CH 382

Yesterday I had a wonderful experience. I want to do something about this situation, but I can’t. After all, I think that 1-on-5 is unfair. Aside from Mikoto, if the other 4 were going 1-on-1, I should be able to go on the offensive more.

But if I were to worry about 1 person, the remaining 4 would attack all at once. Then even I have no chance of winning. It’s becoming a promise that I’m always the one to be toyed with in a good way. I have to do something about this situation…

“Flora dear, where have you been for such a long time?”

“Geh! Mother…” I said.

I rested for the night at Cien Villa and bumped into my mother on my way to my morning routine. Mother must not have been here until last night. Someone probably contacted Manor Carruthers after I returned to Cien yesterday. If it was my mother’s spies, they were no joke.

It’s true that I’m the daughter of House Carruthers, but I’m also the Head of House Caan. Information about House Caan cannot be overlooked by House Carruthers’ spies.

It doesn’t matter if they are parent and child or if they cooperate with each other. It would be fine if only the information I reported to my parents was flowing over there, but it would be a big problem if they were grabbing information that I hadn’t passed on.

“Is ‘Geh!’ anyway to speak to your mother?” Mother said. “… Well, I suppose it’s fine. Well then, let’s go, shall we?”

“Hii!”

Where was my mother going to take me when I was about to go to my morning routine? The answer is already decided. After this, I was scolded by Mother and she got extremely angry at me for playing dumb.

I had a rough time this morning. Moreover, even though I’m slowing down, I continue to train almost every day… It’s not that I’m slowing down, it’s that my mother is gradually letting loose the restraints on her strength.

“After breakfast, I’ll take the morning ship to Steltin,” I said.

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“You don’t have to say it over and over again, we know,” Mikoto said.

No, Mikoto? Didn’t you just say the other day that you didn’t hear or know what I explained in advance? That’s why I keep explaining it like this.

“What will you be doing now, Mother?” I asked.

“My! You’re terrible, Flora dear!” Mother said. “To say such a thing to your mother! Wasn’t it already decided that Mother will be following you back to the royal capital? Yet you say that as if I won’t be? How terrible. Just terrible.

“I didn’t say anything like that…” I said.

It seems that she is quite angry that I left her alone for almost a month. But there’s no way I could say that I conquered the Kingdom of the Blish Isles and became king of said country, just in case the Kingdom of Ploiss decided to attack me.

My father is a genuine Ploissian aristocrat, and his loyalty to the Kingdom of Ploiss and the royal family is not suspicious. My mother, along with my father, are the keystones guarding the western border. If it weren’t for that bit of patriotism, they wouldn’t be doing it. I don’t know what would happen if these parents of mine found out.

Of course, I have absolutely no intention of betraying or destroying the Kingdom of Ploiss. But my current position is tricky. The Caan Knighthood, the Caan Barony, the Caan Knighthood, and the Kingdom of Ploiss also hold considerable territory and power for me. In fact, it will probably be on the same level as the dukes and marquis around here. Especially the Knight’s Nation is too big.

And yet I have nothing to do with the royal family. The King and his faction must have allowed me to expand my power as Ludwig’s fiancée. If I marry Ludwig, that means my power will be added to the power of the royal family.

But the calculation has collapsed. Ludwig decided to marry Margarete, and for the time being, he made me act as a man and marry me off to Eleonore, but if I were to say that the royal family was really satisfied with it, I wouldn’t.

If I marry Ludwig and have a child, even if I’m not blood-related to the royal family and try to distance myself from it, if the child born takes over my land and becomes king, it’s all royal domain then. But even if I marry Eleonore, I can’t have a biological child, and the power I’ve built won’t be handed over to the royal family. No matter how you look at it, I’m already one of the obstacles for the royal family.

At first, they probably wanted to raise me to keep the other great nobles in check, but now I’m one of those “other great nobles that the royal family must keep in check.” There’s no way around it. There’s no way the Ploissian royal family and other great aristocrats are going to silently leave me like this.

Even if you don’t intend to rebel, it would be foolish not to be optimistic and say that they won’t do anything. If by any chance the other party does something, you have to be absolutely prepared.

“Then, when it’s time, let’s all board the ship, including you, Mother.”

“”Alright,””” everyone said.

I quickly finished breakfast and was busy processing work until we ran out of time.

We came from Cien to Steltin by boat and headed for the royal capital of Berne in a carriage. I can’t count on going up the Odel River by boat because the time is uncertain. If you’re going down, you’ll probably come down on time, but if you’re going up, there’s a high chance that you’ll be late if something happens.

Since the route was decided in advance, I got on the carriage that was waiting for me in Steltin and headed for the royal capital, and I arrived at the royal capital within one day as planned. Normally I have a few days to spare, but this time I really don’t. Tomorrow is the day of the opening ceremony. I’m glad I made it just in time.

“If you go to the opening ceremony, you won’t go to school again, right? Is there any point in going all the way there?” Mikoto asked.

“That’s… well…”

I understand what Mikoto is saying. In fact, recently I have only attended the opening and closing ceremonies and exams at the academy. To be honest, the academy is just a useless burden, and if it weren’t for the academy, I would have been restricted from being able to move more freely.

But there are two reasons why I go to school. Of course, I go to school as the daughter of House Carruthers. That’s why I have to lead a school life that lives up to the name of House Carruthers and doesn’t damage it. House Carruthers’s reputation would be damaged if I scored grades that could not be shown to the public.

And the other is a consideration for the royal family. It’s important for me to show the royal family that I’ve properly taken the academy exams and achieved a decent grade, and that I’m bound by my academy life. The royal faction knows that I don’t show up at the school. After all, they were the ones who said it was fine to begin with.

Even so, if I don’t go to school at all and don’t take exams, they will take me for doing whatever I want. The academy is also run by the royal family. It will be an appeal to the royal family that I at least show up at the academy and have excellent grades. If I show that I am obedient and that I take care of the royal family and the academy even when I am busy, it will give a little confidence in my trustworthiness.

“I won’t attend classes at the academy, but Mikoto and Alexandra, you two can stay in the royal capital and attend classes, right?” I said.

“There’s no point in going to school without you, Flora,” Alexandra said.

No… Is that so? The academy is a place where you go to study, so it doesn’t matter if I’m there or not… I think so, but I’m glad to hear Alexandra’s words, so I accept them honestly.

“For the time being… let’s take a good rest today to get rid of the fatigue of the long trip, and then attend the opening ceremony tomorrow.”

Honestly, I’m really tired from just moving around. Physically I’m fine, but I can’t rest my mind. I will be leaving the royal capital in a little while, but I will be staying for a few days. After resting my mind and body a little here, the next is the Knight’s Nation…

After the opening ceremony, what I should do is inspect the construction site of the Caan Barony’s Charlottenburg. Well, I have to work, not just inspect, but…

I have an appointment with Eleonore, so I have to head to the royal castle immediately! You may think so, but don’t panic. I still have the remaining pages of the picture diary I gave her. This time as well, on the last day of the last page of the picture diary, we had a touching reunion, and the second picture diary will also end with me. For that reason, it’s still too early to go see her.

I will use those few days to inspect and work in Charlottenburg. When I came back, I found that the palace was quite complete, regardless of the town. Also, the fort on the cliff looks like it’s starting to take shape from a distance. Of course, it will still take a long time until the actual completion, but the fort aside, the palace is scheduled to be completed in the next fiscal year.

Looking at the current progress, it may not be all finished in the truest sense, but once it is done, the town will be opened and the lord, in other words, I will be able to live there.

“Oh! Mister Mage, it’s been a while! Please dig with magic again!”

“Pardon me. Today’s work areas have already been decided…”

“I figured as much! Mister Mage’s arms will be in demand! Gahahaha!”

I covered my whole body with a robe, pretended to be a worker like before, and entered the site. Or rather, I get calls from here and there. They remember me even though we run through and cycle workers constantly. Well, since no one digs up the ground with magic, it’s only natural they’ll remember someone who could…

As craftsmen here and there say, there are many orders for me to dig up the ground with magic. But this time I don’t have time to do that. There’s no problem building town buildings after the town opens, so first we have to prioritize the things we need before the town opens. The cliff-top forts are particularly struggling right now.

The fort holds many secrets. An escape route, a hiding place, a place of refuge… The structure must be easy to defend and hard to attack. It would be necessary to have a structure that would make the outsider who came to invade get lost before they reach something important.

Only trustworthy people can be entrusted with the construction of such a secret fort. As a result, the number of craftsmen is not enough and the work is not progressing well. You can’t do something you never hear about, and keeping everyone involved in the construction at the end silent and keeping the secret… If precious craftsmen are disposed of like that, the country will not grow.

That’s why I’ll prioritize the construction of the fort from now on. In the town below, most of the underground infrastructure burial has been completed, and roads have also been completed. All that remains is to dig the foundations of each house and connect them to water and sewage systems. It’s a job that can be done without me.

“Hey! Mister Mage! Over here! Stack these rocks!”

“Coming!”

As soon as I went to the top of the cliff, I was asked to work by the person in charge there. He’s the supervisor of just this section, so he doesn’t know my true identity or what’s inside the robes. However, since I helped build the foundations of the fort and the basement, they only know that I will come to help them from today.

I pick up the rock they asked for and put it down where I was told. Correcting the position a little, putting Roman concrete in the gaps, and working in harmony with the other craftsmen… Well, I’m just carrying the rocks down… I proceed with the work.

“Aaah! Magic is amazing! Such a big rock is usually hung with a rope and it takes several people to lift it and put it back down.”

“Hahaha… Is that so…?”

Sorry……. It’s not magic or anything that moves the rocks… I’m using physical enhancement, but I’m just lifting and lowering it with force… If you think it’s magic, you’re sorely mistaken… It’s true that I used Earth magic to dig up the ground, but now I feel sorry because it’s just brute force.

“Next time I’ll have this on top of that.”

“Roger.”

I’m going to pile up the rocks as I was told… but does this have any meaning? I don’t feel like it would easily collapse if attacked by a cannon. I don’t think it’s time to stay in a stone fort any longer anyway, but…

But it seems that a large and splendid fortress is important as an intimidating appearance. I said that it doesn’t make much sense, but after all, if there is a splendid fortress standing on the high cliff behind the town, it will have an intimidating effect. In order to avoid war, it is necessary to make the opponent think that “If you attack with force, it will be tough to beat and you’ll lose more than you gain.” So looks are important, too.

Besides, this fort has various new designs. That seems to be the reason why they don’t pile up stones of normal size, but huge ones that can be called boulders. If you pile up a lot of small blocks, they will crumble all at once. But they seem to expect that if you just pile up a few big ones, they won’t crumble as easily as countless small blocks.

There are also various new ideas, such as increasing the thickness and creating multiple layers of space inside. I don’t know how effective this fort is against artillery fire, but it’s a fort that takes into account the enemy’s siege weapons, so I have no choice but to believe it.

After going to the construction site for several days, I was satisfied with the progress of the fort’s rock building and finished this work. Tomorrow is the day I go to the royal castle and meet the pretty princess.