Kaien had spent more than half of each year in the North since he was young.
“My grandparents passed away early, so my parents have been traveling to and from the North for a long time.”
“Then, Duke, you must be familiar with the North.”
“Yes. That’s why I told you I’m used to the cold of the North.”
“I thought it was because you came here every winter.”
Philome was surprised to learn just how much time Kaien had spent in the North.
“I was the exception. My brother, being the heir, mostly stayed in the capital, while I, as the second son, had a bit more freedom.”
Kaien added that he would start by showing her to the backyard.
“Is there a backyard in the North?”
When she asked in surprise, Kaien laughed playfully.
“Philome, are you underestimating the North? Surprisingly, it has everything it needs.”
“You know that’s not what I meant.”
Kaien led Philome outside the castle, drawing the attention of those around them.
Inside the castle, they hadn’t encountered any servants or locals, but it was different outside. The noisy passersby stopped in their tracks upon spotting them.
Philome briefly felt flustered by the blatant stares before she looked away.
“Duke. Did I do something wrong?”
“It’s a place where outsiders don’t come often. And…”
Kaien turned to look at Philome.
“Because you’re beside me.”
“Ah.”
It was only then that Philome realized the person beside her was ‘that’ Kaien. The people here must know his personality, and they were surprised that he suddenly brought his fiancée along.
As Philome watched the local residents staring at them blankly, she felt as if she were looking at the scene from the capital a few months ago.
“Don’t mind them too much. They’re all good people.”
When their eyes met, the locals bowed their heads in greeting.
Kaien and Philome also nodded to them as they passed by.
As they headed to the back of the castle, something appeared.
“A greenhouse?”
It was a large greenhouse.
When Kaien opened the door, a warm heat enveloped them.
The greenhouse was not used for the same purposes as those commonly found in the capital. Instead of regular plants, it was filled with various herbs and staple crops.
“Young master?”
At that, Philome turned her head, looking around the greenhouse.
There stood a sturdy figure dressed in shabby clothing.
“Young master! You’ve arrived already?”
“I’ll introduce you, Philome. This is Sir Dale, the captain of my father’s knights.”
“Nice to meet you, Sir Dale. I’m Philome Bonita. Please feel free to call me that.”
“Oh, is this the fiancée you mentioned?”
With a cheerful demeanor, Dale smiled brightly, wiped his dirt-covered hands, and knelt on one knee to extend his hand to Philome.
As Philome smiled softly and placed her hand on his, Dale briefly kissed the back of her hand.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Philome. I’m Dale. As the young master explained, I’m the captain of the knights, but that’s just a former title. Right now, I’m the caretaker of the greenhouse.”
As Dale stood up, he asked, “Would you like me to show you around the greenhouse?”
“No, it’s fine. You must be busy, so I’ll leave it to the Duke.”
Since Dale had been working until they arrived, Philome didn’t want to disturb him.
“Right, Dale. I’ll show her, so you continue with your work. This is the perfect time for planting, so you must be busy.”
Dale returned to his task without insisting again, as that seemed to be true.
As Philome continued to look around in wonder, Kaien said, “It’s quite large, isn’t it?”
“Yes. It seems almost as big as the castle.”
“You could say this greenhouse is responsible for all the food for the locals.”
Indeed, the greenhouse was truly massive.
“However, it seems like the greenhouse was built not long ago. How did you obtain food before that?”
“Usually, we hunted, and we exchanged leather for wheat or potatoes from the nearest village.”
Kaien added that since the greenhouse was built, the number of locals had increased, and fewer people were starving.
After leaving the greenhouse, they next went to the armory.
Philome wasn’t very familiar with weapons, but it was clear that northern weapons were not typical.
“The animals in the North have very thick and strong hides. So, the weapons are modified accordingly.”
Then Kaien handed her something.
“It’s something even a non-knight can easily use. It’s meant for children in the North, but it should fit you perfectly.”
It was a dagger the size of a palm.
“Just in case, you should take it.”
“But I don’t know how to use it. Is that okay?”
“The vital points of living beings are mostly the same. Monsters are no different. Aim for the eyes.”
Kaien tapped the area around his eyes with his finger.
“If it’s difficult, I’ll teach you, so don’t worry. It’s simple enough to learn quickly. I’ll feel more at ease if you at least have this while you’re in the North.”
The dagger was designed to be worn like a belt at the waist.
“Hold the robe.”
As Philome spread the robe with both hands, Kaien bent down to fasten the dagger to her waist.
Once it was all secured, when she lowered the robe, the dagger was perfectly concealed.
Philome, curious, moved the robe around to check if the dagger was showing.
Seeing her excited expression, Kaien smiled faintly but then murmured with concern.
“I hope you never have to use that dagger.”
Philome, distracted by the dagger, brushed off Kaien’s worried words casually.
“Anyway, Jake has agreed to be on constant guard in the North. I probably won’t need to use it.”
Kaien couldn’t feel relieved, even though Philome had a ton of emergency spirit scrolls. It was only after she said she would be with Jake wherever she went in the North that he felt reassured.
“Still, I won’t often leave the castle. If I do, it’ll be alternating with my father or mother, so you shouldn’t have any trouble.”
“I understand. You’ve already mentioned that twice.”
Kaien cleared his throat awkwardly and stepped out of the armory.
Then he noticed a group of people gathered in one part of the castle and approached them.
“What’s going on?”
“Oh, young master!”
The locals moved aside upon seeing Kaien.
However, their furtive glances were still directed at the same spot.
“Boss! You’re here?”
In the center was Harnen.
Next to Harnen, standing in front of the well, were Liazell and Natasha, both with sparkling eyes.
“Oh, Lady Philome. Did you enjoy the sights?”
“Yes, but what are you all doing right now?”
Upon spotting them, Liazell waved and shouted.
“Philome, Uncle! Come quickly! Harnen is going to make water come out here!”
Philome, puzzled, asked Harnen.
“Harnen, what does Liazell mean?”
“I’m going to use a water spirit to keep this well producing water.”
“Is that possible with a water spirit?”
Philome was surprised, not expecting such a thing to be possible, especially since it wasn’t magic.
Kaien, who knew well how scarce drinking water was in the North, felt the same way.
“Is that really possible?”
“Yes, it is.”
As he said this, Harnen pulled out spirit scrolls from his coat.
“If you stick five spirit scrolls to the well’s walls, it should produce water for at least a month.”
Harnen took out the remaining spirit scrolls and handed them to Natasha.
There were quite a few, enough that it was clear without counting.
“With this much, you should have enough for a year. And if the Duke can enhance the scrolls a bit more, they can hold greater power, allowing you to manage with just one or two for a month.”
“That’s really… amazing.”
Natasha, fiddling with the spirit scrolls, managed to speak in a trembling voice.
Having stayed in the North for the past five years, she had painfully realized how significant the water supply issue was. The North was an environment so harsh that it was a wonder any life could survive there.
Natasha and Theodore vaguely suspected that it was due to the monsters lying dormant in the snowfields.
No matter how deep they dug, water wouldn’t come out, and the well inside the castle had long been dry.
But as Harnen attached the spirit scrolls to the well and infused them with magic, water began to rise.
The locals surrounding the well gasped in amazement at the sight.
thanks for the chapter