The Grandfort Region of Ferus Kingdom. If one were to describe it, it was a region past its prime. Located at the northern part of the kingdom, It used to be a more prosperous place, but after years of bad harvests and monster raids, it had fallen quite a way behind from its neighbours, turning into a poor and impoverished region. It used to prosper for the mines it once had, but they all had dried up, leaving only places for monsters to breed and flourish. It’s difficult to farm in such a cold region, and traders preferred not to use the region as part of their trading route thanks to said monsters raids and bandits being unfortunately common. Certainly, its current Lord had tried to turn things around, just like his father and his father before that did, but alas, every one of his efforts had failed terribly, simply due to the fact that he didn’t have enough resources to turn things around. Ferus was a cold country from the start, and his region was easily the coldest. He didn’t have enough funds to hire high-level adventurers to fend off the ferocious monsters constantly and he certainly didn’t have enough funds to hire mages capable of ensuring the crops in his territory would grow abundantly. In a cold region like his where you could barely see the sun, and where the winter was long and the summer was short, there really wasn’t much that he could do to make the place more prosperous. All the funds in his coffers went to soldiers employed to repel said bandits and general highwaymen, which, in an impoverished region such as this, were many. Not to mention that it was a border region, which meant it was required for him as part of his duties to the king to spend a set amount of money to fund the soldiers guarding said border. 

A certain traveler was leading her humble passenger carriage through this barren land. It was summer so the snow wasn't falling, but the terrain remained dreary and the air remained cold nonetheless. She was currently wearing a green furcoat, worn with her normal dress underneath. She had purchased it and two others with the last of her money. Since she didn't stop to take quests or do odd jobs, she didn't have any additional income to replenish her once abundant coffer. It didn't help that she had to replace her carriage and horse with it after a certain incident she was involved in.

No matter. Her destination was already very near after all.

So this is the region Grandfather lives in… It really is as cold and wretched as those people have described.

To think that his territory would be so similar to that person’s territory...

Marina Greenwood. The daughter of Alan and Renee Greenwood who hailed all the way from the south. Her journey had taken her months, and it wasn’t an easy one, especially when she had a little kid with her. When people saw her, they didn’t think much of her at first, believing her to be simply just a run-of-the-mill adventurer that they could find everywhere. However, once they took notice of the fact that she was traveling with a young girl, some would grow more sympathetic towards her, thinking that they had to be some family that had fallen on hard times. No one would take a young girl with her if she was really just an adventurer.

Little did they know that she was the very same person that the rumors had spoken of.

“The Witch of Verdant Death". That was what the adventurers who spread the rumors called her. She was a powerful Earth mage who had made a mess out of Mosa, conjuring a giant tree and an army of treants and woodland creatures to destroy the city. And not only that, she defeated their general as well, a powerful Champion-rank swordsman of the Lancelot Order in a decisive battle, summoning a monstrous dryad in the process. His army was entirely obliterated, and only he was left alive to set an example.

Of course, rumors were never completely accurate. People would just add and exaggerate things as they transmitted them to others, until eventually, the truth became lost in the void. They said that the witch had massacred the residents of the city and its soldiers, but that was far from the truth. The creatures that she had summoned didn’t harm anyone innocent. Even she spared the army that was chasing after her, immobilizing them instead of taking their lives.

It didn’t help that the official statement released by the kingdom itself exaggerated her supposedly evil deeds. After the defeat of their hero general, the kingdom was gravely humiliated, and so they put on a bounty for her head. 

And of course, no one said anything about the part where she begged the town guards to save her kidnapped little sister, which was the impetus for the whole incident to begin with. The masses wanted their big, scary villainous witch. And so they made up one. Thankfully, none of them suspected that it would be a young 16-year old girl travelling with a five-year old.

Even if they would know it was her and started to chase after her as if she was this awful criminal, she wouldn’t have any regrets. She would do it all over again, if it meant saving her little sister from her terrible fate.

But this region… it’s quite in a bad state, isn’t it? Marina thought so as she looked over their surroundings. She was currently riding on her carriage, taking the driver seat. So she had the perfect place to notice just how barren the land surrounding her was.

If the soil is like this, I don't think they would be able to grow anything… Maybe this region's income comes from something else? Mining or logging perhaps?

Well, I'll just have to ask Grandfather when we arrive.

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The town of Lochestat was pretty much the center of the Grandfort Region. It wasn't that big of a town, and it was built in better times where the region was more prosperous, back when the mines were still up and running. Sadly, those times vanished the moment the mines dried up. Now, those mines only became abandoned monster nests, just another place for the local adventurers to earn their keep.

Or so Marina learned from the receptionist of the Adventurer’s Guild in the city.

This is worse than I thought… I never knew just how much a warmer climate could mean for the prosperity of a region, like back at Marchen.

She made a stop on the Guild as she had her lunch, just so she could gain more information on the region. From the receptionist, she also learned where the mansion of her grandfather, the Earl, was located.

With both hope and apprehension in her heart, she led her carriage there, to where the one and only Earl of Grandfort lived.

Before that though, she and her Entourage would need a costume change first.

---------

Marina

"Halt! What business do you have with the Earl?!"

As expected, I would be greeted by his guards like this.

Using the tip given to me by Glinda, I pretended to be of noble heritage as much as I could. That meant I would let Nysa take the reign as my carriage driver, dressed in a cheap maid outfit I had bought for her, which she seemed to be quite fond of by the way. I suppose there is a certain charm in them. Even I have some interest in wearing them myself, though I don't believe I will look good in it in the slightest.

The dryad also had taken her human form, so that the guards and any other humans who saw her wouldn't be alarmed. As a familiar, she had gained said ability as well.

"I brought with me the granddaughter of Lord Archimonde himself. Let us pass," she spoke. I had instructed her to act as a proud servant, one who wouldn't be pushed around by mere gate guards.

"Ha! Do you think you're the first to try that? Go away or we'll make you leave!" One of the guards spoke.

"Or would you rather warm our bed for the night?" Another guard spoke with a lecherous expression. "The Earl doesn't care in the slightest of impostors like you and your 'granddaughter'. They'll put you two in jail and then we'll get to have our way with you."

"Is something the matter, Nysa?"

"Miss Greenwood! These obstinate guards… they're being awfully rude! They even dare making lewd comments about you!"

It was time for me to make my appearance.

I stepped out of the carriage, putting on my most pleasant and elegant smile.

"Greetings. I am Marina Greenwood, the daughter of the Earl's runaway son, Alan Greenwood. Or to be more accurate, Alancourt Archimond."

That was Father's real name. When I first heard it from Mother, I laughed. It really didn't suit him in the slightest.

"And here is Erika Greenwood, my little sister."

I told her to come out with me as well, even though she didn't want to. It wouldn't do if we made them suspicious by hiding a person inside the carriage.

She shyly hid behind me. She too wore a fur coat, though hers was colored white.

"And of course, I have a letter of introduction that would prove my identity."

I took out said letter from my pocket, written and signed by Glinda and stamped by the Royal Seal. Of course, it was possible that I simply forged it, but would they take the risk, offending the granddaughter of an Earl?

I gave the letter to Nysa, and Nysa gave it to them. A noble wouldn't want to be in contact with commoners after all.

The moment they saw the royal seal, they gulped. They looked back at me and then the letter and then back at me again.

"P-please forgive us for our rudeness, Lady Marina!" They promptly bowed at me.

"No problem," I replied, still keeping my elegant smile. "You are simply doing your job, that's all."

And with that simple trick, I got in the building with no problem whatsoever.

---------

"Please, wait here. The Earl will be seeing you shortly."

We were brought into the drawing room inside the mansion and told to wait there as one of our receiving maids fetched Grandfather. Oh, by the way, we were greeted by a group of maids and butlers when we first entered the building, saying in a harmonious unison, “Welcome back, Miss Archimond!”, which naturally made me feel uncomfortable. How could they say “Welcome back” when I was never here in the first place? Not to mention the fact that I still thought of myself as a Greenwood, and not the Granddaughter of an Earl.

One of the guards had no doubt panickedly ran inside, spreading the word to the servants there that the Earl’s granddaughter had arrived. I don’t believe it is such a wise thing to do though. It’s not like they have confirmed my identity. But I suppose the sight of the royal seal was enough for them to accept the truth of my words.

If I had to say my first impression of the place, then it would be that the place had certainly seen better days. It was clear that it was not as well-kept as the mansions I had been in, from the Baron’s place to Glinda’s place. Just like how the region used to prosper, I could tell that this house used to have its better times as well.

I sat down on one of the couches along with Erika, who looked around nervously around the room while taking a hold of my right hand. Nysa on the other hand remained standing behind the couch. I felt bad for telling her to do so, but it was how a maid was supposed to act, thus she had to play the role, at least for now.

Then again, she’s a dryad. She should be used to standing all the time, as a tree spirit. Hopefully.

Another maid stood near the door. I suppose she was to attend to us as we waited. Remembering what Glinda said, a noble was supposed to always have a servant to attend to her at all times, except from when she was asleep.

I tried not to pay attention to her, as I sensed she was eyeing me from top to bottom.

We waited like that for what felt like an eternity, until suddenly, the maid standing beside the door announced that the Earl had arrived.

A man wearing a crimson robe entered the room, moving with the help of his walking stick. The hair on his head was white, as well as his beard. He stood with a slump, seemingly unable to stand perfectly straight. The maid tried to help him but he shooed her off. He then sat at the couch opposite of mine, and immediately I took note of his piercing gaze.

This is… Grandfather?

"So… you believe you are my granddaughter—the daughter of that fool of a boy who abandoned his duties to play adventurer."

"Yes," I firmly replied, locking my eyes with his. "I am his daughter, Marina. And she is Erika, my little sister. There's also my little brother, Hugo, but unfortunately he can't be here right now," I averted my gaze for a moment. "We came here to seek refuge, Grandfather, for he and Mother have been murdered by the Magocracy, and they might be after us as well."

At the word "murdered", his eyes widened terribly, to the point that it felt like they were going to pop out from their sockets at any minute. His entire body shook before a fit of coughing assaulted him.

"Milord!" The maid yelped as she came to his side.

"Silence!" He hit her with his stick, causing her to retreat. He then returned his glare right back at me. "You wretched girl! How dare you spew those vile lies right to my face?"

"I do not lie, Grandfather. It is the truth. They were murdered because they tried to save me from them."

His stick flew in a rage, straight towards my face. However, I caught it mid-air before it could make an impact.

It was terribly easy. It was simply an angry flail of an old man.

“Grandfather, if you must hit me, then please do so for my blunder. It was my weakness that led to me being kidnapped by one of their Council mages. But please, do not hit me for bringing you this truth. For I do not lie. I suffer from his death as much as you do.”

The room seemingly froze. I returned his glare with my own. Now that I saw his eyes closely like this, I could see how much he resembled Father in a certain way. And I hoped he would be able to see my resemblance to Father as well.

And then, his coughing fit returned, prompting the maid to once again come to his aid.

“Please, if you’re truly his granddaughter, then leave him be for now,” she said to me with a pleading look. “You may stay in one of the guest rooms. The other maids outside would show you to the place.”

I nodded, agreeing with her suggestion. Any parents would need some time on their own to grieve after hearing that their child was dead. Even if he himself might believe he hated Father, I knew for the fact that deep down, he still cared deeply for him.

To think that I would have to bring such bad news to him while he was in such a state… Grandfather is sick. There’s no doubt about it.

For a second, I had a thought to come to him and comfort him, telling him that everything was going to be fine as I was now here. However, I refrained from the idea. He still hadn’t trusted me yet. And the way he refused help, he was clearly a very prideful man, which might be the reason why Father left him in the first place. Both men were too stubborn to surrender to the other.

“Come, Erika. Nysa.”

They didn’t voice any objections.

---------

We were given a large room of our own. Or rather, it was a series of rooms, with a big one for me and Erika, and a small side room for Nysa as my personal maid. For now, she would assume that identity until I was accepted by Grandfather. Then, I could tell everyone that she was actually my familiar instead. It would be too much if I exposed the fact that she wasn’t actually human right away.

“Sis, that was Grandpa, wasn’t it?” Erika suddenly spoke up. We were currently sitting on our bed, which was a major improvement over all the not-so-fluffy beds we had to sleep with through our journey. “Why is he so scary? And angry?” she said as she hugged my arm, looking reluctantly away. “Does he hate us?”

“Don’t be silly, Erika.” I smiled, bringing her closer to my embrace. “He’s simply saddened by the news of Father’s death. He’ll come around.”

“He looks sick too. Is he going to be alright?”

“Oh, he’s fine. It’s just the cold, that’s all. It’s easy to catch that when the wind is so chilly after all.” I gave her a comforting smile.

Erika was no stranger to colds and fevers and the like. Several times in our journey she suffered those maladies—the first was after the whole kidnapping incident. She was shaken greatly by it, and that made her body weaker. Thankfully, I could produce the necessary medicinal herbs to assuage and cure her ailment, using my magic. I was never that good at alchemy, but creating basic remedies like that was certainly in my repertoire.

Of course, I was no fool. I knew that wasn’t just some normal cough. But she didn’t need to know that, did she?

When Erika fell asleep, as she often did in the afternoon hours, I decided to make my move.

I have to comfort Grandfather after all.