Chapter 116 – 11. Frozen Land Can’t Dry (6)
The meeting between the two men continued. They continued their forced march, leaving only an empty kettle without any special tips, and finally gave up their seats in the early evening. Even on a map, they searched for safe trade routes, inspected products to be sold, and thoroughly reviewed the number of people who would participate in the journey.
White Stone, Blue Mana Stone, Heating Stone, Freezing Stone…
Even if the expected return was not conservatively set, it was about two to three times the amount of investment. Of course, depending on the case, it could be more or less than that, but anyway, under the premise that the pioneering was successful, there was plenty of room for optimism.
So, what remains are the three neighboring lords and knights, Sorgal of Camag and Renoir, the court bag.
Outside the window, the sunset was already in full swing. After sending Edward away, Rom, who tried to get everything done before it was late at night, received unexpected news. When the head maid, who went to look after the three people who were soundly asleep, did not return, she wondered if she should send her soldiers.
“Excuse me, Baron.”
“Antoine?”
Knock knocking on the door and appearing was his exclusive aid. The middle-aged man, whose cheeks were red from being blown by the cold wind all day, saluted his surprised superior with a restrained gesture. When a subordinate who was supposed to be in charge of the checkpoint appeared, Rome, realizing that something bad had happened, groaned as he touched his forehead.
“Okay, something happened.”
“Ah, that…”
“Did Sir Peltier even fight Count?”
But it wasn’t. Antoine scratched the back of his head shyly and shook his head.
“The Lady of the Marquis sent someone. He said that the knights would take care of the checkpoint work, so it would be fine to stop and rest, so I really wanted to ask the baron if that was the case.”
“Are you Lucienne? Are you still sleeping?”
“Uh, it looks like you sent a separate message to Sir Peltier as well.”
The faithful tenth commander had no reason to lie. Rom tilted his head, got up from his chair and headed for the window. I stroked his chin while examining the entrance of the fortress that looked out from him. And soon, I was quite surprised to see the lords’ envoys withdrawing one by one.
“Really?”
The lords of the north, who were said to be the best, were leaving even though their business was not finished. He seemed to be in a hurry as if he was going to set off before the sun went down, not wanting to pull up the tent and get into the carriage. Although it would be impossible to leave the Marquis within today, it seemed that he was going to spend the day in Saint-Bour, which was relatively safer than Havre.
“What should I do?”
Antoine asked cautiously. Rom, who had been watching the scene blankly, nodded and agreed to take over the soldier.
“It was cold, but everyone had a hard time. It’s okay to play tomorrow, so tell him to go in and get some rest. I’ll probably have to send someone to the center within a few days, but let’s put that together and give an appropriate reward.”
“Okay, then I’ll instruct everyone to get off work.”
“I am always grateful to the 10th manager.”
Antoine smiled shyly, politely bowed his head and left. He took the rest of his men who were either patrolling the corridors or waiting to meet the soldiers who were still watching the situation from the checkpoint huts.
Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed like a good idea to have a beer at a village inn.
Left behind, Rom himself cleaned up after himself. He neatly collected and stored parchments and other records, and took out the trash. He glanced at the grandfather clock hanging over the mantelpiece, taking his time. It was because he was hungry because he hadn’t eaten, so he wanted to eat if possible.
‘I’ll be able to have dinner later later.’
Unfortunately, I didn’t even have time to eat a meal in a hurry. Even if the problem of the three lords and the knight faction was resolved, it was because it was too soon to meet Sorgal and the courtier of Renoir.
Rom, who was holding her knotted shoulders and turning them around, took a deep breath and comforted himself. Even in the midst of the fatigue, I tried to leave the office with the intention of taking care of the overdue work. And when she thoughtlessly opened her door, she twitched her eyebrows at the woman who was about to knock on it.
“Where are you going without eating?”
“Lucienne?”
The golden hair that hung down like a rolling waterfall, the make-up that was lightly decorated above the clear features, and the attire was a dress that clung to the curvy and attractive body.
Northern Winterstone.
A beautiful woman with a cold atmosphere glared at Rom, blinking her red eyes. She didn’t know what to do, so she shoved him in the chest and pulled him back into the room, where she slammed the door shut. She unilaterally declared that her bewildered ex-husband at the sudden visit had her spiritedly seated in her empty chair.
“Sit down and wait. She told Marion to bring her meal here.”
“What, I thought you were in a dreamland with the other two.”
“Under! Even a 10-year-old girl wouldn’t use that expression.”
Lucienne snorted at her and sneered. But somehow it felt different than usual. She had no choice but to do so because she was always paying attention to her, knowingly and unknowingly being a wicked woman who was only ferocious. And that she has adorned her beautiful appearance to the fullest even without adornment.
“I heard about Antoine, but when did it happen?”
“About an hour or two ago.”
She followed Rome and dragged the remaining chair.
“I dealt with Temur’s idiot and the courtier. Listen, it seems like you haven’t been able to eat properly and have been working all morning. What is a man with the name of a baron doing without even taking a meal?”
“Guests came unexpectedly, so I tried to put out the fire first.”
“You’re not some kind of middle manager, do you know what kind of mayor or village chief you are?”
Standing with her arms crossed, the young lady sat down with her legs crossed in a splendid manner. He spat out with a disapproving expression while looking into the eyes next to such a warm stove.
From the outside, she seemed to be scolding, but in reality she was concerned about her man.
“You are now the owner of the North. All you have to do is leave the cumbersome work to the subordinates and just rule. I’m not going to tell you not to work, but you don’t have to skip meals or give up sleep.”
“Are you worried?”
“… I don’t know, think whatever you like.”
Lucienne grumbled. It was because her face was itchy because of the atmosphere she was not used to. Even so, the reason why she dared to speak out without shame was because she knew how much her husband, Rom, had suffered in order to save Youngji.
“I personally checked the divinations of the young men brought by Sorgal. I won’t regret it because I followed the luck and selected the skills that were useful. I asked you to wait a little while, as I will actively reflect the opinion of the Camag side in the trial of the vice-count and the other four barons.”
“It’s a fortune teller, so he’s the best mystic in the frozen land.”
“Hmph, how much do you underestimate me for not being the best in Gaul, let alone the best in the continent?”
Rom laughed. It was because the petty quarrels that only happen between husband and wife were lovely.
“Cobain is a greedy scumbag, but the other four barons have been rehabilitated and are useful. Of course, all titles should be stripped. But if possible, I want to end it by banishing rather than killing.”
“I’m sorry, but that’s not a matter for me to decide alone.”
“Know. But first, I’m going to ask for your permission. Because, you know, it was I who instigated them. The family in Havre must be watched all day, so let them finish it after paying the appropriate price.”
It was still a high-handed attitude for the words he spat out to ask for a favor. But anyone who knew her could tell that her demeanor had softened enough. Rom, who liked it very much, readily agreed with a nod of his head.
“Do it. Instead, the price they pay includes recovering the sold off tribesmen.”
“I was thinking of that anyway.”
“Great. How did you send the lords who were confronting the knights back?”
The topic that followed was what had happened at the checkpoint. Rome, who was curious about her way of doing things, asked intriguedly. If it wasn’t for the scars across her face, it was the stare of her impeccably handsome ex-husband.
“I sent the court bag.”
“Renoir?”
“Yeah, she asked if I had a date for the ceremony with her mom. If possible, it seems that you want to announce the name of your family as well. Well, it’s nothing strange that only the royal family would consider the hero of Limousin as a loyal subject of the first generation.”
“What did you say…”
“I said that the date of the ceremony and the name of the new family would be announced within the sabbatical. And it’s quite a headache from the wild dogs flocking from the neighborhood, so I asked if I could help. As the next Marquis, I handed over some money to show that I am friendly to the royal family.”
Actually, that was the decisive blow. Even though it was not easy to bribe a person of the level of a courtier, it was too easy for the clever Lucienne Lemoang.
“Where is your money?”
“There are things hidden overseas. Even if you eat it, you will never get rid of it. There’s a reason why loaches like Renoir are taken for granted. After collecting everything and handing it over, he smiled and went to the three of them. You’re probably busy distributing that money by now and appeasing yourself. At the same time, he would have been convinced that we really loved each other.”
Rom put on a look of surprise. Well, even if you add up all the slush funds collected by the mystic, who used to be an evil woman, it would not be comparable to the total amount collected by Marquis Baekryeong, but it is true that it is also a large amount.
“All the money you’ve saved so far?”
It wasn’t unreasonable to ask that. Even so, Lucienne tried to pretend to be indifferent and pretended to be indifferent to her voice. I was nervous, so I didn’t want my complicated feelings to be discovered.
“… It’s not a lie to say that I’ll be faithful to you from now on.”
Even a villainess will help her love in her own way.
