An Unexpected Visitor

Sithis had previously made an agreement with Anna to help rebuild Ostrava.

Food, draft animals, and people.

With the first snow just melted, carts arrived carrying sacks of wheat and beans, baskets of fresh turnips and apples.

The draft animals were mainly sturdy plow horses, along with matching plows and harrows.

Among them, only one heavy wheel plow—after all, such a thing was a rare commodity, or perhaps Sithis was reluctant to lend all his heavy wheel plows to Svein.

“My Lady, for God’s sake, please forgive our sins.”

In the ruins of Ostrava, busy people came and went. Several gaunt men knelt before the leather boots of a golden-haired woman.

“I don’t understand. What crime have you committed?” Noren pretended ignorance, her gaze calm as she looked down at the men sprawled like beggars.

“M-My Lady, we should never have… when the bandits attacked the village, we ran away. We are cowards, we are guilty. Please, have mercy and forgive us!” The oldest man pleaded piteously.

His loud pleas attracted the attention of other commoners. The golden-haired woman swept a cold glance around. Any commoner who paused lowered their head, not daring to meet her eyes, and went back to work.

“Why only the few of you?” Noren crossed her arms, her tone cold and indifferent.

“I-I don’t know. The bandits attacked suddenly. Many didn’t bring torches. They might have gotten lost in the woods, starved, frozen, or been killed by wolves or wild dogs. Many I didn’t know. Perhaps the survivors fled to Hradec and didn’t want to leave.” The old man spoke hurriedly.

“And you, why did you come back? Isn’t Hradec much better than my little village?”

The old man, though only in his thirties or forties, crawled forward to kiss Noren’s boots. Noren felt a chill of disgust, even at the thought of him kissing her leather boots. She stepped back to avoid the kiss.

“I forgive you.” Noren suppressed the nausea, waving her hand at the old man as if shooing a fly.

“Hada, come here!” Noren beckoned. A s*ave dressed in coarse linen clothes approached.

“Miss.” Hada bowed slightly.

“Take these men to work. They’re under your charge from now on.” Noren added after a thought: “They are serfs, remember, not free peasants.”

“I understand, Miss.” Hada nodded.

“Serfs…” The men’s faces turned pale. They had been free peasants with land in Opava, and had come to Ostrava as free men. They hadn’t expected to become serfs upon their return.

“Don’t kneel next time. I hate that.” Noren took two steps, then turned back: “And if you ever try to kiss my boots with that filthy mouth of yours again, I’ll have every man in the village shove their smelly feet into your mouth and make you lick them clean.”

Noren left. The men stood up, regret flickering in their eyes. They looked at each other: “Did we come to the wrong place? How is she different from before?”

A whip cracked by the old man’s feet, kicking up dirt and grass. Hada’s face darkened: “Don’t let me hear you gossiping about the young miss again. My whip will eat the flesh off your bones!”

The men flinched and stood straight. “Yes!” they shouted. Hada’s expression softened: “Don’t worry. As long as you work hard, everyone gets enough to eat. Those who excel may even become freemen.” The men’s anxious hearts eased slightly. “Follow me. I’ll assign you work.” The men followed Hada.

****

Ostrava · Blacksmith’s Cottage · First Floor Hall

Unexpectedly, along with the supplies from Hradec, there was a familiar face. An unexpected person.

“I offer you my most sincere respects, honourable shieldmaiden.” A dwarf-sized man clumsily bowed to Noren.

“You are…” Noren pointed at the dwarf, then remembered: “You’re the little dwarf who ambushed me at night in Osbrook!”

“Night ambush!” Frey, who was cooking porridge by the hearth, perked up his ears. He seemed to have heard something remarkable.

“Ha ha ha! You’re so funny. At that time, wasn’t I caught by Sir Cherni and thrown into the dungeon for interrogation?” The dwarf forced a laugh, his expression stiff.

“Yes, but when I met you again, you ambushed my caravan.” The golden-haired woman smiled. “I let you off before because I was in a good mood. Now you’re delivering yourself to me, aren’t you?”

“Hmm?” Noren sat at the table, chin in hand, eyeing the dwarf with amusement, watching beads of cold sweat trickle down his forehead.

“B-b-but I didn’t offend you…” The dwarf stammered, gesticulating wildly.

“Heh, don’t worry. I won’t do anything to you.” Noren said.

The dwarf let out a sigh of relief, but the golden-haired woman’s next sentence made his blood run cold again. “At most, I’ll have you hanged by law.”

“My Lady!” The dwarf’s composure crumbled. “I come on the orders of Mayor Igo, to invite you to a banquet!”

“?” Noren was confused. She stared at the dwarf for a long moment, then said: “You mean… Mayor Igo?”

“Yes!” The dwarf nodded vigorously.

The woman burst out laughing, like a spring blossom. She wiped a tear of laughter from her eye: “Igo became mayor? Mayor of Kroměříž? Haha! How amusing! How funny!”

The next moment, the woman’s face turned cold like flipping a book. “You are lying to me.”

An imposing aura erupted from the shieldmaiden, pressing heavily on the dwarf’s shoulders. He fell from his chair, crashing to the ground.

The dwarf watched the tall shieldmaiden stand up and walk straight toward him. One step, two steps. The dwarf kicked his legs backward in fear.

The shieldmaiden’s right hand rested on the sword at her waist. A cold gleam seeped from the gap of the scabbard.

Just as the dwarf thought he was about to meet his end, a lazy voice sounded: “Sis, stop scaring him.”

The heavy pressure on the dwarf’s shoulders suddenly dispersed. The immense aura vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.

“Hmph.” Noren chuckled lightly. “So easily scared.”

She sat back down on the wooden chair, crossed her legs, took a gentle sip from her wine glass, and said: “Now, you can tell me your purpose.”

The dwarf gasped for breath, his back already soaked with cold sweat. ‘She’s become even more terrifying in just a few months,’ he thought in alarm.