Side Story 2: A Family of Scholars, a Family of Mediators

The Ashley family has been known for generations as a 〈Family of Scholars〉, but they were originally a family of librarians.

Perhaps as a remnant of that history, the Ashley family had one library and three studies. Their collection of books was no smaller than that of the royal capital's library.

Claudia had grown up surrounded by an enormous number of books, so naturally, she read whenever she had free time.

The adults around her described Claudia as a girl who loved books, but Claudia did not particularly like reading. It was not quite a hobby, either.

To Claudia, reading was "something one simply did, as a matter of course."

Just as she ate when she was hungry, she read when there was something she did not know. That was all. For that very reason, Claudia could find no value in reading beyond that.

This was true not only of Claudia, but of every member of the Ashley family throughout the generations. Claudia's father was no exception.

Consequently, people seeking advice visited her knowledgeable father, Marquis Hione, almost every day. They might be representatives of his subjects, nobles from within the country... and sometimes even people from other nations.

──Our crops have failed, and we're in trouble. I want to know how to increase our grain yields even during a drought.

──I want to know how to manage my inherited fortune in a way that gives me an advantage over my elder brother...