Ch.8282. Base

Wellesley County.

The words that reached Ember Hyde’s ears as she was negotiating to purchase tools needed for the territory were slightly irritating.

“This place seems peaceful for having gone through such a major event, Lady Hyde.”

Peace? Is he mocking me?

Ember stared blankly at the merchant’s face who was evaluating Wellesley County while smiling pleasantly.

He was an executive from a trading company that mainly dealt with magical tools. Although he was a merchant who came at her request, she couldn’t happily listen to such absurd remarks.

Wellesley County was in no state to be called peaceful, even as a joke.

The Delirose family, who had ruled this place for a long time, had been disbanded after being caught attempting to flee overseas, and recently, the Hyde barony, which had been their vassal, was also disbanded.

Although Ember’s father had maintained the family line by becoming a viscount without territory, there were aftereffects occurring as the barony disappeared and was integrated into the county.

It was too overwhelming a situation for a mid-level bureaucrat who had lived only in the imperial capital since graduating from the Academy. That was also why Ember was meeting the merchant instead of her father.

‘Even pleasantries should be said with consideration for the place.’

Ember was about to change the subject but closed her mouth.

As she listened quietly, she realized the merchant’s words were unusual.

“Still, I see people smiling on the streets here occasionally.”

“…Pardon?”

“Ah, and there aren’t many beggars either. I just noticed guards patrolling in pairs.”

“…?”

Ember tilted her head, wondering if she had misheard.

The main castle of the county. Though adorable compared to the imperial capital, it was still a place with the scale of a city. She couldn’t understand why guards patrolling would be something to praise.

“I visited Widen Viscounty just before coming here. It used to be quite wealthy from selling ornaments, but now it’s in chaos. I heard that fired guards were trying to extort money from adventurers passing through the territory, and it even led to knife fights.”

“No, how could such a thing happen.”

“There are probably worse places if you look for them.”

Ember could only nod, at a loss for words.

The existence of disastrous territories didn’t make Wellesley County’s difficulties disappear, but she couldn’t bring herself to say anything in front of someone who was marveling, “There are even people smiling here!”

Right. Let’s just finish the transaction. Ember gathered her dizzy thoughts.

“Yes. So about the magical tools.”

“Ah, these are sound-based magical tools that have already proven effective in direct territories. When installed in the middle of farmland, they periodically emit sound waves that birds dislike. It’s much more efficient than chasing them away manually, though not perfect.”

“Indeed, that time could be used for other tasks.”

“The downside is that a mage needs to periodically infuse a small amount of magical power. By any chance, are there mages among Wellesley County’s retainers?”

“Of course there are.”

“As expected, very stable. That’s good.”

As if a county wouldn’t have at least one mage, no matter what major events it had gone through.

Ember felt strange, as if she was being praised for having limbs. She was also curious about what horrific scenes the merchant had witnessed in the territory he had visited previously.

‘No, could this be a tactic to charge a higher price?’

This thought was quickly dismissed. The price was relatively reasonable.

Magical tools were fundamentally expensive, being magical tools. But it was at a level that could be purchased with the budget remaining in the county without having to ask Erick for help, and it was expected to help the territory’s productivity to some extent.

“Yes. Let’s agree on that price.”

“Thank you. I’m not saying this because I don’t trust you, but regarding credit or promissory notes… honestly, Count Wellesley is wealthy, isn’t he?”

“I’ll pay in gold coins.”

The merchant exclaimed “Oh!” at these words. Apparently, many territories these days were trying to buy magical tools on credit, which was giving him a headache.

Having received several high-denomination gold coins, he seemed pleased and even left two magic potions as a bonus.

“Thank you for the clean transaction.”

The merchant had his workers neatly unload the goods and left with a bright expression.

Ember, who had suddenly made a good deal, had no time to feel proud. That was because she had many other things to do.

It was only a few weeks ago that she had become a viscount’s daughter overnight.

She had exceeded her childhood dream. She had become the daughter of a vice-count who governed the territory in place of the busy lord. She had become a real noble, something she had admired since childhood.

Moreover, she was now staying at the count’s mansion with her family.

Originally, she had planned to stay in a mansion where one of Delirose Count’s retainers (now in a penal unit) had lived, conscious of others’ gazes, but the Hyde family soon realized that this was no time to worry about such things.

It was because they were in a situation where even commuting time was precious.

At first, she had come with firm resolve, remembering Erick’s request to “find what you can do in the county”…

But now she saw that such resolve was unnecessary.

‘It feels like everyone is just looking at our family.’

Ember’s father was working fifteen hours a day to restore the administrative power of the territory that had holes here and there,

Her mother was somehow managing the housekeeping of the vast count’s mansion while still getting used to dozens of servants,

And Ember herself was dealing with some visitors on behalf of her father. Today was her first time purchasing items, but it seemed she would be doing it often in the future.

“Um, miss.”

“……”

“Miss?”

“Ah? Yes.”

Ember responded late to the maid’s call.

She wasn’t particularly sorry. The maid also had an awkward attitude. There was an atmosphere of uncertainty about how to serve Ember, who until recently had been from a branch family of vassals.

Besides, Ember was doing all her bathing, grooming, and eating by herself. She didn’t need the maid’s help.

But she couldn’t tell the maid to just stay in her room since her employer was someone else. That would be like announcing she was cutting off her livelihood.

‘We both need to adapt.’

The maid hesitated before revealing that someone was anxiously looking for Ember.

“Lady Rozenia has proposed holding a tea party.”

The Rozenia barony.

They were vassals of Count Wellesley. More precisely, they were a family that had served Count Delirose before changing their lord. One could say that having tea with a lady from a family serving the same lord wasn’t a big deal, but honestly, Ember wasn’t keen on it.

‘…I know exactly what we’ll talk about.’

Baron Rozenia was a lord who was as deeply invested in Cordana as her uncle.

At least he hadn’t completely abandoned his territory to become a ghost at the exchange, but the situation was just as bad.

This was because he was a lord who forcibly maintained his expenditures due to pride, even amid difficult circumstances.

– How can one abandon people like that.

He would say such frustrating things while preserving the job of a guard knight who was nearly sixty years old. The problem was that while he had good intentions, he actually lacked the ability to pay salaries.

“It would be better to advise a decision soon.”

“Miss?”

“I’m sorry, but please tell her I decline the tea party. But add that I will formally invite her soon.”

It seemed she would have to recommend something difficult. She would need to persuade her father first, though.

It wasn’t easy for Ember either. It was presumptuous to recommend a major restructuring to someone else’s family when she had no authority.

But she couldn’t ignore it when she could clearly see that leaving things as they were would lead to disaster. If she gave false hope under the pretense of comforting them, they would eventually lose their title in a miserable way. It might be right to show them reality, even if it meant being disliked.

‘That’s the only way they can start again from the bottom.’

How could she make them understand? As Ember pondered, the maid carefully observed her mood before speaking again.

Ember swallowed hard.

Could it be news about her uncle who had become lethargic after losing his title? She heard that although he had generally quieted down, he occasionally mumbled while filling papers with numbers and letters.

Or perhaps something had happened to her cousin who had transformed into an adventurer. He was exploring the wilderness with the second son of Count Burko, claiming they would catch a unicorn.

What could it be this time?

Fortunately, it wasn’t an incident or accident this time.

“…I heard he departed early yesterday evening.”

Rather, it was the first good news she had heard since coming to the county.

***

The Empire is vast, and carriages are slow.

That was the thought that kept coming to mind throughout the journey to the territory.

Or perhaps I had developed a taste for the speed of the Hero’s pursuit team. After all, the Hero’s pursuit team had covered in just two days a distance that would take ten days even with well-trained horses. Even a carriage pulled by four fine horses felt slow. And that was despite asking a priest for a blessing before departure.

The one fortunate thing was that there was no time to be bored in the carriage.

Thanks to giving various instructions to Bingo, who was complaining of motion sickness, I was able to pass the time.

“Bingo. For supplies that are difficult to dispose of in the imperial capital, it might be good to trade the gift contracts themselves. Look into it.”

“Ah… you mean things like grain? True, unless it’s of exceptional quality, wheat is hard to sell in the imperial capital. Just the production from direct territories is enormous.”

“It might be good to transfer the contracts to Lancarth Border County, which has a low self-sufficiency rate. As for funds, we can ask the imperial family for support. …Though I wonder if the border count will understand this concept.”

“It might be possible. No, it will be. But can we talk about this later?”

Bingo changed his manner of speech and pointed somewhere with his short arm.

Indeed, a fortress came into view in the distance. It was the main castle of the county that I had once broken through with the captain, and which had now become my territory.

It was a moment to realize that a commoner who hadn’t even experienced buying something with money before entering the Academy had become the lord of a territory.

It should have been a moment filled with emotion, but somehow I felt calm.

Thanks to that, I could quickly identify the friend standing in front of the castle gate.

It was Ember, with her tall stature for a woman, dark blonde hair, dressed in a blue dress. As soon as she spotted my carriage, she waved her hand with a bright smile. She seemed to think that I was the only one who would be entering the county in a four-horse carriage.

‘I appreciate it, but isn’t she welcoming me a bit too enthusiastically?’

Though unrelated, Ember’s life didn’t seem very easy either. I received her greeting with a slight smile.