"I will help you with cleaning the room, preparing meals and washing dishes, taking care of your clothes and belongings, and even helping you bathe and comb your hair, my lord."
"I understand everything else, but I don't need help with bathing or combing my hair...."
"You didn't have the time for that before because you were on display, but now it's different."
Asha thought of Carlyle's party again at Della's words, which even sounded a bit harsh.
Della must have seen them coming in earlier. Della's pride seemed to have been deeply hurt by the way they openly ignored Asha and the Pervaz family.
"Alright. I'll be counting on you from now on, Nina."
Nina smiled faintly and bowed her knees slightly, then quietly retreated from the spot just like when she came in.
After the others had also withdrawn, Asha and Decker, who were the only ones left in the room, stared out the window for a while without saying a word.
The materials and supplies brought from the capital to build Carlyle's residence were being unloaded from the carts.
Asha clenched her fists and said.
"It's going to be crazy from tomorrow. The supplies for Pervaz will be unpacked."
It was a hopeful statement, but Decker hesitated for a moment and muttered.
"It will be crazy to rebuild Pervaz, but the life inside the castle will probably be...."
Asha knew well what he meant by the end of his vague words.
"There could be friction between Carlyle's people and ours. I told them to try to avoid unnecessary clashes with His Highness', but... well, human affairs are not as easy as words."
"We can't just tell our people to be patient unconditionally."
"Of course not. I made a deal that benefits both of us, not a slave contract."
Asha carefully brushed the flower on the table.
Everyone in Pervaz had to go through heartbreaking hardships to get this day back when the flower was placed on the table.
There was no reason to be ignored or ridiculed by humans who were simply lucky enough to be born in the capital.
"Anyway, we'll have to adjust as we go. It would be better to avoid meeting each other if possible."
Even though the castle was big, there would definitely be times when they would meet each other since it wasn't completely divided in two. It seemed like they would have to separate them as much as possible and prevent them from mixing.
"Well, let's just rest for today. We have a lot to do in the future, so we need to stock up on our energy."
Decker lightly patted the shoulder of Asha, who had suddenly become serious.
Asha, who used to be like a younger sister, now had a serious and stern face that was comparable to any lord.
Sometimes he missed the way she used to play together when they were young, but those days would never come back.
"You too. You know I can't do this alone without your help."
"Don't worry about me. Don't hesitate and just order me to do whatever you need me to do, okay?"
"Thank you."
Asha smiled brightly at Decker, who grinned and raised his thumb, but neither of them felt lighthearted.
Because a new war was about to begin.
***
"Wow…"
"Whoa…"
"Oh my…"
As Carlyle's servants uncovered the cart and began to unload the luggage, amazed sighs echoed from all around.
People from Pervaz Castle looked on with curious eyes as they watched extravagant items being carried up to the second floor, items they had never seen in their lives.
"These peasants are making a fuss over nothing."
"Just endure it. What's not astonishing to beggars?"
The newcomers from the capital strained under the weight of possessions that weren't even theirs, while Carlyle's soldiers kept a vigilant eye, fearing someone from Pervaz might try to steal something.
But no one dared to covet the prince's belongings.
Rumors grew bigger as they inflated farther from their source, and tales of Carlyle, said to have received blessings from the war god, had inflated to the point where in Pervaz, it was believed he could 'invoke the curse of death'.
"These timid ones wouldn't know how to win a war even if they tried."
As Carlyle looked down from the second floor, Lionel, who was sorting documents by his side, defended the people of Pervaz.
"They're probably just innocent. Bravery and innocence are two different things."
"If they were cunning enough, they might have won the war sooner."
"Who knows, maybe it crumbled from the inside."
"Stop with your righteous speeches. It's boring."
Since the people of Pervaz weren't what Carlyle was interested in, he quickly lost interest. There was only one person in Pervaz he was interested in.
"Anything from the Countess of Pervaz?"
"Nothing. Seems she's busy with reconstruction, going out at dawn and returning late at night."
"She seems overly enthusiastic. She might tire out quickly if they keep that up."
"She probably has no time to rest. People wounded in the war are still dying."
At this, Carlyle smirked.
"Of course. I only gave her fellows who left for Pervaz a month's worth of supplies."
The day after entering Pervaz, Carlyle immediately distributed relief supplies and materials for reconstruction. Asha was deeply grateful as the medicine she had sent with Decker's group was almost depleted, so she gladly accepted them.
Little did she know, Carlyle had calculated even that anxious timing.
"As the situation worsens, their loyalty to me should increase when I loosen the leash around the time they're about to snap."
"Your Highness, where did you learn such vulgar expressions?"
"Probably from Greg or Rayhan."
"Did you really have to ask 'who taught you that?' Please maintain your dignity in front of the future emperor…!"
"That aside"
Ignoring Lionel's sarcasm with a flick of his ear, Carlyle scattered the neatly arranged documents haphazardly and changed the subject.
"To be honest, I thought They would run out of supplies in two weeks, not a month… It was unexpected that they didn't embezzle a single penny."
"Those who suffer together tend to stick together until the situation improves."
"I really didn't know that."
Carlyle thought back to Asha's group, their eyes shining through their unkempt hair and beards.
'They really look like bandits, don't they?'
Perhaps they were also watching each other.
Then Carlyle suddenly thought of Decker, who had put his arm around Asha's shoulder and dragged her away.
'What the hell is that guy's identity? He calls Count Pervaz "Lord, Lord," but in private, he speaks informally….'
Carlyle tilted his head and said to Lionel.
"We've joined hands with Countess Pervaz, but there's no guarantee that she won't betray us. So… ."
This time, Carlyle thought of Asha, who had been laughing next to Decker.
"Thoroughly investigate the important figures of Pervaz. Bribe the servants in the castle who seem smart and use them as surveillance."
"Yes, I understand."
"Especially the big guy who's always next to Count Pervaz like an aide?"
"You mean Decker Donovan."
"I don't know his name. Anyway, investigate him a little more thoroughly."
"I've already learned a little about him."
Lionel, like a model aide, had already found the information his lord would want before he even asked.
"He's the second-in-command of Pervaz Castle. He's the eldest son of the Donovan family, which Amir Pervaz took as his vassals, and he was said to be close friends with Vincent Pervaz, the youngest brother of Asha Pervaz."
"Is he a noble?"
"I heard he's from a fallen baronetcy. I think we need to dig a little deeper into the nobility on this one."
Carlyle grimaced and plopped down on the pile of papers on the sofa.
Lionel's expression crumpled, but Carlyle wasn't the kind of person who cared about that. No, maybe this time he was even aiming for it.
"Keep going."
"Sigh.... It is said that the Donovan family was the one who was more or less managing Pervaz, which had no real master. It is said that it was natural for Amir Pervaz to take them as his vassals."
"Even so, he's a fallen noble… No, the position of Count Pervaz is a position that is sent to die anyway, so it's all just a matter of playing around."
"It's not a family that can be easily ignored, as it has been around since the days of the Pervaz Kingdom."
Carlyle snorted.
"What's so great about a fallen noble? Even more so, considering that his lord gave the country to the empire."
By the way, the former king of Pervaz was given a good territory and lived and died a wealthy man as 'Count Astorga'.
However, Carlyle had never heard of him donating or helping Pervaz in any way.
"Anyway, it is said that Decker Donovan's father, Ben Donovan, was quite loyal to Amir Pervaz and his family."
"They had no choice. He was the first lord who didn't run away."
"Perhaps because he grew up in such an atmosphere, Decker Donovan is also quite loyal to the Pervaz family, apart from being a close friend of Vincent Pervaz."
Listening to him, it seemed like a rather insignificant relationship. But Lionel's explanation was not over yet.
"It seems that Decker Donovan was also considered as a marriage partner for Asha Pervaz when Amir Pervaz was alive."
"...Really?"
"Well, they were both young and didn't have any romantic feelings for each other, so it didn't actually lead to marriage."
"If I hadn't married him, those two would have. There's no way he could have found another wife in Pervaz."
"That is true, but."