The Isolated Marchioness Just Wants to Make a Living - Chapter 234

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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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Part 2, Episode 39
‘Maximus said we might have to face the First Emperor. So we need to understand the past well.’
His earlier suggestion to visit Rudolph Village together seemed to stem from similar reasoning.
‘But she’s not even the heir—how does Lea know such an important secret? There are so many gaps.’
I’d vowed countless times that heroes should retire, that I should stop meddling in worldly affairs. And yet……
‘But this time, it seems I can solve an enormous amount with minimal effort. Just this once, I should step forward.’
I’d thought that visit to the seaweed farm was my final outing.
But truthfully, no matter what excuse or logic I conjured, it was unavoidable.
The moment I heard that word—’seaweed’—from Lea’s lips, it was as if a bell tolled in my head. ‘I absolutely cannot miss this.’
‘At this point, aren’t all other reasons just excuses? It looks rather shabby to go to such lengths over food.’
But my mind was already made up.
I declared to Lea:
“Take me to your father. I think the deal should be made between me and Count Jonston, not you and Leopold.”
“W-what?”
“I’ll make your territory prosperous again. Then you won’t need to marry Marcel.”
Whatever happened to her romantic life after that was none of my concern.
Lea rolled her eyes, her voice uncertain.
“Well…… I haven’t heard nothing about you, but…….”
She murmured while turning her teacup.
“But our territory really has nothing. Seaweed? I’ve never even seen it in our lands.”
“Of course not. You’re much further south.”
“Does that matter? It’s the same sea.”
“So you know nothing about food sources. That’s clear.”
“I know that coastal mountains are difficult terrain for cultivation, and we don’t lack things we simply don’t know how to eat—like seaweed. We became poor because of political funding problems, not lack of productivity.”
I spoke with bored indifference.
“Everyone says the same thing. Yet even that pessimist Jerdian now treats me like a walking lottery ticket.”
And folding my arms, I continued:
“The price is identical to the Russell Territory contract. Five percent of annual production supplied to Sears at cost price for five years.”
Lea’s pupils dilated.
I spoke with arrogance.
“Congratulations on winning, Lea.”
And I added with certainty:
“Your territory will become as wealthy as the Cardipol Guild.”
* * *
The Western Region, Ephren area.
It was where the direct lineage of Nogen, who had departed from the world generations ago, lay buried.
Leopold stood before the monument of his parents.
“……Please.”
In the pitch darkness, his face sank deeper into shadow.
“Please, please.”
He’d come directly upon receiving a report that something seemed amiss. Given the nature of the place, he simply could not stay away.
“Please…….”
In the silent, empty space, his Air Strike tore at the earth.
Leopold forced strength into his legs and slowly opened his father’s coffin with trembling hands.
The coffin was empty.
* * *
The next morning.
“Go tell the Count directly.”
I gave Lea a letter requesting an audience and told her to return to her territory.
“Tell him not about your youngest daughter’s affections, but ask him to investigate the secret.”
“It truly sounds like a dream proposal, but…….”
Lea sighed as she spoke.
“Don’t get your hopes up, Brisa. My father isn’t like me.”
“Ah, then he must be quite an admirable man.”
“My father would sell me off if it came to that, but he’s not the type to unearth secrets passed down through generations of our house. There’s a high chance the meeting won’t even happen.”
“So he understands the weight of family. He and Petro must get along well. Then tell him this instead.”
I spoke with my arms crossed.
“Say that I know the truth about that secret, and ask if he’ll at least grant me an audience.”
“……The truth about the secret?”
Lea asked blankly.
“What do you mean? Is there such a thing? How would you know that?”
“Curious? Then make the meeting happen.”
I spoke coldly.
She stared at me intently, then laughed.
“You really are consistent. Two years younger than me, but you act like you’re five years older.”
When I raised one eyebrow, she giggled and continued:
“And I apologize again. I really didn’t know you liked Leopold. Though isn’t Harrison better looking?”
“That’s not something I want to hear from someone who’s besotted with Petro.”
“Petro is…….”
Lea wore a peculiar expression as she spoke.
“He has this charm of being so rigid that I want to conquer him, you know? The stubborn, straight-laced teacher type—that handsome man who never moves as I wish. I want to make him kneel before me and cry…….”
Faced with tastes I couldn’t comprehend, I tilted my head in confusion, and Lea burst into laughter.
“Yes! You’re still a minor, aren’t you? Good grief, what am I even talking to a child about?”
“In a few days I’ll be an adult. And what does making someone kneel have to do with being an adult?”
“Our baby, you’re actually curious about that?”
I watched Lea brighten suddenly and crossed my arms.
In childhood, perhaps I resented her more because I envied her. Just yesterday she was weeping and wailing, yet now she laughs so easily.
I envied that she was loved and raised with no self-censorship in her emotions. That ordinariness—lively and confident, yet appropriately kind and appropriately insufferable.
For me, both crying and laughing were difficult.
“When you come of age, I’ll let you treat me as a friend rather than a child. Just wait.”
“Friend?”
It was a word I’d never considered.
So astonished was I that I first explained the proper procedural introduction for this foreign concept.
“If you send an official document to Sears containing at least ten rational justifications for the use of that word, I’ll review it. Remember to consult a lawyer before sending it.”
“I’m sorry, but we need to save on lawyer fees now. I think friendship is simply enough with empathy, laughter, and a few secrets.”
“Don’t try to slide past me with something Alpheus would say. I’m different from him.”
“I figured. Your brother seems like a good person.”
Lea spoke seriously.
“When our territory becomes wealthy, I’ll consider the procedure. It’s obvious I’ll be your first friend.”
Surprisingly, I had no counter-argument.
I had no friends. My sisters were my sisters, and Harrison and Gillab were simply fools and cowards.
“Well, then I suppose the first step is to make the meeting happen.”
At Lea’s words, I nodded seriously.
“Send your answer through Warp. The sooner the better.”
The moment I sent Lea off, people came rushing in.
It was Marcel and Audrey.
“You told him to come?”
I’d told Marcel yesterday evening, as I’d announced to everyone, to come to Russell Count Territory as early as possible. The reason given was “a matter related to Taming—we must meet immediately.”
In truth, summoning and binding the True Name was something only I, bearing Riente’s bloodline, could do.
But to maintain security, we simply grouped everything under the term “Taming.”
“Could something have happened? Is our Marcel turning into some monster again?”
Audrey trembled as she asked.
“Our Marcel…… still has far to go, and this is such a critical time…….”
“I agree. There’s really far to go.”
I answered seriously.
“He’s twenty-nine years old and still needs his mother to explain his business for him.”
And relaxing my shoulders, I continued:
“It’s nothing serious. I just need to work a bit longer.”

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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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