The Three-Headed Beast
One of the retainers regarded her with a polite expression. His name was Daren Dru Seorkan, if she recalled correctly. The man—said to be a distant relative of Barcas—continued carefully.
“If any of the merchandise catches your fancy, I shall purchase it for you.”
“No need. I don’t……”
Thalia, about to refuse out of habit, suddenly closed her mouth. Sitting still like some ornamental fixture had begun to bore her.
She cast a sidelong glance at Barcas, hemmed in by administrators and council members, then pulled her hood lower and rose from her seat.
“Fine. Lead the way.”
Exiting the conference room through the back door revealed a vast space thronging with hundreds of merchants.
Thalia stood at the railing and looked down. Densely packed stalls were heaped with mountains of brilliantly colored woolens and felts; behind them, carts and chests laden with goods stretched away in long lines.
“This way, if you please.”
The man guided her toward the stairs. Gripping the railing with one hand, Thalia carefully set her feet down one step at a time. When she reached the bottom, the lively panorama of the auction hall filled her vision.
She moved along the crowded passageway, watching merchants locked in bidding wars. Men dressed as finely as any noble haggled with flying spittle while brokers calculated fees and taxes with scales and abacuses, and porters loaded neatly stacked fabrics onto carts and hauled them away.
It felt as though she had dropped straight into the middle of a frenzied banquet.
After browsing spices offered by foreign traders, she turned toward a relatively quiet stall.
On the rather shabby counter lay crudely wrought ornaments. As she scanned them with a listless eye, the man who had been trailing her like a silent escort spoke up.
“The jewelers are in the side aisle. Shall I take you there?”
“No need. I don’t wear anything that isn’t dwarven-made anyway.”
“Ah…… I see.”
He scratched the back of his head, looking abashed. Ignoring him, Thalia stepped into the alley lined with small shops. Just then a tapestry hanging on the wall caught her eye.
She approached and stared up at the uniquely patterned cloth. Golden, crimson, and deep reddish-brown threads had been intricately woven into a fabric embroidered with a young woman of pure white skin and a black beast with three heads.
As she studied the somewhat eerie image and furrowed her brow, an unfamiliar voice spoke from close by.
“Does that tapestry please you?”
Turning, Thalia discovered an Eastern woman behind the counter and regarded her with wary suspicion.
The woman set down the ledger in her hands and proposed a transaction in a courteous tone.
“It is priced at thirty soldems, but if the lady will buy it, I will let it go for twenty-six.”
“Who would buy a strange tapestry like this?”
At the curt retort a flicker of curiosity crossed the woman’s face. She tilted her head and studied Thalia carefully.
“It seems the lady has come from another region.”
Thalia fixed her with a guarded stare.
“How do you know that?”
“This tapestry depicts the most famous folk tale of the East. Since you do not recognize it, I assumed you must be from elsewhere.”
“A folk tale?”
Thalia looked up at the hanging cloth once more. Pleased by her interest, the merchant launched straight into the story.
“Long ago, a colossal monster that sought to devour even the stars of the sky lived upon this land. That beast, filled with greed, tried to swallow every living thing here.”
Having opened so plausibly, the woman paused a moment to gauge her reaction.
Thalia jerked her chin as if to say continue. A clear voice laced with a peculiar resonance went on slowly.
“Then one day, to quiet the beast that threatened the world, the spirit of the earth awoke. She sang without rest for a hundred days and nights until she tamed the monster, and at last a great warrior was born between them. The ancient Eastern people believed themselves to be that warrior’s descendants.”
Thalia drew her brows together, recalling that she had heard a similar tale from the maids of Laedgo Castle.
Rummaging through a neatly folded stack of fabrics, the merchant drew out a handkerchief and spread it on the counter.
“Even now, not a few Eastern folk believe that carrying the emblem of the black beast wards off misfortune. Would the lady care to take one as a keepsake?”
Embroidered on the red cloth was a three-headed monster. The pattern felt somehow familiar.
Narrowing her eyes, Thalia soon remembered: it was the crest she had seen in a book while studying the history of the era of divided kingdoms. It was the symbol the Seorkan family had used before their incorporation into the Roem Empire.
As if drawn by something, she picked it up.
It was an object far removed from her own tastes, yet it felt awkward to ignore the merchant’s enthusiasm.
She sent a glance over her shoulder.
“What are you waiting for? Pay for it.”
At that moment a slender hand with prominent knuckles reached out beside her.
“Will this suffice.”
A cool voice accompanied several glittering gold coins as they were laid upon the counter.
Thalia flinched and turned. Barcas, wrapped in a deep navy cloak, looked down at her with an indifferent face. Pressing close against her back, he let a low whisper fall near her temple.
“Is there anything else you desire?”
Staring blankly up at him, Thalia slowly shook her head. After gazing intently at her face, Barcas turned his eyes to the merchant.
“Is the payment enough?”
“M-more than enough. More than enough, of course.”
As the merchant hurriedly scooped up the coins, Barcas turned without delay.
Led by his hand out of the narrow passage, they emerged into the relatively quieter expanse of the auction hall.
Entering the central corridor of the building, he spoke quietly.
“The jewelry shops are that way. Southern great merchants are said to have stalls there as well, so Your Highness should be able to find something to your liking.”
Thalia looked up at his face in a daze. Then the man who had been trailing them in silence interjected with a complete lack of tact.
“Your Grace, Her Highness says she wears nothing but dwarven-made accessories. Would some heathen trinket ever satisfy the princess’s tastes?”
Thalia glared at him through the hem of her robe. She could not let a fool like that ruin her chance of receiving jewels from Barcas.
She spoke a little hastily.
“Come to think of it, having one somewhat unusual accessory might not be so bad.”
Barcas glanced down at her over his shoulder for a moment, then turned his gaze forward again.
They passed dozens of stalls and moved toward the side aisle of the building.
Before long the entrance to the precious-metals exchange appeared, guarded by rough-faced sentries. Barcas led her inside.
“Welcome.”
The merchant standing before the display case tossed out a clumsy greeting without even lifting his head. Despite the rudeness, Barcas showed no reaction and brought her to the counter.
“Please tell me if anything catches your fancy.”
Thalia carefully scanned the red velvet. Large and small gems of quite fine quality lay neatly arranged.
Among them were pieces that looked extraordinary even to eyes long accustomed to every sort of rare treasure. As she absently picked one up, the merchant who had been examining a raw stone through a small loupe spat out a sharp voice.
“Customer! You mustn’t touch things so freely——!”
Recognizing Barcas a beat too late, the merchant gasped and sprang to his feet.
Barcas spoke in a dry tone.
“Whatever Her Highness has touched, we will purchase it all.”
“Ah—no, Grand Duke! Please pay me no mind and examine them as you wish. I failed to recognize you and committed a discourtesy……”
Thalia paid the babbling merchant not the slightest attention and turned her gaze to the other gems.
Then she suddenly discovered a softly glowing blue mineral and stopped. Lifting it to the light, she watched a mysterious silver radiance swirl across its smooth surface. It was a beautiful moonstone that somehow called to mind Barcas’s eyes.
“Does that please you?”
As she gazed at the stone as if entranced, Barcas spoke.
Thalia flinched and set it down. Under a gaze that seemed to see straight through her, the nape of her neck grew hot.
“N-not really.”
She snatched up the red ruby lying beside it as if seizing it.
“I’ll take this one.”