Amelia followed after Lieselotte in the small boat and came to a halt before the enormous gate.
Its grandeur stole her breath.
The iron gates gleamed black, gracefully entwined with motifs of vines and flowers, while a lion carved at the center sat enthroned in all its majesty.
Stone pillars rose on either side like towers, each crowned with sharp ornamentation that stood like sentries guarding the grounds.
There's no way this thing opens that easily, right...?
As Amelia hugged the tools to her chest and grumbled inwardly, Fiona stepped lightly in front of the gate and flashed a bright smile.
"All right, all right, I'll open it!"
The moment she said it, Fiona planted both hands against the gate.
And in the very next instant—astonishingly, without so much as shifting her stance—she pushed the massive gates open with ease.
A low metallic groan rang out as the heavy gates slowly swung inward.
It was the kind of gate that wouldn't budge even if an ordinary person threw their full weight against it, yet Fiona opened it as if it were nothing.
"My, Fiona, it seems you've gotten quite a bit stronger."
Lieselotte said it with an impressed smile.
At that, Fiona glanced back over her shoulder and answered with a mischievous grin.
"Well, that's all thanks to Lord Husband's power. I mean, he's been showering me with so much love. Thanks to that, I'm way stronger than I used to be!"
Amelia could see even from where she stood that Lieselotte's smile had gone just a little stiff.
"I-I see... Lord Husband's power..."
Lieselotte touched a hand to her lips and looked away a little.
Seeing the faint flush tint her cheeks, Amelia could not help frowning.
Hold on... what was that reaction? What exactly is Lord Husband's "power"?
Fiona paid no mind to Lieselotte's agitation and went on, giving a light shrug as she spoke.
"I mean, Lord Husband's 'love' is amazing, you know? One time and your whole body gets all warm, and it's like... strength starts overflowing through you."
What!? No, no, no—what the hell is she talking about!?
Amelia nearly dropped the tools she was holding.
Lieselotte kept her eyes on Fiona, saying nothing, her expression hard to read.
And Amelia did not miss the tiny bob of her throat.
Hold on... something's off. Doesn't she look like she knows exactly what Fiona means?
Amelia drew a deep breath, trying somehow to steady her spinning thoughts, but she could not shake the strange images forming in her head.
The way Fiona's acting... don't tell me she really... No, that's ridiculous. What the hell is Lord Husband's "power," anyway!?
No answer was going to come no matter how much she asked herself, so all Amelia could do was keep up a frantic running commentary in her head and watch the exchange between the two of them.
"Anyway, Lord Husband's probably working, so let's hurry over there!"
Saying that in a bright voice, Fiona lightly tugged on Lieselotte's hand.
Was it just Amelia's imagination, or did that movement look oddly buoyant?
"W-wait, Fiona, there's really no need to rush that much..."
Though flustered, Lieselotte still moved along as Fiona pulled her forward.
A faint redness remained on her face, and her eyes seemed to drift a little, too.
"But, you know, when Lord Husband's focused on his work, that's when he looks his coolest. And if you see him like that, Lady Lieselotte, then surely you'd... well, you know..."
Fiona turned back with a bright smile, but the way she deliberately trailed off only stirred up even more unnecessary images.
Wait, wait, wait... there's something really weird about this conversation...
Readjusting her grip on the tools, Amelia knitted her brows.
"And besides, we have to check whether Lord Husband's overworking himself. If no one's watching him, he really will push too hard. We have to make sure we heal him properly."
Fiona gave Lieselotte a light wink.
Question after question kept piling up in Amelia's head.
Heal him...? What does that even mean? Is that part of this so-called "helping," too?
With that muddled feeling still hanging over her, all Amelia could do was watch the two of them.
"Come on, come on, let's go! We can't keep Lord Husband waiting."
Fiona strode off briskly in the lead, and Lieselotte hurried after her.
Watching their backs, Amelia felt strangely as though she had been left behind.
This detached palace has a lot more... strange things going on than I thought...
Letting out a sigh, Amelia hitched the tools back up and followed after them.
By the time Amelia reached the worksite, the sight before her left her speechless.
There Yuri was, heaving up an enormous tree stump as casually as though he were pulling up a weed.
A harsh grinding crack rang out as the roots tore free of the earth, and dust billowed up into the air.
The trees growing around the stump had already been felled and piled up like a mountain.
Whoa, hold on... what is this? No, seriously—what kind of strength is that!?
Amelia stared in disbelief.
Ordinarily, that kind of work would take dozens of people an entire day.
Yet Yuri was doing it all alone, without so much as breaking a sweat.
"Lord Husband, you've been hard at work."
Lieselotte called out to Yuri with a smile.
Beside her, Fiona waved as if nothing about this were out of the ordinary.
"Is there anything we can do to help?"
When Lieselotte asked in her gentle voice, Yuri tossed the stump lightly aside and turned back to them.
"Ah, perfect timing. Could I ask you to level out that patch of ground over there a little? Just use whichever tools are lying there."
"Of course. Then—"
The moment Lieselotte started to step forward, Amelia hurriedly raised her hand.
"Please leave it to me! I'll do it!"
Amelia pitched her voice confidently.
I can handle this much, even as an apprentice! I'm a man, after all. Besides, there's no way I can let Lady Lieselotte do this kind of work!
Hearing that, Lieselotte smiled and gave a gentle nod.
"Thank you. Then I'll leave it to you, Amelia. Fiona and I will go clear the branches over there."
"Y-yes! Leave it to me!"
After seeing Lieselotte and Fiona set to work elsewhere, Amelia took up the hoe and faced the ground again.
She braced herself and swung the hoe down with all her strength—
"...It's rock hard!"
A hard, jarring clang sounded each time the hoe struck, and the soil did not budge in the slightest.
The ground was as hard as stone. Far from digging into it, the blade kept bouncing right back.
What is up with this ground!? Is it bedrock or what? No, seriously—this is impossible!
As Amelia kept struggling, sweating through the effort, Yuri's voice came from behind her.
"Mind if I take over for a second?"
Before Amelia could even readjust her grip on the tool, Yuri casually drove his fist straight into the ground.
A thunderous impact cracked through the air, enough to shake the earth itself, and the ground that had been so hard shattered into pieces.
Clods of dirt flew through the air, and Amelia could only stare blankly at the sight.
"There. That should make it easier to dig. I'll leave the rest to you."
With that, Yuri turned and walked back toward another enormous stump.
Don't just say you're leaving the rest to me! What kind of strength is that!? And don't do that barehanded! The part where you make it look completely normal is what's really wrong here!
Shouting inwardly the whole time, Amelia had no choice but to take over the remaining work.
When she glanced back, Yuri was already uprooting yet another stump—she had lost track of how many—just as effortlessly as before.
What is with this man...? Gideon, this is absolutely not the story you sold me!
Tightening her grip on the tools, Amelia added one more complaint to the list she was keeping for Gideon in her head.