Chapter 76

“May I ask why… you’re going this far?”

As a duke, it was hard to believe he’d personally done menial labor that even a carpenter would handle.

Of course, Edwin wasn’t the type to lie, but it was difficult to fully accept why he’d gone so far as to make a carriage just for me.

Especially since, for nobles, simply ordering something made was already considered sufficient sincerity.

“Because I want Eli to live here comfortably and happily.”

“Why?”

“Because protecting my wife is my responsibility as her husband.”

The look in Edwin’s eyes as he gazed at me was more sincere than ever before.

I could instinctively tell that he truly wanted to protect me, and that he felt an excessive sense of guilt over my broken ankle.

He was different from the Edwin of my past life.

The man standing before me now felt like an entirely different person. I realized it was wrong to overlap the two simply because they shared the same name and face.

‘Honestly, I feel relieved.’

Because I no longer had to feel guilty about the emotions I felt toward him.

Those strange feelings that had begun to take root little by little, ever since Edwin ran day and night across the mountains to save me, since he stayed by my side all night.

“I, Ed…”

“Please speak.”

I only wanted to say thank you for everything he’d done for me, yet I couldn’t understand why my face felt so hot.

I gripped the armrest of the sofa so tightly my fingertips tingled.

Just as Edwin leaned closer to hear my muttered words better—

Thud, something fell.

“S-Sorry!”

“We just, um, heard that if we came to the courtyard, y-you’d be here, M-Madam…”

“We didn’t realize you were spending a good moment together and came without thinking… Should we come back tomorrow?”

Gibson and several merchant guild officials stood at the courtyard entrance, rolling their eyes nervously after dropping a bag.

Even the knight escorting them was doing the same, his pupils trembling.

At first I wondered what was wrong with them, then belatedly realized our posture looked rather suspicious.

From the angle of the entrance, Edwin and I overlapped in a way that looked, th-that—

“M-Move away! Hurry up and move away!”

“Eli?!”

“Aaaah!”

I wanted to jump down like I was rolling out of a carriage, but doing that would surely send my already shattered ankle across a river it could never return from.

So instead, I clawed at my hair and cried internally.

* * *

I headed to the government office together with Gibson’s group.

When Edwin naturally tried to follow, I panicked and strongly suggested he rest properly at the estate.

I didn’t think I could look at his face calmly right now.

Since my face stayed red the entire time, Gibson asked worriedly,

“Madam, are you alright?”

“You don’t need to worry about me. Worry about yourselves.”

He tilted his head, clearly not understanding what I meant.

He’d find out soon enough, so I decided to skip the explanation.

We entered the government office through the front gate openly.

The officials who had welcomed me stiffened when they saw Gibson’s group following behind.

They raised their voices, saying outsiders weren’t allowed since confidential documents were handled here. So for once, with my one good leg, I kicked walls and doors and caused a scene.

A duchess doesn’t hold back.

After limping inside like that, we went up to the governor’s office, which was practically mine at this point.

“Madam, are you truly sure about this?”

“In Lombard, I’m the law.”

“But still, is it really alright for us to enter the office like this…”

“If there were truly sensitive secrets here, I wouldn’t have let you in. You’ll understand once you see it.”

I shoved the stack of documents piled haphazardly on the desk toward Gibson’s group.

They were Bellamare’s issue reports prepared by the officials.

When they hesitated, I nodded again to allow them to read. Gibson and the merchant guild officials opened the cover with trembling hands.

At that moment, they finally understood the true meaning of my words, worry about yourselves.

* * *

“Are they insane?!”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“What kind of idiot bastard submits something like this as a report?! Even a novel would be more realistic!”

Seeing once was better than hearing a hundred times.

After reading the miserable reports from start to finish, Gibson and the others asked several times if these were truly official documents.

Each time, I kindly confirmed that they were.

Realizing just how terribly incompetent the people ruling them had been, their faces flushed red.

If even someone like me, who was new to Bellamare, could catch the errors, it was obvious how it felt for true locals.

“I get how you feel, but don’t tear them up. We need to organize everything and send it to the Rockscrown Council.”

“Ah.”

The governor was dead, but cleaning up the trash he left behind would take time.

The moment they realized the documents would be used as trial evidence, Gibson’s group carefully smoothed the papers and placed them down neatly.

Through a single set of documents, or rather by cursing the hopeless officials together, I felt the psychological distance between us shrink noticeably.

They realized I intended to revive Bellamare.

Otherwise, there’d be no reason to drag them into the government office and show them this.

“Now we can finally talk properly. I need capable advisors who know Bellamare well and can help guide policy.”

“If you find us useful, Madam, it would be an honor to our families.”

“But we don’t know if we can do it well. We’re just merchants…”

“Then we’d have no choice but to leave it to the officials—”

“We may be insignificant, but I can swear that no one loves Bellamare more than we do!!”

You should’ve said that sooner.

Now was the important part. I had Gareth guard the entrance and laid out the future of Bellamare as I envisioned it.

“I’ll be honest. I want to test my dream here in Bellamare.”

“What is your dream, Madam?”

“A prosperous Lombard. Strength that can’t be swayed by foreign powers. Based on that, a lord who governs well, and people who sincerely respect and follow that lord.”

I planned to turn Bellamare into a hub for intercontinental intermediary trade.

We had to move beyond the simple structure of exporting raw materials and importing food.

I wanted goods imported from other continents through Bellamare to flow across the empire via the Third Bridge, the key inland trade route.

If possible, even to neighboring countries.

If Lombard became a trade hub where people from many regions passed through, culture would naturally flourish. The overall level of cultural enjoyment would rise.

Gibson and the others widened their eyes in shock as they listened.

“We had no idea you thought this far for us, Madam.”

“Then maybe turning it into a duchess’s direct territory is—”

“You were doing so well, why derail it now?”

My plan didn’t end there.

I wanted to move beyond merely exporting raw materials and instead handle mineral processing and distribution directly to maximize profits.

At the same time, we had to find a way to solve Lombard’s chronic food problem.

If we imported seeds from various regions and improved the strains, even Lombard, with its long winters and poor soil, might find a path forward.

We couldn’t stay forever with a leash around our necks due to food shortages.

Despite being a prosperous land, Lombard was always held back by food issues when negotiating with neighboring territories. That was my greatest frustration.

“So now, do you understand what needs to be done?”

The officials had neither the ability nor the motivation to carry out the duchess’s dream.

Gibson instinctively knew this was practically the only chance to save Bellamare, his beloved hometown that had suffered under the governor’s tyranny.

“I need data as detailed as possible. Seasonal cargo volumes, the port’s maximum capacity, distribution routes by item, and any other necessary materials. Gather everything.”

“That’s our specialty. We practically control the market!”

I quickly wrote down the required items.

“And if there’s a site we need to inspect, let me know. I’ll go with you.”

“You plan to conduct inspections personally, Madam?”

“Some things only make sense when you see them yourself.”

“We’ll serve you with everything we have. No, with our lives!”

Unwavering conviction and reverence filled Gibson’s eyes.

The merchant guild members who answered with such vigor looked brighter than ever before.