‘Ah, no... What did I just hear...?’
Cadeline was almost out of her mind.
It was a long time before she came to her senses, having been lost in shock and fear.
She glared at the back of Alben's head and clenched her fists.
'You wicked official who licks the instep of the royal family! Did you get information from me to do something like this?'
I felt pathetic for myself, having expected for a moment.
Cadeline writhed in agony. She also gave Eve a look of resentment.
'Ah, 7th Princess! You're wicked! Really wicked! As expected, you're the one who defeated the 3rd Princess and obtained the mission related to the magic light!'
Eve and Alben's conversation was also heard by the homunculus surrounding them.
Homunculus, who did not show emotion for some time, now had their faces contemplated.
They realized that the rye porridge with beans they had eaten earlier was their last supper.
Their empty eyes looked at the empty bowl in their hand.
An air of terrible despair hung over the entire village as if it had been taken over by an ideology.
However, Eve and Alben pretended not to know and continued to exchange opinions.
“I’ve done all the reviews. It’s a great plan. I guess we can get started right away.”
I immediately began giving orders as the person in charge of the mission.
Of course, these were orders based solely on the contents of the report.
“First, we need to build the infrastructure to provide bread, not porridge. Let’s start by setting up a mill and oven tomorrow. Contact Lady Luciard and ask her to send an architect and a furnace builder.”
“Yes, Your Highness! I will accept your opinion. Thank you for doing this!”
“While we’re at it, it would be good to fix the town’s shabby architecture. We should also install doors so that the dirty interior is not visible. I told them to change the roof so bugs won’t come out, and to bring seeds and seedlings so that we can plant some pretty flowers on the street.”
“Oh! Flower! Your Highness, you know a thing or two. Administrative work must be done for show, after all!”
Alben raised his thumbs with both hands.
I accepted the flattery with one hand, seemingly copying it.
“It’s comforting to have a loyal subject like you, Lord Redmon.”
“Oh, Your Highness! Please call me Alben!”
“Yeah, Alben.”
“I will follow Your Highness for the rest of my life!”
The relationship between the ruler and his subjects was so close that Michael, who was watching, became jealous.
I then took the empty bowl of rice.
I looked back at the homunculus standing in line.
And I looked at them halfheartedly, pointing at a few with my finger.
“There, you. You. And there, there, there. And there, there.”
When about twenty people were nominated, I declared.
“You are miners. We will begin training tomorrow afternoon, so gather behind the village.”
The chosen homunculus bowed with gloomy faces.
I gave my final command.
“I will stay in the village for the time being and monitor the situation. Set up a temporary shelter for my use.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
It was truly a fiery driving force, like a battering ram.
Before anyone could stop us, the basic work of exploiting the mine began under my command.
'Ah, it's all over.'
In the face of the powerful tyranny, a single official was powerless. Cedeline swallowed tears of despair in her heart.
The next day, Cadeline tossed and turned all night and started the day without getting any sleep.
After working as a general manager at the open-air mine during the morning, shr thought about the 'mine-site training' in the afternoon and hurriedly went to the village.
'What do you mean? You're like a frontman !'
It was clear that the result would be mentally squeezing and tormenting the homunculus of Lapis Village.
Cadeline couldn't stand the thought of what kind of bad things Eve would teach the homunculus.
As she walked, she saw the entrance to the village. She was in the middle of hard labor, so all the homunculus were gone.
The village, which should be quiet, was crowded with people today.
'The 7th Princess is already renovating the village!'
Under that superior, that subordinate, Count Luciard's execution ability was also very fast, just like the Princess's driving force.
The Luciard Construction Company sent a furnace builder and various construction technicians to Lapis Village in one night.
Building materials are also available at nearby stores.
It was quickly procured.
'Did you prepare it in advance?'
As she watched the workers moving in unison, she began to have groundless doubts.
The construction work of the empire is carried out by actively utilizing the powers of magic and alchemy.
All work, including digging the ground, moving building materials, and erecting pillars, involved magic.
Dough, paint, bricks, etc. to be used as a bonding agent are made by alchemy on the spot as long as there are materials.
Such advanced construction technology not only requires less manpower but also drastically reduces the time required for construction.
Even things like hardening and drying, where time itself becomes a material, could be solved with aging magic.
Thus the mill and furnace, which were started this morning, are already taking on a presentable appearance.
If things continue this way, the mill and oven will be completed by the day after tomorrow at the latest, and in a week or so the shabby pit hut will be replaced with a stone-walled house.
'Damn! Dirty exhibition administration!'
The intention of exploitation was too clear to simply accept the transformation of Lapis Village happily.
Cadeline hurried her pace, swearing inwardly.
Before she knew it, Cadeline had arrived at the back of the village, which was covered in thickets of trees.
Eve happened to be their confidant.
She was starting to educate Marum by scaring the Homunculus with Michael, Alben, and Peony.
Cadeline hid behind a broken wall and watched the scene.
Alben took a step forward and spoke like an instructor.
“From now on, we will conduct special training to become a dry-up. There are three training items in total. Theory and practice of crop farming, theory and practice of making charcoal for winter, theory of threshing and baking. It is done. The practice will be done once the mill and furnace are completed.”
"Yes?"
Cadeline blinked at the words that completely escaped his expectations.
'What, what? Are you really going to teach that?'
She couldn't believe the rich educational content. But soon, the vivid education began right before her eyes.
Alben and Peony, who had extensive knowledge of country estate life, took on the dual role of educator.
They passionately taught homunculus through a combination of spoon-fed education and field training.
The homunculus were initially confused and awkward, but soon they began to learn diligently.
Although they were judged to be of low rank, they had excellent brains due to their rigorous training at the training center. Thanks to this, they were able to acquire knowledge quickly.
Eve and Michael were not just playing around during that time. Eve used her gardening magic to clear the land and plant seeds.
She sowed the seeds and planted the seedlings.
Meanwhile, Michael carried soil, fertilizer, and water.
Cadeline was watching the scene closely with puzzled eyes.
'Why is the Princess doing this kind of work? Not even flowers, but crops?'
A possibility flashed through her mind then.
'Could it be that the 7th Princess had been trying to grow relief crops instead of flowers from the beginning?'
Cadeline's mouth fell open.
The serious conversation between Eve and Alben turned Cadeline's guess into certainty.
“It is difficult to even get drinking water from the village well, Your Highness.”
“We need to find a way to bring in water for agricultural purposes while solving the drinking water shortage. It says in the report that there is a lake nearby.”
“There is a large lake two hours round trip on foot. The ground is higher than the village, so we built an aqueduct. You just have to bring water to the village.”
An aqueduct was a bridge that supported a passage for water. It was like a water pipe exposed to the sky.
“It’s a 5-kilometer-long aqueduct. Even if I were to use only my personal assets, I would need the permission of Her Majesty for such a large-scale project.”
“Don’t worry. If you have a reason, you will make it, Your Highness.”
“I believe you, Alben. I will prepare Lady Luciard immediately.”
This made it clear to Cadeline that the exhibition administration was a cover-up.
'Ah, you really are on the side of the homunculus that you are telling me.'
While feeling ashamed of her guilt for misunderstanding Eve and Alben, she also does her best for the homunculus of Lapis Village, both materially and spiritually.
She couldn't help but be moved by the effort put in.
It was when Cadeline, who had become sad, stood there blankly with reddened eyes.
“Sir Velcram.”
“Yes, Your Highness!... Gasp.”
At my call, Cadeline answered loudly without realizing it.
I called her over with a smile.
“I knew you were hiding. Sir Agneto told me."
“I am sorry, Your Highness. Please forgive my rudeness.”
Cadeline came out and bowed before me.
I gestured for her to get up and handed her a small note.
"This is...?"
“May will soon end. I have to mine a lot of magic stones by next weekend.”
“Huh? It’s much less than the amount notified at the beginning of the month.”
Cadeline asked in confusion. I explained the situation step by step.
“Until now, the amount of magic stones required is the amount that can be embezzled while traveling to the imperial capital. That was something I took into consideration. Since mining is so easy, it was more profitable to just mine more rather than catch the embezzlers.”
“Yes... I knew that when the Magic Stone passed through the Imperial City, the customs officer, Marquis Lamekal, ate a lot of it..."
If he is the Marquis of Lamekal, he is Brigitte's uncle. He is actually the relative of a powerful candidate for the Crown Princess.
As Cadeline lowered her head as if indignant, I brought good news.
“This time, His Majesty was furious at the buying and selling of magic stones and issued an order to thoroughly monitor the distribution routes. So, not only those who had already amassed the fortune but also corrupt officials who had been embezzling money were prevented from touching the magic stone.”
"Ah!"
“And this time, when I return to the capital, I will personally take charge of passing the magic stone. I promise there will be no loss.”
I added immediately.
“Actually, it’s not a big deal since a new magic light will be developed soon anyway. But for now, I thought this would be good news for Sir Velcram, who is very concerned about his daily mining output and achievement of goals.”
“Your Highness..."
Cadeline was speechless.
She lowered her head to the ground, feeling ashamed that she might shed tears.
I, who was watching the scene with pity, did something for Cadeline.
I wanted to do it. I got up from my seat and hugged Cadeline.
“I’m sorry I’m telling you now when you must have been really upset for the past few days. And thank you so much for all your hard work.”
Sometimes, warm comfort can easily break a person's heart.
Cadeline burst into tears, contrary to my intentions, and I patted her in a panic.
It was a small commotion, not too bad.
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