"You are touring the estate with the caretaker here. You have just taken office, so what are you looking at?"
The nanny put the food on the table and replied dryly.
"Now, don't be foolish, come here and sit down. The young lady should eat quickly and get ready to go."
I swallowed a heavy sigh and sat down in my chair at the table. I still didn't have an appetite, but I didn't want to quarrel with my nanny, who seemed to be in a good mood for the first time in a long time.
"I'm going to eat very little."
"I'm sorry."
The nanny, who was smiling at her face, chopped the food into bite-sized pieces and placed them on a plate.
I broke down the bread slices, cut them into fingernail-sized pieces, and then more finely to make sure there were no foreign substances mixed in. When I was convinced that the food was safe, I pushed the powdered bread into my throat with the sticky jam. At that point, I was about to finish my meal, but the nanny handed me more meat cooked in a mysterious brown sauce and a steamed egg.
I couldn't dare to eat the spicy lean meat, so I barely ate an egg and got up. At that time, I felt another man outside the barracks.
"Your Highness. I'm here to check on your physical condition."
She was a healer given to me by Senevere. I replied in a sullen voice.
"Come in."
When permission was granted, a middle-aged woman with neat features stepped inside. She asked gently.
"How is the pain?"
"It's not that bad today."
I straddled the bed and bluntly replied. The woman naturally leaned down in front of me and unbanded the bandage around my leg. When the bruised scars were revealed, the nanny immediately turned her head.
I tried to pretend not to know it and looked down at my leg with indifferent eyes. The healer applied something like sticky cream to the scar and bandaged it again.
"Your skin can be crushed, so I'll wrap it up a little loosely today."
"It's okay, so wrap it tightly."
"Are you thinking of adding more scars here?"
The healer scolded me in a stern tone. I, who had been staring at her with piercing eyes, bit my lip and shook my head. The woman, with a faint smile hanging from the corner of her mouth, added soothing words as she loosely bandaged me.
"Don't worry. I've tied the knot tightly so it won't come loose."
Instead of answering, I fumbled with the bandage. It didn't seem like it would be released unless I grabbed it with my hands. With a small sigh of relief, the woman took out a small incense burner from the bag she had tucked at my side.
"I'll burn some herbs in advance before I leave. You will have an easy time enduring the carriage journey."
Then, she put a scented candle made of dried herbs into the jar. I grabbed her hand and stopped her.
"It's okay"
The healer's eyes widened in surprise.
"Are you okay? If you are in a shaking carriage, the pain will get worse."
"But he's just going to put up with it. Barcas..."
I tried to spit out that Barcas didn't like me burning herbs, but I kept my mouth shut. I didn't want them to find out that I cared about him. Even though there was no one to laugh at or ridicule, my heart now.
I lost my temper as if I were in a daze.
"If so, I think that's just how it is."
After looking at me worriedly for a moment, the healer pushed the incense burner back into her bag.
I got up from my seat, washed my face lightly, and then changed my clothes with the help of my nanny.
When I finished grooming and went outside, I saw a row of tan barracks and people busy coming and going between them.
I shrank my shoulders at the unfamiliar scenery. Children playing barefoot on the grass, women squatting in front of a large firepit baking bread and meat, and men riding horses with their upper bodies exposed... Everything was unfamiliar.
"It's just happened."
As I looked around in a daze, I heard a familiar voice from somewhere.
Turning my head, I found a slender boy with golden-brown eyes and frowned. Barcas's eccentric brother was sitting on a large chest and glaring at me.
"Are all the Imperial family as lazy as you? Everyone was waiting for you to get their throat out until you were ready."
I raised the corners of my eyes. Then, a hint of stiffness flashed across the boy's face, which was trembling.
"No, the sun has already risen in the middle of the sky, but I can't even see your nose..."
"What about the academy?"
I shot coldly. The boy shrugged his shoulders and retorted shamelessly.
"I don't even go to the academy with my father."
"Are you proud to be a tiger child?"
The boy's eyes wrinkled.
"Who's the tiger child! I'm just a little free-spirited!"
I didn't feel worth dealing with and turned around. He chased after me coldly.
"You, are you so dirty in the first place? No, how did it get to that point?"
"..."
"According to rumors, if you beat the maids, you beat them and kick them out, and you even poisoned the First Princess's cup? Is that all real?"
I, who was walking slowly, stopped tall. As if he were afraid of being beaten, the boy took a step back.
I stared at him silently, then slowly raised the corners of my mouth.
"That's right. It's all real."
The boy's tan eyes widened. Looking straight into their eyes, I continued to speak.
"When I was bored, I beat the maids, and I even took drugs on my half-sister's drinking glass."
The boy's pupils shook violently. He couldn't tell if I was serious or bluffing. I approached him and thrust my face menacingly.
"Do you know where it is? I even sharpened my knife every night to tear that beautiful face to shreds."
I could see fluff shrugging up over his smooth cheeks. Bleeding fast, I pressed his earlobes on the bulging earlobes, and I whispered grimly.
"So you should be careful too. I have no front or back."
As I straightened up, I saw a face stained with astonishment. I snorted and snorted, then limped toward the carriage.
***
After spending the night in a pasture near Raedgo Castle, we moved east to visit a fairly large village before heading north.
As we traveled along the dirt roads that connected villages, large and small camps were sparsely visible. Many of the Khan people still seemed to adhere to a nomadic lifestyle. In order to raise hundreds of livestock, it would have been inevitable to move from pasture to pasture every season.
On the other hand, the settlers living in the villages lived a life similar to that of the imperial people. They lived in houses made of stone and dirt and cultivated the fields, and some opened workshops to make handicrafts or trade groceries at the market.
In particular, the wool market was very active, and high-quality fabrics and felt made of wool seemed to be one of the key sources of income in the East.
Large markets were held in major cities, and hundreds of merchants flocked from all over the empire to buy expensive fabrics. Naturally, a huge amount of gold coins flowed into the trade exchange. Barcas's main job was to understand the operation of this exchange.
"The market is growing significantly year after year. Not only various textiles, but also food and craft trade are active.'
The administrator standing beside Barcas continued to explain in a calm tone.
"The details entered here are the tax records collected this season. In addition, I have compiled all the rental income, tolls, and the profit status of the horse trading floor directly operated by your vassal."
Barcas quickly swept through the thick ledger. I, who had been staring at this from a distance, couldn't bear the boredom and turned my gaze to the window. The cityscape with well-maintained roads and stone buildings came into view.
The East was a really strange place. Those who live in tents in open meadows and those who lead an imperial life within high city walls... It was as if two different worlds were mixed together.
"It will take a while, so would you like to go out for a while and see the trading floor?"
I, who was staring out the window blankly, turned my head in disgrace.
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