Elizabeth, Caruso, and Blaine were all three called in and looked nervous.
Ran coughed in vain and said.
"As you've already heard from Eustaf, you know that Lazia is independent of the Duchy."
Elizabeth and Caruso nodded. Both of them were dark under their eyes.
It was because they was suffering from a large amount of documents.
"I don't want to add one more thing to this, but I'm still going to tell you."
While Elizabeth pressed her trembling eyes and wondered, 'Should I resign?' Ran opened her mouth.
"I think the darkness is waking up."
Blaine wasn't very surprised at the words. The knight of the Order was because he was feeling strange throughout the winter hunt.
In addition, if you meet Masu who attacked Ran at the New Year's party last year or Masu who speaks human words, you can't help but notice it.
Elizabeth was also surprised, but she was a Lazian. Her surprise was a surprise like 'how come at this time.'
However, the surprise of Caruso, a stranger, was extraordinary.
"Darkness?! Really?! The one in the old story?"
Caruso jumped and said in his seat, and Ran nodded. Caruso was absent-minded and said.
"Would, wouldn't that be a big deal? The darkness just came out, the seal was broken, the devil came out-"
"I don't think so."
Ran said so and added mutterably.
"And Eus is scarier than the devil."
Caruso said, "Ah," and nodded, regaining his composure.
"That's true."
And then he said, "Darkness. Oh, my God. Is that real?" he muttered several times.
Blaine thought for a moment and said,
"If there is a battle, the problem is that there is nothing between the gate and the sky mansion."
"Do you think we should do a temporary barricade?"
Blaine nodded at Ran's words.
"I think that'll be fine, too."
"But it's winter. It's easy to find trees, though...."
He was muttering and Ran suddenly said.
"Can't we build a wall with snow?"
"With snow?"
Elizabeth looked surprised and laughed, and Blaine's brown eyes were distinctive.
"I don't think it's going to be bad."
"Right? The winter in Lazia is long."
Said Ran.
"We'd better discuss it with the Dwarfs for now."
They'd been here for a long time, so they will use it. Blaine grinned at Ran's words.
"All right."
'Go ahead.'
"Understand."
When Blaine greeting and left, Ran looked at the remaining two.
"About the reopening of the administrative district."
Elizabeth responded quickly, feeling faint at the words.
"Well, we're doing our best."
"No, it's not that. I've worked out a re-opening plan."
Ran sneaked out the paper.
"The population, the tax, the..."
She came up with an idea by thinking about how to create an administrative district during the Joseon Dynasty.
Divide it into eight provinces. Bu, Mok, Gun, and Hyun. We had four administrative districts.
The duchy of Lazia was quite large. This is because most of the land is desolate and unprofitable.
'But that's about to change, too. No, it's already changing.'
It is based on the enormous financial power of ice correction on its back.
Ran personally experienced it while dating Eustaf.
Therefore, balanced development had to be planned in advance so that wealth would not be too much on one side.
Elizabeth opened her eyes wide when she received a piece of paper that Ran opened her eyes wide.
"Of course that won't be enough. I put out a big frame. But it usually takes the most time to set a big frame."
That's where the world's most useless 'long meeting time' comes from.
Ran smiled at Elizabeth, thinking so.
"Please feel free to give me your opinion."
"All right."
Caruso glanced over Elizabeth's paper from the side and quickly straightened himself when she jumped out of her seat.
"I hope you're greening."
Greeting deeply, Elizabeth left.
Now only Caruso, the accountant, was left, so he drank tea with an uncomfortable face. But there was also some anticipation on his face.
"So you've never been alone, have you?"
Caruso nodded at Ran's question.
"That's right."
"I'm actually curious about Eustaf's Academy days."
Caruso grinned at her words.
"It's something I'm ready to tell you."
"But that's not what I want to say now."
Ran grinned.
"I was wondering if the Duchy of Lazia would run the top of it."
*******
A few days later, Haresh came sooner than I thought.
The Dwarfs were quite pleased to build a wall of snow, and the wall of snow was completed at a much faster speed than expected.
Spraying water over the snow quickly froze to the weather and became very hard.
In addition, it was a proper wall, which was quite thick and had all the functions as a wall.
Ran urged the engineers to learn the technology well.
So I looked at the wall and came back to the room to take off my clothes, and there was a knock on the window.
Now everyone got used to it and looked by the window, and as expected, Haresh was standing.
Kara opened the door and said,
"Isn't it cold in winter?"
"Elf is less cold than humans."
"You came quickly? Did you get a good call in the winter?"
When Ran said, Haresh asked back, "Have you been in touch?" and shook his head.
"I'm here to contact you."
Then he breathed a short sigh.
Elf's sigh.
Ran asked, feeling like she heard a warning.
"What's going on?"
"Can we talk?"
"Of course."
Ran led him to the emerald room, the real thing of the Duchess.
The tea was brought out, but Haresh went straight to the point without touching it.
"The girl you left him with. Lily."
"What's the matter? Is she hurt? Or did the disease recur?"
Come to think of it, you said she could come this spring, but it's already winter.
Haresch looked at Lan with a determined face.
"She wants to be my disciple."
Huh?
It's a completely different word than expected, so she opened her mouth slightly and then shut up. And I thought for a while and said, "She want to be a therapist?"
'Well, that makes sense, doesn't it?'
Just as children in the children's ward often think they want to be doctors, it's not strange that Lily wants to be a therapist who fixed her.
"Yes."
"But what does that have to do with not being able to come?"
"Don't you know?"
"I don't know."
Ran spoke proudly, and Haresh sighed lightly.
"She wants to be my disciple. That means to be an elf therapist. If she want to be trained by me, she need to be part of us."
Ran asked carefully.
"Lily's a human being, is that possible?"
Haresh nodded.
"The elders gave her permission."
"I see."
Ran felt strange. Haresh said.
"But Lily's relatives are here. I have to get permission from him."
"And to Lumiere?"
"Yeah."
"Well, that's a task."
"And then she's treated like our Elves, so ...."
Ran quickly sensed what she was trying to say.
"She won't be able to get out of town until she reach adulthood."
"Yes."
"Wait, isn't Elf's adulthood different from humans?"
"Because he's a human being, until he's a human being."
"That's a relief."
She won't be able to leave the village until she's 40 years old, which would have been difficult.
Haresh took out a thick letter and said, "Can you give this to Lily's relatives?"
"Of course, and it would be better if you told him in person."
"Of course it is."
Haresh nodded, and Ran said after grinding the letter well.
"If there's anything she need, I'll spare all the support I can."
Wouldn't it cost money to buy materials and tools?
"It's enough that I'm already sending."
Haresh shook his hand and nodded, is Ran so. Ran breathed lightly and put sugar in her tea.
"Then it's time for me to talk."
Haresh nodded and Ran opened her mouth.
"Darkness is waking up."
Haresh's eyes became thin. Ran crossed her legs and leaned on the sofa in a relaxed posture.
"According to my research so far, darkness is a dragon. But I think it's affecting the surrounding horsepower as well."
"Dark Dragon Delphanto."
"That's what it's called," Lan said with a sigh.
"Can't you give me more details earlier?"
"The knowledge of the Elf belongs to the Elf."
They're a closed race.
"Anyway, the gatekeeper demands the fulfillment of the pledge."
"A pledge?"
"The three great alliances that humans, elves, and dwarfs made over Iveria a thousand years ago."
Haresch hardened the moment and barely spit it out.
"Wasn't the alliance broken?"
"Lazia has been a gatekeeper for a thousand years and hasn't left the mansion."
We've never forgotten.
Ran claimed so.
"You, not Lazia, claim Lazia's rights."
Ran raised her hand and laughed at the words.
"Have I told you yet? I'm now the Duchess of Lazia."
I can argue as much as I want.
Haresh looked surprised and smiled at her wedding ring.
"Congratulations are late."
"Thank you."
"To Dwarf?"
"We're going to talk. And I'm Dwarf's friend."
They were willing to accept, Ran thought. The problem is the elves in front of us.
"Is the world's tree still growing well?"
Haresh frowned at Ran's question.
"Really, you seem to know too much about us, but you're also ignorant."
The Elf's world tree was planted by Iveria.
The trees that grew in starlight and moonlight were more precious to the elves than anything else.
- Do you still have that world tree?
It means, 'You remember the vow you made then, right?'
"Let's talk to the elders."
"That'll do."
Ran grinned.
"I have one more thing to tell you."
"Now I'm worried about what to say."
Ran smiled lightly at Haresh's joke.
Thinking about the first time we met, I really got close to Haresh.
"Would you like to establish diplomatic relations with Lazia?"
Looking at Ran with a confident smile and a face that said she would not see even a little loss if she chose them, Haresh almost said, "Yes," without realizing it.
"Confucianism?"
"Yes, Lazia became independent as a duchy."
"That's a celebration."
"Thank you."
"I'll tell the elder about it, too."
"Yes."
Ran nodded.
Just one inconvenience in trade with the Elf and the Dwarf was distance problems.
It took a long time to interact with Lazia because they were in the northern corner of the country.
'Well, if it's a matter of money, it's all about planting. Thinking about the old Silk Road.'
When I think of merchants traveling between China and the Arab past deserts by land, I can't help but admire them.
'It's good to use the boat.'
There is an ocean behind the ice wall, but there is no fool to cross the ice wall.
Ran quickly gave up what she couldn't help.
There's nothing more precious than holding onto something to make it impossible.
"Then shall I call Lumiere for you?"
"Tell him to read Lily's letter first. And when he decide his mind, he can come and meet me. I'll be waiting here."
"I'm scared to wait for the Elves."
Ran muttered like that.
If the Elf says he's waiting, he's really, really waiting until he gets here.
Ran said so and got up from her seat.
He asked the servant to deliver the letter to Lumiere and delivered Haresh's message.
"Then make yourself at home."
Haresh nodded lightly at Ran's words.