The Abandoned Duchess Seems to Want a Peaceful Life - Chapter 146

Chapter 146: The Road, the Horse, and What She Hoped For

“From Your Grace, the formal road construction will be undertaken by Oldrand. The Enkar region side requests that we prepare the land acquisition after the territory line is established.”

“The current road is naturally formed, isn’t it? What about the official boundaries of the territory?”

“The area between the nearest village and here is mostly wasteland or forest. There’s a small river running between the nearest village and here, so we could use that as the boundary, I think.”

August, who responded swiftly, added as an afterthought,

“Do we even need territorial boundaries? I heard that we’ve agreed to waive tariffs between us for a while.”

Within the same territory, commercial guilds issue permits that exempt merchants from tariffs, but when merchants or craftsmen enter villages or towns in different territories, they generally have to pay an entry tax, a tariff on their goods and assets.

This is why long-distance merchants are rare and only carry high-value goods.

Items such as jewels, beautiful woolen fabrics, high-quality honey, and silk textiles become rarer and more expensive due to these accumulated entry taxes.

If there are no tariffs between adjacent territories, merchants have no reason not to increase their traffic.

Currently, the Enkar region has very active trade for transporting its produce, and rather than coming to the Enkar region with empty horse-drawn carts, there’s a high demand for merchants to bring goods and needed supplies to sell and return with food in the emptied carts.

The development of a proper road is urgent, and waiving tariffs for the time being is a reasonable measure to facilitate smooth trade.

“Of course, it’s necessary. Even if we engage in free trade without tariffs for a while, it’s a separate territory, and as development progresses, the boundaries will eventually clash at some point. If we leave the extent of our own territory ambiguous and that time comes, it could lead to war in the worst-case scenario.”

While Melfina and Alexis’ generation might be able to resolve it through negotiation, such problems often leave unnecessary problems for future generations.

For Melfina, who decided to acquire and develop the Enkar region, clarifying the territorial boundaries is almost an obligation.

“Then, for now, let’s use this river as the territorial boundary, and the detailed arrangements can be made with Your Grace at a later date…”

“I think we can just use the existing road for the land. We might have to partially reclaim some of the wheat fields, but we will prepare alternative land and request cooperation with requisition.”

“It would be good to lay the road so it passes through the villages along the way and ideally create something like a post town.”

“How about building that along the river? Land routes are important, but water transportation will also become more active in the future.”

While talking with August, Marie takes notes beside them. By the time they finalized the matters requiring Alexis’ approval, the sun was already setting.

“Melfina, it’s getting late.”

I nodded at Marie’s words and exhaled. Meetings with August, representing Alexis, always involve crucial matters, and today’s discussion was particularly intense.

“Ed making the pie was a lifesaver. Sweets help with thinking.”

“I’ve noticed that my concentration was unusually high today, but does sugar have such an effect?”

“Yes, it’s good before paperwork. But you should be careful not to overindulge, as it can make you fat.”

“Ah, that would be troublesome…Especially for knights; being overweight is considered a sign of neglecting training.”

“I think knights and laborers don’t have to worry too much. It’s more of a problem for women like me who might spend the entire day sitting down for work.”

Even without the responsibilities of a lord, Melfina’s daily exercise is minimal. For inspections, she mostly travels by carriage; at most, she plays frisbee with her dog, Felice, when she takes a break.

“Speaking of which, since I brought Rigel this time, how about trying horseback riding? One’s sense of balancing a rider dulls if one doesn’t ride.”

“You brought him. Will you convey my thanks to the Duke?”

Rigel was Cedric’s beloved horse. After Cedric relinquished his position as a knight of Oldrand and returned to the Duke’s family, Melfina had sent a letter asking to purchase him; August apparently brought him this time.

“Rigel is already seven years old; he’s a bit old to be given to a new knight, so it would be better if he were kept in the Enkar region.”

I nodded, relieved.

The lord’s mansion currently has donkeys and horses for pulling carts, but I think Rigel would be a good fit for Lloyd once he comes of age.

—Ideally, Cedric would return, but that’s the best-case scenario.

Horses live for about twenty years, but their active service life is much shorter.

Will that day come while Rigel can still be active? …I don’t even know if such a day will ever come.

Still, since I promised to wait, I wanted to keep at least one of Cedric’s possessions at the lord’s mansion.

“I think he would consider that a worthy end for a knight. He was treated that well by his lord.”

“He never quite became one, though.”

August chuckled and let out a small breath.

Even without an oath, Cedric is already Melfina’s knight.

That’s what he seemed to be implying.

After dinner, Rad and Cliff returned to the servant quarters, leaving Melfina, Marie, August, and Theodore in the kitchen.

It was an unusual gathering, and Ed couldn’t hide his nervousness.

“I’m sorry for stopping you before you left.”

“No, it’s alright.”

Melfina carefully began, gazing at Ed, who coughed lightly and touched his throat.

“Ed, your workload in the kitchen has been heavy lately, hasn’t it? When we have visitors, it can be non-stop, and each time you prepare tea, light meals, and sometimes even dinner.”

“It’s not that difficult. Anna and the others are now taking care of cleaning and chores, and unlike Rad and Cliff, I don’t have to go outside.”

“But Ed manages the food supplies and purchases, and you have less time to rest than before. I’ve been trying to find a solution for a while now, but I haven’t been able to come up with a good one, so I’m sorry for putting such a burden on you.”

Ed frowned in distress and shook his head.

“Truly, I’m not overworking myself. It’s not easy, but I’m happy to be of service to Melfina.”

“From now on, the Enkar region will grow even larger, and I think many more people will be coming to the lord’s mansion. So, Ed, I’m thinking of increasing the number of cooks in the lord’s mansion.”

“Yes.”

“We’ll build another kitchen, and I’d like you to become the head chef there.”

“Melfina?”

Ed stared in surprise, and Melfina pursed her lips before slowly speaking.

“From now on, the lord’s mansion will become a public place where Enkar’s administration will be centralized. I think we’ll have less time to spend together as a family, as we did before. It’s unavoidable, but…I’m very sad about it.”

When we arrived at the beginning of spring last year, the lord’s mansion was much smaller.

There was no large hall or guest room. Cedric lived in the storage room on the first floor, Rad, Cliff, and Ed lived in the servant’s room in the attic; Melfina and Marie joined them, creating a cozy space where we lived close to each other.

Melfina has responsibilities and work as a lord. I know it can’t stay the same as it was then, in our small and happy little world.

Still, it’s very sad to see all of that change.

“I want Ed to be my cook. I want to develop many more dishes, and I want Ed to help me with that….It’s not uncommon for cooks with secret techniques to have their own specialized kitchens. Besides taking care of the daily meals for myself and everyone in the lord’s mansion, I’d like to ask Ed to develop and improve dishes that will become specialties of the Enkar region.”

Managing daily meals is not the only task for a cook; developing and improving new dishes is also an important aspect of the job.

However, I also believe that Melfina’s wish shouldn’t limit Ed’s future options.

“If Ed wishes, you can choose to train in the Duke’s kitchen. But I don’t want to let Ed go. If you want to train, of course, I will write you a letter of introduction, but I would really like you to stay at the lord’s mansion.”

“Ah, um, Melfina.”

As Melfina became increasingly flustered, Ed raised his hand slightly.

“I cook because I want Melfina to eat what I make. Um, I’ve become the lord’s mansion’s cook without realizing it, but…well, I don’t mind that, but the most important thing is that I can help Melfina.”

“Ed?”

“I can’t handle horses like Rad, and I can’t do a lot of things skillfully like Cliff. Anna is a better cleaner than me; the only thing I was better at than others was cooking, so I wanted to help Melfina with that.”

Ed, who was speaking in a rush, adding “so therefore”, Melfina nodded slightly, and he seemed to calm down a little.

“So, I don’t want to go for training….It’s not that I dislike being a cook, but it wouldn’t make sense to me if I couldn’t help Melfina.”

Hearing Ed stammering that he didn’t intend to become a cook, but that he only cooked because he wanted to help Melfina, a weight lifted off Melfina’s shoulders.

Because Ed had lamented so much about his lack of talent, she had unconsciously assumed that he wanted to become a top-class cook, but thinking back, Ed had never said anything like that.

He always smiles, smiles happily when Melfina praises his cooking skills, and always subtly helps when Melfina is in trouble.

If Ed had lamented his lack of talent only because he believed cooking was the best way to help Melfina…

Melfina felt a tightening in her chest at Ed’s intense devotion, and for the first time in a long time, she felt like she was properly talking to Ed.

“Yes. That was it from the beginning.”

Since the day of the blessing, she felt like she would hurt Ed no matter what she said, and she had unconsciously been treating him carefully.

In her haste to do something, after Cedric left and she was overwhelmed with work, she had become increasingly unsure of what to do.

Ed had started cooking because he was originally helping Melfina.

He absorbed what she taught him and eventually became able to make the same dishes as Melfina. He took over the meals for the lord’s mansion in Melfina’s stead, as she became increasingly busy with the lord’s work.

He wasn’t originally aiming to become a cook; his current situation is a result of him doing his best to help.

She knew he was such a kind boy, but her excessive concern had made her confused about how to act.

“Ed, I’ve been helped by you all along. So, I want you to continue helping me.”

“Of course, that’s what I want to do… Cough! …Sorry, my throat’s been sore lately.”

“I think you’re not feeling well. You should rest for a while…”

“I don’t feel bad, but I’ve been having aches here and there lately, and my throat has been hoarse.”

August, noticing something, said abruptly to the troubled Ed.

“Um, could it be…changing your voice?”

“Eh?”

“No, you’re around the age of puberty, aren’t you? I also had a growth spurt around that age, my whole body ached, and I was changing my voice around the same time.”

Theodore nodded as if agreeing with August.

“…Voice change.”

Ed and Melfina looked at each other, relieved but also feeling drained.

Come to think of it, Ed has grown considerably since last year. He was only about Melfina’s chest height, but now their eyes are almost level.

He’ll probably surpass her soon.

“I was treating Ed like a little child. Oh, he’s grown so much, he’s changing his voice now.”

She said thoughtfully and then smiled.

“I feel so relieved. I was overthinking and spinning my wheels.”

After feeling reassured, she felt all her strength drain away.

“I’m looking forward to Ed’s delicious food tomorrow. When I think about Ed’s food, I can work so much harder.”

“Yes! Leave it to me!”

“And I’ll make delicious snacks too.”

Melfina smiled naturally at Ed’s radiant smile.

—On my days off, I should play with Felice as much as possible.

That’s what she thought to herself.