Obviously, It's My Child - Chapter 144
Erich asked in a leisurely tone.
“Feeling breathless, Claire? Are you looking forward to this?”
“We’re in Mr. Mayer’s office.”
Claire’s face and neck flushed with a burning red.
“Not accusing me of being crazy, I see.”
“Erich!”
“It’s fine. No one’s coming. I’ll take care of the documents later.”
“….!!”
His lips parted Claire’s deeply. Claire’s arms frantically wrapped around his back.
Her legs trembled yet entangled with Erich’s, and a shoe tumbled to the floor with a thud.
* * *
The makeshift barracks buzzed with activity.
It meant the Duchess was visiting. The air changed so noticeably without seeing her that Jacob sat up, feeling uneasy.
The Kohlberg Mine was currently closed. Citing the collapse of the lodging as a reason, the Duke had sent the miners home.
The miners were mostly happy with receiving half their usual pay for a month off, so most miners left on trains.
Over half the miners had homes in Kohlberg.
Or their hometowns weren’t far away, being natives of Klausener lands.
It was a golden month off to spend with their families.
Jacob couldn’t understand.
‘Where’s the guarantee they’ll have their jobs when they return?’
Did they truly believe in such promises?
Certainly, Walter Mayer was amazing. The Duke’s operational principles were so bizarre that it seemed almost religiously benevolent.
But with such an opportunity, it was natural to change the system.
Jacob himself could have tripled the mine’s profitability.
He’d cut them all and call his own people from Arren.
It wasn’t like pushing ten-year-olds into mines, as done in other territories.
‘If only I could visit Arren once, I could double my earnings!’
But Arren was too far. Moreover, he couldn’t leave his people unattended.
All that remained were miners from Arren and Jacob’s allies.
Walter, sighing at Jacob’s inability to visit Arren, set up a makeshift tent for accommodation.
It was cold, but no one complained.
The allies only stirred when Jacob commanded or when indulging in lotus leaf cigarettes. Otherwise, they lay about like bugs.
Only Jacob and his close followers voiced complaints.
‘Curses. Why does the Duchess even bother!”
He cursed inside.
Had the Duchess not frequented this lodging, he could have left his men behind and enjoyed a rest in a luxurious hotel in Kohlberg.
But he couldn’t act so conspicuously.
Moreover, each time she visited, the Duchess was a nuisance. This time was no different.
“Open the windows and the entrance. If you smoke burning coal stoves without proper ventilation, it’ll be trouble.”
As soon as her voice came, a cold breeze swept in.
The men who were dazed from opium, scrambled to straighten up.
Claire coughed lightly. The inside of the tent was no better than a den of raccoons.
Not only had they lit a stove inside, but the smoke from the lotus leaf cigarettes also lingered. Claire had no intention of stepping inside.
“Everyone, please step outside for a bit. You need fresh air, or it’ll harm your health.”
Left as is, carbon monoxide poisoning could claim lives.
The miners began to stir.
The first man to emerge grinned and bowed.
“Madam.”
“How’s the cough, Mr. Victor? Did the supervisor provide warm water as needed?”
“Yes.”
Victor responded in a dull tone, then grinned again.
“Thank you, Madam.”
“Your health is your wealth. It’d be better to stay in an inn, even for a short while.”
As Claire finished speaking, another miner bowed.
“Welcome, Madam.”
“Mr. Gilbert, I specifically asked you to ensure that the window was well-ventilated yesterday. You didn’t keep that promise, did you?”
“He… Hehe.”
“Don’t run away, Mr. Gilbert. Oh, Mr. Peter, let me see your wound.”
“It, it’s fine.”
The man called Peter quickly fled.
Claire waved at the miners nearby to catch him. Peter was apprehended before he could make it twenty steps.
She crossed her arms and glared at Peter.
“Take off your shoes.”
“It doesn’t hurt.”
“It’s not that it doesn’t hurt, you just can’t feel the pain because of the lotus leaf cigarettes.”
The other miners removed Peter’s shoes. His feet were so swollen it was a wonder they fit inside his shoes at all.
“You haven’t been changing the bandages, have you? Should I come every evening?”
“No, no need.”
“Someone bring some hot water.”
“I, I can do it myself.”
“I can’t trust Mr. Peter. Don’t make us worry like this.”
While they had heard her themselves, the miners didn’t know what to do.
The fact that the Duke and Duchess rushed to the lodging at the slightest trouble was surprising enough.
And now, the noble and beautiful Duchess took personal care of them.
It was a first-time experience for them. Most were farmers or laborers from their hometowns, making a living on small plots of land without much to rely on.
There were lords, but they always seemed like beings from another world, both at home and here.
Supervisors and foremen, who wielded whips, were objects of fear.
If this was by the nobility’s will, nobles could be respected but not beloved.
Yet, Claire remembered and called each of their names.
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