MCFPM 22

chapter 22

The Grand Ducal Castle of Lavre in the North.

“Are there any other pending issues?”

Sherilotte asked the castle’s retainers, Mina included.

Mina, who had once belonged to the Agricultural Cooperative, became part of the duchy’s agriculture division after the improved crops had successfully taken root in the North. It was like moving from a local priest’s position to a central bishop’s seat in the temple hierarchy.

Mina quickly raised her hand.

“How many rental warehouses have been built so far?”
“They’re steel-framed, so they take some time. But one will be completed at the headquarters before spring passes. Next.”
“Can we receive fertilizer as well?”
“I’ll purchase it.”

As Mina fired off questions like a rapid volley, others began to timidly raise their hands too.

“When will we recruit new knights?”
“Post the announcement immediately.”
“The head chef says he can finally breathe a little easier—he’s asking if we could buy cheese from Mount Trabal.”
“And why are you the one relaying that, Rodier?”

Liam cut in, resting a hand on Rodier’s shoulder.

“With the weather warming, the season of awakening monsters is upon us. The eggs of avian and reptilian types were destroyed last winter, so those should be fine… but we’ll likely need to mount a subjugation for the mammalian types.”
“Understood. Start by organizing a scouting party. Rodier, you’ll take the lead.”
“…My apologies, Your Grace, for mentioning something so frivolous as cheese. If you’d just overlook it this once—”
“Why apologize? It was your duty from the beginning.”
“……”

Rodier bit his lip. His frequent assignments to reconnaissance meant fewer chances to stay with the main force. He muttered bitterly under his breath.

“Well… better scouting than tallying ledgers like when I first arrived…”

Look at that sulking face. Perhaps it was time to put him back into the main force soon.

After that, Sherilotte turned her gaze toward Aeonian, who stood quietly among her retainers.

“……”

He hadn’t spoken a word, but his eyes were sharp. Was he lost in thought? Or had something caught his attention while gathering rumors? Sherilotte asked first.

“Duke of Bascalia—or rather, Priest Aeonian. You look like you have something to say. Speak.”
“…There’s a smell.”
“Hm?”
“Hyenas.”

A metaphor?

But it didn’t take her long to realize he meant it literally.

“Among them are lions, leopards, wildcats… even a horse. Who could have arrived together, hauling carriages, intending to stage a sit-in before the castle gates?”

Sherilotte’s head whipped around.

Beyond the glass window, tiny antlike figures could be seen. Her eyes narrowed.

She wasn’t avian, but her eyesight was exceptionally keen. She easily identified their races—and gave a cold chuckle.

“Well, so it’s no jest, but the truth.”
“Shall we admit them, Your Grace?”

Sherilotte chewed her lip, then nodded.

“They’re the noble professors from the Academy. Refusing them would only stir up greater trouble.”
“As you command.”

Aeonian bowed.

It wasn’t long before the professors stormed into her office inside the castle. The first words Sherilotte heard—straight from the leopard professor—were these:

“My word, Lady Sherilotte! How can you treat guests in such a manner?”
“What?”
“To attend to a guest’s business straightaway without even allowing them to rest from their journey?”

Her expression turned as cold as a snowstorm.

She knew these professors from the Biology Department, but she was in no way close to them. They were the very people who had exploited her senior through their authority.

Her voice dropped low as she addressed them.

“Do you take this place to be as familiar as the Academy?”
“No, no, you misunderstand. He only meant—what’s the rush? You don’t even know why we’ve come yet.”

The lion professor shook his curly mane and narrowed his eyes. The impatient leopard behind him jabbed a finger toward Sherilotte.

“Or perhaps you’re trembling because you already know what wrong you’ve done!”
“…How dare you flap your mouths so carelessly here?”

Liam, unable to endure it further, snapped. Seeing the massive bear beastman bristle made the feline professors falter briefly—only to raise their voices even louder.

“What did you say? Are you threatening us?”
“Good heavens… Lady Sherilotte, are northerners always this crude? That subordinate is utterly unfit.”
“Indeed, perhaps you’d be better off returning east where you belong.”
“……”

The horse associate professor, who had come along, alone kept silent.

How far had the name of the Chartreuse Grand Duchess fallen, for such vermin to spew such drivel? Sherilotte suppressed the urge to dig at her ear with a finger and sighed.

“A cheap chorus. Hard to listen to. Sit down, all of you.”
“What was that?”
“Otherwise, I might mistake you for pigs and slit your throats.”

A flash of white fangs showed between her lips. At that, the professors coughed awkwardly and finally sat.

“So then—what is it you want?”
“Hrmm… first, tea should be served—”
“What is it you want?”

Her sharp retort made them glance at one another nervously.

She was no longer the student who had tinkered with machines, magic stones, and schematics at the Academy. She was now a Grand Duchess, and clearly not one to yield easily. The lion professor finally broke the silence.

“You know, of course, that Academy-bred seeds carry patents and cultivar protection rights?”
“Of course.”
“Good, then this will be quick.”

He drew out a document.

[Improved Crop Patent Rights]

A patent deed—in their names.

“To cultivate patented crops, royalties must be paid.”
“……”
“Yet you grew them without any such notice or arrangement.”

He waved his finger dramatically at the contract’s penalty clause.

[If breached, a fine equivalent to 1 rycle of gold must be paid.]

“So then, Lady Sherilotte. As representative of the North, you will cover the penalty.”

Sherilotte exhaled sharply through her lips. When she ignored him, the wildcat professor fanned the flames.

“Exactly. You should have entered a formal contract with our Biology Department.”
“Is that so?”
“You can still recover this by recalling all the crops and sentencing anyone who has grown them to the harshest punishment.”

Oh, these bastards—what polished nonsense they spew.

“Right now?”
“Yes!”
“And the penalty?”
“That must of course be paid as well.”

They spoke in perfect unison, brimming with confidence, as if their minds were linked. Sherilotte dipped her head slightly and murmured.

“Ah, yes. Money, that’s the issue…”

She almost laughed.

Penalty? Patents? All of it nothing but scraps of paper. What faces would they make when they realized it?

“You brought copies of those patent deeds and contracts, didn’t you?”

Her lips curved into a chilly smile.

“Leave them here.”

Now then… time to crush them.

Sherilotte gave the professors rooms and examined the documents they had provided. Nearby, Liam and her maid Cecile fidgeted nervously, watching her.

“What’s wrong?”
“…Are you truly alright, Your Grace?”

Liam asked anxiously. Sherilotte scanned the registration numbers and dates on the patents, nodding.

“Perfectly fine.”
“Even if these were filed from the East?”
“Doesn’t matter. Likely my aunt throwing another hysterical fit.”

Hysteria, she said. The Grand Duchess Freiyu might be formidable, but so was the lord who so casually called her that.

Even Cecile, who had grown softer toward her mistress since Sherilotte’s return, shook her head as she studied the patents.

Her parents were members of the Agricultural Cooperative, so she knew a bit—seed patents usually lasted about twenty years. After that, anyone could use them without royalties.

But these seeds have been around not even five years… how will she counter this…?

Just then, Sherilotte pointed toward the door.

“Cecile.”
“Yes?”
“There should be a patent deed under my bedchamber. Bring it.”

Cecile hurried off and returned with the deed.

Sherilotte laid the two side by side on her desk, checking the registration numbers.

“Hmm. As I thought, the application date is against me.”
“Wh-what do you mean?”
“My patent was registered later than theirs.”

That sounded worse. Liam and Cecile both went pale.

But Sherilotte remained composed. This time, she turned to Liam.

“Do we have a vision orb here?”
“For recording or communication? Which do you need?”
“A communication magic device.”

Following orders, Liam fetched a dust-covered device from storage. Sherilotte infused it with mana and pressed her thumb against the floating magic circle, tracing a pattern.

After a while—whum, whum—the orb projected a rectangular screen.

The image was blurry from weak mana density, but the voice on the other end came through clearly.

When at last a man with long brown hair appeared, a smile curved Sherilotte’s lips.

“Hello, senior.”

She greeted her Academy senior.

“…What?”

He frowned slightly, leaning closer. As his pale face filled the orb’s screen, Sherilotte’s smile deepened.

“It’s me. Sherilotte.”
“Ah… wha—?”
“It’s not an illusion.”

When she nodded, he finally opened his mouth slowly.

“…Well.”
“What’s wrong?”
“No, it’s just… been so long.”

Though he received her greeting with a flat expression, the way he slowly waved betrayed his pleasure at seeing her again. Sherilotte laughed brightly.

Liam’s eyes darted back and forth. Had he ever seen his mistress laugh so freely? What about Duke Bascalia then…? he thought, right as Sherilotte continued.

“Senior, remember that crop you gave me with the patent before I left for the North?”
“Yes, why?”
“When did you publish the paper related to that patent?”

He paused before answering.

“Right after developing the crop.”
“Aha.”

Her smile deepened.

“So the patent was filed later than the paper?”
“Yes. At least in the central registry…”
“And once a paper or research data is published, the technique is considered public domain, correct?”
“Yes… we published it in the southernmost branch of the continent…”

The more she asked, the closer her smile edged toward triumph. Finally, she asked one last question.

“Then unless the paper’s author filed the patent themselves, no professor could dare claim that patent, could they?”

After all, it was technology already disclosed before their patent filing.