Chapter 45

Part 3. Even without the north wind or the sun, the traveler removes their clothes on their own.

* * *

I stepped out of the carriage and blinked at a sight I could hardly believe.

The border of Alnor, now in my name and known as the foothills of Barg Mountain, was swarming with residents like a cloud.

Since that stingy duke wouldn’t lend any workers, I had Berry contact my father Thomson on the off chance, figuring there was nothing to lose.

I asked if he could help check whether the newly purchased mountain was worth anything.

“Madam asked for us, so of course we drop everything and come running!”

“Of course. We northerners never forget a favor or a grudge.”

Some faces were familiar. There were the carpenters from Norbeln village, including Thomson, whom I’d met a few times at construction sites.

But those across from me were total strangers, and they stepped forward to speak.

“Forgive us for the late greeting to our lifesaving mistress. Please accept our apology.”

“Hmm?”

“I don’t know if you remember, but we were involved in that mine collapse the other day…”

I thought hard, but nothing clicked. It truly was the first time I’d seen them.

I gave an ambiguous smile and a slight nod, pretending to know them. That day at the abbey when I’d accidentally gotten caught up in the mine collapse had been so chaotic there was no time to study faces.

Berry whispered to me.

“The miners’ guild is as tight as the carpenters’ guild. They said you stepped forward and helped during the collapse, and they’ve been waiting for a chance to repay you.”

“I didn’t exactly make them owe me anything.”

“That’s how people are. The north may be cold, but their hearts are warm.”

I looked at the smiling miners. It felt like a distant past coming into focus, the very people I, once a bureaucrat, had longed to see.

‘Ah.’

It was a strange sensation. My eyes stung a little, but in this biting wind even a single tear or runny nose would be dangerous for my skin.

I cleared my throat and sought out the leaders of the two guilds.

Along with carpenter Thomson, a man named Bolik approached and spoke his mind.

“Madam, we’ve heard you plan to use Barg Mountain.”

“Yes, what do you think of it?”

“Alnor’s miners insisted the land is worthless forest, but I feel differently.”

Bolik spoke first.

“Alnor is a small domain surrounded by mountains, so they likely couldn’t study every slope carefully. Their technology also doesn’t match ours. I think they missed this land’s value.”

“Can I entrust you with a geological survey?”

“I already had a look. There are a few ways to spot a vein, and I found a quartz vein tucked in a steep ravine.”

Bolik explained that gold veins often appear with quartz, so that was a promising sign.

Thomson stepped forward.

“I brought something too. Look at this.”

He produced a young branch from a frostthorn that grows deep in our northern mountains. He stripped the bark and split the wood with his knife.

“Here, this part. See how the color’s a bit reddish?”

“I don’t really know about that.”

“I knew you might say that, so I brought a comparison. This one is from another mountain.”

The two branches were slightly different in hue. Bolik reacted first.

“A metal reaction.”

“You’re the kind who can tell just by looking!”

Thomson laughed and offered his congratulations.

“Madam, you’ve bought very good land. We won’t know exactly what’s below until we dig, but branches changing red like that usually mean a significant mineral deposit.”

“I see.”

I pretended it was the first I’d heard. In truth, a memory from my previous life told me a huge gold mine lay in Barg Mountain, but it would’ve been odd for a duchess unfamiliar with such matters to be so well informed.

Thomson and Bolik asked with eager eyes.

“So what will you do now?”

“As you’d expect. I’ll put the work in your hands.”

“That’s what we’ve been waiting to hear. This could bring you enormous wealth. We’ll start right away.”

“Not now.”

“Excuse me?”

The two men, ready to rally their crews, froze. Nobles they’d worked for before would immediately order miners to start at the hint of a vein and demand results. The men were used to that pressure and couldn’t understand my calm.

“Working in this season is dangerous. One false step and someone could slip.”

“We do this for a living. Rain or snow, we work through the seasons.”

“Being used to it doesn’t make it safe. This terrain is steep, quite different from church or abbey construction.”

“…”

“Wait until the weather warms.”

I laid out the plan in my head. The stingy duke wouldn’t hand over the safety gear his castle used, so I’d buy new equipment. If an accident happened, I’d be the mine owner in trouble, so I’d limit daily hours, pay well, and make mining the only work allowed so no one split shifts and got careless.

It hurt to think of the cost, but

‘They’re people who trusted and followed me.’

Someone believed in me. Feeling that support was special.

At that thought my eyes began to water again, so I lifted my chin and acted aloof.

“This stays secret for now.”

“Of course. You saved our lives, madam. From now on we follow only your orders.”

“Loyalty’s fine, but if you make the duke angry, I won’t take responsibility.”

They laughed, thinking I was joking. I wasn’t.

Just then the thunder of hooves came from the other side of the road.

The ducal mountain guard was approaching.

‘Have I already made him dislike me?’

How far did the duke’s ears reach? This was ridiculous.

The riders tethered their horses a short distance away and bowed as they came to me. I offered a brief greeting and thought to move on, but thoughtless Thomson began chatting with them as if they’d known each other for years.

“Why are the guards here? This isn’t their jurisdiction.”

“It used to be,” one answered.

Thomson, who’d worked all over the north, seemed to have a rapport with the mountain guard.

I stepped away, using that as an excuse, and overheard their exchange behind me.

“It was the duke’s order. He said the area needs clearing because wild beasts might appear.”

“The lord commanded it?”

I was just as surprised. Barg Mountain wasn’t normally in the mountain guard’s remit. They usually handled the rough terrain nearer the Northern Wall. Barg lay on the far northern edge, physically distant from the Wall.

Elite knights trained for large-scale forest hunting wouldn’t bother coming down this far just for a few animals.

‘Could it be for me?’

I refused to indulge such a thought. If even the guard came, that was excessive.

Still, the ridiculous idea kept creeping in, and I felt embarrassed by it.

‘Drop the weird fantasies and think of something else.’

I leaned toward Berry, who’d been trailing me. I’d told her always to stay close in case I ran into wild beasts and needed her to smooth things over verbally.

“How did you know my tastes in food? Lately the meals are exactly what I like.”

“Food, madam? Shall I bring a packed lunch if you’re hungry?”

“Not that. I mean, you must’ve told Bertol about my tastes.”

Berry looked genuinely clueless, then suddenly flushed and dropped to her knees in apology.

I helped her up. My strength alone couldn’t move her much, but I was inwardly startled. If Berry didn’t tell Bertol, that meant someone else had noticed what I liked and instructed Bertol to set the menu.

Who knew my preferences and ordered the kitchen to match them?

Earlier the duke had said he’d refuse to lend workers from the castle. He’d told me I wouldn’t need his hands, and that plenty of people would want to help me without his aid.

When I asked for castle workmen, he answered, ‘No.’

If he had given me the workers, I might have missed the goodwill pouring in from the carpenters and miners now gathered. In the past I hadn’t been shown such favor. Learning that people trusted and supported me was, regrettably, thanks to the duke.

I stopped and stared at the backs of the knights who were talking with Thomson. It felt like a tiny stone had dropped into a still lake.