Abandoned Empress's Survival Manual Beside the Male Lead - Chapter 27

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 27
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“Grand Duchess, Head Maid! I’ve never seen so many carriages before!”
“Neither have I! Oh, how the other children would envy us!”
The maids sharing the carriage chattered excitedly, and I found myself caught up in their enthusiasm. The subtle unease I’d felt because of Shelkan vanished without a trace.
‘The Emperor really is a generous man!’
So his children turned out a bit poorly—what could be helped about that?
Where in the world could you find a perfect person?
“Bridget, I noticed the Imperial Gift list has quite a lot of fabric. Are there many warm materials too?”
Bridget had worn a somewhat melancholy expression throughout the grand banquet.
It was because the Empress Dowager was still at the old Gaiad Royal Palace and she hadn’t been able to see her.
So I’d been a little concerned about her, but—
“Very generous, Your Grace.”
She was truly the perfect head maid with a thousand faces of loyalty.
The moment we boarded the carriage, she produced the ledgers and fixed her gaze on me alone.
“In particular, there is a great abundance of velvet in dark hues, and cotton wadding fills an entire carriage. Even if we commission three new winter dresses for each maid, we shall have surplus, Your Grace.”
The maids’ faces brightened. Their sleeves had been washed so many times they’d grown thin and worn, so naturally they were delighted.
I nodded thoughtfully, then asked, “How severe are Gonet’s winters? I’ve heard they have quite the reputation.”
“I experienced a winter in the Pasa Empire some ten years ago, Your Grace. By comparison, I can say Gonet’s winters are certainly harsher.”
“Is that so?”
Formidable indeed.
Of course, I myself hailed from the Northern Kingdom, which was colder than Pasa.
Since Lorelthiana had been born in such a cold place, I had developed a reasonable resistance to the cold.
So even the month in Pasa hadn’t been particularly unbearable.
‘There’s no harm in preparing well.’
As I was deciding on the new winter garments and discussing provisions, something suddenly occurred to me.
“If Gonet’s winters are so harsh, how old are the chickens at the chicken farm? There must be some special method for keeping them warm?”
“……….”
“……….”
The maids fell abruptly silent.
“…?”
Then Bridget spoke sharply.
“Here now! Will the Grand Duchess not hear an explanation?”
“Well, that is to say……”
The maids’ faces flushed crimson.
“In truth, we had nowhere else to keep the chickens and chicks……”
“During winter, we kept them in the room next to ours……”
“What?”
Bridget erupted in indignation.
“Shameless creatures! The Main Castle is where the lords and ladies dwell—how dare you bring livestock inside! Utterly improper!”
Despite the severity of her voice, Bridget stopped after that single rebuke.
She understood there had been no choice in the matter.
‘Hmm.’
Repairs to the chicken farm would require money—a considerable amount at that.
‘But I cannot have the chickens sheltered in the first floor hall as before.’
It would be one thing if the castle mistress were absent, but now I had become a target in the eyes of the Council of Elders.
They were surely desperate for me to commit some breach of propriety.
This wasn’t merely a matter of reputation.
The Main Castle of a great house was never simply a “home.”
It was the history and dignity of an entire lineage.
A symbol upon which such things were layered, generation upon generation.
If the Council of Elders learned that I, the Grand Duchess, kept chickens and chicks loose in the first-floor hall……
They would seize upon it as proof.
Then they would declare that entrusting domestic authority to a Grand Duchess who shows such disrespect for Gonet made no sense whatsoever.
Moreover, the “Gonet Restoration Plan” in my mind would require the chickens’ contribution.
For the sake of future plans, it was right to invest the money in proper repairs to the chicken farm.
As I busied myself with these various schemes, I noticed countless carriages departing from the Imperial Capital.
They were all elegant conveyances bearing the brilliant insignia of nobility and royalty.
Among them, the carriages of the Grand Minister’s Faction stood out most conspicuously.

It wasn’t that the carriage was particularly ornate—it was that it was conspicuously white. They rode in a meticulously pristine white carriage, and it stood out wherever they went.
‘I wonder if Ayu is riding in it.’
But now that I’d discovered Baetan was a married man, there was no way she’d follow him.
‘Then Ayu’s fall to villainy might happen much later, or perhaps not happen at all?’
After all, the catalyst for Ayu’s descent into darkness had been her struggle with Baetan’s wife.
Hmm.
Reading about someone in a novel was entirely different from talking to them face-to-face.
In the original work, Baetan’s devotion had been portrayed quite poignantly—as the victim of a political marriage, or so the story went.
It was true that he’d entered into such a marriage, but that was where the facts ended. My assessment of Baetan had always been unwavering.
A scoundrel.
An unfaithful man.
An adulterer.
And so forth…….
Tap-tap.
The carriage came to a halt not long after.
It was one of the knights.
“Grand Duchess, shall we let the horses rest and you take a meal as well?”
“There’s a prosperous trading town on the road ahead with ample provisions.”
“Understood.”
I nodded and accepted the escort’s hand to descend from the carriage.
The handmaids quickly followed and began setting out cooking implements with practiced efficiency.
The pattern remained much the same throughout the journey.
Two of our three daily meals came from military rations consumed in the carriage, but we stopped once a day to let the horses rest and prepare a proper meal.
The knights built a fire and boiled water. The soup—simmered with smoked meat and dried mountain vegetables—was simple but quite pleasant. I’d just finished the bowl and set it down when—
“Grand Duchess.”
A gruff voice sounded from above my head.
“……?”
The handmaids I’d been chatting with sprang to their feet at once. It was because of the man’s station.
“I am Gavin, Commander of the Gonet Knight Order. Please, call me Gavin if you wish.”
His voice was cold, stripped of all warmth. He was so tall I had to tilt my head back considerably just to see his face.
His hair was cut short in a cool shade of blue-gray, and his features were sharp as if carved by a blade. His long limbs were taut with muscle, imposing in their solidity.
He must have been five-and-twenty. The vigor of his prime and the hardened composure of a seasoned warrior existed together in a single face.
It was a face that would attract the notice of many ladies, yet it was entirely rigid. His mouth was set so heavily that he looked less like a person than a stone statue standing before a shrine.
Gavin.
Gavin…….
‘Wait. Hold on.’
My shoulders tensed involuntarily.
He wasn’t supposed to meet Bridget, was he?
I reflexively glanced back at Bridget. She was sitting rigidly, and when she felt my gaze, she returned a puzzled look.
‘It should be all right for now. Surely.’
In fact, Bridget and Gavin had been mortal enemies in the original work.
To the extent that Bridget’s death came by the blade Gavin wielded.
The reason was simple enough.
Their positions had been fundamentally opposed from the very beginning.
Gavin had admired the Saint since childhood. When her daughter became Grand Duchess, he naturally swore his body and soul to loyal service.
Bridget was the villain who stood opposite to Ayu.
In the original work, Ayu successfully brought down the Empress Dowager who had tormented her, and then commanded that her devoted servant Bridget be executed before her eyes.
It was Gavin who carried out Ayu’s order and executed Bridget.
I looked up at Gavin and asked.
“What is it?”
Gavin immediately dropped to one knee. He descended slightly below my eye level in an instant and spoke.
“Forgive me, but I must ask that you increase your food intake.”
When I gave him a puzzled look, he continued.
“According to word we received at the trading post we visited earlier, bandits are active in the area—normally scattered, they’ve suddenly consolidated and begun blockading the main roads. We’ve had to take a detour as a result.”
“How much longer will the journey be?”
“We expect at least four additional days. The concern is that the road ahead winds through mountains with treacherous terrain, making it impossible for the carriage to rest. I worry for your strength, so please consume as much food as possible now.”
“Ah…….”
I nodded.
“We have no stew left, so I’ll have some warmed bread. With water, it should be ready just as we’re about to depart.”
Lighting a fire and cooking a meal from scratch here would take at least an hour, not to mention the considerable hassle. That’s why I’d suggested bread instead, but…….
“That won’t do.”
“Won’t do?”
Gavin spoke in a stubborn voice.
“Bread is too light to properly restore your strength. I’ve brought military rations—the kind the knights eat. You should have some now and recover what you can.”
…….
The military ration Gavin offered was the sort knights chewed while riding hard. A dense lump of dark, dried meat, tightly compressed.
Before I could even take a bite, a rancid stench hit me. Spices were too expensive, so none had been added.
‘Oh no.’
I swallowed my cry silently. Of course I knew our territory was poor.
I knew Shelkan spent nothing on food or sleep, that the knight order was half-starved, and that they ate the cheapest fare available.
But I couldn’t very well say I couldn’t eat it, so I chewed the ration as quickly as I could manage.
The tough meat wouldn’t break between my teeth, and the fishy grease clung to my tongue. Even holding my breath, my stomach roiled terribly.
Then.
“The Grand Duchess is a person of great standing—she cannot simply eat anything.”
Bridget opened her mouth.
“There is dried fruit available, and if nothing else, warm water with sugar and salt will do in small sips. If you force your body to accept something unsuitable, it will only cause harm.”
Bridget snatched the ration from my hand and crunched it down decisively.
“And what’s more—feeding something this tasteless to the Grand Duchess? It’s thoroughly offensive.”
Gavin’s brow furrowed.
“You just said offensive?”
“I did.”
“I am commander of the Gonet Knight Order. I serve at the Grand Duke’s command, and thus bear the duty to safeguard the Grand Duchess’s health and wellbeing.”
“Safeguard?”
Bridget’s smile shifted.
“Ha ha. Safeguard, you say.”
I saw Gavin falter.
“Ha ha. Ha ha ha ha. Ha ha ha ha ha ha!”
Bridget’s crazed laughter stopped abruptly.
Everyone in the carriage held their breath as if rehearsed.
I was no exception.
In the original story, Bridget dies by Gavin’s hand.
How would things unfold for her now?
Would she be forced back as she was in the original?
“Let an old woman speak her piece.”
So-called old woman Bridget—all of thirty-five—stretched her lips wide horizontally. Stretched them. Stretched them most peculiarly.
I felt a jolt run through me.
‘Why am I thinking of this now?’
Suddenly, footage from a gun-game survival video I’d watched in my past life came to mind.
In that game, every time you defeated an enemy, a brilliant message would appear.
So that meant…….
She opened her mouth.
“First. The Grand Duchess is a noble soul who understands others’ circumstances.”
Good shot!
“Second. Even in the depths of hell itself, a subordinate’s duty is to obey their master’s command.”
Cool shot!
“Third. Strictly speaking, concealing one’s own lack of skill by taking the long way around!”
Nice shot!
“And then having the audacity to thrust a foul-smelling ration upon a gracious mistress—such base impudence!”
Great shot!
“If one forgets chivalry at this age, then hastening into a coffin is the true service one can render to Gonet, Commander Gavin!”
Wonderful shot!
At Bridget’s rebuke, Gavin suddenly turned to look at me. Then, without a word, he dropped to both knees and proclaimed solemnly.
“I was disrespectful. I beg your forgiveness, Grand Duchess!”
All perfect shot!
‘It’s possible.’
It seemed as though glittering text hovered above Bridget’s head.
All enemies defeated!
The laurel crown of victory is bestowed upon you!
Bridget wins!

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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