Chapter 10

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 10

Chapter Title: A Room Full of Comics

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“How could you trust that woman like that?”

Liam was utterly baffled.

In truth, on the very day April had asked him to send a letter on her behalf.

Liam had gone to the duke that evening to report the situation and urged him to prepare contingency plans.

But.

“It’d be best to watch and wait a bit longer.”

“Pardon? If things go wrong, the backlash from the territory’s people could be severe.”

“Patience is a virtue.”

Kaian had seemed incredibly relaxed that day, and he refused to hear any more of Liam’s words.

Liam could only watch as the growing uproar from the mobilized territory folk burned away at his insides.

And now, with this unexpected turn of events, he somehow felt like he was the only one who’d been fooled.

No one had slapped the back of his head, yet it throbbed all the same.

“...Did Your Highness already know what she would do?”

“Well, more or less.”

“Pardon? How could you...?”

“There was only one method available to her.”

In truth, it was obvious if you looked at the forest instead of the trees.

Kaian had suspected April was acting as Remeia’s proxy, but to confirm it, cross-verification was needed.

And he’d thought using the dam construction issue to test that was a good approach.

After all, if she’d handled practical affairs in the Salt Kingdom, she’d be familiar with such matters.

The empire took a conservative stance on hiring foreigners, so it didn’t employ mercenaries.

On the other hand, the perpetually short-staffed Salt Kingdom was always eager to use them.

And it was well-known that the clever Princess Remeia was filling the queen’s vacancy by overseeing the inner palace, as well as aiding in diplomacy and administration.

Putting it all together led to one conclusion.

If April Salt was indeed Remeia’s proxy as he’d predicted, she’d quickly find and deploy a suitable mercenary band for this job.

And sure enough, April had contacted the contract handler for an appropriate mercenary group directly and gotten them on-site with remarkable speed.

“We ended up benefiting from it by sheer luck. Truth be told, I didn’t expect her to pull it off perfectly.”

The imperial family of the empire had been stirring up public opinion to revive the old slavery system.

To that end, they’d restricted outside labor within the empire, controlled related information, and revoked operating permits for labor brokers.

Of course, nothing was impossible with enough will, but April had shortened what would’ve been a lengthy process.

“Honestly, I was impressed too. Coming up with a plan to hire from the extreme poor... That’s not something someone who just goes through the motions could think of. She’s fundamentally sharp when it comes to work.”

In truth, Liam hadn’t wanted to admit that the April who lounged in her room like a sloth every day was capable.

Was it the mad glee of someone thrilled by imprisonment, or just plain laziness?

Either way, her unappealing demeanor had made him wonder if the idea of her being Remeia’s proxy was just a collective delusion among many.

But having witnessed her handling of the task with his own eyes, her competence was jaw-droppingly impressive.

The way she handed off the transition to the administrators was efficient and flawless—he could’ve learned from it himself.

If not for that signature April expression screaming ‘Please just let me go already,’ Liam would’ve grilled her on how she’d done it ages ago.

“To be honest... I half-suspected she was getting advice from some invisible someone in that room of hers.”

“Divine revelation, you mean?”

“If there’s a god of shut-ins, sure.”

The duke burst out laughing at Liam’s grumpy retort.

“In any case, the princess went and proved her own usefulness firsthand.”

Now, what should he reward her with?

Kaian stroked his smooth chin with his index finger.

Conventionally, the proper courtesy for a distinguished guest who’d helped resolve a duchy’s dire issue would be to escort her safely home.

Unfortunately for April, Kaian had long since tossed such etiquette to the dogs and didn’t know the first thing about it.

Instead, granting her one wish didn’t seem like a bad idea.

“Better to hear what she needs directly. Bring the princess here.”

“Understood, Your Highness.”

Liam bowed his head.

A few days later, the duchy’s dam construction finally got back on track smoothly.

I figured since the duchy’s people had safely returned to their livelihoods, they wouldn’t need me anymore.

But no.

“The duke requests your presence.”

Liam showed up personally to fetch me, proving my assumption wrong.

“Uh, right now?”

“Yes, he’s asking for you immediately.”

“But...”

I’d just stepped out for a quick five minutes of sunlight to fend off vitamin D deficiency and washed my feet right after coming back in.

If only he’d come a little earlier.

“Never mind.”

At least I hadn’t changed out of my outing clothes into pajamas yet—that was a small mercy.

“Let’s go.”

Thud, thud.

I dragged my feet in a weary gait into the duke’s study, which was starting to feel all too familiar.

“You’re here.”

The setting sun poured through the windows, flooding the room with light.

Somehow, looking at him felt a bit blinding, but I offered a polite greeting anyway.

“Hello. Long time no see. I hope you’ve been well?”

The duke gave me a strange look in silence at my greeting.

Hm, was that not right? Imperial etiquette shouldn’t be that different, should it?

As I puzzled over my words and actions, he suddenly burst into laughter.

“You really are amusing.”

“...Pardon?”

“The last time you left glaring daggers at me, and now here you are asking after my well-being.”

“Ah.”

Only then did I recall that our last conversation had been about that fraudulent rice deal contract.

But whatever. That was all in the past, and I’d long since decided it wasn’t my problem.

The duke seemed to feel the same, quickly changing the subject.

“You handled the dam construction issue quite neatly this time.”

“Ah, thank you...”

“For someone who claimed to know nothing, it was impressively done. What’s your take on it, Princess?”

I clamped my lips shut immediately.

With intelligence like his, he must’ve gotten wind of Remeia’s freakish smarts, no matter how hard the Salt King tried to hide it!

But before I could say anything, the duke continued.

“I told you before. In the empire, we punish liars harshly. Remember?”

Harsh punishment—like tearing a liar’s mouth open?

My guts shrank to the size of a pea in an instant.

“I remember... but why bring it up out of nowhere...?”

“I just said it. Your work was outstanding.”

“...?”

“I’ll let it slide. I won’t pry into the details. Figuring it out later is a separate matter, of course.”

Not bad news at all. At least no risk of my mouth getting ripped.

Besides, even if he investigated, an MRI of my brain wouldn’t reveal I was a possessor, so it didn’t matter.

I nodded with a peculiar expression.

“Thank you. So, may I go now?”

“No.”

The duke lightly dismissed my words with a smile.

“I still have business with you.”

“Pardon?”

Was this the plot where a slave barely escapes one grueling labor pit, proves their worth against their will, only to get thrown into another and work till they drop dead of old age?

Feeling my future darken suddenly, I asked the duke with a gloomy face.

“Is there... more work?”

“Tell me what you want.”

Suddenly?

As I looked at him quizzically, he seemed to realize his explanation was lacking and added belatedly.

“Overlooking your lie is a sort of bonus. I want to pay you properly for helping the duchy this time. With whatever you desire, Princess.”

Hm. A normal person might ask to be sent away from this duchy.

But.

Three square meals a day. Hot water on tap. A fluffy bed with zero interruptions. No obligations whatsoever. And even if there’s work, the work-life balance is this good? Gotta tough it out.

There was no place more comfortable than here from my perspective.

Leaving the duchy and going back to Salt would just mean repeating the same slave life.

Worse, I might end up boarding the doomed royal bus and lose my head if luck ran out.

Better to stick right by the duke, who wielded real power even in the original story.

I looked at the duke once more.

His handsome face practically glowed, and those Pacific Ocean shoulders could easily support dozens of my heads.

Looking again, the duke had the looks, background, and that slightly unhinged personality—perfect male lead material all around.

Is this a chance?

In typical novels, girls stuck close to powerful guys like this, blurted out a wish when prompted, and ended up in a contract marriage or engagement.

Then love would blossom unexpectedly, leading smoothly to a happy ending.

“Anything goes?”

“Anything except letting you leave this place.”

His answer made me certain what to ask for.

Yes. Time for me to become the protagonist of my own life and live out my dreams.

“W-well then...”

With firm resolve, I opened my trembling mouth.

“I want to live in a room full of comic books!”