My Second Life Truly Begins Again Here
—Dear Dermont-sama,
Thank you very much for lending me your handkerchief the other day.
I wanted to return it to you in person, but unfortunately, that incident happened.
However, I know that Dermont-sama is innocent.
There is no way a kind person like you would steal the necklace that the Marchioness treasures so dearly.
Someone must have done it to frame you.
I have asked my Grandfather to find the real culprit, and he absolutely will. Once we find them, we'll make them pay.
I actually asked Grandfather to make sure you would not be charged with any crime, but... I'm sorry. My power was not enough, and as a result, Dermont-sama and your family have been forced to endure great hardship. Even though you did nothing wrong. I'm sorry.
I will ask Grandfather and His Majesty once more so that you may return from the frontier as soon as possible.
And I will continue to do my best until the day I can return your handkerchief to you in person.
Please take care of your health until then.
Evangeline von Halterius
---
"She's still so young, yet she writes such a proper letter."
The handwriting was somewhat clumsy, though, so I thought she had probably written it herself.
I see. Maybe the reason the Chancellor had taken action for us was because of that young lady.
We'd only met once, yet she was this worried about me. That made me happy.
She had to be a good kid. After all, she was the girl who had offered Tiffany a hand and helped her back to her feet when she tripped and fell. A kind, good kid.
"Still, what does she mean by saying she'll work hard so she can return the handkerchief to me in person...?"
Hmm… hmmm… I had no idea.
But to think she'd even ask His Majesty… ah, right.
This kingdom had three ducal houses, and all of them were relatives of the royal family through blood ties.
I appreciated her asking His Majesty on our behalf, but honestly, life on the frontier was surprisingly fulfilling and enjoyable.
"Alright, let's write a reply. Umm... Dear Miss Evangeline. Me… nono, I. I am currently spending my days in the frontier region of Zenas quite happily and productively..."
I was sure it was thanks to Miss Evangeline speaking on our behalf to the Chancellor.
We hadn't been stripped of our baronial title, and although it was a frontier territory, we'd been granted a new domain.
None of our property had been confiscated either. Even if they called it punishment, it was almost too lenient.
Though there were probably noble houses that hadn't been happy about it.
For the time being, I planned to continue developing this land while working on improving my proficiency with Alchemy Magic.
It would be difficult, but it was rewarding. The harder I worked, the better life here became.
There probably weren't many places where Alchemy Magic could be put to such good use.
I wrapped all that up in gentler wording and finished writing a letter filled with gratitude.
"Margaret. Margaret, are you there?"
"Yeees~ Young Master. Did you need something?"
"Yeah. Could you ask one of the knights to deliver this letter to the Halterius Ducal House? I need to head out right away and start alchemizing building materials."
Margaret accepted the letter and looked at the addressee.
Then a huge grin spread across her face.
"It's addressed to a young lady. Hehe, Young Master, you're quite the little charmer, aren't you?"
"W-What are you talking about? Come on, hurry up and go!"
"Yes. I'll be on my way."
What did she mean, little charmer?
Did she really think an eight-year-old was out there seducing girls? Good grief.
Honestly. Haaah… alright then. Back to work.
"Hey, Niichan! You're late~"
"Hm? Chico. What's up?"
When I arrived at the dwarves' residence and quarry, Chico was waiting for me.
Several other village children were there too.
"What do you mean, what's up? We came to help. Right?"
The children nodded.
Help? There were even tiny kids here. Wasn't this more like babysitting?
"Haaah, a bunch of brats gathered up here."
Boss, why are you looking at me too?
Ah, right. I'm an eight-year-old brat too.
"We just have to carry rocks, right? We can carry rocks too."
"Ahh... um..."
The rocks produced from demolishing the walls were immediately processed into building stone on the spot.
So what they'd be carrying were those stone blocks. They probably weighed dozens of kilograms. Even I couldn't lift them.
"This is our village. We want to make it a better place too."
"Chico..."
I hadn't realized he felt that way.
If that was how they thought, I couldn't just dismiss them because they were children.
"Oh, what's the harm? If they pick up all those little stones lying around everywhere, that'll save us the trouble of cleaning up."
"Right. Then everyone, how about you gather all the stones scattered along the passageways and bring them to me?"
""Leave it to us!""
That's right. Development wouldn't progress unless the people living here wanted to improve the place themselves.
The children were motivated. This town was definitely going to become a wonderful place.
I'll make sure it does.
My second life truly begins again here.
Now then. Things are finally starting to get interesting.
What do you think about this chapter?
