The Viscount, who had been so serious just moments ago, soon restored his easy smile.

“Let’s just say I’m paying off an old debt.”

A debt?

“Thanks to you, I got close to Lord Lester.”

Eclace’s smile brightened.

If you traced things back, it was Luise Ideana who was at the very beginning of Shed Lester’s story. And it was also Luise who brought the Vitel family into that history.

“I never really paid what Lupus the slave was worth back then. I suppose I’m settling the balance now.”

Liana remembered the day she handed Shed over to Eclace. She’d sold Shed to the Vitel merchant house and returned the money to Eclace, even giving up the ring she wore as she begged him to send Shed to the Lester estate…

“I’m a merchant, not a swindler. Back then, I was a fool who didn’t really know what was going on, so I just took the money you gave me.”

Eclace remembered the events of that day even more vividly than Liana did—maybe even more than she herself remembered.

“That’s always weighed on my conscience. Once the House of Ideana disappeared as traitors, there was no way to repay it… until now.”

Leaning back, he seemed almost relaxed as he recalled those old memories.

Was he really offering to keep her secret because of something that happened so long ago? Liana couldn’t bring herself to trust the sly look in Eclace’s eyes.

“I heard the Vitels never put a weight on just one side of the scale.”

She didn’t let herself fall for his honeyed words.

Eclace simply smiled and nodded.

“Of course. I never said I’d just sit back and watch, either.”

As she expected, he definitely had something else in mind.

“Now that we’re in the same boat, I think I ought to be involved in your business as well.”

Eclace’s eyes curved into a smile again.

Liana’s lips pressed into a tense, hard line.

But Eclace went on, perfectly composed.

“If you stay here, it’s only a matter of time before you’re discovered. And then, if people find out I knew your secret and covered for you, I’ll be in danger too, don’t you think?”

Luise Ideana returning here was practically like a criminal returning to the scene of the crime. Besides, this place was home to Dietrich, whose specialty was rooting out heresy. There were simply too many risks to hide her crime here.

“So, what I’m saying is—I’d really appreciate it if you left this place as soon as possible.”

The price he wanted for protecting her secret was for her to disappear.

Liana frowned at his demand.

‘He’s offering to keep my secret in exchange for nothing more than leaving Faradel?’

For such a heavy secret, the price he named felt almost trivial. What did he possibly gain by having her leave this place?

Besides—

“As you know, leaving here isn’t something I can decide for myself.”

It wasn’t as if she’d come here by choice, either. She’d tried to refuse, even tried to run away. But with nothing but this body that couldn’t die, escaping from Shed had never been so simple.

Eclace only smiled, nodding lightly.

“That’s why I’ll help you.”

“…You’ll help me?”

“I am rather good at what I do, you know.”

Only then did the clever merchant finally reveal the real aim he’d hidden so deep.

🌺⟡───⟡🌺 🌺⟡───⟡🌺

“Duke Shed Lester is—well, he’s a good man. But he’s someone you’d only ever be unhappy with.”

Back in her own room, Liana turned Eclace’s words over and over in her mind.

“If it’s me, I can get you out of here. You’d be surprised what money can accomplish.”

It wasn’t that she doubted Eclace Vitel’s abilities. He was exactly the sort of person who could, one way or another, help her leave this place—and leave Shed behind for good.

‘Think carefully about which choice is wiser.’

The answer was obvious. Following Eclace Vitel was the smart choice. He could probably even create a flawless new identity for her.

But she couldn’t bring herself to accept his offer so easily, not when so many things weighed on her mind.

One was the heretic still hiding here. The priests were supposedly tracking him down, but they hadn’t even discovered where he was hiding. Could she really leave Ideana behind, pretending not to know? That heretic was a remnant of Ideana’s past sins. Could she just run away, leaving the burden for someone else to deal with?

And if they failed to capture the heretic…

‘Ideana will always remain his hunting ground.’

“iana pressed her dry lips together. She knew there was nothing she could do, but at the very least, she wanted to make sure the heretic was dealt with before she left. If possible, she wanted to help, even a little.

And then, the other thing that made her footsteps so heavy… was Shed.

If she left with Eclace, she would probably never see Shed again.

‘That shouldn’t matter. No—it’s how it should be.’

Before she ever met him, she’d managed just fine without seeing him. She’d tried to run away so many times. And yet, now that she was actually on the verge of leaving, her heart felt strangely heavy.

‘It’s just… all these old memories…’

Maybe it was because the memories kept overlapping his current self, making it harder to let go.

Now that he was a duke, there were always people around Shed, but somehow, he never seemed to let anyone come too close. Even the loyal knights and devoted staff only served him as their lord and master, nothing more.

The gentle light he had once possessed—even as a child and a slave—was nowhere to be found now. Maybe that was why she couldn’t stop looking at him.

She couldn’t bring herself to turn away from the dry, vacant look in his eyes. She could see the dark, hollow emptiness at his core. And she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was the reason he’d ended up that way.

🌺⟡───⟡🌺 🌺⟡───⟡🌺

“I’m thinking of exempting the people settling in Ideana from this year’s taxes.”

At Shed’s announcement, the faces of those in the room stiffened ever so slightly.

“You’re going to exempt taxes entirely? And you’re still planning to give them settlement grants, too…?”

“That’s right. We’ve already had nearly three hundred people gather here after hearing the news.”

His vassals and the priests who had accompanied him hurried to add their voices.

Just as they said, people were already starting to gather in Faradel.

After the House of Ideana was branded as traitors, all the local nobles had either been executed or fled, but the ordinary people could not bring themselves to abandon the land where they had been born and raised.

So, little by little, the residents of Ideana—who had hidden themselves away, who knows where—began to arrive in Faradel, drawn by the protection of its magical barrier.

The pace at which they gathered was faster than anyone expected, and it was all they could do just to find enough houses and supplies for them.

“With the protection of the barrier, people will flock here no matter how high you set the taxes. Life is more important than money, isn’t it?”

At the priest’s words, the others nodded.

Even if they raised additional taxes for the barrier, people would still come without complaint, willing to pay whatever it took for their safety.

But at that, Shed’s brow furrowed.

“Have you actually seen the people who have gathered here, Father?”

“I have.”

“Are you really so eager to take the last coins from their pockets for offerings?”

“Ahem, well… an offering is meant to be a heartfelt act of devotion and gratitude toward God.”

The priest cleared his throat awkwardly.

They, too, must have noticed, the people coming to Faradel arrived with little more than a single light bundle in their hands.

To live in a land marked by treason and stripped of its leaders, to survive alone in a shattered system and a ruined economy—this was their reality.

The society these people could create on a land where even heretics ran rampant was little more than that of an ancient clan or primitive tribe.

And now, having abandoned what little they’d built for themselves, they had come here, empty-handed.

All for the sake of survival.

“But, my lord, at this rate, nearly a thousand people will gather here within a month.”

“Do you really think a city can be built with just a thousand people?”

“…”

“What Faradel needs is people. Right now, we don’t even have enough hands to maintain this estate. We’re struggling for manpower to rebuild the temple, too—hasn’t everyone been complaining about that?”

Shed turned to the priest who’d spoken earlier.

Everyone averted their eyes, unable to offer a word in response.

He was right—Faradel was desperately short on people. Even after bringing over knights, vassals, servants, and workers from the Lester domain, there were nowhere near enough hands to manage such a vast land.

The craftsmen and stonemasons brought by Dietrich, the priests, and those invited by Eclace weren’t enough either. This was not a city that a handful of craftsmen could rebuild.

“If you want people to live in this cursed land, you need incentives at the very least.”

Good skilled labor was important, but first, they needed to secure a minimum foundation of population to build upon.

Right now, Faradel couldn’t even provide a decent environment for those willing to settle—collapsed houses, fragile infrastructure, a lack of proper systems.

If you taxed them on top of that, it would only breed more resentment. People might think the protection of the barrier was enough, but Shed knew they couldn’t rely on that alone.

“But the costs to rebuild are enormous. If we don’t collect taxes, how are we supposed to cover those expenses?”

One vassal said, frustrated. The repairs that needed doing were everywhere: The manor itself, the crumbling walls and temples, buildings that would serve as government offices, roads, bridges—there was so much to be done.

Even the waterworks and wells needed a complete overhaul.

How could they possibly cover those costs without taxes?

“…Didn’t I already say? What we need here is people.”

Not money.

Shed emphasized his point again to the vassal who still didn’t seem to understand.