The Abandoned Duchess Seems to Want a Peaceful Life - Chapter 148

Chapter 148: Glue, Bookbinding, and a Boy’s Dream

The visitor to the lord’s mansion that day was Godot, an old man from Enkar Village, a hunter who now trained dogs.

“This is the order. I made it as instructed, please check it.”

Godot’s demeanor was as taciturn and brusque as ever, but Melfina knew his skill was reliable. She opened the lid of the small jar he presented and poured the contents onto a sheet of plant paper spread on the table.

“It’s beautifully done. I’m glad I asked Godot.”

The dark brown glue, solidified into sticks about 10 centimeters long, was firm to the touch. Melfina picked one up and held it to the light. It was translucent, the color evenly mixed, clearly showing meticulous craftsmanship.

“This time I used wild boar, but if you can make the same thing with pigs or cattle, it would be much easier.”

While many livestock were raised in the Enkar region, cattle were rarely slaughtered, and pigs had various uses, making it difficult to use them as readily consumable materials.

“I want to try using chicken feet. They contain plenty of glue ingredients, and they’re not eaten, so I want to see if we can make it from them.”

Chicken feet, known as “momiji”, were not considered edible in this world and were mainly fed to pigs.

This time, it was made from a wild boar Godot had hunted, but for regular production, it would be better to use livestock.

“You can also make it from eels, rabbits, and deer…but speaking of which, are there no deer in the Enkar region?”

She sometimes received gifts of mountain pheasants, or heard stories of animals being hunted for damaging crops, but she had never heard of deer.

“There are some, but they don’t often venture near the forest. They eat anything, and we occasionally see them near those mountains.”

Following Godot’s gesture toward the window, Melfina shifted her gaze. A white, stony mountain peeked out from the lush Moltre Forest.

It resembled the sedimentary mountains in the Southern Alps of her past life.

No trees grew there, and it was the first place to be snow-capped in the autumn, suggesting a high altitude. Melfina knew little more than that. It seemed close due to its size, but it would likely take a journey deep into the Moltre Forest to reach it.

“Godot hunts around there?”

“No, it’s too far, even in my youth I rarely went. Even if I did, it’s mostly rocks, with no nuts or mountain vegetables. Even if I hunted deer there, it’s too far to carry the game back. Moreover, there are no streams to cool the meat in that area, so the game spoils quickly.”

A practical answer.

The stony mountain apparently had no name, simply called “rock mountain” or “stone mountain”.

Melfina wasn’t particularly interested in the outdoors, but it was an impressive mountain, and likely visible from Luxen.

In a few hundred years, it might become a famous peak for mountaineers.

A fresh, dry summer breeze wafted in through the open window.

“If many deer are in that area, there might be iron ore, mineral resources, or possibly even rock salt.”

She remembered deer needing minerals and licking rocks or asphalt to obtain them. There were stories of salt springs being discovered by tracking deer or deer populations increasing due to calcium chloride used to melt snow.

Lost in these thoughts from her past life’s knowledge, she realized that not only Godot, but Marie and Theodore were looking at her with surprised expressions.

“Aren’t you going to investigate, Melfina?”

If resources were found, the territory would become instantly wealthy. The discovery of iron ore or rock salt deposits was like winning the lottery for a lord.

“Not now. Whether resources exist or not, the Enkar region is booming. Let’s save that for when, decades or centuries from now, industry declines and we become poor.”

Even now, people said development was too rapid. If ore deposits were found rashly, it could become unmanageable.

Not everything should be dug up as soon as it’s found.

“Such a dreamy prospect, indeed.”

Godot said wistfully, seeming slightly exasperated, then stood up.

“Melfina must be busy, so I’ll take my leave. Ah, about Felice; she’s getting a little overweight. If you like, I can take her to the training grounds for a while.”

Felice, who had been lying quietly at Melfina’s feet, quickly raised her head then laid her ears flat.

“Don’t worry, two weeks mingling with other dogs in training will get her back into shape.”

Godot, instead of sympathizing with Felice’s pitiful whining, glared at her.

“She’s spoiled rotten in the lord’s mansion.”

“Felice is so cute, she gets treats everywhere. I try to be careful, but…when she begs, I always give in…”

“Melfina, it’s fine to love your dog, but it’s also important to give her a job, a role. If she gets too fat to run, it’s the dog that suffers.”

“Yes…I’ll be sad to see Felice leave the lord’s mansion, but if it comes to that, I’ll ask Godot.”

Melfina felt a pang of guilt at the resentful look on her beloved dog’s face.

“I’ll try increasing her walks and reducing her food, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll ask Godot.”

“Anytime.”

Godot, resolutely serious, glanced at Felice before leaving.

It was later that she heard Lloyd and Serleine were unusually energetic while walking Felice.

The next day, Serleine was visibly excited and restless, even during lunch. When she entered the common room after finishing her afternoon work, her joy was plain to see.

“I’m sorry for making you wait, Serleine. It took a while to gather the materials, and I didn’t have much free time either.”

“No, I know how busy you are, so it’s fine. I was able to transcribe a lot of copies in the meantime.”

A small mountain of plant paper sat on the table. Each sheet was numbered, forming a booklet of about twenty pages.

It was a textbook compiled by Serleine to teach the residents of Enkar, where literacy rates were low, how to read and write their names and simple sentences.

Melfina had been consulted several times on the content, undergoing several revisions before the final version was ready.

“Serleine’s writing and crafting are beautiful. You’ve clearly considered the readers.”

Although it’s said that high social status and beautiful writing are correlated, Serleine’s writing was neat and elegant, suggesting a high level of education.

There were also pages written in a friendlier script, although with the same content. This was because Lloyd helped Serleine create the textbook as a way to learn how to write.

Typewriters did not yet exist in this world. Making books meant manual transcription; everything was handwritten.

For a textbook of this size, they might be able to create woodblocks for printing in the future.

“Lloyd is amazing. He learned the letters so quickly, and he was able to use simple spellings on the same day he learned them.”

“Honestly, I know the contents of the textbook by heart…”

Lloyd, a young squire and future candidate for head steward, slumped his shoulders with a sigh.

“Lloyd, you did well. Let’s bind these books, then.”

First, they arranged the pages and folded them in half. After folding everything, they were stacked neatly. To make the pages easy to turn, the binding margins were soaked in water overnight to soften them, then glue dissolved in hot water was applied and pressed.

Although the glue would take a whole day to dry, they continued working, sewing the pages together.

They marked the places for holes and punched them using an awl made at the blacksmith’s workshop. Once the holes were properly punched, they threaded a needle, carefully sewing the pages together, tightly securing the ends. It was a type of Japanese binding from her previous life.

She flipped through the pages, finding no problems. It was a proper book.

“Sister, may I see it?”

“Certainly. The first copy of Serleine’s textbook.”

Serleine blushed, looking at the textbook with deep emotion, carefully turning the pages and then gazing happily at the cover.

“It’s quite different from a leather-bound book, but it’s a proper book.”

“Leather-bound books are incredibly labor-intensive, craftsman work. Just knowing how to do it doesn’t mean you can replicate it. Besides, this method only requires an awl, thread, and glue.”

However, leather-bound books remained a kind of aspiration and dream. Even though it wasn’t feasible now, she wanted to try it when she had more time in the winter.

“I hope many people will use the textbook.”

“Merchants will particularly need it, so I think many will want it.”

The textbook would be sold for a copper coin each. That was roughly three days’ worth of meals from a street vendor, but considering the cost of plant paper, it was barely breaking even.

Distributing them for free would result in too many copies, and people might not value something they received for free. Conversely, some might finish a copy and want a second.

In that case, she considered selling the plant paper cheaply to those who wanted more.

In either case, it was enough if it reached those who truly needed it.

“Currently, everything is handwritten, so too many people wanting copies would be problematic.”

“Sister, are there other ways to copy besides handwriting?”

Melfina smiled and nodded at Serleine’s curious question.

“There are various methods, but we’re far from managing them now. We might be able to start after Enkar’s administration settles down in a few years.”

Letterpress printing would be far into the future, but by then, might typewriters exist as well?

As someone from her past life who had a penchant for knowledge, the flourishing of culture was quite welcome.

“By then, the stories you’ve been compiling, Serleine, might be read by many more people.”

“In a few years…I probably won’t be here by then.”

Serleine said wistfully, looking down at the textbook.

Serleine was the crown prince, first in line to the throne of the neighboring country. Without a doubt, he would have returned home by then.

“Sometimes I think…I’m here because I’m the crown prince, but if I weren’t, I would live in Enkar forever, become your assistant after adulthood, and stay with you always…”

“Serleine…”

It was a dreamlike scenario.

If the intelligent and cultured Serleine had helped develop the Enkar region as an adult…

He would undoubtedly become as reliable an assistant as Marie.

“Yes.”

It was a beautiful dream precisely because it was impossible.

Not just in a few years, but by next spring, Serleine would surely be gone.

“It would be wonderful, wouldn’t it?”

Perhaps vaguely smiling and evading the question would have been the right response.

It was a wish that could never come true. As an older adult, Melfina should have known that.

Still, she couldn’t help but think how wonderful it would be if this sweet “younger brother” stayed by her side.