The Ugly Wife of the Shady Duke - Chapter 56.2
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‘Because it’s a waste of pages to bring up a story that isn’t necessary for the progress of the plot.’
The reason the head of the management office said this to Grace was because she was the wife of Duke Felton.
As he didn’t know what Grace might say to Benjamin, he needed to appeal to her about how hard he was managing the management office.
“I will let His Highness know that there might be a need for support within the management office later.”
“……! Thank you.”
As if Grace’s guess was correct, his face lit up.
‘He’s a representative of a respectable organization, is it okay that he can’t manage his expression like that?’
It might be an unnecessary worry. Grace handed over the bonnet to Sally to continue the conversation in earnest.
In the past, she might not have even thought about taking off her bonnet because she was conscious of other people’s gaze, but now Grace was here to fulfill her duties as the Duchess.
And fortunately, there was only one head of the management office to deal with inside the reception room.
‘The fact that there are knights protecting me also plays a part.’
Moreover, all the conversations they had today would be heard by Benjamin, but Grace didn’t have any intention of hiding anything from him, so she didn’t care.
When they set off for their meeting place, Grace didn’t understand what emotions she was feeling.
But looking back now, she could vaguely guess what it was.
A sense of unfamiliarity that she couldn’t seem to get used to, and a sense of comfort that she hoped would never go away.
In other words, the feeling of being wanted.
It was an emotion that allowed people to continue living despite everything.
“Today, I came here to apologize for that day and there are also a few things that I want to discuss with you.”
So today, Grace straightened her back and faced the person in front of her.
“To be precise, it’s something I’d like to ask for.”
“And what would that be?”
“We need a few capable geologists. People who aren’t affiliated with any family. And also, it would be great if you could sort out the gate usage records by region and country until just before departure. At least one-two year’s worth.”
“…”
The head of the management office had a face that said, “Why are you doing that to me?”
“I’m not asking you to do it for free. I’ll pay a sufficient amount for it.”
⋆★⋆
Time passed and the departure date approached.
They weren’t able to accompany the people from the orphanage as they were taking a train like a follow-up expedition team.
There were imperial officials from the royal family who came to watch the expedition and see them off at the gate management office.
‘They’ve prepared well.’
Grace watched through the carriage window as geologists who were estimated to be joining the expedition joined them.
Benjamin, who was looking at the same place as Grace, said, “If you needed people, you could have asked me as well.”
“You were busy preparing for the expedition, Your Highness. It’s okay.”
Because countless eyes were watching, Grace couldn’t muster the courage to go outside.
“People are waiting outside. Your Highness, you need to show yourself before departure.”
“….then.”
Benjamin seemed to want to accompany Grace in the carriage, as he looked at her with regretful eyes and went outside the carriage to show his face to the people outside.
Before leaving through Gate, Grace, who had some time alone, collected her thoughts.
They needed someone who could examine the current soil condition of Count Ardel’s estate, at the western outskirts.
‘In the novel, even after Aria arrived and purified the contamination, the crops still couldn’t grow well.’
Although the principles of magic or divine power were incomprehensible, they were still part of the flow of nature. The reason why they needed a geologist was that there were many things that needed to be checked before Count Ardel’s land is purified.
‘Temples are for relief purposes before identifying the problem and only after that purification can be done. Because it’s difficult to find garbage in a completely clean house.’
Grace examined the gate usage records that the head of the management office had prepared for her.
They weren’t as thick as she thought they would be.
Grace asked for these records because she remembered the dates marked in her hidden diary and wanted to review the gate records for those days.
“There doesn’t seem to be any area that matches all the dates.”
She searched through them several times, wondering if she had made a mistake, but there were some areas that matched a few times, but none that were included in all the dates.
“Hmm.”
Does this mean the person is from the island? Grace pressed her brow tightly.
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