Monster Duke's "Hyah!" and the Merchants' Blackmail
"Hyah!"
"Hey! Careful with that over there!"
Over a hundred laborers moved in perfect unison like a swarm of ants beneath the small sun. A short distance from the construction site, Princess Eleanor held her hands together as if in prayer, deploying her magic. Her platinum blonde hair shimmered with mana. She looked every bit the goddess.
"Whew... That should do it, Your Highness."
"I had no idea you could wield magic like this, Eleanor. What can't you do?"
There wasn't a single mage in the grand duchy castle who possessed solar mana. All they could teach her were the basics of mana control and theory. That meant this incredible spell was the result of Eleanor's own research and ingenuity.
"It's all thanks to Your Highness taking a liking to my magic. What you love, I love. I'll keep cherishing my magic and developing it further."
"You're a genius, no doubt about it. I must be the luckiest husband in the world."
"Ahh... The retainers are watching. It's embarrassing, Your Highness."
Eleanor covered her flushed cheeks with both hands. Kailan shrugged shamelessly, ignoring the stares around them.
"Heh heh. Can't blame them for staring when you're so captivating. That's not my fault."
"Ahem!"
"Ehem! Ahem! Ahem!"
Knight Captain Cedric, the retainers, and even the laborers—who had been forced to witness the blatant flirtation up close—couldn't take it anymore and broke into collective fake coughs.
"Whoa, looks like those logs are collapsing! Gotta run over there!"
"Captain! The ground here's acting weird!"
With the retainers making themselves scarce, chicken skin crawling on their arms, the couple finally had some space to themselves.
"By the way, Eleanor."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"How long will this magic last?"
"I've fixed the ritual in midair, so it should hold until morning even without me here."
Kailan's eyes widened at her words.
"Incredible...! Still, I can't keep putting you through this every time."
"Please don't worry. Once the ritual is fully established, we can collaborate with the magic workshop to produce scrolls. Someday, anyone will be able to banish the darkness."
Of course, even as scrolls, production would be extremely limited. Solar mana, the key material, was in absolutely short supply. Even so, Kailan couldn't help but be astonished.
Holy crap... My wife just invented the empire's first magical floodlight.
Every time he forgot that Eleanor was a novel-worthy genius heroine, she reminded him with feats like this across every front.
"Hyah!"
"Take it easy, everyone!"
The princess's little sun didn't just illuminate the night. Its warm rays heated the northern night's chill air and softened the frozen ground, making pickaxe work a breeze. And with her occasional "princess special soup" filling their bellies, the laborers' pace was downright insane.
Naturally, the ducal couple's "strolls" around the site—arms linked behind their backs—also kept things moving. No laborer dared slack off under the boss's watchful eye.
"Ahem."
Kailan glanced around before gently wrapping an arm around Eleanor's waist.
"If we linger too long, it'll make the workers uncomfortable. Shall we head out?"
Shove the outlander adventurers into night-shift hell and clock out for some cozy wife time—that was the wicked mindset of the northern duke! But what could he do? Kailan was the undisputed head of the north.
"These past few days, we've both been buried in approval documents with barely any time together. At least tonight, just the two of us..."
At Kailan's whisper, Eleanor bowed her head shyly and nodded. Steam practically rose from the top of her head.
Just as Kailan inwardly cheered and moved to lead her away—
Claaang!
A scream erupted from the groundwork area.
"Argh! My wrist! What the hell is this rock—harder than steel?!"
"This is... the permafrost bedrock layer. The ley lines have frozen it solid...!"
Viscount Arzen rushed over with a grim face to report. A massive bedrock formation sat right where the building foundations needed to go. Without dealing with it, construction ground to a halt.
"Even the knights' aura won't cut it, sir. They'll all collapse from exhaustion before breaking it!"
Expert-level knights who could channel aura into their blades were precious assets even in the north. He was grateful they'd come this far, but he couldn't waste their stamina on rocks.
Eleanor looked up at Kailan with a troubled expression.
"Your Highness... If I push my mana to the limit and focus it, I think I can melt that bedrock."
Easier said than done—it wasn't like microwaving a pizza slice. She might have to pull an all-nighter on-site. It pained her to reject Kailan's sweet proposal for couple time.
Kailan gave a wry smile.
This damn rock dares interrupt precious husband-wife time?
"Do you know what my nickname in the north was before 'lover boy'?"
"Th-that would be...?"
Monster Duke. Swordmaster. Ghost of the Battlefield.
Kailan shrugged off his heavy fur coat, handing it to Cedric, and drew his partner, Frost Fang.
Shing!
"Eleanor, want to join in if you're not too bored?"
"Yes, Your Highness! I'll assist."
The laborers and knights halted their work, eyes glued to the ducal duo's joint effort. Eleanor extended her hands first. As solar mana poured out in a concentrated burst, steam rose from the steel-hard bedrock surface.
Kailan waited for the heat to cool slightly, then had her step back. Now, as always, he simply swung his sword.
At least among the problems right in front of him, there wasn't one Kailan couldn't solve with a blade.
Frost Fang, cloaked in blue aura, clashed with the massive bedrock.
KABOOM!!
The ground shook like an earthquake as the rock shattered. Yet, remarkably few fragments flew beyond the pit. A stroke of divine swordsmanship. The pinnacle of aura control.
"Gasp...!"
"As expected of His Highness the Grand Duke!!"
As the dust cleared and the pulverized bedrock revealed itself, the dazed retainers erupted in cheers. Amid the thunderous applause, gold-rank adventurer Hans leaped into the pit.
"What are you all doing!? His Highness cut it into perfect carrying sizes!"
At Hans's shout, the northern locals roared and swarmed into the pit.
"Long live the Grand Duke!"
The rugged northern men hoisted Kailan's massive rock chunks like sandbags, hurling them out of the pit.
Thud! Boom!!
The result of the princess's special grub buff and their monstrous physiques.
The southern mercenaries watching from afar were slack-jawed in horror.
"Freakin' monster bastards..."
"B-bro, just come over here. Don't make eye contact with those things."
"Yeah... Let's just haul gravel quietly..."
Confirming the site buzzing back to life, Kailan sheathed Frost Fang and took Eleanor's hand.
"Alright, obstacle cleared. Time to really clock out."
"Yes, Your Highness. Hehe."
Two months passed.
By the continental calendar, it was peak summer heat. The north felt no different, of course.
"Heh heh. Perfect. Absolutely perfect."
Kailan, first to arrive in the meeting room, peered out the window with a grin.
The princess's new city development plan had been a straight shot to success over the past two months. A massive project that would take half a year just to level the ground in a normal territory—but Wintervalt had already perfected the foundations and raised the skeletons of hundreds of buildings.
The combo of the princess's night-illumination magic and the locals' beastly stamina.
Three times—no, nearly four times the normal construction speed.
All that remained was plastering exterior walls, roofing, and installing windows—finishing touches.
Once the buildings are done, cram in merchants, suck up monthly rents and key money dry. Finally, a comfy retirement as a landlord!
His mood was sky-high when—
BAM!
"Your Highness! Disaster!!"
The meeting room door nearly splintered as Count Rian burst in, face drenched in sweat, clutching a crumpled dispatch.
"What's got you in such a panic? Not like you."
"The construction material wagons from the central continent—they're all stopped at the northern border!"
Kailan furrowed his brow.
"Wasn't delivery due any day now?"
"The Central Merchant Alliance... They've unilaterally notified us: no goods cross into the north unless we pay 50% more!"
"What!?"
Outraged, Kailan slammed the table. Treating the northern continent—the him—like a joke? The nerve.
"They've got a plausible excuse. The central continent's short on spare capacity with the dispute against the eastern Holy Kingdom, and summer sandworm swarms have severed some logistics routes."
"What about the south?!"
"No worries there, Your Highness. The southern guildmasters and I are practically in-laws now!"
"Good... At least you're earning your keep."
He sighed in relief at Count Rian's competence, but the situation still stank.
These crazy bastards. Timing like clockwork.
Kailan instantly grasped the alliance's scheme. They'd waited until the north had frames up and collected hefty deposits from tenants.
[Stop construction now, and you'll pay breach penalties to merchants and go bankrupt, right? So cough up the extra cash, like it or not.]
"What do we do, Your Highness?! We might miss completion and spark riots...!"
"Whew. Calm down first. What's the exact shortage?"
Count Rian shakily read from the ledger.
"Uh... Timber and lime mortar are most critical. Hinges, nails—iron's short too. As you know, our north's industry is still developing slowly..."
"Enough. No need to panic."
Kailan cut him off.
"Y-yes...?"
"We can handle it all ourselves. Don't worry."
The central merchants were dead wrong. Kailan hadn't imported from the center because the north couldn't produce it.
He'd just bought time for sweet wife-dates with cash.
Thought they'd cornered him? Big mistake.
"Rian."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
"Fetch Knight Walter immediately. Those central softies will regret this big time."
50% more? Later, they'd be begging him to buy.