Grand Duke, Please Stop Obsessing Over Your Wife! - Chapter 42

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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42.

 

The man approached Annelize with relief.

 

“P-please save me! Help me! There’s a terrible sea of fire down below. I’m completely innocent, but they suddenly dragged me here and are torturing me! It’s hell itself!”

 

Watching him, Annelize’s mind raced quickly.

 

An empty corridor. A strange man suddenly asking for help.

 

If she handled this wrong, it could be a dangerous situation.

 

“This way!”

 

She pretended to cooperate for now.

 

The man rushed frantically into the room.

 

Just as she was about to close the door, Annelize spotted Isaiah following from the first-floor room.

 

‘No need to lock him up and call for people.’

 

Isaiah strode over and struck the back of the man’s head.

 

The man collapsed forward without even making a sound.

 

“Where do you think you’re going.”

 

Isaiah placed one foot on the unconscious man’s back and smiled brightly at Annelize.

 

“Good morning, my lady.”

 

“You’re up early, Sir Isaiah.”

 

“Excuse me for a moment.”

 

He picked up the unconscious man like a piece of luggage, threw him inside the stone door, then returned.

 

“I’ve shown you an unsightly scene this morning. Are you alright?”

 

“I’m fine. It was fortunate that Sir Isaiah came at the right time.”

 

Isaiah smiled. She could feel his searching gaze.

 

‘Why is he watching me so carefully?’

 

Annelize spoke up first.

 

“Isaiah. I have absolutely no interest in whatever happens down there. Don’t worry. I respect the Duke’s Castle’s way of governance.”

 

She was sincere.

 

“Oh… You’re very considerate, my lady.”

 

“It’s just an ordinary underground prison, isn’t it?”

 

“Yes. It’s a training facility for rehabilitating hopeless cases, something like that. Only those whose souls have rotted away are imprisoned there. The man who just escaped sold his own children with his own hands.”

 

“Human scum. Fine by me.”

 

Someone else might see prisoners in the underground prison, but she saw labor force.

 

‘Free labor that I can work without guilt.’

 

Thanks to the Duke, demolition was easy, but procuring construction materials for new buildings was the problem.

 

‘Making lime bricks takes a lot of time and effort. To handle the demand for bricks, I need to deploy as many people as possible.’

 

Annelize asked Isaiah.

 

“How many people are there approximately?”

 

“About several thousand?”

 

“Wow. That’s perfect. I can run them in shifts.”

 

Isaiah sent her a suspicious look.

 

“I’m curious about the purpose behind these questions.”

 

“I want to hire the prisoners.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

Did that sound too genteel? Annelize asked again politely.

 

“Would it be alright if I worked the underground prison inmates without pay, day and night, without giving them any breaks?”

 

Isaiah asked with a dumbfounded expression.

 

“What… what would you use them for?”

 

“Various things. First, I’ll deploy them to the newly discovered limestone mine, and have them make bricks too. I want to build new houses for residents without homes before the snowstorm comes.”

 

“Hmm…”

 

“It’s a different kind of punishment. I believe labor is the punishment humans received. The main culprit of human alienation. You know?”

 

So would you lend me some prisoners?

 

As Isaiah listened to Annelize’s words, the corners of his mouth twitched.

 

He burst into laughter and wiped away tears.

 

“Ah. You’re the first person to react this way. Fine, I’ll lend them to you, my lady.”

 

Yes!

 

She smiled as she shook the hand Isaiah extended.

 

“Don’t worry. I’ll really work them viciously.”

 

* * *

 

“What? You’re going to take the prisoners from underground to work in the mines?”

 

At Pamine’s shocked reaction, Isaiah shrugged his shoulders.

 

“That’s what I said. What do you think?”

 

Unlike Isaiah, Pamine was worried.

 

“Will that be okay? The ones in the undergrounds of the Duke’s Castle aren’t ordinary prisoners. They’re souls so broken they can’t even reincarnate, isolated souls.”

 

There was a prison in the undergrounds of the Duke’s Castle.

 

It was a place where corrupt souls who weren’t permitted reincarnation due to their sins were imprisoned.

 

“Come to think of it, they’re natural workers. Since they’re essentially souls, they don’t need to sleep, eat, or rest.”

 

“That’s true, isn’t it? Those guys are always screaming while falling into lava, so they’d probably like going up to get some fresh air for a change of mood.”

 

Eventually Pamine was convinced too.

 

At Pamine’s words, Isaiah sent him a skeptical look.

 

“Those guys definitely won’t get any mood change. I saw the Duchess’s eyes, and she really seemed intent on working them viciously.”

 

Isaiah’s guess was correct.

 

While the residents of the Grand Duchy finished work with guaranteed break times and lunch hours and spent their evenings with family.

 

The prisoners dragged from the underground prison were worked day and night without rest.

 

‘Still, they’re the same people, so maybe I was too harsh from a human perspective?’

 

Whenever such thoughts occurred to her, Annelize would ask Pamine about the list of crimes the prisoners had committed.

 

“Various things. Contract killing, domestic violence, child abuse…”

 

‘Right. Not too harsh. Absolutely not too harsh.’

 

She felt relieved and ordered additional night shifts.

 

Thanks to grinding the prisoners, lime brick production rose sharply.

 

In a certain village selected as a redevelopment pilot area.

 

At news that the Duke had come to visit the village, residents gathered together.

 

“Are you really giving us all the house-building materials for free?”

 

“That’s what they said. But we have to build the houses ourselves.”

 

“That’s great… but you know what. We don’t even pay taxes to the Duke, so where does the money come from to give us everything?”

 

“I don’t know. Since he’s the Duke, maybe he has so much money it’s rotting away even without collecting taxes? We should just be grateful.”

 

Worried conversations went back and forth about the lord giving things away for free.

 

The conclusion was ‘still, since he’s the Duke, he must have something to rely on.’

 

Annelize overheard the conversations among them and chuckled.

 

‘Everyone’s curious. I was just as curious.’

 

A few days ago, after making plans to rebuild the village houses, she asked the Duke about the estate’s budget.

 

[I’m not sure. How much would this be? Tell me if you need more.]

 

The Duke nonchalantly took Annelize to the warehouse.

 

It was filled with gold.

 

‘The current reserves alone were enough to overturn the Empire’s monetary system.’

 

[Why… why do you just keep it stored away?]

 

[There’s nothing particular to spend it on. If you want to use it, use it however you like.]

 

‘So I really did use it however I wanted.’

 

That’s how the budget for the Grand Duchy redevelopment plan was secured.

 

Annelize stood near the Duke and watched his movements.

 

The house selected for reconstruction was cleanly demolished by his hand.

 

“His lordship has successfully demolished the house! Quickly clear the debris and start the foundation work!”

 

“Yes!”

 

Following the work supervisor’s instructions, the residents jumped into action in perfect coordination.

 

A short while later, the Grand Duchy’s first detached house was completed.

 

With that as a catalyst, a new trend of homeownership swept through the North.

 

It was truly the beginning of the great redevelopment era.

 

* * *

 

Shabby houses were demolished, and sturdy brick houses sprang up like mushrooms after rain.

 

During this joyful time when the quality of life for the Grand Duchy’s residents was higher than ever,

 

there was one person suffering alone.

 

‘I’ve run out of cute act repertoire…’

 

Annelize held her forehead with her hand, lost in thought.

 

‘At first, it was just intended to channel the Duke’s destructive impulses in a better direction. And incidentally, to help with the plan I originally had.’

 

It worked too well. That was the problem.

 

The roles had completely reversed.

 

‘Now I suddenly feel obligated to be cute.’

 

To demolish buildings, she had to be cute enough to trigger the Duke’s destructive urges.

 

It wasn’t like she was doing anything particularly extreme.

 

Others would probably think ‘That’s it?’ if they saw it.

 

‘It’s just that the very act of deliberately behaving to please someone else is embarrassing.’

 

She was also having a bit of an existential crisis.

 

‘What’s even more infuriating is that the Duke is having a blast while I’m doing this.’

 

She could tell from the way the Duke’s lips curled up during their walks.

 

‘When did I become a charm vending machine for the Duke? This can’t go on. I need to reclaim my dignity.’

 

The sacrifice for the great cause of Northern prosperity ends here.

 

‘Anyway, neither the Duke nor I planned to spend our lives just demolishing buildings. The rye and barley for beer are waiting to be harvested.’

 

Annelize requested to meet with the Duke.

 

* * *

 

“My lord. Lady Annelize has requested a meeting.”

 

The Duke nodded at Pamine’s words.

 

“Tell her I’ll be right there.”

 

He headed to Annelize’s room, humming contentedly.

 

‘She’s been acting much more charming lately.’

 

The Duke recalled his recent conversation with Village Chief Alriksen.

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