TFAR 15

chapter 15

Unlike Others, Faster Than Anyone

Perhaps because her status had been revealed, the annex where Serena had stayed yesterday had been polished to a dazzling shine. Lucas finished a hot bath, casually discarded his shirt, and sank onto the sofa.

“The wine has an unusual color.”

Although the ducal attendants offered to serve him dinner, Lucas was too full to accept after wandering throughout the Astel Duchy all day and sampling so many delicacies.

The attendant then placed a few biscuits, some fruit, and a glass of the drink before withdrawing.

“This isn’t wine, Your Highness.”

“Hm?”

“I asked when serving Your Highness during your bath. They say it’s a fruit wine made from Astel berries.”

Even Lucas, who had traveled across the continent, knew of Astel berries. But a wine made from them? That made this territory even more mysterious.

“Pour me some.”

Cedric poured the fruit wine into a thin, tall glass. Its translucent red glow sparkled beautifully. Lucas inhaled its scent for a moment, then took a sip.

“Huh…”

After making a curious sound, Lucas drank the entire glass in one go.

“Sweet and refreshing… and the aftertaste is remarkably clean. Another?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Cedric also sipped the drink and widened his eyes in surprise.

“It’s different from wine. The natural sweetness of the fruit is preserved, making it crisp and delightful.”

“Impressive.”

Lucas murmured softly, taking another glass.

“By next year, not just Astel berries, but Astel fruit wine will be all the rage across the continent.”

The specialty made from Astel berries was already famous, its name alone guaranteeing quality. But Astel’s development didn’t seem likely to stop there.

“After the engagement, I’ve been on campaigns and wandering for six years.”

The duties of the Tern imperial family were strict. Lucas had participated in battles as Crown Prince in place of the ailing former emperor, fulfilling his obligations.

In his free time, he traveled to observe conditions firsthand, marking a notably impressive coming-of-age for the young prince.

“While I was wandering and at war, my fiancée was quietly accomplishing remarkable things here.”

Following the mysterious map laid out today, they were greeted with an array of new innovations.

“I was honestly very surprised as well.”

Women worked in factories producing jams and handmade fermented drinks from Astel berries, while in the same building, facilities sterilized bottles in hot water and attached labels.

“Such products didn’t even exist in the capital.”

And that wasn’t all. Following the symbol shaped like a bed, they found a windmill towering like a castle tower.

The windmill itself wasn’t extraordinary, but the fact that it ground livestock feed using wind power was astonishing.

“Ten farmers’ work done effortlessly.”

Thanks to his travels, Lucas knew the lives of commoners in detail—perhaps more than any emperor before him.

“Yes, even the children were receiving education.”

Following the pen symbol on the map, children gathered to learn arithmetic.

“They weren’t nobles, just the children of commoners.”

Lucas murmured in disbelief, raising his glass again.

“How could these children possibly use arithmetic? Even noble daughters weren’t taught such things.”

“I’m not sure. It seems they learned a few other subjects too… though the teacher wasn’t a noble either.”

“Indeed… this is utterly absurd.”

Lucas nodded. Commoners educating their own children was beyond logic; usually, from the time they could walk, children helped with work. To learn arithmetic from a slate with chalk—he wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t seen it himself.

“Above all… didn’t a divine calamity strike Astel?”

“Yes, it’s recorded to have occurred about five and a half years ago.”

Natural disasters were both divine will and catastrophe—something humans could not resist but merely endure.

“So this… all started after the young lady arrived here?”

“Yes.”

“Then what about that disaster? How could such things even be possible?”

Cedric, of course, had no idea.

“That’s enough. I’ll ask the person herself. Summon the attendant.”

“Now, sir?”

“Yes.”

Cedric nodded and stepped outside. After speaking with the attendant for a few moments, he returned, looking slightly dazed.

“Why, did she refuse to see me tomorrow?”

“No, not at all.”

Of course. The attendant had only just been summoned and could hardly know Serena’s intentions. Though it was a little disappointing, this was merely the annex where Serena stayed, not her main residence.

“The acting duchess… that is, the young lady, will rise in the morning.”

“I know. I saw this morning.”

“No, not that… she gets up immediately at dawn and begins her day, like the men.”

Lucas blinked slowly.

“Immediately at dawn?”

Noblewomen typically remained in bed until late morning as custom and etiquette dictated.

“Even if they wake early, they wait for the head maid to call them, receive breakfast in bed, and only wash and prepare themselves after being prompted again—usually past 10 a.m.”

“But she rises at seven? And begins her duties at that hour?”

“Yes, sir. The morning bell rings at seven, and that’s when all activities of the ducal household, including hers, commence.”

Though unusual, it impressed Lucas that Serena disregarded even the smallest formalities.

“I’ve instructed the attendant to schedule her earliest possible activities.”

“Astel truly seems like a world of its own.”

Even when he had traveled to foreign lands, he had never felt such novelty. But in his own empire, his fiancée’s way of running Astel continued to amaze him.

“And Your Highness, the fruit wine served today is said to be rather strong.”

Cedric noted that Lucas was slightly tipsy. The combined fatigue from riding long distances and touring the duchy all day made the effect more noticeable.

“They vary the alcohol content too?”

Lucas showed no visible sign of intoxication, but his unsteady steps toward bed betrayed the potency of Astel fruit wine.

“…She’s clever.”

Collapsing onto the bed, he closed his eyes.

“A frighteningly clever woman.”

Even Cedric felt the effects of the wine. He quickly attended to the prince’s bed, then lay down on a small bed in the adjoining room, drifting off immediately.

“Astel… fruit wine… amazing…”

It was clear that whatever Serena did next would shake the entire continent. The unstoppable pace of her achievements—undeterred even by a typhoon—was only beginning.

As Lucas and his entourage were surprised, Serena’s morning began with the ringing of the bell.

“Good morning, Miss.”

“Morning, Anna.”

Today, like every day, Serena washed herself briskly without any attendants. She wore her usual simple dress with no jewelry, yet her twenty-four-year-old beauty shone vividly.

“Good morning, young lady.”

Once she finished her morning routine, Peter, the head attendant, greeted her, marking the start of Astel’s daily activities.

“I’ve been thinking—the distribution of Astel fruit wine requires more planning. If taxed as alcohol, it might incur losses.”

Rising early and staying up late, Serena’s ideas flowed continuously.

“I hadn’t considered that.”

“I’ll discuss it with the merchants of the Parel Duchy. Unlike our empire, there’s no liquor tax there. If successful, it could bring immense profit.”

While Serena’s eyes sparkled with excitement, Anna completed her own task—arranging Serena’s hair into a single high bun, just as the young lady preferred.

“Miss, don’t you dislike the Parel Duchy?”

“No.”

Her beautiful eyebrows furrowed briefly.

“It’s not the duchy I dislike—it’s the maddeningly persistent, loud-voiced duke.”

Serena was usually unyielding, but the Duke of Parel was persistent enough to challenge her will.

“Is it normal to propose twelve times to a fiancée?”

“Fifteen times, miss.”

“Anyway!”

The Parel Duchy had signed a non-interference treaty with the empire long ago, and its current ruler, Hyde Parel, was four years older than Serena, at twenty-eight.

“Even if the world knows my engagement has ended, his behavior is far too rude.”

Serena’s engagement to the Crown Prince had been six years ago, when she was eighteen. At twenty-four, she was well past the usual marriageable age.

“Proposing repeatedly despite my engagement, refusing yet persisting fifteen times… the rudeness of it all is maddening.”

Rarely did Serena express such frustration first thing in the morning. Being adjacent to the Parel Duchy, she had endured plenty of harassment.

“Ha… but that’s not the problem.”

The bigger problem remained brazenly present at the ducal residence.

“At least the duke could be turned away… but what about His Highness the Crown Prince? Should we delay? Noblewomen usually begin later in the afternoon.”

“Well… even the attendants under the Crown Prince’s orders, and the residents of Astel, have praised the young lady for rising early to carry out her duties. They must already know.”

They say the early bird catches the worm—but in this case, the early-rising young lady had double the work.