ANGSD 05

Chapter 05

In her previous life, her entire extended family lived together in a clan village in Yeongwol, Gangwon Province.

Her grandmother, grandfather, aunts, uncles—both older and younger—and even distant relatives all resided there.

They were the kind of family where each member owned their own orchard, vegetable garden, rice paddy, and even a family graveyard.

“This is fate. I was meant to marry into the Southern Territory!”

Even while living a glamorous life as an influencer in the harsh city of Seoul, she always longed for the ease and warmth of the countryside.

In fact, she would go down to the countryside once or twice a year to help her parents with their work.

And now, all those experiences are finally paying off!

Just then, her eyes caught sight of a tomato plant with its stem flopping over limply.

“Oh dear, you’re not supposed to grow them like this. Instead of letting them droop, you should insert a long stick or stake so they can climb—it’ll help the plant grow stronger stems.”

Eileen ordered a maid to rummage through the bundle she’d brought along just in case.

In a flash, she pulled out some sticks and string and quickly assembled a support structure.

The Southern Duke was utterly stunned at the sight of Eileen skillfully stabilizing the plants.

He had assumed she’d just heard a few things here and there—but his assumption was completely off the mark.

“H-How do you know all this…?”

But Eileen didn’t even have time to notice his reaction.

Once she began meddling in the garden, she started seeing all sorts of tasks that needed doing.

This area could use a specific kind of fertilizer, over there would benefit from a channel dug into the embankment to control water flow—

She strolled through the entire field, chattering about all sorts of practical agricultural knowledge that only someone with real experience could know.

After a while of bustling around, Eileen suddenly froze and glanced back at the Southern Duke.

‘He might be the type who doesn’t like women being too assertive!’

But contrary to her worry, both the maid and the Southern Duke were staring at her with wide, amazed eyes.

“Aha, ha ha… I guess I got a little carried away.”

The Southern Duke’s face darkened for a moment before he suddenly turned around and began whispering with his escort knight.

Seizing the moment, the maid—who had been watching the whole thing unfold—leaned in and whispered urgently.

“Miss, when did you learn all this?!”

“Hmm? Oh, well… Isn’t it only natural for a noble to learn how to improve the lives of their territory’s people?”

A complete lie.

“The truth is, I have a hobby of tending a small garden in my greenhouse every day. Ohoho!”

Of course, that was also a lie—but the maid still looked at her with eyes full of pride, as if saying, As expected of my lady!

Judging by the Southern Duke’s astonished gaze, things seemed to be going well—at least for now.

✧✧✧

“Your Highness, she’s more knowledgeable than I expected. Most noble ladies would hate this sort of thing—”

Just then, the tall man Eileen assumed was a bodyguard—Floan—brushed a smirk from his lips.

The man Eileen thought was the Southern Duke was, in fact, his aide, Dalton.

The real Southern Duke had switched places with his aide to hide his identity and quietly test Eileen.

“And to think she looked at me and smiled so brightly instead of looking disappointed. Even likes my country bumpkin accent! She really might be an angel, huh, Your Highness?”

Floan glanced over at Eileen, who was sneaking peeks at them from afar.

“As rumored, she has… peculiar taste. But what matters is figuring out what that woman’s true intentions are.”

“Maybe she really just likes the South! I mean, look how pretty the scenery is.”

“It’s suspicious—especially since she’s connected to that Northerner.”

“Come on now, surely not… Your Highness, are you seriously suggesting that young lady is some kind of spy? Not everyone is as suspicious as you are.”

Floan narrowed his eyes, silencing the aide’s foolish laughter.

The aide quickly shut his mouth under his lord’s piercing glare.

“A-Anyway, I’ll take her into town next. Though I’m not sure if this is the right thing to do… Tricking an innocent young lady like this feels so wrong. Sigh… I don’t know anymore.”

The aide let out a long sigh and scurried back toward Eileen.

Meanwhile, Floan made eye contact with Eileen once again.

He thought she was surprisingly perceptive.

What he didn’t realize was that Eileen had simply been staring at a handsome man out of sheer instinct.

After inspecting the Southern Duke’s private garden, the actual tour of the Southern Territory began in earnest.

“But Lady Eileen, why did you choose the South of all places?”

“Me? Hmm… If I had to give a reason… it’s peaceful, relaxing, comfortable—it reminds me of a place I’ve always longed for.”

Eileen answered with a wistful expression, thinking of her childhood home, which had always embraced her when the noise of fame wore her down.

The Southern Duke, assuming she’d lived in the capital her whole life, tilted his head in confusion.

“Is that so? Then I’ll take you to the busiest part of the South first. You’ll see for yourself.”

Eileen began the tour with excitement, but as they traveled farther, she couldn’t hide her growing shock at the reality of the Southern Territory.

Across this vast expanse of land, there was nothing but mountains and fields.

There were no important administrative buildings, and the houses all resembled worn-out thatched cottages.

To someone from the capital, this was unimaginable.

‘So this is why the original novel never mentioned the South…’

She had assumed that since the South was excluded from the original work, it would be a peaceful place without incidents.

But this was just absurd.

‘At this rate… even having incidents might be difficult.’

To make things worse, the so-called “busiest district” was nothing more than a small, smelly open market by the harbor.

As she stepped down from the carriage and looked around, Eileen couldn’t help clicking her tongue.

“All the buildings are ancient and slanted, as if they were haphazardly slapped together with mud—any of them could collapse at any time…”

Her expression darkened as she surveyed her surroundings.

“And to think half this land is still uncultivated wasteland. How is that even possible?”

But her sharp criticisms didn’t stop there.

“What a waste… it’s practically Dongmakgol level.* Who would’ve thought the South was this much of a backwater?”

(T/N: “Welcome to Dongmakgol” is a Korean film set in a rural, isolated village stuck in the past)

Of course, she had muttered that part quietly to herself.

So quietly, in fact, that anyone would’ve just assumed she had an eccentric mind.

But then—

“I, too, regret that there’s so much wasteland here.”

“Ah! You startled me!”

“I didn’t even say it that loudly.”

“…What are you doing?!”

Eileen clutched her chest in fright at the sudden sound of a smooth, low voice.

‘I definitely mumbled that. How did he hear it?’

The voice belonged to none other than the ridiculously handsome escort knight who had been trailing the Southern Duke.

Not only was his voice deep and refined, but even his tone was polished and elegant.

Feeling flustered, Eileen snapped at him just to save face.

“How can the Southern Duke do nothing when his people live in such poor conditions? If you had at least built roads through the wastelands to bring in external resources, things wouldn’t be this bad.”

Despite being a third of the empire’s territory, the Southern Province was less developed than a typical count’s land.

Eileen pointed to the emerald sea and the gently rolling green hills that looked like something out of a painting.

“This beautiful scenery, the ocean, the mountains and fields—it has limitless potential. But to leave it all untouched? It’s such a waste.”

“You think so?”

“Of course! And unlike the North, the weather here is amazing. The fields are fertile and crops grow well. This could be a wonderful place to live—but with this standard of living, it’s no wonder people from the capital look down on the South.”

Her past life as an influencer meant her head was always filled with business ideas and marketing strategies.

Even during this short tour of the Southern Province, countless project ideas were already swirling in her mind.

Completely unaware of the meaningful gaze being cast upon her.