The Little Duchess' Home Tutor (Novel) - V2 C30

Volume 2 Segment 6

Chapter 30 – Pen and Paper. Sometimes, Gold Coins

Translator: Mab

Editor: Kiriyume

Good day everyone. My name is Ema, one of the Four Generals of the Leinster Maid Corps and the president of the Support Felicia-Ojousama Association.

As of then, we were in the large conference room in the residence of the Duke of Leinster in the Southern Capital. Due to the general mobilization order, we had been working on the logistics of the territory and the nobles of the dukedom. 

It had been five days since the start of the war against those shameless principality bunches.

The war situation until now was, of course, that of overwhelming dominance by us.

And while they were much slower than the Duke’s personal army, two Marquises and four Counts sent out their army, although the majority of it advanced towards the Royal Capital instead of the Principality Union. 

And… We, who were in charge of the logistics for all those operations—were in the midst of a carnage. 

“Has the chaos in the railway been resolved?! Perishables might rot in the station!! If that happens, the Leinster name will be tarnished!!!”

“We’ve received heaps of petitions from various families, asking to be sent to the front line! Do something about them!!”

“We need more griffons and flying dragons, ASAP!”

“Listen, okay?! The soldiers in the front line need to be fed nourishing hot meals and bathed every third day!! …The Howards provide their men with nourishing meals, a snack, even an evening meal. They even bathe every other day before the battle even started. We can do the same. We can do it!!!”

…How wonderful.

It feels like a job being done. 

But—it was operating smoothly, far more so than I expected.

After all, with us here, we had this bespectacled girl sitting in a chair much bigger than her own frame, adjudicating one document after another on her desk. She tilted her head slightly when she saw me looking, her hair bouncing in places.

Aah… how lovely…

“Ema-san? Do I have something on my face??”

“Nothing, nothing at all! Felicia-ojousama, I have something to report.”

“??? Ah, oka~y.”

Even when she looked at me, her hands didn’t stop. 

…Once again, today is the fifth day.

Tonight, for sure, I will make her take a bath and sleep in her bed. This is a crisis, as a maiden! 

I’m sure she’d turn it down, but…fu fu fu…I have a secret plan! 

With a pretenseless look on my face, I gave her my report.

“The wheat buyout in the area around the two principalities has been terminated. I suppose that the only thing they have left is within the inventories held by the large merchants in the northeastern part of the union. Part of that, too, has been burned down by Romi-sama. The Water Capital and the Southeast of the union have yet to show any significant movement. However, the price of the wheat market in the union is currently soaring through the roof. What shall we do?”

“Obviously—we sell ours.”

Felicia-ojousama paused and made a firm declaration. 

Her dignified appearance made my peers in the room smile.

The respect and reverence we have for Lidya-ojousama and Linne-ojousama has not changed at all! Not at all!!

But, despite that, when we see Felicia-ojousama’s dignified stature challenging an opponent much more powerful than she is, we… we…

Mister accountant officer, what are you looking at her for? Get back to your work already!

Honestly. If you think you want to speak to Felicia-ojousama, then at least get to Allen-sama’s level.

With a big smile, I saluted our ojou-sama. 

“Understood! We’ll sell at a higher price than—”

“No… Let’s sell at a lower price than the market.”

“?! F-, Felicia-ojousama??”

“But.” 

She fixed her glasses a little then smiled at me.

…Oh dear, that’s an evil face. A very, very evil face. Lord, my nose is about to bleed.

“We will sell at different prices. We sell a little cheaper in the Beisel Principality than in the Atlas Principality. Also, sell the actual goods near the front line instead of at the market. Receive only coins, not bills. Obviously, we sell only to the citizens. By then…we may hear the names of the big merchants leaking out.”

“! I see…if we do that, the wheat market within the union will crash, the big merchants will scream, the military will be in turmoil, and it will cause distrust between the two principalities.”

“—Fumu. That’s interesting. Voss-jou, will you teach me further for future reference? What will be the outcome of this war?”

The former Duke, Lean-sama, who was also approving documents at a similarly tremendous speed next to her, asked her a question. 

“Eh, u-, umm…someone like me shouldn’t dare to…”

“I’ve heard that you have Allen-kun’s seal of approval. If so, then your opinion is tantamount to that of the Brain of the Sword Princess.”

“That’s…I’m not… Demand the Beisal Principality to hand us three seaside towns.”

She stood up then walked over to the war map posted on the wall. She tapped her fingers on the three major cities of the principality: for trading, for naval, and for shipbuilding. Each of them was a port city bordering on the Leinster border. 

If these three cities were lost, the Principality of Beisel would lose a major port. In effect, as a trading nation, it would be as good as dead. 

“And what do we demand of the Principality of Atlas?”

“—Nothing.”

“Hooo. I see, I see. What about the Water Capital and the other principalities? We are winning this war. Both Lisa and Lidya are in low-spirit, but…I’m sure we can demand for indemnities. We could even annex some of their states if we want to.”

“I think we only need one.”

“Fumu. And which one is it?”

Liam-sama and Lisa-sama had granted Felicia-ojousama the same authority as Allen-sama, she was even bestowed the permission to spend as much gold as she wanted as long it didn’t sink Leinster’s foundations.

The wheat buyout operation was part of this, and it was exactly within our prior budget, but… if we sell at a lower price, then the household bears the fallout.

Of course! Needless to say, the results are more than sufficient in light of the impact on the war. War is an expensive business, after all.

Felicia-sama answered simply.

“Let’s get the license to use the Griffon Mail and Flying Dragon Mail within the Beisal Principality. The Union still hasn’t utilized airmail within their territories.”

“…I see. Fufu…fufufu… Everyone, etch her name into your heads! She is Felicia Voss-jou. Someone whose name will be known throughout the continent.”

“Eh, ah, umm? Previous head-sama, sir?”

Before I knew it, everyone within the room had stopped their work to listen to the conversation between Felicia-ojousama and the Grand Master.

Ojou-sama’s scheming look, how fantastic! Thank you very much for the reward. …Hm, it seems like her knees folded in.

Instantly, several maids, including myself, captured her. 

“E-, Ema-san?”

“We can’t have this. Leave the rest to us. Felicia-ojousama, you must first take a bath. After that, please rest until morning.”

“I-, I still have work to—”

“…You will upset Allen-sama.”

“He will cast his eyes down, call your name dismally, and so on, and so forth! After that, he will scold all of us. Allen-sama, scolding us……Felicia-ojousama, you wouldn’t want that to happen, do you?”

“Uuuu… I understand…” 

It’s super effective! I exchanged glances with my comrades.

…Our camaraderie ends here. Between all of us, we must decide who shall attend Felicia-ojousama to the bath! A battle one must never lose!!

The Grand Master chuckled, then let out a sigh. 

“…Voss-jou, do you believe that he is safe?”

“He is a huge meanie, that person. But——”

Felicia-ojousama closed her mouth, as her lips curved into a soft smile. What laid there was conviction.

…Our Ojou-sama is a very strong person.

The Grand Master also smiled.

“Splendid. …I’d expect no less from someone he counts on. I am sure that my wife is probably saying the same thing as you are, with different phrasing—in the Water Capital.”