Chapter 39
Chapter 39
The Smith Marquis first assigned me a guest bedroom and said the records would be brought shortly.
The bedroom was as large as a sports field, and it even had a separate sitting room and study.
“This feels like a hotel suite.”
I never thought I’d live long enough to stay somewhere like this.
While I was admiring the room in amazement, Nubiar officials arrived carrying stacks of documents.
They had brought flood records covering an entire decade.
“I don’t need this many, honestly.”
Just looking at the pile made me groan.
Still, it was better than having nothing.
“Well then, let’s begin.”
I stacked the documents on the desk in the study and began examining the materials in earnest.
Since there was so much to read, I settled for a simple meal of sandwiches and soup.
After reviewing the records until my eyes nearly gave out, one strange detail caught my attention.
“The river flooded, but there’s no mention of heavy rain at all.”
Then why had the river suddenly swollen?
To find the cause, I began carefully reviewing the records again from the beginning.
Each flood lasted no more than two days—most ended within a single day.
But the scale of the damage was far too large for such a short flood.
Reports repeatedly stated that people and livestock were swept away, houses collapsed, and farmland downstream was completely destroyed.
“For a flood that lasted only a day, the damage is too severe.”
That meant the water hadn’t gradually risen.
It had surged all at once in a short period of time.
Not just a slight rise in water level, but more like something that had been blocked suddenly bursting open.
“The river didn’t simply overflow.”
I began organizing the dates and locations of the floods in the records one by one.
While concentrating like that, dawn had begun breaking outside the window.
“When did it get this late?”
I had started reviewing the documents around one in the afternoon.
Now it was already five in the morning.
No wonder my neck and back hurt.
“Ugh, I’m dying.”
I stretched and stood up from the desk. I hadn’t noticed while I was focused, but my eyes were burning.
“I should get some sleep and then investigate the site.”
There was a limit to what could be learned from records alone.
I also needed to hear firsthand accounts from people who had actually experienced the flooding.
“Yaaawn… I should sleep first. I’ll think about it after I wake up.”
I yawned widely and collapsed onto the soft bed.
Chirp, chirp—
The sound of birds chirping felt strangely pleasant.
When I forced my heavy eyelids open, sunlight was shining brightly outside the window.
“Ugh… how long did I sleep?”
Judging from the lingering headache, it didn’t seem like I had slept very long—
“Gah…!”
I was about to check the time when I noticed Calix Krauvel sitting on the sofa.
I jumped upright in shock.
“M-My lord, why are you here…?”
“I came to inform you of the meeting time.”
Calix Krauvel answered calmly.
His composure made it feel as though I was the strange one for being startled.
“Then you could’ve woken me.”
“You were sleeping so soundly that I couldn’t bring myself to wake you.”
Liar. You’d never be that considerate.
“Go wash up first. You look a mess.”
I glanced at the mirror to see just how bad it was—and nearly screamed before rushing into the bathroom.
My hair was sticking out in every direction, and there was sleep crust around my eyes.
The thought that someone had seen me like this—especially Calix Krauvel—was mortifying.
“If someone’s sleeping, you either wake them or just leave. Why wait?”
I grumbled while quickly washing up and changing clothes.
I hoped he’d be gone when I returned.
Unfortunately, that hope didn’t come true.
Calix Krauvel was still sitting there reading documents.
“My lord… when is the meeting? Shouldn’t we go now?”
“It was at one in the afternoon.”
Hearing that, I instinctively checked the clock.
Then I doubted my own eyes.
The clock hand pointed exactly at two.
“My lord… unless my eyes are mistaken, it’s two in the afternoon.”
“That’s correct.”
“Didn’t you say the meeting was at one?”
“I did.”
Then why are you so calm about it?
I was dumbfounded, but I couldn’t exactly question the lord.
And something more important came first.
“Then we should hurry and—”
“It’s fine. The meeting was postponed.”
“…What? Postponed?”
“Yes. It’s been rescheduled for ten tomorrow morning.”
“…You should’ve said that from the beginning.”
“You didn’t ask.”
You… infuriating blood-pressure medication…!
Anger surged from deep within me, but my life was still more important, so I forced myself to hold it in.
“You’re working hard.”
Calix Krauvel lightly waved the papers in his hand.
They weren’t documents.
They were the notes I had organized overnight.
“Well, since I’ve come all the way here, I should work hard.”
“There’s no need.”
Calix Krauvel abruptly scattered the pages I had carefully organized.
They fluttered down to the floor.
“Just pass the time and go back.”
“…But—”
“You keep forgetting. I don’t like people who talk back.”
His cold voice and gaze sealed my mouth shut.
Calix Krauvel stood up and walked out, casually stepping on the scattered papers.
“Don’t interfere unnecessarily like yesterday. Just behave yourself.”
I didn’t know why he was acting like this, but one thing was certain.
Noah Rohaim’s claim that Calix Krauvel had changed his mind because he was moved by the Smith Marquis’s desperation was definitely a lie.
Calix Krauvel had told me to stay still.
But I couldn’t do that.
Not only did I have to complete the Main Quest, but more importantly, I wanted to do my best with the task I had taken on.
So I came out to inspect the Raed River with Nubiar officials and Noah Rohaim.
Originally, I planned to go only with an official, but Noah Rohaim insisted on coming along.
Leaning against the railing, I looked down at the river.
“The water level isn’t very high normally.”
It was hard to estimate the exact depth, but the water filled about half the height of the wall.
“How high does it get in summer?”
“It’s similar even in summer. As you know, the eastern region doesn’t receive much rain, so the water level may drop occasionally, but it rarely rises suddenly.”
“And yet the river suddenly floods. That must make preparation difficult.”
The Nubiar official nodded vigorously.
“That’s exactly the problem.”
I walked slowly along the riverside, observing the water and nearby buildings.
Most buildings were worn only along the lower sections.
From the ground up to waist height, there were clear marks as if something had violently scraped past.
The bridge over the river also had scratch marks, all in the same direction.
It looked as though something had shoved everything forcefully from one side, leaving straight-line marks.
The river didn’t simply overflow.
The evidence looked like a sudden wave that had rushed in and then receded.
The flood records also described the water surging in abruptly.
If that’s the case, the cause must be upstream.
When I looked toward the upper reaches of the river, Noah Rohaim approached.
“It seems you’ve figured something out, Miss Aileen.”
He spoke in a quiet voice that only I could hear.
I glanced at the Nubiar official standing by the river and answered.
“I have a theory, but I’m not certain yet.”
“May I know what it is?”
“Later.”
If I said something prematurely and turned out to be wrong, it would be embarrassing.
“Let’s return for today.”
The sun would soon set, and I needed time to organize what I had learned.
The next day, ten in the morning.
The conference room in the lord’s castle of Nubiar.
Officials seated around the long table all looked anxious.
The same was true for Howell Smith, the Smith Marquis.
It had already been three days since they spent a fortune bringing Aileen to Nubiar.
So far, they had gained nothing.
Aileen had been working diligently, but since she hadn’t said anything yet, it seemed she still hadn’t found the answer.
“Even after decades of searching, we couldn’t determine the cause. There’s no way she could find it in just three days.”
One official spoke cautiously, watching the marquis’s reaction.
“That’s true. If nothing else works, we can at least have her build drainage canals.”
“Didn’t you hear what His Grace the Grand Duke said? Drainage canals can’t prevent river flooding.”
“But it’s still better than nothing…”
The officials were deep in discussion.
But the moment Calix, Noah Rohaim, and Aileen entered the conference room, they all fell silent.