46.
As expected, Roxana sighed heavily, rubbing her forehead.
Harriet pressed her further.
“Please, just one more hour for the economics class. And could you recommend some books that would be good to read? If you have any summary notes you’ve put together, could you… perhaps… lend them to me?”
“You’re nothing short of a highway robber.”
“The master’s knowledge doesn’t diminish even if I steal it, right? So, I’m no highway robber.”
Facing Harriet, who flashed a cheeky, grinning smile, Roxana raised a white flag. Since Trisha had asked her to help, what else could she do?
“I don’t know what your true intentions are, but you do seem to have passion. Very well. Since it is for the sake of Mrs. Felon, I will assist you.”
“Thank you, teacher!”
“Actually, it’s quite refreshing. I’ve never seen a student ask for more lessons and extra homework before.”
That was the first time Harriet saw Roxana smile.
* * *
The night in a dimly lit, boisterous tavern was a concoction of cheap jokes, dark conspiracies, messy indulgence, and rage expressed in all the wrong ways.
“What did you just say! I asked you, what did you say!”
“C-calm down, Albert! I was just saying I envied you, that’s all!”
The man, having been grabbed by his collar out of the blue for merely suggesting it must be reassuring to have a duke as a cousin, was so flustered that his drunkenness nearly vanished.
However, despite his excuses, Albert’s anger did not easily subside. The brawl eventually spiraled into a fistfight, only ending when the tavern owner stepped in to break it up.
Albert’s mood plummeted to the depths as his friends spat on the floor while leaving, muttering, “Guess he thinks he’s untouchable just because his cousin is a duke.”
“Damn it. They don’t know anything. My uncle and his father were twins. That position could have been mine! That guy Cedric just happened to be lucky…”
As he mumbled to himself, chugging alcohol, he felt a presence beside him.
“Hm? What is it?”
“Um, are you alright? You look like you got hurt earlier…”
It was the voice of a young woman, though the pronunciation and intonation were strangely awkward.
“A foreigner?”
“I am a citizen of the Empire, though I am of foreign descent. I am Leslie Ozer.”
“Albert… Kingsley.”
She smiled faintly and sat across from him. Then, she took a handkerchief from her bodice, soaked it in the potent liquor, and wiped the wound on his face.
“Ack, that stings!”
“If you leave a mere scratch like that alone, it might leave a scar. It’s only a temporary measure, but disinfecting it with high-proof alcohol is better than nothing.”
“You seem to know a lot about things like this.”
“Isn’t that just common sense?”
Leslie laughed lightly. Seen again in the light of the oil lamp, she was quite a beauty. Her sleek black hair, blue eyes, fair skin, and red lips were almost seductive.
With alcohol in his system and his heart wounded from the earlier brawl, Albert did not reject the touch of the beautiful woman who had approached him kindly.
It was more comfortable to converse with a stranger who knew nothing than with friends who recklessly brought up Cedric in front of him.
“A commoner?”
“I am the daughter of a rural baron. My father was granted a baronetcy for his contributions to trade with the Pirma Kingdom, but ever since the war that ended last year, everyone looks at me with cold eyes if I mention I’m from Pirma. I don’t even have memories of Pirma myself.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
While pretending to sympathize, Albert secretly looked down on her. Judging by her attire, she had to be from a very poor family, even among rural barons.
Besides, being in a tavern at this hour—she might even be a woman who faked being noble to sell her body.
“But isn’t it dangerous for a young lady to be in a tavern at this hour?”
“This place also functions as an inn. I just arrived in Genoa today, so I am staying here. I came down for a late dinner and happened to witness the commotion earlier.”
She spoke as if she already knew how Albert viewed her.
“I approached you because I thought you might look at me without prejudice, but I apologize if I offended you. It seemed like you were angry that people were talking freely without knowing the full story…”
At those words, Albert stared intently at Leslie before reaching out his hand.
“Let’s introduce ourselves again. I am Albert Kingsley. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
Leslie smiled brightly and took his hand.
For people who had just met, the two hit it off quite well and talked for a long time. Albert couldn’t even remember the last time he had shared such a comfortable conversation.
As he had been talking so much, he had mostly sobered up, and by the end, his mind was clear. Leslie began telling him about goods and concepts from Pirma that didn’t exist in the Empire.
“My father was also surprised when he found out that the Empire didn’t have herbs like ‘Darschenger.’ It’s an herb used like a panacea in Pirma.”
“Darschenger? I’ve never heard of it. What is it so good for?”
“It has powerful analgesic effects and is said to lift the mood of those who are depressed. They even say it’s used for people who have gone mad from grief. And when used with other herbs…”
She glanced around before continuing in a whisper.
“It is said to increase sexual desire as well.”
“How would she know that?”
“I wouldn’t know, of course. But it’s a custom in Pirma to serve liquor infused with Darschenger on the wedding night of newlyweds.”
It was a very interesting story.
If such a drug existed, it would be immensely popular in the nocturnal play of the aristocrats.
‘Hm? Wait. This… isn’t this a quite decent business?’
Albert’s eyes flashed.
The Empire barely knew about Darschenger yet. If that was the case, it was a market where the first mover would take all.
He grabbed Leslie’s hand firmly.
“Leslie. By any chance, could you get your hands on that herb called Darschenger?”
“That wouldn’t be difficult. My father knows a Pirma merchant who makes medicine with Darschenger. But why? Are you feeling ill?”
“This isn’t the place to talk; I need to meet your father. I want to discuss some business.”
“So suddenly?”
Leslie seemed surprised, but she did not reject the proposal.
“Even though we are barons, our family isn’t exactly well-off. Could my father earn some money with the business you’re talking about?”
“Of course! I’ll make sure you earn a fortune.”
Albert completely forgot about the fight he had had with his friends. He was now chasing a goose that laid golden eggs.
* * *
“Whew… I think I’ve done almost everything I needed to do…?”
Harriet drew a line through the final item on her ‘To-Do List’ in her notebook and scanned the list once more.
Although she had told Cedric it was urgent, she hadn’t expected things to progress so smoothly and rapidly.
‘I introduced the manager of the Aster Trading Company to Mother Catherine, so they’ll handle the logistics of bringing the goods… Should I go see how the interior construction of the store is coming along tomorrow?’
It had only been ten days since she proposed the business investment, yet it felt as if she had visited every place she needed to check and approve.
She had been busy without a moment to breathe, but it hadn’t been as difficult as she had steeled herself for. Other than the time it took to travel to the convent, she had only been moving around within Genoa, so it wasn’t particularly arduous.
She had contributed many opinions on the store design on Sevioll Street, and the experienced carpenter Cedric had assigned to her had used those ideas as a base to propose an even more magnificent design.
“We plan to keep the basic structure as is, so we expect the construction period to be about a fortnight.”
“That quickly?”
“The Duke ordered us to finish it as swiftly as possible.”
It had already been a week since she had dropped her jaw at the carpenter who wanted to start construction immediately after they finalized the design.
Seeing Cedric, who was more impatient than she was, it felt like his own business.
‘Looking at how things have turned out, that wouldn’t be entirely wrong.’
Harriet adjusted her hat and sighed.
Regardless, she had to attend a charity bazaar she had been invited to a while ago. To increase the sales rate of the soap, she had to go to many places and stir up buzz before the store opened.
And she had heard that Bella would be attending today’s bazaar.
‘It’s been a long time, Bella. Will you look at me and pretend to be an angel who’s happy to see me again?’
Of course, she had no intention of playing along with that act. Before, she had had to smile out of consideration for her uncle, but now, there was no reason for her to endure it.
Harriet put on the white dress Trisha had picked out for her and looked at herself in the mirror. The collar, cuffs, and hem trimmed in black looked quite sophisticated.
Adding a hat adorned with a voluminous black ribbon worn at an angle made her look like a seasoned socialite, which she found somewhat amusing.
‘It’s amazing how a person can change so much just by their clothes or a hat.’
Suddenly, her aunt came to mind, who had forced dresses that weren’t to her taste at all onto her.