At this point, if she had to borrow money, the only option was to ask someone she had connections with.

Alice did have a half-sister on her father's side, but... she disappeared the very day Alice became city lord. No one knew whether she was alive or dead...

As for her other relatives, every last one of them was shamelessly opportunistic, throwing their weight around whenever they had someone powerful backing them.

They'd been that way even in her father's generation. There was no point considering them.

That left just one person she had connections with: her fiancé, Lin Ge.

Count DeWitt, with one of the largest fortunes and strongest forces among the 108 nobles, should have plenty of money to lend them.

Alice had also heard that the new city lord Count DeWitt had recently appointed was one of Lin Ge's older sisters.

If that rumor was true, then he and this sister of his should be on fairly good terms.

If Lin Ge stepped in, she ought to be able to borrow the money from her.

But, but, but...

How could Alice possibly lower her head and ask Lin Ge for help?

Before that, there was what went without saying. And just a few hours ago, she'd even given him a tongue-lashing. If she swallowed her pride and begged him now...

Even without thinking too hard, Alice could picture his smug, triumphant face—and how badly she'd want to punch it.

She might not be able to stop herself from beating him into a swollen mess.

So asking Lin Ge for help had never been an option in the first place!

She, Alice, would sooner starve to death, fail to come up with a single solution, or jump right off this place than ever bow her head to that man...

...

“Since we were husband and wife, at least for a time, I hereby grant you permission to borrow money from Count DeWitt. You should be proud...”

“...”

“Aaaah, no! Who asks for help while acting so high and mighty?”

She snapped out of her utterly insincere practice bow and request.

Alice grabbed at her hair in frustration and let out a helpless roar.

In the end... faced with the cold, hard truth, Alice was defeated. No matter how long she thought about it, asking Lin Ge for help was the only workable solution.

Since it had come to this, she at least had to keep up a strong front while asking.

She absolutely couldn't let him look down on her.

She practiced with that in mind, but... it came out like the scene above.

That ridiculously arrogant way of asking would irritate anyone—not just Lin Ge, but Alice herself.

Who would ever agree to help if she asked like that?

Then should she try to be a little more humble?

That wouldn't work either.

Once someone showed weakness, all the authority they'd built up would vanish. And after that...

Alice was certain Lin Ge would never take her seriously again. And if things went badly, he might even steal her entire domain out from under her.

She absolutely couldn't let that happen.

In that case...

What was she supposed to do?

Unable to reach a conclusion, she paced back and forth, over and over.

There was no other way. Alice could only keep practicing.

She had to come up with a way to keep her dignity and command respect, while still making Lin Ge genuinely willing to help.

And so, Alice started practicing again.

“Please, Lin Ge. For the future of Bota City, you have to...”

“Lady Alice, it's time for dinner. What are you... doing?”

“R-Ro-Rose, what is it?”

She'd accidentally run right into her best friend, Rosetti.

Alice hurriedly scrambled back to the lord's desk, flustered. But... was she too late?

“Lady Alice, what were you doing just now? I thought I heard you calling Lin Ge.”

“Ahem, y-you must've heard wrong. I've been reviewing documents this whole time.”

“But you were clearly standing...”

“Rose, it's so late. What do you need?”

Alice hurriedly cut Rosetti off, throwing caution to the wind. If she let her keep asking questions, she'd definitely give herself away.

After all, lying was what Alice was worst at.

“It's time for dinner. It's good to work hard, but you can't forget to eat.”

Rosetti's voice was full of helpless, affectionate indulgence as she set the tray in her hands down in front of Alice.

Seeing the two steaming dishes and bowl of soup before her, Alice finally realized how hungry she was.

Her stomach let out a rhythmic rumble.

How embarrassing.

“Ahem, sorry to trouble you.” Alice looked apologetic. “You already have so many children to look after, and now you're worrying about me, too.”

“Please don't say that. Assisting you is part of my job, Lady Alice.”

Rosetti gently shook her head, then pouted and said in a slightly sulky tone:

“Besides... those little brats don't need me to look after them... They all cling to Lin Ge. I wanted to, too...”

“Lin Ge?!” Alice frowned. “What's going on with Lin Ge?”

“Ah, it's nothing. Anyway, Lady Alice, you'd better eat before it gets cold.”

Blushing a little, Rosetti gave an awkward chuckle and urged Alice on as she handed her a spoon.

Alice tilted her head, puzzled. She'd noticed Rosetti acting strangely all day.

There were so many questions she wanted to ask.

But she should fill her stomach first.

Well, she'd have to admit, dinner smelled pretty good today.

And the aroma seemed completely new to her.

Alice scooped up a spoonful of thick soup, with what looked like onion and some unfamiliar vegetables in it, and cautiously took a small sip.

“Hm?! This soup...”

As the soup went down, Alice's clear eyes widened in surprise.

She stared at the soup in her hand, unable to say a word.

After a while... she hurriedly took several more sips, then stood there, stunned.

“Lady Alice, this soup... is it not to your taste?” Rosetti asked carefully.

“Oh, no. It's delicious! I was just wondering what it's made of. We shouldn't have ingredients like this in our territory... And what about this? What is this red, sticky thing?”

Alice pointed at a steamed sweet potato, her face full of confusion.

It looked a little familiar, but she couldn't remember where she'd seen it before.

“The soup is made with grated potatoes. And this is just a sweet potato steamed over water. Both of them came with the compensation the beastfolk sent us today.”

“You mean these were made from those dark, dirty-looking things?”

Alice couldn't hide her shock. Who would've thought food made from such unimpressive things could taste this good?

She swallowed, then hurriedly wolfed down the soup and devoured the sweet potato.

A pleasant warmth spread through her.

She'd been city lord for so long, yet this was the first time she'd ever tasted food this delicious.

Still, something about this felt a little off...

“Wait. You're saying those dark, dirty-looking things were potatoes and sweet potatoes?”

Alice asked again, hoping she'd heard wrong.

But reality always seemed to have it in for her...

“Yes. And the one who cooked them was— I mean, Lin Ge.”

“What?! You're saying Lin Ge made these?!”

“To be precise, he taught the cook how to make them. That man is unbelievably lazy, after all...”

Rosetti let out a deep, helpless sigh.

Meanwhile, Alice's thoughts were in turmoil...