Chapter 8

Luden Castle was abuzz due to the start of Thanksgiving Day.

It was only three days before Thanksgiving that Sarah informed Reinhardt that there would be a Thanksgiving ration in the courtyard of Luden Castle.

“Distribution?”

“There are things we need to do in the winter.”

In other words, the territories distribute the things that are difficult to procure by themselves in the name of Lord Luden. They were items like salt, flour, and dried beans.

“Aren’t the people of the estate able to raise their own grain? There’s corn. Flour is too expensive.”

“Winter in the mountains is severe. Young people cannot store corn by grinding it because they can’t afford to dry it in bulk and pulverize it. It’s hard to put them in the yard in front of the house and eat them.”

Corn is also too bulky to keep like you would an egg and easily rots because of the moisture. So, the people of Luden would sell corn cheaply in the summer instead and commissions were small. Then in winter they buy flour and sell that cheaply instead.

Reinhardt spoke while scratching her chin.

“Can’t you take the corn that the young people farmed and have the soldiers dry it and grind it back?”

The old lady raised her eyebrows.

“That’s a good idea, but there isn’t enough production to grind.”

“Dammit.”

Reinhardt uttered a bad word. It isn’t just a matter of manpower. The old lady didn’t look that surprised and gradually adjusted to her harsh tone.

“What’s going on here that we have less than a hundred soldiers?”

“If we take out a hundred young men from Luden, all the young people will starve to death.”

The population was so small that there were no soldiers.

Reinhardt gritted her teeth and Sarah quickly recited the scale of the distribution as if she was used to it.

“And there will probably be wild geese at the Thanksgiving dinner.”

“Probably?”

“You may have eaten turkey in the capital, but it’s hard to get it in Luden. The captain of the guard is out hunting wild geese, so you might be able to eat some.”

“Oh, the captain of the guard. Okay.”

Reinhardt squinted her eyes and raised her chin.

‘The captain of the guard is hunting the menu for the Lord’s dinner. That’s worth seeing. Yeah, this is a great estate.’

“Is anyone invited to the dinner?”

“Usually lords invite their household members….”

After saying that, Sarah glanced at her. Reinhardt snorted.

“I presume they aren’t going to come to see a family member who suddenly became the Lord of this estate after not seeing her face for more than 20 years.”

“Shall we send out an invitation?”

“If we send out the invitation three days before Thanksgiving, they will arrive the day after Thanksgiving. No need.”

Sarah bent her knees. Reinhardt had to listen to Sarah talking for a long time after that.

They then brought in a bag of dried apples ahead of the winter, and all they said was that they would be given as a reward to the guards at the beginning of the new year and that they would send octagonal shells every year as gifts.

“I’m going crazy.”

After Sarah left, Reinhardt buried her face in her arms.

This is a terribly poor estate. Sarah and all the staff of the castle acted as if they could not even look at the Lord who stabbed the Crown Prince during the winter preparation.

The former Reinhardt had to calculate the price of a thousand new steel swords for her soldiers and bought hundreds of carpets each year to change the interior of the castle, but now she had to calculate the price of a bag of dried apples.

“Dammit.”

As soon as she murmured and uttered a bad word, she heard a rustle next to her. Reinhardt glanced at the child and smiled apologetically.

“Sorry, Wilhelm. I didn’t say that to you.”

Next to her was a boy sitting on a small desk. Bill Corona, or Wilhelm.

Wilhelm was looking up at her dubiously with his black eyes instead of writing something on the stone tablet. He must have been surprised by her foul language. Reinhardt washed her face and then stroked Wilhelm’s head.

“I decided not to curse in front of you, but it often slips out…I’m sorry.”

“No.”

“Yes, no.”

Wilhelm spoke with clear pronunciation and Reinhardt smiled in response.

“Let’s see if you’ve written what you promised me?”

“…No.”

The boy shamefully hid the stone tablet, but Reinhardt’s arms were longer and faster. She hugged the boy tightly and grabbed the stone.

“Let’s see. Flour, corn, apples.”

“…….”

“Hey kiddo, you’re thinking of something.”

The stone tablets contained the contents Reinhardt had exchanged with Sarah. Flour, cornmeal, and a bag of apples. Reinhardt laughed when she saw the word octagon for household goods.

“My God, Wilhelm. I didn’t keep you here to write as my clerk.”

“….No….”

Wilhelm, who hugged her, blushed. Not knowing what Reinhardt was saying, Wilhelm would become so shocked when Reinhardt would laugh. He must think that she was teasing him.

Reinhardt let go of Wilhelm and the stone tablets.

Wilhelm couldn’t look at her and, as if he was embarrassed, turned around. She rubbed Wilhelm’s forehead gently with her thumb.

“But it’s pretty nice to know you’ve learned how to spell something.”

It was difficult to find a teacher to teach Wilhelm in the Luden Estate.

Nevertheless, she could not let the servants or household members teach him. This was because every human was a precious resource. Furthermore, Reinhardt had not yet gained popularity in the estate or the castle. Sarah spoke to her, albeit barely, but the maids still flinched when they saw her. It was understandable though.

“Lost her father and went crazy and stabbed the Crown Prince. They are going to run away from me.’

Rumors of her being a lunatic spread during the two months she was captive. And it was no different in Luden. Reinhardt didn’t try to explain her side in light of the rumors that were circulating, and she didn’t intend to, but if such rumors spread in this estate it would probably be very difficult to win public support.

Eventually, Reinhardt decided to teach Wilhelm herself for now. It wasn’t that difficult either. It was also helpful that Wilhelm followed her well and was brilliant.

Wilhelm couldn’t stand sitting still most of the time, but what she told him to do was obey. Some days he would struggle because he didn’t like it, but after Reinhardt would pinch his cheeks and hug him tightly, he would hesitate but eventually follow the instructions Reinhardt sang.

His physical performance was also quite good.

The captain of the guard in the estate was surprised when he saw Wilhelm wielding a wooden sword. Young boys of his age often hurt their shoulders by swinging their hips or mugging if they even grabbed a wooden sword, but in Wilhelm’s case, he seemed to know how to handle the sword well.

“Honestly, I think it would be better to use a knight from another estate than a man like me.”

The captain of the guard had scratched his back and said. Reinhardt had then laughed loudly and encouraged him, “What are you talking about, you are a captain who leads thirty-strong men!” But he was right. Luden’s captain of the guard was far from good enough to teach Wilhelm. It was clear that her father, Hu Linke, was even more familiar with training soldiers who have been doing it for more than 20 years.

“Kung.”

As she thought about all of that with her arms folded, Wilhelm looked at her carefully and hurriedly pulled over the stone tablets and pretended to study what Reinhardt had originally ordered. He must have thought he had offended her.

Reinhardt tried to stop Wilhelm, but she let the child do what he wanted.

‘….He’s being cautious again’

It was obvious that Wilhelm had not lived a normal life. In addition to responding profusely to every swear word she would say, even these days, whenever a servant made a big move, he would raise his arm above his head in shock. He must have been beaten in every situation. He also had a skinny physique.

Thinking so far, Reinhardt looked at the basket next to the boy’s desk. The basket she’d given him containing snacks to eat while studying was empty.

‘What a glutton.’

The child had a gluttonous appetite, perhaps it was because he had starved for so long while traveling abroad. Everything on the table, including bread, was swept into his mouth. He often had an upset stomach. He ate as much as he could when they gave him snacks, and he did the same with water. At first, the maids were surprised that he drank all the water they could not drink. That’s why it’s surprising that he leaves white bread for Reinhardt.

‘How did Mikhail put up with such a child.’

It was something Reinhardt wondered about these days. In her previous life, Mikhail heard about Bill Corona, who had been wandering around as a wildling, and chose him as his knight. But if Bill, or Wilhelm, had wandered the way he was now, perhaps Mikhail would have frowned as soon as he saw him and would order the knights to clean him up. Mikhail was like that.

Besides, she had another question.

‘Mikhail knew that Wilhelm is an illegitimate child of the Emperor.’

Mikhail didn’t bring Wilhelm with him by accident. Otherwise, Mikhail’s closest aide wouldn’t have leaked that information to Reinhardt. He clearly knew and brought him to his side. There weren’t many surprising things.

That’s how Wilhelm survived.

Reinhardt believed that the Corona family having been attacked and destroyed by barbarians was the Empress’s masterpiece. Perhaps the Emperor’s child was to be taken away at once and overshadowed by the barbarians. But the woman gave birth to the child. He survived though she had been attacked 10 months before.

‘Did someone save him on purpose?’

That question remained again. Reinhardt glanced at the child’s finger.

A slightly loose, non-decorative copper ring was inserted on the middle finger of his left hand. The ring that the child was wearing had been polished and returned. She didn’t even know how the child wore such a loose thing in the mountains. Did someone put it on him to prove his identity? Like a ring that has a family insignia on it.

But the egg [bead] was missing and there was no way to identify it.

But Reinhardt soon erased all those questions from her mind because Wilhelm was holding out the stone plate filled with writing in front of her.

“Are you done already? That’s great.”

Reinhardt smiled and stroked Wilhelm’s head again. Wilhelm blinked and shook his head.

“No.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Wilhelm used to express all negative responses with one word, such as “no”, so Reinhardt had to ask in detail every time. Wilhelm looked at her with his neck bent, and soon moved his hair from the front of his face with his hand and revealed his forehead.

“Huh?”

“…….”

When Reinhardt tilted her head, not knowing what he really meant, Wilhelm frowned a little as if he was frustrated and moved his head forward. He put his forehead right on her lips.

“…….”

Reinhardt looked at Wilhelm because he was far away just a while ago and wondered what kind of warmth touched her lips. Wilhelm looked at her once, face profusely red and even a bit black, and stepped back and ran away.

Kwang

The office door is closed. Reinhardt blinked numerous times and soon realized what had happened and laughed.

“He’s doing some cute stuff huh….”

Is this what it would feel like if she had a baby and raised it? Reinhardt worked all afternoon with a grin.

She felt like the poverty of this estate could be forgotten for a moment.

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