The Abandoned Duchess Seems to Want a Peaceful Life - Chapter 45

Chapter 45: Vigilance and the Path of Light

Morning and evening, my breath has started to turn white.

The sky begins to lighten as if peeling away one layer of the night’s veil after another. The time between night and morning is almost over.

The fields, stretching to the horizon and barren after the harvest, and the well-maintained farm roads, are bathed in the pale light of the morning sun, and the village begins to stir.

…Was there no attack?

Nid exhaled in relief, his breath turning white, and unconsciously licked his dry lips, covering his mouth with his palm.

Wrapped in animal hide to avoid lighting a fire, wearing thick gloves, yet even sitting still, the cold seeped into his body.

It was just before dusk yesterday that Melfina welcomed the bandits who had plotted to kidnap the lord into the village.

They were given food and corn tea, prepared with a copper kettle placed over the brazier, and told to drink as much as they liked. One by one, they lay down, and soon they were all asleep.

From their appearance, it was clear they had endured considerable hardship to get here.

They slept like broken dolls, resembling peasants in their previous lives.

It was just like them this time last year, when their settlement, now called Melto Village, was a serf village.

Starving, with no milk, newborns could not survive. There was no hope for the future, merely living day by day because they were alive, and that was all.

The men would drink diluted cheap liquor to feign cheerfulness, while the women worked sullenly with cold eyes. That was the “norm” for the people of the settlement, including Nid.

Since Melfina appeared, the “norm” was no longer the “norm”.

They no longer starved, and they no longer huddled together trembling in crude shacks made of felled wood and straw handed down from Enkar Village.

Since the construction of public toilets, the air in the village is clear, and now, it’s hard to understand how they could have been at ease in such conditions before.

Melfina often requested tasks for the entire village in the name of the lord. When the payment for these tasks arrived in the village, wandering merchants would appear out of nowhere, selling clothes and shoes at unbelievably low prices.

Eli, the wife of Nid, had once been a merchant’s daughter in town before falling into serfdom.

They told us that it was impossible to make a profit transporting goods to such a remote frontier of the country at such prices. They said it was the lord’s way of protecting our pride.

Even if it was charity, we would have been grateful, having nothing of our own.

However, this could have caused friction among the people of Enkar Village, and some might have forgotten their pride by accepting handouts.

By working for ourselves, we could improve our lives and buy what we desired with the rewards we earned.

Whether it was clothes or shoes, for people who until recently rarely even held a copper coin, it was now their own property, chosen and obtained with their own money.

Everyone proudly wore clothes that were soft and had no loose threads.

Wearing what they had earned naturally led to confidence, and women began buying colored threads from merchants to embroider small designs, making their possessions truly their own.

If I had heard this story just last spring, I would have scoffed at it as a pipe dream.

Melfina, who made this dream a reality, returned to the lord’s mansion with the secretary’s daughter. As she left, one of her knights quietly whispered to her.

Not everyone may be content with Lady Melfina’s kindness. There might be those who attack homes in the night to steal valuable items.

If that happens, it will be your responsibility to deal with them.

If it came to that, it would be Melfina, who had once forgiven and accepted them, who would be hurt. Nid nodded and wrapped himself in animal hides, keeping vigil over the meeting place with his axe until dawn.

Even if the people of Melto Village were attacked or if they retaliated, Melfina would have been deeply troubled. Relief that such a thing did not happen caused the tension to fade, and their bodies relaxed.

Cedric’s perspective wasn’t entirely wrong in fearing the worst. Those who are poor and struggling will do anything. Nid knew this feeling all too well.

Despite possessing such knowledge and creative ideas, Melfina was still a noblewoman at heart. Thinking this, Nid couldn’t help but smile faintly.

“If Lady Melfina were too perfect, we’d just end up receiving handouts after all. If there are areas she doesn’t notice, then it’s our job to support her.”

When Cedric noticed the scars on Melfina’s hands, Nid was also enraged. He had been relieved to see her behaving energetically, but also furious at himself for not noticing her injuries.

Melfina wasn’t afraid to go out into the fields. She never involved herself directly in farming, respecting the boundaries of the peasants. For someone who disliked getting dirty with soil, who would have expected her to come from a cobblestone city?

Melfina always tied her hair neatly and wore high-quality white clothes made of linen or cotton.

However, when Cedric pointed out her injuries, upon closer inspection, her glossy hair was so disheveled it was almost unrecognizable, and her white dress, covered by an overcoat, was torn and dirty in places.

It was hard to say she lived like a noblewoman, but her essence was that of a truly noble woman. Even if she looked simple, she clothed herself in the finest garments, with flawless skin and glossy hair, embodying the image of an aristocratic woman.

It was unthinkable for her to be seen with dirt or grime, let alone with injuries.

Nid now realized how the knights had managed to restrain their anger.

Nid was born a serf. He lacked education, and he wondered what Eli saw in him. By marrying her and exchanging words with her, he had become the leader of the serf village, but fundamentally, he was still a laborer who worked hard every day for his livelihood. His thoughts and values were completely different from those of Cedric, a knight.

Even so, Nid wasn’t sure if he could have restrained his anger if he were in Cedric’s position.

“If it weren’t for our admiration for Lady Melfina, knights and serfs would never understand each other’s thoughts.”

Melfina was a mysterious person. Despite her noble status, she never acted superior. When she spoke with people, she always asked for their names and addressed them by their names.

The people of the lord’s mansion, the residents of Melto Village, and probably even those from Enkar Village—all seem enamored with that iron-willed yet slightly oblivious lord.

“Good work. Isn’t it about time to rest?”

A voice from behind greeted him, hands gently resting on his shoulders. Nid overlapped his hands with the ones on his shoulders and thought the thick gloves were rather clumsy.

“It’s chilly in the mornings and evenings. You should keep warm.”

“I’m fine. This is my fourth delivery, and I’m feeling good this time.”

In a hushed voice, Eli whispered so as not to disturb the morning air.

“It might be time to inform the lord as well.”

“Yeah, before my belly starts showing too much, I want to let him know.”

“And we can tell Rod and Rena that they’ll have a little brother or sister.”

Eli’s soft, happy voice warmed Nid from deep within his chilled body.

The child born before Rod had never grown up, and one day had simply turned cold.

Still, occasionally, Nid dreamed of the tiny, desiccated infant.

Rod had suffered from stomach troubles since infancy, each episode chilling Eli and him with a cold, foreboding fear.

“The child born next year will grow up in a prosperous village from the very beginning.”

“We should work harder. For Eli, Rod, Rena, and the children to come, so they can have an even brighter future.”

The people of Enkar knew well how hope could empower and sustain.

“Shall we make breakfast? There’s plenty to do today.”

“Yes, let’s. We need to deliver food to the meeting hall as well.”

Nid glanced once more at the meeting hall and then gazed farther into the distance.

The dazzling sun began to illuminate the fields that stretched to the horizon.

For the people living in this land, Melfina was the very essence of light.

Surely, that light now brightens even those who are nestled together, sleeping in the meeting hall.