Project Necro is an official initiative by Re:Library.

This takes place some time after Ekaterina and Aleksei made up.

Forli, who had been managing a reforestation project in the duchy, came to the office to report on the situation.
Once again, the atmosphere was that of a power lunch—with Ekaterina and Flora’s homemade meal laid out on the table.

“For a start, we have identified the areas where trees were felled but haven’t been cultivated for various reasons. I propose to make those our first reforestation targets. As for the saplings, we intend to transplant naturally growing species from nearby forests. Due to the appearance of the Black Dragon, logging has been halted in some districts, leaving some woodcutters without work. They have expressed that they would gladly participate if paid for their labor. Looking ahead, we plan to encourage some farmers to cultivate saplings. Even those with poor farmland should be able to raise them. As for the trees to plant, aside from black dragon cedar, we plan to include walnut and cherrywood—species that bear edible fruit and can later be sold as furniture materials. Black dragon cedar fetches a high price, but it takes twenty, preferably fifty years before it can be used for lumber. We’ll need something that becomes profitable sooner.”

Wow, Mr. Forli, you’re amazing!
He’s turning vague ideas into concrete, practical plans—and at the same time addressing unemployment, poverty, and famine risks.
In Japan, reforestation usually meant planting only cedar, which led to a mess of pollen allergies, poor water retention, and damage to ecosystems. Mixing conifers with broadleaf trees would avoid those problems.

“Do you plan to purchase the saplings directly?”
“Yes, young lord. We also considered a tax exemption for growers, but we believe a clear financial reward would be more persuasive. After all, the very idea of reforestation is new here. Most farmers would prefer to plant something they can eat immediately, so we must connect reforestation to tangible profit.”

That’s perfectly reasonable. Many people reject new ideas just because they’ve never done them before. Ugh, I struggled with that every time we rolled out a new system back when I worked as a software engineer.

“What do the Forest People think?”

Huh?

“They doubt it will succeed, but they appreciate the effort to halt deforestation.”
“I see. It’s said the Black Dragon respects the Forest People. I hope this initiative might reach the dragon through them.”

“Um, Brother, Lord Forli—who exactly are these Forest People?”
“Ah, Ekaterina, you didn’t know?”

The Forest People, it turned out, were a small ethnic group living within the duchy’s forests. They didn’t settle permanently, moving through the woods and rarely interacting with outsiders, quite the peculiar group.

Kind of elfish, maybe? But there are no elves in this world, so they might be closer to the *Sanka*—the mountain folk who once lived in Japan.

“The Forest People are divided into several tribes, though the lady chieftain of their largest tribe is the wife of Forli.”
“Wha—!?”
“Well… yes, that is correct.”

Forli coughed lightly and nodded.
Born as the third son of a marquis, Forli had come to the duchy at the invitation of Aleksei’s grandfather, Sergei, whom he befriended at the Magic Academy. During his frequent mountain walks—a hobby of his—he encountered the Forest People, and after a long, complicated series of events, fell in love with the chieftain’s daughter.
He was then disowned by his marquis family, entered Duke Sergei’s service, and the rest is history.

Wow, that’s incredible! That’s romance!
Ekaterina and Flora glanced at each other—both of our eyes were sparkling. Even as a woman in my thirties on the inside, I couldn’t help but go full maiden mode at that story.

After another polite cough, Forli began eating his lunch.

Today’s meal was pie: meat pie, mushroom pie, vegetable gratin pie, and apple pie.
They couldn’t have made all that during the short lunch break alone. In truth, Ekaterina and Flora had been spending their after-school hours, early mornings, and short breaks in the kitchen preparing ahead of time. Recently, they had gotten into the habit of having tea together in the dorm every night while reviewing class lessons, and during those breaks, they would plan the next day’s menu. The kitchen staff, eager to learn Flora’s recipes, often helped them in exchange—so gradually, their lunches had become more and more elaborate.

“…This tastes rather nostalgic,” Forli remarked.

Flora smiled.

“This is the Baroness’ recipe. Her pies are truly exceptional. Since you’re about the same age as she is, perhaps it reminds you of something.”
“Baroness Czerny… Her name wouldn’t happen to be Natasha, would it?”

Hearing that, Flora’s eyes widened.

“Yes, that’s right. Her name is Natasha… Could it be that you know her?”
“Lady Natasha—She was Natasha, daughter of Count Mernov at the time. She and I were in the same year at this Magic Academy.”

You’re kidding!

“I was in the same class as Iosif Czerny, so I met her through him. Like the two of you, she loved cooking—always experimenting in the corner of the kitchen and sharing what she made. Her food was so good, people would fight over it. Duke Sergei would always quietly secure a share for himself, he had quite the appetite.”

That last bit says it all. They must’ve been very close.

“Iosif and Lady Natasha eloped on the eve of graduation, but the one who arranged their elopement was actually Duke Sergei.”

“…Huh?”
“Eh?”
“What?”

A bomb had just gone off.

.

“Um, excuse me, I don’t quite understand the meaning… Eloped? Huh? Those two? Those gentle, mild-mannered people—no way, that can’t be…”

Flora was in utter confusion.

“Wait, Forli. What did you just say about Grandfather?”
“Are you saying Lady Flora’s parents and our grandfather have had such a deep connection…? No, but, s-surely not—”

Aleksei and Ekaterina were also bewildered. Wait, hang on—this is between the villainess and the heroine! Are we even allowed to have this kind of lore?!

“Iosif seemed quiet and plain at first glance, but he had a strong core. When he disliked something, he would firmly say so, without ever wavering. Duke Sergei appeared to admire that about him—perhaps it’s fair to say he had high hopes for him. I don’t know how he met Lady Natasha, but by their second year, the two were already inseparable. It wasn’t a flashy romance, but anyone could tell they would spend their lives together. However, Lady Natasha’s family arranged another marriage and forbade her union with Iosif. So, all of us classmates banded together and helped the two of them escape to the Czerny territory. It was the highlight of our school days.”

Students planning a wild elopement operation… with the heir of one of the Three Great Dukes as the ringleader? One can only sympathize with the teachers and guardians…

“I heard Lady Natasha baked us an apple pie as thanks before leaving, but when Duke Sergei received it, he ate the entire pie by himself. When I found out, I couldn’t help punching him.”

What—?!

“…If I recall correctly, Grandfather wasn’t particularly fond of pies.”
“It seems he overate that time. Later, he kept complaining of heartburn. I suppose that’s why he avoided them afterwards.”

…Right, that explains it.

But—what?!
I never met Grandfather in person, but I’ve seen his portraits in the ducal mansion. There’s even one of him with then ten-year-old Onii-sama. I used to squeal over how adorable my brother was, but Grandfather himself—he was the very embodiment of dignity, a stern yet extremely dashing gentleman…

And I know this is a story of his youth, but damn me that gap!

While the grandchildren were holding their heads in disbelief, Novak and the others smiled wryly. To them, Sergei was a strict superior and a benefactor who had given them opportunities—but they were also aware of his dry, mischievous side.

“Forli, this story about Grandfather and Baron Czerny… why didn’t you mention it the other day?”
“I thought it was something you should judge for yourself, Young Lord. To say that Lady Flora was special because of her family’s connection with Duke Sergei—well, that wouldn’t be quite right, would it?”
“……”

For once, Aleksei had no words. If he had known of their connection and approved of Ekaterina’s and Flora’s friendship for that reason, he might never have reconsidered his own way of thinking.

“I often wondered what became of Iosif and Lady Natasha afterward, but I became preoccupied with my own matters and lost touch. This is a strange twist of fate, but I’m truly glad to know they’re still happily together even now.”

Saying that with quiet emotion, Forli took another bite of pie and murmured, “It truly tastes nostalgic.”

.

*“—My chest hurts.”*

We’d seen the duke’s carriage off, carrying Iosif and Natasha. Sergei had made that stupid joke about eating all the thank-you pie himself, so I punched him. He punched me back, and after a bit of a brawl, we both collapsed onto the ground.
That’s when Sergei spoke.

*”You overate. You’ve got heartburn, don’t you? Only an idiot eats a whole pie by himself”*
*”I always wanted to try it once.”*
*”You’re an idiot.”*
*”Yeah.”*

Sergei sighed.

*”…Maybe you shouldn’t have let her go.”*
*”That’s not what she wanted. …Come on, doing this much should be fine.”*
*”Shut up. Why is it I always get dragged into your nonsense, you damn fool?”*

Sure, it probably wasn’t out of love.
But at that time, Sergei was already engaged to Princess Alexandra. On the surface, they looked like a perfect match—a beautiful, proud imperial princess and a handsome duke—but in truth, the arrogant and cruel Alexandra and the earnest yet quietly enigmatic, steadfastly fair and kind Sergei were polar opposites to a frightening degree.
On the other hand, Natasha wasn’t the type often called a beauty, but she was small, had gentle eyes, and always smelled faintly sweet. If she had been Sergei’s bride, he would have known happiness.

*”I’ll never eat apple pie again.”*

Sergei groaned, and Forli laughed.

.

Back when that irritating best friend—who never hesitated to trouble him—was still alive, Forli never dreamed he would lose him so soon.
Looking back now, it had been a good time in life.