The Dural Bread Factory and a Sudden Fever
The Dural bread was crisp on the outside, yet soft and chewy on the inside. The filling made from Dural was savory and rich, so delicious that one could eat it endlessly without growing tired of it.
The result far exceeded expectations.
“Share the recipe for this Dural bread with the village women and figure out how to produce it in large quantities. Village chief, select a site for the communal workshop where the bread will be made and inform Builder. Roughly how many women in the village are capable of working?”
Chloe intended to entrust the bread-making to the women. They needed a stable source of income, especially in Morta Village, where widows were plentiful.
“A little over a hundred.”
“I heard the village has around eight hundred people. Only a hundred women can work?”
The number was smaller than expected. Chloe had assumed at least two hundred would be available, so she couldn’t hide her surprise.
Reading the lord’s expression, the village chief clasped his hands respectfully and continued.
“Most are elderly, and quite a few of the younger women are ill. Only about a hundred are healthy enough to work.”
Hope hunched his shoulders as if the villagers’ illnesses were his fault.
Chloe’s heart ached.
“I’ll send for a physician soon to care for the sick. Butler?”
“Yes, my lord. Shall I look into hiring a physician from a neighboring territory?”
Handsome caught on instantly and replied. Chloe smiled and gave him a thumbs-up, clearly pleased.
“As expected! Handsome is the best. You already know what I’m going to say, don’t you?”
Praised in front of everyone, Handsome beamed before quickly composing his expression.
“Bakey?”
“Yes, my lord!”
Bakey looked half-dazed, as if she were floating on clouds at the thought that her bread had been chosen.
“You’ll receive a prize through the butler. It isn’t a large sum, but I hope it helps. I’ll also reward those who made the breads that reached the final round. You all worked so hard.”
“Th-thank you!”
Bakey had already heard from the village chief that the lord would award a prize to the best Dural bread. She looked ready to soar with joy.
Cheers erupted from the others waiting outside in disappointment. Even if the prize wasn’t as large as the winner’s, it would still be a great help to their households.
Bakey’s face brightened at the news that others would also receive prizes.
“Where is Kevin’s father?”
On such a happy day, with the whole village celebrating together, her husband was nowhere to be seen. Chloe asked, wondering if he had been sent to the logging team, but Bakey answered with a sorrowful expression.
“He fell ill last winter and passed away.”
Chloe suddenly remembered the village chiefs of Morta and Enol boasting about the many widows in their villages when they had visited Grace Castle.
“I’m sorry.”
At the lord’s sudden apology, Bakey could only open and close her mouth, unsure what to say. She wanted to say it was all right, but she couldn’t claim the lord who had neglected the territory bore no fault. Yet she couldn’t voice that in front of her.
While Bakey floundered for words, Chloe continued.
“Bakey, you must become the manager of the new Dural bread factory we’re going to build.”
“A factory?”
What was a factory, and what did a manager do? Bakey had no idea.
“I’ll explain the details later. When the village chief next visits Grace Castle, bring one trustworthy person with you. You may bring Kevin as well.”
“G-Grace Castle?”
Bakey stammered in surprise, glancing between the village chief and the lord. The chief looked slightly startled too, but soon smiled warmly and nodded.
“There will be a great deal of work. Perhaps Bakey will become the greatest contributor to saving this village?”
Chloe smiled gently at Bakey.
❖ ❖ ❖
After finishing her business in Morta Village, Chloe returned to the castle. A heavy headache forced her to close her eyes and lean her head against the carriage wall. Soon her body grew feverish, and every part of her ached.
She had clearly caught a bad cold.
It seemed the tension had finally eased now that she was somewhat accustomed to things.
“My lord, are you unwell?”
After nothing but good news in the village, the lord’s face wasn’t entirely bright. Handsome studied Chloe’s complexion with concern. Her face did seem a little flushed.
“I must be tired. I’ll rest a bit. Wake me when we arrive.”
“Yes! Rest well.”
The moment Handsome finished speaking, Chloe leaned her head against the carriage wall. Handsome quickly fetched a blanket from inside the carriage and draped it over her, then placed a soft cushion beneath her head.
The road wasn’t paved, so every jolt of the carriage made her head bump against the wall. She could have opened her eyes, yet the lord remained fast asleep with her eyes tightly shut.
“She must have been truly exhausted.”
The lord sleeping soundly reminded Handsome of his own younger sister, who only ever waited for him to come home.
A trace of pity entered Handsome’s gaze as he looked at Chloe. After a moment’s hesitation, he pulled out another blanket and tucked it over her knees.
Handsome, who had dozed off, woke with a strange sense of déjà vu. Chloe was still asleep, but something felt different from before.
“My lord?”
Handsome called Chloe’s name cautiously. She didn’t move an inch.
A chill ran down his spine. He shot up and pressed his palm to her forehead.
“She’s burning up!”
Her forehead was like a furnace. Handsome hurriedly opened the carriage window and peered outside. Fortunately, Grace Castle was visible not far away.
He shouted for Red Bear, who was escorting the carriage. At the butler’s urgent tone, Red Bear rode close to the carriage.
“What’s wrong?”
“The lord has collapsed. Go ahead to the castle and inform them! And send knights to fetch a physician!”
Handsome’s voice trembled as he shouted.
Startled, Red Bear bent down to look inside through the open window. His eyes narrowed fiercely when he saw the fallen lord. He immediately spurred his horse toward the rear of the carriage.
The knights, already tense from their commander’s unusual demeanor, scattered in multiple directions the instant his orders came.
Red Bear watched the knights ride off in five directions before urging his own horse forward again.
Soon the speeding carriage picked up even more speed.
“Hiyah!”
The coachman’s voice urging the horses echoed.
Handsome closed the window to keep out the cold wind and cradled Chloe in his arms like a child. Her entire body was burning.
“My lord. Sob.”
Guilt tightened his throat. Even though he had served closest to her, he had failed to notice his master’s condition. He would have no excuse even if he were dismissed.
❖ ❖ ❖
Delma, who had come out in good spirits to greet the lord, sensed something was wrong the moment she saw Red Bear leading the way instead of Chloe.
Her fingertips grew cold with dread.
Behind Red Bear, knights walked quickly in a protective circle around someone.
When Red Bear drew near, Delma spotted Handsome carrying Chloe, who hung limply in his arms at the center of the knights.
No.
Delma’s breath caught, and her vision darkened.
“My lord!”
Wrapped tightly in a blanket like a child, Chloe looked impossibly small and fragile in Handsome’s embrace. It felt as though the world were collapsing.
Chloe was immediately carried to her bedroom. Scrooge, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, turned pale at the sight of her collapsed form.
“Sob, my lord. You must have been pushing yourself far too hard.”
Delma shed tears as she looked at the lord, whose face was flushed with fever.
“Indeed. Looking at everything you’ve accomplished, it’s a wonder you didn’t collapse sooner.”
Pity filled Scrooge’s eyes as he gazed at Chloe.
“She truly took on far too much.”
From what Delma knew, the lord had never possessed remarkable stamina. Someone who could barely manage her own body had been inspecting the territory and running about for the sake of its people—an unimaginable sight in the past.
Her stamina remained unchanged, yet her workload had multiplied several times over. It was only natural that her body would suffer.
“When will the physician arrive? Her fever isn’t going down.”
Delma paced anxiously, staring out the window. She wiped Chloe’s body repeatedly and placed cool cloths on her forehead, but without a physician’s care, the fever showed no sign of breaking.
The physician arrived late that night. The knights had ridden so urgently that one doctor was even brought straight from his meal on horseback. Knights had been dispatched simultaneously to every place known to have a physician, and by the next morning, a total of five physicians had arrived at Grace Castle.
The news of the lord’s collapse spread rapidly among the castle servants.
“Do you think the lord will be all right?”
“She hasn’t caught the same illness that took the late lady, has she?”
“Hey! Don’t say things like that!”
“I’m just worried.”
“Still, don’t say it. It’s frightening.”
Two maids who had been cleaning in the hallway near the lord’s room stopped and teared up. They lingered in front of Chloe’s door for a long while before finally leaving, their noses red.