The Duke's Daughter

We followed the butler.

Along the way, a magnificent garden came into view.

Beyond it, numerous buildings other than the main estate were visible. Annexes of some kind, perhaps.

Quarters for the household staff? There could be all sorts of other facilities as well.

I'd heard that noble estates were designed to withstand a siege if the need arose.

Gathering everything necessary for survival under one roof was what made them so sprawling.

I couldn't begin to imagine the maintenance costs. No matter how much money I made, I wanted no part of that.

I was glad not to be a noble watching gold pour out the door. Being a merchant who earned it suited me far better.

We wiped the mud from our shoes at the entrance and stepped inside.

The hallways were lined with furnishings. Every piece I could see was genuine.

Any single one of them was worth more than what I'd paid for all three of the girls standing behind me.

Few nobles in the entire Kingdom possessed this kind of wealth.

The rank of duke, combined with the staggering tax revenue from Alsarm's relentless growth.

There might well be other income sources I wasn't aware of.

We were led to what appeared to be a reception room.

"Please wait here for a moment."

With that, the butler departed.

I settled into the sofa. Azu and the others I had stand behind me.

The sofa was plush and soft, worlds apart from anything in our house.

What was the material? I dropped to my knees on the floor to examine the fabric up close, running my fingers across it. What was this made of?

It didn't seem to be sheepskin…

"Stop that, it's embarrassing. In situations like these, you sit quietly and wait."

"But if I can identify this texture…"

"Just stop!"

Alexia rushed to intervene. Elza wore a wry smile.

Azu, meanwhile, was mimicking me, poking at the fabric with her finger.

I'd been close to identifying the material, but Alexia had a point. It wouldn't do to make a bad impression.

Besides, rather than being caught inspecting it, I could just ask directly.

As I was thinking that, the door opened.

I stood to greet our host, and in walked a young woman about Alexia's age, accompanied by a maid.

Her flax-colored hair was tied back with a ribbon.

A jade necklace hung at her throat.

If I recalled correctly, this area was a source of jade.

She wore a dress, and everything about her appearance screamed noblewoman's daughter.

She was, of course, not the duke.

There was no reason for the duke himself to come. A noble of his standing had no need to deal with a mere merchant.

The Imperial duke and his wife had actually been the unusual ones in that regard.

"That sofa is upholstered with Flame Dackal hide, by the way."

The woman said, covering her mouth as she smiled.

It seemed our conversation had carried through the door.

"How kind of you. My name is Yohane, and I'm here today at the duke's invitation."

"Hehe. I'm Anatia Deiancle. I heard from my father that you had quite the ordeal at the auction."

The duke's daughter. That explained the refinement.

If Alexia were dressed up properly, she could hold her own.

I made a mental note to have her wear rubies on such an occasion.

"Please, sit."

Anatia sat down first, then gestured for me to do the same.

Even as the duke's daughter, she held the higher position here.

I complied.

"I was tending the garden. Did you see it on your way in?"

"I caught a glimpse from afar as we were being escorted. The flowers were vibrant and beautiful."

"How lovely of you to say. Do be sure to stop by before you leave."

Nobles always made small talk before getting to business.

In high society, the art lay in how naturally you could extract information, or conversely, how skillfully you could let the other party know what you wanted them to know.

Merchants played the information game too, but the approach was different. There was no need to feed your counterpart information.

Nobles, on the other hand, dealt in entangled interests. Win too decisively and you'd make far more enemies than any merchant ever would.

Letting the other party win too, letting them have their moment. That was how you maintained connections.

A tedious world.

Given what had happened to Alexia, being set up and cast down, I wanted no part of it.

This, at least, was just idle chatter.

I matched Anatia's pace for a while.

Anticipating exactly this, I'd been keeping mental notes on anything that might make for good conversation topics.

"The streets are lined with shops. Quite an impressive sight."

"It was different when I was still young, but these past ten years have transformed the city entirely."

"I see. The duke's governance, no doubt."

"I think so too. I'll be sure to pass that along to my father."

"Speaking of which, where might the duke be?"

"Father has been terribly busy ever since the auction ended. And in unusually high spirits, I might add."

At the auction, the duke had acquired the Earth Elemental Stone and a damaged crown.

Both were purchases in the four-digit gold coin range.

I had no idea how he intended to use them, but either would be something you could admire endlessly.

I doubted the Earth Elemental Stone was destined to merely sit on a shelf, though.

Eventually the small talk wound down, and we finally moved to the main topic.

"I understand you've brought the Anti-Magic Orb today."

"That's right. Azu."

I'd had Azu carry the Anti-Magic Orb.

She handed it over, and I placed the carefully stored orb on the table in front of the sofa.

I peeled away the layers of cloth wrapping it, and there it was.

Colorless. Transparent. A clarity you could see straight through. No matter how many times I looked at it, it was beautiful.

"So this is the Anti-Magic Orb. I've never seen one before."

Anatia studied it with evident curiosity.

"May I test it?"

"Please, go ahead."

Seeing wasn't the same as believing, naturally.

The moment I gave my permission, she conjured a flame at her fingertip.

She'd generated fire through magic.

She brought it toward the Anti-Magic Orb.

Just as the flame was about to make contact, it vanished.

"Amazing. The magic truly disappeared."

"That is its function."

Its effectiveness had already been proven during the attack at the auction. It had completely blocked a lightning bolt.

The impact itself had still gotten through, but there was no helping that.

On the surface, it might seem like an all-purpose defense against magic, but it wasn't that convenient.

When I'd had Alexia run tests on it, we'd found the orb had a cooldown period.

After blocking a powerful spell, its effectiveness against subsequent magic was diminished.

It recovered over time, but the limitation was real.

Against a magical ambush, the orb performed brilliantly. Against sustained bombardment, however, it fell short.

If it truly were all-powerful against magic, its value would exceed anything money could buy.