MLHRGD 46

#46. Rest (1)

While Pavel was making his vow, Sasha was organizing a thick stack of documents.

They were the records of those connected to the Gorky family who had been interrogated by her and Pavel.

Sasha categorized them into three groups:

Those who knowingly and actively deceived the Volkov family.

Those who vaguely knew but chose to ignore it for profit.

Those who knew nothing and simply followed orders, thinking it was good work.

After carefully weighing her options, Sasha finally made a decision.

“Yes. This is how it should be.”

She decided to deliver punishment proportionate to the size of each person’s crime.

Some might have said she should just behead all the people involved, claiming that would be the clearest solution.

To uphold the prestige of the Volkov family, they might argue, it was important to make an example through harsh punishment so such things would never happen again.

Sasha partly agreed that sometimes a strong stance was necessary.

But that wasn’t her way.

Some might sneer that she was too soft, but Sasha believed that measured rewards and punishments were ultimately better for the future than excessive ones.

Using fear might seem efficient now, but when Pavel eventually had to govern, Sasha’s fair judgments would be more helpful.

And so Sasha administered punishments proportional to each crime.

Those guilty of minor offenses were fined; those guilty of major crimes paid with their lives.

Under Sasha’s direction, the punishments were carried out, and the matter was concluded.

That same day, the Grand Duke Volkov summoned Sasha.

Already suspecting the reason, Sasha calmly stood before him without surprise.

“I’ve heard about what you did,” the Grand Duke said, raising an eyebrow.

“I heard it was quite impressive.”

“Ah, it was nothing,” Sasha replied modestly.

“Nothing? Everyone who reported the progress of the matter was amazed.”

Sasha gave an awkward smile.

“I was fortunate to have received a lot of help from those around me.”

The Grand Duke pointed out her excessive modesty.

“Being overly humble can make you seem servile. Avoid that, especially from now on.”

“…”

Sasha lowered her eyes, and the Grand Duke gave a small laugh.

“Your judgment this time was not bad. Neither too lenient nor excessively harsh—appropriate. No one will complain about your decisions.”

Then he looked Sasha straight in the eyes and murmured,

“I can entrust things to you with peace of mind.”

Before Sasha could wonder what he meant, the Grand Duke pushed a small box across the table toward her.

“Open it.”

‘What is this?’

Sasha inspected the box, puzzled.

It was old and luxurious, with intricate patterns delicately embossed on the lid.

When she hesitated to touch it, the Grand Duke urged her.

“I told you to open it.”

“Ah, yes.”

Sasha hurriedly opened the box the Grand Duke had given her.

Inside was a large seal, bigger than her fist.

A heavy seal made of solid blackwood, with ornate gold decorations at the top.

‘Wait, could this be…?’

Realizing what it was, Sasha looked up at the Grand Duke with wide eyes. He spoke calmly,

“It’s the family head’s seal, passed down through the generations of the Volkov family. As long as it’s in your hands, you can rightfully exercise the authority of this household’s legal master.”

Gasp.

“Why are you giving this to me…?”

Now that she understood, the seal—which was already heavy—felt even heavier.

The burden weighed down on her shoulders. Sasha quietly set the box containing the family head’s seal back on the table.

But the Grand Duke did not take it back.

“Take it with you. You’ll need it.”

It didn’t feel like she ever would, but Sasha backed away slightly from the seal.

Yet the Grand Duke still did not retrieve it.

“When I’m away, I’m entrusting Pavel and this household to you.”

“…”

“It won’t be difficult. Even as acting head, you don’t have to handle everything alone. The aides will help you, and you can hire more people if necessary.”

Acting head?

‘Did I hear that wrong?’

Sasha tilted her head in confusion, but the Grand Duke didn’t repeat himself.

Instead, he dismissed her with a wave.

“It’s late. You may go.”

Leaving with the family head’s seal in hand, Sasha stood in front of the closed door and thought,

‘I must have misheard. Acting head of the family… No, maybe I’m dreaming?’

But the box in her hand was so heavy that her wrist ached; it was too real to be a dream.

When Sasha returned to her room and went to sleep, the family head’s seal was still there.

It was no dream.

The next day, the Grand Duke gathered everyone in Velikorod Castle and officially announced it:

Alexandra Volkov was now the acting head of the family and should be treated the same as him.

“…Unbelievable.”

But it was true.

Alexandra Volkov had formally become the acting head of the Volkov family.

Since becoming the acting head, Sasha had been incredibly busy.

Gone were the days when she could sleep as much as she wanted. Now, she woke at dawn.

Washing quickly and changing clothes in a flash became routine.

When she arrived at the office, she read through documents while nibbling bread for a quick meal.

Many people doubted that young Sasha could handle the responsibilities of acting head properly, but she adapted quickly to her new role.

Her wealth of knowledge from countless reincarnations helped immensely.

She also received help from others.

First, the Grand Duke Volkov supported Sasha’s decisions without opposition.

With the highest authority actively backing her, even those who disliked Sasha couldn’t easily voice complaints.

Ivan and Yelena also stayed by her side as aides.

They taught Sasha what she didn’t know and acted according to her wishes, serving as invaluable assistants to the inexperienced acting head.

Thanks to all this, a month later,

Sasha now looked every bit the capable acting head she was meant to be.

Her schedule was still packed with demanding tasks, but now she could at least carve out a day of rest.

“Like I said before, I’m taking today off. I promised Pavel.”

Sasha had been busy adjusting to her duties as acting head, while Pavel was tied up with heir training.

They’d barely had any quiet time alone together, let alone outings.

Unable to stand it any longer, Pavel had thrown a small tantrum, refusing to do anything unless he was given time with Sasha.

Sasha had found her young husband’s complaints awkward yet secretly endearing.

She herself had been tired from her hectic schedule and saddened by the lack of time with Pavel.

But with so much work to do, she couldn’t just abandon everything to go have fun.

The same was true for Pavel. His schedule was tight and couldn’t easily be disrupted.

After a brief moment of thought, Sasha had suggested,

“Then how about this? For the next week, we both work even harder than usual. Once we free up a day, we’ll go out and enjoy ourselves without worries.”

“Okay,” Pavel had agreed, silently vowing to keep that promise.

And he had.

While Sasha worked late into the night, rubbing her tired eyelids, Pavel didn’t waste time idly either.

Since he had started heir training later than others, he packed his days tightly, determined to catch up.

Thanks to the solid foundation he’d gained from Sasha’s teaching, it wasn’t too hard to follow his lessons.

But swordsmanship training was a different matter.

Sergei Molcharin, the swordsmanship master the Grand Duke had painstakingly recruited, was relentlessly strict with Pavel.

Known as the greatest swordsman of the era, Sergei had very high standards.

Even though Pavel was exceptionally talented and already unmatched among his peers, Sergei wasn’t satisfied.

He pushed Pavel without rest, until the boy was utterly exhausted.

As a result, Pavel’s body was never free from bruises and muscle pain.

But Pavel didn’t give up. Even when he collapsed, he got up again, determined to keep his promise to Sasha.

And their week of effort culminated in this day—

Today was for rest, eating, and enjoying themselves without care.

Free from work for the day, Sasha had carefully prepared for the outing and headed to Pavel’s room.

“Pavel. Are you ready?”

“Yeah.”

“Let me see.”

Sasha inspected Pavel’s outfit carefully and frowned.

“Won’t you be cold dressed like that?”

“I’ll be hot,” Pavel said, shaking his arms, which were padded with four layers of clothes.

“I can barely move as it is.”

“Still, what about adding one more coat?”

“No.”

“Fine, then at least wear a scarf.”

Sasha buttoned Pavel’s coat all the way up and wrapped a scarf snugly around his neck.

Pavel fiddled with the overly bundled scarf around his neck and muttered,

“This is uncomfortable.”

With his body bulked up to twice its normal size from all the layers, Pavel looked like a snowman.

Sasha suppressed a laugh and coaxed him.

“It’s still chilly outside, so we can’t dress lightly. You’ll get sick.”

Sasha still remembered vividly the first day she’d met Pavel—the wedding night, when he had been miserable with a cold.

Now he was much healthier and unlikely to fall seriously ill like back then.

But Sasha still wanted him to stay healthy and never get sick.

“I know,” Pavel replied, and didn’t complain further.

But that didn’t mean he stayed silent.

“Isn’t your outfit too thin?”

“Mine?”

“Yeah.”

This time, Pavel was the one pointing out Sasha’s clothing.