“Perhaps since it’s the young lady’s birthday, someone wanted to give you a birthday present.”

“I’ve already received gifts from everyone I was supposed to…”

The carriage heading home was full of jewels that Parmes had loaded.

Besides the reconstruction of the Elemental Palace, these were gifts he had prepared for me.

There was also Duke Guermont’s cannon, Lady Alens’s rainbow umbrella, and Duke Siegfried’s three-piece gift set…

Ah, and I received a hair tie with small jewels from Adam.

“Or perhaps it’s from a noble young man who admires you. After all, to give such a gift, they would need to be very wealthy and think of you as someone special.”

I chuckled and shook my head at Adam’s words.

“That’s impossible. Besides His Highness the Crown Prince, I haven’t even spoken with any other noble children.”

Except for Briton, I hadn’t met with any other boys privately.

“Ah, it could be from the members of Lafiole. Those young ladies are all kind and well-disposed toward me.”

“I see. This coin was also used by young lovers to pledge their love during the founding period… That’s why I asked.”

Thinking there was no way that could be the meaning, I put the coin back in its case.

Eventually, I would find out who sent the gift.

I ate the meal brought by the maid while listening to Adam’s next report.

“How are today’s newspaper contents?”

“As you said, His Majesty the Emperor declared the special wartime system order today.”

It was 1 year and 9 months until the Great Famine.

To survive the four-year Great Famine where even a single blade of grass would wither and die, we needed to prepare thoroughly from now.

“Famel Guermont Duke’s war horses carried Duke Siegfried’s scholars and dispersed in four directions. And Lady Alens is said to be summoning the ladies of social circles.”

Everything started step by step.

I began to feel increasingly overwhelmed by the fact that I would be changing the future.

A future where people wouldn’t have to starve to death.

I laid the foundation for it with my own hands.

“But building food warehouses alone isn’t enough. His Majesty must be aware of this point as well.”

Adam made a puzzled expression at my words.

“Not enough…?”

“We need trade with the outside.”

We couldn’t just store away all the grain produced from now on. Perhaps at most half should be stored.

While my red beetroot business would help considerably, it couldn’t completely eliminate four years of hunger.

And in a situation where we couldn’t fully resolve human hunger… it would be even more so for animals and livestock.

“By outside… do you mean other countries?”

“Yes. Foreign countries that can supply us with feed and materials.”

“Feed and materials…”

“These are as important as food. We need to protect the empire’s citizens’ assets, not just barely survive.”

Adam’s eyes sparkled in admiration at my words, as if realizing that the famine’s damage wouldn’t be limited to humans.

“Oh… I see.”

The Albreon Empire’s foreign trade items were mainly luxury goods, crafts, and specialties for nobles, with no exchange of food products.

This was because Albreon already possessed the best food production sites on the continent.

In the end, the lack of food trade until the famine accelerated Albreon’s downfall in the original story.

When they belatedly tried to trade goods, other countries colluded to block it, and eventually Albreon invaded the frontier countries.

However, Albreon’s forces, which lacked even military provisions, had to suffer enormous sacrifices.

Even the food obtained through many soldiers’ deaths wasn’t enough.

“But trade won’t be easy. The Elvis Kingdom is about the only country with enough surplus production capacity to export feed and materials, but relations with them were quite poor during the previous emperor’s reign.”

Adam was right.

There had been conflicts with the Elvis Kingdom during the previous emperor’s reign… Thinking about what happened then, I could understand why the Elvis king was so angry.

“What about the Cardrian Empire or the Yung Kingdom instead? They’re somewhat better than Elvis…”

“The Cardrian Empire requires a month’s journey across the desert. It’s too far for trade. Food would always be exposed to threats from bandits in the desert. And as for the Yung Kingdom…”

I shook my head.

“Their territory is barren and their agricultural technology isn’t developed, so seafood is their staple. They believe in the god of the sea and only catch enough fish to eat. There’s no surplus food for trade, so there’s no value in trading.”

“Amazing. You’ve already thought about so much.”

Adam looked at me with admiring eyes.

“But Elvis is still…”

“It’s understandable they’re angry when a duke’s heir took the daughter sent to be the emperor’s wife and made her his own wife. I heard the Elvis king jump up and down threatening war when he heard the news.”

So, most of what I do has reasons behind it.

Like how I helped Lariel despite her detestable actions, in exchange for obtaining one wish from Duke Matzert.

“Please prepare the carriage. There’s somewhere I need to go.”

As I stood up with a smile, Adam nodded somewhat bewilderedly.

***

In Young Duke Eden Siegfried’s spacious room at the Siegfried Ducal residence, there was a large display case.

It contained coins that Eden had collected since he was four years old, ranging from Albreon coins to foreign currencies.

Eden Siegfried stood in front of the display case, gazing at his collection.

The boy’s uniform was crisp and newly pressed, and his face gave off the typical impression of a noble young master – lofty and proud. Everything from his hair to his fingernails gave off a well-groomed impression.

The gleaming coins in his display case were all well-maintained, each housed in specially made blue cases.

However, the very center of the full display case was empty, and Eden, who had been staring intently at that spot, reached his finger toward it.

The boy’s touch slowly swept across the empty display case’s floor.

A shadow flickered in those gray eyes.

“……”

On Eden’s desk, far from the display case – a desk crafted by a famous artisan over several years – lay a book that seemed out of place for Eden Siegfried.

‘101 Ways to Capture Your Target’s Heart’

And one sentence was underlined with pen for emphasis:

Girls – They typically like things that sparkle and have value.

***

Wearing the blue-brimmed hat and dress that Lady Alens had gifted me, I arrived at the Matzert ducal residence.

The grounds were incomparably larger than the marquis’s estate.

And such magnificent buildings…

When I first came to Lariel’s ball, I felt truly overwhelmed, but after visiting the imperial palace several times, this place’s grandeur didn’t feel the same as before.

“What gives you the right to come here?”

Having heard about my carriage’s arrival, Lariel, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, came out huffing to meet me.

“Hello, Lady Lariel?”

“Hello? Ha! After using underhanded methods to make His Majesty hate me…!”

Lariel pointed her finger at me in agitation.

“How dare you show your face at my house!”

I had hoped she would be reflecting and showing restraint, but clearly, she was far from it.

“I really don’t understand. No matter how I look at you, a country girl without even a speck of dignity…”

Lariel’s eyebrows were raised.

“Why do His Majesty and the other ministers pay so much attention to you? Perhaps they just don’t know what an unpleasant person you are. Just looking at your eyes…”

It’s truly an incomprehensible look. Actually, I don’t understand it either… How absurd must this situation be for this girl who hates me.

“I’m sorry, Lariel, but I just wanted to say hello. Isn’t it proper etiquette to greet each other first?”

I cut off Lariel’s words with a small sigh.

She twisted her lips as if finding it ridiculous.

“A country bumpkin trying to teach me etiquette?”

“Yes. Because you seem to not know the basic courtesy of receiving guests.”

“Guest? You seem to be overestimating yourself.”

Lariel crossed her arms and glared at me as if it wasn’t even funny.

“Who would treat you as a guest? You’re absolutely not my guest. Looking at your rough hands, it would be more appropriate to call our maid a guest.”

“I never said I was your guest. After all, you’re not the person I came to meet, Lariel.”

“What?”

“So insulting me is the same as insulting the person who will receive me as a guest.”

Lariel’s eyebrows twitched.

“Ah, there he is. Hello, Your Grace Duke Matzert!”

As I greeted cheerfully with a bright smile, Lariel alternately looked at her father’s face walking behind her and at me.

I could see Lariel’s expression suddenly turned to confusion.

She spoke to me angrily.

“Don’t be ridiculous. My father is the Minister of Foreign Affairs and a duke. Do you think someone like you, just a daughter of a country marquis family, would have anything to discuss with him?”

And then she said to her father.

“Father, Arinel Mylara came to tease and torment me. Please scold her!”

But ignoring Lariel’s words, I addressed Duke Matzert who stood before me.

“I came because I have something to tell you, Your Grace.”