The Marquis's Third Son

The next day, when I saw Alexia, her color had improved considerably.

I didn't fully understand how mana worked, but apparently a night's rest was enough to recover a decent amount.

That said, I couldn't have her burning through yesterday's level of reserves again.

I decided to build in a proper break between the morning and afternoon sessions.

We bought the vending permit from the guild and set up our counter in the same spot as yesterday.

The table was borrowed from the inn.

Makeshift, but not bad as a storefront.

Perhaps because of the cheap water, the city seemed favorably disposed toward us so far.

People were already gathering by the time we finished setting up, though fewer than yesterday.

"You're sure you're alright?"

"My, aren't you the worrywart. I'm fine."

"Signal me if it gets to be too much."

"I will."

We put Azu on sales duty again and announced the start of business.

The first in line was a boy.

I collected one copper coin and filled the vessel he'd brought.

From there, we continued selling at a brisk pace.

It wasn't quite the massive line of yesterday, but the stream of customers was steady.

Thanks to Alexia's efforts yesterday, a decent amount had already been distributed.

But water was a daily necessity. None of this mattered unless the land itself recovered its moisture.

When the line finally thinned out, I was considering wrapping up the morning session. The last customer, a young man, handed his cloth water bag to Azu.

"Water, please. One copper coin is quite cheap."

"I'll take that for you."

Azu received the water bag and passed it to Alexia.

It filled with water in an instant.

"We can hardly charge much given the circumstances."

I said this as I accepted the copper coin, and the young man nodded deeply.

He had a solid build.

Blue hair, worn long and tied back carelessly, though it suited him well.

The handsome type, with a certain air of refinement about him.

When our eyes met, the brown of his irises conveyed a strong will.

"This is quite something. I was hoping to meet the former lord, but… he's passed, so that's unfortunate."

"So I've heard."

"He was very kind to me. I'd hoped to visit him again now that my travels are over. And his daughter Alexia-jou is apparently missing, too."

Alexia, still hooded, flinched for just a moment.

He might be an acquaintance.

"We only arrived yesterday ourselves, so we really couldn't say."

"Of course. Sorry, I'm just rambling. Please."

"Here you are."

Azu brought back the filled water bag, and I handed it over.

"Thank you. What you're doing is helping a great many people, I'm sure."

The young man said that and left.

I closed up the stall for a break.

A few latecomers were told we'd resume sales later.

"That young man just now. Did you know him?"

"… No, I don't think so. He wasn't among Father's acquaintances, either, as far as I can recall."

Alexia pondered under her hood.

She still seemed to have energy to spare thanks to the break.

I'd sent Azu and Elza off to exchange the mountain of copper coins we'd accumulated.

Even accounting for the exchange fee, hauling that much copper around was a pain.

At minimum, we needed to convert it to silver.

"But something about him does feel familiar… Where have I seen him?"

Azu and Elza returned.

A bag of silver coins and one gold coin.

Not bad for the unit price.

I chewed on some black bread and cheese for a quick meal.

Just as we were about to reopen, Alexia spoke up quietly.

"I remember now. That hair color. A long time ago, when I was still small, there was a boy my father took in for training."

"Oh? I recall hearing that in noble families, second sons and younger are sent to train at other houses."

"Yes. He stayed for about two years, I think. Father doted on him. More than me, probably. He must have wanted a son."

Alexia's face, visible beneath the hood, looked lonely.

"His name was Carolus, if I remember right. The third son of the House of Magnus. He set out on his travels when he came of age, I believe."

House of Magnus.

The name hit me like a jolt.

I couldn't hide my surprise.

Because that name was on the papers Finn had given me, listed among the rival nobles.

Wait, so her father had fostered the child of a rival to his own patron?

Bold didn't begin to cover it. Reckless, where noble politics were concerned.

The House of Magnus had once held a Senate seat but withdrew due to a falling out with the then-emperor.

They were one of the Empire's leading militant houses.

Now that the emperor had changed and things had cooled down, they were angling for a return to the Senate. Finn's documents said as much.

Given that both houses were of the militant persuasion, Alexia's father and the head of House Magnus may well have been on good terms.

If House Magnus had been this city's patron, things probably would have worked out fine.

But then Alexia wouldn't have ended up with us, and that would have been its own kind of problem.

Oh, we'd been on break too long.

Time to resume selling water.

If I could find a way to work with that young man, it might just be the opening we needed.

We sold water for the rest of the day.

Someone even asked if we could make it rain.

"I could manage it over a limited area, but it would leave me unable to do anything else for the rest of the day."

"You can actually do that?"

"It's a compound spell of fire and water, so this helps."

She held up the Fire Elemental Crystal brooch.

Using that kind of magic inside the city would be difficult, I thought, but when we asked the officials, we got approval almost immediately.

They wanted the city washed down with rain at least once.

It hadn't rained in so long that the sanitation situation demanded it.

Guess we'd be making rain tomorrow.