Chapter 077
Cassius had become even busier. He said he was preparing for a new war.
Because of that, I asked Luna to assign someone to keep an eye on the nanny.
When comparing the current situation to the novel, the most suspicious people were still the nanny and Lorencia.
I had also been busy for the past two weeks—getting used to the new assistants who just started working and checking on the new nanny.
Theo and Stephanie didn’t like the new nanny at first, but they were getting along well now.
“Yurena, Yurena! This is tasty. Try it!”
“You must sit down to eat,” Lady Yurena said strictly.
Normally, even if Cassius or I told him to sit, Theo would only stay put for about 30 seconds.
But now, he was behaving well—sitting and eating just as Lady Yurena instructed.
Impressive.
The head maid nodded.
“We won’t need to worry about the children anymore. I look forward to working with you, Lady Yurena.”
“If you trust me, I’ll do my best—not to disappoint the person who recommended me.”
“Theo still has some days when he’s not feeling well,” I added.
Lady Yurena listened carefully and took notes. She felt very reliable.
It seemed like our little ones were really growing up.
I also had two assistants working for me now: Baroness Rubella and Lady Celia.
They were exactly as described when I was introduced to them.
“If we want to build, we need to start now, Duchess. It’ll be too hard to build in the cold winter.”
“I agree. And if we want the academy to open by next fall, we’ll need time to prepare.”
They worked so well together—they almost seemed like long-lost sisters.
“I agree with that too,” I said.
Luckily, my late mother-in-law had already chosen a site for the academy, so starting construction wasn’t difficult.
Here, I was the boss.
In Korea, building a structure required many documents and approvals from various offices.
But here? If Cassius and I gave permission, we could build anything.
And building an academy? Cassius would love the idea. He truly cared about the North’s development.
“We’ll need a big budget,” I said. “But we can use the fines we recently collected. Still, we’ll need teachers.”
“ Lady Celia, do you think you can help with that?”
She had attended an academy before, so I thought she might have connections.
“I’ll look into it, Duchess. And there are many great scholars in the North—we can ask for their help.”
I nodded.
“We also need to think about how we’ll select students,” said Baroness Rubella.
“What kind of criteria will you use?”
“Hm…”
Since this would be a nonprofit project, funded with Northern taxes, I couldn’t just let anyone in.
“We should hold an entrance exam.” That seemed most fair.
In Korea, all kids start school at a certain age, but it would take time before that kind of system became common here.
“What about their social class?”
“I want to focus on talent, not status. Just because someone is from a low class doesn’t mean they don’t have talent. And inside the academy, there should be no discrimination based on status.”
“You want them to focus only on studying.”
“Exactly, Rubella.”
Both of them had real-world experience. They were quick to catch on and had good sense.
“It’s such a waste if poor or low-born kids never get a chance to use their gifts. A scholarship program would be great.”
“I think that’s a good idea too.”
Usually, I just shared ideas freely, and they helped organize and plan things out.
“I’ll find out if we can start construction soon. It might get hard to hire workers once harvest season comes.”
“Then let’s use people who don’t have jobs.”
“People without jobs…?”
“I mean those who are hungry and have no work.”
I tapped the documents my late mother had prepared. She was a great duchess who had cared about people’s lives and food security.
Not everyone in the North lived happily.
Some had no food or homes—just like anywhere else. My mother had wanted to give them jobs.
“It might be hard to manage those people.”
“What if we pay them daily after their work ends, and assign a trustworthy supervisor to the site?”
“It’s also important that the duchess visits the site often. That alone will keep everyone alert.”
“That’s easy for me.”
After making decisions with Rubella and Celia, I realized it was already evening.
Time was moving slowly, yet flowing like water.
Things were definitely different now—both my mindset and the mindset of the people around me.
I had made up my mind not to leave everything to Cassius anymore.
I decided to help develop and protect the North.
Cassius also started to open up to me bit by bit.
Everything was going smoothly.
Even after everything that had happened, life was moving on.
Those who had died were now silent forever…
But I still remembered them.
It had been my first experience with death—and many deaths at that.
I started to feel like I understood how the duchesses before me must have felt.
At the same time…
Count Solovis finally crossed the border into the North.
He went into the nearest inn and paid for a room.
“Tsk. This took longer than I expected.”
He had taken a carriage instead of a ship, but delays happened because of the monsters and the war with the North.
When the war broke out, nearby lords had shut their gates immediately.
Trapped in a village, he wasted a whole week unable to do anything.
Now that he had finally arrived in the North, he felt sentimental.
The air really did feel fresher, and the people looked simple and kind.
“So this is where she’s been living, huh.”
Thinking of his daughter after a long time, a smile crossed Count Solovis’s face.
When he had told his wife that he was going to visit Charlotte, she had made a nasty expression.
After all, Charlotte was her stepdaughter.
“Why bother going to see her? She’s probably doing just fine in the North. How about saving some of that overflowing love for my kids? Don’t waste your time! Why would you care about a girl who never even writes to you?”
“Don’t say that. Charlotte is a duchess now. But it feels like she’s not paying us any attention, so I just want to check in on her.”
“What does that even mean?”
“I mean, we’re hoping for support from the North. Everyone knows how rich the North is. It’s like a giant chunk of gold. Why shouldn’t I get a share of that wealth?”
“…You think that sly girl will just hand it over to you?”
“I’ll make it happen. Don’t worry—I’ve got my ways.”
After persuading his wife, he had finally made it here.
Count Solovis lay back in the inn room.
He was looking forward to seeing Charlotte’s reaction tomorrow.
Since she was little, Charlotte had been sensitive and sharp-tongued.
She always fought with her younger half-siblings and often starved herself.
Honestly, she was a headache, so when she was sent to the North, he had felt relieved.
Her rich northern husband had provided a huge dowry, which helped him start a stable business.
Now, Count Solovis was remembering those glorious times.
“They say my daughter healed the young heir with divine power… She should be able to give me something in return, at least.”
Divine power, after all, was the kind of magic that used your own life force to save someone else.
That sort of sacrifice deserved proper compensation.
He called his subordinates to him.
“Go out and collect some rumors about the North.”
“Rumors, sir?”
“You know, strange or interesting ones. I’ll need something to report to His Majesty the Emperor.”
“Yes, Count.”
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• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Freya• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
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