Most of the house was silent.
The only exception was the kitchen, filled with an almost palpable tension.
Lygni paced back and forth, her steps far too heavy for such an old floor. With every turn, it felt as if she were about to dig a hole—or perhaps a crater—into the stone ground.
"Could you stop?" I said, watching her. "You're making me nervous."
Liss was seated at the table, holding a cup of tea with both hands. One of them rested against her chest, as if she were trying to calm her own heart.
"Stop?" Lygni repeated, turning toward me. Her eyes were hard—cold. "You just gambled with your own life. And if you fail… I'll be the one who has to kill you."
She said it without hesitation. Without emotion.
"Well, when you put it that way, it does sound terrible," I replied with a sigh. "But look on the bright side—we still have three hundred and sixty-five days to get out of this."
The silence that followed was heavy, almost suffocating.
Liss and Lygni stared at me as if I had finally lost my mind. Liss brought the cup back to her lips, took a long sip… then poured herself more tea, as though she needed it to keep from exploding.
"And how exactly do you expect me to report this to your father?" she asked, settling back into her chair.
I straightened my posture and cleared my throat, adopting an exaggeratedly formal tone.
"'Dear King,'" I began, miming the act of writing an invisible letter in the air. "'Your bastard son wagered his own life, promising to pull this territory out of the gutter.'"
Liss covered her face with both hands.
"He's insane," she muttered, repeating the words more than once.
The situation looked bad. Very bad.
But there was something they didn't know.
Aether was, in fact, a skilled administrator.
"Lygni," I called, and she turned her gaze toward me. "Relax. You won't need to report anything to the king."
Then I turned to Liss.
"And you should calm down too. Don't even think about dying now—otherwise we'll end up spending what little money we have left on your funeral."
I said it in a playful tone, trying to lighten the mood.
"Lygni, Liss, don't worry," I continued. "I will bring prosperity back to this land."
I stood up and left the kitchen, ignoring the suspicious looks left behind.
The silence of the house wrapped around me like a strange, almost comforting embrace. My mind worked in harmony with that quiet, organizing ideas, connecting possibilities.
They didn't know it, but I had a degree in business administration—one of the few things I managed to learn while spending my days confined to a hospital bed.
When I entered my room, the window offered a partial view of the territory. I leaned against it and observed carefully.
Down in the streets, a few people walked calmly. Children ran past, laughing. Farm workers passed by in their carts, carrying portions of their harvests. This wasn't a dead place. Far from it.
There was great potential here.
The territory could sustain itself with what it produced. All we needed to do was organize it, structure it… and export part of it to our neighbors.
But I couldn't do everything alone.
I needed a co-director. Someone who knew this land better than I did.
But who?
I leaned more firmly against the window. I barely knew anyone. Lygni and Liss were the only ones I had any connection with—and even then, "connection" might have been too strong a word.
Then, suddenly, my mind clicked.
"The noble gentleman…"
The words escaped my mouth before I even realized it.
He had been the only one who truly listened. Even without understanding much, he showed interest, asked questions, and displayed genuine concern. More than that, he seemed to know Valenreach better than anyone else.
Perhaps he was exactly the kind of person I needed.
Alright. I had one year.
I gazed at the afternoon sky, painted in calm, beautiful colors—far too peaceful for a territory considered lost.
Honestly, this world was starting to grow on me more and more.
And I had no intention of leaving it after just one year.