A Heartfelt Condolence
Gold Rich staggered forward, then let out a sharp gasp as if he might faint at the sight of the chest overflowing with jewels.
For a long moment he simply stood there with his mouth hanging open, forgetting to breathe. Then, visibly trembling with excitement, he finally spoke.
“M-My Lady, th-this is—”
“How much gold did you bring?”
“T-Ten thousand gold, My Lady.”
“One hundred thousand.”
“Pardon?”
“There should be at least one hundred thousand gold. Or is that too difficult for you?”
When Chloe asked in a slightly condescending tone, Gold Rich frantically waved his hands in denial.
Chloe had emptied every last jewel he had painstakingly carried from his shop, and she had gone back and forth with him twice more last night. The result was a massive chest so packed with gems that it was enough to make anyone’s eyes pop out.
“N-No, not at all! I will bring it! But the distance is rather far, so it will take a little more time.”
Even with his mind completely blank, Gold Rich understood that the gold he had brought was nowhere near enough to purchase all the jewels the Lord of Grace had shown him.
“I distinctly remember telling you to bring every coin you could possibly gather. I’m disappointed.”
The young lord stared down at the chest brimming with gold as if it were nothing more than worthless scrap, her expression utterly indifferent. Gold Rich swallowed hard.
This is my chance to make a fortune.
He quickly calculated the profit he could earn. The conclusion was clear: he could not let this opportunity slip away.
Gold Rich prostrated himself obsequiously and spoke with utmost respect.
“If you grant me a fortnight, I will somehow gather the full amount.”
“A fortnight? That’s too long. Treasurer, have you contacted any other jewelers?”
“T-Ten days!”
The desperate merchant jerked his head up and shouted. He wasn’t sure if it was even possible in ten days, but he had to seize the chance first and worry about the details later.
“If you are even a single day late, I will simply deal with another jeweler.”
“Yes! Of course! I… um, however…”
“What is it?”
“May I… approach and examine them more closely?”
“Do as you wish.”
“Thank you!”
The moment permission was granted, Gold Rich bounced with joy like a child who had just received a Christmas present.
Lifting his heavy body with surprising grace, he dashed to the chest, practically burying his face inside it as he marveled aloud.
“Ooooh! How can anything be this beautiful!”
“This color! This detail! This brilliance!”
He seemed to have completely forgotten that other people were present. Chloe rather liked this simple, straightforward side of him.
Gold Rich, who loved jewels.
Gold Rich, who truly understood their value.
Gold Rich, who wanted to become rich just like his name.
Gold Rich, who never lied in front of jewels.
“Treasurer.”
“Yes!”
Scrooge, who had once again fallen into a slight daze, jumped in surprise and answered promptly.
Even though the estate’s finances kept growing while he slept, he was overjoyed. Still, not knowing the exact source made him anxious.
The lord’s face remained somber even as she looked at a chest filled with gleaming gold coins.
Scrooge stepped closer to her side and leaned in attentively.
“Scrooge.”
When she called him by name, his nose suddenly stung. It was a strange new habit that had appeared after she woke up.
Scrooge cleared his throat quietly so no one would hear, then answered.
“Yes, My Lady.”
“Take those and put two hundred gold into each sturdy, presentable box.”
“That would be forty-nine boxes, correct?”
Knowing exactly what the boxes were for, Scrooge asked in a grave voice.
“Yes. Prepare a few extra just in case.”
“Understood. I will store the remainder securely in the vault room.”
While Chloe had been bedridden, the vault room—a joint creation by Smith and Builder—had been completed.
She had not visited it yet. She planned to go only after delivering the condolence payments to the families of the fallen soldiers and knights.
Gold Rich lingered in front of the chest for several hours before finally leaving the office.
Even as he walked away, he kept stopping after a few steps to look back, sighing with regret.
I should have brought more gold.
Although he had taken jewels worth ten thousand gold as payment, the ones left behind still haunted him.
He worried that the lord might change her mind and decide to trade with another jeweler instead. It was unlikely, but the thought still gnawed at him.
Gold Rich repeatedly vowed to himself that he would return within ten days before finally climbing into his carriage.
“My Lady, everything is ready.”
Since only he and the lord were permitted to enter the vault room, Scrooge had to sort and box the condolence money alone.
Yet he showed no sign of fatigue whatsoever.
Looking at his thin arms—nearly as slender as her own—Chloe felt a pang of guilt for making him handle so many coins by himself.
“Just bear with it today. Starting tomorrow, I’ll help you organize them too.”
“It’s perfectly fine, My Lady. I don’t find it difficult at all. In fact, the moment I step into that room, strength surges through me.”
He wasn’t exaggerating. Scrooge had always preferred collecting money over spending it, and simply gazing at the piles of coins before him brought him immense joy.
Moreover, the changed lord was not wasting this fortune on luxuries. Every coin was being invested solely in the development of the territory. Scrooge’s heart swelled with pride at every moment.
A short while later, the carriage carrying the lord and the knights escorting it departed from Grace Castle.
The scene outside the carriage was no different from the day they had rushed toward Morta. People were still bustling about busily, and whenever they spotted the lord’s carriage, they smiled brightly and bowed deeply in greeting.
“Haa…”
From the moment they left Grace Castle, the lord’s sighs never ceased. Watching her, both Scrooge and Handsome felt their own hearts grow heavy.
They sincerely hoped that after meeting the families of the deceased today, her heart would find some measure of peace.
The first place the lord’s carriage stopped was the outermost district of Condal, closest to the castle.
The shacks clustered together like matchboxes along the castle wall looked so precarious that a strong gust of wind might knock them over.
Repairs had begun from the areas nearest the castle, so construction had not yet reached this far.
The wind was quite chilly, and seeing houses riddled with holes in the walls made Chloe’s heart ache.
When a carriage completely out of place for the neighborhood halted in front of one of the homes, neighbors emerged first to peer outside.
The people who had come out to see what was happening were shocked when the lord stepped down from the carriage and immediately bowed.
Though their homes had not yet been repaired, to them the lord was a gracious savior who had given jobs and food to people who had been starving.
“My Lady! You’ve come!”
“Thanks to you, My Lady, our children no longer go hungry every day. We are truly grateful.”
Words of thanks poured in from all directions.
At the commotion outside, the door of the house where the fallen soldier had once lived finally opened.
Creeeeak.
The old, warped hinges and long-twisted door produced a loud, grating noise.
The woman who opened it had disheveled hair and sunken cheeks. She looked exhausted.
Beside her stood a boy who appeared to be about five years old. Frightened, he clung tightly to his mother’s leg with both arms.
“Who… gasp!”
The woman looked at the crowd with weary eyes, then sucked in a sharp breath, her face turning pale with shock. A large group of people wearing clothes embroidered with the same crest that had been on her husband’s old armor—the one she had polished every dawn—stood before her.
“Are you Iara, wife of Sam?”
The question came from the treasurer, Scrooge, standing beside Chloe. Iara looked at the lord standing just outside her door and the armed knights behind her, then nodded fearfully. Noticing his mother’s trembling, the boy’s large eyes quickly filled with tears.
Once the verification was complete, the ten knights who had come with Red Bear lined up in perfect formation. Chloe stepped forward to stand directly before Iara.
Though she had never seen this noblewoman before, Iara knew instantly that she was the Lord of Grace. She looked exactly as Sam had proudly described her night after night.
“M-My Lady…”
Iara was so stunned she could barely speak. In her entire life, she had never once imagined she would see the lord this close.
With a heavy expression, Chloe gazed at Iara, then slowly bowed at the waist.
In that instant, not only Iara but also Red Bear, the knights, Scrooge, and every single onlooker froze in pure white shock.
The lord, who stood as high as the sky itself, was bowing to the wife of a mere soldier. It was an event that should never have been possible.
Yet Chloe paid no attention to their stares. After finishing her bow, she spoke directly to Iara.
“On behalf of the lord, I offer my deepest gratitude to Sam, who gave his life to protect Grace Territory, and to his family.”
For a moment, the previously noisy surroundings fell deathly silent.
When the lord’s greeting ended, Red Bear hung a banner embroidered with the laurel—the symbol of Grace—on the front of Sam’s house.
It was a short but solemn and dignified ceremony. The eyes of everyone watching grew red with emotion.
“Mommy, that’s pretty. Are they hanging it on our house? Is it ours now?”
The child asked in an innocent voice as he watched the banner flutter in the wind. Iara hugged him tightly, and tears began to fall from her eyes.
She had thought her husband had simply died a meaningless death, torn apart by monsters.
She had believed that a husband whose body hadn’t even returned intact would eventually be forgotten by everyone. But it seemed that wasn’t the case.
Iara felt both overwhelming joy at the acknowledgment that Sam’s death had not been in vain, and a piercing sorrow at the empty space he had left behind.
Chloe looked at her with pity, then crouched down to meet the child’s eyes and smiled gently.
“Hello. What’s your name?”
“Noah.”
His eyes, glistening with tears, were very beautiful.
“What a lovely name.”
“Who are you?”
“I’m a friend of your father’s, Noah.”
The boy’s eyes widened as he looked up at his mother. Even young Noah could tell that the person standing before him was dressed far too finely to be just his father’s friend.
“May I come inside for a moment?”
She could not hand over the money in front of everyone, so Chloe asked politely.