Morta Reborn
As they stepped through the village entrance, the filthy state it had once been in was nowhere to be seen.
The ground was still dirt, but it had been swept clean, and all the refuse that had once littered every corner was gone. The streets were spotless, and not a trace of the old stench remained.
“My lord!”
The village chief came running to greet Chloe as she entered, bowing deeply at the waist.
He explained that while Builder handled the logging, he had taken responsibility for organizing the village cleanup.
“You’ve worked hard.”
Chloe still felt awkward using informal speech with the white-haired elder, so she averted her gaze, pretending to inspect the village instead.
“Not at all! This is all thanks to your great generosity, my lord. We are simply grateful.”
In just two days, the chief’s haggard appearance had transformed completely. The sharp, wary glint in his eyes had been replaced by one filled with hope, and the sight alone lifted her spirits.
“Reconstruction of the village will begin soon. I’ve ordered the most damaged houses to be repaired first, so keep that in mind.”
“Pardon?”
A flicker of disappointment crossed the chief’s face—he had clearly been hoping his own home would be fixed first.
“The most damaged houses first.”
When Chloe repeated herself firmly, the chief hurriedly bowed his head. His sparse white hair fluttered in the breeze.
“Yes! I will remember that!”
“If the village is rebuilt splendidly, I’ll reward you as its chief. So do your best to restore it. However, if I see anything lacking, there will be no reward.”
A well-placed carrot always improved efficiency!
“Yes! I will remember that!”
The chief answered in a voice brimming with resolve.
Once the logging was largely finished, repairs to the village houses progressed rapidly.
Builder proved far more capable than expected. Following Chloe’s orders, he began repairing the most dilapidated houses first, and with so many workers mobilized, three or four homes were fixed each day. When people were paid a daily wage to repair their own houses, it was no wonder the work went smoothly.
When Gold Rich returned to Grace Territory, he could not hide his astonishment at how much the land had changed.
Since reaching Grace Castle required passing through Morta Village, the transformation was even more striking.
“Is this really Morta?”
Gold Rich stared out the carriage window, his mouth hanging open.
Previously, the stench had been so strong that he had to keep the windows tightly shut whenever passing the village. Now there was no odor at all—only neatly arranged streets that looked like they belonged to an entirely different place.
The houses, once on the verge of collapse with missing roofs and rotting walls, had been tidied up and looked almost new.
Even as Gold Rich’s carriage passed through, the village bustled with construction work.
The place that had once reeked of death was now filled with the laughter of children—sounds of life.
If it had changed this much in less than a month, he could hardly imagine how much more it would transform in the future.
Moreover, the lord of this land, Chloe Grace, was still a young talent not yet twenty years old.
Gold Rich stopped the carriage and gazed at the changed village scenery for a long while, unable to close his mouth.
By the time he arrived at Grace Castle after passing through Morta Village, he had resolved never to let go of his dealings here.
“I greet the lord!”
Chloe’s lips curved upward at Gold Rich’s noticeably different attitude compared to his first visit. In the time since they last met, he seemed to have gained even more belly fat.
As expected, money was a wonderful thing.
“You returned sooner than I thought.”
“Yes, my lord. The items you entrusted to me sold out almost immediately upon reaching the capital. Dozens of nobles placed reservations, and even the imperial family has shown great interest in the jewels I’m selling.”
The imperial family.
That was something she hadn’t anticipated.
Wait—would getting involved with the imperial family bring any good?
After a brief moment of thought, Chloe concluded that it would not.
“You didn’t reveal the source of the jewels, did you?”
At Chloe’s stiff tone, Gold Rich frantically waved his hands. Quick-witted as he was, he immediately understood from her displeased reaction that she wanted nothing to do with the imperial family.
“I said nothing at all!”
When Gold Rich shook his head, the flesh beneath his chin wobbled.
“Is that so? Good. The moment you reveal that the jewels come from here, our dealings will end.”
Gold Rich, now certain his quick judgment had been correct, smiled and nodded vigorously.
“Of course!”
From Gold Rich’s perspective, an exclusive contract with Grace Territory was far more advantageous.
He bowed so deeply that his forehead nearly touched the ground, terrified of offending the lord.
“I’ve been so excited wondering what rare treasure you would show me this time that I couldn’t sleep last night.”
Well, well—he even knew how to flatter.
Gold Rich smiled obsequiously like a sycophant from a comic and bowed low. His face, shiny with oil from the lighting installed to make the jewels sparkle, gleamed.
When Chloe nodded leisurely, two servants brought forward a chest that had been set aside and placed it before Gold Rich.
Gulp!
As the chest drew near, Gold Rich’s Adam’s apple bobbed as though he had caught the scent of delicious food.
Chloe actually felt pleased at how openly he displayed his greed. Dealing with someone like him was far easier than with those who hid their true intentions like sly snakes.
In case of any unforeseen incident, not only Scrooge but also Red Bear and two skilled knights stood guard beside Chloe, while nearly thirty fully armed knights protected the outside of the office. It was partly preparation for emergencies, but also to demonstrate Grace’s changed status and to intimidate Gold Rich.
However, judging by Gold Rich’s expression, the effort seemed unnecessary. He looked visibly delighted at the sight of the knights guarding both inside and outside the office. Far from being cowed, he appeared to expect even more valuable goods than last time. Chloe felt slightly deflated by the unexpected reaction, but it also deepened her favorable impression of him.
“M-May I open it?”
Gold Rich even stammered from nervousness.
“Of course. But please be careful. There are quite a few rare items.”
Chloe deliberately lowered her voice to a secretive whisper. Since he was so expectant, a little encouragement was only right.
“Of course! I’ll handle it with the utmost care so not a single scratch appears.”
Gold Rich, who had been waiting nearby, pulled out white gloves from his pocket, put them on, and carefully opened the chest. The more the lid lifted, the more his eyes gleamed like polished jewels.
“Huh? What is all this?”
Gold Rich asked in a puzzled voice after opening the lid.
“I told you. They’re valuable. Even the storage cases are included.”
“Ooh! You mean the storage cases are made of such precious Bordeaux cloth!”
“Bordeaux? Yes, Bordeaux cloth.”
It seemed they called velvet cloth “Bordeaux cloth.”
“There are also storage cases made of very fine leather! What kind of leather is this? I’ve never seen it before—it’s incredibly thin and has a splendid pattern!”
“Leather.”
“There’s an animal like that? Ah! It must be a magical beast! Ah… As expected, I knew the lord was someone special.”
Not at all. It was just synthetic leather.
Since explaining it properly would be pointless, Chloe let Gold Rich imagine whatever he wanted. She wondered what kind of magical beast “leather” might be.
“Ooh! I’ve never seen leather with such beautiful colors.”
In a place where storage cases were usually just carved wood, the velvet-and-leather-covered cases on plastic bases were rare in themselves.
“Good heavens! And the cloth lining inside the cases! The sheen!”
Gold Rich marveled as he stroked the yellow cloth that gleamed especially brightly in the sunlight.
“Nylon.”
“Pardon? There’s such a cloth?”
“It’s a very precious fabric. One that’s hard to find around here.”
“Ooh! It’s incredibly soft.”
Gold Rich was especially fond of the new designs of necklaces and bracelets brought from Gold Diamond. He repeatedly exclaimed that the necklaces crafted as thin as thread and the diamonds smaller than fingernails could never have been made by human hands. Everything was stored inside the cases.
Gold Rich stroked the gleaming cloth with his gloved, plump hands and glanced sideways at the lord sitting with a haughty expression.
He was dying to know where this young lord had obtained such precious jewels.
Recalling Chloe Grace’s past actions, there had been no particular visitors. In fact, almost no merchants came to this barren land that was so poor it had nothing worth taking. The only noble who visited was Viscount Patrasche, who was intent on stealing the territory from the child.
Though Gold Rich’s curiosity burned to the tip of his tongue, he kept his mouth shut, knowing that speaking it aloud might ruin the current deal. He was the type of person who could suppress any amount of curiosity for the sake of profit.
Gold Rich hid his boiling curiosity behind a composed expression, carefully examined everything from the cases to the jewels, then handed over a hefty sum of three thousand gold and departed.
Seeing the chest filled with gold coins, Scrooge grinned so widely it looked as though his mouth might tear. But the moment Red Bear left, his smile instantly turned into a worried frown.
“My lord, where on earth are all these jewels coming from?”
No matter how much Scrooge thought about it, there was no place that could produce this many jewels. Moreover, if such treasures had existed, there would have been no need to sell the territory’s land to Viscount Patrasche at a bargain price. There were far too many suspicious points.
It was also unlikely that the lord, who had always stayed within the castle, had gone out stealing.
“There’s a treasure vault my father only told me about. I’ve only just remembered it.”
“A treasure vault?”
“Scrooge.”
“Yes, my lord!”
Chloe averted her gaze, uncomfortable under Scrooge’s skeptical stare.
“Call the financial officer for me.”
She felt it was time to manage the finances systematically.
But Scrooge’s reply was completely unexpected.
“Did our territory have a separate financial officer?”
“We don’t?”
“You need finances to manage before you can call for a financial officer. Until now, I’ve been handling the meager budget myself.”
“But aren’t you the butler?”
“I’m the butler, the financial officer, and also the lord’s teacher.”
“I don’t recall ever receiving lessons from you.”
“That’s because you ran away every time, my lord.”
“Aha!”
No wonder the area under Scrooge’s eyes looked so hollow.
He really was an incredibly busy person.
“Then from today onward, Scrooge, you’ll only handle the financial officer role.”
“Does that mean…”
“Hire more people. Now that we have enough funds, there will be plenty of jobs as well.”
“Is… Is that true?”
Scrooge, forgetting his earlier suspicions at the thought of reduced workload, grew tearful with emotion.
After deciding to focus solely on the financial officer role, Scrooge selected someone from among the servants to take over the butler duties. Apparently, he had already had someone in mind, for within a single day he presented the candidate before Chloe.
It was a young, handsome man with light brown hair close to blonde and striking green eyes. Tall and well-built, he could easily pass for a knight. He seemed quite nervous—his entire body from head to toe was stiff as a department store mannequin.
Chloe smiled contentedly at the sight of the tall, striking new butler.
Oh my! How promising.
“From today onward, I will be serving as the butler. My name is Handsome.”
“Handsome? Your name is Handsome?”