Yunho sat in the lounge, reading a book. He had told the servants to take it easy the past couple of weeks since there wasn't much to do anyway. So, the lodge was quiet with only the occasional sound of light conversation. The scene was peaceful and warm, but Yunho's expression was anything but.
His eyebrows were furrowed, and he seemed to be between frustration and contemplation. Yunho sighed and flipped the page.
Janine and Aris walked past the scene with inquisitive eyes. Janine leaned in to Aris and quietly whispered to her, "Is the Young Master alright? I walked by about half an hour ago, and he was doing the exact same thing."
Aris hummed. "I think he's only flipped three pages since the time he sat down. I don't know what's troubling him so much…"
The two girls looked at each other and back at their brooding young master.
"He's been like this since he came back from that event a couple weeks ago…"
Aris rubbed her chin before an idea came to her. "I know! Maybe he just needs to go out again. We young people like having fun, but young master Iris doesn't go out very often. A trip to a local village would be nice."
Janine and Aris continued softly chatting as they eventually walked out of the lounge.
—
"Ugh!"
Yunho inwardly groaned.
"It doesn't even matter that much, but I can't stop thinking about it."
He kept on thinking about that evening. It had already been a few weeks, but Yunho still couldn't figure out why the Grand Duke had acted the way he did.
Yunho sighed.
"No point in overthinking…"
Yunho looked back down at the book in his hands and tried to read a page.
"Young master, there's a letter for you," the butler called out.
The older man soon entered the lounge and handed the letter to Yunho.
Yunho thanked the butler who quickly took his leave, leaving Yunho alone to look over the letter.
On the back of the envelope was tight cursive that read:
"From: the House of Evastine"
Yunho felt a slight pang of disappointment that he couldn't quite explain but opened the letter nevertheless.
The letter wasn't long. Its contents read:
"Dear, my son, trust that your father received your letter last week. The potential deal with the Augustine household is very promising, and I have reached out to the Count. I trust that you are doing well up in the North. I hope you get a strong foothold on business matters through your experience there."
Signed, the Count de Evastine.
Yunho sighed and folded the letter back into the envelope. After talking to Clark de Augustine, Yunho decided to send his father a letter about the opportunity. It was technically the first business he'd done since he moved to the northern lodge.
"Ahem, young master."
Yunho turned around and saw Aris standing behind him. She had a determined glint in her eyes.
"Of course, I don't mean to impose. But I couldn't help but notice you haven't been in the best spirits these days. There's a town not too far from here that I've heard has a really robust shopping district."
Yunho was a little embarrassed. He didn't know it was obvious. A certain person's words came to his mind again.
"You're not very good at masking your expression."
Yunho inwardly groaned once more. Going somewhere did sound nice. Fresh air probably would do him some good.
"Thank you, Aris. That does sound nice."
–-
Yunho fiddled with the gloves on his hands as he watched the landscape roll by outside the carriage window.
He had agreed with Aris's suggestion and decided to take the butler and Aris on the excursion. Yunho had initially wanted Nym to come along as well, but the servant boy was already planning to spend the day napping and writing letters back home.
Aris was sitting beside the butler, across from Yunho. She looked more excited than Yunho to be going to this town.
"Well, it's been a while since she's accompanied me somewhere where they can actually participate in the fun." Yunho thought.
"Well, actually, thinking back on the celebration party and then the soiree, I'm not sure if fun is the best word… Embarrassing and/or stressful are maybe better descriptors."
Yunho chuckled to himself.
Both Aris and the butler looked at him when he did this.
"..."
I'm not crazy, I swear!
But, Aris wasn't concerned with that.
"See? You already look less stressed!" Aris chirped.
Yunho was a little surprised but smiled at the servant girl's enthusiasm.
—
The carriage slowed down to a halt.
"We've arrived!" The coachman announced.
The butler was the first to get out of the carriage and turned to help Yunho and Aris out.
Aris's feet quickly found footing, and the butler turned to Yunho with his hand outstretched.
Yunho was reminded of when he went shopping for winter clothes, and the butler helped him out of the carriage.
It hadn't been very long since he had been transmigrated, so the act was alien to him.
But now, it didn't surprise him at all. Crazy how much had changed in such little time.
Yunho smiled and took the old man's hand, letting himself be guided to the stone roads of the town.
Yunho turned to Aris.
"What did you say this town was called again?"
"Its official name is Eders, but it's known for being a considerably large commerce center despite being a bit far out," Aris replied.
Yunho nodded and looked around. There were market stands and multiple shops all around the stone town square. People bustled around carrying goods and chatting.
There was so much to look at that Yunho didn't know where to go first.
"Well, let's start walking around. Rizer, you brought some coins, right?" Yunho asked the older man who nodded in reply.
So, the three began their exploration of the vast marketplace.
Eders had a good selection of products, and over the afternoon, Yunho had bought a few items for himself and gifts for the servants like a necklace for Marella and cufflinks for Mr. Rizer.
But after all the walking outside, Yunho was looking for a shop where he could take a rest.
He spotted a large building that was seemingly a clothing store.
It had an entrance sign that read: "Windy Days Clothing Store"
"Let's go there. Haven't we been walking for a while?" Yunho suggested, pointing at the store.
Aris looked at where he was pointing, and her eyes widened.
"Ah, that's the store I've heard about! My friend a while back had this beautiful dress, and she said she got it from this store!" She exclaimed.
They had some coins left over, and Yunho was just tired of being outside for so long. So, into Windy Days Clothing Store, they went.
The clothing store wasn't made with the same aristocratic audience in mind as the last one, and had a more relaxed approach. Clothes were simply placed on display without clear divisions for different categories.
Yunho wasn't against it though. It made the atmosphere more casual, and he didn't feel like he was being monitored.
There were a few other people in the store, a couple of women browsing and a young man chatting with the lady at the checkout desk.
Aris was already buzzing around looking at shelves, and the butler was trying to keep an eye on both her and his young master at the same time.
Yunho just found the nearest seat and plopped himself down. He wasn't really looking for any new clothes, and nothing in the shop interested him anyway.
"Have you heard what's happening at the border between us and Bahit these days? A friend of mine lives there, and I received a letter from him yesterday."
The seat was close to the checkout station, so the conversation between the women behind the counter and the young man was within earshot. The man was the one who just spoke, and Yunho's interest was piqued.
The lady tilted her head inquisitively.
"No, I haven't… but things haven't ever been particularly good over there…"
The man sighed.
"Yes, but the Bahitan army has started to encroach on the border, plus there's been some recent escalations. There's even been talk of a full-blown war."
The woman began to respond, but their conversation was cut off by another woman coming over to the counter to ask about prices.
Yunho was disappointed he couldn't hear more, but he also felt like he didn't need to.
"War, huh?" Yunho quietly said to himself.
A sense of unease washed over him suddenly.
The War between Bahit and Lucivia was the key arc in the novel. It was a ruthless war between the two nations, but it was not only over territory.
There was a separate scheme from multiple less favored princes and some other nobles to nip the growing power of the crown prince's faction in the kingdom in the bud, before Nikolai could officially inherit.
They purposely inflamed the relations along the border to urge Bahit to invade. A war would certainly damage the Northern Grand Duke's military and cause the public to lose confidence in the current ruling family, leaving them vulnerable to a coup. Especially since the crown prince was a part of the Lucivian force, deciding to fight alongside the Grand Duke.
Before, it was all only words on a page. But now, it was his reality.
Yunho took a deep breath, and a new fire burned brightly in his heart.
In the novel, Irene joined the war efforts on the frontlines, using her magic to assist in the battle, her wits to think of strategies, and her status as high priestess to ease the public's worries.
Combined with the military power of the Northern Grand Duke and the strategy and skill of the Crown Prince, even without any other help, the war would eventually be won, and the scheme would be found out.
However, as all wars do, the average person would still suffer, especially those near the border. And, the war still lasted for some years. But did it have to?
Because one thing that none of those three had…
was the knowledge of a reader.
The book described the major attacks from the Bahitan army, so Yunho could reasonably predict the Bahitan military plan.
He also already knew successful strategies that the Lucivian army would come to develop later on during the war.
And wouldn't that be a sure way to stop his fate from coming to fruition?
Because who can touch a war hero?
Yunho's thoughts were interrupted as Aris came over, holding a dress in her arms.
"Oh, are you done looking around? The butler has the coins if you want to buy that dress." Yunho said.
Aris's eyes widened.
She knew her young master had become a kind person, but he had already gotten her and the other servants a gift. That was already more than enough for her.
Aris was expecting to leave the store with nothing and only had the dress in her arms so she could hold it for a little while before putting it back.
But he was saying that she could buy it…?
"Really? No, that's too much… buying a dress with the young master's money."
Yunho raised an eyebrow.
"Well, it'd be a waste of time to leave without getting anything, and the coins were brought to be used. Consider it a secondary gift for dealing with me during the Harvest festival and the event for Irene."
Aris fought back a happy tear from falling.
"Thank you."
After buying the dress, they left the clothing store and went on their way back to the carriage, so they could return before it was
late at night.
Yunho now had a determined glint in his eyes.
He knew exactly what he was going to do when they returned to the lodge:
Set plan "Hero" in motion!
First, with a letter to the Northern Grand Duke.
—
End of Chapter 29