Another Request from the Duchess

Duchess Lecreune clapped her hands as if to say the discussion was finally over.

"Are you finished? Then may I have a moment?"

I glanced at the duke, and he nodded.

Meaning I should hear her out.

"Of course, Duchess."

"Those gift sets with the soap and such that you brought before? I've given away almost all of them, but my friends have become fans and keep asking for more."

"The scented ones I brought previously, yes."

"Exactly. I've tried them myself, and I sleep better and feel so relaxed. They're really wonderful. I was hoping you could sell me more."

If the duchess wished it, the only answer was yes.

Besides, if someone in a position to obtain virtually anything she wanted was going out of her way to ask, it proved the quality was genuine.

It might even be fair to say the brand had gained recognition among the noble ladies.

"Of course. How much would you like?"

"I've been getting requests from friends who didn't receive any last time, so… prepare double the previous order."

Double the previous order…

Her sense of spending was on another level.

Each set was a bit pricey even for commoners.

Last time I'd prepared two hundred, so this time it would be four hundred.

I'd have to bow my head to Ramiza-san again.

But if that was all it took to stay in the duchess's good graces, it was cheap.

"I'll begin preparations as soon as I return to the Kingdom. Given the quantity, I'll need a bit of time."

"That's fine. Ah, this will finally save my reputation."

She opened an ornate fan and smiled.

Doing so, she looked younger than her years.

Women's factions had their own peculiar dynamics.

Information circulated quickly, but they'd happily feed false information to anyone they disliked.

I'd heard that maintaining such a faction was tremendously difficult.

As a duchess, she would have to conduct herself as the head of such a faction.

Being in a position like that must be hard, I thought, though it was none of my concern.

I noted down her preferences for fragrances as well.

With that, the discussion with the duke finally concluded.

"Then I'll take my leave."

"Very well. I'll call on you again if something comes up."

"I'd be happy to hear you out."

I said this as I exited the room.

Half social courtesy, half honest.

Between the iron ore purchasing rights and the soap and fragrance sales, it seemed we could maintain ongoing business.

That was more than enough as results went.

"Well then, the luggage and… there'll be farewells too. How about we meet up at the inn later?"

"Yes, sir. I look forward to working with you."

Orleans bowed deeply.

I simply nodded and watched her go.

I'd forgotten to ask about Ateil, but judging by the scene outside, they seemed to be shifting to a wartime footing.

Lingering too long might get us caught up in something.

I'd had enough conflict for a while. I didn't have enough lives for this.

We returned to the inn where we'd left our carriage and took rooms.

Finn said she was tired and disappeared into hers right away.

She'd done plenty of work; I'd let her rest.

I managed to catch a merchant who was still around and arranged for him to help with the transport again.

The volume was less than the wheat, but there was no way it would fit in our single carriage.

I paid the warehouse fee at the port where we'd stored the iron ore and transferred the cargo to the carriages.

I was glad to have Azu and the others with me.

Alone, my back would have given out.

"That's a lot of cargo. Your reach is broad."

"If you don't work broadly, you can't earn properly. Right?"

"True enough."

We chatted in merchant-speak while finishing the loading.

Once back in the Kingdom, I'd have to deliver this to Alsarm before it became money.

Until it became money, I couldn't relax.

We covered the cargo with sheets to hide the contents and brought the carriages back to the inn.

Once we could finally settle down, Alexia let out a sigh.

"What a whirlwind."

"I tend to forget lately, but merchants live by their legs. This is normal."

"I'm enjoying it!"

"Azu-chan's such a trouper."

"So energetic."

We chatted as we arrived at the inn.

Orleans was waiting in front.

She had just one small handbag.

"Welcome back, sir."

"Yeah. Is that all you have?"

"Yes. Just a change of clothes and my personal effects."

"Once we're back at the shop, we'll get you all sorts of things."

Elza crouched down to Orleans's eye level and spoke gently.

"That's too much for me. This is all I need to live."

"You're free now, so it's fine to experience different things. You can decide afterward."

This sort of thing was probably better left to the other women.

Both Elza and Alexia were good at looking after people.

We spent one night at the inn, then prepared to depart the next morning.

We grabbed food from a street stall to eat on the go.

I bought an Imperial dish: thin wheat batter with vegetables and meat rolled inside.

It was piping hot, fresh off the grill.

I tried to bite into it and failed, getting sauce on my cheek.

"Ow, hot."

"Freshly made, after all. Here."

Alexia gave me a look that said honestly and wiped the sauce from my mouth with her finger.

"Oh my, this flavor is quite good too."

She put the finger straight in her mouth and remarked approvingly.

It would have been a cute gesture if she hadn't already eaten several.

As it was, she just looked like a glutton.

Then we met up with the merchant we'd arranged outside the city walls, and finally set off for Kassad.