Reinhardt blinked and smiled.

“That’s right. You could say it was because of Dietrich.”

Next to her father was Dietrich, who always smelled twice as sweaty as Hu Linke. So it could be said like that. Reinhardt beckoned Wilhelm with that thought in mind, and Wilhelm, who stood there for a moment and looked at her, strode closer as if he had decided something.

The soil in the castle’s courtyard was coarse. The dirt, which must have been buried under Wilhelm’s shoes, contributed to the clattering of the taller Wilhelm as he walked on the stone floor. Reinhardt, who was thinking that it would be rude to call him a boy now, suddenly noticed the shadow that was cast over her and opened her eyes wide.

The boy whom he thought would stand in front of her desk, stood in front of her.

“Wilhelm?”

When Reinhardt called out the boy’s name for something, he paused, then closed his mouth and reached out to her. And just as it was, Reinhardt was held in his arms.

“…… Wilhelm?”

“…… I don’t like.”

Reinhardt got a little confused and tapped Wilhelm’s shoulder lightly. But Wilhelm hugged her even tighter as she tapped him on his shoulder.

“That it is familiar to Dietrich, I don’t like it.”

Oh, so that was it. Reinhardt laughed lightly. The boy remained attached to his teacher, Dietrich, but strangely hated Dietrich’s presence with her. Well, she thought it was like a ducking who wants to monopolize its mother duck. Today, his desire to monopolize her has been kindled for another reason.

“Okay.”

Reinhardt hugged the boy back and patted him on the back. His back, which had become quite wide and firm, trembled at the tip of her hand. Reinhardt buried her nose in the boy’s nape and took a deep breath. The familiar smell of men. The smell of sweat and the slightly bitter musk ringing at the tip of the nose…….

“This is your scent.”

The boy trembled. He seemed to be itchy.