There was the flapping of white feathered wings in the eyrie.

Marie was in the mail room of the ducal mansion, which was a small tower with a balcony that overlooked the surrounding estate. The alabaster stone was brilliant in the morning sun, and numerous pigeon-like birds were perched on the railing. Occasionally, a new visitor would glide in from the distance and join the diverse flock of avians, with a small rolled message discreetly tied to its legs.

Messenger birds.

They were the preferred method of personal communication in the Vierla Kingdom, and their main appeal was privacy.

Although long-range communication magic also existed and was routinely employed, it was like broadcasting one's message to everyone in the world. It was an extremely trivial affair to eavesdrop into communication spells, and everyone knew that such magic shouldn't be used to transmit sensitive or delicate information. Traditional methods using physical mail offered far superior security.

Marie quietly checked the receiving box in the aviary's atrium.

She was expecting mail, but it was empty.

"Good morning, Duchess Von Mabraec," an old man said.

"Ah—" Marie jumped. She had not seen him earlier.

Gregor was the keeper who cared for all the birds in the aviary. He also served as the postmaster, in the sense that he collected and sorted all the mail that the mansion received. He had been employed at the ducal mansion since the tenure of the previous duke, and in fact he had worked here his entire life. 

Quietly, Marie was cautious about his loyalties, especially since he served the previous duke, but she had been too soft-hearted to fire the old man from his job. It would probably be difficult for him to find employment, and the mansion was legitimately his home after living here for the past forty years. That said, handling mail was sensitive business, and her husband received plenty of classified messages every day. It was poor practice to allow outsiders to manage their correspondence.

"Good morning, Gregor." She responded politely.

"You have one message, my lady. The bird that delivered your remittances to your family has returned. Your parents send their regards, and they remind you not to overwork yourself."

Marie nodded.

Since her parents were commoners, Marie regularly sent money to her family every month. Although they told her it wasn't necessary, Marie insisted and continued mail them cash. Marie's mother worked in a textile factory, and the machinery was very dangerous. Every year, there were dozens of people who got their arms caught in the mechanical devices, and the water-powered machines wouldn't stop even if there was an accident. Honestly, she hoped that her parents would just retire. Now that she was married to Hector, the newly appointed Duke of Calpagne, they had a considerable amount of income that they received in taxes from the entire duchy.

"Duchess Von Mabraec? Pardon me, but are you resting well? Lately you've looked rather pale. If you're having trouble sleeping, Beatrice the Head Maid brews an excellent herbal tea. It's very relaxing, and I highly recommend it."

Marie blinked in surprise.

She hadn't realized that the servants had noticed a change in her behavior, especially since she spent so little time around them. Marie always thought that her acting was impeccable, and she had been very careful to hide any signs of abuse. Despite her delicate and innocent appearance, she had in fact spent two whole years battling against the Demon King's forces. Marie was tougher than she looked, and her willpower was like iron.

"Ah? Is that so? Thank you, Gregor. I'll keep that in mind."

She politely exchanged a few pleasantries and excused herself.

Overall, the servants of the manor were very pleasant. Marie felt bad for firing so many of them when they moved in, especially since they seemed so nice and professional, but she really had no use for that many servants. She hoped that they didn't think too poorly of her when they gossiped out of earshot, but Marie was naturally introverted. She did not really enjoy socializing, especially since it was basically a workplace environment. She could feel the tension and nervousness in the less experienced staff when they spoke to her.

Marie walked through the silent hallways with several folders of documents in her hands.

She anxiously chewed her lips.

The mail that she hoped to receive did not come in today, and there was little she could do about her marital dilemma before that anticipated correspondence from the capital arrived. However, fretting was useless and completely unproductive. She wouldn't be helping anyone if she locked herself in her room and wallowed in misery.

Perhaps she could distract herself with some paperwork.

Marie pushed open the door to her office and sat down with her stack of documents.

She tried to focus on the squiggly words on the parchment.

The previous duke was horribly corrupt, and he had been ousted when it was discovered that he had sworn an oath of allegiance to the former Demon King. Hector was the replacement appointed by the king, but it wasn't exactly easy for a war hero to suddenly switch their skills to civil governance. Being good with a sword didn't mean you were good at politics.

Marie and her husband were both in their early twenties, which was conspicuously young compared to their aristocratic peers. There were many sly aristocrats who were already trying to maneuver themselves into their inner circle, offering manipulative suggestions thinly veiled under the guise of "advice" or "mentorship" coming from more experienced governors.

To make things more challenging, the former duke was incredibly shrewd. Even though he was thoroughly corrupt and a secret agent of the Demon King, he was an efficient ruler and extremely popular with the civilians. Many of the locals were unhappy that the former duke had been arrested and executed, and some of the minor nobility were nearly openly hostile.

They had large shoes to fill, and the previous duke had a strong legacy.

It was actually very stressful.

On top of everything they were going through in the bedroom, Marie felt the pressure to be a competent ruler.

Since she had grown up as a commoner and graduated from the top of her class at the Royal Academy, Marie's first instinct was to try creating a public education system. She had only been able to reach her current standing in life because she was lucky enough to receive an aristocrat's education, but otherwise she would have been an ordinary peasant just like everyone else.

Marie felt like there were many more commoners who were deserving of a good education.

She had spent the past several months struggling with the logistics, but it was far more challenging than she expected.

Most people that she talked to were dismissive of the idea, and there was only a limited budget that the duchy could afford to spend without raising taxes. Hector also had his own goals, and most people saw Marie's education reform as the wife's hobby project that didn't have to be taken very seriously. 

For instance, the previous duchess dumped hundreds of thousands of gold coins on planting rose bushes and blossoming cherry trees all around the regional capital. Honestly, it was a really cheap and visible way to raise popularity, but it wasn't exactly a useful way to spend taxes.

That said, Marie wasn't even that sure about her own goals.

Would something like universal education even work??? There was no precedent for such a thing in the history of their kingdom, and many people called her naive or too idealistic. 

It felt like she was in a slump, but the silver-haired woman scanned through the documents on her desk.

Currently, she was trying to negotiate contracts with dozens of regional orphanages. The idea was that they would receive incentive payments for every child they taught, and any child that passed a standardized exam would earn the orphanage more cash. Money made the world go round, and Marie was under no naive assumptions that anyone would do it for free.

The reason for operating through orphanages was that the duchy already funded most of those institutions, so Marie held the purse strings. She could threaten to withhold funding to force them to change their operations, although she normally preferred softer methods.

The biggest problem was there was simply not enough qualified teachers, which meant juggling another round of contracts with other organizations. The clergy and various monasteries held the greatest number of literate adults, which meant negotiating some kind of arrangement where priests and nuns would go live and teach at orphanages. 

Every party had terms and conditions, and Marie couldn't get everything that she wanted.

For instance, the Church wanted an extensive religious curriculum added to primary school education, or else they wouldn't participate.

Various merchant guilds and trade unions wanted to make sure that their middle-class children wouldn't be negatively impacted by any diplomas issued from a standardized exam, and an association of nobles insisted on having several sections on etiquette, magic, music, fine arts, and other subjects that orphaned children could not possibly score high on.

The result was an education system that was rigged in favor of the rich and powerful, which was a far cry from what she originally envisioned. Marie could only swallow the egg and accept the mildly distasteful outcome of negotiations, compromise, and politics.

The first version of something was never all that good.

She tried not to be too discouraged.

She was still working towards her ideals, even if everything was moving excruciatingly slow.

She had the unique privilege to try something to improve things for people less fortunate than her.

It was just that adult life wasn't exactly what she imagined.

∎

minacia

Sorry if this chapter was too boring/political.