Chapter 190: Heddy’s Work Assignments

Gawain rubbed his eyes and fully disengaged from the magical connection with the Dream Lantern.

Since the vision at the Peak of Ancestors ended, no new footage had appeared in the lantern.

Perhaps it was because Selina Gerfen had transformed into a dark priestess afterward, her personality shifting so drastically that she abandoned the habit of constantly recording her surroundings. Or maybe she had died shortly after. Whatever the reason, the clues in the lantern stopped there.

Yet even these fragments were enough to reveal countless truths.

Gawain was about ninety percent sure that the gear worn by Megal III back then was some kind of “spacesuit.” The various magical enhancements he had received were likely intended to help him survive in outer space—or a similar environment. As for the purpose of the entire ritual, or rather Megal III’s “destination”… if Selina’s narration was to be trusted, that mysterious attempt to communicate with the gods was essentially about sending a pope into the divine realm.

So the divine realm was located in space? Or did one have to travel through space for a time to reach it?

What truths had those religious leaders uncovered seven centuries ago?

Selina’s narration mentioned a “divine revelation.” It seemed those leaders had received intelligence about the divine realm through this revelation, learning about its environmental parameters. Based on that, they designed protective suits resembling spacesuits. And the revelation appeared to come from the Eternal Tablets… meaning the church’s upper echelons who could directly access the tablets not only learned divine magic but could even “see” the divine realm?

Gawain stood up, pacing thoughtfully in his study. What he was most curious about now was the final outcome of that ritual—did Megal III succeed? Did he reach the divine realm? Did he return? What had he seen, heard, and brought back?

After the meeting at the Peak of Ancestors, several dark cults had fallen into corruption. Among them, the three most powerful, mysterious, and thoroughly fallen were the End of All Things, the Eternal Sleepers, and the Children of the Storm. Coincidentally, the leaders of these three cults were the very three who had stood at the altar back then…

Just then, a knock interrupted Gawain’s thoughts.

He immediately knew it wasn’t Amber—because the half-elf lady would have simply climbed in through the window or slipped out of the Shadow Realm. Nor was it Rebecca, who usually barged in before remembering to knock. Shaking his head to clear the cluttered thoughts, he cleared his throat: “Come in.”

The door opened, and Heddy appeared, dark circles under her eyes, carrying a large stack of neatly organized documents. Her staff floated beside her—it was the staff that had knocked.

“Ancestor, the production report from the steelworks and the land survey report from the northern shore have arrived,” Heddy said as she approached the desk, carefully placing the files down. Then she let out a small sigh. “Also, the next season’s forest development plan, mining production and expansion plan, new residential district construction plan, night school expansion plan, stone quarry construction plan, and the proposal for recruiting and training apothecaries—you should take a look at all of them.”

The granddaughter rattled off a long list of plans in one breath. The weight of the files hitting the desk even made Gawain flinch slightly. He stared in surprise. “You gathered all these just to bring to me, didn’t you?”

Heddy, looking like she’d been burning the midnight oil, replied, “Of course not. I stayed up all night organizing these. Each one is an urgent project. You specifically instructed before that once these plans were ready, they must be shown to you immediately.”

The plans were procedural products Gawain had set up. Heddy had to admit they greatly improved team efficiency and execution accuracy. But dealing with plans reminded her of the grueling rote memorization she’d endured when first learning magic. The difference was, back then, when pushed to the limit, she could still duel her teacher with her staff. Now, when overwhelmed by plans, she wouldn’t dare fight her own ancestor…

So before coming, she’d drawn big dark circles under her eyes with eyeshadow, hoping Gawain would notice her overwork and maybe ease her workload a bit…

Gawain caught the resentment in her tone and, thinking it over, realized he had indeed dumped a mountain of tasks on her at once. He forced a dry laugh to soothe her. “Ahem, very good, well done. Once you finish these, you can take a couple of days off…”

As he spoke, he bent down to skim the summary report on top. Heddy took the chance to breathe a little easier, her gaze wandering casually over Gawain’s desk.

She first noticed the Dream Lantern and glanced at it briefly, but since such magical artifacts weren’t her specialty, she quickly looked away. Then her eyes landed on a knight’s biography resting in the corner. Curious, she picked it up and read the title on the cover.

“The Gawain Cecil Chronicles—Stories of Heroes and Princesses.”

Her expression instantly twisted. “Ancestor, are you… sure it’s okay to read this kind of book?”

Gawain raised an eyebrow and was shocked to see that sensitive book in Heddy’s hands. He felt awkward. “Ah, I forgot to put it away… cough, I mean, it’s just a novel, no need to…”

Mid-sentence, he suddenly realized something and looked at Heddy suspiciously. “…How do you know what this book is about?”

Heddy froze for a moment, then stiffened, cold sweat trickling down her face. After a long pause, she stammered, “I just guessed the content from the title…”

Gawain sized her up. “If you’d said that right away, I might have believed you. But your expression is not convincing at all.”

Heddy: “I… I just glanced at it by accident! It’s actually quite popular among noble ladies, and it’s… it’s just a romance novel. It’s very proper… I’m sorry, Ancestor, I was wrong!”

Gawain twitched at the corner of his mouth. Seeing the usually “mature, composed, elegant, and wise” Lady Heddy acting like a scolded little girl, bowing and apologizing, her face flushed and sweating profusely—anyone else would never see this side of her in a lifetime. It was… rather amusing.

Honestly, teasing the usually serious Heddy like this gave him a sense of accomplishment. But knowing when to stop, he cleared his throat and said seriously, “Alright, alright, no need to be so nervous. I’ve read this book. Although the story is mostly made up, it’s just a normal romantic tale of a knight marrying princesses—though marrying over eighty is a bit much… hmm. Nothing forbidden in it.”

Heddy nodded vigorously. “Ancestor is right!”

Gawain smirked and glanced at her. “But I have to remind you of one thing.”

Heddy looked anxious. “Please, Ancestor!”

“Your dark circles are smudged,” Gawain said helplessly, “Sweat’s made the makeup run.”

Heddy: “…”

After a moment, she bowed deeply again. “Sorry, Ancestor, I was wrong!”

Gawain’s eye twitched. He worried that maybe he’d piled too much work on Heddy, and under the pressure, she was starting to unravel mentally—much like Rebecca. After all, they shared the same bloodline, and looking at Rebecca’s behavior, that lineage was probably a mix of recklessness and humor…

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. He sighed, half amused, half exasperated. “Alright, your workload has been heavy lately… but the key winter construction projects are settled, each with craftsmen leading them. The clerks and civil apprentices you oversee should be useful. You should take a little break—I’m giving you two days off.”

Heddy blinked, surprised but hesitant. “No… Ancestor, I’m fine. This is a critical time for the territory’s development…”

“Every day in the expansion phase is critical, but people can’t work nonstop. Even Nicholas has scheduled sunbathing breaks. You should rest too,” Gawain smiled at her conflicted expression. “But after your break, I want you to conduct an assessment of the apprentices in each department. Compile the results. If they’re capable, we’ll consider implementing the administrative system I designed months ago.”

Gawain had long aimed to establish a complete, scientific, and efficient administrative system in New Cecil. But the scarcity of intellectuals in this era meant talent was in short supply. Key departments like agriculture, civil affairs, military, and healthcare were run by only one or two people, with nearly all responsibilities falling on them. Though this was better than the chaotic management in most noble territories, it was still far from Gawain’s vision.

So whenever literate “intellectuals” appeared in the territory, Gawain immediately selected the best to support department heads. These people had never encountered advanced organizational concepts, so they started as apprentices—even the down-on-their-luck scholars and bankrupt knights hired from Tansan Town had to begin as obedient apprentices here.

Because of the apprentices’ diverse backgrounds, Gawain didn’t expect all of them to successfully transform within the organization.

Especially the bankrupt knights and scholars.

Now that the “internship” period was over, those who couldn’t handle the pressure or adapt to the new system were likely on the verge of quitting. Gawain felt it was time to assess them, filter out the truly capable, and push the territory’s management forward.

Heddy accepted Gawain’s instructions seriously. But just before leaving the study, she suddenly seemed to remember something and said uncertainly, “Ancestor, I saw that second-level arcanist from the capital lingering near the lord’s manor. Do you want me to bring him in?”

Gawain paused, thinking carefully. “…So there’s someone like that around?”

(End of chapter)