Chapter 18: The Duke's Daughter Rejoices in Daily Routine

Chapter 18:
The Duke’s Daughter Rejoices in Daily Routine

 

“IT’S ALMOST SCARY that I’ve grown used to this,” I murmured to myself, surrounded by documents. The skritch, skritch sound of my quill scratching the parchment filled the room. There were several mountains of papers on my desk. Not piles. Mountains.

I still had documents from day-to-day business to approve; they had piled up during the business with my excommunication. But at least the amount of work now was nowhere near as bad as it had been during the scandal. Since then, I’d put contingency policies in place in case of another emergency. Ideally, there would never be such an emergency again, but I wanted to be prepared just in case.

“Phew… Finally finished.” Both sadly and fortunately, those preparations had recently come to my aid. “Thank you, Sebastian.”

“Dean is the one you should thank. He gave out instructions and dealt with a great many things before he left.”

“Oh? That surprises me; he left in such a rush. I do appreciate it, though.” Deep inside, I felt myself reacting to the mere mention of his name, but luckily, I must not have shown it on my face.

“Excuse me, my lady.” There was a knock at the door, and Tanya entered. She had a somewhat perplexed look on her face. “I have news for you, if I may?”

“Yes, go ahead. I just finished my work. What is it?”

“Well, there are two things. The first is that we have received word that Dorssen has left the knighthood. Furthermore, House Kataberia has begun the process of disowning him. We’re expecting a formal notice from the Kataberias confirming the latter in short order.”

“I see. And what is Dorssen doing now?”

“He disappeared shortly after returning to the capital. Shall I try to find him?”

“No need. He has nothing now. No money, no family honor. The only thing he has left is that strength that he’s worked so hard to hone. And I truly believe that strength won’t be a problem, as long as I have Lyle and Dida. We don’t need to send someone after him, but I do want you to start looking into his actions around the capital.”

“Yes, my lady. I’ll arrange it right away.”

“And the other matter?”

“Van and the nobles involved in the scandal have received their sentence. Van will drink poisoned wine, just as his father did. The other nobles must surrender their status as heads of their families and be confined to their houses permanently thereafter.”

“I see,” I responded.

“You don’t seem very surprised.”

“I suspected as much once we handed them to the kingdom to be dealt with.” A wry smile crossed my face.

Van was already a commoner with absolutely no backing and nothing left to his name. There was no way he could have conspired against a noble—especially one related to the duke and current prime minister—and escape unscathed. If the kingdom let him off easily, it would weaken the means by which it protected itself. Meanwhile, though up until now the Darryl Church had always shielded Van, now he was nothing more to them than a nuisance.

Not to mention, Queen Ellia probably wanted to be rid of him before he opened his mouth and said something he shouldn’t.

“I am a little surprised that the sentence was passed down so quickly, but I let the kingdom handle them because I had a feeling that they would deal with Van appropriately. I offered to help him once. He turned down that help, and that’s his own fault. I don’t see the problem with letting him be the scapegoat if it also gets rid of the other nobles who were already standing in my way, do you?”

I was sure that Queen Ellia had never seen Van or any of the rest of the nobility involved with this scandal as anything more than pawns. Van had now more than served his purpose by being fed to the wolves. Furthermore, one of the other nobles being punished controlled the domain north of Armelia. His domain had not only raised tariffs on the duchy, but they had committed multiple infractions against Armelia since, so he had become quite troublesome.

“That’s true,” said Tanya. “My only regret is that I was unable to get rid of him myself, but I’m glad that I could be of service to you.”

That was such a very Tanya thing to say; I couldn’t help but laugh. “Thank you for the news. Make sure to confirm that the punishments are actually carried out. I don’t want to hear later that he’s still alive for some reason. Who knows what would happen then? And Tanya? I’d love to have some tea in the salon while I take a break.”

“Of course, my lady.” A pleased smile crossed her face. She was always concerned with my health, so she looked relieved that I had offered to take a break of my own accord.

After seeing her smile, I tried to ignore the heavy feeling inside of me and stood. I left the room and shortly arrived in the salon, where I took a seat. A few minutes later, Tanya entered with a cup of tea and set it down in front of me.

“Mm, it’s delicious,” I said.

“Thank you. I’ll excuse myself now, but please do let me know if there is anything I can do for you.”

“I will, thanks.”

Once I heard her footsteps depart, I let out the deep sigh I’d been suppressing. Then I inhaled the aroma of the herbal tea. Ahh, so relaxing.

The moment Tanya informed me of Van’s death sentence, I felt a mixture of emotions—joy, relief, resentment, and anger…and pain. All of those emotions combined together, like when you dump a bunch of paint and mix it all up until it becomes a terrible color that you can’t begin to describe. This was the nature of the feeling within my chest.

Strangely, my mind was surprisingly calm, all things considered. I had a feeling that once I took this moment to relax, those bad feelings would pass. I looked out the window at the flowers and greenery outside, the sight of them soothing my aching eyes. I hadn’t noticed it at all when I was knee-deep in my work, but now that I turned my gaze elsewhere, I realized for the first time just how tired my eyes were.

I need to make sure I take good care of my eyesight. They don’t have contacts in this world, after all, I thought to myself as I enjoyed the view.

House Armelia had our own private gardeners, of course. They had planned this view down to the fine details when they designed the gardens, and they worked tirelessly to maintain its beauty. How lucky they were to be able to see such beauty up close every day!

As I sat there by myself, I became lost in thought. I suddenly remembered that I’d received a letter from Mimosa a while back. She had spoken of a fellow she was seeing, one whom she intended to marry. She had always been an exceptionally cautious person when it came to affairs of the heart, but it seemed even she was no match for the power of love. I’d sent off a letter expressing my congratulations and asking about her potential fiancé, but I had yet to receive a response. I had been so wrapped up in the ruckus with the Boltik family that I hadn’t had the chance to follow up, but perhaps it was time to write her another letter.

Just then, I saw Dida in the corner of my vision. “Oh, Dida!”

“Hey there, Princess. Taking a break?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Got it. I’m gonna hand these documents to Sebastian in a bit, but I need you to look them over for me. It concerns our plan to oversee the security forces going forward. I’m stepping down, but Lyle will still be here, so let him know if you need anything.”

“All right. Are you leaving right away?”

“Not right this minute, no.”

“Then will you take a break and join me for some tea?”

“If you insist,” Dida answered with a grin as he took the seat across from me.

Before I could even say a word, one of the servants who had been waiting in the room poured some tea for him. She was currently a maid in training, a student from the trade school we’d established for those who wished to study between the elementary school and academy for higher education. Currently, those who wished to enroll in the academy had to be studying a dedicated profession like medicine or education, or have aspirations to become a butler, maid, or bodyguard. My family had established the programs for the latter three with our own money.

The programs for butlers and maids had proven incredibly popular, with a high applicant-to-acceptance ratio. Apparently, one of the main attractions was that a student could learn formal etiquette through the program. The students worked in shifts at my estate to get real world experience, and at present, this particular girl was being trained by Tanya.

“Hm? Did Tanya brew this?”

“Yes, I’m surprised you knew.” I raised an eyebrow.

Dida let out a shy, sheepish chuckle. “Yeah, well. Anyway, why did you want me to stay, Princess?”

“Because I have a report for you—although, I suppose that makes it sound more formal than it actually is.” I finished my tea and set it back on the table. I returned my gaze to Dida, who had suddenly straightened in his chair. “Don’t worry, there’s no need to be tense.”

“Then don’t look so serious, Princess.”

“Oh!” I laughed, having not expected him to say that. I hadn’t even realized I was frowning. “I’m sorry. I’ll get right to the point. I heard that Dorssen has left the knighthood.”

I knew that Dida had spent time in Dorssen’s company several times when they were both training with my grandfather, and they had been held captive together during the Boltik episode. Given that connection, I wanted Dida to know before anyone else.

“Is that right?” Dida’s reaction was more matter-of-fact than I’d imagined, almost as if he’d been expecting this.

“You’re not as surprised as I thought you’d be. Don’t tell me you already knew?”

“No, I didn’t. But I had a feeling this would happen.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Because of something he said to me before. ‘What does being a knight mean, anyway?’ or something like that.”

“Wha—when did you see him?!”

“Before he left. I was keeping an eye on him.”

“I see. And since you’re not a knight, he asked you what you thought of them?”

“He said Lyle and I fit his mental image of a knight way more than he did. I didn’t understand what he was talking about, and I told him as much.”

“Oh, my.”

“Then he said, ‘I was too preoccupied with my status and grew arrogant. I strayed too far from the person I should have been.’”

“And then what did you say?”

“I asked him who he thought he should’ve been. Because no matter how hard you work, you’re always just gonna be yourself, you know? The real question you should ask is how to be the best version of yourself you can be. You know, how to go about it, how you wanna be. But it seems like he doesn’t have any idea what he wants to do, let alone what he wants to become. Probably that’s because this whole time, he’s just been chasing an ideal without really understanding himself. That’s why he got so preoccupied with his title of ‘knight’ and why he got so cocky about his social status as the son of a count. But in my opinion, most rich noble kids are like that.”

“That’s pretty harsh. Did you tell him all that?”

“Something close to it, anyway. Then he said coming to the duchy had made him think about a lot of things. That the crimes he’d committed were severe and that he knew he couldn’t change the past, so those crimes would stay with him forever, both as a person and as a knight. Said he had to atone for it too. Atone for it, then remember what he had yearned to be for so long, and then try to become that once again.”

“Not a bad plan, in my opinion.”

“You don’t seem too surprised by any of this either, Princess. It sounded like a pretty serious decision to me.”

“It’s not that I’m not surprised. It’s that I’m not interested.”

“That’s awfully cold.”

“I realize that. But that’s the only way I can describe it. I mean, what am I supposed to do after hearing his new manifesto? As long as he doesn’t ask anything of me or the duchy, anything that happens to him simply doesn’t concern me. At this point, I just don’t care about what happened in the past.”

“So you’ve forgiven him?”

“Nothing can change what happened between us. Enduring those experiences changed me as a person, both in good ways and in bad. But, as I said, it’s in the past. I have more important things to dwell on.”

This was true; I had been so busy lately that even when I thought about these things that had happened so long ago, I felt detached from them, almost as if those memories belonged to someone else. I had more important things to do than ruminate. However, those events were still engraved deeply into my heart. It was in that moment of betrayal that I had regained the memory of my past life and my two selves had combined, but other traumas from those months had left their scars on me as well.

“It doesn’t seem like he’s going to go out of his way to oppose you.”

“If he does, that’s for my subordinates to worry about it. But if he truly has made such a serious decision to better himself, then what he does going forward is crucial…for him. He’s already been asked what kind of person he wants to become, and he’s asked himself the same question. I went through the same thing.”

I was referring to when Dida had asked me if I was prepared for war. It had made me call into question the kind of person I wanted to become and what I wanted for Armelia.

Sometimes, even if we think things are going a certain way, we realize we’ve lost sight of our goals once someone else challenges us. This gives us a chance to refocus. When this happens, some people are weak and search out an easier path. I was no exception.

“So, can he pull through?” I asked. “Can he get back on his feet, having made a mistake, and continue on toward his goal? That’s both the most difficult and important thing, in my opinion.”

“It’s definitely difficult. Even I get indecisive and make mistakes every now and again,” Dida said with a hearty laugh.

“Mm-hmm. Well, anyway, thank you for telling me all this, Dida.”

“No need to thank me. I’d better get going now, though.”

“Of course. I’m sorry I kept you.”

“No worries. Excuse me, then.”

After Dida left, I was once again alone to enjoy a fresh cup of tea. Time passed rather quickly, and before I knew it, the sun was setting. Everything grew still and quiet. I couldn’t help but wonder how long it would last.

“I’ve returned, my lady.” Tanya appeared without so much as a sound.

“Welcome back, Tanya.”

“I did as you told me. Everything is arranged. I’ll let you know right away if there are any developments.”

“Thank you.”

 

***

 

“Our emergency preparations are coming along smoothly. I have my grandfather to thank for that.”

I read through the documents as I listened to the reports from the contractors in charge of construction. Armelia bordered the ocean, and several rivers flowed through the duchy, which made it imperative to take measures against potential flooding.

My grandfather had prepared against flooding on a smaller scale from very early on. Many governors could think up ways to improve their territory to make it richer and enable development, but it was a rare governor who could devise measures to mitigate risks that might happen decades or even centuries down the line. Where natural disasters were concerned, more people seemed to be of the mindset that there was simply nothing to be done to prevent them. They believed that humans were powerless against the strength of Mother Nature. Some even bet on the chance that nothing bad would happen, or simply refused to consider the possibility.

As such, the fact that my grandfather had put measures in place so long ago in hopes that they would someday prove useful just went to show how much he had cared for his citizens, and how much he had loved Armelia. After him, my father had taken control, and I after him.

“That’s all for my report, my lady,” the contractor said.

“I see. Thank you. Once I review everything and make my decision, I’ll deliver my instructions.”

“Lady Iris, may I ask you something?”

“Go ahead.”

“Please forgive my presumption, especially since I am the one you’ve tasked to do the job, but are these projects truly necessary?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, I’ve never heard of these two rivers flooding. Wouldn’t it be better to send monetary assistance to the north to aid with cultivating new land, or to fund an expansion of the ports? I feel like either would be much more beneficial to Armelia.”

There was a knock at the door just as he finished speaking, and Rehme entered. “Those rivers have flooded, actually,” she said. “One hundred fifty and one hundred years ago, respectively.”

The contractor looked surprised by both Rehme’s sudden appearance and her comments.

“Pardon me for interrupting, Lady Iris. But I’ve come to tell you that I’ve prepared the space for your meeting, as requested.”

“Oh? Thank you, Rehme.”

“Rehme, was it? Pardon me, but how do you know about these floods that you mentioned?”

“Journals from the governors and reports from that time. The reports were especially helpful, as they detailed the extent of the damages and what kind of relief was distributed.”

“You read reports and journals from one hundred fifty years ago? I can’t even imagine how long those reports are. That goes for the hundred-year-old one too…”

“Oh, but that’s not all!” Rehme enthused. “We have journals and documents dating all the way back to the first governor of Armelia!”

“Don’t tell me…”

I couldn’t blame the contractor for being surprised, not only that any documents had been preserved for over a century, but also that someone had taken the time to read them. Just imagining the sheer volume of reading made me lightheaded. Only someone like Rehme could take delight in making her way through the piles and piles of old papers.

“The older flood did the most damage; two villages were completely submerged by the floodwaters. Obviously, everything there was a total loss, so the capital and other territories sent aid to survivors. Thanks to their help, we narrowly avoided a famine.”

“It’s true that the financial investments you suggested would benefit Armelia,” I explained. “But there’s no guarantee that a natural disaster won’t strike sometime in the future.”

“Well…” The contractor seemed speechless.

“Perhaps nothing of the sort will happen in your lifetime. But what of your children’s, or your grandchildren’s? What if something happens, but we’ve taken no measures to mitigate the effects? I don’t intend to live with regrets of ‘I should have done this!’ or ‘I could’ve done this!’ If we act now, we protect your future family. Would you abandon that opportunity?”

“So the purpose of the construction projects is to lower the risk of serious damage in case of future disaster. I understand now. Please forgive my rudeness for speaking out of turn and interfering with your duties as the governor.”

“It’s no trouble at all. You’re perfectly correct to question me. I realize now that I neglected to adequately explain my reasoning for the projects. If you have any other questions in the future, please don’t hesitate to come to me.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“By the way…you’ve got a good head on your shoulders. So much so that I’d like to hire you—not as a contractor, to be clear. I’d love to have your perspective as an official for the duchy.”

“Actually, I’ve attended the academy at the suggestion of my father. It was the trade school, of course, but occasionally I sneaked into the classes for bureaucrats and listened in on them. I found myself quite interested.”

“Really! Ha ha. You’ve truly gotten good use out of the academy, then, haven’t you? Well, in that case…do you have a bit more time to spare? I’d love for you to stay on for the meeting.”

“A-are you sure, Lady Iris?” The contractor’s eyes sparkled, his expression eager.

“Yes, of course.”

The content of the day’s meeting was contained within the documents he was currently holding. There was nothing in there of a sensitive nature unsuitable for his eyes.

“Rehme. Prepare another seat at the table.”

“Yes, my lady.” Rehme left for a few minutes and then returned shortly to tell me everything was ready.

I urged the contractor to follow me. An entire wing of the mansion was dedicated to business for running the duchy. Many Armelian officials were there, briskly attending to their duties. The contractor looked around with interest as he walked behind me. Before long, we arrived at the meeting room, where five elderly men and two Armelian officials were waiting for us.

“Thank you so much for meeting with me here today, everyone. Without further ado, let’s get started. Go ahead and look over the documents in front of you. I’d love to hear your opinions.”

“Things seem to be going according to plan. I visited the site, and it looks just how you envisioned it.”

“Don’t you think our side of the levee should be finished faster? If things continue on like this, we’ll put too much of a burden on the other side.”

The five elderly men looked over the construction reports and exchanged opinions on them. There was just so much I didn’t know. It made me regret not spending more time in Japan cultivating more skills and knowledge. Then again, I had no time for regrets. I only had one pair of hands and eyes and only one brain. I couldn’t learn everything in the world myself. That was why I had decided to surround myself with people who could supplement the knowledge that I lacked.

Everyone has different interests. Everyone’s appetite for knowledge is stimulated by different things. Some people analyze and study practices in the past that have been generally neglected, such as flood prevention, and some dream of putting their skills to use by building aqueducts to bring water to crops. I had gathered all those people together to have discussions like this one.

These days, it was even easier to find those people hungry for knowledge, now that I had established the academy. I suspected this was also due to the request I had made to Headmaster Luka to make the academy library open to the public, to which he had agreed.

I’d had dozens of meetings like this so far, but at first, the attendees hadn’t been as open with their discourse as they were now. Once they realized that they could make their dreams a reality and see the fruits of their studies and plans, I saw the light catch in their eyes, and a new readiness to share their opinions bloomed forth. They began to exchange their opinions with each other, together generating even better ideas than they’d had to begin with. Since they were all so passionate about their interests, it was my job to manage the meetings and keep them all on task.

After we’d gone through basically everything, I called the meeting to a close. “I think it’s time to give out instructions. Luckily, we have someone from the contracting firm here, so I’ll check with him on this detail; how is the workforce replenishment coming?”

Even though I sprang the question on him without warning, the contractor readily answered without showing a hint of apprehension. “We’ve used several subsidies to hire day laborers. But we’re still scraping by at a bare minimum. If we need to get the job done faster, then we’ll need to hire more people.”

“Speaking on behalf of Borsa, it would be quite difficult to allocate any more of our budget toward this construction project.”

“I see. However, the problem here is that these workers aren’t accustomed to doing a job like this, so accidents have occurred more frequently, and quite a few people have been injured on the job. If these injuries continue, we’ll have a harder time retaining our workforce. Honestly, I’d like to be in a position where we can keep replenishing our people.”

“What’s happened to those who were injured?”

“They’re recovering at home or in the hospital.”

“And who’s paying for the cost of their treatments?”

“They’re covering the cost themselves, of course.” The contractor gave me a curious look, as if he wondered why I had asked such an obvious question.

“Hmm. Let me think about what we can do for that situation. But let’s adjourn this meeting for today. Thank you so much, everyone.”

After I called the meeting to a close, everyone reached for a drink. There had been much enthusiastic debating today, so everyone seemed to be parched. After everyone gulped down their drinks, they stood up and left.

“What did you think?” I asked the contractor who I’d brought with me.

He gave me an excited look. “I learned so much. Everyone’s enthusiasm lit a fire in my soul!”

“Really? I’m so pleased to hear that.” His eyes and voice were so earnest that they put a smile on my face.

“Thank you so much for allowing me to have such a wonderful experience.” With that, he excused himself.

Once he was gone, I looked down at the documents again. “Injured workers, hmm…”

“Is something the matter, Lady Iris?” Rehme asked from beside me.

“No, I was just thinking.”

“If there’s something on your mind, feel free to ask me any questions you might have. Speaking of catastrophes, though, I think it would be prudent to be wary of them this year.”

“Have you already seen some signs?”

“No, no, not at all. But it’s common in this kingdom to see several months of hot weather followed by long periods of heavy rain, especially in the western regions, maybe once every hundred years or so. It’s never affected Armelia, so it’s generally none of our concern, but I thought I ought to let you know.”

“Thanks. Could you write a more detailed report on that phenomenon and deliver it to me later?”

“Of course!”

“Wonderful. I have a feeling I’m going to be relying on you a lot from now on, Rehme.”

 

***

 

I reviewed all the fine details of the documents before me, filled them in, and signed.

“My lady, I have a letter for you.” I looked up as Tanya handed me the letter.

“Oh? I wonder who it’s from. Ah, my father. He’s included a letter from Lord Kataberia.”

Tanya visibly reacted to the mention of this name with a frown. Count Kataberia was Dorssen’s father, of course. It was clear that she was wondering about the contents of the letter. I smiled wryly at her reaction and read the letter from my father first.

“Father says, ‘Now we can reconcile.’ Hm? Reconcile what?” I took out the letter from Count Kataberia next. “Oh!” I let out a cry of surprise as I read it.

“What does it say, my lady?”

“Basically, I suppose you could say it’s a letter of apology. He didn’t sugarcoat it either; the sentences are all extremely frank and straightforward. Remember how Father sent a formal objection to Lord Kataberia when Dorssen came to Armelia? This is in response to that. It says the count has left the knighthood of his own accord, and that not only has he disinherited and disowned Dorssen, but he’s asking for our two families to bury the hatchet. I have to wonder what manner of objection Father sent to him…”

“Your father and mother were quite angry with Dorssen over his actions toward you when the prince broke your engagement.”

I was surprised to hear this news from Tanya. Quite some time had passed since then, so why was I finding this out just now? “Is that true?”

“Of course. You’re a lady, the daughter of a duke, and you were pinned down and injured. No matter what the second prince said, since at that time no official notice had yet been given, you were still in line to become a princess. A future member of the royal family.”

“True.”

But right after that, the royal palace had issued an official notice informing everyone that my engagement with the second prince was terminated. It was only a formality, of course, because I was almost certain that they had decided to break off the engagement the moment Yuri got Queen Ellia involved. Still, before that happened, and at the moment when Dorssen had me pinned down on the floor, I had indeed still been a future member of the royal family—and I had been and remained the daughter of the duke who was the prime minister.

“So in that regard, Dorssen committed a serious faux pas. I suppose you could call Lord Kataberia’s quickness to say he would immediately correct his son’s behavior an act of kindness on his part, but I’m sure it was also a way to protect himself. But Elulu told me that the duke, and especially your mother, were incredibly angry about it.”

“My…”

“When your mother lived at her family’s house, she had many interactions with the knights who admire Master Gazell. That’s why she was so much angrier than she might otherwise have been when Dorssen misused his status as a knight. Supposedly, she said, ‘It’s a disgrace to the knightly code of honor. Would a knight use force against a feeble woman? I have to question the judgment of a knight commander who would welcome someone like that into the ranks of his knights to begin with. It’s forgivable because you’re going to correct him, you say? His particular behavior is the outcome of your two decades of raising him, so what in the world are you talking about? Forgiving him is the same as doing nothing at all. In the end, he gets to keep the job and live the life he wanted all along. So he suffers absolutely no consequences. When did our family become so scorned?’ After that, she declared that she would no longer attend any party hosted or attended by the Kataberias.”

“Mother…” Hearing my mother’s words relayed by Tanya made the depth of her anger sink in.

“So the count has left the knighthood… In that case, does the vice-commander take over?”

“I believe so, but could you check and make sure? Oh, and take these documents with you.”

“Yes, my lady.”

I let out a deep sigh after Tanya left the room. I was still in a state of shock at these new revelations. But more than that, I felt happy. Despite my best attempts to suppress it, a smile crept up on my face.

My father had been angry on my behalf. At the time, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had abandoned me after all I had done to sully the family name. One of the foremost reasons I’d worked so hard after he appointed me acting governor was so that I wouldn’t disappoint him any further.

Now, of course, a different motivation drove me.

I was twisted. Someone else had suffered defeat, and here I was, happy at the reason for their suffering. But it was times like this that made me love my family so much, and that made me feel loved in return.

Just then, I heard a clink from the pocket watch that hung around my neck, almost as if to chide me for the silly grin on my face. At the same time, my morbid happiness and excitement at the situation waned. I decided that I should try to stop thinking about the matter. I didn’t pity the Kataberias, nor did I feel sorry for them, but to feel joy and excitement at their misfortune was another matter entirely.

I fingered the watch, the warm feeling inside me now coming from a different source. I wondered what he was doing. I hadn’t thanked him enough. All he ever did was save me. He helped me with my work, he gave me emotional support. I relied on him so much.

The burden of responsibility on my shoulders wasn’t so bad because it was tied to a bright future for our citizens, but sometimes, when I felt that burden was too heavy, he was always the one who helped me to my feet. That’s why I wanted to be the best person I could be, unashamed—for him. Even though, and perhaps especially because, we could never be a couple.

I took out the documents detailing the plans we’d been writing. Just then, there was a knock at the door, and Dean entered.

“It’s nice to see you again, my lady.”

“D-D-Dean!”

“Yes, that’s my name. What’s the matter? You look shocked to see me. Have I come at a bad time?” His face darkened.

“No, not at all. A-anyway, go ahead and have a seat. There’s something I need to ask you. Ah, tea…!” I certainly couldn’t say that I’d just been thinking about him, so I hastily urged him to sit down. Unfortunately, I was so nervous, I could barely speak. So many things had been going on when I realized my feelings for him; I’d never really had a chance to sit with them since.

“Don’t worry about that. I ran into Tanya on the way here, and she said she’d bring us some tea. Are you certain nothing’s happened, my lady?”

“Yes, it’s fine… I was just thinking, that’s all…” I answered vaguely, unsure of how to respond.

The air was so awkward that I hoped Tanya would come back soon. Thankfully, she entered the room a few moments later. I began feeling calmer after sipping some of her herbal tea.

“Thank you so much for coming,” I said at last. “As I said, I was thinking. I was surprised because you showed up the moment I thought that I needed to ask your advice about something. Forgive me for being so flustered. Also, I feel like I didn’t thank you adequately enough before.” I tried to speak calmly, pushing my feelings for Dean deep down inside. If I closed off my heart, surely I would be able to converse with him like I had before. I had to. Because if anyone picked up on my feelings for him, I wouldn’t be able to share these moments with him any longer. Thus, because I loved him, I chose to close my heart.

“There’s no need to thank me,” he said. “I did it because I wished to. In any case, I’m sorry for showing up unannounced. I was nearby for an unrelated matter and wanted to know how things were going, especially with regard to tying up the loose ends from the incident before. I should have sent word that I was coming.”

“Not at all. I’m incredibly glad you came, so don’t worry about it. At any rate, here’s the thing I wanted to run by you.”

I started telling him about my idea. It was a system of medical insurance. I’d spoken with him about this before and jotted down my ideas, gradually filling in more details. That was the content of the documents I held at that moment.

Some historians posit that the first insurance system originated as a traditional mutual aid enterprise in a European guild during the Middle Ages. If an individual was injured and couldn’t work, their income would dry up and thereby deal a blow to their family budget. That obviously put a lot of pressure on workers. The best course of action was to try to prevent accidents from occurring as much as possible, but if support systems were put in place in case of unfortunate events, workers would be able to perform their jobs with more confidence.

Hopefully, that would also encourage a sense of loyalty and belonging in Armelia’s people. I was hoping that we could implement such an insurance system not only for construction workers but for all Armelian citizens.

“Ah, the idea you mentioned before. It’s important that you start it now?”

“Yes. When I told you about it before, it was something I was hoping to implement sometime in the future, and I put it on the back burner. But all the other reforms we’ve undertaken have been making great progress. Additionally, a situation has arisen that makes the insurance system necessary. Of course, the duchy will supply subsidies. Recently, thanks to someone cutting the fat out of our budget, we should have plenty of money to allocate toward this cause. But it will be funded mostly by mutual aid from the citizens, in the spirit of helping their fellows.”

“Interesting,” Dean said with a sparkle in his eye and a grin on his face. He looked triumphant, like he’d just won a debate. “But at the same time, it’ll be difficult. If we collect money from the citizens, we have to make sure we do so fairly. Let’s gather more details before we bring it to the officials. First, we should decide how much to collect from individual payees.”

“We discussed that a little before too. I still think the insurance fees that each citizen pays should be income-based.”

“I don’t disagree. Now that we’ve finished straightening out the family registers, we aren’t collecting poll taxes anymore. Since we can determine any given individual’s income, we can use that information to set insurance fees,” Dean said.

“We just need to figure out how much of the medical treatment and medicine we can cover…”

“Perhaps we can gather those with knowledge on the subject to discuss it together? Luckily, Armelia has no shortage of such people.”

“That’s a good idea!” I nodded. “I’ll ask Headmaster Luka for some candidates. Moreover, medical treatments and medicines are advancing day by day, so it would be a good idea to touch base with him regularly anyway.”

“Indeed. It might be a good idea to cover basic medical treatments with insurance and to have more expensive treatments or check-ups paid out of pocket. If we pay for everything, the reserves won’t last very long.”

“Right. Up until now, each hospital has set their own price for each treatment, but we’ll need to adopt a universal pricing system for insurance purposes.”

“We should talk to Headmaster Luka about that too,” Dean agreed.

I was starting to get more excited as our discussion continued. “We need to clarify the means of payment to doctors as well. We should feel out trying to start a guild, like we discussed before.”

Suddenly, Tanya’s calm voice interrupted our enthusiastic conversation. “My lady, it’s almost time for your meeting.”

“Oh, you’re right…” I’d been so absorbed in chatting with Dean that I’d lost track of time.

“In that case, I’ll check up on the progress resolving the matters on my own. I’ll pop in to Borsa and see how much of the budget that we shaved away last time can be spared for the insurance, then go to Agio and check on the progress with the family registers,” Dean offered.

“That will help so much. I’ll check in with Headmaster Luka. I know we’re not ready to go full steam ahead yet, but we can at least get the ball rolling.”

After that, I switched mental gears and walked with Tanya to my next meeting.

“You looked happy, my lady,” she commented, catching me off guard.

“H-huh? I’m not sure what you mean, Tanya. I-I…” I’d finally regained my composure, and now I was all flustered again.

“I simply meant that you looked happy coming up with ways to improve conditions for the citizens and the government, my lady.”

O-oh, that. I let out an inward sigh of relief. “Yes, well… I love Armelia.”

So much had happened, but every time I overcame obstacles, I felt proud of the blood that ran through my veins, and I thought about how much I loved my homeland. That was why I was so happy, even if I had to suppress my feelings. In the end, I loved this place and its citizens, who had accepted me after I lost everything.

 

***

 

“We were able to make so much progress today,” I murmured as I looked down at the documents in my hand.

After finishing my meeting and my daily duties, Dean and I had been working on the insurance policy plans. It was the middle of the night. I looked out the window, thinking that we were in all likelihood the only house in the duchy with its lights still on.

“We did. Now we just need to get it approved by the officials and the merchant guild and lay the groundwork with the various businesses and doctors.”

“Oh, about that, Dean, it occurred to me that we need to lay the groundwork with the citizens as well.”

“The citizens?”

“Yes. We haven’t sufficiently explained to them why the flood mitigation construction projects are necessary. I thought perhaps that this would be a good opportunity to do so, but I think it’s a better idea to explain not only why we need it but specifics about just how the mitigation practices work. I’m sure there will be some skeptics, but it’ll be better to offer the explanations than to not explain it at all.”

“I see. That sounds just like you, my lady,” Dean said with a smile on his face.

For a split second, my heart surged. How had I ever maintained my composure in front of him before?

“Does it?” I pushed those feelings aside and focused on our conversation.

“I realize you’re technically the acting governor, but you are truly a governor. You can do anything you want as long as you issue an order, but you truly love Armelia and its people.” Briefly, I thought I saw his expression darken. “Pardon me. At any rate, we should let everyone know. I think it would be best to put out something in writing rather than to express it verbally; it isn’t realistically feasible to gather everyone who needs to know and tell them in person. Furthermore, if we send verbal messages, it’s easy for the information to get misinterpreted or twisted along the way. Luckily, since we have the academy, literacy rates in the duchy are high. As long as a household includes a school-aged child, they’ll be able to read the announcement.”

“Good point. Let’s distribute literature regarding the policy to all households throughout the domain. Perhaps in magazine form?”

“Excellent idea. In the capital, the upper class reads magazines for pleasure, but it might be possible to establish one in Armelia as a means to distribute information to the citizens. Actually, I’m sure it’ll be possible at some point, given how swiftly education is progressing here.”

“Indeed. How wonderful that will be when we do it!”

“The reason it’s so wonderful is because of your wonderful relationship with the citizens. The vast majority of nobles fear empowering the common person.” Dean’s voice became so serious that it frightened me, a sharp contrast to my excitement.

“Oh? Why is that?”

“Remember what you said before? Knowledge is power. That’s precisely correct. In this kingdom, knowledge grants a certain set of special rights and privileges. People who possess knowledge can suppress and control the citizens. In other words, you’re on your way to dismantling a cornerstone of the kingdom’s class system.”

“Goodness! Ha ha ha.”

I laughed, but Dean gave me a questioning look, as if trying to ascertain the meaning of my mirth. I didn’t respond right away. Instead, I went out onto the open balcony. It was pitch-black, and I couldn’t see a thing. But if I closed my eyes, I could picture the town perfectly.

“It’s true that it may be easier to suppress the uneducated,” I acknowledge. “I could technically do anything I wanted, and they wouldn’t understand. But that’s what I would have to do to suppress them, so I don’t mind getting rid of a burdensome system like that. If I make a grave mistake, then Berne will succeed me. And if Berne’s children or grandchildren make a grave mistake, then I want the citizens to be able to choose how to move forward. They have a right to do that, as citizens of Armelia.” I wondered if I thought this because of my past life. Either way, I took that knowledge, and Dean’s advice, and kept charging ahead. Although I’m sure some people in this world viewed my position as heresy.

“The future that frightens me most is one where the citizens move against me because they don’t understand something, because they assume I’ve done the wrong thing,” I said. “Lack of comprehension leads to anxiety, which in turn leads to dissatisfaction. With no outlet for those feelings, they can easily lead to violence. But if the people have the knowledge to make their own judgments, then making decisions reflecting those opinions leads to a well-ordered government. That’s the ideal situation.”

I turned toward Dean and saw that his eyes were wide with surprise. “Moreover, it’s impossible to fully suppress inquisitive minds,” I said firmly. “That’s what I think, anyway. Knowledge is power? No, because people are creatures who think, everyone has power. That’s why, eventually, the power will pass to the citizenry, regardless of anything I did or didn’t do.”

Dean laughed, the sound of it reverberating in the darkness. Now it was my turn to be surprised; it was so rare to hear him laugh out loud like that. “I suppose you’re right. The power will eventually pass to the citizens, you say?”

“I’m only speculating.”

“No, I have a feeling that you’re right. So if you think about it, that makes the battle for succession in the royal family seem even more absurd than it already does. It will be up to the future king whether the citizens, armed with their new power, despise the royal family and abolish it, or if they will remain admired and respected by the people. That’s not a matter of who becomes king, but more so what that king does. The people will decide whether his actions are just or unjust. I’ve never even thought about it before. How very narrow-minded of me.”

“Dean…you’re being too hard on yourself,” I said.

But for some reason, he looked happy—no, perhaps freed was the right way to describe it. “Forgive me, my lady, but can we keep what I said between just the two of us?”

“Ha ha ha. As long as you keep my words a secret as well. We’ll be equally guilty, then.”

He looked so very amused that I couldn’t help but join in and smile too.

“Yes, of course,” he said.

“Ha ha ha. Well, then. As my accomplice, would you like to join me for a drink? Think of it as your reward for keeping mum.”

“I feel like I should be the one rewarding you, but I’d love to.”

I went back inside and pulled a bottle of wine from the shelf. It was one my grandfather had given me. He liked to send me wine every now and then, along with the instructions to relax with a drink, but since I never really drank that much, the bottles just kept piling up.

Tanya always demurred, and even though Dida enthusiastically offered to drink them, Lyle and Tanya had banded together to stop him. The only ones who would join me for a drink were Merida and Moneda.

We took a seat on the balcony and poured a glass for one another.

“Going back to our conversation…” It sounded like Dean was choosing his words carefully. “What do you think about the notion of ‘ignorance is bliss’?”

“Are you asking because of a personal experience?”

“I’m not sure. But people aren’t strong enough to accept every bit of information they receive. Let’s take the flood mitigation, for example. Suppose we go to the people who live in those areas and we say, ‘Your land flooded one hundred fifty and one hundred years ago!’ and they become anxious and fall into a panic?”

“That is a concern.” I smiled wryly at this example. This result certainly wasn’t out of the question. “Ignorance is bliss, hm? I feel like only those who aren’t ignorant can say that. I could manipulate the information in my favor, but if I did that, then it might cause doubts in the future, which would be completely counterintuitive. I’m not saying I always have to act with complete transparency in every situation, but I want to be as honest with my people as possible.”

“I see…”

“So really, only the people in the know can look at others and say, ‘Ignorance is bliss.’”

No one can ever completely understand what someone else is feeling. And you can’t ever predict how someone will take information, or what they’ll think about it either. And so…no one can quite be sure that ignorance is bliss. After all, sometimes information you’re not privy to can bear fruit in unpredictable ways.

“I’m not sure what you’re hiding,” I went on, “but if you’re doing it to protect others, then that’s based on your speculation about how they’ll react to the truth. They could hold a grudge once they find out. They might even hold a grudge now, because they’re aware they don’t know the truth. It all depends on what it is. It also depends on how close of a relationship you have with those you’re concealing the truth from.”

“Why do you think I’m hiding something?”

“Aren’t you? I feel like you’re not talking about this in regard to me and the Armelian citizens. Although, I have no idea what you’re hiding or who you’re hiding it from.”

“I’m hiding something from many people. Including you.”

“Goodness. What is it?”

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a secret anymore.”

I laughed. “That’s true. And what does it say about me, who continues to employ you despite this secretive behavior? Ah, we’ve had this discussion before, haven’t we?”

The wine was delicious, which wasn’t a surprise, since my grandfather had such wonderful taste in alcohol, being the heavy drinker he was. That thought reminded me of my previous life and how I had been in the habit of sitting at home after a hard day’s work and drinking by myself.

“I have one or two secrets of my own,” I said. “Everyone does. As long as it’s not something that could harm the people of Armelia, I won’t fault you for it.”

“My lady, you…” Dean’s tone was exasperated, but the smile on his face was incredibly tender.

To be honest, I was dying to know what he was hiding. But at the same time, I was frightened. I had plenty of grounds to be suspicious, especially considering the current state of affairs. But I’d spent so much time with him that I was naturally given to believe I could trust him. So it didn’t matter whether I was better off not knowing or if I’d regret the truth. Not as long as he had been honest with me about the path we’d taken together and that we were headed in the same direction.

A gust of wind blew past, carrying flower petals with it. A beautiful sight, befitting this duchy where spring eternally lingered. The flowers were a beautiful pale pink that reminded me of cherry blossoms. They filled my vision, almost like a veil of mist had fallen over my eyes. Even though Dean was right in front of me, I couldn’t make out his face. I wondered what expression he had on right now. The flowers obscured everything.

Suddenly, he reached a hand toward me. I silently stared at it. His hand stopped for a split second, so close to my cheek that if I moved ever so slightly, he might have brushed his fingertips against it. My heart swelled at that faint warmth. I caught a glimpse of his eyes between the pink petals, beautiful and serious.

Is it strange to describe a man as beautiful? I thought to myself sardonically. But that’s truly what I thought of him.

Then I thought: I love him. I meant it so earnestly, it was frightening.

“I just wish…” Dean whispered. But he didn’t continue. Maybe he hadn’t meant to say it out loud to begin with.

The wind stopped. His hand followed the curve of my cheek to the back of my head. “That was quite a gale, wasn’t it? You have petals in your hair.” The serious tone in his voice had vanished, just like the wind. When he removed his hand from my hair, he was indeed holding several flower petals.

“You’re right. But…they were so beautiful,” I said, and I smiled—swallowing the rest of my words as the expression spread across my face. He smiled too, but it almost seemed self-deprecating.

That night, I had a dream. It was one I’d had many times before. In the dream, I had survived the accident in my old world and made a full recovery, upon which I returned to my normal, everyday life.

Every time I had that dream, I grew anxious and frightened, since those memories of my past life were so freshly recovered. It made me wonder if this life I was living now was reality or just a dream. I had memories of my life in this world as Iris. But ever since I was a little girl, sometimes I would be overcome by a panicked feeling that I had forgotten something, and an incredible desire to go somewhere other than where I presently was.

Honestly, I’d been relieved when I finally remembered my past life. It felt like I had at last regained something inside of me that had been missing. At the same time, when I remembered that life, the lines between reality and dreams blurred, and I became like a lost little girl who had found herself in a world far, far away, who didn’t know where she belonged.

That fear tormented me at the most unexpected times. Was the life that I was living right now actually reality? Or was I still back in Japan, exhausted from work and dreaming this all up after falling into a deep sleep? The mind is a most unpredictable thing.

My family was the main reason I’d thrown myself into my work, but I had also done so because I wanted to do something meaningful, to feel like all of this was real. If I immersed myself in work, I could forget those worries. It made this unpredictable situation feel more tangible.

But there was more to it now. When I told myself that, the image of the woman wearing a business suit working in a busy office vanished. In its place appeared all the many people I’d met as Iris. The ones I’d grown up with or met at school, and the people I’d met through working as the governor of Armelia. And, of course, Dean.

My relationships, memories, and feelings for all those people tied me to this world. That was why I was able to believe that I was really here. It was why I was able to tell the “me” in my dreams that everything was all right. At last, she smiled.

 

***

 

Two days later, Dean left in a rush in the morning. At the time, I was meeting with representatives from the merchant guild. I would’ve felt more confident had Dean come with me, but he’d said he was busy, so I couldn’t possibly have asked him to accompany me.

“We can’t ever let our guard down in a meeting with you,” one of the leaders of the guild said with a sigh.

“Unlike last time, this isn’t a request. It’s already been decided.” I said this with a smile on my face, but for some reason everyone in the room looked very tense.

“Occupational accident insurance, eh? So we pay an insurance fee, and then if something bad happens, we get a payout. And each occupation has a different fee to pay depending on corresponding risk. Honestly, where do you come up with these things?”

“This practice will be mandatory for as long as an individual works. There are advantages, of course. The insurance payout will be sufficient to cover total financial loss and necessary living expenses.”

At present, if a worker suffered an injury on the job, they had to hope that their employer would compensate them. Most of the time, they received an advance on their pay and a lump sum on top of that. I had checked multiple sources regarding the lump sum, and it seemed like it was in truth a terribly small amount, barely enough to cover a one-time medical treatment. “Lump” sum didn’t even seem like the best way to describe it—it was maybe little more than a pimple.

“This insurance will lower the risk of skilled workers leaving, and it will certainly boost morale. Your workers feel like they’re being advocated for.”

I noticed several people reacting to my last sentence.

“It sounds like you have eyes and ears everywhere.”

“Oh? It isn’t like I’ve been watching you or anything. I just hear things here and there in town.”

Truthfully, it was a total coincidence that I’d found out that workers wanted more compensation when they were injured at work. It wasn’t that I was watching the merchant guild’s actions particularly closely. Tanya had discovered this information while conducting a different survey in town. She really had a knack for gathering essential information.

“Well, if it’s mandatory, then I suppose we have no choice. Although, you have prepared quite the substantial reward for us…”

“Indeed I have. Just think of these lump sums as an investment.”

“We hope to continue cultivating a long and wonderful relationship with you, Lady Iris.”

I let out an inward sigh of relief once the leaders of the guild gave their approval. Even though they said they couldn’t let down their guard with me, I actually felt the same way. I was always anxious about what they might say to me. “I’m honored to hear that.”

I exchanged firm handshakes with each of them, calling an end to the meeting.

Afterward, I headed to the academy so I could speak with Headmaster Luka.

“Are you here about that insurance system I’ve heard about?” he asked in lieu of a greeting, getting straight to the point.

“Yes. We’re introducing insurance for occupational hazards as well as medical misfortune. I’ve already met with the leaders of the merchant guild and secured their approval. This system will pay for damages incurred after an accident on the job. I’ll be discussing the particulars with them later.”

“The leaders of the merchant guild are a stingy bunch, but if you’ve already acquired their approval, then I’m sure everything will go smoothly from here on out.”

“I hope so. Anyway, I was hoping to discuss the medical insurance system with you, Headmaster.”

“Ah, yes. And what do you want this senile old fellow to do for you?”

“I’d like you to gather together some experts on the subject to determine which treatments and medications we can cover. If we cover every single expensive medical treatment, it won’t take long for the system to break down—the funds will simply dry up. That’s why I’d like to talk to you and other knowledgeable people.”

“I see…”

“Also, now that we’re introducing these systems, I’d like to establish a medical guild. We can determine which percentage of treatments will be a patient’s responsibility to cover, and insurance will pay for the rest. Doctors will send reports to the guild regarding the medical treatments each patient received, and the guild can cover any losses.”

In Japan, the insurance companies used a points system. After an examination and a diagnosis, each medical treatment was given a number of points, along with the medicine and medical supplies needed.

I’d also already discussed the medical guild with the other Armelian officials.

“From now on, we’ll charge a flat fee for run-of-the-mill medical treatments. That’s what I want to discuss with the experts.”

If we left it to the free market to determine, prices for medical treatment would skyrocket, because medicine was advancing by the day in Armelia. If things continued that way, the insurance system would quickly collapse. That’s why I needed to figure out where to draw the line across the board. I fully intended to ensure that the services that wealthy people desired—as well as expensive medical treatments—were paid for out of pocket. The insurance system itself would be administered by public management.

Individuals of all ages were covered by insurance. However, funds would be collected from all citizens except for children and the elderly through a flat tax and insurance fees. The payments would be doled out by public management. Anything public management couldn’t cover would likely eventually lead to a private insurance system. That had led me to another idea.

Since I was establishing an insurance system, I thought I could have Abitante and Borsa cooperate to draw up the insurance policies. But if I was going to centralize it under public management, then I could use the documents relating to the census that was currently in progress.

Basically, the point would be to ensure that people of Armelia felt they were accorded a special privilege for their citizenry. Those from other domains would still have to pay for everything out of pocket.

“General medical treatments, hm? That will be difficult to determine. Every doctor charges a different price for their services.”

“Yes, and the more reputable the doctor, the higher the price.”

“So going by what you’ve said, we’ll want to establish fixed prices for medical examinations. Insurance will pay a portion of that depending on the diagnosis, and the patient will pay out of pocket for anything insurance doesn’t cover.”

I jotted down what Headmaster Luka said.

“Different doctors will also prescribe different treatments depending on their diagnoses,” he went on. “Furthermore, any given treatment may rely on different medicines, from which a patient may choose. Therefore, the physicians will need to be made aware of which medicines are covered by insurance. They should be able to explain this to the patient and leave it to them to decide whether to use medicines covered by insurance or to pay for those that aren’t. The medical guild also ought to sponsor several classes a year to educate the physicians on this process, along with lectures detailing all the medicines covered under the insurance plans.”

“I see.”

“Regarding the medical guild, you should also employ physicians there to ensure the process goes more smoothly and so they can conduct audits of the process.”

I stared at Headmaster Luka. I’d been so preoccupied with concentrating on what he was saying that I only now realized that he was talking like he was already completely on board with the idea.

He noticed the surprised look in my eyes, and he gave me a wry grin. “Things are never boring with you around, that’s for certain. I’m no spring chicken, but for this project, you have my utmost devotion.”

The conversation had gone much smoother than I’d anticipated, much to my relief. He agreed to gather some authorities on the subject, whom I would be able to meet with at a later date.

With that taken care of, I returned to the mansion and got back to work. I didn’t have much choice, since I was actively making more work for myself. The government officials of Armelia were also bearing the brunt of the increased workload. Those working at Abitante and Borsa were especially busy, although the latter seemed to have a gleam in their eye because of it. Or perhaps “gleam” is too soft a word to describe the look they had. Glint was more like it. Honestly, it was a bit frightening.

I went to take a peek after adding more documents to their pile, and they were grinning like fools while working at breakneck speed, with some shouting “This is nothing!” Of course, I simply pretended like I never saw a thing and quietly took my leave. The officials at Borsa really were workaholics in the best sense of the word. After I shared that opinion with Tanya, she immediately replied, “You’re just like them, my lady.”

“Excuse me.” I heard a knock at the door and Sebastian entered. “May I have a moment, my lady?”

“What is it, Sebastian?”

“You’ve received a pile of invitations, my lady.”

“Ah, now that you mention it, it’s almost time for the social season, isn’t it? I can’t believe it’s already that time of year…” It had completely slipped my mind. I had been so absorbed in my work that I completely forgot about being social at all. That was quite unheard of for the daughter of a noble. “Social…yes, social.”

“Is something the matter?”

“I just can’t believe people want to throw a party in times like these.”

The king was ill and the fight between the first and second prince’s factions was worsening. Wouldn’t it be a better idea to quietly withdraw to one’s domain and hole up there for a while? I’m not saying it’s bad to want to have it both ways, but still…

“It’s quite the opposite, my lady,” Sebastian grinned, and it was quite an intimidating expression. “It’s precisely because of times like these that the families want to gather together—to gauge the situation.”

“Can’t Mother just make the rounds to the important households?”

“Surely you jest, my lady. You’ve officially made your debut into high society; if you don’t attend now, not only will you damage your own reputation, but the good name of House Armelia as well. Moreover, it’s for your benefit to go, since things have been so fishy in the capital of late. It will help keep you on top of things, the better to ensure you don’t find yourself trapped later.”

“I understand. I had to give it a good try, anyway.” I knew the importance of keeping up appearances. Mother always called high society a battlefield—it was a place where nobles both sounded each other out and kept each other in check. As the ruler of my domain, it was necessary for me to both keep myself apprised of other families’ actions and demonstrate Armelia’s power to them.

But I will admit to wondering if maybe, just maybe there might be a way around actually attending.

“At any rate, I’ve cleared your schedule for the day after tomorrow. You have an appointment with Madam Crejours to take your measurements and design your dress.”

“Oh, that’s right. I used to go to the madam’s place so often. I’ve heard rumors that she’s quite busy lately, though.”

Quite some time had passed since we discovered silk, but we were finally working on selling it. The country of origin had concealed the methods of silk production, but I knew the raw materials they used due to my past life. I had taken an interest in stories and anecdotes regarding the Silk Road in a history class I took.

You never know what might come in handy in the future.

After a lot of trial and error, we had established a means of production. We’d secured a limited number of resources and tried to place restrictions on exporting silkworms, but fortunately, from the standpoint of a country who didn’t know what silk was made from, the worms were nothing but bugs. Therefore, it had been easy to buy the silkworms from a separate country and begin to breed them. Now that we had a fair amount, we had been able to start the silk production. However, we didn’t yet have sufficient raw materials to begin full-scale production, so we were only selling silk garments at our flagship store in Armelia.

The madam also had a supply of silk, and once word got around that she was able to make her customers a dress on the cutting edge of the latest fashion, she’d been swamped with work.

“She’s busy because of all the ideas and fabrics you keep bringing her for your new dresses. She says she wants to prioritize your needs first, especially as she’s been having trouble coming up with new ideas lately.”

“O-oh.”

As promised, Madam Crejours arrived two days later to take my measurements. I wasn’t well versed in clothing and accessories, so after I’d placed a few orders for myself, Tanya stepped in and adamantly declared that I must have the very finest of clothes, at which point she descended into an enthusiastic discussion with the madam.

They discussed colors, patterns of embroidery, embellishments, and so on. I did love fancy things, but after they spent more than half a day discussing every possible detail of the dresses with no end in sight, all I could do was stare blankly at them. At that point, I didn’t even care what I ended up with.

The madam came off as a wonderfully businesslike and refined woman, but once she got to talking about clothes, her entire demeanor changed. Her enthusiasm was further stoked by Tanya, so it was even more overwhelming than usual.

Since production took a while, I was a bit worried that the dress wouldn’t be ready in time, but the madam said she would put her entire staff on the project to ensure that it would be. I was sure Sebastian had arranged for everything to go off without a hitch.

I was used to my shoulders being stiff from sitting at my desk and working for so long, but now they ached for a different reason. Nevertheless, I headed back to work.

 

***

 

“That’s all the news I have for you today. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Armelia’s economy is thriving,” Moneda said, in high spirits. He gave me regular reports on the economic situation of the bank in the duchy’s capital as well as its branches in other cities. We also discussed future plans. He was right; things were going swimmingly for Armelia’s economy.

The flood mitigation project was proceeding smoothly, as were other infrastructure improvements. At the same time, Armelia’s population was ever-increasing, resulting in a brisk trade with other kingdoms. Now that both domestic and foreign demand had grown, our employment numbers were very favorable, which had led us to a bullish market.

“Yes, that’s true. But Moneda, there’s something that’s been on my mind.”

“What’s that, my lady?”

“The cost of living in the capital is skyrocketing. Especially the price of food.”

“Oh, you’ve heard about that?”

“I make it my business to know all the details about the situation in the capital, no matter how small,” I said. “As of right now, it hasn’t affected Armelia, but what are your thoughts on the matter?”

Moneda nodded. “Well, I was also concerned, so I looked into the matter. But I haven’t heard of any regions suffering from poor harvests, nor have I found any evidence of companies buying up and hoarding goods. The situation is truly baffling.”

“I had a feeling. Even Tanya said it would take her a while to look into it.”

“I was merely using my past experiences to my advantage. Although I quit the merchant guild, I still check in with them—and companies in other kingdoms as well—because I still have quite a bit of influence in that arena.”

“I see. So there’s a shortage of goods despite no word of bad harvests. And it was gradual, so the citizens haven’t grown restless.”

“It’s possible that the regions producing food are holding on to product instead of releasing it. Or the palace might be placing a levy on the goods. But that’s about all I can think of.”

“Or Tweil is involved.”

“Pardon?”

I’d spoken so quietly, he hadn’t heard what I said. “Nothing. We have plenty of supplies stockpiled in reserve, correct?”

“Yes, we bought up goods to stockpile then when other domains were raising tariffs on Armelia.”

“Right…”

I couldn’t help but feel that we were playing right into the enemy’s hands. It was entirely possible that I was just being paranoid. At any rate, it was fortuitous indeed that we had plenty of goods at hand.

“It’s hard for me to believe that farms are withholding their goods. Keep an eye on what’s going on in those various cities of yours, Moneda.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“By the way, I’ve noticed that promissory notes and checks are being much more widely used. I’m sure it’s because the banks have been encouraging their usage. Thank you for that, Moneda.”

“I’m honored to hear that. It’s all due to your support, my lady. The special ink we received has provided the bank with the means to produce them at no cost to us. It’s therefore allowed us to build up our own supply.”

The Azuta Corporation’s research and development department had given the bank our recipe for our special ink. I couldn’t remember what they had been trying to make at the time, but the ink they developed changed color when you shined a light on it.

Recently, we’d invested in a great number of inventors and researchers, leading to a landslide of new products and technology. The researchers’ opinion by and large was that most of their innovations would be used as nothing more than toys if sold to the general public, and since they felt like that would be a waste of their efforts, I had decided to buy them up for Armelia. In this case, I had given the ink to the bank, which they were using to make checks and promissory notes that were difficult to forge. It was employed for other anti-counterfeit purposes too.

“There’s no other use for it, so this just happened to be the right product for the right place.”

“That reminds me, I brought you the thing we discussed before.”

“I was wondering why you brought up the ink all of a sudden. I haven’t even approved this one, correct? Let me see it.” I took the object from him and looked at it. “It’s very well constructed. Knowing you, you’re probably also using this to combat counterfeiting, aren’t you?”

“These documents will answer your questions.”

“Goodness, you certainly are prepared,” I said with a laugh.

“If you intend to attack the enemy’s castle, the first step is to fill in the moat. We can get this up and running at any time.”

“I see. You were a merchant, after all, so I shouldn’t be surprised. Let me think about it for a bit more.”

Just then, Sebastian entered the room. “M-my lady…” He looked unusually flustered, making my stomach tie itself in knots.

“What is it, Sebastian?”

“An emissary has arrived from Acacia, a neighboring kingdom. Apparently, the first prince has ordered them to observe the goings-on in Armelia.”

“What did you say?” For a moment, I felt just as flustered as Sebastian looked. Moneda’s eyes also widened with surprise.

It made more of an impact than I’d expected. The kingdom of Acacia lay across the sea from Armelia, and because of that location, it had treated Armelia like the gateway to Tasmeria for many generations through its diplomacy. Not only did they speak a different language, but their culture was vastly different from ours. Every few years, Acacia sent an envoy to the palace to pay their respects, but that was to the royal family. It was absolutely unheard of for another kingdom to single out a certain domain for their visit.

Was it because our trade had been so brisk lately?

“W-well, I’ll meet with the envoy. Moneda, would you mind…”

He bowed his head and excused himself before I could even finish my sentence.

“Will you see the prince?”

“I can’t. It would leave a terrible impression if I were to depart from protocol and bypass Tasmeria’s royal family to meet with him myself. I’ve already put Armelia in an awkward position, even within the kingdom. Worst-case scenario, I wouldn’t be surprised if people think we’re trying to break away and become independent.”

“So…you wish to decline?”

“I think that’s for the best. It’s better to cause as little offense as possible. At the very least, I’d prefer if they visited the palace and then stopped by here…”

“That’s true…” Sebastian was looking awfully pale. I couldn’t blame him; I was sure I looked no different.

“Sebastian. Have you informed my father?”

“I’ve already sent our fastest horse.”

“Of course you did. Well, there’s no reason for me to keep them waiting, so I’ll go ahead.”

“Very well.”

The long hallway felt even longer than usual. I didn’t want to go, but I had to. My sense of duty was the only thing making me drag my heavy legs forward.

“I’m terribly sorry to have made you wait,” I apologized as I began the meeting. A man around my age was waiting for me in the parlor. He had a scarf wrapped around his head and wore loose-fitting clothes—the traditional garb of Acacia. As soon as he spotted me, a soft smile spread across his face.

“And I am terribly sorry for my unannounced visit. My name is Hafiz Bent Mersid.”

Whenever an envoy from Acacia had visited the palace, the royal family had always thrown a party to welcome them. Since I was the daughter of a duke, I’d attended them before I was expelled from the academy, but I didn’t recognize this man. Of course, I’d only ever seen the main ambassador, so I could only speak about that fellow in particular.

“I’m honored to make your acquaintance. My name is Iris. Iris Lana Armelia. It’s a pleasure.”

“I have to admit, I was surprised to hear that a woman was in charge of this domain all by herself… But I also heard that Armelia is a most prosperous region. Your father had quite keen insight if he decided to entrust Armelia to you.”

“Goodness… I’m not sure I deserve those compliments.”

“Don’t be humble. Trade has increased by leaps and bounds since you became governor. My kingdom’s royal family is extremely impressed with your abilities. That’s one of the reasons why our first prince, His Royal Highness Prince Khadir, decided to visit.”

“I see…” I hid my mouth with my fan as I laughed.

My mind raced as I tried to figure out what to do so as not to be rude to the man in front of me. He was handsome, though simultaneously, he gave off a wild, passionate impression. He had a soft smile on his face, but the glint in his eyes seemed to say that he was very carefully sizing me up.

“I’m extremely honored, but I will have to ask my father’s opinion first…” I said.

“Do you? I heard you were endowed with all the authority of a true governor.”

You certainly have done a lot of research about this one domain of another kingdom! I thought as I let out an inward sigh, careful not to let my smile falter.

“But by all means, do so. However, if you speak with your father, I do have one favor to ask of you,” Hafiz said.

“Oh? What’s that?”

“To be honest with you, our visit to observe Armelia is merely a pretext. The real reason Prince Khadir has come is to propose to you.”

This time, I was so surprised that I thought my heart would stop. I knew what the phrase “propose” meant in this context, but it didn’t even register with me.

“It seems His Highness fell in love with you at first sight. It’s moreover quite a favorable proposal, one that will build a bridge between our two countries.”

I had no memory of the first prince being among the envoys at the prior parties. Was he lying when he said he’d fallen in love with me at first sight? Or had he disguised himself to blend in with his diplomats?

“Here is the formal offer.” Hafiz reached into his pocket and produced a folded piece of parchment. As he did so, the gold ring on his finger caught my attention. The top of it was flat, embossed with a design of a falcon. He handed the document to Sebastian, who then passed it to me.

“Thank you, Hafiz. Goodness, that’s a very beautiful ring you’re wearing.”

“Ah, this? It’s made from gold mined in my country.”

“Is it? The design is so gorgeous, it caught my eye.”

Hafiz’s smile deepened when he heard that. We stared at each other silently for a few moments. I knew we were both sizing each other up to glean as much information as possible and studying each other’s dispositions. The silent siege and defense filled the room with great tension.

“Excuse me.” Tanya swept into the middle of our discussion.

“What is it?” I asked.

Instead of answering me aloud, she leaned forward and whispered in my ear. “I’ve just received word that your father has been attacked.”

I wanted to scream “What?!” but I somehow managed to suppress it when I remembered the man before me. “I’m so sorry Hafiz, but there’s been an emergency. Would you mind if I excused myself?”

“Not at all. Please go ahead.”

I rushed out of the room as fast as I could without looking impolite. Tanya and I walked down the hallway and entered a room two doors down from the parlor. “What do you mean, Father’s been attacked? Is he all right?!”

“Yes. He was heavily wounded, but it doesn’t seem fatal.”

“Thank goodness.” I was so relieved, it felt like my entire body went limp.

“My lady!” Tanya quickly reached out to support me, else I would have collapsed on the spot. “Are you all right?”

“Y-yes…” I tried to take deep, calming breaths to compose myself. I’d felt so dizzy that I thought I would pass out, but I was slowly returning back to normal. “I’m fine. I can go back in now.”

“But…”

“We can’t let him stay any longer than necessary.” I wobbled a bit, then righted myself and began to walk. “I’m so sorry about that.”

“It’s fine… You look unwell. Are you quite all right?”

“Yes. To tell you the truth, I just received word that my father has fallen ill.”

“Oh dear…”

“Luckily, it’s nothing serious. But he is my father after all, so I’m incredibly worried. I shall be leaving the capital with all haste to attend to him. I’m so sorry to leave during your visit, but…”

“Please don’t worry. Your father’s health is more important. I’m sure being far from him only makes you worry all the more.”

“Thank you for being so understanding. When next you come, it will be my pleasure to welcome you to Armelia with open arms.”

And so our meeting came to an abrupt, unexpected end.

“I’m going to the capital right away,” I told Sebastian as soon as Hafiz left.

He and Tanya both gave me concerned looks, no doubt due to the fact that I’d almost collapsed once again after our Acacian friend left. I currently lay reclined on a chaise lounge resting. I could tell both of them were wondering if I was even up to making the journey, so I gave them a wry smile.

“Don’t worry. I’ll feel better once I rest. He’s quite cunning, isn’t he? I certainly never expected Prince Khadir to pose as an envoy to visit me personally.”

“What?!”

“Huh?!”

Sebastian and Tanya both balked when they heard my comments. I could hardly blame them; after all, unbeknownst to them, they’d just been in the presence of a foreign prince.

“A-are you certain about that?”

“Fairly, yes. He was wearing a ring with a falcon crest on it, wasn’t he?”

“Y-yes…” Sebastian agreed. He was the one who had seen the documents from “Hafiz.”

“In Acacia, each member of the royal family is endowed with a unique family crest, and it’s their tradition to wear the mark somewhere.”

“You know the prince’s crest, my lady?”

“No. But I do know that falcons are regarded as sacred in Acacia, so it wouldn’t surprise me if one were used for the prince’s crest.” I’d acquired this knowledge from documents Rehme had gathered for me from both records kept by former governors of Armelia and information she’d received because of the recent increase in trade between our two kingdoms. “Besides, remember what he said? The prince had come to propose to me—not that he was going to come. And he had all the proper documents in order.”

“Forgive me for being presumptuous, my lady, but…don’t tell me you’re going to accept?” Tanya asked, looking terribly concerned.

I smiled ruefully at her. At first, I’d simply been shocked by his proposal. But now that some time had passed, in the back of my mind, I was calculating the possible advantages of this union. We were separated by the sea, but the kingdom of Acacia was large, about the same size as Tasmeria. And it would be of great benefit to me if Armelia served as a bridge to their kingdom—both for Tasmeria, my family, and Armelia.

It was much more in line with my personality to choose a marriage that was chock full of benefits rather than to wallow in a love that could never come to fruition. One day, the pain I held in my heart would be nothing more than a memory, which I would be able to dismiss with a laugh.

“However, I can’t say anything else on the matter until I consult with Father,” I said.

I’d already reached a decision in my mind, but my heart wasn’t going to be as easy to convince. It kept telling me to give it a little longer. Just a little bit longer.

Don’t extinguish these feelings that have just begun to bloom! it cried.

 

***

 

“How did it go, Prince Khadir?” the kindly old man asked a younger one, who smiled. This smile was completely different from the one he had shown at the Armelia estate; there wasn’t a hint of kindness in it. It exuded a certain ferocity.

“I did what I set out to do,” he said as he took a seat on the ornate sofa. It was lower than the ones in Armelia, and much softer too, so his body sank down into the cushions.

“Is that right? Your old grandpa was so worried, it must’ve taken a few years off my life! Do me a favor and don’t tease me for a while.”

“I won’t. I’d be in trouble without you, Gramps.” The man—Khadir—laughed heartily.

“Still, you certainly got back early. Are you sure no one recognized you…?”

“No, the girl knew I was the prince the moment I introduced myself.”

“What?! She recognized you, yet she sent you home without making you welcome first?”

“She received word that her father had collapsed, so she had no choice. She said she would welcome me with open arms ‘next time.’ She also implied that it was better that I didn’t reveal my identity. She’s quite interesting.” Khadir chuckled, clearly in high spirits.

“She sounds pretty gutsy, eh?”

Khadir picked a piece of fruit from the plate next to him. They were on a ship now, and it had already embarked. Occasionally, they felt the gentle sea breeze blowing in through the window. “Fascinating, right? Gramps…I really want her now,” he said cheerfully as he licked the fruit juice that dripped down his hand.

“Well, then, did you give her the papers?”

“Yes. But whether I welcome her as my wife or my mistress depends on what position she’s in when I return. At any rate, I’m amazed by her ability to govern. I’m sure she’d much rather display her power than be a noble from a ruined country.”

“Is the king serious, then?”

“I talked him into it. My father’s greed is causing quite a bit of trouble. For him to give himself over to every single desire he has at this age is just incorrigible,” Khadir said, not looking troubled in the slightest. In fact, he wore an amused smile. “I’ve heard there are some tough guys in Armelia, but I’m interested to see just how much they’re capable of, what with their troubles at home and abroad.”

“Well, I’m rooting for them, if only because they’re a great trading partner.”

“Hey now, Gramps. Make sure no one else sees you rooting for an enemy kingdom.”

“I know very well who to show my cards to. You don’t care whether they win or lose. Isn’t that right, Prince?”

Khadir’s only response to the old man was a smile.

The boat carrying the two of them kept on course, its sails billowing in the wind.