The Isolated Marchioness Just Wants to Make a Living - Chapter 37

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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 37

 

“Huh? Uh…”

 

Fortunately, Alpheus didn’t seem to notice anything strange and nodded blankly.

 

“Th, thank you…?”

 

A moment of silence fell over the dining table.

 

Philip and Langsi were also looking at me as if they were seeing an alien life form.

 

Alpheus alone muttered, not knowing what to do.

 

“Is, isn’t this right? Then should I say ‘I’ll do well’…? Is that what I should say?”

 

“You should do well.”

 

Langsi answered half-heartedly.

 

“So anyway, Marquis.”

 

After that, she asked about the matter she had been holding back with tremendous patience until now.

 

“Did you bring some money back?”

 

Then Alpheus smiled brightly.

 

“No, not yet!”

 

It wasn’t something to say so confidently while smiling brightly.

 

“I told you. I left the Second Prince and came running back. They say the warp is a mess, so how could I leave my rabbit-like young brother here alone?”

 

At the master’s words that he hadn’t brought any money, Langsi’s gaze turned cold.

 

“Then you just brought another mouth to feed.”

 

Langsi narrowed her eyes and added.

 

“To stuff full of the potatoes our Young Lady carefully grew.”

 

“Hmm, is the financial situation very serious?”

 

“At least there’s no debt. Thanks to Young Lady, we’ve reclaimed quite a lot of territory too. But what we’ll eat going forward is worrying…”

 

To the returned lord of the territory, Langsi sighed and expressed her concerns.

 

“Honestly, I don’t think we can keep living like we have been – borrowing grains all year round and making up for it by catching Marang Fish for one season.”

 

That was true.

 

According to the original story, the Western Region, after the monster wave passed through, wouldn’t continue to have abundant harvests like before.

 

Until now, grain prices had been cheap, but that wouldn’t be the case anymore.

 

“But Captain, I mean Marquis, when are the remaining knights coming?”

 

“They’ll probably come tomorrow morning?”

 

I couldn’t help but sigh.

 

The Elite Unit that Alpheus had taken to the Capital was coming. Since he said they were all safe, it meant there were now twelve more mouths to feed.

 

‘…They’ll all eat a lot, won’t they?’

 

I hadn’t anticipated this far.

 

I hadn’t thought I’d be buying the Beron Region either…

 

‘…Wait.’

 

Suddenly my eyes lit up.

 

If I changed my perspective, I could see a solution.

 

I slowly looked at Alpheus.

 

Strong muscles and a large frame, inexhaustible stamina.

 

‘The Elite Unit would be similar, right?’

 

Moreover, I had found ‘those’ seeds I wanted on Jezel Street!

 

A smile began to creep up slowly.

 

Alpheus flinched and tilted his head.

 

“Hm? Why are you smiling? It’s the first time I’ve seen our princess smile, but it feels somewhat eerie?”

 

These people weren’t just mouths to feed. They were labor force!

 

5. Invitation from the West

 

A month later, at the Magic Tower.

 

“The monster ratio is decreasing!”

 

The largest magic stone in the center of the garden had turned pink.

 

This magic stone had the function of displaying the ratio of monsters within the Empire through colors.

 

For the past three months, the magic stone had continuously been red. It meant there were excessively many monsters, and there had never been such a case in the Empire’s history.

 

Due to this unprecedented situation, the Magic Tower Master was also racking his brains.

 

“At this level, there shouldn’t be much problem operating the Warp.”

 

The Magic Tower Master who had hurriedly come down let out a sigh of relief. Everyone had been complaining of inconvenience as transportation routes within the Empire were blocked.

 

The Magic Tower was also suffering from isolation. Especially, they couldn’t pursue the Dark Mage tracking they had been enthusiastic about recently. They couldn’t contact any region at all.

 

Moreover, people from everywhere poured all their anxieties onto the Magic Tower.

 

“Is it really true that the Warp can operate in midsummer?”

 

“Can we really trust this? We really can’t live like this anymore.”

 

The Magic Tower Master shuddered once, thinking of the terrible past two months. Truly, if they didn’t activate the Warp as announced, riots seemed ready to break out.

 

“It’s not my fault that the Warp ended up like this, right? But why is everyone protesting to us? Huh?”

 

The Magic Tower Master whined.

 

“Sadly, that’s how everything in the world works!”

 

The Magic Tower Master who answered his own question let out a deep sigh.

 

“Tell the Magic Tower’s slaves… no, the mages.”

 

Then he struck his staff down with a thud and declared.

 

“Activate the Warp!”

 

“W-will it be okay?”

 

The slave, no, the mage asked.

 

“The errors in the Southern Region’s Warp haven’t been completely reviewed yet…”

 

“As long as there’s no casualties for sure, activate it first! At this rate, even the Magic Tower will have to farm for food!”

 

“B-but…”

 

“If problems arise, we’ll deal with them then! That’s better!”

 

The Magic Tower Master shouted valiantly.

 

“Sadly, that’s how everything in this world works!”

 

* * *

 

Warps began to flash across the vast lands of the Western Region.

 

Before long, Leopold and his Knight Order arrived at the Grand Duke’s Residence in Nogen.

 

Despite experiencing the largest monster wave, paradoxically, the damage to the Western Region wasn’t severe. This was because Leopold had traveled throughout the region, subjugating the monsters.

 

Unlike other monsters that stayed in hills or mountains, the monsters in the Western Region had affected even the granary regions. Therefore, Leopold hadn’t been able to rest until now.

 

As midsummer approached, the monsters began to gradually disappear without a trace.

 

“I’m worried about winter.”

 

Leopold’s adjutant sighed.

 

“If it’s this bad now, what will winter be like…?”

 

Originally, the largest monster waves in the Western Region struck during winter.

 

During other seasons, even if monster waves occurred, they could be sufficiently handled by each territory’s Knight Order.

 

But this time was completely different. So it wouldn’t be strange if some other bizarre phenomenon occurred in winter.

 

“Grandfather must be deeply troubled.”

 

Leopold let out a heavy sigh. He now had to report about the dark mages as well.

 

After meeting Brisa at Delfoben Port, Leopold had dispatched Knight Orders to each port. This allowed them to capture many more dark mages.

 

If it hadn’t been for Brisa’s incident, they would have overlooked the port areas where monsters didn’t appear.

 

Leopold had tried to interrogate them directly. However, shortly after being captured alive, they all committed suicide.

 

“I need to know who’s targeting me and how.”

 

When she said those words, Brisa had a calm expression on her face. As if having her life threatened didn’t matter at all.

 

But for a human being, it couldn’t possibly not matter.

 

‘I have nothing to say, which is embarrassing.’

 

It was awkward to report that the interrogation had failed.

 

Indeed, Hilberry let out a deep sigh as soon as he heard Leopold’s report.

 

“This is an extremely serious problem. I had no idea that so many dark mages had set foot in the Empire, especially in the Western Region… Also.”

 

The old Grand Duke spoke with his thick eyebrows deeply furrowed.

 

“The unprecedented monster wave must be related to this. We need to gather more information. I’ll have to report to the Imperial Family as well…”

 

Hilberry pressed his forehead with a weary expression.

 

The monsters had now disappeared, but the consequences were serious.

 

The spring farming was almost ruined. Now they had to rely on midsummer crops.

 

But strangely, the lands that had been fertile were no longer the same as before.

 

The Magic Tower responded that ‘the land may not have recovered from the monsters’ influence yet, so it seems we must simply wait.’

 

‘Which means they don’t know.’

 

Not giving a definitive answer meant it was just speculation.

 

So Hilberry was anxious.

 

What if food became scarce?

 

It was a matter that could mean not just the Western Region, but the entire Empire might have to go hungry.

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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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