CH 36

Chapter 36: Ripples

She and her husband left the castle in a carriage before dawn.

Finally, the inn’s building was completed. It’s not yet ready to accommodate guests, but it’s been made simple enough to stay for one or two nights, so the two of them set off on a trip.

Liddellina’s chest had been excited with anticipation for a long time.

The road had been much improved compared to before, and the carriage journey was comfortable.

When Liddellina arrived at the site, she was surprised by the impressive exterior. She had heard that they had bought a derelict house, so she had imagined something more humble.

“It’s quite impressive,” she said.

“Yes, we have some land and we didn’t want to skimp on anything small. We said we were going to renovate it, but it’s almost like rebuilding it from scratch,” he replied with a wry smile. Liddellina could feel Friedrich’s enthusiasm.

Liddellina entered the three-story inn and looked around the interior, which had not yet been touched.

Rather than furnish the inn with extravagant furniture and amenities, she decides to first furnish it with the things she needs and wants in the inn.

If possible, she would like to have a bathtub as well as a bathtub for wiping. However, there should be some things that want to stay cheaper than such things.

Depending on the room, Friedrich decided to equip the facilities while also listening to the opinions of experienced people recruited when he opened the inn.

Since most of the territory is engaged in agriculture, Friedrich had collected experienced people from other territories and the capital. After all, when the lord takes the lead, the scale is different and the work progresses smoothly.

After that, the progress of the interior construction work was also smooth, and the first inn was completed during the summer. This summer is probably the limit. Liddellina hopes it stays on track.

“Liddellina, I plan to build another building next year. Of course, we will continue to maintain the road at the same time.”

Friedrich is full of enthusiasm.

“I’m looking forward to it.

“Because even if we have resources, we can’t use them if the transportation to the capital is inconvenient forever.”

Liddellina is delighted to see him happily talking about the future of the domain.

Somewhere along the way, her husband’s face had returned to being cheerful. It seemed that something had been blown away in him, and Liddellina was relieved.

“And I’ve found a good property. If you”re okay with it, I’d like to buy it.”

“In that case, I’ll go with you.”

“Liddellina, let’s wait until the road is more improved. It’s much closer to the capital than the inn we have now. I’ll go first. And don’t you have another important job?”

There were also negotiations to expand the workshop, which Liddellina had led.

She also had to interview new hires. Even without posting a recruitment notice in the capital, there were more people attracted by Fie’s craftsmanship and fortunately applying from the domain.

And there was also the matter of the hot spring inn. Liddellina didn’t want to stop at just one.

For that reason, Liddellina continued to work at the castle while consulting with Howard and Dorothy and looking around the capital.

Her husband was devoted to maintaining the road and building inns. Recently he has been away a lot, but it is much easier than when she was working alone.

Now, the couple is working hard to enliven the territory by cooperating with each other. It was a development that she did not expect at the time of her marriage.

The work of the marquis is fulfilling, needed, and she is busy but enjoying her life every day.

And when the two are in the castle, they talk about the future of the territory and enjoy a leisurely meal. Liddellina was savoring a busy but peaceful happiness.

◇◇◇

Because her husband resumed mining at a distant silver mine, Liddellina left the castle with a two-week plan to go and see the situation. Liddellina was already accustomed to her duties and was able to work smoothly and efficiently every day without any problems.

However, she is anxious about being away from her husband for a long time. After returning from the war, he was away from the castle for five days at most.

The dining table that had always been surrounded by the two of them became lonely and she felt a sense of loneliness as if a hole had opened in her heart.

One day, unexpectedly, there were guests from the capital. The gatekeeper had contacted her, and Liddellina hurried to the castle gate.

There, she saw a face she didn’t want to see twice.

“I’m surprised. It’s quite a rural area, isn’t it?” said Yvonne with a sigh.

“It was really hard to come all the way here. Weren’t there any inns on the way?” said her uncle, seeming tired. They must have saved on lodging fees, although there were some.

“But you seem to be living a very good life. That dress, you’re using a fine fabric,” said her aunt, eyeing her and speaking in an annoyed tone.

“What are you doing here after all this time?”

Liddellina didn’t say a word of welcome. She didn’t want to let them into the castle.

“Hey, that must be worth nothing!”

“Yeah! I thought it was pitiful to be without parents, so I raised her, but this ingrate!”

“You’re welcome, I don’t remember being spoken to like this!”

Yvonne spat out foam at the corners of her mouth.

Did they not notice that the castle guards and servants were looking at them suspiciously?

Because they were all shouting, Liddellina reluctantly let them into the castle, giving up on chasing them away here. It was probably a request for money.

She has no choice but to give them a few coins from her allowance and chase them away.

She wonders what Kurt is doing. He’s the only well-named.

Her parents had died and Liddellina was grieving, but Kurt had taken over the household on his own and sold the estate to pay off debts to the noble family. Normally, her uncle should have been a guardian for Liddellina until she became an adult. Liddellina learned a lot of things here and realized the unfairness of the past.

However, thanks to that, she is now living a happy and luxurious life and has been given a meaningful job. As a result, Liddellina has mixed feelings about her fortunate life.