Danger Pay and Repurposed Dresses
“This is the defense grass I mentioned earlier. These plants help keep monsters at bay to some extent. They emit a scent that monsters dislike.”
“Like mosquito repellent, then.”
“Pardon?”
“Never mind. There’s something like that. But can these plants alone really stop monster attacks?”
“Because the forest has plenty of food for monsters, they rarely come down to the village. Most of them live in the northern part of the forest, too. That said, with this drought dragging on, I’m not sure what will happen going forward.”
“Now that you mention it, the defense grass has all dried out. Is that all right?”
“Defense grass grows well even without water. Around this time of year, it naturally turns that yellowish color and its scent becomes stronger.”
Chloe sniffed the air, trying to catch the scent, but nothing stood out. Seeing her reaction, Scrooge chuckled fondly and continued.
“I’ve heard humans can’t really smell it.”
“Really? That explains it.”
Embarrassed, Chloe rubbed her nose and looked away.
She realized just how little she knew about this place. The terrain information she had gathered was only a tiny fraction of what she needed. She had to obtain more hidden points quickly to learn more about the territory.
“Monsters, huh.”
If stats were involved, it would be a shame if monsters never appeared.
After a moment’s thought, Chloe turned to Scrooge and asked again.
“Monsters don’t come out during the day, right?”
“Correct. However, night falls early in the forest, so we cannot afford to be careless.”
“It’s fine. We just need to strike fast and retreat.”
“What do you mean?”
“Logging.”
To repair the crumbling houses in the village, securing materials came first.
“You intend to log in the Black Forest?”
Scrooge looked as though he had heard something unthinkable.
“Why? Is that a problem? Monsters won’t appear in the forest along the defense grass boundary, will they?”
“It’s dangerous, so people will be reluctant to go.”
“We just need to offer generous danger pay.”
“Danger pay?”
After more than thirty years as a butler, Scrooge had never heard the term before.
“Yeah. If they don’t want to go because it’s risky, we pay more per day than for other work. It has to happen alongside the purification work. For logging, we’ll pay five bron a day.”
“Five bron?”
Chloe nodded slowly.
“What, is that too little?”
She asked, worried that the pay might be too low for such dangerous work.
“No. It’s far too much. I doubt any commoner has ever earned that much for a single day’s work.”
“They will now. In Grace Territory.”
The more generous the daily wage, the better.
Chloe smiled contentedly, thinking of the heavy gold coins filling her purse.
Who would have thought having endless money would feel this good!
Like a creator surveying her domain, Chloe looked over the barren village.
The servants who had received prior training were explaining the work precautions to the villagers, along with the warning that anyone who slacked off would receive no pay.
The work progressed quickly.
With their bellies full and the promise of daily wages just for cleaning in front of their homes, no one refused.
Adults from every household, and even children over ten, came out to clear the muddy village paths and the foul-smelling waste.
Chloe had worried that no one would volunteer for the logging team heading into the Black Forest, but once they heard the daily wage, everyone rushed forward. Scrooge had no choice but to select the sturdiest-looking and most capable workers.
Upon entering Grace Castle, Chloe headed straight for the convenience store.
It was fortunate that her inventory capacity had increased. Moreover, items stored inside barely weighed anything—what a convenient system.
Chloe leisurely browsed the empty store, filling her inventory with drinks, snacks, bread, and triangle kimbap—foods she could distribute to people.
After stocking up for a while, she grabbed a can of beer from the refrigerator and plopped down on a chair inside the store.
She had grown somewhat used to coming and going, so the fear wasn’t as strong as before, but her spine still tingled at times.
Click!
Chloe popped the cold beer can open, trying to soothe her complicated feelings.
Had all the people really disappeared?
Or had she simply become invisible to everyone else?
Hiss!
White foam bubbled out of the small opening. Chloe quickly pressed her mouth to the can, sucked up the foam, then tilted it back and gulped the beer down. She also tore open a bag of squid snacks from the shelf and set it in front of her.
The distinctive salty scent of squid crackers wafted out.
It was ironic that she still had an appetite in this situation.
“Ahh!”
The refreshing beer slid down her throat.
Her mind felt clearer.
“For now, let’s focus on just one thing—Morta Village.”
I commend your clear sense of purpose.
You have been awarded 100 hidden points as a bonus.
You currently possess 470 hidden points.
Next, she had wanted to buy a Level 7 inventory that could hold up to 800 items from the hidden shop, but she still didn’t have enough points.
Chloe considered buying something else, then held back and finished the beer can cleanly.
She had drunk an entire can, yet strangely, her mind felt even clearer.
“I need to deliver these quickly and head back to Borim Hall.”
Chloe dumped the food she had stocked in her inventory onto the floor of the room, then stepped back through the front door and ran to Borim Hall.
She didn’t forget to set the ten-minute timer.
After working diligently all evening, Chloe pulled the bell rope to summon Delma as soon as she finished organizing everything. Because she had instructed that no one enter her room while she rested after returning from Morta Village, no one had come to wake her.
She had only recently learned that Delma was also handling the head maid’s duties on top of everything else.
No wonder she was busy every day.
Chloe felt both gratitude and guilt as she watched Delma arrive, out of breath despite her own exhausting schedule. Considering their ages, she was practically ordering around someone her parents’ age. Still, she had grown much more comfortable with her in just a few days.
Humans really were creatures of adaptation.
“How many maids in Grace Castle are good at sewing?”
“Most of them can sew.”
Delma, who had just arrived at the room, answered while catching her breath. Her face was flushed tomato-red from running.
“Enough to make clothes?”
“That level… let me think. About five, perhaps?”
Delma counted on her fingers as she recalled.
“Then gather all of them. Of course, since this is extra work on top of their regular duties, tell them there will be special compensation.”
“What… exactly do you intend to have them do?”
Delma had known the lord since birth, yet she couldn’t begin to guess what Chloe was thinking now.
“Just gather them. As quickly as possible. I’ll explain once everyone is here. Ah, before that, could you take out all the clothes from the dressing room?”
“All of those dresses?”
Lord Chloe had an unusual attachment to dresses, if nothing else.
Every single one was covered in fluttering lace or was predominantly pink. Insisting that no two shades of pink were the same, she had bought dresses with desperate determination even when the estate was destitute. With unchanging taste, she had filled the dressing room with nearly identical designs.
Having lost her parents at a young age and never received enough love, Chloe had soothed her lonely heart by collecting dresses.
Even after selling jewels, paintings, ornaments, and even land to raise money, the dresses were the last things she refused to let go of.
The dresses Delma brought out one by one filled the room to overflowing and spilled into the reception room like a mountain.
Chloe’s jaw dropped at the sheer quantity of dresses piled before her.
“There really are too many. And they’re all the same design!”
Chloe recoiled in disgust at the dresses strewn across the floor. Delma’s face turned as if she had seen a ghost.
“Why can’t I hear what’s in your heart?”
The five maids who arrived at Delma’s summons stared with wide eyes, unsure why they had been called.
Chloe spoke to the stiffly standing maids as if it were nothing important.
“Take apart all the dresses here and make clothes for the children.”
“Eeeh?”
“What?”
The maids’ faces turned pale, as though they had received a death sentence.
“Why are you so surprised? I’m asking you to take these apart and make clothes the children can wear. If the fabric is thin, feel free to layer it two or three times.”
The most shocked person was Delma herself.
Delma burst into tears and collapsed to her knees before Chloe, sobbing.
“My lord, *sob*! Please don’t lose hope until the very end. Everything was finally starting to fall back into place… *sob*.”
“What are you saying, Delma? That’s not it.”
“But these dresses are things you cherished like your own life. Offering them up means… you’ve given up!”
“Delma! I said that’s not it.”
Only after repeating several times that she had no such dark thoughts did Delma finally stop crying.
Since moving the dresses was cumbersome and finding a separate space large enough for many people to work at once was difficult, they decided to make the children’s clothes in the lord’s private reception room for the time being.
“Are you really sure it’s all right to take these dresses apart?”
Holding dresses more expensive than they could ever hope to wear in their lifetimes, the maids asked with anxious eyes.
No one wanted to be the first to start cutting.
Left with no choice, Chloe picked up the nearest dress and waved it at the maids.
“It’s fine, of course it is! I sent people to buy winter fabric, but it’ll take too long. By the time the merchants arrive, winter will already have begun. So start taking them apart right now. Like this!”
Chloe grabbed the lace on the dress and tore it with all her strength.
Riiip!
“Hic!”
The expensive dress was mercilessly shredded in Chloe’s hands.
“M-My lord! We’ll do it! Please put that down!”
If they carefully removed each piece with scissors, they could salvage as much lace and fabric as possible.
But if the lord did it that way, the fabric would inevitably be damaged.
“All right. Don’t worry about the dresses getting torn—just make clothes for the children. Make them in various sizes. Got it?”
“Yes!”
“Ah, you heard about the special compensation, right? Five bron for every three coats!”
The amount was quite generous to be called mere special compensation.