A Lord in the Making

The activity radius, characteristics, favorability, and even the MP count had changed.

It felt distinctly unsettling how the numbers kept creeping upward without a single word of explanation. Why did the status window give off the distinct aura of a buzz-cut loan shark?

No matter how hard Chloe racked her brain, she couldn’t figure out what those numbers truly meant.

“What on earth is MP?”

Chloe tilted her head, muttering to herself, then noticed Anna’s steady gaze and let out an awkward laugh.

She must have looked strange, suddenly spouting nonsense that no one else could understand.

“It’s nothing. Don’t mind me.”

When Chloe brushed it off casually, Anna resumed arranging her hair without another word.

The children’s clothes, sewn from thick fabric, were coming together at a rapid pace.

After finishing lunch, Chloe stopped by the workshop where the tailors worked, both to offer encouragement and to check on their progress.

Following her request for coats that would be easy for the children to put on and take off, the tailors had produced some rather impressive designs.

Among them, the coat Julia had made instantly caught Chloe’s eye.

Compared to the others, its simple design fell past the knees with generous sleeves and a roomy fit. It looked like it would comfortably clothe not only the skinny children but also those with a sturdier build.

“This coat was designed by Julia?”

Chloe slipped on the largest size and spread her arms, asking for confirmation.

Though made for a fourteen-year-old, the oversized fit suited her perfectly.

Julia, who had been watching with extreme nervousness, lit up with uncontainable joy the moment she saw the lord’s satisfied expression. She bit her lip, trying to hold back a smile—an utterly shy young girl.

Chloe waited for further explanation, but the tense Julia could only move her lips without managing to speak.

“Yes, my lord. Because the design is simple, production is quite fast. There were several variations, but Julia’s coat is the easiest to make and the most comfortable to wear, so we have been focusing on this design for the majority of them.”

Monel, standing beside the flustered girl, stepped forward to answer in her place.

Monel’s hair was still somewhat dry and the dark circles under her eyes remained, but her complexion had improved dramatically compared to when she first arrived. Her expression was brighter too; if you passed her on the street now, you might not realize she was the same person from that day.

“I like it very much. Try adding hoods to the coats. And make some scarves as well.”

“Hoods… on the coats?”

Monel’s eyes widened in confusion. A hood was a hood and a coat was a coat—connecting the two was a concept she had never considered.

Chloe started to explain in detail but quickly realized words alone wouldn’t be enough. She looked around.

“Do you have any paper?”

The moment the question left her lips, Brenne, who had been sitting nearby, shot to her feet and offered paper and a pencil.

It was less a pencil and more a long-sharpened piece of charcoal wrapped in paper to keep it from staining her hands.

“Here you are, my lord.”

“Thank you.”

Brenne bowed deeply at Chloe’s thanks, looking deeply honored.

Chloe wasn’t particularly skilled at drawing, but she could manage a hooded coat. She concentrated and sketched the shape before handing it to Monel.

“Can you make it like this? The wind blows fiercely here. It would be more convenient than carrying a separate hat, and if you wrap a scarf around the neck on top of it, it should be much warmer.”

Monel stared at the drawing with an expression of disbelief.

She had never ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠seen a coat like this before.

At first glance it resembled a robe, yet the thick fabric made it far warmer and more practical.

“Yes, I believe we can make this.”

Julia, who had been craning her neck to see, answered immediately.

The shy hesitation from moments ago had vanished, replaced by sparkling eyes full of excitement at the prospect of creating something new. In her mind, she was already visualizing exactly how the pieces should be cut.

“And scarves too.”

“Yes! Scarves too!”

Julia echoed the lord’s words with a bright smile.

For some reason, Chloe felt that she and Julia might become very good friends.

Chloe smiled contentedly at Julia, then turned to Monel.

“Your name was Monel, correct?”

“Yes, my lord.”

Monel answered quickly, surprised that the lord remembered her name.

Chloe was still wearing Julia’s coat.

“Could you and Julia make some clothes for me as well?”

“Pardon? Clothes… for you, my lord?”

Monel’s usually calm face crumpled in shock. Julia’s eyes widened as well, looking back and forth between the lord and Monel. Though she was a tailor, she had only ever completed a dress on her own once without the head tailor’s help. Everything else had been assistant work or simple alterations.

Monel felt her confidence plummeting as she waited for the lord to continue.

“Yes. I want to wear comfortable clothes like this. Not those fussy, dragging dresses. Ideally I’d wear pants, but Delma would probably faint if I did. So please make me wide-legged skirt-pants.”

Chloe tugged at the hem of the coat she was wearing as she spoke.

“Skirt… pants?”

It was neither skirt nor pants, but some combination of both. Monel looked utterly bewildered by the unfamiliar term.

“Yes. From the outside it looks like a skirt, but it’s actually pants.”

Monel still seemed lost. Julia, who had been quietly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠listening, hesitated before picking up a scrap of paper and drawing something. She offered it to Chloe with trembling hands.

“My lord, is this what you meant?”

Julia asked carefully, watching Chloe’s expression. Her grip on the small paper was tight with nerves.

To think those hands could create such wonderful clothes.

Chloe took the paper and examined it closely. Julia might not have much talent for drawing, but she had perfectly understood what Chloe wanted.

After a moment of study, Chloe clapped her hands together.

“Yes! Exactly this. Skirt-pants that look like a skirt but function as pants. What do you think? Can you make them?”

At Chloe’s question, Julia nodded vigorously, her face flushed with excitement.

The thought of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠being able to do something for the lord who had given her and her brother a warm place to live and full bellies filled her with overwhelming joy.

“Really? Thank you so much. I’ll look forward to it.”

“Yes, my lord. I will do my very best.”

“Treasurer. Has the farmer arrived?”

A few days earlier, Chloe had asked Scrooge to recommend the best farmer in the area besides Helsa. Reclaiming farmland would require an expert’s help, and Helsa was already swamped with her current duties.

“He arrived at dawn and has been waiting. I was just about to inform you once you seemed less busy.”

“He arrived that early? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“You appeared very occupied, my lady.”

To a commoner, waiting an entire day to meet a noble was nothing unusual.

Though Chloe inhabited a noble’s body, she was a dirt-poor commoner to her core. The thought of someone being disregarded simply because of status or wealth made her blood boil.

It would have been perfectly normal to Scrooge, yet irritation flared inside her.

“Bring him in right away. Delma, prepare some warm tea and simple refreshments as well.”

Anna, sensing something unusual in the lord’s tone, looked at Chloe’s face.

“Was your meal not sufficient? Shall I tell the kitchen ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to increase the portions from now on?”

When Anna looked at her in surprise, Chloe subtly averted her eyes.

She had devoured the steamed dural, omelet, and two slices of buttered bread at lunch as if her eyes were bigger than her stomach. Even by her own standards it had been a large amount, so Anna’s astonishment was understandable.

“Not for me.”

“Then who… Ah! Are we expecting a guest?”

Anna asked, slightly tense, never imagining the food was for the visiting farmer.

“No, it’s for the farmer.”

“Pardon?”

“He’s been waiting since dawn. He must be starving. If I had known, I would have woken up earlier. I’m sorry.”

“Ah… Yes, my lord!”

Anna stared at Chloe with wide, surprised eyes before breaking into a bright smile and heading out.

She seemed deeply moved by the way Chloe showed consideration even for someone of far lower status.