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At those words, not only Allice and Sandra, but even Dana herself was stunned.Me? Since when?
“So, what’s your answer?” Growing impatient, Viego urged her. A faint crease formed between his elegant brows.
“Well, of course…” Dana voiced the answer Viego was expecting. “I think Allice needs more time for reflection.” It was also the answer she herself desired.
Startled, Allice rushed to Viego’s desk. Grabbing the edge, she collapsed to her knees and cried out. “B-But, Brother! His Highness won’t stay silent.”
Dana sighed inwardly.You shouldn’t have said that, Allice. Because that’s precisely why Viego wants to send her back to the monastery.
Viego had sent Allice to the monastery, only for Raios to retrieve her on his own accord. In other words, Raios was meddling in their family’s affairs. From Viego’s standpoint as the head of the house, it must have been extremely irritating. And now Allice was reminding him of it once again.
“His Highness will be displeased. He called for me—”
Sure enough, Viego, looking extremely irritated, laughed coldly. “You don’t need to worry about that, Allice Windsor. His Highness has already agreed.”
“I said he has already agreed.”
“T-That can’t be.”
“And he promised not to interfere until I summoned you again. So quietly return to the monastery.”
“…” At that, Allice seemed to lose all will to resist.
Eventually, Sandra and Allice left, and only Viego and Dana remained in the office. Looking utterly fatigued, Viego leaned his back against the leather chair. His eyes were tightly shut, as though he might fall asleep at any moment.
After watching him quietly for a while, Dana asked. “Am I truly your aide now?”
Shruk,Viego’s pale eyelids slid open. His eyes looked displeased. “Didn’t you hear what I said?”
“I heard. I was just asking for confirmation.”
“I don’t like repeating myself.”
You sensitive man. Is there anything in this world you actually like?Dana restrained herself from saying that. “Where have you been this time?”
Recently, Viego’s business trips have become frequent. Even his closest secretary couldn’t figure out exactly where he was traveling.
“If you needed to know, I would have told you first.”
Forget it. Let’s just stop talking. He’s impossible to converse with. He’s even more sensitive than usual.An already sensitive person was now five times more sensitive, like a porcelain doll that seemed about to break if you touched it too much.
“Read this.” At that moment, Viego handed her a file. “Read it and tell me your thoughts.”
Dana slowly read through the pages one by one.It’s about the northern railway.
Viego was currently planning a railway project that would run straight from the capital to the empire’s northern regions. The areas where the railway would be laid had been decided, and agreements had been reached with the lords of those areas. The remaining issue was this.He’s still deciding exactly where to lay the tracks.
The railway would pass through dozens of regions, all of which were exceedingly vast territories. Determining the right places to lay tracks across those numerous domains and designing them appropriately was a challenging task.I could understand. In this world, you have to do everything by foot, so it must be tough.Furthermore, since it was the first time in this world, starting from scratch, he had a lot on his mind.
“How about acquiring all the stagecoach businesses in these areas first, Brother?”
At those words, Viego opened his eyes, which had been closed, and looked at her. A strange gleam appeared in his eyes.
“Acquire the stagecoach businesses?”
“Yes. By examining the route maps of each company’s stagecoaches, we’ll find the answer. Especially focusing on those that transport large goods.” Tapping the map, Dana continued. “Freight wagons are bulky and carry valuable cargo, so they tend to travel along flat terrain with gentle slopes and sparse populations. If you compile those routes, it should help identify suitable places to lay the tracks.”
“…That’s a good idea.” Perhaps he thought it was useful. Viego asked for a few more opinions. “Are you aware of the opposition to the railway project?”
“Yes. Because of them, progress has been extremely slow.”
“The opposition from Marquis Liten, in particular, has intensified. You know why, don’t you?”
“Ah, you mean the owner of Liten Bank.”
After the humiliation he had suffered, it was only natural that he would be furious.
“How about ensuring that the railway project’s success benefits them as well? Then they may grow interested in the profits to be gained from the Windsor’s railway.”
“So you’re suggesting creating shared interests.”
“Yes. In that sense, although the budget may be sufficient, I would recommend launching it through a public stock offering. It’s such a controversial project. Wouldn’t it be better to have as many people as possible in the same boat?”
How long did their discussion continue like that? The more they spoke, the more Dana realized something. Viego Windsor had been looking at her for a very long time, without any time limit or any hint of contempt. And that wasn’t all.He’s listening to me carefully.
It felt strangely new. How long had it been since she had been treated like a proper human being? That thought almost made her laugh.If I had stepped into the family matter earlier, would anything have been different?But it was a meaningless question now.
Now, she had no interest in anything except leaving this world.
“Why does the railway detour so far around this area?” Dana pointed to the map. The railway, which ran straight from the capital to the north, bypassed one area. Of course, she knew the reason, but she deliberately pretended not to and asked.
“That’s Kaltusa. Don’t you remember?”
“Kaltusa…Ah, yes, I remember. It was the rotten land.”
Kaltusa. The first place in the Besman Empire where the rotten land had appeared. Abandoned for so long that it had become a ghost town.
“The rotten land should be purified by now. Why go out of the way to avoid Kaltusa?”
“Because the land is so ominous.”
The first land where the rotten land began. Perhaps that’s why it was also the land where the residents, who were ignorant of the calamity, were all annihilated.So now that land is completely abandoned.All the residents were dead, without a single one surviving. Nobody wanted to live there. But that wasn’t the important thing.
“I’ll go take a look there myself.”
“Yes. If I publicly declare that the land won’t rot again, people’s anxieties will vanish, right? It would also reduce the railway construction costs.”
It was a valid point.
Dana was revered by the people almost as a saintess. Not long ago, she had even discovered and purified a dormant patch of rotten land. If she stepped forward and declared, ‘This place is safe,’ there would be no one who would doubt her. Of course, Dana didn’t intend to go there solely out of a desire to see Windsor’s project succeed. It was because there was a bomb that could bring Carl down in that place.
“This time, I’d like Uncle Carl to accompany me as an escort.” She added jokingly. “He’s been idle lately anyway.”
I’m almost there now.
The annulment with Raios is just around the corner. Once the emperor returned, everything would happen in a flash. If Carl Windsor were to step down from the deputy head position here, the seat would fall to her, a direct member of Windsor and officially acknowledged as Viego’s aide. And then, the holy relic she had long desired would become hers.
Kaltusa. That land would bring Carl down. For there, a trap waited, one from which he couldn’t escape ruin.