Chapter 28
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Chapter 28
I set down the hoe and deliberated.
'The problem is that winter is approaching.'
There would be no use for farming tools on cold days. Unless one were a nobleman with a Greenhouse, of course.
Should I pursue the horticulture route as I'd originally planned?
But it would be difficult to sell farming implements to nobles outright. They wouldn't be interested in the first place.
There had to be a way....
"A good method, a good method...."
Ah. I remembered.
Crash!
At that moment, I heard the sound of books tumbling down.
"Oh dear. Enya, are you feeling a little better?"
Sophia picked herself up from where she'd collapsed, sniffling.
She burned with determination day and night to master the graceful gait befitting High Society.
Thanks to her efforts, Sophia had transformed into a young noblewoman with manners far more suited to High Society than before.
After making good connections at the first soirée she'd been invited to, she often attended such gatherings.
'Which is why Sophia is perfect for this.'
I smiled quietly, my eyes gleaming.
"You said the host of the Salon Sophia is attending this time is whom?"
"Countess Clementine."
Sophia's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
"Will you be going too, Enya?!"
Then she seemed to realize her slip and covered her mouth.
"Oh no, how could I forget that you live in hiding. I'm sorry, Enya. I didn't mean to hurt you."
"It's fine. I wasn't invited anyway. Don't worry about it."
"Ah...."
As I dropped my head as if dejected, Sophia fidgeted and hovered anxiously around me.
I hunched my shoulders and narrowed them. Of course, I didn't forget to fidget with my fingertips either.
"It's been so long since I attended a Salon.... It brings back old memories...."
"Oh, I, I'm so sorry, Enya."
"It's fine. Since coming to Grunvalt, things have been lonely, unfamiliar, and difficult, but thanks to how kindly you've treated me, I remember my days as a young noblewoman and it's been truly wonderful."
Sophia's eyes welled up with touching emotion.
"But if I were in a state where I could attend such gatherings.... How wonderful that would have been...? I could have grown even closer to you...."
"Ah ah...!"
Sophia appeared to be on the verge of panic, utterly at a loss.
"Sob sob, Sophia."
I pretended to wipe away tears as I grasped Sophia's hand.
"I'm sorry, Enya! I was truly thoughtless."
"No, no, how could this possibly be—*sniff*—your fault, Sophia?"
I glanced sideways at Sophia.
She was growing increasingly pale.
Good. That should suffice.
I subtly wiped away my tears and looked at Sophia.
"So here's what I'm thinking, Sophia. Since I cannot go myself... would you take this hoe as though it were my very self?"
"Of course! I'll do it!"
Sophia quickly gathered up the hoe.
"If I just bring this to the Salon, won't that make Enya feel better?"
"*sniff* Of course it will..."
I lifted my head and wiped away the false tears.
"I'm the one who should thank you, Sophia."
"Not at all. I'm just happy to be of help to you."
*Thunk! Thunk!*
That was the sound of arrows piercing my conscience.
"But how will this help you, exactly?"
"Countess Clementine may not be deeply versed in horticulture, but she takes considerable interest in it."
"She does seem that way. But why does that matter?"
"When you give this to Countess Clementine, tell her it's a gift for her gardening pursuits."
I pressed a note with instructions into Sophia's palm.
"If you tell her this is something special, given only to her, the Countess will be absolutely delighted."
"Really, truly?"
"Cultivating a garden is a mark of noble refinement."
When did I become so skilled at lying...?
I spoke without hesitation.
"The Countess understands this well, so she'll certainly be grateful to you. Without doubt."
Sophia nodded, persuaded by my words.
"Yes. I'll treat this hoe as though it were you and handle it with great care."
"Good. Thank you, Sophia."
There was no place like the Salon for rumors to spread swiftly. Caught in its current, one could lose much.
But conversely, one could exploit that advantage.
* * *
Marian Clementine was an aging countess.
She had lost her children in her youth and now her husband had preceded her in death, leaving her a lonely noblewoman whose only hobby was tending the Garden her husband had cultivated.
Well, she also had the hobby of hosting a Salon.
In any case, horticulture was Marian's greatest passion.
"But isn't this labor?"
Marian was inadvertently experiencing the daily toil of a gardener firsthand.
It was her husband's legacy, and she had declared she would tend the Greenhouse herself, but after a year with an aging body, she found herself regretting those words.
"One must maintain dignity."
Marian had been born into a wealthy noble family, married into nobility, and upheld her house's standing.
Words once spoken must be honored for the sake of noble propriety.
Yet when she struggled with heavy gardening tools or her clumsy hands killed plants with alarming frequency—
She found herself wanting to take back those words.
"Tsk, tsk."
Marian cursed her own folly.
"A Salon held in the Greenhouse would have been perfect."
But she had made such a mess of it that nothing could be done.
Rather than show guests this disaster, she would sooner burn the place to the ground. Such was Marian's pride.
"Madam, the drawing room is prepared. All the young ladies have arrived."
"Yes, let us go."
Looking at the ruined Greenhouse she could only leave as it was, a bitter taste filled her mouth. Marian straightened her posture and walked forward.
"Good afternoon, Madam."
"Oh my, isn't this the young lady of House Grunvalt?"
A chestnut-haired young lady approached at that moment.
It was Sophia Grunvalt, whom she had seen several times before. She was unusually gentle for a noblewoman, the kind of girl who caught one's attention.
If her own son had lived and given her grandchildren, would such a lovely granddaughter have been born?
She often thought such things.
She had lost her children; this young lady had lost her parents at an early age.
Perhaps because they shared similar sorrows, Marian found herself listening intently to whatever this girl said.
"I have a gift I would like to give you, Madam."
"For me, young lady of House Grunvalt?"
Marian's eyes wavered at these unexpected words.
Sophia extended a beautifully wrapped rectangular box to her—a velvet box of fine quality.
It appeared to contain jewelry, but they were not intimate enough for such a gift.
Moreover, the size was far too large for jewelry.
"This is..."
Bewilderment crossed Marian's face as she opened the box.
She thought herself knowledgeable about the world, having seen much, yet an unfamiliar object emerged before her.
"Is this a weapon?"
"This is called a hoe."
"A hoe?"
Looking at it closely, it resembled a weapon, or perhaps a pickaxe. Or maybe a shovel—was this what they called a hoe?
"What is this used for, Miss?"
"I heard that the Countess is fond of her Greenhouse."
"Ah, I see...."
So this young lady had taken an interest in me?
Opening a Salon was driven less by camaraderie than by political ambition—a battleground accessible only to women.
Marian Clementine had withdrawn from active participation in High Society.
Yet she had no heir to inherit the Countess House, and that had become the nobility's paramount concern.
The bored Countess Clementine opened her Salon partly to observe potential heirs.
Since she would need to adopt an heir from outside the family.
There was amusement in watching the subtle machinations of Salon attendees vying to place a male relative or second son as her adopted heir.
Observing those who strived for such a position was both a welcome diversion from her tedious existence and a source of slightly twisted pleasure.
'This young lady was different.'
Her innocence, untainted by High Society, delighted Marian.
But a gift....
"And this is a guide on cultivating plants and maintaining them properly. I asked my one and only friend to gather this information for me. I do hope it proves helpful to you."
Marian gazed at the book the young lady had nervously offered.
It was entirely handwritten.
"So this is flattery from that friend, is it?"
"Ah, that is...."
Marian laughed at the flustered Sophia Grunvalt.
"Is she the friend who made this?"
"...Yes. That's right."
"Thank you, Miss Grunvalt. I shall accept this with gratitude."
She found it intriguing that someone would brazenly promote their wares in such a manner.
If this allowed her to recreate the Greenhouse from when her husband was alive, that would be worthwhile.
"Let me see what we have here."
* * *
The operation was a resounding success.
"Enya! Enya! Countess Clementine was absolutely delighted!"
"Really?"
Two weeks later, Sophia told me excitedly.
"She rarely shows the Greenhouse to anyone, but she opened it just for me. And when I saw it...!"
"When you saw it?"
"Well, it was a mess."
Sophia whispered apologetically.
She handed me a crumpled piece of paper with an embarrassed smile.
"So here's the thing, Enya. The Countess asked me to bring 100 more of the same items."
"100 of them?"
"Is that too much?"
"...I suppose it's manageable?"
I wasn't the one making them. The Alchemist was handling all the labor.
In exchange for not charging for the herbs, he was working himself to exhaustion.
But he only has two hands.
"Could you tell her that only 10 are possible for now? And I'd appreciate it if you mentioned that we'd need the Countess's influence to produce more."
"Ah! Her influence? Of course!"
"Of course, we can't be so direct about it."
"I understand now, Enya."
Sophia smiled brightly.
"So you're going to the Academy from now on?"
"Yes. The Countess sponsored me."
Over the past two weeks, Sophia had changed as well.
Countess Clementine had taken a liking to her and offered to become her patron in High Society.
Though Sophia was already a young lady of the Clementine Countess House and didn't strictly need a patron, bearing the name of the Clementine family felt different.
Moreover, Countess Clementine had personally convinced The Lord of Grunvalt to provide Sophia with formal education.
"Enya, I've been thinking. What if we established a trade relationship with a merchant company?"
"A merchant company?"
"Yes. Countess Clementine was interested too, and I'm certain you'll succeed."
I had actually been considering a particular merchant company.
The Kelofeldt Trading Company.
Renowned as the finest in the Empire, with branches across the continent, it was the largest trading company in the world.
There was no path, no hidden canyon, no treacherous terrain that the Kelofeldt Trading Company hadn't traversed, and they were legendary merchants who would procure and sell anything profitable, no matter how dangerous the location.
They even bore the epithet "dogs of money"—a truly formidable enterprise.
After parting with Sophia, I returned home and continued to ponder.
"Rosanna was well acquainted with the Kelofeldt Trading Company."
She was the merchant company owner's daughter, after all.
From what I remembered, the owner had about five children.
The owner's principles were unambiguous.
"So the rule was that whichever child earned the most money would inherit the trading company, correct?"
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org