AZALEA

Saturday. Before we went to our assigned states, Queen Adriana met us in the Ruby Palace. We stood in the drawing room while the Queen was sitting comfortably on the cushioned seat. The maidservants served the tea as her gaze focused on us.

"I hope you're already set to go to your assigned states. It will last for two weeks and after that period, return to the palace to continue your lessons and trials. I will send some Knights to ensure your safety and maidservants to serve you. Please do well on this trial and please accept the budget allotted for each state. We will let you manage this budget. This is also a test to know if you're worthy to be the next Queen. The fate of these states, on this coming winter, is now in your hands."

Queen Adriana gestured to her lady-in-waiting and the lady-in-waiting handed us white envelopes. Queen Adriana indifferently checked each one of us. "Have a safe trip, ladies. I wish for your success."

"It is our pleasure to serve the citizen, Your Majesty," Lady Candice bowed "Thank you for your goodwill."

Lady Shirdine and Lady Jaera expressed their gratitude to the queen and bowed as well.

I silently bowed my head and thanked her.

When I looked back to the queen, she was staring at me as if she was studying my face.

"You may now head to your destination. The Crown Prince will visit you one of these days. He is just busy with other kingdom affairs that's why he can't meet you and bid you luck and goodbye." Queen Adriana gestured to the maids and knights.

There were knights and maids who approached me–three Knights and two maidservants. The two maidservants assigned to me are Yumi and Sabrina.

The three Knights slightly bowed to me and introduced themselves – Aaron, Gabriel, and Dennis. They were all wearing their black military suits with swords hanging on their holsters.

They carried my baggage and led me to my carriage. I checked the amount inside the envelope and it costed ten thousand silver bills. Well, since Woodcrest was almost an abandoned state, it was already expected that they would receive a small budget. But despite being abandoned, the people who couldn't afford the life in the city were residing there. The population was quite big and I didn't think this budget would be enough for them all.

I sighed. It was unfair but I had no choice but to keep my silence and just accept whatever was given to me. I just had to make the most of it.

Woodcrest was located on the southern part of the Glass Kingdom. When I draw the curtain of the carriage, I saw the red leaves of the maple leaves that was already all over the place. The road was also rough so we were travelling a little slower and the carriage were bumping from the rocks and uneven roads. We had to cross the vast forest before we could reach Woodcrest.

It took us two days before we reached our destination so we had to camp somewhere inside the forest.

When we arrived at the Woodcrest state, houses made of woods greeted us. Some houses were already old and damaged that they could only patch the holes of their houses. The children running around the streets were already unhygienic and dirty. Woodcrest reflected the poorest state of this kingdom. Most citizens who didn't have any permanent address were relocated here.

There was a small mansion on top of a small hill, protected by barricades made of bricks, overlooking this pitiful scenery. That was where the Town Chief was residing.

When we reached the gates of the mansion, some guards approached us.

The Knights who accompanied me provided our identity and purpose, showing the royal decree, so the guards had no choice but to call for the Town Chief in a hurry. The remaining guards opened the gates and let us enter until we stopped in front of the huge mansion. There was also a huge fountain made of marble and a well-maintained garden on each sides of the mansion.

The Town Chief, Samuel Burris, welcomed us in a hurry as if he wasn't prepared to meet me. Maybe the queen didn't inform the states about this trial or maybe the news travelled late. He anxiously waited outside my carriage, with his servants, but they were taken aback when I carefully hopped down with the help of one of the knights.

They were more focused on my red curly hair, with horrified expressions on their faces. My head ached. I didn't think this would be an easy task. Based on their expression, they were conflicted if they would greet me or chase me away.

I cleared my throat and introduced myself first. "I'm sorry for the sudden visit. I'm Azalea Shercon. I'm sent by the King to help Woodcrest to prepare for the coming winter. I will manage this year's budget for this state."

The first to compose himself was the Town Chief. He quickly approached me and introduced himself. He was already old, probably around his fifties, with slanted eyes.

"Good afternoon, Lady Azalea. Please forgive us. We failed to greet you properly. The news travels a little slower on this state. I'm Samuel Burris. The Count running Woodcrest. I will accompany you to your room so you can rest and then we can discuss your plans once you are rested," he offered kindly.

"Thank you. We will discuss some things later after dinner. I will ask for some help on specific things. Then we can discuss how to execute the plan tomorrow once everything is prepared," I said. I was already familiar with management since I had a shop before. I just had to know the current situation of Woodcrest as a whole.

CountSamuel nodded. "Of course. Just summon me when you want to discuss anything."

The chief accompanied me to my room with the maidservants behind. The room was nice even though it was a little small and it was mostly painted by white with a mirror attached on an elegant cabinet, a huge closet, a hearth, and a canopy bed. There were also some cushioned seats and small table inside. The mansion's condition was better than I imagined.

"Please let us know if you need anything. Or if there's something you're uncomfortable with," Count Samuel said.

I nodded. "Thank you. Let me rest for a while and then we can discuss some details later."

Count Samuel nodded. "Then I will take my leave, Lady Azalea. Please take your time to rest." The door closed and the knights guarded outside the door. My maidservants organized my dresses in the closet and after resting, they prepared a hot bath for me.

It was already dusk when I headed outside the room's balcony. The mansion was located on the highest part of the hill so I could see the entire sight of Woodcrest. The houses and the roads were disorganized as if this place was a slum–well, worser than the slums.

There was a vast forest but no one dared to occupy that place. Well, that was the place where the witch was burned alive so it was believed to be cursed. I let out a helpless sigh. If only they could cultivate the land in that area, then this place won't suffer from famine.

I saw some lands used for agriculture and a river. I guess their situation wasn't that bad. But I had doubts about the owner of this agricultural land. It seemed like this land belonged to the most powerful residents of Woodcrest so the poor won't benefit from these lands.

Oh well! I just had to take care of these things tomorrow.

~~~

After dinner, we went to Count Samuel's study to discuss the situation of Woodcrest.

"Can you show me a map of Woodcrest, Count Samuel?"

Count Samuel immediately showed me the map and laid it down the table. There were landmarks on the map where the river, irrigation, agricultural land, hunting area, residential area and forbidden area were located.

"How's Woodcrest? What's the current situation?"

"Well, since Woodcrest is not a rich land and an almost abandoned land, we don't have much as a source of income. Some people were helping on agriculture, farming, and livestock. Some people were hired to hunt. They will just get a portion depending on their labor."

"How did they cope from the previous winters? I believe there is an allotted budget for each states every winter," I said.

Count Samuel turned silent and pale. He was hesitant to answer my question. "Well... we only received a small budget so it wasn't enough to get through the winter."

I scrunched my forehead. "What do you mean? Please elaborate."

"Well... some people still died from the cold and famine."

I heaved a deep breath. "I only have two weeks to help you prepare for this coming winter. May I know the state's current population?"

"Around two thousand."

I nodded. That was quite huge.

"Tomorrow I will visit places. According to this map, I can see that you have some lands for agriculture and a place to hunt. I also need to know where you are storing foods and harvests. Your granary and storerooms. Please gather people who are capable of sewing, hunting, preserving foods and farming."

"What are you planning, Lady Azalea?"

"Since this state is nearly an abandoned state, you can't wait and rely to the Crown to be saved. You're aware of the small budget allocated for Woodcrest. The budget isn't enough so you must do something to survive. You must work and prepare for the winter. We will do our best to preserve meats and grains to be distributed to the residents this winter. We will also prepare winter clothes for them. We need to gather enough woods for their hearths to keep them warm. We need to mobilize people so I will let you handle these things."

"But the people won't be mobilized unless they are being paid. And the harvests from the agricultural lands belonged to the capable families of Woodcrest. I don't think they will share their harvests with the other residents."

"You can mobilize the people if they know they can get something from it – especially if this is a way to survive this winter. For the owner of the agricultural lands, we will buy grains from them. With the lowest possible price. Since you are the town chief, I believe you can handle these."

Count Samuel turned silent. He looked at me as if he was assessing if I was serious. I looked at him straight in the eyes, revealing the determination in my amber eyes. "Why would you want to help them? Our hearts are made of glass. We don't need to care about other people. We just need to tend to ourselves. We just need to survive on our own. It is not our responsibility to take care of others."

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm not helping them out of compassion. I'm not helping because I have a soft spot for the residents. This is a task entrusted by the Crown. I must fulfill my duty. You must understand this as Woodcrest's town chief. Even if you don't feel any compassion towards your people, it is still your responsibility to serve them."

Count Samuel was stunned and was silent for a while. He nodded after pondering over my words. "I understand. Then I will prepare whatever you need tomorrow."

I nodded. "Thank you. I will head to my room now. Good night, Count Samuel."

He nodded. "Have a good night, Lady Azalea."

I turned my back and left his study. I headed to my room with a sigh. I was not doing this out of compassion. I just didn't want anyone to die due to these shallow reasons – cold and famine – especially if we could do something to prevent them.

Unlike these reasons, the breaking of our heartglass was something out of our control. It was something I couldn't prevent.

***