Kays Translations

Chapter 93: Sleeping Hound

A young man swung a hoe.

The fields were in a state of ruin, and it would take a considerable amount of time just to restore them to proper soil. As he looked around, he saw others wielding hoes, clearing debris, and building makeshift huts. Everyone was busy, moving around in a frenzy.

They were the returning soldiers who had gathered in response to Princess Listille's call. There were about five hundred of them, and their numbers would continue to increase.

This place was the remains of a deserted village where the villagers had scattered. Houses were burned down, fields were trampled, and corpses were thrown into wells, so they needed to secure a new source of water.

It was their own kingdom's army that had done this.

The young man tightened his grip on the hoe, his face filled with bitterness. The traces here were marks of their sins. They had spread malice while wearing faces that made it seem like only they were unfortunate, and this was the result.

Cleaning up was difficult, but it was still much better than starting a village from scratch.

When he stopped working, only painful thoughts came to mind. The young man continued to till the soil with single-minded determination. He wasn't trying to fix the fields; he was trying to fix his own life.

The conscripted soldiers originally had various skills, such as being the sons of farmers or coming from a carpenter background. Moreover, they had experience in setting up camps during their time in the military, so the unfamiliar tasks were not too difficult. Some were even preparing meals for five hundred people in large pots. The army was a community. Building a village was an extension of that.

The sound of voices caught the young man's attention. When he stopped and listened, he heard people gossiping. Following their gaze, he saw Princess Listille, the third princess, standing there with a beautiful woman by her side. The woman had an enticing figure that made him want to bury his face in it. They were pointing at the burnt houses and discussing something.

A bored-looking pair of men, who seemed like guards, stood a little behind them. An adventurer and a blacksmith.

The young man recognized one of the guards, but he couldn't approach him. They should be meeting for the first time.

He clearly heard the voices of the returning soldiers.

"Princess, she's cute, isn't she? So she was taken advantage of by those thieves, huh?"

"I envy them. I wish she would be my partner too."

His actions were faster than his thoughts. The young man threw away the hoe and punched the face of the man with a lewd smile. The unsuspecting man fell flat on his back.

The man quickly turned red with anger, not understanding what had just happened.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

However, the young man released a rage that far surpassed the man's anger and intimidated him into silence.

"We haven't done such things. The princess's honor has not been defiled. We all tried to remain proud until the end."

He couldn't say it. Defending them would be betraying their trust.

"...Don't you dare spout such nonsense. We must stand by the princess's side. We owe it to the one who picked us up."

Saying that, the young man picked up the hoe and returned to work. There was no need to till the heads of the men who would attack him; it wasn't necessary.

"Sorry..."

He muttered, and the men resumed their work as well.

The soil seemed to blur as tears fell. The young man cried while swinging the hoe.

...Captain, Dross-san, everyone. Princess Listille has kept her promise. I will protect this land, and I will die here. Please watch over me.

The young man continued to work diligently. If anyone spoke ill of the princess, he would immediately strike back, sometimes receiving counterattacks and being ganged up on. He had broken bones and fallen ill with a high fever.

Still, he would never change his way of life until the end.

Listille did not wear any accessories. She had sold everything to support the returning soldiers.

The two thousand gold coins given by the king were a considerable sum, but it was not enough for governing. There were currently five hundred people, and more would gather in the future. Just the food expenses were substantial.

Repairing houses, digging wells, sowing seeds in the fields, and harvesting crops. The basic foundations of life had to be established, and they were operating at a loss until that was accomplished.

"It's better not to expect decent harvests this year," said Claudia, wearing a face that resembled an advisor.

No matter how much money they had, it was never enough. The words her father had said, that she hadn't experienced the hardships of money, now weighed heavily on her.

She had considered selling her excess clothes, but Claudia had stopped her.

"If you give up your status as a princess, no one will listen to you anymore. Please remain beautiful in a way that suits the pioneering village," Claudia had said.

Being a thirteen-year-old girl giving orders dressed as a village girl wouldn't make anyone obey. There needed to be a reason for them to follow her.

Listille felt conflicted. She rebelled against the ways of the royal family by being here, yet she had to rely on the authority of the royal family. It was a contradiction that troubled the young princess.

When she told Claudia about it...

"Let's make use of everything we can. Authority is just a tool," Claudia said nonchalantly.

It was quite an outrageous statement, one that belittled the royal family when she thought about it later. But for Listille, it was also words of relief.

Listille was isolated in noble society.

Nobles wore white gloves to show that they didn't do dirty work. They carried canes even when they didn't have bad legs or need them for difficult roads to show that they didn't intend to carry luggage.

Dresses were always new, and accessories were always the latest fashion. It was the nobles' mannerism to demonstrate how luxurious their lives were. To showcase their extravagance, they would go into debt, which was the aesthetic of the nobles.

Listille abandoned such thinking. To the nobles, it felt like they were being denied.

They couldn't directly interfere, but the nobles began blatantly ignoring Listille. They mocked her as a woman defiled by bandits.

She had anticipated such treatment, being rejected by her father and pointed fingers at by the nobles. It would be a lie to say it didn't hurt.

Listille's affection and trust towards Claudia were gradually turning into dependency.

She didn't want to use words like "adore" because she disliked her own sister. Her eldest sister had married into the empire, and Listille didn't know much about her personality.

Her second sister always looked down on others and needed to make such remarks to maintain her self-esteem. How could two people who were born from the same womb be so different? Just the fact that they shared the same blood made her sick. It was her own sister who took the lead in excluding Listille.

But if she said she was close to Claudia like a mother, it would be disrespectful. The age difference wasn't that great.

A few days after they arrived at the deserted village, when it was no longer appropriate to call it so, and when food procurement and transportation were well underway, Claudia bent down and met Listille's gaze with a regretful expression.

"Princess Listille, it is time for us to return."

She had known that day would come. Still, she couldn't accept it obediently. The tears she had refused to shed when her father hit her now welled up inside her.

"Claudia, please stay with me. Can't you serve me together with Lutz?"

"That is not possible. I have my own place, and Princess Listille has hers."

"I... don't want to return to the capital..."

Listille looked down, not wanting to hear words of rejection. Claudia took off one earring that shone with all the colors and handed it to Listille.

"What is this...?"

"You should have at least one piece of fashion. Don't forget that I am on your side, even if we are apart. I will come running whenever you are in trouble."

Claudia gently placed the earring on Listille's left ear, which was wet with tears.

"...A matching pair, isn't it?"

Listille laughed through her tears.

"The surroundings are full of enemies, and it must be tough for you. But remember, there are also many allies. The returning soldiers, the butlers, and us. Everyone loves Princess Listille."

Listille hugged Claudia tightly. Claudia patted Listille's back gently. After a while, they separated, and Listille asked with an immature but statesman-like expression.

"How should I lead the village from now on?"

"Let's expand the fields like crazy. We might have gone a bit too far, but it will be just right. Sell the excess to those quarrelsome folks next door."

Once formal trade with the allied nations began, the more food they produced, the more they could sell. Claudia saw great potential for this village's significant development.

They embraced each other once more, and Listille nodded with determination.

Claudia, in the carriage on the way back, apologized to Lutz.

"I'm sorry, Lutz. Although you gave me accessories, I ended up giving one away."

She regretted not refusing with a single word. Lutz didn't seem to mind and smiled.

"It's what you wanted to do. It's fine. I think it was the right thing to do."

Feeling slightly embarrassed by his kind words, Claudia turned her face toward the outside of the carriage.

"It seems the sly fox died, and the hunting dog was taken care of by a kind person. Oh well, the wording doesn't sound good."

When they visited next time, it would have become a much more splendid town. With that conviction, Claudia gazed at the receding village.

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