Report. To the great Theodor von Ardrno Ifela Wintergard of the North.
Greetings, Your Highness the Grand Duke, great shield of the Empire and sole master of the snow-capped mountains.
I pray most fervently that the sun of the North may find its way to the iron flower that bloomed through the eternal snows — guardian of the bitter cold, protector of the borders.
For the purpose of gathering intelligence on recent developments within the Empire, I have been conducting information collection at the Academy, and....
"This one writes too much, doesn't he?"
"Your Highness, he does work as a poet on the side, so his preambles do run a bit long."
"I thought it was urgent news — turns out there's nothing to it?"
"Do read on, Your Highness."
To resume:
I report on an incident that occurred at the Academy in the Imperial capital.
Recently, a duel took place at the Academy.
The opposing party consisted of five students, including the Imperial Crown Prince himself.
Their adversary was Daniela von Barth, the Crown Prince's betrothed.
"The Crown Prince and the young lady of House Barth? A duel between an engaged couple?"
"House Barth is a family of considerable influence within the Empire."
As I have previously reported, the five individuals — including the Crown Prince — are each persons of significant standing within the Empire, and yet all of them have become utterly captivated by a single student.
This student's name is Kartina de Bosch, a young lady of an unremarkable family.
Kartina employed her abilities and her silver tongue to approach the five students, Crown Prince included, and succeeded in winning their hearts.
All of them wish to marry Kartina, I am told, and each strives his utmost to make a favorable impression upon her.
However, her relations with Daniela — who is of higher standing and who harbors genuine concern for the Empire's future — have never been good, and the two have frequently come to quarrel.
Daniela and Kartina have long been bitter enemies.
"Is this Academy some kind of kingdom of beasts? They're young, so I suppose I understand, but still."
"Would Your Highness not enjoy a bit of this yourself?"
"Bah! A wolf needs only one woman! Move on!"
In any case:
The incident occurred one week before this report was written.
The Crown Prince invited everyone to the Academy's banquet hall.
It was nothing out of the ordinary — an event to celebrate Kartina, who had received outstanding marks at the Academy.
In my estimation, it was simply a ploy by the Crown Prince to impress Kartina.
Regardless, Daniela, who had not been invited to this gathering, forced her way in.
I was present and watching from the hall myself, and Daniela's entrance was both quiet and startling.
For she wore a gown identical in color to the dress Kartina had on, along with a matching necklace and a ring bearing her family's crest.
The moment Daniela appeared, the Crown Prince unleashed a torrent of abuse upon her.
You have no place here! — How dare you slander the Crown Prince! — words to that effect.
Daniela turned to Kartina in fury.
Kartina gave a faint smile and wrapped her arms around the Crown Prince!
"Your Highness, please don't be so angry. Lady Daniela surely meant nothing ill by it. How could someone like me, from such a humble family, possibly...!"
Upon hearing those words, Daniela tore Kartina from the Crown Prince's embrace and struck her across the cheek — !
"My, how riveting. Tell this fellow the ducal house will sponsor him — have him write a proper play."
"We are already sponsoring him."
To continue:
The Crown Prince, in his fury, shoved Daniela to the floor and drew Kartina back into his arms.
In the end, the Crown Prince made a reckless move in his bid to win Kartina's heart.
"I declare it now! Daniela von Barth! I hereby dissolve our engagement!"
"Your Highness! What are you saying? Do you have any idea how much I have—!"
"I am sick of that false smile of yours! I have chosen to be with Kartina. You are nothing to me now!"
And so:
The enraged Daniela challenged Kartina to a duel.
She staked her own ring on it. But immediately thereafter,
"Bullying the weak — unforgivable! Kartina, I want to fight for you!"
"No, stand aside. If I could serve as Kartina's knight—"
"My love for Kartina surpasses all of yours. Kartina, I pledge you a knight's oath—!"
Kartina's followers came rushing in. Regrettably, Daniela von Barth had not a single knight to her name, and in the end she was defeated without having fought a proper duel at all.
By the time this letter reaches Your Highness the great Grand Duke, Lady Daniela has in all likelihood already been cast out from her family — or perhaps driven to madness.
The latest word I have heard is that House Barth has petitioned the Imperial family to quietly bury the matter.
Great and most great shield of the North, Your Highness Wintergard — with this, I conclude my report on the current state of the Academy.
Your faithful servant, Cadro de Vil.
"Well, that was a fine read. Alfredo, this fellow writes well."
"He does indeed. It seems life at the Academy is no simple affair either."
The Grand Duke of the North's study was always cold.
No matter how many fires were stoked, I was born in Winter Castle, where a chill perpetually lingered in the air.
Wait — born? That might be a bit of a problem.
Because this world was not the world I had known.
No towering concrete buildings, no modern skylines — only structures that looked lifted from some period drama, and a way of life that was unmistakably medieval.
I had come to understand that this was the world of a novel exactly twenty-odd years ago.
That is to say, after I inherited the title of Grand Duke of the North.
It would have been fine if it had been an ordinary sort of world.
But no — it had to be the world of some mass-produced romance fantasy called 「Thump Thump! Let's Build a Reverse Harem~!」, with a ridiculous name to match.
"Well, it doesn't seem to have anything to do with our North, so shall we just let it pass?"
"The North matters far more than the Academy."
"Exactly right, Alfredo."
And on top of that, to end up in this world as the Grand Duke of the North?
The North had originally appeared in exactly one scene, with no real substance to speak of.
Meeting the Crown Prince and the Emperor at some Imperial party, making a show of standing firm — and that was the entirety of its role. A mob character. An NPC.
Swarming with savages, the cold forever upending the world — those were the sorts of descriptions attached to it. But the reality of the North, as it turned out, was even more...
Dire.
"So what's the current status? No — this report is far too late!"
"Laying roads is grueling work, and you know as well as anyone that the routes leading south are limited."
"It's been five years. Five years. Do you have any idea how much money has been poured into this? The news of completion is far too late!"
After inheriting the title of Grand Duke of the North at a young age, I had immediately set about implementing development policies for the northern territories.
Absorbing nomadic tribes, or subjugating them.
Cultivating cold-resistant crops, and throwing myself into the work of developing the mountain ranges surrounding the North into mining operations.
The people of the North were formidable when it came to hard labor, and they listened to me well enough, which made things easier — but there was no shortage of problems demanding my attention.
And now, approaching the highlight arc near the very end of the original novel.
According to the source material, Daniela would be cast out by House Barth and left to wander the continent.
She would then be kidnapped by bandits. Subjected to unspeakable things. And in the end, she would take her own life.
A tragic ending — but there was nothing I could do about it.
"Your Highness! Your Highness! It's Berdo. May I enter?"
"Berdo! Get in here, quickly!"
Berdo was the chief director of the North Road Network project I had prepared with such ambition.
Given the enormous sums of money involved, it was not something I could entrust to just anyone — but he was a talent my father had left behind, one might say.
He was getting on in years, but when it came to getting things done, he was extraordinary.
"It is complete. We have succeeded in building the tunnel! Every region of the North is now as good as connected by road!"
Berdo spread out a map.
The North, nearly equal in size to the Empire itself, had once been divided into ninety-nine percent unexplored wilderness and one percent settled land.
That had been the case before I became Grand Duke of the North.
But once the development policies began, nomadic peoples flooded in, the population swelled, and the pace of the North's expansion had grown faster with each passing year.
And yet, at present — a chaotic road situation, and winters so severe that the circulation of supplies had ground to a halt!
To solve this, I had been forced to continuously invest more than ten percent of the North's annual budget for five years running.
Laying mastone that only mages could process, and how much manpower had been poured into digging those tunnels.
"Berdo! You've done it! That's it! We've done it!"
"Congratulations, Your Highness the Grand Duke! Does this mean the North is finally parting ways with the cold?"
"That's my expectation. Alfredo — now, along these roads, every winter, carts will come rolling through in droves, hauling fuel. Firewood? Mastone, perhaps?"
"And people will be traveling in great numbers as well?"
"Of course! No more fighting tooth and nail — just follow the road and you can go anywhere!"
Ha ha ha ha!
The laughter would not stop. The North fights against the cold.
The nomads know it too — the problems of food and cold are the greatest problems in the North.
I had laid the groundwork to solve them in several ways, but the ultimate goal had always been this: roads. With roads, anything is possible.
And yet, I had never imagined that this development policy — and the rising per-capita output of the North —
"..."
"Good day, Your Highness the Grand Duke."
Would become my wedding dowry.