Spring In Ronheim

Leviche was the younger sister of a knight named Karl, a childhood friend of Hillen's, and the same age. She seemed to be close with Andrew as well.

"Leviche, from now on, you will serve the Lady alongside Lamia."

"Please take good care of me, my lady."

It hadn't been difficult to ask Granada to bring Leviche to me as my personal maid.

Three of my maids from the imperial palace had mysteriously disappeared, and with Lamia occupied with her recent training schedule, I had been thinking of hiring one more attendant anyway.

'What kind of training has Lamia been doing these days?'

Lamia and Granada had been away for several hours each morning and evening, claiming they were training. During those times, I spent my days with Leviche.

Though she was shy and reserved at first, as we grew to know each other better, I discovered she was remarkably kind and thoughtful.

"Leviche, will you be leaving when Lamia returns from her evening training?"

"Yes, my lady. I'm going to visit Hillen. I know she'll be skipping dinner again if someone doesn't check on her."

"You must be working so hard. Caring for the sick can't be easy."

"It's too sad to leave Hillen alone. Besides, it's fun to chat with her. And if I go home too early, all the housework falls on me anyway, so I'd rather spend time with her."

Leviche smiled bashfully.

"Sir Andrew must be on vacation now, isn't he?"

"Well, yes, but there are still things that are better handled by a woman's touch. Besides, Andrew seems a bit... lost these days. I don't know what's going on in his head, but he just stays in his room, sighing constantly..."

My surveillance of Andrew continued quite naturally. Leviche would often pour out details about Hillen and Andrew without my needing to ask.

After talking about Andrew for a while longer, she excused herself to fetch more firewood.

"There doesn't seem to be any movement yet. I'll have to ask Sir Alex later what Andrew has been doing outside the house."

The people of Ronheim were surprisingly well-informed about each other's households and movements. So if I wanted to know something, I could simply sit quietly in the castle and piece together Andrew's activities without deploying any overt spies.

'Now that I've gathered information about Sir Andrew's activities, it's time to attend to my own business.'

My daily life had become remarkably busy since I'd regained my health after the memorial ceremony.

I had to attend to tasks that had been postponed during my illness, while simultaneously managing the constant stream of new matters requiring my attention.

"My lady, the goods sent from the Szeged Trading Company have just arrived. Here is a letter from Master Montril Piraeus."

"Oh! Give it to me at once."

I had been reviewing ledgers, so I set them aside and eagerly took the letter from Mainz's hands.

I had been actively exchanging correspondence with Montril through various means—messengers, couriers, and even Callius's knights when security was paramount. This time, it seemed he was sending goods along with his letter via his own workers.

Chloe,

Good news! The ships from the Elford Merchant Company—the ones you boldly advised me to invest in last time—have returned safely! Not a single vessel was lost!

I confess I lost sleep worrying after you instructed me to invest all our available capital. But seeing those ships coming into port one after another made all my anxiety seem foolish.

How on earth did you know that the Elford merchants would be the first to successfully pioneer the new trade route? They sailed to the new colony and returned with ships laden with gold, silver, and exotic treasures!

Thanks to this windfall, we've secured more than sufficient capital to begin acquiring shares in the Terramo Company. Don't worry—we're proceeding under the condition that our identities remain completely confidential, just as you specified.

We're sending you the necessary supplies along with foodstuffs for Ronheim.

P.S. The special item you requested separately has finally arrived at our warehouse. We're sending it to you with this shipment as well.

'Excellent!'

Montril's letters were always filled with welcome news.

'In my previous life, when the Elford Merchant Company pioneered that new trade route, Viscount Pelsus was deeply upset. The atmosphere in his mansion was unbearable for days. Furthermore, the Terramo Company—which Andrea later acquired—achieved remarkable success, and he was extraordinarily pleased with himself.'

Montril praised me as someone with exceptional business acumen, great foresight, and even remarkable luck.

But what business knowledge did I truly possess?

Even though I had lived one more lifetime than others, I had spent it locked away, learning nothing of value.

'Actually, I know almost nothing.'

I was simply using information I'd gleaned here and there through eavesdropping—preemptively devouring the opportunities that had made Viscount Pelsus jealous and the investments that had given Andrea his wealth and power.

'If I provide the information, Montril handles everything else brilliantly.'

Montril was truly talented. He understood exactly how to leverage the intelligence I provided, and he acted boldly and decisively.

Thanks to his skill, the Szeged Trading Company was growing rapidly in size—but doing so secretly, just as I needed.

"I need to go inspect the shipment from the trading company."

"Yes, my lady."

As I walked out into the courtyard with Mainz, I saw crates and sacks piled high—a mountain of supplies.

Workers hired by the trading company, servants from Ronheim Castle, and Callius's knights were all bustling about, carrying and organizing the goods.

"Move that wheat and corn over here! Oh my goodness! Look at this beautiful sugar! So fine! So sweet!"

I spotted the chef running around excitedly, inspecting the provisions.

"Take these three chests to the Knights' Hall. Bring these two to the blacksmith's forge."

Callius was directing his knights to move weapons and various metals that Montril had cleverly hidden among the food supplies.

"Callius."

"Are you coming out, Chloe? It's a bit windy today—you'd better make sure your coat is buttoned properly."

As soon as Callius noticed me, he immediately checked to see if my outerwear was fastened securely.

I had grown quite accustomed to him tightening the strings of my hood.

'This is kind of amusing.'

He always pulled the hood so snugly that only my eyes, nose, and mouth were barely visible. When he did this, my head became round like one of the chef's rice balls.

'A rice ball? Or a snowman?'

Still, I let him fuss over me because I liked the way his hands worked carefully, his concern that I might catch cold evident in every gentle adjustment.

'Such a kind person.'

'Wouldn't it be wonderful to have someone like this as my husband in the next life? And the life after that? And the one after that, and after that...'

Mortified that I had even entertained such a thought, I quickly shook my head to dispel it.

"Are you feeling stifled?"

"Oh! No, not at all. Thank you, Callius."

I smiled brightly at him, feeling oddly flustered.

Callius looked at me and smiled in return—warm and genuine.

But somehow, it seemed like the people around us had stopped what they were doing to watch...

'Am I imagining things?'

As I glanced around cautiously, the people who had been standing still suddenly began moving again with exaggerated busyness, murmuring among themselves.

"Ah, what a lovely sight. What a lovely time."

"How wonderful it must be."

"You wouldn't know—you've never been married."

"There are some things you can tell just by looking, aren't there?"

"At this rate, it'll be spring in Ronheim soon. Spring! Everything is melting, melting away..."

"To think such a day would come for our lord..."

Their words sounded like muffled murmurs, and I couldn't quite make out what they were discussing so enthusiastically.

Callius waved his arms at them, scolding them sternly and shooing them back to work.

"Get moving! Why are you all standing around slacking off? There's so much work to be done!"

Despite the reprimand, the people were grinning widely.

"Yes, yes, of course!"

"We're going, we're going!"

Perhaps even Callius found Ronheim's wind cold today. The tips of his ears had turned quite red.

I gently placed a warmed stone—one that Lamia had heated by the fire—into his hand.

"Take this, Callius. It'll keep you warm if you hold it in your pocket."

"I'm fine, really—"

"Don't refuse. I have two of them!"

Callius coughed awkwardly and smiled bashfully as he nodded.

"Thank you, Chloe."

"You're welcome. By the way, are you satisfied with what Montril sent this time?"

"The forge fires will be burning nonstop for weeks. Even if enemies invaded right now, we could easily hold out for two months. We have ample food, weapons, and armor."

Callius looked genuinely excited as he said this.

"The new recruits will finally receive proper equipment."

The trainees who had just been summoned to help carry supplies perked up at Callius's words, exchanging delighted glances. They seemed to be cheering inwardly: "Finally!"

"That's wonderful!"

It was excellent news that Ronheim's army was growing stronger.

I was clapping my hands in genuine joy when I suddenly remembered Montril's postscript.

"Oh! By the way, there should be a special box for me. Have you seen it?"

"There were three mysterious boxes over there. They seemed to be filled with rocks or something similar."

"Ah! That's mine!"

Callius tilted his head curiously.

"What kind of stones are they?"

"Hmm..."

I said "hmm" with a mysterious, meaningful smile.

"They are extremely strong and precious stones."

The boxes containing the stones—or rather, the minerals—were labeled with the name Rosendal.

They were minerals I had extracted from the wasteland I'd received from Kavala.

I asked the servants to place those boxes in my dressing room—a place where I could see them whenever I wished.

'The time will come soon when the true value of Rosendal territory is revealed to the world.'

Secured:

Every piece stolen from my enemies' future. Every advantage turned to Ronheim's strength.

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