Chapter 11

Lombard was a paradise for the corrupt.

Physicians often ignored the orders of the Castle Office or slipped a small bribe to the overseeing bureaucrat to avoid trouble. So once a full inspection was announced, it was obvious they would not escape heavy punishment.

The physicians snapped to their senses as if cold water had been poured over their heads.

“M, Madam’s generous nature is famous even in the Capital.”

“Really. I have never heard that.”

“Oh my. How could we dare stain Madam’s noble ears with rumors from the gutters, hahaha.”

They instantly changed their expressions and spoke sweetly.

“So, you see. We were thinking it would be wonderful if we could, in some way, express our gratitude to Madam.”

“Gratitude.”

“You know, the usual thing.”

They subtly rubbed their thumb and index finger together.

The meaning of that round gesture made my heart flutter pleasantly.

In my past life I was a lowborn nobody with no chance of climbing up, so no one ever made such discreet offers to me.

I looked around as if checking for bystanders, then whispered into the physician’s ear.

“If you insist that much…”

“Yes yes, just say the word.”

“Baron.”

At my glance, Baron Conte winked with one eye. As if he understood everything.

The sight of his awful little flirtations annoyed me so much that I snatched the check from his hand, scribbled something, and thrust it toward the physicians.

“Here. Sign.”

“We have not confirmed the contents…”

“Then forget it.”

“Thank you for your generosity, Madam.”

The physicians hurried to snatch the check back before I could withdraw it and signed with their seals trembling.

Only then did I smile brightly and hand the check to Abbot Filio.

He had been pretending not to look while secretly keeping an eye on the whole exchange. It made sense he was stunned. After all, such quiet bribes were being offered to someone with no official power.

“Madam. Why are you giving this to me…”

“Our physicians have made a noble decision. They are covering every last cost needed to repair the clinic. How generous of them. Expand it as large and luxurious as possible and send the bill to those gentlemen.”

Meanwhile, the physicians themselves looked just as baffled.

Their eyes followed the paper fluttering between my fingers. The recipient written inside was Abbot Filio, and the amount was unlimited.

By the time they leapt up in shock, it was already too late.

‘Let us all become charity angels together.’

This way, I could protect my small and precious companion gold coins from the guilt of spending them.

See. I really am smart.

* * *

The sun was already sinking toward the west.

I limped as I stepped outside.

I had been kicking the wall and making a scene to stop the friars from bowing endlessly and creating a warm atmosphere, which resulted in my toes being ruined.

“Please board the carriage, Madam.”

“Um, Madam…”

Someone called to me.

It was the patient who had tried to spit on me not long ago but missed and hit Baron Conte instead. The baron also spotted him and ground his teeth.

Sensing our attention, the man bowed awkwardly.

“Hello.”

“You removed the splints.”

“Yes, thanks to you…”

No one spoke after that, so the tension in the air grew awkward.

I turned to leave and get in the carriage when the man carefully opened his mouth.

“About a few days ago, I, um… I am truly sorry. I committed a grave discourtesy against Madam.”

“I was not the one hit, so do not worry.”

“And you. Got nothing to say to me.”

Ignoring the baron’s complaint, the carpenter still seemed to have something left unsaid, his lips moving slightly.

He looked so pitiful that I decided to help him out just this once.

“So why did you stop this noble being.”

“Well…”

“What is it.”

“I heard something by accident just now. They said Madam donated the funds to repair the clinic.”

“Not me. The physicians.”

“If it is all right with you, I would like to take on the construction.”

The carpenter kept speaking as if he had not heard my correction.

“My skills are well recognized in the north. And if I oversee the site personally, I can help the clinic in many ways. The labor cost for my workers will be necessary, but I will take only the cost of materials. I will not receive any personal wage.”

“Oh.”

That would reduce construction costs indeed, but that did not save my money.

I would much rather the physicians become even greater charity angels.

His offer did not appeal to me and I frowned. Then suddenly, the carpenter dropped to his knees.

“I want to repay Madam’s kindness.”

“Why are you doing this.”

“You are a generous person, so I know you do not mind my rudeness. But I must apologize properly. One of the miners you saved that day is my son.”

“…”

“I know it is not much, but I want to be useful to Madam. If leaving the entire project to me is too much, then at least let me work as a helper.”

I looked down at the man kneeling at my feet.

Despite the large, rough fur coat he wore, the dense hardened muscle underneath was clear.

No wonder he had managed to beat the baron lightly even with his arm splinted in place.

‘He might be more useful than I thought.’

I changed my expression and patted the carpenter’s shoulder.

“It depends on Abbot Filio. If he agrees, you may take charge of the construction.”

“I will do everything I can to meet expectations.”

“And you will receive proper wages. Set them more generously than usual. That is an order.”

It was not my money anyway.

I pushed the troublesome matter onto Filio and moved on to the real purpose.

Since I was already outside, I wanted to take care of one more thing that had been weighing on my mind.

“Instead, I have a request.”

“I will do any construction you need.”

“You. Are you good at fighting.”

“Of course, I am confident in… what.”

Thomson, who had answered without hesitation, blinked in confusion.

* * *

The freezing wind sliced through the northern Valheim Mountains.

Edwin was inspecting the Northern Wall with only a few trusted aides.

Beyond the Northern Wall lay the Black Continent, the land of monsters.

That was why the Duke of Lombard had always placed the defense of the Northern Wall as his highest duty. The previous duke and the one before him had both died defending it.

People assumed the current duke’s fate would be no different.

Edwin placed his hand on the wall, his eyes glowing faintly.

“My lord, nothing unusual.”

“This side is also clear.”

He turned his head at the sound of his knights approaching.

His expression shifted effortlessly back to the usual one.

“Sigh, this Northern Wall is awful no matter how many times I come.”

“That is what I say every time. It feels like something might jump out any second. Gives me the creeps. Are you all right, my lord.”

The Valheim Mountains stretched so far across the north that many residents lived around them.

But even they would never set foot near the Northern Wall.

The closer one got to the Black Continent, the thicker the miasma that seeped from the ground, so dense that even seasoned knights struggled to breathe.

Edwin, however, did not show the slightest change in his complexion.

As if he had been born and raised there.

He ignored his men’s chatter and focused.

“What of the monsters’ movements.”

“According to the records, there have been no changes. It is strangely quiet.”

“Of course. How could any monster dare move when our lord is standing here.”

Edwin’s strength far surpassed human limits.

Most knights awakened sword energy only after reaching adulthood, but he had manifested it at the age of eight.

After years of training, there was not a single knight on the continent who could withstand his blade.

Whenever he released his sword energy, both humans and monsters shrank back in fear.

“Is that not so, my lord.”

“Yes. They would not dare.”

The duke looked up at the wall and spoke in a low voice.

Though his tone was calm, the knights felt a suffocating pressure for a brief moment.

“Right.”

He turned from the wall and relaxed his expression again.

The sudden shift released the tension, and the stiff knights laughed awkwardly.

They had served him their entire lives, yet there were always unpredictable moments like this.

One knight spoke up.

“Oh, by the way, did you hear. Madam extorted this from the physicians earlier today.”

“Hm.”

When the knight made a round shape with his fingers, Edwin’s eyes widened slightly.

“You all know my relative is a well-known physician inside the Inner Wall.”

“As if any of us would not know that.”

“Well. Apparently Madam grabbed onto some trivial pretext and treated the physicians like criminals. Then she squeezed a huge sum out of them as a penalty. They say it was chaos. Absolute chaos.”