My Dream is to Get My Own House - Chapter 72

Episode 72

 

“Why? Why did this duchy fail?”

 

“Originally, there were very few duchy residents. The land is frozen, after all.”

 

“But still…”

 

 

 

As if excited to have a friend to talk to after a long time, the station master took a sip of whiskey and began to speak.

 

 

 

“Until now, everyone worked diligently, but now no one does anything.”

 

 

 

“Um, really? But they still have to work in the future. The Duke Odette, who owns this duchy, will be here soon.”

 

 

 

“Speaking of which, I heard rumors that the Duke has already arrived.”

 

 

 

Why would there be rumors like that when I’m here? As I furrowed my brows in contemplation, the station master nodded nervously.

 

 

 

“Well, I’m on the outskirts of the duchy, so I don’t know the details, but… Even if the Duke comes, he probably won’t care about this duchy. It’s such a remote place.”

 

 

 

No, he is very interested.

 

 

 

“Perhaps he’s very interested? Anyway, thank you for letting me know.”

 

 

 

I cheerfully tore the scroll into pieces. It was a teleportation scroll that could travel about 5 kilometers in radius, personally issued by the emperor.

 

 

 

The station master’s eyes widened in astonishment.

 

“T-teleportation scroll? It’s something only nobles can use…!”

 

 

 

I smiled slyly and waved my hand. My vision flashes white.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

As the emperor disembarked in the Odette Duchy, he also lamented the lack of even a simple castle in the duchy.

 

Building a castle required a considerable budget and time. 

 

Instead, he supported the small cottage he occasionally visited. 

 

The cottage was not large, but it was a precious hideaway nestled between a lake and a mountain.

 

 

 

Upon arriving at the cottage with the torn scroll, I opened my mouth wide in awe.

 

 

 

“Wow…”

 

 

 

I have achieved both my dream of settling down and returning to the countryside. My family also has houses in the capital (though it’s a honeymoon town).

 

 

 

“I succeeded…!”

 

 

 

I succeeded…!

 

I did…!

 

 

 

Perhaps because it was near the mountains, the echo spread.

 

 

 

A new house, and land!

 

In real estate investment, they say land is the ultimate destination.

 

I have succeeded in land investment.

 

If my life were a novel, the title would be <Leaving the clinging family behind, I have succeeded in obtaining my house and cottage, now I shall begin land investment!>.

 

The readers will be envious.

 

The writer too, probably.

 

But this is not a novel; it’s my life.

 

 

 

Feeling ecstatic, I ran towards the cottage.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Unlike Ishael, who was happy all the way, Dylan furrowed his brows slightly.

 

The atmosphere of the cottage given by the emperor was subtly eerie, as if there was not a single person present.

 

He stood guard behind Ishael, who was running ahead joyfully, and surveyed the surroundings.

 

Ishael had already opened the cottage door and entered inside.

 

 

 

But when he followed her inside…

 

 

 

“Dylan, why is no one here?”

 

 

 

As Ishael looked around the cottage with doubt, there were scraps of paper lying on the dusty floor.

 

With a careful expression, Ishael began to read the notes.

 

At that moment, her expression gradually became serious.

 

 

 

“It seems someone has intruded into the Odette Duchy and intimidated the cottage caretaker.”

 

 

 

Ishael handed him a note she was holding in her hand.

 

 

 

Dylan snorted as he read it.

 

 

 

“What kind of trash…”

 

 

 

[Your Grace, Duke of Odette, I am the caretaker of this cottage.

 

We don’t want to die to the Grand Duke Castilla!

 

Please spare us!

 

Please!]

 

 

 

Dylan’s impression twisted in an instant.

 

 

 

Ishael glared at the empty air with fiery eyes and muttered.

 

 

 

“Is this real?”

 

 

 

“It seems fake. The note is placed too randomly.”

 

 

 

“There’s a way to determine its authenticity.”

 

 

 

“…Yes?”

 

 

 

“We can try using purification magic to see if dark magic is involved.”

 

 

 

Ishael placed her hand on the note and attempted purification magic.

 

 

 

But nothing changed.

 

 

 

It meant there was no dark magic.

 

 

 

“…The person who wrote this note seemed sincere.”

 

 

 

Then what should they do?

 

 

 

Ishael pondered and spoke.

 

 

 

“Should we try meeting the Grand Duke Castilla directly? We should find out if they really intimidated our duchy residents first.”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Dylan felt a new emotion as he saw the young, fierce anger in Ishael’s eyes.

 

 

 

It was a sense of injustice.

 

 

 

He had sworn that he didn’t do anything.

 

 

 

After all, Castilla Duchy was a special place.

 

 

 

It was an eternal frozen land where humans could hardly survive until the ice melted.

 

 

 

There were very few people who could even approach him.

 

 

 

All of this was undoubtedly an impersonation and a trap.

 

 

 

But the moment Ishael began to believe in this trap, Dylan felt a fire on his soles.

 

 

 

He quickly and calmly restrained Ishael.

 

 

 

“Ishael, you should detoxify first.”

 

 

 

He said naturally while holding her waist.

 

 

 

“You look quite tired.”

 

 

 

Ishael blinked as if asking what was wrong with his skinship.

 

 

 

“Huh? I’m perfectly fine.”

 

 

 

“If you don’t detoxify, it could lead to death. It’s dangerous.”

 

 

 

Ishael cocked her head.

 

 

 

She had ridden the carriage comfortably.

 

 

 

Moreover, thanks to awakening as a purification magician, she didn’t feel any fatigue at all.

 

 

 

But death?

 

 

 

“It would be better to meet the Grand Duke Castilla later. It’s not in line with the plan…”

 

 

 

Right.

 

 

 

All this situation would widely spread good rumors about him and disrupt the plan to reveal his identity to her.

 

 

 

He stared at Ishael with a determined expression.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

I nodded somewhat absentmindedly.

 

 

 

Come to think of it, he had planned to detoxify and go to the market.

 

 

 

‘He lives his life according to the plan, so I should adapt to him.’

 

 

 

It was also amusing to think about directly going to meet the Grand Duke Castilla out of the blue.

 

 

 

In reality, Grand Duke Castilla was a dangerous person.

 

 

 

She needed to learn more about him and devise a plan before approaching.

 

 

 

“Deciding to lift the curse out of the blue may seem a bit strange.”

 

 

 

The counterpart is Grand Duke Castilla, who is rumored to be violent.

 

One wrong move, and your life could be in danger.

 

As Dylan suggested, I rested well on the bed in the cottage and detoxified.

 

 

 

After about half a day had passed, I sat up in bed and looked down at the map I had brought.

 

Examining the map of the Odette Duchy, given by the emperor, was just an extra precaution.

 

 

 

Casually, Dylan approached me.

 

 

 

“Have you detoxified completely?”

 

 

 

“Oh, yes! There’s a small market near the cottage, and it’s quite substantial for a duchy.”

 

 

 

“Then there should be a grocery store as well.”

 

 

 

“Yes! Let’s go there together, to find out what the situation is.”

 

 

 

No matter how I thought about it, something seemed suspicious.

 

 

 

The market was where all the rumors gathered, so there might be clues related to the suspicious incident.

 

 

 

…And so, we arrived at the market.

 

 

 

“Hmm, the emperor said this market is quite sizable according to the map he sent.”

 

 

 

The market looked quite desolate.

 

 

 

As I wandered through it, I scratched the back of my head with uncertainty.

 

 

 

There was one stall for fruits, one for vegetables, and one for miscellaneous goods.

 

 

 

Even the few existing shops seemed to have closed their doors long ago.

 

 

 

Some even had dusty locks hanging on the doors.

 

 

 

“It’s strange. Is it usually this desolate?”

 

 

 

Anyway, I made my way towards the stall selling vegetables, which was far away.

 

 

 

Once I arrived at the vegetable stall, Dylan showed an impressive side as he carefully examined the prepared ingredients.

 

 

 

“Please give me a bunch of Mangu root with the poison removed.”

 

 

 

“Oh! You are a very conscientious young man.”

 

 

 

Dylan’s cold demeanor stared down the merchant.

 

 

 

Even the experienced merchants couldn’t help but flinch in front of primal fear.

 

 

 

“Well, you see, many people think that Mangu root has poison on the surface, so they avoid eating it altogether.”

 

 

 

“Is that so?”

 

 

 

Dylan’s brows slightly furrowed.

 

 

 

“…Is that so?”

 

 

 

Dylan spoke cautiously.

 

 

 

“It’s fascinating. To not know the taste of Mangu root.”

 

 

 

“…”

 

 

 

“Except for the parts eaten by insects, I’ll take the rest. How much is it?”

 

 

 

While he calculated the price and was about to leave, I couldn’t help but think that Dylan was a cooking expert.

 

 

 

“I’ve never seen Mangu root before!”

 

 

 

“While it can be bitter, if you cook it properly, it can be quite good. It’s a specialty of the northern region, and it goes well in mushroom dishes.”

 

 

 

“Oh, I see. Dylan, you seem to know a lot about the northern region! Is this your hometown?”

 

 

 

Dylan hesitated for a moment before nodding.

 

 

 

“…Yes.”

 

 

 

Perhaps he had some unpleasant memories from his hometown.

 

 

 

He seemed so deep in thought that I held his hand tighter and said, “Let’s hurry and buy the rest of the ingredients!”

 

 

 

We headed straight for the fruit stall.

 

 

 

The sign read “Bunny’s Fruit Stall.”

 

 

 

It seemed the merchant’s name was Bunny.

 

 

 

She was quite chatty compared to the vegetable merchant I met earlier.

 

 

 

“Oh, you must be a couple?”

 

 

 

“Yes.”

 

 

 

“You really suit each other!”

 

I’m starting to handle things more skillfully now.

 

 

 

“Yes, you look good together!”

 

 

 

“Haha, yeah. Since you’re our last customer, it means a lot. I’ll be closing the business soon, so buy quickly!”

 

 

 

Even though it was a small market, it seemed smaller than I had thought. If Bunny closes her fruit stall too, won’t that be a big problem?

 

 

 

Taking on the perspective of a lord overseeing the territory, I casually asked her, “Hmm, why are you closing the business?”

 

 

 

“Because of taxes, of course. The new Duke Odette, who just arrived, imposes heavy taxes!”

 

 

 

Wait, I haven’t asked for any taxes yet. The emperor hasn’t officially handed over the duchy to me either.

 

 

 

“The new Duke Odette? Why?”

 

 

 

“Ugh! Just talking about that person makes me mad! Forced to collect money for her, I can’t stand it!”

 

 

 

When did I do that? I let out a snort.

 

 

 

“What on earth is going on?”

 

 

 

“Oh, young lady, you’re an outsider, aren’t you? But really, what young couple needs to come here? Anyway, you know about Grand Duke Castilla, right?”

 

 

 

“Oh, yes. I know.”

 

 

 

“Did you know that Grand Duke Castilla has awakened and is wandering around?”

 

 

 

She talks about him as if some monster has awakened and is roaming around. At that moment, Dylan clenched his fist.

 

 

 

I looked at him in surprise. Is his aggressive behavior resurfacing? Could there be some dark magic nearby? I looked around, but I didn’t sense anything.

 

 

 

“Am I mistaken?” 

 

I thought.

 

 

 

Dylan met my gaze and smiled warmly again. 

 

“Perhaps I was mistaken.”

 

 

 

I turned my attention back to Bunny and asked, “I see. But what does that have to do with this territory?”

 

 

 

“The new Duke Odette wants to impress Grand Duke Castilla, so she’s trying to entertain the territory’s residents!”