Chapter 54 - Darkmtl
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Chapter 54

Chapter 54

#54. That Boss, That Secretary’s Situation (3)

When Ariana first started the lecture in the room, she had high expectations.

“Yeah, jumping right into it might be a bit much. I can totally wait this long.”

She half-listened to Arad’s lecture while reviewing what she’d learned about relationships from the married maids in her head.

She also revisited the hardcore stuff she heard from Isabel.

“Let’s move on to the next chapter. Turn the page.”

“…Huh?”

But even after an hour, all they did was progress through the lecture.

“Hmm? Is it really just gonna be studying and then we’re done?”

Eventually, Ariana had no choice but to accept…

“…Reality.”

When another hour or so passed…

“…That’s why the ultimate goal of magic engineering isn’t the energy contained in magic stones, but creating a semi-permanent power source that runs on natural mana. Since mana exists everywhere in nature, there’s no need to go through the trouble of obtaining magic stones when you can harness it like sunlight… Hmm…?”

Arad, who was passionately tutoring, felt something was off.

“Hem hem! Guess diving straight into lessons on the first day was a bit too much.”

“…”

“Let’s prepare to head home.”

Seeing Ariana continue to stay silent and stare blankly at the book, Arad gave a slightly apologetic look.

“…Are we done?”

“For today, let’s stop here. Good work.”

“In that case… see you tomorrow.”

Upon hearing Arad’s words, Ariana abruptly stood up and tried to leave the room.

“Let’s go together.”

Arad followed behind Ariana.

“It’s late. It’s quite a distance to the inner castle.”

“I’ll ride my horse.”

“Exactly. Give me a ride.”

“…What?”

Walking confidently, Ariana stopped dead in her tracks at Arad’s unexpected request.

“What? My house is also near the inner castle. Third floor of the Arad Company headquarters.”

“No, I mean… where’s the boss’s horse?”

“I lent it out earlier when they said they needed more horses for construction. It’s probably resting by now.”

“And the guards?”

At Ariana’s question, Arad looked around quickly.

Frosthaven and the knights disguised as employees, who usually loitered around him like shadows, were nowhere to be seen.

“Guess they wanted to go home early too.”

Arad shrugged.

Since he’d always believed Mary, who concealed her strength, was Frosthaven, he didn’t think much of the guards not being visible right now.

“…”

Meanwhile, Mary silently observed the situation while staring at Arad.

‘That doesn’t seem right…’

There’s no way this clueless guy would intentionally send away his own security.

Looks like the guards took their own initiative based on the situation.

‘Just further back than usual.’

Spreading out her knight senses, she detected Frosthaven and the others still hiding in various spots, watching over them.

“…Alright. But only today.”

Since leaving Arad behind like this felt awkward,

Ariana reluctantly agreed after some internal conflict.

“Thanks. Oh! And tomorrow morning too, please.”

“For tomorrow morning, ask the guards. Don’t want any weird rumors spreading.”

“Ah! That could happen. Got it.”

Together, Arad and Ariana mounted the horse.

“I’ll ride.”

Ariana sat in front holding the reins, with Arad sitting behind her in a sort of reverse hug.

Under the moonlight, the single horse galloped down the road.

Though it was already early winter and freezing cold as expected in the Northern Region, neither Arad nor Ariana cared.

Being from the north, Ariana could handle the cold using mana, and though Arad wasn’t originally from the north, his battle-ready body adapted to the cold instantly.

The locals found it strange how well Arad handled the cold.

“…”

“…”

Riding together, the two remained silent.

‘What the heck is going on?’

During this time, Ariana felt incredibly awkward.

This was her first time sharing a horse like this, and definitely her first time being ambiguously embraced by a man.

Normally, her heart should be racing wildly, but it was relatively calm now due to the misunderstanding and disappointment at the factory earlier.

‘Should I say something?’

She found the current silence extremely uncomfortable.

“Why do you go this far?”

Ariana decided to speak up eventually, with a very ambiguous meaning.

“…What do you mean?”

In response to her ambiguous question, Arad naturally failed to understand immediately.

“…”

Instead of answering, Ariana deliberately stayed quiet, deciding to wait for his reaction.

“Ahh… Are you asking why I’m so generous? It’s for the employees and the company. If lending out one horse allows them to work more efficiently, and helps the company building get finished even a second faster, I’m happy to lend it out.”

Thus, Arad’s answer was truly one befitting someone who only thinks about work.

“…Is that so?”

Hearing this, Ariana sighed inwardly. This guy is even more genuine than me. How did he confess to me like that in the Magic Realm?

Back then, I must’ve kicked away an opportunity given by the Almighty.

‘Even so… he’s truly a commendable leader.’

It was an exasperating and disappointing answer, but on the other hand, it inspired respect.

“The employees are more than enough with what you’re doing now. Honestly, it’s excessive.”

Because of this, Ariana felt a twinge of jealousy. If only part of the attention and care he gives to the company could be directed towards me…

“It’s the creed of northerners to repay every favor, right? They’ll work hard in return for your kindness.”

“Even if that’s the northern creed, not all northerners follow it.”

As Ariana said this, she recalled recent reports from the inspectors.

Not all northerners are good fighters. Not all are brave.

Not everyone ties their life to honor and promises.

While there are many such northerners, wherever you go, there’s always a fixed percentage of scum.

From gangs causing trouble to corrupt bureaucrats stealing funds meant for wounded soldiers, to commoners colluding with the enemy and nobles plotting treason…

“People’s greed has no end. This applies to our company employees too. Over time, they’ll come to take your current kindness for granted.”

By her standards, what Arad was doing now was saint-level benevolence.

Even in Earth’s developed human rights society, it would receive praise as “not bad,” but by this world’s standards which were barely escaping the medieval era, it was downright shocking.

‘Arad prioritizes character when hiring people, and trusts his instincts when dealing with people. But how many of the employees currently at the factory were personally vetted by Arad?’

She remembered learning about his method of talent selection during their first encounter when they made the detector together.

‘This is dangerous. Arad is only looking at the northern creed right now!’

The more she thought about it, the more worry outweighed jealousy.

‘It’s bitter to say this myself…’

So Ariana sincerely advised Arad, filled with genuine concern.

“You shouldn’t be too kind or familiar with subordinates.”

“Is that so?”

Of course, Ariana herself didn’t start out with such distrust of humanity.

She only experienced the dark side of humanity firsthand not too long ago.

“Most northerners don’t consider getting paid for work as a favor. They see it as a contract. Providing labor in exchange for fair pay and treatment.”

“That’s only natural, isn’t it? If you use someone, you should pay them accordingly.”

“That’s true… but it’s excessive.”

“Our organization, which is sensitive to security, needs to prevent betrayal and desertion as much as possible this way.”

“As I said before, those who will betray will do so no matter what.”

Ariana recalled the betrayal she experienced in the depths of the Magic Realm.

And the recent series of treason incidents.

Betrayal knows no social class. Knights and nobles betrayed her for their own reasons, and servants and maids did the same for theirs.

“Besides, didn’t you say on the first day that you value intuition when hiring people? How many of the employees working now were personally vetted by you?”

“The north lacks talent. If I relied solely on gut feelings, there wouldn’t be anyone left to hire. Still, key positions and executives are thoroughly checked, so don’t worry.”

“Even so, the treatment is excessive. Even if you save their broken bodies, give them homes, jobs, and hope, as humans, they’ll forget eventually.”

From Mary’s mouth came words of distrust and cynicism.

The original her trusted and loved her subjects and citizens more than anyone, wanting to emulate her late mother.

But the price was resentment and betrayal.

“…”

Arad looked up at the night sky.

“Still, it must be done.”

Then he spoke.

“Of course, there will be people who disappoint us. There’s no absolute certainty in this world. So we focus on probability.”

“Probability…?”

“If we select carefully and treat people well, we won’t reach 0 or 100, but we can get close.”

Though his words sounded complex and impressive, Arad’s true thoughts were different from what he said.

‘This is the north… Reminds me of certain Russian countries… Industrial revolution and harsh working conditions. Then comes the flood of red plague and strong unions… Ugh! My head!’

In these cold northern regions, two options coexist: the red plague or Nordic-style welfare.

‘The latter is better.’

Arad forced himself to hide his fear and spoke.

“If I genuinely treat my employees well, the number of people who disappoint me will decrease significantly.”

“But the few traitors could put you and the company in danger.”

“There’s no absolute certainty in this world. Of course, we must prepare for it. Moreover, if an organization collapses because of a few traitors, its leader shares responsibility.”

“!!”

Ariana flinched suddenly. It felt like Arad’s words were directed at her.

If Arad hadn’t come to the depths of the Magic Realm, if he hadn’t provided salt, if he hadn’t created fertilizer…

All kinds of assumptions flooded her mind.

“Mary, you’re making a big mistake right now.”

“…Mistake?”

Unaware of Mary’s state of mind, Arad continued.

“You’re too focused on the assumption of a few traitors. In doing so, you’re ignoring the vast majority of loyal people.”

“?!?”

“We can’t condemn the entire forest just because we see a few rotten trees in front of us.”

“…!”

Upon hearing this, Ariana trembled with sudden shame.

‘Why couldn’t I think of that?’

Upon reconsidering, there were hundreds, thousands more around Ariana who responded to her sincerity.

She took their loyalty for granted like air, yet dwelled too much on the betrayal of a few.

“…”

Ariana had to lower her head due to the heat rising to her face and the reddening of her eyes while steering the horse.

Arad, sitting behind her, couldn’t see her expression.

“In this sense, I think His Excellency the Duke is truly remarkable.”

He randomly praised Duchess Ariana of the Northern Women.

“In this world, didn’t His Excellency provide support, albeit small, for wounded soldiers?”

“That’s…”

“How about taxes? Using 70% of the budget for military expenses without heavily taxing the people is admirable. Always ensuring the people aren’t burdened shows thorough virtue. This is possible because the Lenslett Dukedom and northern nobles have essentially abandoned luxury.”

“That was all implemented before the current Duke.”

“Therefore, it’s even more remarkable.”

“?”

Caught off guard by Arad’s sudden praise, Ariana was confused.

“Originally, such policies usually last only during the reign of that ruler. However, the current Duke has firmly continued these practices, haven’t they? I highly appreciate this point.”

“That’s why rebellion broke out.”

In the continent, specifically within the Empire, northern nobles were treated no differently than wealthy commoners.

Ironically, the actions of this dukedom gathered public support in the north while simultaneously causing resentment among the nobility.

“Something that was bound to happen sooner or later.”

Arad replied indifferently.

“If we had given the traitors what they wanted, would the rebellion not have happened? No, instead, a large-scale peasant uprising would’ve occurred. The north would’ve been swallowed by the empire long ago.”

“You view His Excellency the Duke favorably, huh?”

“Of course. He’s an outstanding ruler among rulers. I guarantee there’s no one better in Arcadia.”

“…!!”

Ariana’s face heated up for a different reason than before.

“His Excellency the Duke… is truly a remarkable person. Hearing you say this makes me feel that way.”

Receiving praise from none other than Arad, someone who lived during the golden age,

Ariana became excited due to the pleasant embarrassment.


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Raising the Northern Grand Duchy as a Max-Level All-Master

Raising the Northern Grand Duchy as a Max-Level All-Master

만렙 올마스터의 북부대공령 키우기
Score 8
Status: Ongoing Type: Author: Released: 2024 Native Language: Korean
I’ve become the ultimate crafting all-master character in a game world, excelling at everything except combat. And now, I am the only one who can save this Northern Grand Duchy.

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