---
In the end, Marquis Spencer agreed to my request, albeit on a strange condition.
“Then, I look forward to it, ma'am.”
A sly smile appeared on his face, and he alighted from the carriage as soon as we arrived at the fiefdom, indicating other engagements.
After bidding him farewell, I turned to the Archduke, who had a displeased look on his face, and asked him.
“Well, how about we check out the property before we return to the Archduke’s residence?
While we’re here, as the Archduchess, I can meet people.”
“Why?”
Archduke Richard raised an eyebrow in protest at my suggestion, as if he doubted me.
I tilted my head at his unsatisfactory reaction.
“Definitely, it is for our prosperous future at the property.”
Now that I had the clock blueprints, I needed to check if the fiefdom had the infrastructure needed to build clocks.
Moreover, I needed to show the Archduke couple in love in public, so as not to arouse suspicions in the Imperial Court about our relationship.
“Ha.
I clearly said that we are in a contractual relationship only.”
“When did I say otherwise?”
I blinked, eyes wide at his sudden seriousness.
The Archduke, who had initially flatly rejected the contract, now became obsessed with it, insisting on the contract whenever I mentioned it.
“I believe that my body alone will not be enough, so you changed your plan to stay at the estate and take on the role of Archduchess.”
The Archduke sighed and wiped his face.
I stared at his large palm, which covered half of his face, with a blank stare, and furrowed my brow.
"A body?
What do you mean, a plan?"
I muttered, lost in thought, as the Archduke continued.
“Isn't the idea of staying together from here to the future more than just a contract?”
Aha!
Now that I understood what he meant, I clapped my hands together in front of my chest.
We signed a contract, betting on his body – on his freedom from constraints.
But somehow, as Archduchess, I received the estate report and ended up getting involved in the work.
He was clearly worried.
Than to demand additional compensation beyond the agreed-upon wage for work outside the scope of the contract!
'Of course, in my past life, I demanded additional payment as a clever tactic to expand the scope of promised work to a client…'
In times like these, I saw a cruel, violent, and ruthless side to his scheme.
I waved my hand, impressed by his precise calculations.
“Oh my God, why are you so worried?
I’m just doing this out of kindness.”
Ah, service, service!
I smiled amused.
Of course, my real intention was to protect as much of my future wealth as possible.
“……”
His face returned to a complicated expression.
I smiled brightly at him and reassured him, who still seemed unsure of me.
“I have nothing more to ask of you, Archduke.
So, there is no need to worry about this matter.”
“...!”
With these words, he suddenly looked away from me and remained silent until we entered the Archduke's grounds.
∗∗∗
We finally reached a village in the Archduke's lands.
My original intention was to inspect the area myself, to see if the conditions were suitable for watchmaking, and to show people how well Archduke Richard and his wife got along.
“Really… this is the most crowded area in the Archduke’s lands?”
Far from achieving my goal of checking, I felt extremely embarrassed.
Until then, I had only entered the Archduke's Palace, assessing the situation of the area based on the numbers in the reports.
As for the village that I saw with my own eyes, it was darker.
The cultivated fields, covered with red dirt, were barren, and only a few crops remained growing abundantly.
Even the busiest streets were dreary, and many shops were closed.
Moreover, there was not a single ant, which made it difficult to believe that there were people living there.
“It wasn't like this even a few months ago...”
Victor, who was accompanying me as an escort, looked at the Archduke and whispered to me in a low voice.
I looked around anxiously and sighed quietly.
“Because the Archduke’s property was confiscated due to this incident.”
According to the estate report I received through Albert, the Archduke's butler, the Archduke's estate was so poor that he was distributing his personal property in the capital to the estate's people as subsidies.
However, after the murder and the confiscation of the Archduke's property, such support became impossible.
This must have made things more difficult for the people of the estate.
At that moment, I saw a group of people, who appeared to be a young son and his father, heading towards me from the other side.
I greeted the two people with joy and approached them.
"Welcome."
"Oh, my God!"
The man shouted, shocked to see us.
Meanwhile, a child burst into tears at the sight of the Archduke.
“A monster that kills people, a monster.
Haaaang.”
The Archduke stopped in his tracks when he heard that voice.
The child's father sank into deep thought.
“Your Excellency, Your Excellency, I have committed a mortal sin.
A-A-Please forgive me.”
He fell to the ground, bowing his head and pleading.
I was the one who was surprised by his exaggerated reaction.
“It was a child's mistake, but you don't have to come to this...”
“A-A please, I beg you to spare my life.”
“….”
The man's face was filled with fear and genuine alarm.
He seemed to think that the murderous Archduke might kill him at any moment.
I felt embarrassed, so I looked at the Archduke, and saw his face stiffen.
“Oh my God, what will happen to Mr.
Smith and Thomas...?”
“Shut up!
If you anger His Majesty, you might die too!”
I shuddered at the faint whispers coming from the dark alley.
Then, finally, the reality of the deserted street began to become clear to me.
'It's not that there weren't people… they were all hiding.'
According to the original novel's description, Archduke Richard's image was not positive throughout the empire.
He was a real villain.
However, seeing the depiction of the novel with my own eyes made the situation seem even more dire.
‘Even if others were like that, why even the people of his land
…’
I frowned at the question that came to my mind.
Until now, the Archduke had been using his own resources to help his people.
At that moment, details of twenty years' worth of financial reports suddenly flashed into my mind.
'nothing!
There was nothing!'
My mouth opened without realizing it.
Looking back, I realized there was something that should have been included in the expense list.
These costs were called 'advertising'.
Furthermore, he is not recorded to have hosted any social events at the Archduke's home since he acquired his property.
This meant that the people of the estate were completely oblivious to the Archduke's kindness to them.
Furthermore, he did not hold any major event that would generate additional income for the property's residents, which likely increased their dissatisfaction with him.
Of course, his antisocial image was a plus.
Therefore, the image of the Archduke remained in their minds that of an assassin on the battlefield, or perhaps a real assassin.
Even his love story, which was reported in the newspapers, may have been an unwanted story for those living in poverty.
As the Archduke stared at them sternly for a long moment, the boy's father trembled.
“Your Excellency, I will bear the punishment, so please, at least my son...”
“…Don’t worry about it.
Go away.”
His voice was hoarse, as if he was scratching his throat.
“Thank you, thank you!”
The man, with a relaxed face, remained wiping his tears with his head bowed, unable even to open his eyes.
Finally, the Archduke passed him without hesitation.
He looked up cautiously, his expression calm, but unusual.
The swollen muscles of his jaw, tense from his grinding his teeth, gave him a feeling of pity.
“He killed the Crown Princess’ mother, but he threatened the judge and got away with it!”
A faint sound came from behind the wall, carried by the wind.
The Archduke, who had undoubtedly heard the words, shrugged slightly.
I felt pity, so I involuntarily patted his shoulder.
“I will catch the real culprit and clear up the misunderstanding, don’t worry.”
He ran his hand gently through his hair.
Even though he was free, people still feared and doubted him.
Even the Archduke's people felt the same way… it wouldn't even do any good to exonerate him.
It's time to make a real plan.
I made up my mind and clenched my fist.
∗∗∗
On arriving at the Archduke's house, I immediately locked myself in the library.
I wanted to transfer the plans I had in my mind to paper.
Coming up with a plan to improve the Archduke's image was great.
However, after I returned from the Grace Kingdom, and after several days without any specific instructions from me, doubt began to creep in.
“Isn't that a ridiculous idea, ma'am?”
“I'm not sure it's possible to establish a watch trade in the Archduke's lands, where there is no technology at all.”
Among the skeptics of my ideas, the butler Albert, in particular, gave me a skeptical look whenever he passed the library.
In fact, he had seemed upset with me since the day I mentioned the estate report.
But I had a plan.
After a few days. أخيرًا، وبعد أن وضعتُ الخطّة المثالية، استدعيتُ الجميع إلى مكتب الأرشيدوق.
“It's finally over.”