The Obsessive Male Lead Is Obsessed With Me! - Chapter 123

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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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Episode 123

“Your Highness! Just a moment ago, His Grace the Grand Duke came down first and went outside saying he was going to see Krieg!”

Most people caught on to his intention.

‘If Her Highness goes outside to look for His Grace the Grand Duke, she’ll be able to hear him talking with Jackson!’

Then wouldn’t a situation unfold where Her Highness notices everything and His Grace the Grand Duke has no choice but to confess his feelings?

Everyone was harboring such expectations when it happened.

“Oh, I know. I told him to go see Krieg.”

“Huh?”

“He might come in a bit late since he’s feeding him too. You don’t need to worry about it, so eat comfortably, comfortably. Ah! That grilled fish looks delicious too!”

“Your Highness. Should I order beer as well?”

“Beer? Beer, beer… Right! Let’s have just one glass!”

No one could say anything more to Cecilia, who was chatting and laughing cheerfully with Uni.

‘This is… hopeless.’

‘Poor soul. When on earth will she ever hear a confession of love…’

The inn staff exchanged glances among themselves and made a decision.

‘Let’s at least bring her lots of delicious food!’

And so, an enormous number of plates were placed on the table where Cecilia sat, enough to break the table legs.

Along with the barbecue and grilled fish that Cecilia had initially ordered, there was turkey and lamb ribs roasted over a campfire with pork. Plus a salad with tangy sauce to cleanse the palate and two glasses of beer. Cecilia couldn’t help but admire the feast spread before her eyes as she gripped her fork.

“Thank you for the meal! …Wow, this is so delicious!”

“Does it suit your taste?”

“Yes! This sauce here is so much to my liking. Uni, try some too.”

Cecilia’s face looked so happy as she heartily devoured the food, bite after bite. So naturally, smiles appeared on the inn staff’s faces as well.

‘We were worried since a precious young lady had to come to the harsh Northern Region…’

‘It seems she’ll do well. What a relief.’

“Delicious, so delicious… Oh, I have something I’m curious about.”

Cecilia dabbed the corners of her mouth with a napkin and looked around as she spoke.

“Is there anyone who can answer my question?”

A question…?

Could it be that she noticed something about His Grace the Grand Duke’s notebook?

‘Of course, there’s no way she wouldn’t know!’

All the inn staff raised their hands simultaneously.

“Me! I’ll answer for you!”

“Get lost, you fool. Me! I’m the village chief’s daughter!”

“Wow, really! Then you, the village chief’s daughter!”

At Cecilia’s designation, Daisy, the village chief’s daughter, clenched her fists in delight, while others bit their lips and glared at her.

‘How petty to pull rank as the village chief’s daughter here.’

Regardless of what others thought, Daisy quickly approached Cecilia’s table.

Cecilia offered her the seat next to her.

“Sit here. I have a lot to ask.”

“Yes. Please ask me anything.”

“Who is the lord of this village?”

“…Huh?”

Huh? That’s not the question we expected?

Not just Daisy, but everyone thought so. Not just the inn staff, but the Northern Knights and Roheim’s knights as well.

“Uh, um, well… I believe it changed recently.”

“It changed?”

“Yes. I don’t know the details since it’s a matter concerning high-ranking people, but there were many reorganizations… changes in the northern estates. In that process, I heard our village was also incorporated into a different estate.”

“I see. So you don’t know who the new lord is?”

“Hmm, I heard he was newly appointed like His Grace the Grand Duke… I think it was Baron Jeff.”

“Baron Jeff?”

“Huh? Jeff?”

As if they heard a familiar name, murmuring grew louder among the Northern Knights.

“Baron Jeff, that’s definitely…”

“…Huh? That’s me! It’s me!”

The Shaggy Knight, who had been biting into a whole pork leg, suddenly stood up from his seat.

Then he made an expression as if pondering whether his thoughts were correct, and nodded again.

“Baron Jeff! That’s exactly me!”

“Really?”

“You’re the lord?”

“Come to think of it, the estate I received this time was somewhere around here…”

As if he had completely forgotten, the Shaggy Knight rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a crumpled estate certificate.

The man next to him leaned over to check the contents written on the certificate together.

“…That’s right, Hambon Village is written here!”

“You were the lord?”

“Uh… That’s how it turned out!”

The Shaggy Knight scratched the back of his head and let out an awkward laugh, while the inn staff also gave him awkward welcoming applause.

Somehow, they had already spent too many welcoming flowers on the Grand Duke couple to give a heartfelt welcome now.

They decided to hold a proper lord welcoming ceremony later with the people from the neighboring village where the lordly manor was located, and for now, the Shaggy Knight sat across from Daisy.

“So, what did you want to ask about?”

“I’m curious about how you plan to manage this village going forward.”

“Huh?”

“Hambon Village is the village we reached in just one day after crossing the central border, right? That means when proper trade begins in the Northern Region, people coming from the west, east, south, and other areas through the central region to the north will likely stay in this village with high probability. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Huh? Yes… Probably?”

While the Shaggy Knight looked completely lost with a blank expression, Daisy, who understood somewhat, raised a question.

“Your Highness is right. That’s why this inn was built large compared to the village size. But the Northern Region is quite desolate now… Wouldn’t proper trade be impossible for at least several years?”

“One year, no, six months should be enough.”

“Huh?”

“You probably haven’t heard yet, but the main tower of the Frost Magic Tower has relocated to the Northern Duchy. Once they start hunting monsters beyond the North Mountain Range, shops selling monster materials will be established, and magic tool shops making magic tools from those materials will increase. If things go well, even branch towers of other magic towers might relocate here.”

“Huh?”

“At the very least, monster materials will only be sold in the Northern Duchy. That means mages from the Empire, or perhaps even other countries, will have no choice but to come to the Northern Duchy. Because monsters only exist beyond the North Mountain Range!”

“Huh?”

Actually, Daisy didn’t really know what monster materials were, nor did she understand what connection they had with mages.

But Cecilia was speaking with such a confident attitude that she couldn’t dare throw cold water on her words.

“It’s hard to understand everything you’re saying… But if Your Highness is right, it means many people will pass through this village in the future?”

“Yes, that’s exactly it.”

“But this village is small… Even the largest inn is just this one, right? If so many merchant groups flock here, we won’t be able to handle it.”

“Exactly. Fortunately, the road between this village and the central border is well-maintained. So material supply shouldn’t be a problem as long as we have money, and I’d like to build many accommodations in this village as workers gather.”

“Huh?”

“When I entered the village, I saw that many temporary accommodations where refugees stayed are still remaining. We can have workers brought from outside stay there, then move them when the accommodations are built… Oh, when there are more people, we’ll need to solve the food problem too. Do you farm in this village?”

“Well, we do barley farming and field farming. Just enough for self-sufficiency though.”

“Is there a particular reason you only do self-sufficiency?”

“There’s the manpower issue… And to expand the fields, we need permission from the lord who owns the land.”

“That’s what she says, my lord.”

“Huh? Oh, uh, I’m in favor. It’s fine.”

“Good. Please leave that in an official document later. Oh, while we’re on the topic, is there a forest nearby? It would be good if we could supply timber directly.”

“There is one, but we need logging permission from the lord…”

“I’ll allow it!”

“It’s nice and refreshing having the lord here! Then let’s finish eating first and go look at the forest. I want to check if the tree species can be processed into timber.”

“Ah, yes.”

“When you go to the lordly manor, first check the income and expenditure reports to calculate whether there’s room to build inns. It’s better to do this kind of thing as a national policy from the estate itself, but if there’s no immediate surplus in the estate operating funds, we’ll start with Roheim investing…”

The duchy that Lionel received was a duchy in name only—it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he had simply inherited the North Mountain Range.

Moreover, it was the first place to take a direct hit from the monster wave, so the damage was severe and hardly any estate residents remained. To put it bluntly, it was an empty shell.

So everyone thought that being a grand duke or whatever, one wrong move could lead to the misfortune of being left with nothing but fingers to suck on…

‘Hmm, that won’t happen.’

‘He really married well…’

Everyone thought this way as they watched Cecilia, who seemed determined to revive not just the duchy but the entire Northern Region in order to restore the duchy.

In the next 10 years… No, perhaps even in just 5 years, the Northern Region would be far more developed than it was now.

Their predictions were not wrong.

No, it wasn’t just that they weren’t wrong.

The duchy, which had been little more than ruins, began to show signs of human vitality just 6 months after the grand ducal couple moved to the duchy.

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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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