Chapter 36.1

Arina’s biological mother and the former Grand Duchess Mary was said to have died of illness when Arina was very young.

And the former Northern Grand Duke Baikal never remarried until the day he died.

His deep love for the late Grand Duchess Mary played a significant role in this, as well as several political and superstitious reasons.

‘But behind the scenes, what couldn’t he have done? A high-ranking nobleman losing his wife early and living in solitude? That’s unbelievable.’

At a glance, the age difference between Mary and Arina didn’t seem very significant. At most, two years?

‘An illegitimate child! She was an illegitimate child! The Grand Witch of the Snowfield, Mary, was an illegitimate child of the Renslet Grand Duchy!’

At last, everything felt like pieces of a puzzle snapping into place.

‘Come to think of it, the former Grand Duke Baikal was quite remarkable. Not only did he have a daughter first, but he managed to have two children!’

This was something I only learned after arriving at the High Tower.

The Renslet Grand Duchy had long been known for having very few descendants.

To the point where one might wonder if it was cursed, the lineage had consistently produced only single sons for generations, and not one of the past Grand Dukes or Grand Duchesses lived long lives.

‘Looks like it wasn’t a curse after all. Just a terrible jinx that the former Grand Duke Baikal managed to break.’

I couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

‘That explains why Mary was relatively free from the witches’ rules.’

Still, it was odd. To give an illegitimate child a name based on his late wife’s nickname? The former Grand Duke Baikal seemed to have quite an eccentric streak.

‘So, that’s how the Grand Witch of the Snowfield, Mary, became a unifying figure for the Northern Resistance!’

In the original timeline, the Grand Witch of the Snowfield, Mary, didn’t appear in the North until much later.

That was 20 years after Arina and the high-ranking knights went missing in the Demonic Realm.

‘Why she stayed quiet for 20 years, why she didn’t reveal her true identity… that mystery remains unsolved.’

Well, it didn’t matter now that history had completely changed.

‘Wait a minute. Doesn’t Arina have a second circle on her heart? Hold on, could it be that Mary and Arina are…? Nah, that’s absurd.’

For a moment, I wondered if Arina and Mary might be the same person, but that thought quickly sank to the bottom of my list of possibilities.

No matter how unique Arina was, imagining a Grand Duchess lowering herself to join as a low-level employee was far-fetched.

This wasn’t some reality TV show like Undercover Boss.

“Hmm! But I do understand the boss’s intentions.”

While I was lost in thought about the original timeline, Mary suddenly cleared her throat as if to regain her composure and spoke.

“If we spread this fertilizer, the land’s fertility will recover, and crops will grow abundantly, correct?”

“That’s right. They’ll grow well even in harsh climates. It’ll allow farming on more land than ever before.”

“Really?!”

“I guarantee it.”

“!!”

Arina became excited, as if this were her personal accomplishment. It further confirmed my suspicions about her being an illegitimate child of the Grand Duchy.

“If that’s true, the name of the late Grand Duchess will resonate even more deeply with the people. Grand Duchess Maryna is already remembered as the ‘Mother of the North,’ beloved by the people.”

“Does she really remember that fondly?”

“Oh, you don’t seem to know. She’s the one who implemented the current low tax rates. She also restricted estate taxes for Northern nobles and abolished toll fees.”

“……!”

“That’s why it would be a shame to let her legacy go to waste. We could evoke the people’s nostalgia and admiration, boosting loyalty at the same time… if only it weren’t just fertilizer.”

She seemed genuinely regretful as she said this.

“Hmm… Hearing that, it really does seem like a missed opportunity.”

I felt the same. As someone tasked with developing the North to protect it from the Empire, I knew winning the hearts of the Northerners was crucial.

‘Isn’t there some way to make the most of this…? Let’s see, a solution… there it is.’

After a brief moment of thought, I recalled a marketing example from Earth and, with a spark of inspiration, turned to Mary.

“Then how about this?”

“Do you have a solution?”

“In cases like this, we typically add a narrative or storytelling element to the product to promote it. It’s called going viral.”

“Viral… what?”

“I’ll draft a more detailed plan and explain later. I think we’ll need the Grand Duchess’s permission too.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Understood.”

For now, I didn’t want to get ahead of myself. Not only was I still cautious about fully trusting Mary, but I also needed Arina’s approval as the Grand Duchess.

“Let’s take the completed detector and this fertilizer outside.”

Instead, we decided to carry the detector and fertilizer, both completed sooner than expected, out for testing.

“By the way, aren’t you hungry?”

Just then, it occurred to me that we hadn’t had a proper meal yet.

Since the work had wrapped up early, we had some time to spare for a quick meal and break.

“Yes, I am hungry!”

Mary’s eyes lit up with anticipation as she nodded eagerly at my question.

‘I feel a bit guilty. I should’ve let her take breaks and provided snacks while she was working.’

Her enthusiastic response made me feel like a ruthless employer, weighed down by an unearned sense of guilt.

“Well, I need to eat too. Let’s eat together.”

“Yes!”

Gulp!

The sound of her swallowing her saliva echoed as if she had been waiting for this moment.

‘What should I cook this time?’

Her eager reaction ignited my culinary instincts.

‘Thanks to Arad salt, my name’s already famous. Expectations will be high.’

Providing good meals is a fundamental part of worker welfare.

I had never seen a well-run company skimp on that.

‘I need to prepare a special dish to reward her hard work. What should it be?’

My mind began racing.

‘Time’s tight, and we can’t prepare anything too elaborate….’

The dining room and kitchen were located on the second floor of the building.

And on the second floor, there was an otherworldly version of a refrigerator that used ice-attribute magic stones. I mentally reviewed the ingredients stored there.

‘Perfect! This’ll do nicely.’

With the menu decided, I told Mary to wait on the first floor before heading upstairs.

Roughly 40 minutes later.

‘What on earth is he making?’

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