Chapter 15

"To the head of the family, esteemed."

"How have you been since we last corresponded?"

"I have a message I wish to convey to you..."

The letter, which seemed to have every honorific phrase imaginable stuffed into it, was surprisingly written in round, neat handwriting.

The indentations pressed through to the back of the paper were noticeable to the touch.

"..."

The Duke’s lips curled slightly into a faint smile.

The pressure from the letter’s indentations made him imagine the person who must have been writing it, pressing hard on the pen as they wrote each word.

As the Duke read through the letter, one word at a time, the administrative officer in charge of supplies was busy answering the soldiers’ questions, who had gathered around in a frenzy.

"Yes, this is indeed the supply wagon for this shipment."

"But this is poison! No matter how hungry we are, how can we eat poisonous plants that will give us stomach pains?"

"They say there’s an antidote. According to the enclosed instructions on consumption and preparation…"

"Just like that?"

The soldiers whispered among themselves, not hiding their anxiety.

"Do you think the antidote in the stem will really work?"

"What if the consumption method is wrong? I’d rather die by an enemy's sword than by getting diarrhea from something so disgusting..."

"Ugh, dying of diarrhea would be the worst!"

"Such a terrible death—"

"Alright, quiet down!" The supply officer shouted loudly.

"This method was discovered by our Lady Aslan! Everyone stay calm—"

The supply officer worked hard to disseminate the method of consuming Tuberosum, but the soldiers’ anxiety was not so easily quelled.

"Lady Aslan...? I’ve never seen her."

"Don’t you know? She’s been sickly since childhood and has been staying in the capital for treatment. She must be around eight years old now?"

"What? Eight years old? Should we really trust the words of such a child?"

Whispers spread.

Despite the whispers, the soldiers parted quickly as the Duke approached.

"…"

The soldiers instinctively trembled even from a distance, still not accustomed to the overwhelming presence of the Duke, a lion beastkin.

As he passed the soldiers, the Duke reached out and grabbed a Tuberosum from the cart.

‘So this is from her.’

For a moment, the Duke’s gaze drifted in the direction of the castle.

And then, the next moment…

"Ugh…!"

The soldiers gasped in surprise as they saw the Duke toss the Tuberosum into his mouth without hesitation.

Just as they had feared, the Duke demonstrated the exact same method of consumption they had been doubting, leading the soldiers to feel deeply moved.

‘Our Duke is putting our fears to rest…!’

It wasn’t just the Duke’s overwhelming presence that made the soldiers bow their heads; it was his genuine care for them that inspired loyalty from the heart.

The soldiers who had hesitated to approach the cart filled with Tuberosum now took it freely, following the Duke’s example.

From a short distance, the Duke’s subordinates spoke in admiration.

"As expected…! The Duke calmed the fears of so many soldiers in an instant."

"Truly, our Lord!"

One of the subordinates, looking proud, suddenly posed a new question.

"By the way, it’s odd that the warehouse caught fire. Who could have done this?"

"Well..." Most people didn’t have any idea of the culprit.

‘There’s no clear evidence yet, but thinking about the treatment the Duke has been receiving from above... could it be...?’

A few who had a faint sense of something behind the incident kept quiet, not daring to voice their suspicions.

"Anyway, whoever did it really startled us."

"The food reserves were already running low, and if the warehouse had burned and we couldn’t receive any reinforcements... that would have been a disaster."

"It would have been a huge crisis."

"We would have had no choice but to retreat."

At someone’s blunt remark, a chill ran down everyone’s spine.

"Ugh..."

"Just imagining it is terrifying."

"Really. We were so close to winning, and now we’re stuck in a situation where we might have to retreat because of a lack of supplies..."

"Why think so dramatically? Retreat? Our army is undefeated!"

"Exactly. The Golden Lion leading us would never let that happen!"

"Long live the bravery of the lion!"

"Long live!"

The Golden Lion knights, their blood now boiling, raised their swords with pride.

The mood shifted, lightened by their spirited shouts.

But then, one of the youngest knights, shivering in discomfort, spoke up.

"I really never want to experience something like this again."

Hunger was a memory no one ever wanted to repeat.

Facing the crisis of dwindling supplies, the soldiers, their commanders, and even the Duke, shared the burden of the situation.

Meaning...

‘One meal a day. Never again!’

The past week had been an incredibly difficult time for even the knights, whose bodies required a high amount of caloric intake.

For those like the large northern knights, who needed even more than the average, "one meal a day" had been especially excruciating.

"That was an unexpected solution, but I’m glad it worked."

Phew.

Sighs of relief were heard from the soldiers, their faces now brightened.

"All thanks to our Lady Aslan, right?"

"Ah, our Lady, who, at the age of eight, went off to the capital to recover her health?"

"To think she discovered something like this at just eight years old."

Is she a genius?

The soldiers’ faces lit up with admiration.

"She might become a great scholar in the future."

"She’s a rare talent in the north!"

"Yeah. The rest of us are all muscle-headed."

"Wow. You speak like you're not one of them."

As the knights bantered, the officers also joined in.

"Anyway, it’s undoubtedly a groundbreaking discovery. To have made such a significant research achievement at such a young age."

"Such a young genius... I wonder who she will become?"

‘Maybe she’ll bring a new wind to our northern lands...’

From this point forward, a sense of affectionate curiosity began to grow in the hearts of the subordinates for their "Lady."

***

In the largest tent in the camp.

The Duke sat at his desk, silently rereading the letter.

He had gone over the contents of the single page multiple times.

"...Therefore, according to the enclosed instructions for consumption, there is no harm to the body."

"I only hope this letter might offer a small amount of help to the esteemed commander of the kingdom's defense."

"Please, take care."

"With the same great respect as the Northern Mountains and the vast Aslan estate."

The Duke lingered on the final part of the letter.

"Beatty Aslan."

The name, written in the same round handwriting, was pressed deeply onto the paper.

"Beatty."

The Duke’s thick fingers lightly traced the name.

***

A short while earlier, when the letter was being written in the Duke’s office:

"‘Respect is always compared to something large and towering,’ you say?"

Beatty flipped through the books Johanna had brought her.

"Letter Writing of History and Tradition."

"Noble Letter Writing: Everything You Need to Know."

"A Collection of Magical Phrases for Writing Surrender Letters Without Humiliating Yourself."

The books, though dense and difficult to get through, contained useful information.

‘Something tall... the Northern Mountains are the tallest, right?’

Scratch, scratch.

‘"Majestic"? I’ll use it next to the family name…’

Scratch, scratch.

Beatty carefully wrote down the difficult, flowery words she found to make her letter sound impressive.

In the end, her letter became increasingly formal, polite, and almost incomprehensibly complex.

"...With the utmost respect. Beatty Aslan."

After finishing the letter with a flourish, Beatty raised her arms in triumph.

"Well done, Lady."

Johanna, watching Beatty struggle, smiled warmly as she collected the letter on a tray.

Beatty, now with a proud smile on her face, looked out at the setting sun.

"Everyone else has gone out for the gathering work, right?"

"Yes. We’ve roughly divided the sections."

Beatty bit her lip, feeling her chest swell with pride.

‘They’ve followed my solution... so many people are working based on my plan.’

Her heart raced with excitement at her first achievement.

"I’ll go too!"@@novelbin@@

"Excuse me?"

"I’ll go help too!"

Beatty clenched her fists in excitement, ready to run out.

But—

"Where do you think you’re going?"

A single finger stopped her as she tried to run.

"?"

Beatty looked up at her older brother, and he smiled mischievously.

"It’s time for you to sleep, little one."