The bright, warm light of the sunrise seeped through the small gaps in the tent, casting its glow over the sleeping form of Anastasia.
"Uhm... hmm...?" The young noblewoman grumbled as the light bathed her eyes, finally pulling her from slumber. Upon rising from her cloth bed, she glanced around at her surroundings...
"...This isn't a dream... right?" she muttered, a lingering haze of sleep clouding her thoughts, mingling with the surreal feeling from yesterday's events.
Her eyes then drifted to her 'tent'-mate... her loyal maid, Bella. The blonde maid was still sleeping soundly... a bit of drool leaking from the corner of her mouth.
"Mmm... no more chores, please..." Bella mumbled in her sleep, her hand weakly swatting at an invisible taskmaster.
Seeing her maid's rather carefree state... brought a small smile to the mistress.
The old Anastasia would have berated this rather improper behavior from her servant...
But now, the 'old Anastasia' was...
"..."
Remembering her past self dampened her mood for a moment before she quickly shook it off.
There was no point in dwelling on the past... especially now that she had a land to govern.
< | X | >
Anastasia exited the tent and the first thing that caught her gaze was the sight of two familiar figures:
Her knight, Martha, and... her butler, Sebas.
The two of them had propped up a table on the side, vividly discussing a certain matter of interest over its contents.
As Anastasia approached, the murmuring voices of her knight and butler grew clearer.
"I'm telling you, it's only proper that the house faces the entrance," Martha insisted, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. "Not only for safety, in case of direct confrontation, but it also signifies strength and authority. The house stands as the heart of the settlement—it should be the first thing people see."
Sebas, on the other hand, leaned casually against the table, his expression as calm as ever.
"Hmm... but wouldn't it be nicer if it faced the sunrise? Imagine waking up to that warm, gentle light every morning. Comfy, isn't it?"
"This isn't about comfort, Sir Butler..." she huffed, her brow furrowed, a sharp edge to her tone, "...this is about the safety and dignity of Lady Anastasia!"
Sebas shrugged, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "I don't know... I think dignity can come after we get some comfort of our own."
"Uhm!" Anastasia cleared her throat as she closed the distance, catching their attention. "What are you two arguing about this early in the morning?"
"L-Lady Anastasia...!" Martha immediately straightened; her hand placed firmly over her chest in a formal salute. "Good morning, your grace! We were discussing the proper orientation for the first house of your region!"
On the other hand, Sebas gave a small wave, his tone light and cheerful. "Morning, Lady Ana~. We were just figuring out where to build your future mansion."
Anastasia raised an eyebrow, glancing between them, "and you two can't agree?"
"My lady... I believe the house should face the entrance of the settlement for strategic reasons and to project your authority!" the knight declared, a fire lit in her eyes.
Sebas chuckled softly, seeing how serious the knight was about this topic. "Well, I think it'd be nice if it faced the sunrise. You know, for that comfy morning light~"
Anastasia sighed, rubbing her temples. "Of course..."
The mistress herself came closer to the table, where there lay a crude map drawing of what she assumed to be her "region" in the Garden of Hell.
Their (temporary) campsite, the (temporary) open-air storage supplies, and the (hopefully temporary) border wall made out of logs—complete with names and even, surprisingly, measurements in meters.
All of these were drawn out by the butler himself as he playfully twirled the pencil in his hand.
"...I had expected it, but this is quite a large region that we have," she muttered, tracing her fingers against the map.
Etched on each line of the border wall for this region were '100 m' marks—which made her region span a full hectare, larger than she could have anticipated.
For an upstart noble such as herself right now, this was way beyond what her scope of land should entitle her to. It almost rivaled the size of Duke Rosavich's own noble estate...
"The larger the land, the grander the opportunity," her butler remarked casually, a glint of amusement in his eyes.
"Sigh... This is way too large for the manpower we currently have, Sir Butler," her knight grumbled, shaking her head, her tone stern. "Nevertheless, it is of utmost importance that Lady Anastasia's first house be presented with the utmost dignity!"
"Come on, Miss Knight~, wouldn't it be better if the house faced directly to the sun?"
"Don't be absurd, Sir Butler. Suggesting such a position would mean that her grace's noble house would be facing east instead!"
The knight pointed to the map—to the open entrance of the border wall that was made on the 'left' side.
"And if we do that," Martha continued, her voice rising slightly, "Lady Anastasia's noble residence would have its back against the entrance—that would be even more absurd!"
"We'll just make a new entrance then~."
"You can't just make a new entrance! That's not how a proper estate is structured!"
Anastasia sighed, louder this time, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"That's enough, both of you." Her voice was calm but firm, slicing through their argument like a blade.
The knight stiffened slightly at her mistress's stern tone, while Sebas simply smiled, unbothered as always.
"It doesn't particularly matter where the first house is positioned," Anastasia continued, letting her hand fall back to her side. "It will likely be temporary anyway, given we lack the necessary materials to construct a noble residence of proper standing."
The knight opened her mouth as if to argue... but then closed it, biting back her words with a reluctant nod. With Sebas... well, he just chuckled at Anastasia's pragmatic tone.
"Temporary or not, it's still where you'll wake up every morning, my lady~."