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A villainess locked away in a desolate tower—I had possessed her body.
Chapter 9
"It's sweltering. I'm dying from the heat."
"Just bear with it a little longer. The ‌‌‌sun will set soon."
"What good is the ‌‌sun setting! Tomorrow and the day after, I'll still be hauling dirt until my back breaks!"
Thud!
Unable to endure any longer, the man hurled the shovel he'd been holding to the ground.
"Hey, ‌‌you there! What if someone hears you!"
"Let them hear! Harvest is right around the corner and it's already been months!"
The man's name was Hans. ‌‌‌
He was a farmer who had lived in the Blaire Grand Duke Territory for three generations. ‌‌‌‌
Unable to suppress his frustration despite ‌‌his friend's dissuasion, he vented his grievances with heavy sighs.
"No matter how much compensation they promise... every able-bodied man in my household has been conscripted, so who's supposed to tend our fields? My ancestors?"
"But ‌‌everyone's in the same situation, aren't they?"
The man, who had been watching those around him carefully, patted Hans on the shoulder.
He too found the circumstances equally frustrating.
The Dam Construction Site, which had seemed like it would be completed soon, was taking far longer than expected, and ‌‌those facing the harvest grew increasingly anxious.
Of course, ‌‌Blaire Grand Duke was not a tyrannical lord who withheld fair wages or ruled with an iron fist.
Yet when one's livelihood hung in the balance, the territory's people could not hide their unease.
"This needs to be resolved quickly."
In the end, the man who had agreed with Hans also sat down heavily on the ground, his strength spent.
Living within the stone walls erected by a nobleman promised a safe life—one where you needn't fear being plundered without cause.
But it also meant that whenever the territory required development, you would be conscripted to provide labor.
The Blaire Grand Duke Territory had relatively low tax rates. Because of this, the ‌‌people had always willingly cooperated with conscription whenever work arose.
Yet facing endless labor with no sign of completion, coupled with the oppressive summer heat, even their ‌‌initial enthusiasm had completely evaporated.
"I just want to eat the meals my wife makes... I can't even remember the last time I had a warm stew."
"Isn't it your turn for meal duty tomorrow? Heh, looks like you'll go hungry." ‌‌
"Sigh..."
Hans let out a sigh so heavy it seemed the earth itself might collapse, shaking his head.
Now that even the Grand Duke's soldiers had begun construction work, there were ‌‌no spare hands to be found.
Women and children ‌‌had to manage not only household chores but also the fieldwork in the men's absence, so naturally ‌‌‌‌the men had ‌‌to handle all their meals at the site.
Though provisions were supplied, the number of those skilled in cooking was ‌‌extremely limited, so the quality of food was inevitably poor.
"Where's that noise coming from?"
"Everyone's ‌‌swamped right now—what's this nonsense?"
"Yeah. Well, let's get back to work."
Venting complaints only wasted time. ‌
Hans and his friend picked up their shovels and rose, trudging forward listlessly.
But then.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud. ‌‌
"Do you hear that sound from somewhere?"
"What do you mean?"
"It sounds like... running footsteps."
The sound of an army on the ‌‌move.
The thunderous tremor reverberated through the earth, growing clearer in their ears with each passing moment.
"Could there be... a war?"
"What madman would start a war right before harvest? They're begging for divine punishment!"
Above all, there was ‌‌‌‌no conceivable way anyone would dare lay a hand on Blaire Grand Duke.
Hans, gripping his shovel tightly, turned his anxious gaze toward the source of the sound.
Then he spotted them.
"Those... aren't those people?"
They were ‌‌‌definitely people. A great many of them, in fact.
Kicking up clouds of dust as they ran, they wore identical work clothes on their lower bodies while their upper bodies were bare, and armbands adorned their arms.
And inscribed on those armbands was "Black Eagle Unit."
"W-who are you...!"
Just as the soldier responsible for site security hastily threw armor over his work clothes and stepped forward, Liam, the Grand Duke's aide who had arrived belatedly, moved ahead of them.
"Huff, huff...!"
His labored breathing made it abundantly clear just how urgent his situation was.
"These are the Black ‌Eagle Unit mercenaries from the Ilamena Alliance who will be proceeding with the Dam construction starting today. Huff... you are to hand ‌‌‌‌over operations to them and vacate the site... huff... by order of the Grand Duke!"
"Is that... really so?"
"Are you certain?"
The territory's residents exchanged bewildered glances between Liam and the mercenaries.
Soon, the mercenary captain at the very front bellowed loudly.
"Black Eagle Unit, commence operations!" ‌‌
"Yes, sir!"
As the Black Eagle Unit surged ‌‌into ‌‌‌‌the Dam Construction Site with a thunderous roar, ‌‌the territory's residents, finally snapping out of their shock, ‌‍hurried alongside them to ‌complete the handover.
Even as Liam affixed his seal directly alongside Golbro Count, who owned the Black Eagle ‌‌‌‌Unit, the events from this morning until now felt utterly unreal.
"Hah..."
Liam, who had been staring at the Black Eagle Unit while swallowing hard, soon turned his head toward the figure who had appeared beside him.
It was April Salt.
* * *
Well, fortunately things went smoothly.
I'm not sure what I imagined that made me believe it, but surely what I merely imagined wouldn't actually come to pass.
Feeling once again the preciousness of my ant-like existence, which had managed to survive another day unscathed, I turned my body toward the room that others called a prison but felt like heaven to me.
"How ‌‌‌did you manage this? I understand this isn't normally how these ‌‌matters are resolved."
At Liam's question, I had ‌‌no choice but to stop in my tracks.
"It was just... ‌‌‌luck, I suppose..."
"Without even a separate negotiation process, I doubt it can be explained away as mere luck."
Ugh, he really ‌‌won't let this go.
I sighed and brushed the dust off some nearby materials before sitting down on them casually.
"I presented very specific conditions. Since the seal from the Grand Duke's office guaranteed credibility, the process moved faster."
"If they came so readily, the conditions must have satisfied them quite well. Conversely, that would have been considerably disadvantageous for us."
Liam seemed concerned that I might have offered an exorbitant sum.
But no matter whose money it was, I wasn't so devoid of conscience as to squander it while living off others—or in other words, being kidnapped.
"Even when the conditions match or resemble their usual contract terms, swift negotiations are entirely possible." ‌
"...?"
"These people were originally scheduled to be employed by the Salt Kingdom, but the ‌‌‌‌‌contract was unexpectedly terminated. And ‌‌‌‌I have experience participating in contract negotiations ‌between Salt and the Ilamena Alliance."
I unfurled my hand fan to shield myself from the brilliant sunlight as I continued.
"...So, I was simply very fortunate."
I'd been afraid he might ask more questions, but fortunately, someone seemed to need Liam's attention.
"Pardon me, Advisor...."
"Hmm? What is it?"
A man in shabby clothes eyed him nervously, his demeanor thoroughly cowed.
"Might I inquire to whom we should transfer responsibility for the cooking arrangements? The mercenary unit has no dedicated cook, you see."
"A cook?"
Ah, that's right.
Liam had only reviewed the contract terms, so he wouldn't know about ‌‌this.
Recognizing the need for explanation, I answered in his stead.
"The women within the territory who need economic activity can handle ‌‌the cooking."
"So Your Highness means we should mobilize the surplus territorial residents...?"
"Yes."
If ‌‌possible, volunteers would be better than forced conscription.
I nodded without hesitation.
The documents related to the Dam Construction Site contained not only information about the territorial residents mobilized for the work, ‌‌but also brief records of those not mobilized.
What particularly caught my attention were certain classes of women with virtually no economic activity—so ‌destitute they couldn't even pay taxes.
Among them were widows whose husbands had died, unwed mothers, and women who ‌‌‌‌had forgone marriage to support aging parents alone.
When I asked the maid who periodically brought meals, she said such women scraped by doing menial work in others' homes for pittance.
"Now that the men are mobilized for construction, there's plenty of work and they manage not to starve. But once the work ends, ‌‌‌‌they'll return to their former circumstances."
"Then, what becomes of those people...." ‌‌‌‌
"They barely scrape by. If luck turns against them, they starve."
Once I grasped the situation, the outline of my next task became clear.
'The Black Eagle Unit has no cook.'
The Salt Kingdom had dispatched a ‌‌‌cook directly before, but there was no time for that now, and extracting personnel from the Grand Duchy presented numerous obstacles.
Cooks attached to noble ‌households typically possessed such pride that they'd never consent to preparing meals for lowly mercenaries.
So what I'd devised was a simple solution: temporary replacements.
After carefully reviewing the situation once more, I responded with ‌‌renewed confidence.
"As you've seen in the contract terms, providing breakfast and lunch to the Black Eagle Unit is included. You understand that, yes?"
"W-well, yes, that ‌‌is so...." ‌‌‌
"So if we're to have ‌‌‌those people report at dawn tomorrow, I ‌‌‌believe ‌you'll need to handle the arrangements. I've already prepared a list of employment candidates you can reference."
Liam, who had been standing stunned with a bewildered expression, soon composed himself and nodded.
"I'll see to it at once."
"Yes."
I nodded and turned my gaze ‌‌‌‌toward the azure sky.
It had been so long since I'd felt the warmth ‌‌‌‌‌of sunlight. Not that it was unpleasant, of course.
'But truly, I...'
prefer the darkness.
I was already beginning to miss my cool, shadowed chamber—the one that required no blackout curtains.

---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on ‌our official site: valirscans.org
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