Chapter 52

From the next day on, Bertaine and Cecilio were working diligently on documents in the large room on the first floor.

Seeing this, Ignacio, while thinking (Well, workaholic), was sorting the petitions he had brought in, deciding which to pass on to Cecilio and which to handle himself. In the room where only the sound of pens scratching could be heard, Ignacio suddenly raised his head.

"Your Excellency, it's about time for your mother's memorial day. Since it's a good opportunity, why don't we go to Callisto after work? With this ship, we can visit the grave and return in time for Bertaine's return."

"Aa..."

Seeing Cecilio pondering, Bertaine immediately said,

"Please use it. I'll inform the crew."

And added,

"Sure. Since the ship was built with the government's assistance, you shouldn't hesitate to use it. May I accompany you? I want to thank the people of Callisto for the hiri and the bottled goods."

"Aa, then let's do that. It would be a great help."

Bertaine thought (Did His Excellency's mother pass away due to illness?), but judged that this kind of topic should not be inquired about and returned her gaze to the documents. Then, as if reading her thoughts, Cecilio began to talk about his mother.

"My mother died due to an injury. It was when I was five, and she worked as a cook at the mine. Our family had only me as a child, and my father and grandfather worked at sea, so I used to wait for my mother to come home by playing at the edge of the mine without getting in the way. As you know, our house was far from other houses, so there were limits to how much the neighbors could watch over me. At the mine, the people digging the holes were from this country, but the company's managers and site supervisors were from the Empire."

Cecilio's story unexpectedly led to why he became the country's leader.

"One day, my mother said something to the site supervisor from the Empire. The man pushed her with both hands, and she fell backward onto a large rock, hitting her head. There was no blood, and my mother said she was fine, but she complained of a headache. A few days later, she passed away in her sleep."

Ignacio nodded with a bitter expression.

"Neither the mine's owner nor the man who pushed my mother came to visit or attend the funeral. There was no apology. The day after my mother died, the mine's operating company delivered five small silver coins to the neighbors and that was it. Since I was the only one who saw what happened, my father couldn't do anything. My father didn't know how to fight the Empire's company."

The story was so shocking that no one could speak.

"My father threw the small silver coins out the window into the yard without a word, but I, at five years old, searched for them desperately and found all five. I still have them. They seemed like fragments of my mother's life, and I couldn't just leave them. If the country is weak, people's lives are treated cheaply. I learned much later that my mother's case was just the tip of the iceberg. I still take out those small silver coins and look at them from time to time. Each time, I feel determined to move this country forward, even by a centimeter a day."

Bertaine, stunned and unable to offer words of comfort, listened as Cecilio continued.

"When I was five, I only felt the pain of losing my mother. But as I grew older, I began to resent the Empire's ways. That's when I started to think about protecting this country and its people. A poor and ignorant country treats its people's lives lightly. Someone had to do something about it. If no one did, I would. That's how I've come to this point. I will never allow this country's people to be treated as cheap tools and discarded."

Ignacio added,

"Your Excellency's insistence on compensation is not just about money. It's about punishing the Sanlouan royal family, who treated the lives of war casualties with disrespect, thinking that a culturally backward country could be dealt with casually."

"Now, the mine's owners and site supervisors are from this country. We are doing everything we can to protect the lives of the people working in the mines. We have also banned lending land to the Empire for a pittance. When I first became the representative, there was an overwhelming amount of work to do, but we are making progress, even if it's slow like a snail. I won't let the Sanlouan royal family's actions go unpunished."

Bertaine, moved by the tragic story, could not even offer words of comfort. Cecilio spoke to her with a gentle smile.

"If my mother were alive, she would have insisted on meeting you. She was energetic and straightforward, and I think you two would have gotten along well."

"Yes, I would have liked to meet your mother. To her in the Garden of the Gods, you must be a proud son."

"Hmm, I'm not sure. She might be angry at me for being such a filial failure, leaving my father and grandfather behind and not showing my face for so long."

Saying this, Cecilio returned to his documents.

Bertaine recalled the time when she and Cecilio faced each other in her shop.

"The Empire has taken advantage of this country's ignorance."

"The Sanlouan Kingdom has been doing business with the Empire, providing them with money for war."

"I want to rebuild this country with compensation. For that, it's difficult to request a shortfall if you are in this country."

At the time, she could only take his words at face value, but now she understood.

His Excellency truly wants to protect the country and its people.

The representative who went to save the people who were deceived and captured as slaves.

The representative who persuaded the stubborn tribal leaders to unite into one country.

She remembered the words of His Excellency's father: "Cecil, are you planning to die with the country?"

"Your Excellency, please let me join you. I have grown up on the Empire's leftovers, but I will do my best to serve you."

"Thank you. But you are already one of us. And you have been incredibly helpful."

Ignacio stood up and said, "I'll go make some tea," and left the room.

Bertaine, now more motivated than ever, was no longer writing with a scratch but with a scrape. Then, Cecilio stood up and approached Bertaine, gently holding her hand.

"Huh? What is it?"

"Writing with so much force will give you blisters on your hand."

"Oh, right."

Bertaine obediently replied and reduced the pressure on her pen. Her cheeks turned hot, and she panicked, thinking (Oh, my face must be red right now), but she tried to maintain a neutral expression. Cecilio looked at her gently for a moment before returning to his desk.

Bertaine, with her head bowed lower than usual, tried to hide her hot cheeks, thinking (If I had heard this story earlier, I would have worked harder to be of more help to His Excellency. He is not a good talker and is not very talkative).

"Your Excellency."

"Hm? What is it?"

"Your Excellency is not a good talker."

"..."

Saying this, Bertaine returned to her documents, and Cecilio, with a "Huh?" look, continued his work. The two worked in silence again.

When Ignacio returned, he saw the two working diligently and was disappointed.

(Why did I leave my seat to be considerate, only to find Bertaine working like a demon and His Excellency focused on his documents when I came back?) Ignacio sighed and drank the tea he had made, smiling wryly.

A few days later, they arrived at the dock near the deepest part of the river, much faster than by carriage.

Cecilio and Ignacio went out for the inspection, while Bertaine and the other two headed to the hotel construction site.

They proceeded by carriage and first visited Bruno, the tribal leader.

"Hey! It's Bertaine!"

"It's been a while, Bruno. I came to see the progress of the hotel construction."

Hearing this, Bruno tried to suppress a laugh.

"What? Did something happen?"

"Go and see for yourself."

Following Bruno's lead, they headed to the construction site.

As they walked down a small path through the dense forest, they soon saw it.

"Oh?"

"Miss!"

"Indeed."

Bertaine, Dorothe, and Diego were left speechless.

They had expected to see the foundation work completed, or at best a few beams in place, but the hotel building appeared to be almost complete.

"No way!"