~Chapter 41~
“Wife, it seems like you’re having a conversation without me.”
…He’s getting more perceptive.
I awkwardly smiled and gently pulled down Cedric’s hand that was blocking my view.
“We need to wrap things up before my father arrives! So, starting today, I think I’ll be quite busy.”
“Are you saying you’ll stay out overnight?”
“Uh, no, not that, but—”
“My Lady.”
Cedric placed his hands on my shoulders and turned me around.
His fingers brushed lightly over my hair, which had fallen out of place, gently tucking it behind my ear. Our already close distance became even closer as he leaned in.
I quickly pulled back, blinking, but Cedric just smiled at me as I shrank under his gaze.
“I’ll wait until you return. Just don’t be too late.”
I felt like my face was about to explode.
I covered my face with both hands and turned my head, exhaling deeply.
‘I never know what to do at times like this.’
I hoped my face wasn’t as red as I thought. I fanned myself with my hands, trying to cool down the heat.
“Are you feeling unwell?”
I shook my head quickly.
“Your face is even redder than before.”
“I-it’s because it’s hot.”
Cedric placed his hand on my cheek, a concerned expression on his face.
His gentle eyes and warm touch made my heart race. If I kept looking at him, I felt like my heart might stop.
With his eyes still on me, I felt like every movement I made was clumsy and awkward.
“I’m fine.”
I tried to pull his hand away, but he held my face even more firmly, pressing my cheeks together and making my words come out muffled.
“Seeyum fiinne.” (See? I’m fine.)
It was difficult to even speak clearly.
Cedric’s blue eyes scanned me quickly. Embarrassed by how warm my face felt, I squeezed my eyes shut.
‘Please, stop staring.’
From now on, I’m going to develop a phobia of handsome faces.
“Your face is really warm. I think it’d be good to get some fresh air.”
His hand on my face loosened.
“…What?”
Cedric stood up from the sofa, pulling me with him. I looked over at Zeno, but he turned away as if he didn’t want to get involved.
‘Zeno, what happened to calling me “Master”?’
Despite my silent plea, Zeno just gave me a bored look. Left with no choice, I urgently tugged at Cedric’s sleeve.
He tilted his head slightly and looked at me.
“My Lady, if you don’t want to go out, we can leave it for later. I just thought you hadn’t gone for a walk in a while…”
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to go. I just felt embarrassed and my face turned red, but it seemed like Cedric misunderstood.
“No! Why would I not want to go for a walk? It’s just… my face turned red for a different reason.”
“Then what’s the reason?”
Cedric looked at me, clearly confused. Unable to explain myself, I lowered my head.
“Let’s go before it gets too late.”
I gave him a little push from behind. His broad back didn’t budge much under my small hands.
Judging by the way his shoulders moved, I could tell he was laughing.
“Wow!”
Cedric was right—it was a good idea to come outside. The cool breeze swept across my face, clearing my head.
“There’s no need to overthink things.”
“I want to think that way too, but everything feels like it’s my fault, and I can’t help but feel burdened.”
If I hadn’t gone through with the marriage to Cedric, maybe things wouldn’t have gotten so complicated.
Though, it was all because of Isabel in the first place.
“Why did Your Grace want to marry me anyway? There’s nothing particularly good about me.”
“You have far more good qualities than Princess Isabel. After all, you were the one who was curious about me first.”
“…What?”
My heart skipped a beat at his sudden words. Memories I had pushed away came rushing back, and my face flushed all over again.
Cedric draped his coat over my shoulders, smiling. His innocent grin made my chest tingle.
“Are you pretending not to know?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Didn’t you follow me around in the capital? I still remember how flustered you looked when you ran away.”
“P-please forget about that.”
“I won’t.”
My jaw dropped open. Was this man a reverse psychology expert or what?
I looked up at him in disbelief. Cedric, clearly in a good mood, continued to walk slowly through the garden, not once losing his smile.
Still, he matched my pace perfectly—not too fast, not too slow. I couldn’t help but smile along with him.
“I’ll try my best so you don’t regret it.”
“It’s already more than enough.”
We gazed at each other, our eyes never breaking contact. The crisp wind and the crunch of snow underfoot made me feel warm inside.
“Oh! How about the engineers?”
“Quite a few people were interested in joining, curious about the idea of building a ship in the North.”
“I hope we can finish before Father does. Do you think it’s possible without being discovered?”
Finishing the ship as quickly as possible would be to our advantage. My father would be willing to pay any price to shorten the timeline.
‘We have to act fast if we’re going to protect the divine beast.’
I knew how to persuade the engineers and what they wanted.
After all, I had knowledge of the original story.
“There’s a village called Radia near the coast, just outside the capital Lindel. If you sail a bit from there, there’s a small island where we won’t be discovered. The only problem is whether the engineers will agree to go there.”
“Don’t worry about that. They’ll be more than happy to go.”
As long as we had a place to hide the ship, everything would be fine. I planned to offer the engineers a lifelong job, so they wouldn’t have to worry about their future.
“Is there a technical school in the North?”
“…A technical school? You mean a place where they teach skills?”
“Yes, like an academy.”
“There’s no academy in the North. Most people here focus on learning practical skills for daily life or becoming knights, rather than studying.”
“Exactly!”
The reason why the North’s technical skills were more advanced than Velodona’s was because they were tied to survival.
But what if we shared that knowledge more widely? If people could learn faster and more accurately, one day people from the capital might come to the North to learn.
“If we formalize the technical knowledge and share it, it will greatly benefit the North.”
“It’s definitely worth considering. Establishing an academy would create more jobs for the engineers as well. I’ll discuss it with Bahala.”
“Really?”
I hadn’t expected him to agree so readily, so I widened my eyes in surprise.
“Someone told me that nothing bad comes from listening to you.”
“…Who?”
“There’s someone.”
Cedric didn’t reveal who it was, no matter how much I pressed him. His lips stayed firmly shut.
“I might end up clashing with my father. I wonder if things have changed too much since I came to the North…”
“A lot has changed since you arrived.”
Cedric stopped walking and gently took my hand.
“Your hands are cold. We should head back.”
“They warmed up quickly when you held them. Let’s walk a bit longer! And include me when you discuss the academy.”
“Of course.”
A deeper smile spread across his face. The more I got to know Cedric, the warmer he seemed.
“You’re talking as if the academy is already established.”
“I think it will be. You’re just worried the royal family won’t approve, right?”
Father would likely refuse to approve it. However, if he wanted to get what he wanted, he might have to side with the duke again.
Cedric, sensing my thoughts, spoke up.
“Sometimes, you make it seem like you can do anything.”
He wasn’t wrong. Since coming to the North, I’d achieved quite a bit.
“Just as you suggested, after spreading the rumor, none of the villagers have gone near Codran Forest.”
“No one is foolish enough not to fear monsters. By the way, is there a mine in the forest?”
There was a mine within the North Mountains where they extracted magic stones. Since the existence of the mine was unknown to outsiders, we needed the cover of the rumors.
Cedric’s expression became slightly complicated at my question. People thought the North imported magic stones from other places, but in reality, they were mined here.
“When building the ship, we’ll need a lot of magic stones. I’m worried about whether we’ll have enough.”
“…There’s a magic stone mine in Codran Forest.”
“Really?!”
I hadn’t expected him to reveal that so easily. I thought he would hesitate for a while…
“I thought it would be better if you knew everything about the North.”
“Thank you. Then there’s no need to worry about the magic stones!”
I clapped my hands in excitement.
This practically meant the academy was already approved.
“Your Grace, how much magic stone do you extract annually?”
“There’s enough for everyone on the continent to heat water every day, with plenty left over.”
The amount was far greater than I had imagined. I’d always thought it was odd that the North had magic stones to keep the snow off the gardens—it was because they had an abundance of resources.
“The royal family currently imports magic stones from Kvarand.”
And Kvarand, in turn, sourced their magic stones from none other than Lindel, the capital of the North.
