Chapter 30
Chapter 30
"Scary, scary....... When Mother gets like that, it's so scary."
In the past, on nights when Mother was seized by madness, I would cry in a maid's arms.
The maid would soothe me and say this.
"My lady, we just have to do well. If we do well, the Princess will come back to herself. She is such a brilliant person. It's only because we haven't served her as well as they did in the Liente royal palace. If we try harder, it will be all right."
So I tried. I did my best to become a perfect daughter to Mother.
But nothing changed. Mother's madness grew worse day by day.
Even so, what I could do was the same as always, just one thing.
'......Let's do my best.'
As I always had.
'First, let's do well. Everyone is happy they survived thanks to me, aren't they?'
If I did better, then at least if the black mages ever contacted them in secret, they wouldn't hand me over the way my uncle had.
"If the criminals of Sebon dare to harm a bloodline of Sears, Nozen, as the head of the Founding Five Houses, will never stand by and watch."
It was true that hearing those words had made me feel a little better.
Still, it was a bit miserable. So I pretended even harder that nothing was wrong. As if I wasn't the least bit afraid of any of it.
That was when it happened.
"My lady, my lady!"
One of the shop children on Jejel Street held something out to me.
"Will you trade something like this for wheat too? It's the most useless thing in the world, but......."
My eyes widened as I checked the child's hand.
This was exactly what I had wanted: the seeds people had left behind because they thought, "We don't have to go so far as to eat these."
Among them, the one I had been certain would definitely be there.
"It's not useless."
I said, filled with delight.
"It's exactly what I've been looking for."
It was a crop that would be perfect to sow right now in the potato field, where more than half lay empty after we had begun digging up the potatoes.
I planned to sow it in the newly acquired Beron territory as well. Not for short-term survival like now, but for a long-term food supply.
* * *
Hawin Baronial Residence.
"Mother!"
Dalia shrieked.
"Have you really gone mad like their mother? You're giving up Jejel Street?"
The Baroness Hawin smirked.
"Would I ever do that? Dalia, calm down."
"What? But you already went and signed everything......."
"I can hand it over for a little while."
As if she had never once begged in front of Brisa, the Baroness Hawin lifted her chin viciously.
Dalia's eyes sparkled.
"Mother, then what do you have in mind?"
"It seems I can't leave that impertinent little wench alone."
The Baroness Hawin let out a scornful laugh.
"Since things have come to this, I intend to get rid of her."
"What?"
Dalia's eyes flew open in surprise.
"Is that possible?"
"I have a method in mind."
The Baroness Hawin said leisurely.
"The dead don't speak. We just have to pin it on those wretches who kidnapped your father. They're criminals anyway."
Baroness Hawin stroked Dalia's hair, then whispered as if gently coaxing her.
"I would handle everything myself if I could, but it looks like I'll need your help. To keep that girl plausibly occupied, I need someone her own age."
Dalia's eyes sparkled.
"Anything, Mother."
The mother and daughter joined forces once again.
"It's all for our family, after all."
* * *
That night, at midnight.
Accompanied by Philip, I headed toward Erolamo Hill, where the kidnappers had told Baroness Hawin to "secretly bring five sacks of wheat."
Erolamo Hill was the border between Jejel Street and Joachim County. In other words, it was a place so full of monsters that no one could easily come and go right now.
The large zelkova tree they had mentioned was now visible only about ten steps from the Sears Marquisate.
"The hill isn't very high."
Philip said, narrowing his eyes.
"If the monsters living on a hill like this are all there is, we could wipe them out and come and go."
"Well, that's true."
I nodded.
"Though it would have been impossible for the Hawin Barony, since they don't have a knight force this large."
Joachim County, which bordered Jejel Street, contained an entire river within its borders, just like Erenta.
It did not have Marang Fish, but its river teemed with large freshwater fish. On top of that, it had the widest plain in the central region. That meant they could hold out for about three months without scrambling desperately like us or the Hawin Baronial Residence.
'Especially since the season isn't winter.'
"Hey, you know Luman of House Joachim, right? If nothing goes wrong, I'll probably get engaged to Luman."
Dalia hadn't been boasting for nothing when she said marriage talks were underway with House Joachim.
"Ah, Luman Joachim. I always thought Luman was the most obnoxious of the central nobles."
And I hadn't called that house heartless for nothing, either.
Even while engagement talks were underway, they hadn't lifted a finger to help, though they plainly knew the Hawin Barony was struggling.
'They must have decided there was no need to trade with the Hawin Barony and overcome hardship together.'
If they had mobilized House Joachim's entire knight order, they could have eliminated the monsters on the hill easily enough.
In a way, it was a rational decision.
Well, it wasn't a bad thing for us that House Joachim weighed costs and benefits so carefully.
"Anyway, we're almost there."
I said calmly.
"You all carry the five sacks of wheat."
The Baroness Hawin had said that earlier.
"Your uncle ended up like this because he was betrayed by the people of his territory, so whom can we trust at the baronial residence? Especially when it comes to wheat....... Right now, there will be many people who would sell their souls to steal it."
It wasn't wrong. Even as she said it, Baroness Hawin and Dalia had been staring openly at the sandwich I had left half-eaten.
I nodded slowly.
"I understand."
Then I called a maid.
"I'm full. Just give it to some passing dogs."
It was considerable cruelty.
Anyway, Baroness Hawin continued, her face stiff.
"Now, you just have to come below this hill. Since I cannot trust your knight, you must accompany him yourself, and since they might harm the Baron if you bring anyone else, only one person should carry the wheat......."
I said I understood everything, then sent them out.
That had been in the morning, and after recovering Jejel Street, I had been busy giving various orders.
'Ha.......'
With five sacks of wheat, I had obtained Jejel Street and the Beron region.
Originally, I was the one who had been sold for wheat.
Though it was now a future that no longer existed, I had never once forgotten it.
"My lady."
After we arrived below the hill, Philip, who was carrying the five sacks of wheat alone, spoke.
"Should I set them down here?"
"Well, shall we? I suppose we can just leave them and go."
That was when it happened.
"Brisa!"
Dalia came running out of the darkness.
"Brisa, you came!"
"Yeah. I came, so I'll be going."
"No, not yet. She said to move the wheat under that zelkova tree."
Dalia stared openly at Philip.
Among me, Dalia, and Philip, the only person who could lift five sacks of wheat was, of course, Philip.
"You're not going."
Dalia grabbed my arm tightly.
"Mother said children shouldn't go up the hill because it's dangerous. She said monsters could come down even at the entrance. You're the same age as me, you know."
"Well, sure."
I nodded once, then said toward Philip.
"Go and come right back."
"I'll be right back."
Philip bowed his head once to me, then entered the hill entrance where the zelkova tree stood.
Dalia kept holding my arm tightly until Philip's figure disappeared.
And so only the two of us remained below the hill.
"Why don't you let go now?"
When I said it indifferently, Dalia shrugged her shoulders.
"I can't, I'm too scared."
That was when it happened. From behind, someone covered my eyes and mouth.
"Mmph!"
The moment Dalia let go of my arm, someone lifted my body with a lurch. It had to be one of House Hawin's people who had been waiting nearby.
"Phew."
As I thrashed my arms and legs without even being able to scream, I heard Dalia's voice from below.
"Let's leave quickly before that knight comes back."
"Ah, are we not killing her now?"
"Not now."
Dalia said primly.
"To get Jejel Street and Beron back, we need the acting lord's signature. We have to hurry and meet Father to sign the contract."
Since I was gagged, I was fortunate not to have to pretend to scream.
'That's right, Dalia.'
I thought as I thrashed my feet half-heartedly.
'That was the reason I couldn't kill your father on the spot.'
Territory had to be transferred through legal documents.
Far away, from the direction of the zelkova tree, I heard the sound of Philip whistling as he returned. At the same time, the thug who had kidnapped me and Dalia muffled their footsteps and headed down another path.