Reborn as a Mind-Reading Empress
Chapter 550: Harvest Festival and Winter Preparations

Chapter 550: Harvest Festival and Winter Preparations

When the food arrived, Arabella headed to her study so Alwin and their guests could eat as they pleased.

Alwin would be the one to explain the plan to Darcus and Orpheus.

Recently learning about Marcus communicating with Renee for the past two months was a shock, but thankfully, Alwin had arrived with Evania’s fiancé and lover.

They only had to convince her to return to Umbra and they were ready to implement their plans.

And with Alwin finally back, all their problems were halved.

Her chest felt so much lighter too knowing that he was safe. They simply needed to wait for Evania to return to Umbra so the curse on him would be undone.

Likewise, from Regis and Raymond’s thoughts earlier, Arabella learned that Alvis, Ferdinand, and any of the primordials may be able to undo the curse on Alwin.

Thus, in the worst case that the King of the Shadows does not undo the curse despite the contract with Darcus and Orpheus, Alwin would still be safe.

Arabella rubbed her wedding ring.

{Ferdinand.}

There was no response.

{Ferdinand, Alwin is already back here in Riva. Please return soon.}

There was no response again. Still, she hoped it reached him. She knew it may not be working as Alwin had experienced, but she still tried anyway.

She heard that bonds between mates were much stronger and that the others could communicate without even needing to use a magic item.

Who knows, maybe, Ferdinand would be able to hear her voice.

She did not feel any physical pain despite the distance between them just as she did when the marking was not yet complete.

If Ferdinand hadn’t marked her completely, they would both be suffering from being away from each other for this long.

But after they consummated and the marking was official, she no longer felt any discomfort even if he was far away.

Even though he was in Umbra, she could still feel his presence as well. It was what assured her that he was alright and simply needed to return.

But she already missed him a lot to the point her chest tightened just thinking about him. Not being able to see him made her feel like something was missing.

Who would have thought she would feel this way again?

This was how she felt in her past life in the times he went to the borders and did not return for months.

Arabella sighed deeply as she glanced at the scenery outside. The color of the leaves had changed. They had begun to fall as well.

She used to love gazing at them.

Yet, it made her feel even more lonely instead, so she returned to her table.

There was a lot of work to do.

Harvest festivals were set in various parts of Valeria as the harvesting season began.

Some had already celebrated theirs early on since they were able to harvest sooner than the other territories.

Riva would celebrate it as well in a few weeks so there were a lot of preparations needed.

Harvest festivals were always lively, so Arabella was looking forward to it. It would take a lot of preparation and budget, but it was worth it.

Thankfully, the harvest this year was good in most parts of Valeria. There were areas that were not as blessed as the others, but the harvest this year was generally a success.

They needed to provide more support for some territories that suffered from floods though. There were also areas that experienced drought.

Arabella noted them all since those territories would need to purchase resources from the territories near it that had plentiful harvests or receive some support from Riva.

Hopefully, winter will be merciful this year.

It was the most dangerous time of the year, so they had to prepare for it early on.

Winter was the time when there were a lot of sightings of dangerous beasts. They simply lurked in the mountains during the other seasons. But as the food becomes scarce, they go much further to search for food.

Thus, those who were assigned near mountainous areas were requesting more budget to repair walls or build new ones.

Those walls would help protect the residential areas, but more weapons and materials also needed to be sent to them for making traps and the like.

Worst yet, winter was also when more monster sightings usually occurred.

Valeria was not exempt from it.

But the people did not need to fear, because it was the time that the Knights of Valeria shined the most. They were there to aid and protect the people.

From Arabella’s observation in her past life, Ferdinand usually had the knights spread out all over the Empire during winter.

Thus, even though winter was dangerous, it was a time the knights looked forward to since it was when they were needed the most. And they would reap their rewards in Spring, along with lots of respect and praise from the people.

"Your Majesty, it’s time for dinner," Aletha knocked on her door.

"Eh? It’s already dinner?!" Arabella glanced at the window, and it had already turned dark indeed.

The magic lamps in her study were set to automatically turn on when it gets dark. She did not even notice the difference.

She was so focused on work that she did not feel the time had passed by.

’We must implement our plan tonight. I need to eat on time so I can say I wanted a light snack by that time.’

"Yes, I’m coming," she settled her magic pen and fixed the documents on her table. She would continue them tomorrow.

Rendell opened the door for her, and Eunice put a coat around her.

Aletha had told them about her sensitivity to the cold.

The heat of summer had not yet completely left especially in midday. But in the evenings and early mornings, it was beginning to be cold.

"Thank you," Arabella smiled as Eunice and Aletha wrapped her up nicely in the warm coat.

She had dinner alone again and it made her miss Ferdinand even more. Eating with him helps her appetite since he eats a lot.