“Going to Bedrokka? Why?”
Haltbin asked the question that Elise wanted to ask.
It was hard for Karan to answer easily.
He was worried that the king’s proposal would hurt Elise.
Tyllo said that if this matter was well resolved, he would allow his marriage to Elise.
He also promised a grand wedding. He said he would block the queen as if he was really being kind-hearted.
The queen of Tetris was the one who hindered every single thing Karan wanted to do.
It was a gain for Karan that he would solve the problem of Melanie and the queen at once.
It was all because of Karan’s badness. He should have executed the queen in advance.
More than that, why did Melanie suddenly change her mind?
‘She even made a deal with me.’
Karan was determined to remind her of that deal when he returned.
He felt like he could die of guilt towards Elise now.
Elise left Bedrokka with some feelings, and it would be shameless to ask her to go again.
‘Yes. When did I ever negotiate with His Majesty. It wouldn’t be bad to go and clash.’
If Karan slept a little less and stirred up the people below, including Haltbin, he could somewhat prevent the problem of Melanie and the queen.
Isn’t it a job to protect Elise all day? That was also what Karan wanted.
Karan decided not to go and looked at Elise.
“If you don’t want to, we’ll go straight to the capital of Tetris.”
Elise lowered her eyes. She seemed lost in deep thought.
“I’m sorry, Elise. Let’s pretend we didn’t hear His Majesty’s request.”
He thought it was a good opportunity, but it wasn’t something to accept while tormenting her.
“Burn the letter and tell His Majesty that I won’t go.”
“Wait a moment, Your Highness!”
Elise, who had awakened from her thoughts, grabbed Karan’s arm.
“Your Highness, let’s go to Bedrokka.”
“Elise, you don’t have to push yourself. What His Majesty said is just a suggestion. It’s not an order.”
It was a blatant lie. There’s no way that something coming out of the king’s mouth isn’t an order.
[Looks delicious.] Even that phrase was an order saying [Give me what you’re eating.] That’s the king’s rhetoric.
Elise knew that.
‘Your Highness has nothing to gain by opposing His Majesty.’
And Elise felt a bit of responsibility to David.
Above all, David had to be alive to check Chase.
‘Iris is moving.’
David is in danger.
Elise remembered a fact she had forgotten when she heard the news that Karan had fallen asleep.
The letter from Deboa that Regina delivered after Elise woke up from Besti’s ritual.
[Dear Elise,
In Bedrokka, the north wind is blowing quite fiercely. It must mean that Elise is doing well, right? I hope to hear news of Elise when this wind blows again.
With the arrival of spring, Jasmine’s accessories have started to sell like hotcakes. These days, she doesn’t even have time to meet me.
She has already expanded to four workshops.
The Phon Newspaper recently hired new reporters. They are very critical, which I like, but I’m busy picking out words that might be problematic.
I don’t know if you want to hear it, but I’ll tell you. They often publish articles about Prince Chase.
It seems that Dominic and Count Hans often have meetings these days.
Duke Richter was anxious because he couldn’t get in touch with Elise. He seemed to have something to say.
Elise, I’m very worried because I haven’t heard from you. Please reply as soon as you see this letter.
From your friend in the south, Deboa.]
The letter from Richter that followed Deboa’s letter contained quite serious content.
[Her movements are unusual. She asks me a lot of questions about herbs. She’s also curious about when I meet the people I manage.
–From R]
Chase’s movements were unusual, and Iris’s actions were definitely suspicious.
She had been troubled for a while after receiving that letter, but she had completely forgotten about it while focusing on Karan’s problem.
‘I have to go.’
The only person who could stop Iris was herself.
‘I have to go and warn His Highness David. Tell him to be careful of Chase and Iris.’
Elise made up her mind. There was another reason to help him. There was something to gain from David.
‘Let’s help His Highness David and ask him to let me into the forbidden libarary of Bedrokka. I’ll go and look for a way to solve Karan’s problem.’
Elise looked up at Karan.
Elise had not given up hope for the ‘treatment’ that Besti had mentioned.
She believed that there must be a way to heal Karan somewhere.
And she vowed to find that way no matter what.
The reason Elise looked complicated after hearing Karan’s suggestion was because she was thinking of various measures. It wasn’t because she was afraid of Bedrokka.
Her eyes sparkled more than ever.
“Let’s go, Your Highness. To Bedrokka.”
Elise is going back to the place she barely left. But she wasn’t scared at all.
“Elise…”
It’s different from before. Now, she had a fiancé who looked at her with deep affection.
****
Elise prepared to leave for Bedrokka. One of them was about the hot spring business.
“I’m here to report on the business.”
“Ah! You don’t have to tell me from now on. And a report, that’s not right. I’m not your boss, I’m a business partner.”
“Then let’s just share it.”
“Sharing business progress, that’s not bad. Please sit down, Countess.”
Elise put down the luggage she was packing and sat face to face with Rosh.
“The business is going well. The work speed is faster than expected. But there is a problem.”
“A problem? What problem?”
Elise pulled a chair and sat down. The hot spring business was very important to Elise. She needed a strong ally and a solid financial line in Tetris.
The start was the hot spring business in the Dex territory. So she hoped that the hot spring would open as soon as possible. But a problem?
She had given very detailed instructions to Kram to prevent any possible problems.
“The problem is Lord Kram.”
“Count Kram?”
Elise asked in surprise.
“What happened?”
Rosh’s face hardened as he thought of Kram.
****
A day ago, Rosh headed to the village where the hot spring was being developed.
Kram was practically living there, overseeing the work.
Rosh saw Kram again. He who was expected to occasionally visit and give orders to his subordinates was diligently keeping his workplace.
Kram was passionate. Rosh had made up her mind to forgive the past misdeeds of his family if Kram succeeded in this task.
But then.
“Eat more! You have to eat to work. Don’t leave anything, eat it all!”
Kram was carrying a large barrel and pouring soup into the workers’ bowls.
“No, this is…”
“Eat it, whether it’s right or wrong!”
The workers were wide-eyed and confused, but Kram was relentless.
Is he crazy!
Feeding them without asking. Rosh ran to him in a hurry and snatched the ladle he was holding.
“What are you doing!”
“Hello, Countess. Have you been well? It’s been a long time since you’ve been on site.”
Kram shot a fierce look as if he would kill the person who snatched the ladle. Then he bowed his head when he realized that the other person was Rosh. “I asked what you were doing.”
Rosh handed the ladle to Trish and scolded Kram.
“As you can see, I was distributing.”
Kram emphasized that he was working hard, even wiping off sweat as if to show off.
“It looks like you’re tormenting them.”
“Tormenting! I’ve done my best for the endless development of the Dex territory!”
Kram argued heatedly.
“Don’t you have to eat well to work! Do you know how much damage is done if the construction is delayed for a day?”
Kram’s calculation was not wrong. But Rosh didn’t like his behavior.
“Countess, let’s look around. It’s mealtime, isn’t it.”
At Trish’s words, Rosh looked around. The workers were getting up awkwardly and looking at Rosh.
It was so surprising that the countess, who was hard to see from afar, appeared in the shabby distribution center.
The workers were looking at her, even putting down their spoons. Rosh’s heart became heavy.
Their faces were full of fatigue and hunger.
Their bodies were so thin that it was worrisome whether they had the strength to hold a spoon. Rosh rolled her tongue a few times because her mouth was dry.
She wanted to open Kram’s head and see what he was thinking, leaving the healthy ones and bringing in workers who looked like they were about to collapse.
“Don’t mind and eat. You follow me.”
Rosh turned her body abruptly.
“Don’t leave anything, eat it all! Hey, you! Don’t forget to check their bowls. Eat one more ladle! Got it?”
Finally, Kram said a few more words and followed Rosh.
“What are you doing!”
As soon as they entered a quiet street, Rosh shouted. Kram’s shoulders jerked and his eyes widened.
“What do you mean?”
“Send those people back home. They’re going to collapse while working. Which village did you bring the laborers from?”
“Well… They live near Hell’s Land. It’s close, so we can save commuting time and work. And if they earn money, can’t we collect taxes that haven’t been paid so far? It will be a great help for the development of the territory.”
Rosh opened her mouth wide. He was bright in calculation, but she didn’t know that he would only see people as money.
“Did Elise know you were such a guy and still entrusted you with the work?”
“Yes, I reported everything to Elise. Ah! Just a moment.”
Even while working with Rosh, Kram glanced at the crossroads where the workers were passing by and suddenly left her and ran away.
“No, that guy!”
Trish and Rosh, who were left behind, were angry, but Kram didn’t know and grabbed a few workers.
“Who are these people trying to ruin someone’s life by working? You, aren’t you Group B? Group B is supposed to rest in the afternoon! Go back to the rest area right now!”
“Master, we can work more. We need to earn money…”
“What if you get hurt while doing that? Who’s trying to ruin someone’s life? Are you going to pay for the treatment and the cost of delaying the work? Huh? Are you going to do that! You can’t go back right now!”
Kram turned the workers in the direction they came from and pushed their backs.
The workers looked at the workplace with a face full of regret, but Kram was very firm.
Rosh closed her eyes tightly.
Kram was treating the workers like parts.
Thank you so much!❤️🔥