Chapter 31

Chapter 31

#31. Agriculture of the Northern Region (1)

Telling a magician or witch that “your magic is flawed from the start!” is truly a daunting thing to say.

Because it’s not just dissing the mage themselves, but also their teacher and school of thought.

Especially since the creator of this greenhouse farm is the Great Witch of Spring.

In the worst case, you might end up receiving a curse, or some otherworldly punishment from the witches.

Still, I continued speaking.

“The climate of the greenhouse farm is made warm, the soil enriched, all to maximize harvests. That’s the command given to the elementals.”

“…”

“And this command is also a great opportunity for the elementals.”

Elementals are kind of like natural AIs by Earth standards.

Once given a purpose through a proper contract, they’ll stop at nothing to achieve it.

“Every time they fulfill a summoner’s request, the elementals grow stronger.”

Isabel listened to my words with a stern expression.

“Not having to fight hard and just farming in the greenhouse can make them stronger? Every year? To those kids, the greenhouse farm here in High City must’ve been better than a goldmine.”

In the process, competition among the elementals would have intensified, and eventually, one of them likely crossed the line by drawing mana force from around High City.

This rapidly weakened the mana force in the Northern Region, which became the trigger for the Great Famine in the North later on.

“In such a situation, if the contractor realizes why the mana force is weakening?”

“It’ll fly away like a good goldmine.”

“Elementals are pure yet cunning. Sometimes almost purely evil.”

“Yeah. That’s nature.”

After fully understanding my explanation, Isabel muttered with a wry look.

“We should shut down the greenhouse farm then.”

The determination was set in the old witch’s voice.

“We can temporarily close it and rebuild. I’ll help. But… during the year or two it takes to dismantle and rebuild the greenhouse farm, food supplies will be tight.”

Food is scarce in the North.

With harsh winters, arable land is rare, livestock farming is passive due to many monsters and wild beasts, hunting is dangerous, and the main food supply routes for the North are grain merchants from the Empire.

“At least we have some stored food, and I heard the price of wheat and rye brought by the trade delegation from the Empire has dropped significantly… so we should be able to endure somehow.”

To my concerns, Isabel shrugged her shoulders.

“I need to visit His Grace the Duke before going to the greenhouse farm.”

“I’ll also look into ways to secure food.”

“Arad Knight, focus more on your merchant guild work. Making more Arad Salt and such things is more important.”

“I’ll help within limits that don’t interfere with my main business.”

“Really… Arad Knight is truly a blessing to the North.”

At Isabel’s response, I deeply sighed in relief inside.

‘There won’t be any curses or anything. Thank goodness Isabel is a big person. Honestly, she didn’t become the Great Witch for nothing.’

Fortunately, Isabel showed no signs of displeasure at my report.

“By the way! Arad Knight, does your merchant guild have any plans to hire employees?”

“Employees? Yes, we definitely need to hire.”

She said she’d introduce someone.

It was a very helpful offer. In a world with high illiteracy rates, finding employees who can read, write, and calculate was difficult. Plus, there were security issues too.

“Guards? His Grace the Duke will assign High Knights… And we need assistants for document creation?”

“Yes! The problem is, due to security, it’s hard to find employees with both ability and trustworthiness.”

“That’s what I expected. His Majesty shouldn’t be so indifferent. What if Arad Knight collapses from overwork?”

“Hahaha…”

“Are you talking about magical tool production? How many circles are required?”

“2nd circle is enough. I’m also 2nd circle.”

“That’s great! By the way, I know someone who can handle both production assistance and paperwork… Would you hire them?”

“I’d be glad if you recommend someone. But… is she a witch?”

I fidgeted with my collar as I asked, remembering how I got frostbitten by the duke after getting too close to young witches last time.

“Not a witch, so don’t worry. They’re an entry-level adventurer at 2nd circle level, fast at calculations, and good at administrative tasks.”

Since it wasn’t a witch, it was probably a male employee. Even in the all-female Coven, gender distinctions weren’t made for miscellaneous tasks. Especially since this person was personally recommended by the Great Witch of Spring, Isabel.

‘Must be intending to keep an eye on me while helping out.’

“Ah! Is that so? I’d like to hire them immediately.”

Having no particular concerns, I accepted Isabel’s offer.

“However, they have another main job.”

“Main job?”

“Yes, but still better than having nothing.”

“Hmm… Alright. I can’t afford to be picky right now anyway.”

Though the part about having another main job worried me a bit, I figured it was probably something trivial like working in Frosthaven, so I didn’t think much of it.

* * *

As the spring weather outside warmed up, the atmosphere inside High City gradually became cozier as well.

The bloody smell of the Great Purge seemed long gone, replaced by the fresh scent of spring.

“Can’t be helped. Still, I’m glad we found out sooner rather than later.”

Upon hearing Isabel’s report, Ariana nodded and stamped the documents.

“Truly… I am ashamed. My Lady… No, Your Highness! Please punish me!”

Isabel, despite her advanced age and status as the Great Witch, humbly pleaded.

Normally treating the duchess like a caring mother, but in situations like these, she switches to an extremely serious demeanor. This stems from the long history of oppression endured by witches, ingrained deep within their nature.

“It’s fine. Even if it wasn’t perfect, thanks to that farm, the North has overcome countless crises until now. If anything, you deserve rewards, not punishments.”

Ariana dismissed the elderly witch’s plea for punishment without hesitation.

“Is he… doing well?”

Instead, she immediately changed the subject.

“He just put up the sign for his official merchant guild in High City. The opening ceremony is scheduled soon.”

Isabel answered with a bright face, as if expecting this kind of reaction from her lord.

“Did… did he not look for me?”

“Of course he did.”

“What, what did he say?”

Ariana’s face lit up noticeably.

“I haven’t seen him lately, so he said he missed seeing you.”

“…Eh? Eh!”

Ariana’s face broke when Isabel continued teasing her.

“Don’t tease me. Do it properly. If you keep joking around, even someone as old as you will get punished severely.”

Then, a few seconds later, realizing Isabel’s playful tone, Ariana pouted her lips. Her cheeks and ears were unmistakably red.

“But it’s true that he’s worried about not seeing you recently.”

“…!”

“Stop that and call him directly. Keep him by your side. He’s already a count, so holding him as a court noble wouldn’t be unreasonable.”

“No, no! If I connect with him, he’ll be in danger!”

“That’s what I’ve told you countless times… It’s superstition. The imperial royal family doesn’t believe in such superstitions either.”

“T-That… But… It’s… I’ve already…”

Isabel’s words left Ariana stammering, unable to form coherent sentences.

‘Tsk tsk tsk…’

Looking at the young ruler and lady, the Great Witch shook her head disapprovingly.

No matter how accomplished she was as the youngest unofficial Swordmaster or the Duchess of Northern Renslett, none of that mattered in this moment. To Isabel, Ariana was just like any other young noblewoman her age.

‘Interesting and novel at first.’

Ariana’s first spring had arrived, but as it dragged on without progress, it started feeling stifling.

‘Unfortunately, she put up walls exactly at that time…’

Isabel knew roughly what happened between Ariana and Arad.

From information Ariana unintentionally revealed during consultations and testimonies from high knights who suffered together in the Magic Realm, she could infer the following:

Arad confessed first in the Magic Realm, Ariana rejected him, and now she regrets it.

“He should be appointed as a court noble as soon as possible for his own safety.”

“But… I already rejected him back then… Moreover, he seems hesitant now…”

“Does Arad really hesitate to marry our lady? Are you sure?”

“N-No, not entirely sure… Just a feeling…”

“Hmm… Then this time, our lady should confess instead?”

“M-M-M-M-Me?! Impossible! Can’t do it! H-H-How can I do such a thing! Old woman! Are you trying to embarrass me to death? I’d rather fight against 100,000 imperial troops alone!”

At Isabel’s teasing suggestion, Ariana reacted strongly, as if having a seizure.

‘She rejected him once, so even our iron-hearted lady would find it hard to confess back, huh.’

It’s a very conservative world. The concept of women confessing first is basically nonexistent in this era.

Not to mention, Ariana is a legitimate grand duchess, albeit from a frontier region.

Moreover, she turned down his initial confession. For her to confess back in this situation?

“Ugh…”

Just imagining it makes Ariana feel dizzy.

“And… Shouldn’t we confirm first? You said that only by marrying someone who truly loves me can I have descendants.”

And there’s one more reason, perhaps the most decisive one.

“To truly understand his feelings, Arad needs to confess to me first.”

“Hmm… That’s true.”

Even Isabel, who had just been talking about superstitions and confessions, agreed.

Honestly, Isabel secretly acknowledged the deep curse surrounding the Renslett ducal family.

They merely disguised it as superstition to maintain the family’s purity.

‘Good thing I laid the groundwork with Arad beforehand.’

Isabel’s eyes gleamed as she spoke to Ariana.

“Then, if Arad proposes again, what will you do?”

“…”

“Will you accept him?”

“…”

“Silence means consent.”

“…”

“Isn’t there a way…? But he seems to have completely given up since then…”

“Of course there is. Actually, we developed a transformation magic based on Arad Sir’s magical tools.”

“Transformation?”

“Yes.”

Saying this, Isabel smiled mischievously and subtly asked her lord:

“Your Highness, would you consider working incognito at the merchant guild?”

“…”

Ariana needed a few seconds to understand Isabel’s seemingly random question.

“You want me to work at Arad’s merchant guild? With Arad Jin?”

“Yes!”

“Old woman, I am the Duchess of the North!”

Ariana opened her mouth with a dignified gaze.

“Doing various jobs under different identities certainly has meaning. However, now that I am the duchess, I must attend to my duties as a ruler.”

Her words weren’t about social status.

“Ah! When did you become so diligent with official duties? Wasn’t it always me and Haytai handling things? While Your Highness occasionally came to High City just to stamp approvals?”

Ariana’s words prompted Isabel to smooth her forehead wrinkles and retort sharply, apparently with quite a bit of pent-up frustration.

“That’s…”

“Our lady too, the previous dukes, and the ones before them… All of them lacked interest in official duties. Perhaps it’s a tradition of House Renslett.”

“…”

There was nothing to say.

In reality, even before becoming the duchess and after, Ariana often wandered around the North under the guise of undercover inspections.

She could do this because such a system had been passed down through generations.

“Thinking about it, it’s quite amazing. Despite all this, how has the North managed to maintain itself so far?”

“Well, the duchesses have always handled internal affairs…”

Throughout history, invasions never ceased in the North. The qualities required of a ruler focused more on war and military prowess rather than politics or administration.

Fighting on the battlefield with a sword was more effective in winning the hearts of the northern people than wrestling with documents inside the castle walls.

Thus, naturally, internal affairs fell to the duchesses, witches, and bureaucrats.

“Yes, that’s correct. The previous duchesses have always greatly assisted with official duties. In that sense, our lady should also bring in a duchess soon…”

“…”

Ariana’s shoulders slumped.