The Isolated Marchioness Just Wants to Make a Living - Chapter 132

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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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Chapter 132

16. Rudolph Village

The person who immediately reacted to Harrison’s words was Alpheus.

“What? Dark magic?”

His eyes instantly turned sinister.

“Then the people at the duke’s estate… are they all under the influence of dark magic right now? We need to go in immediately and check the situation!”

At that moment, Leopold, Isabela, and I spoke simultaneously.

“No.”

“You mustn’t.”

“Don’t.”

At that moment, I looked at Isabela with deep emotion. Finally, an adult I could completely trust had appeared.

Isabela, dressed in maid’s clothing, raised her eyebrows and said.

“They already know we’re visiting. They’ve definitely set a trap.”

Not only that. We had even received a reply saying they welcomed us and to come immediately.

Now that reply could be interpreted as ‘hurry up and fall into our trap.’

Fortunately, they either didn’t know Harrison was a mage specialized in detecting dark mages, or they hadn’t anticipated Harrison’s accompaniment.

‘The visit letter only vaguely mentioned Marquis Sears and acquaintances.’

We hadn’t planned to stay at the duke’s estate anyway and only intended to pay our respects and leave.

But now that things had turned out this way…

Isabela spoke sharply.

“So we need to go to another village and gather local information. About what’s happening at Duke Backhun’s estate.”

“B-but what if Duke Backhun is in danger inside? What if innocent people are being held captive!”

“They’ll probably be used as bait to provoke us. They’ll maintain the status quo as bait until we arrive.”

Although Isabela was currently in the position of a maid, she had previously conversed with Alpheus as an equal, so she spoke without hesitation.

Moreover, this place was Isabela’s beloved hometown.

Having heard the warning, she couldn’t help but become sharp.

I quickly took her side.

“Duke Backhun might even be on the dark mage’s side. We absolutely cannot go in there. Let’s send a letter canceling our visit, saying something urgent came up with the seed potatoes. Then we’ll move to another village as Isabela suggested.”

“Another village… where?”

Then Isabela stepped forward.

“I’ll guide you.”

Her face was more serious than ever.

“It’s a place not well known to outsiders, and only local warp works there… To maintain security, I’ll input the warp coordinates myself.”

Local warp meant a warp that only operated within short distances.

I asked Alpheus, who had started writing the cancellation letter.

“The current Duke Backhun… you appointed him, right?”

“To be precise, the Second Prince and I had no choice but to select him.”

Alpheus shrugged.

“He was the only person with even a little Backhun blood. The rest all died or went missing during the civil war… And he was even infertile and couldn’t have children, so he had adopted a grand-nephew.”

In other words, from the next generation onward, someone with no Backhun blood would become the lord of the territory.

“When that son becomes lord, Backhun’s history will end. Even knowing that, we had no choice to avoid immediate chaos.”

The Backhun family had an even longer history than the Beviano Imperial Family…

It was a known fact, but it felt bitter anew.

However, unexpectedly, Leopold, who was walking beside me, spoke quietly.

“If it must end, then it must end. When an era comes that needs a better master, it must be handed over.”

I looked at him in surprise.

Leopold added with emotionless eyes.

“I too… always live with the thought that I might be the last Nogen.”

“Why? Are you declaring celibacy because of my speculation that Harrison is aiming for the Grand Duchess position?”

Then Leopold whispered as if incredulous.

“Do you think I would marry in this condition?”

“Well, honestly, if your secret gets out… a hundred people wouldn’t line up. But I think about ten would remain.”

“Ten or twenty, I have no intention of creating a successor similar to me.”

He spoke firmly.

I blinked while looking at his black hair fluttering in the wind.

In the original story, that is, the disappeared future… he really wouldn’t have married anyone, I thought.

Perhaps he lived only with the goal of allowing a family other than Nogen to stably govern the territory.

I thought that giving away quite a large plain to the north might have had that meaning too.

‘Then you must have been terribly lonely.’

I couldn’t bring myself to say those words and swallowed them.

Meanwhile, a servant departed for the duke’s estate to deliver the visit cancellation letter.

We arrived at the warp again, and Isabela skillfully input the coordinates. It was one of the northern local warps that we had no way of knowing about.

“The people of this village…”

Isabela murmured while boarding the warp.

“Can be trusted.”

We had no choice but to follow her without understanding. It wasn’t even a single warp ride – we had to take several local warps in succession.

After traveling for quite a while, we finally arrived at a mountain village in the north.

“Oh, this is my first time here too.”

Alpheus said while looking around.

Isabela, still very tense, replied.

“It’s just a typical northern village. High altitude, large temperature differences.”

A village was formed right near the warp.

There were almost no plains, and a small valley flowed below the gentle mountain slope. The houses were arranged mainly facing south, water was abundant and communally managed.

While I was looking around, a man who spotted Isabela came running over.

“Bella?”

He was an ordinary-looking young man with red hair and green eyes.

“Bella! When did you return to the north? And who are the people behind you?”

Isabela, true to being the ‘trustworthy adult’ I acknowledged, didn’t reveal our identities.

Having already sent a letter saying we were returning to the central region, it wouldn’t be good to spread unnecessary rumors even if these people were trustworthy.

Moreover, we had been dressed casually from the start. We weren’t attending a noble family’s social event.

“The young lady I serve… and her companions.”

I suddenly became the representative of the group.

“Is there an empty house in the village? Could we stay for a few days?”

“If it’s Bella’s request, of course.”

The young man looked at us intently, then bowed his head.

“Welcome to Rudolph Village, everyone. I’m Raul Rudolph, the village chief.”

Leopold’s eyes widened.

“Ah… so Rudolph Village really exists.”

Then he looked around with curiosity.

“I glimpsed it when researching Santa folklore at the Western Magic Library, but there were so few records that I removed it from the reference list. I heard the deer in the northern region Santa folklore resembled the deer from this area.”

“Yes! We’ve been living in hiding, but we have a long history.”

Raul spoke amiably.

Isabela also smiled gently and explained.

“This is a black magic-free zone.”

Did such a region exist?

If so, I could understand why Isabela said ‘the people here can be trusted.’

Raul spoke proudly.

“It’s said that Lord Piarin spent his later years here, personally blessed this place, and granted a surname to my ancestor.”

At that moment.

Suddenly, my head felt tingly.

Santa folklore.

Rudolph.

The memory… seems like it might come back, or might not…

But there was something more urgent.

We had promised Isabela to improve agricultural productivity. However…

‘Will these people accept innovation? They must be conservative about change due to their long tradition of being isolated from the outside world.’

We now had to hide our identity. In other words, we had to change this village without the reputation we had built up so far.

Of course, there was a way.

Leopold pointed to one of the luggage carts and said.

“We brought some wheat from the Western Region, hoping it will help the village’s livelihood.”

Then Raul, thinking it was payment for lodging, smiled brightly.

“Thank you. We were actually worried because the price of western wheat has risen a lot. The village will share and eat it well.”

However, his calm face turned to shock after checking inside the luggage cart.

“Good heavens! This is… what is this… This amount could feed our village for a year? I never imagined this would all be wheat!”

He turned around sharply with trembling pupils.

“Really… can we really just accept this?”

“Ah, no you can’t.”

Leopold gestured toward me and said.

“Since a year’s worth of food has been secured, just consider it getting deceived and listen to everything this child says about this year’s farming.”

Raul’s face looking at him was blank.

“That’s the price.”

Originally, when reputation was lacking, you could just spend money.

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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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