ANGSD 33

Chapter 33

Dalton came running from afar, looking around nervously.

When he saw Flown, his eyes went wide, and he hurried over, panting heavily.

“Huff, huff, Your Highness! What on earth—what on earth is this mess—huff, what a ragged sight you’re in! Oh dear, someone bring some new clothes and shoes right away—”

Dalton seemed quite shocked by Flown’s appearance, giving orders, but then he suddenly remembered where he was.

“Your Highness, are you doing some kind of commoner experience? Why on earth were you chopping firewood just now?”

“I was told to chop it by an elder.”

At Flown’s calm reply, Dalton glared fiercely at the village chief.

“Hey, you! Do you even know who this person is to have told them to chop wood?”

“Oh, I just thought he was a flower boy. Would anyone believe he’s the Southern Duke dressed like a beggar?”

“Well, don’t say anything to the elder. I just wanted to try it myself anyway.”

The village chief just shrugged as if to say, “What are you going to do?”

Dalton alone seemed unable to accept the situation.

“Your Highness is truly Your Highness. You chop just because you’re told?! Don’t do that, please.”

“Do you want to do it?”

“Huh? No way. I’m just scared of the axe in Your Highness’s hand… But what happened that you ended up like this? Why did you suddenly leave the proper road and go into the mountains…?”

At Flown’s suddenly sharp glare, Dalton quickly trailed off.

He coughed awkwardly and looked around nervously again.

“But what about the Duchess of the South? Surely she’s not like this too?”

Just as Dalton thought he should go fetch Aileen now that he’d arrived—

From far away came hurried shouting, “Big trouble! Big trouble!”

Because the village chief’s thatched house was on a hill, the runner arrived gasping for breath, then paled and said,

“Chief, there’s a big problem. That flower girl who said she’s the Southern Duchess who arrived yesterday—just now, the administrative officials kidnapped her—oh dear, you’re here! They took your wife!”

At the moment the news that Aileen had been kidnapped reached them—

Thunk—

There was a dull sound from the axe in Flown’s hand.

Watching this, Dalton thought,

“This is going to cause even bigger trouble…”

He closed his eyes with a resigned expression.

“Ugh, being in a small place makes the stench really strong. Did you even wash properly? Did you fall in a cesspool or something?”

“I met a bear in the forest and ran like crazy. How could I know if I stepped in animal dung or tumbled while running?”

“Seeing you talk like that, you seem quite articulate—but it’s funny. Southern Duchess, really. Ha ha ha. Watching the South is truly amusing.”

“Just a low-level bureaucrat like me has never seen the Duke’s face, so I can overlook this kind of rudeness once. Even if you can think with your head that not everything you see is true, you can’t help but believe what you see.”

“She’s completely lost it. It’s a pity. If she were sane, she’d have been living comfortably as a concubine by now. Or maybe some noble family is secretly hiding a madwoman like her. That would make things quite interesting.”

“Yeah, enjoy that nasty smile while you can, you bastards.”

“Bastards? What does that mean?”

“Never mind. The farm from earlier, ripping off people’s money with impossible distribution margins—and you’re also doing awful things to the women in this village, right? I’m the current victim?”

Staring directly at them, Aileen spoke, and the eastern administrator smirked.

“Yeah, right. Me and the southern official here have been building a long friendship in this way. Is there anywhere else like this? Everyone lives like this. Even if we’re lowly officials, who cares? Nobles don’t care if the commoners are exploited—”

The eastern official leaned forward, bringing his face close to hers.

Aileen frowned instinctively at the rotten stench coming from his mouth.

Even the finest southern wine, if poured in a gutter, is just filthy water.

“But the really funny thing is, why does a lowly woman like you worry about the backs of southern people that even the Duke ignores? The world is truly absurd.”

“Don’t bother with him.”

“Well, it’s not all bad. If you really think you’re the Southern Duchess—then I can think of myself as coveting the Southern Duchess now? Rebellion isn’t all bad.”

She lifted a corner of her mouth as his filthy hand stroked her chin.

The administrator’s hand twitched at her inscrutable smile.

Most women would be disgusted, but she seemed to be thinking several moves ahead.

She was clearly mad, definitely mad.

But somehow, the madness in her eyes didn’t seem simple. A chill ran down his spine.

“Clear-eyed… madness, maybe…”

“Huh?”

“Ah, never mind. Just a peculiar woman.”

The official muttered to himself before hastily changing the subject.

Though he tried to pretend otherwise, he was actually unsettled.

More precisely, he felt overwhelmed by something.

A filthy woman who might have rolled around anywhere didn’t just look contemptuous out of pride.

“What is it? What really is…”

That ominous feeling that this could turn deadly if mishandled?

The eastern administrator tried to shake off the feeling.

How could a sane man understand the eyes of a madwoman?

She was crazy, but her face was pretty enough to be easily taken down, just like before.

Unfortunately, his uneasy premonition was correct.

A few minutes later, Aileen began to go berserk.

Right after arriving at the administrator’s mansion, Aileen was led by the maids straight to the bath.

What might happen after the bath was obvious, but it didn’t matter to Aileen.

“Ah, it’s been so long since I last showered!”

She was just happy to finally wash away this dirty, uncomfortable state.

Her joy was brief. Once her wits returned, she asked the maids,

“Is it common to bring village girls here to be handed over to the eastern administrators like this?”

“Well, yes.”

“Isn’t life hard for you here?”

“To be honest, working here is at least something to survive on. Do you think it’s easy for low-class people like us to find work? This is the only chance for promotion. Though promotion just means getting to be a better household maid—but still, better than just twisting straw in the village.”

“If you’re lucky, you might even be sold as a concubine. If unlucky, well—you might end up with a flower in your hair like you. Right?”

“That’s right. Honestly, if it weren’t for this, I’d probably have to pack up and leave or do something like that. Who would buy that anyway? I’m just satisfied with this much.”

Perhaps because Aileen really had a flower in her hair, the maids poured out their complaints to her.

When they said “packing,” Aileen spoke again.

“Packing straw? You mean rattan bags? If you make those well, they’d be really pretty.”

“Sometimes I want to go mad too, given how unrealistic you are. What’s the point of pretty things if no one buys them? Who would buy stuff made in the countryside?”

In crude words, they called her a flower-brain.

It seemed everyone thought that way of Aileen.

The maids clicked their tongues with pity as they looked at her.

But Aileen didn’t care and continued her thoughts.

“Rattan bags are the essence of cottagecore, right? Isn’t that a good idea?”

She had once collaborated with handmade bag artisans from around the world.

On the day of opening, she had made a net profit of 300 million won.

Having succeeded once, why not again?

“Trends? I’m the one who leads all that, so no worries!”

She smiled to herself as she planned to launch a local rattan bag brand.

In fact, even beyond business, Aileen had learned a lot from living with southern residents these past two days.

From dealing with corrupt officials to solving the people’s job shortage.

“When I get back, there’ll be a lot to do and plan.”

Rather than feeling bothered, she felt a strong reason to work harder.

“Maybe I’m just a workaholic.”

She muttered bitterly about how she kept getting herself into things—idling around again in this life was impossible.

Seeing Aileen mutter like that, the maids exchanged worried glances, deeply concerned about this woman who was clearly going crazy.