Chapter 61

While the Baron was still lying down, the pastries Sarah had made were mini-sized and fit comfortably in one bite, making them easy to eat even in a carriage.

Even though they looked like baby choux*, they were empty on the inside, and the outer surface was covered with plenty of sugary icing, giving it a crispy and sweet taste at the same time.

I’m only eating one because of your sincerity. No, two.

…Up to three might be okay too.

There was plenty, so I gave some to the knights as well.

Procyon and Agena treated it normally, and Pollux treated it as the Last Supper.

Thuban looked at it for a long time and saw the other knights eating it, so then he bit the ends of it with his teeth.

It was said that this was the first time he had eaten such a dessert.

The carriage easily flew, no, ran over the snowy field.

While the homelessness of the knights was because of being overrun by their powerful boss, Procyon hadn’t accepted that reality yet.

Procyon asked with his eyes twinkling.

“Your Grace, do you know what ice fishing is?”

“…..Sir, where did you get that catalog?”

Procyon opened the catalog for me to see.

Both the fishing rod that looked like a weapon and the picture of smelt fish with bloodshot eyes were impressive.

For some reason, it felt like the person who drew that picture was best friends with the illustrator of the fairy tale book that Regen had been reading.

“Because I also brought fishing gear. My third brother did it too, but I originally did it when I was homeless and eating on my own.”

“Are you good at fishing?”

It was Aedis’s question.

Procyon stammered, surprised and moved by Aedis questioning him.

“Yes? Yes…yes! I am good at it! I haven’t done ice fishing that many times, but I’m really good at fishing! I caught one fish every 5 minutes, and my brothers ate it right away!

Huh? Right away?

“Wait a minute, did you cook the fish at all? Did you process them? Did everyone get a stomachache?

I asked because I didn’t think they had only eaten one or two.

Procyon made a face as if realizing something.

“Oh, come to think of it…”

Oh my God.

“No wonder my brothers didn’t leave my share, it was all because of me.”

No, just cook it and share it with each other…

The closer we got to the Lydia estate, the calmer the wind became.

This place was also a part of the North, but even the slightest difference was precious to me.

When Procyon learned that homelessness was no longer necessary, Procyon became briefly discouraged, but he soon changed his goal to the Hollow Estate and the Carmel Estate.

Between the two famous tourist sites was a lake that never freezes, and fishing was possible in certain areas.

I was thinking of giving the knights plenty of free time there.

I should look around with Aedis too.

We arrived at the Lydia Estate two days earlier than expected, but the estate had a calm atmosphere.

And it was warm!

I was so thrilled that wearing just one coat was enough.

Olivia Ella and Aria Ella were not surprised by our early visit.

Their fear of Aedis was the same as everyone else, but they made eye contact and nodded as if they had practiced beforehand.

Then they welcomed us as if nothing was wrong.

“Greetings to Your Highnesses Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, who have brought endless glory to Esmeralda. This Olivia Ella has managed the estate on behalf of the great Kallakis family and has never forgotten her duty. Feel free to look around.”

Viscountess Ella picked up her glasses with a momentum that showed she was ready to finish all sorts of reports within the day.

On the other hand, Aria Ella’s voice had some lightness to it.

“I am Viscountess Ella’s daughter, Aria Ella. There are so many things to see in the Lydia Estate, so please relax and enjoy. If you allow me, I will be at your service.”

After saying hello to the butlers and the main employees, we were guided inside the mansion.

The bedroom for Aedis and I was decorated in an atmosphere that resembled the sun.

The curtains were white like clouds, the blankets were a sweet color, like a mixture of cream and butter, and covering the table were flower petals that spread a fragrant aroma.

I stretched myself out and spoke, releasing my frown.

“This is unexpected, I thought Sein would arrive first.”

Even on the day I left, I didn’t see Sein.

I thought that the Baron would be very eager to get here because it’d be better to arrive earlier than us.

Sein couldn’t have gone against such a baron.

“It looks like he needs some time to think about it. It’s not something wife needs to care about.”

Yeah, but still.

Having lightly agreed, I soon laid myself on the wide bed.

On our first day at the Lydia estate, I eagerly relieved my fatigue by taking a bath and receiving a massage.

On the second day, during mealtime, Viscountess Ella brought over a pile of documents that seemed to amount to more than 200 pieces of paper.

At that sight, I had a pupil earthquake, but Aedis accepted the papers with an indifferent look on his face.

It took him three minutes to get from the first page to the end of the document.

It seemed like he was just skipping words without thinking, but when I thought about what he said next, he really just reads incredibly quickly.

“It’s good to be prepared for a fire, but this far exceeds the budget. Tolyman obviously wouldn’t have supported it.”

“…..The weather is drier than ever, and fires are happening more frequently. In terms of the number of fires alone, it has more than doubled that of last year’s.”

The Viscountess continued, pressing down on her temple.

“The Lydia estate is larger than other estates. It’s a plain in which snow does not accumulate, so if a flame spreads, you have to spend money. So far, we have been dealing with it in a somewhat ignorant way. But now it is impossible.”

The Viscountess took a deep breath and looked at Aedis.

Her pupils shook violently, but instead of fainting, she quickly emptied the cup that was placed in front of her.

Perhaps it was a sedative tea since the Viscountess soon regained her calm.

“I would like to establish a new institution as soon as possible. We will inform the local residents of their life-saving measures, prepare damage maps, and protect the crops. In order to do so, funds are desperately needed.”

They asked him to look at the documents just before eating, and in the end, it was just to ask for money.

“Tell Agena the amount of money needed. And from now on, don’t bring it up at mealtimes.”

The Viscountess bowed her head.

“I’m sorry, Your Grace. I will repay you with a satisfactory outcome.”

Aria, who had been looking at Aedis anxiously, was relieved and put her heart down.

I asked while looking at my plate.

“What did the Count say to reject it?”

“He said it was a waste of money.”

And he meant “do it yourself”.

“What happens if you do a good job? The Count pays 1 million or 10 million marka for useless things like cat food, and he doesn’t care about the safety of our people! I heard that the assets of the Grand Duchy should not be used for nonsense. But he said no! He can’t be so stingy!”

Tolyman, you’re being openly hated here and everywhere, it’s not being done secretly.

I knew he was generously paying large sums of money for cat supplies.

It didn’t matter what he spent it on if it was his own money, but hearing this, it seemed that rumors of him being a cat lover had spread all over the North.

After finishing my meal, I took Aedis’s hand and went to see the plains.

Just like the Viscountess had said, soot remained everywhere because of the frequent fires.

Still, it was a very refreshing landscape.

The plains that stretched over the horizon made me feel exhilarated just by looking at them.

Sarah was mesmerized and admired.

“Wow, I feel like my heart is open.”

“Me too!”

Procyon followed the same tune. Aria, who had made what seemed to be a calming tea, quickly pulled the bread out of her basket.

“This is rice bread, a specialty of the Lydia Estate. The fantastic combination of rice flour and cornflour is excellent! If you buy it in another province, it’s three times more expensive.”

Aria also took care of the knights and Sarah’s share.

She was wearing glasses outside, and she looked just like the Viscountess, except that her gaze was lowered.

I wondered if her childhood was like this.

“Since Sarah helped me serve you well, I’ll give her one more.”

Aria smiled cheerfully and put two pieces of rice bread in Sarah’s hand.

“Sweet! Eat and tell me your impressions! I’m sure it’ll be more delicious than any expensive dessert from the Rosa Estate!”

“Thank you, lady.”

Sarah blinked her eyes and immediately smiled.

Sarah seemed to feel familiar with Aria, perhaps because they were both daughters of Viscounts.

E/N: Choux: A light, airy, and crispy French pastry dough used to make pastries like cream puffs and crullers.