Kays Translations

Chapter 121: The Price of Choices

A plain carriage adorned with the crest of the count’s family. It might sound contradictory to put it into words, yet it existed right in front of her eyes, so there was no helping it. Being without money seemed to affirm all sorts of problems.

If she started thinking like this, wasn't it a mass of contradictions and doubts that the princess lived in a humble cottage? That was how Listille rationalized it to herself.

"It's been a while, Lady Listelle."

Elegantly descending from the back of the horse-drawn carriage, a young woman named Claudia greeted with a smile.

Her gentle smile hadn't changed, and an earring, which could almost be called a symbol of their bond, glimmered on her ear.

Listille was mustering all her restraint not to leap into Claudia's arms with joy. She couldn't ruin her royal demeanor and act spoiled when the eyes of her five attendants and hundreds of soldiers were on her. She couldn't afford to break down and seek comfort.

"I've been waiting for you, Lady Claudia."

"I came here to expand my narrow house."

How dependable those words sounded, promising to make a profit. Listille took Claudia's hand and they headed cheerfully, almost skipping, towards the temporary office, a cabin.

The soldiers who knew nothing about the situation were perplexed by the heartwarming scene, wondering, "Wait, Who could she be?"

"I've never seen her before, but could that be the Second Princess, I wonder?"

"No, it can't be the Second Princess. I've heard the Second Princess is completely spoiled, so there's no way Listille-sama would be that fond of her. It must be someone else."

Various speculations circulated, and before long, the story had transformed into Claudia being the king's hidden child and Listille's long-lost sister.

They were starved for entertainment, and irresponsible gossip was their favorite dish. Still, at least there wasn’t any ill intentions towards Listille. That made it much better than the capital.

Was this the princess's life, Claudia wondered as she was ushered into the temporary government office.

It was nothing more than a simple square room with chairs and a table, piled with a large number of wooden planks.

Claudia understood that having no money meant having this kind of life, but that was only true in theory. It was surprising that Listille, who had grown up as a princess without any inconveniences, was accepting it. Wasn't it the aristocratic aesthetic to showcase extravagance and power even if they had to go into debt?

She was serious. She was genuinely trying to save the veteran soldiers who had turned to banditry and had no place to go, inheriting their feelings. She wanted to do something to help them.

"It's a bit messy..."

Embarrassedly saying that, Listille became increasingly dear to Claudia. Claudia knelt down, took Listille's hand, and hugged her tightly.

"Um, Claudia-sama...?"

Listille was perplexed, yet she was also a little happy. She had no memory of someone hugging her like this. Her father and mother, their relationship had only been defined by the filter of being royalty. The gaze her older siblings directed at her was as though they were evaluating to see how they could exploit her.

"You've done well."

In Claudia's gentle voice, Listille couldn't help but sniffle and wipe her nose.

Seeing this room alone, Claudia understood all of Listille’s efforts and hardships. She felt that all her efforts had been rewarded.

Gently releasing her, Claudia stood up.

"Is the village's management going smoothly?"

"I'd like to consult you on various matters about that."

"Of course, please ask me anything."

Listille sat down and explained the current situation as she handed over several wooden planks. She was worried that the notes, resembling rough sketches as they hadn't been neatly transcribed, might be hard to understand. However, Claudia seemed to be able to read them without any issues.

"There don't seem to be any significant problems at the moment."

"Yes, for now..."

Listille's voice grew smaller, as if being crushed by anxiety.

Currently, during the stage of cultivating the fields, there wasn't much expectation for this year's harvest. The food for the returning soldiers who had become villagers had been bought from elsewhere; money was going out without coming in.

They saved by hunting animals, gathering nuts and wild plants, but it only managed to cover a small percentage of their food needs. Satisfying the stomachs of eight hundred strong men was no small feat.

During the war, over five thousand people were stationed at the border, but that was only possible with the support of the state. It was too great a burden to bear individually.

The two thousand gold coins given by the king, the five hundred gold coins from Listille's personal assets, were now down to a thousand. 

How much could they curb this year's deficit? Could they improve the food situation by the next year when the harvest comes? Could they sell the surplus food effectively? How long would the soldiers endure this suppressed life?

Nothing about the future could be gleaned from these wooden planks. No matter how many times she calculated, no matter how much she saved, they would be in dire straits by the middle of next year.

Moreover, the number of villagers wouldn't decrease from now on, it might even increase. Considering the origins, purpose, and the village's unwritten principles, they couldn't refuse the returning soldiers seeking help.

That's why Listille had welcomed Claudia's visit with open arms. If they could devise a strategy now, she wanted to do it, but as an inexperienced young woman, Listille had run out of ideas.

After hearing her out and going through the wooden planks, Claudia calmly said,

"Alright, I'll relieve Listille-sama’s distress in no time."

"Huh?"

She had called her here to discuss, but could it really be solved so easily?

As Listille hesitated, Claudia gave her a sign to wait and left the room.

For what felt like an eternity, yet only lasted five minutes, Listille's thoughts whirled around at a dizzying speed.

Claudia's intentions, what could they be? It couldn't be that she was being deceived, right? Maybe she had overlooked something incredibly simple.

The door opened, and Claudia entered with Lutz. After Lutz placed a heavy wooden box he was carrying on his shoulder down,

"Well then."

He immediately left. It seemed that it wasn't because he didn't understand political matters, but rather that he wanted to leave Listille and Claudia alone.

"Um, what's that...?"

Smiling slyly, Claudia pried open the wooden box with a knife in response to Listille's puzzled look.

What spilled out were numerous gold coins emitting a dull shine.

"I'll leave a thousand gold coins in your care, Listille-sama."

It was a powerful solution through the use of money. It was the simplest and most effective method.

Listille couldn't just accept this even if she was suddenly presented with it.

"Where did this money come from? Is it perhaps assistance from Count Zander?"

As she said it, Listille herself didn't believe it much. Count Zander had various positions, but she was aware that she likely wasn't well-liked.

"No, it's my money. We're using funds from Lutz's workshop."

That didn't make any sense. Even though he was employed by the count's household, the sum of money wasn't something a craftsman could just produce.

"To be exact, it's the money we've earned. The rewards for various tasks from the king and nobles amounted to several hundred gold coins. I used that to generate this thousand gold coins."

It was an amount that couldn't be produced through conventional means, but it had accumulated because of the unconventional tasks they had been given.

"What does Lutz-sama think about this?"

Originally, it was money Lutz had earned. She hadn't taken it out without permission. Moreover, he had brought the gold coins here himself.

"As long as I leave enough for the minimum living expenses, he said I can do as I please with the rest."

"He's quite generous..."

"He keeps making me fall for him over and over. He's a troublesome man."

Claudia said proudly with a smile.

"Now then, Listille-sama. Having money doesn't mean the problem is solved. The only difference is that the collapse has been delayed to next year or the year after that."

"I understand."

"What's important is that you now have some leeway. Leeway in terms of time, in terms of thinking, in terms of peace of mind."

Claudia counted on her fingers. Without a doubt, the sense of urgency had disappeared, and Listille nodded deeply.

"Now that you have some leeway, why not take your time and think about ways to make money?"

"Can I really do that?"

"We can, if it's you and me."

At Claudia's straightforward words, Listille realized that she couldn't help but like this woman for reasons like this, which in turn made her feel embarrassed.

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