“What does that mean?”
“To heal the land, which is inherently dead, we need the life-giving power of water.”
“Water magic?”
“A project of this magnitude would require hundreds of mages, and that would never happen in Asha, where magic is forbidden. Even if it weren’t forbidden, gathering those many mages together would be impossible.”
The mention of water magic reminded me of the founding of the Xenos that Stella had told me about. A great mage with powerful water magic built the land and founded the country.
The idea that hundreds of mages were needed to accomplish such a feat made me realize how powerful that one man is.
“If only we had the descendants of the great mage, the royal family of Xenos.”
Jake stiffened at the casual remark and gave me an awkward look. In Asha, the great mage was known as a witch.
To speak of the royalty of Xenos in such an exalted manner was not something a normal Ashan people would let slip out of their mouth. He coughed, trying to change the subject and get back on track.
“Ah, hmm, just something I said out of frustration. Anyway, I guess there’s no way to revive this land, so let’s go.”
We resumed our walk. As we walked back to the quarters, Jake brought up a story about the Xenos.
The farm had a serious labor shortage. There weren’t enough laborers for the size of the plantation, so the Xenos slaves were forced to work harder and harder to keep up.
The result is more injuries and deaths, less efficiency, and noticeably less production.
By the time we reached our destination, the serious conversation was over. As I stood in front of Xenos’ quarters, I was devastated.
It was worse than anything I’d seen so far. It didn’t look like it was made of normal wood, and the exterior looked precarious, like it could collapse at any moment.
The interior was equally disheartening.
There were no windows, so there was no light at all. There was no ventilation, and the walls were rotting away.
Rats could be heard scurrying around and scratching the wood. With so many people crammed together in such poor conditions, it felt like new diseases could arise at any moment.
In one corner, I saw a group of people moaning in pain. They were sick and unable to work anymore, so they were abandoned there to die.
Jake’s expression darkened as he looked at themJake’s face looking at them also became dark. I turned to him and spoke from the heart.
“As long as I am in charge of the farm, I will not leave them like this. The treatment of the Xenosians will be different. I promise.”
After instructing my attendants about the problems I’d seen on my tour of the farm today, I boarded the carriage. On the ride home, I thought about how I wanted to run things in the future.
I realized that as soon as possible, I should gather a group of professional people with experience in farm management and assign them to work here. I thought of the patients in the lodge and realized that I would need several doctors to care for them.
I also realized that we would need quite a significant amount of funds to replenish the low supplies and rebuild the structures. Surrounded by various concerns, the journey back to the palace felt incredibly short.
As I stared out the window, I suddenly caught sight of the sunset sky, beautifully colored in red.
The sight of it brought back unwanted memories, and my heart sank. Sometimes, it would have been better to remain ignorant.
A careless slip of the tongue had made our relationship awkward, and I couldn’t help but regret it.
Now that I couldn’t use the excuse of being sick, I had to face him soon. I wanted to pretend I was fine, but I wasn’t sure how well I could hide it.
I turned away from the window and drew the curtains. Soon enough, the carriage stopped.
A familiar face awaited me as I entered the Empress’s palace.
“Your Majesty the Empress.”
“…….”
There was someone I didn’t want to see right now. An alarm of unease rang loudly in my heart.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Theo sat across from me and looked at me with his usual gentle eyes. My heart, drenched in sorrow, was suddenly torn apart by a harsh windstorm.
The room was filled with awkward, stifling air, and after a long and short silence, he spoke first,
“I was worried when I heard you weren’t feeling well.”
“I’m fine now.”
I replied in as nonchalant a tone as I could muster. For some reason, I couldn’t look him in the eye, so I kept looking elsewhere.
But he followed my gaze relentlessly.
“I think the negotiations with the Delua shipwright will go well. He seems to have a stronger desire to spend his remaining years in his homeland than I thought, given his age.”
“That’s great.”
“He seemed to think that it would be beneficial for him to get a new identity instead of being given a title to avoid any possible pursuit by Delua.”
“So when will the…… ship be completed?”
“Even if he were to come to Asha right now, it would still take some time before it was completed. The ship we need will be built differently than anything we’ve ever seen before, and we’ll need several trial runs to make sure it’s safe.”
“I see.”
There was an uncomfortable silence again. It was only a while ago when I laughed and talked with him.
Without realizing it, I looked at him with bitter eyes. Perhaps he felt it, so he spoke first again this time.
“How are things going at Brilland Farm?”
“There’s more work to be done than I thought. It’s a place with so many problems that I wonder how it has worked so far.”
“If there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know.”
“That’s nice of you to say, but I don’t think I’ll need your help.”
I said it offhandedly, but I could see a flash of surprise on Theo’s face. It hurt me to see it, so I hastened to add,
“No, I meant to say that as soon as I get back, I’ll be hiring professional managers and laborers for the farm, and you’ll be too busy helping me with my personal affairs to bother with this.”
He trailed off. The conversation felt strangely off. My mouth is telling a different story, but my mind is full of the day’s events.
Should I just cover it up and pretend it never happened and act like it was normal? Disturbing thoughts filled my mind with noise.
His expression was as gentle as ever, but the depth of his eyes made me feel like he had something important to say.
“That time…….”
He was about to bring up something I didn’t want to think about anymore, and I was torn between not wanting to hear anything about it and wondering what he was going to say.
I remained calm and waited for him to speak. He took a small breath, as if deciding on something.
His eyes were dark, as if they had lost their light for a moment. Then he curled his fist lightly into a ball and spoke in a soft but firm voice.
“It’s been bothering me all along that I didn’t give Her Majesty a proper answer back then, and it’s my own fault for avoiding it so irresponsibly.”
“…….”
“But I really couldn’t think of anything to say at the time, and it bothered me that it was all my fault that Her Majesty the Empress had been ill since then.”
“…….”
“But even so, I felt that these words needed to be said. I…”
He hesitated for a moment, then spoke again.
“I dare not accept Her Majesty’s heart.”
His answer was not unexpected. I felt my heart sink.
I felt bitterness at his cold, detached demeanor. His beautiful green eyes stared at me in silence.
There was not even a trace of a smile on his firmly closed lips.
“I would give my life to protect Her Majesty the Empress. I can abandon everything for Her Majesty the Empress.”
“…….”
“But I cannot be a part of Her Majesty the Empress’ peaceful future. This is my answer.”
For the first time, I thought Theo was cruel. I’m the only one in the world who was dumped using romantic words.
That doesn’t mean it’s less painful. It sounds like he’d rather die than accept me.
I feel a rush of emotion that I can’t bear. This time, I’m not helplessly dragged along by Lethenia’s emotions.
Whenever I’m with him, the fragments of her emotions shrink to nothing. Instead, the real me, Kim Se-jin, who I had forgotten, showed up.
I have to admit that the heart that is getting emotional right now is completely mine. It would be nice if I could blame it on that wretched villain at a time like this.
My eyes seemed to be getting a little hot, so I turned my head downward.
“I made a mistake back then, so let’s all just forget about it and carry on as before.”
I said something I didn’t mean. Suddenly, I remembered the material Stella had given me about Theo.
He had said that if someone approached him with a direct declaration of love or selflessness, he would leave without looking back.
My heart tightened as I realized that I was no different from the countless people who had been rejected by him.
I’m sure he thought it was only polite to make his intentions clear. I couldn’t blame him for being honest and upright, even if it did make me feel a little bitter.
Even though I had expected it, my nose felt oddly stuffy. I forced a small smile and spoke again.
“The funds are coming in steadily, but we still need more time. Now that we’re almost done negotiating with Delua shipwright, all we have left is the issue of settlement. I’m feeling quite tired today… Let’s meet again soon and talk.”
With that, he slowly rose from his seat, his expression never wavering. After a polite bow, he turned his back.
His back was unusually cold, and my heart sank.
I think letheana is decendant of water mage