Madam.
That's not wrong, but why am I getting upset?
"...I didn't know we were eating together."
Fortunately, the tables in the noble house are spacious.
I said, sitting in my seat, which was almost at the end of the room. Far enough away from him that I could almost say it was the end of the room.
"Are you feeling better?"
Are you okay?
You ask so quickly.
I died for a week and came back to life.
"Thanks."
"You can't say thank you without showing your nose even once, right?"
I don't know.
I finished preparing the meal without even looking at Armin Wilhelm, who was just making noises that made me laugh out loud.
As I did that, an aperitif was poured in front of me.
Of course, I didn't even touch it.
Because I had no intention of getting drunk with that drunkard.
"Oh, I'm fine,"
Armin Wilhelm said with a grin.
"Of course,e you didn't ask me."
At those words, I, who was eating soup, put down my spoon and coughed.
"..."
When I looked up at him, he burst into laughter.
He laughed to himself a little, wondering what was funny, then took a sip of his drink and said.
"I am the one who deserves it."
"...!"
At those words, I looked at the maids standing to serve the meal, and Armin gave them an order.
"Bring all the leftover food and go out."
"Yes?"
As the maids chattered, Armin got up from his seat and walked towards me.
Why. What. What is it?
I slowly moved my chair back, feeling nervous at the sight of him getting closer for no reason.
He didn't pay any attention to my appearance and picked up the napkin next to him, wiped the soup off my lips, and said.
"I want to spend some cozy time. We're newlyweds.'
The maids' eyes widened at those words.
I furrowed my brow as I watched the flushed faces of fifteen or sixteen-year-old girls quickly disappear.
"What are you doing..."
"Why? Think of it as Walter's touch."
"..."
I almost swore.
Sincerely.
I slapped his hand holding the napkin away.
"You're talking nonsense that makes me lose my appetite in the morning."
"Hmm..."
He sat down at the table with a look on his face as if he found my reaction interesting.
I decided to ignore him and resumed eating.
There's no reason why I shouldn't do my job just because a crazy person is talking nonsense.
Of course, I'll have to collaborate with that crazy guy someday, but for now, my priority is to revive the territory and create Gram.
Without the territory and Gram, even the greatest sword master in the empire would be useless.
Armin frowned as he watched me eating soup and bread with no regard for table manners.
"The woman who used to whine in front of Walter about being full after eating only a few bird feeders doesn't seem to be here."
Have I ever done something like that?
I searched through Diana Isla's memories again.
I think so.
Besides that, I did so many useless things that it wasn't anything new.
"You ate like that and only your bones remained. Didn't you lie down for a week just because you ate a little poison? You need to come to your senses from now on."
I looked up at Armin with bread crumbs all over my mouth.
Fortunately, this time he didn't bother to remove the bread crumbs from my lips.
He simply asked me this while drinking the aperitif I hadn't even touched.
"Did you know that Marquis Lochen was involved in the plot to poison me?"
It was a question that came out naturally, but it had some substance.
'The maid's true face has been revealed.'
At this point, Margrave Lochen is an ally of Wilhelm's estate.
Even when he was at war with Walter, he didn't care at all about Lochen behind him.
Now that Lochen's true identity has been revealed, the Grand Duke's family will be turned upside down.
However...
"... The answer is late. But a late answer is still an answer."
He put down his glass and smiled faintly.
I wasn't surprised by the information that should have surprised me.
I missed the timing.
I quickly finished paying the bill while munching on bread.
Useless denial is now a luxury.
"I had a hunch. When Walter made his weapons, he brought in iron ore from the Marquis of Lochen."
"Really? Why didn't you tell Hannah right away that guess?"
"I thought it would cause resentment."
I looked straight into Armin Wilhelm's leisurely, languid eyes.
When telling a lie, you must mix it with the truth.
So that I can fool myself while lying.
"Because in this castle, there will be more trust in the Marquis of Lochen than in me."
Armin made a strange expression at those words.
But that only lasts for a moment.
He nodded as if he soon understood.
"Madam has a good grasp of the subject matter."
'Did it fall...?'
I continued chewing the bread I was chewing.
"Is that why you took such a risk?"
"What a crazy thing."
You really talk too much. Let's eat something, you punk.
"Did you deliberately suggest using that money to build a drain to get Marquis Lochen to cut off business with us?"
"..."
I bit my lip at those words.
Esben. Yes. For a moment I forgot that he was practically the lord's wet nurse.
No way. I just thought that Wilhelm Castle needed to be independent.
"Self-reliance?"
"We can't keep bringing in food from outside. We have to make our own food."
"....We."
His brow furrowed for a moment.
"Wilhelm... my last name."
I added hesitantly. Fatally real.
"Well, that's something that the lords, Kings, Emperors, and even bandits who ruled this land for the past thousand years have failed to do. Do you think you can do that? There's a lot of hidden groundwater in our land, and just by pumping out a little bit of it, the farming won't suddenly improve. It would be more reasonable to focus more on iron production and forestry."
Armin Wilhelm's question was quite logical.
I thought he was a drunkard who only drank alcohol, but it seemed like he did some math.
But there is a blind spot here.
Iron production will continue to decline in the future, and demand for textiles will also continue to decline.
"I didn't say we should reduce iron production and forestry. Both have their uses."
"..."
"And the last thousand years and the next thousand years will be different. Because the technology will be different."
It is a mistake to think that something that has not been done for a thousand years will not be possible for the next thousand years.
In the 19 years I've been working in the blacksmith shop, I've seen countless advances in technology.
Today's blacksmiths are increasingly producing weapons and iron farming tools that were previously impossible to make in larger quantities and with greater efficiency.
If we are to utilize such technology, then of course we cannot stop producing iron.
However, we are only opposed to producing iron.
'We have to do something with the railroad.'
"If we pump out groundwater using current technology, we can secure a source of drinking water in the winter and solve the problem of farmland freezing in the winter."
And it can also prevent the soil from calcifying.
Of course, this story is so complicated that I don't feel the need to explain it to Armin.
"I don't think I need to explain further."
"Why? I am the master of this castle."
When Armin asked incredulously, I bit off a piece of hard bread with my front teeth and held it in my hand like meat.
"You didn't come here to oppose my decision."
"..."
I glared at Armin with narrowed eyes.
"You came here in favor."
At that, Armin Wilhelm's eyes widened.
Yes, that's right.
Armin Wilhelm must have also been thinking about ways to increase the production of his estates.
The isolation of Wilhelm's estate will not be resolved in a day or two.
But if we continue to receive food from Marquis Lochen, we don't know what kind of danger we might face.
So, even if it means smiling bitterly, we must grit our teeth and find a way to develop agriculture.
I saw Armin's expression become subtle and I knew I had seen through his mind.
Of course, he wasn't the kind of person who would admit something like that even if he died soon.
"Yes. I respect your decision. But from now on, at least pretend to persuade the butler. This place is not structured to have a strong centralized government like the South. If the lord were to starve his people to death, there would be plenty of people waiting to take his life."
At those words, my hand that was tearing the bread suddenly stopped.
I hadn't thought about that part.
Because I only explained to the butler about half of what I told Armin.
I cleared my throat and spoke to him in a slightly embarrassed voice.
"I... I didn't think about it that much. I'm not the type to talk much."
Armin chuckled at those words.
"There is no one around to talk to."
He grabbed the napkin again and pulled my chin toward him.
Because the hand movements were so natural and fluid, I couldn't even figure out the timing to strike like before.
As his face came closer, the events of that night naturally came to mind.
That thing where I pushed my tongue inside his lips.
A night without any romance at all, as I sucked hard into his poisoned mouth.
"... I guess it's true that it's not perfect."
He stopped wiping away the bread crumbs.
He looked me over with those languid golden eyes, and for a moment our eyes met.
At that moment, his expression became strangely distorted.
It was as if he had been looking at me as some kind of decorative sword rolling around the house, and then realized that the decorative sword had a soul.
At the same time, the corners of his ears appeared to turn slightly red.
He took his hand off my chin as if he had been touched by fire.
I could see him chewing his lip slightly.
But I didn't have time to find out the reason for his sudden change.
Strangely, my hands started to get shaky.
I wanted to hide somewhere, but I had nowhere to hide, so as soon as my jaw was free, I lowered my head and pretended to examine the knife.
I grabbed something that looked vaguely like a butter knife and started attacking the butter.
It was at that time that I was poking hardened butter in a cold room.
[Do you want to eat me or kill me?]
The knife spoke.
And in a very familiar voice.
[Listen to me. If you heat it longer than necessary, the iron will break easily.]
Leon Kowalski.
It was the voice of a man who had once been my father's assistant.
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