The Duke's Unwanted Wife

0"...the construction has not run into any major problems. We did the construction just as you asked but the plans for expansion may clash with the construction of the city walls and gate. In the first instance…your grace, there's something in your hair."    1

    

Blue light flashed around her hair. It was very obvious that there was something in her hair and it made the contractor unable to concentrate.    

    

"You can ignore Cheese. She has decided to use my hair as a nest."    

    

The contractor wanted to say her hair did indeed resemble a nest but he valued his life. He continued to give his report, occasionally glancing at her hair which lit up with specs of blue light. As he was distracted with her hair, she was distracted by a particular werewolf who decided to join the construction of his own accord. He looked happy, chatting away with his kind while lifting things that would be hard for a normal person.    

    

"Are you having any problems with the labourers?"    

    

"No, your grace. They are working better than I expected and we're making progress at breakneck speed. I just think allocating all those funds to them might be a waste."    

    

"You're paid to work, not to run your mouth. If I paid you less just because I thought you were not qualified of my own violation even though we have already agreed on what I should pay you, wouldn't you run to the Queen to complain?"    

    

"I understand."    

    

"You would need to be more understanding than that. You have something precious of mine here. If anything happens to it, rest assured, I will be holding you accountable."    

    

"Yes, your grace."    

    

Marvis was too engrossed to notice that she had left. He didn't know how long it had been since he had enjoyed himself so, especially since it was so safe. His people looked so happy, working diligently to build what would soon become their new home. There was no human settlement for miles and even if humans were to settle there, they would have to live in an environment they shared with werecreatures.    

    

"You look delighted."    

    

"And you've come, like a dark cloud on a sunny day, to ruin that. What do you want, Amaika?"    

    

"You must think all is well after getting to the ancestral grounds and you're working here happily even though your people have become slaves in their own home and who knows how much they're suffering?"    

    

"Drop it, Amaika. You know I'm working hard to help them."    

    

"I can't see what you're doing. You have the resources available yet you prefer to suffer and forge ahead on your own."    

    

"What are you talking about?"    

    

"Are you blind to her wishes or you're intentionally ignoring it? She will do anything to help you!"    

    

"She can't fight against the empire or several centuries of systemic oppression. It's not that simple, Amaika. I can't put our burden on her shoulders and you know damn well you can't either. Look, I know what I'm doing. If you think I'm not growing, check my mana."    

    

Narrowing their eyes, they checked his mana. It wasn't what they expected. Something that could be likened to a pearl had expanded to something akin to an orb. The expansion was more than a thousand times the initial size, which meant he had the power to subdue a Semi-transcendental with ease.    

    

"You…how?"    

    

"I haven't stopped training my mana or my body. I did get some help from Lia but most of it has been on my own. It may seem useless to keep hanging around them but I've been talking to them about our people back home and I know we can find a way to free them and probably bring them here."    

    

"You want to bring them here?"    

    

"Yes. Polivia is open to werecreatures because of cheap labor but with Lia, that can be fixed, even if it's only in the north. We can adapt to the cold and we can make something of our lives here. We don't have to cling to the past. You should understand that, right?"    

    

"What happens if it turns out the same way as it did in the Empire?"    

    

"Then we shall move again," he replied, smiling. Amaika felt his frustrations evaporate. He could remember asking someone else this exact question. That person was more beastly, more brash and abrasive. Yet the answer he gave was the same.    

    

"You are just an endless well of annoyance, aren't you?"    

    

"I'm beginning to think you don't hate me as much as you say you do."    

    

"Shut up!"    

    

Marvis looked around and noticed she wasn't there. His motivation was almost gone and he deflated.    

    

"That entire speech and you were only doing it to impress her?"    

    

"I don't understand what you want from me. I'm a man who is insanely in love with a powerful woman. I have to show her I'm not useless."    

    

Amaika shook their head and walked away. Marvis smiled and picked up from where he left. Amaika found that they caught up with Natalia because she never really left. She was still talking to the contractors, making the plans for the gate. They looked back and saw how the town was slowly coming together. In the future, it would house perhaps the largest population of the werecreatures on the continent. It was a dream many had talked about for years but a single woman managed to achieve it in a few months.    

    

{Psst! Hey you!}    

    

Frowning, they looked up and saw a small face peeking at them from a corner of Natalia's now messy head of hair. They raised their eyebrow, wondering why the fairy was calling them.    

    

{Do you have a snack for me?}    

    

"You absolutely cannot eat where you are right now."    

    

{But I'm hungry!}    

    

"And I don't care. It's either you leave her hair or you stay hungry."    

    

{You're a mean one, divine Bird.}    

    

"What…did you just call me?"    

    

"Are you not a divine bird? I've only seen one in the years I've lived but I can see your ephemeral form hidden beneath that horrible skin suit."    

    

"Don't insult the suit. It was very hard to get one this perfect. There hasn't been a single soul who could recognize me as a divine bird. How did you do it?"    

    

{I'm talented}    

    

Natalia finally turned to Amaika and couldn't manage to catch their attention right away. However, the moment she started speaking, she had their attention.    

    

"I was thinking of making a small army. Polivia doesn't have one but it should. They will be made up of werecreatures and would accompany the convoys and wagons travelling out of Polivia to other kingdoms. What do you think about that?"    

    

"I think it is as reckless as your other plans but I know you will manage to make it work somehow."    

    

"See? That wasn't hard to say," she praised them, patting them on the head. They shook their head as she walked past them, going to inspect the food the werecreatures ate by noon. Not more than a few minutes since she was gone, a fight broke out on the construction site. It quickly devolved to a first fight and the other workers did not intervene except Marvis. He tried to pull them apart, getting blind blows to his face and chest. He didn't give up until the two fighting were separated.    

    

"What's going on?" He asked calmly even though he had been hit several times. The two fighting started shouting at each other again. Unsurprisingly, it was a werecreature against a beastkin. The latter would inevitably lose but it was enough to infuriate him enough.    

    

As they explained why they were angry, it drew the attention of the other laborers and eventually, gossips. They started to carry the news that Natalia in fact did mistreat her laborers and that she should be questioned about her title. The next time she went to the castle, she was immediately summoned to the Queen's office.    

    

"You called for me, your majesty?"    

    

"Are you trying to turn my kingdom into a pasture for domesticated animals?"    

    

"Is that a petty insult, your majesty?"    

    

"Answer me, Duchess Natalia."    

    

"I haven't. I thought the crown didn't have a jurisdiction over the land that already belongs to the nobles."    

    

"That only applies to families with centuries of history."    

    

"But didn't you sign the agreement for the monopoly I sent you?"    

    

"What?"    

    

"You probably didn't read it. It was stated that the northern mountains and the surrounding territories are now a property of the Adamantine family. So not only the new towns but the other three towns in the north now belong to my family and you cannot exercise any jurisdiction over it."    

    

"Did you trick me?!"    

    

"I did not. We had an agreement from the beginning, your majesty. If you are trying to go back on your word, then you will forgive me for being rude. My territory will not become a pasture for domesticated animals but rather the center of a new type of economy for generations to come.    

    

Now, instead of trying to side with those archaic traditions and risk progress, why don't you come to an agreement with me on how the royal family can benefit? I have arrangements for personal investment."    

    

It was only then that the Queen knew she had been caught in a perfectly prepared trap.