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This was said a long time ago.
For a territory to thrive in peace, the people’s support comes first. After that come military strength and enough food to keep everyone fed.
For years, the problems left behind by the previous lord had plagued the entire territory, both within and without.
Inside the city, nobles like Carnegie schemed behind the scenes. Outside, its perilous location left it caught between the Demon Clan and the Beastfolk.
Forget about long-term expansion. Simply keeping the city from falling was already a remarkable achievement.
In recent years, the Empress’s rise to power had improved women’s status. Women were stronger overall than men, but it had been no more than twenty years since things began to change.
Twenty years could change a lot—and still leave plenty unchanged…
Carnegie was a perfect example.
He acted perfectly obedient in front of you, but who knew what shady business he was up to behind your back…
The worst part was knowing all of it and still being powerless to interfere… The city was stuck out in the countryside, right where the borders of the Beastfolk, the Demon Clan, and the Merfolk met. There was no one useful in the city or its surroundings…
She’d been forced into it.
She’d had no choice but to let those people get away with it…
But now, everything was all right.
Thanks to a mysterious person who might or might not be an enemy, the internal threat in the city had been dealt with. Alice had finally begun putting her long-delayed plans to develop the territory into action.
Only by successfully developing the territory and growing stronger could she gain a greater say when dealing with outsiders.
Only then could she persuade the Empress to revoke her decree and stop that man from pestering her…
And only then could she make up for the mistake she’d made when she first took the position of city lord…
That was why she’d come here.
To go among the people and help them!
Winning back the people’s support was the first step in developing her territory!
She had to clean up the mess Carnegie had left behind as quickly as possible—and make things better than before.
She’d made up her mind. Before getting started, she’d also learned as much as she could from Rosetti about the situation and what she needed to know, and prepared herself thoroughly.
But when she actually tried to put it into practice…
“Thank you for your concern, my lord. There’s nothing I need your help with.”
“Thank you, my lord. We’re doing just fine.”
“I’m sorry, my lord…”
…
“Wait, that’s not what I…”
She stood there all alone, like an ugly duckling abandoned by its mother, lonely and with no one to lean on.
She’d spent half the day walking around Bota City. Forget helping the people or winning their support—
More than half the townsfolk ran the moment they saw her… Forget helping them; she couldn’t even manage a simple conversation.
Alice had gone from full of confidence to utterly crushed by the harsh reality, all in less than half a day…
Sitting with her legs together by the river, she’d taken off her heavy armor and tossed it aside. Alice had completely shut herself off.
Why wouldn’t anyone talk to her?
Was her face really that terrifying?
She’d lost confidence… To hit a wall just as she’d started trying was a serious blow for anyone.
Especially someone as proud as Alice…
She’d doubted it before, but now it seemed that person had been completely right…
“Meli… You were right. I really am not cut out to be a city lord…”
She thought back to the words she’d heard years ago, just after inheriting the position of city lord. A bitter, self-mocking smile crept onto Alice’s lips.
She gently brushed aside the golden strands drifting across her fair, rosy cheek and gazed at the emerald-green lake, its surface rippling with reflected light…
Alice felt numb.
As she stared at the lake, her eyes slowly closed before she even realized it.
Maybe sleep was the only thing that could make her feel a little better, free of all her worries.
That was what she thought…
“Yo-ho-ho! I didn’t expect to find the city lord slacking off here, too. Looks like we’ve got something in common.”
“Lin Ge?! What are you doing here?”
At some point, Lin Ge had come to stand beside her.
Alice froze, then instinctively started to get up.
But before she could, Lin Ge sat down beside her, set his fish basket to one side, and picked up his fishing rod.
“I came to fish. There’s nothing else to do at home, anyway.”
“Hah. Is that so…”
Alice’s eyes flicked up and down as she sized Lin Ge up. He had a whole set of gear just for fishing, and she couldn’t help sneering at him.
With money to spare like that, he could at least think about helping make up the budget shortfall. This man really was awful in every way.
But then she thought about how their marriage was only for show, and how the dowry he’d brought had already gone toward funding the war against the Beastfolk… In the end, he really had no reason—personal or otherwise—to get involved in the city’s affairs…
That was true… But no matter how you looked at it, he was still incredibly irritating.
Not wanting to stay there any longer, Alice picked up her sword and armor and got to her feet.
“You can’t rush things. If something’s impossible from the start, no amount of effort will help. Instead of wasting your time and energy on a thankless task, you might as well take a break. Don’t you think, my dear city-lord wife?”
Lin Ge turned around, a faint, friendly smile on his gentle, pretty face.
“You…”
That smile was infuriating, yet she couldn’t come up with a single retort. Alice gritted her teeth and sat back down.
Forcing her lips into a defiant smile, she said:
“Heh. You’re right. If you know you’ll fail and still go charging ahead like an idiot, you’re just wasting time and energy.”
“Right? You seem to understand.”
“But nothing’s certain. Giving up without even trying, without making the slightest effort to hold on to that last bit of hope—that’s what I’d call truly pathetic. Don’t you think, my de~ar hus~band?”
“Mm-hmm. That’s a fair point.”
Lin Ge nodded with a smile. He didn’t argue.
Alice raised an eyebrow and bared her teeth in irritation.
“You really are an infuriating man.”
“Haha, you flatter me. I could never compare to you, my dear city-lord wife. You’ve been rejected so many times, and you still haven’t given up. I really admire you.”
“You saw that?”
Alice froze. Then her eyes narrowed, and her hand tightened around the hilt of her sword…
What Lin Ge said next would decide whether she made a move.
“I just happened to be passing by. But you’ve only just returned from the front lines, and you went straight to work without even resting. Aren’t you tired?”
“I don’t need your concern. I know what I’m doing.”
She lowered her hand, turned her face away, and gave a cold snort. Now that he’d called her out, Alice didn’t bother putting on a pleasant face for him.
“Heh. You’re pretty tough,” Lin Ge said with a faint smile. “Are all the women in this world like that?”
“It’s not that all the women in this world are like that. You’re just too lazy.”
She picked up a small stone and threw it into the lake before her. Under the crushing pressure, Alice let out everything she’d only ever said in private:
“If you hadn’t spouted nonsense in front of Her Majesty back then, things wouldn’t have turned out like this… If it weren’t for you, I’d have secured the Empress’s funding by now! This is all your fault!”
