Chapter 6: An Urgent Emergency Situation
"Did you have a safe trip?"
"Yes."
As soon as I enter the bedroom, I sit down on the sofa like a saggy squid and relax my body.
"Did you have a hard time?"
Pope picks up the clothes I have taken off and stands in front of me.
With the clothes on her arms and a worried gaze, she looks as if she's staring at her younger sister who's been struggling while being out.
"Mmm."
I lower my head so that the tip of my chin touches my collarbone.
"I was tired."
"I see."
"Uh, very."
"Yes."
It seems that her curiosity about my appearance has been resolved.
"I see."
After shaking her head a few times, Pope turns around to finish her job.
A standoffish Pope.
Looking at her remind me of a strong older sister, who sees her wretched little sister suffering but has no intention of helping or comforting her-
"I got Rolo."
I then brag about the horse.
"The horse?"
"Yes, the white horse."
"Ah."
"Did you already know?"
Turning around to look at me, Pope nods as if she knows about Rolo's existence and says, "It's famous."
"Famous?"
"Yes."
"I know it is one of his favorites."
Pope then raises her hand and scratches her temple.
"Because white horses are rare."
Thinking of Rolo, she nods again.
"Yeah, it's pretty."
Rolo.
A white horse that Charles loves.
It's now mine.
"Because we only sleep."
I remember his syllogism* in my head and clears his voice from my mind.
(T/N: syllogism is an instance where a form of reasoning in which a conclusion can be drawn)
"And the milk cellar is huge."
"Is it finished?"
"It's cold there."
Ice cream is likely to melt, but it's as cool as an air-conditioning space. Recalling the strangely cold cave, I suddenly bring my hand to my shoulders and touch the robe that's wrapped around my body.
"Because we only sleep."
"Oh, I also got a magic robe."
"Ah, you look good in it."
"There is protective magic that can block anything."
"Wow. That's great."
Her monotone voice and lifeless words hang in the hair, but it doesn't matter.
Especially not to me.
"But it's very warm, isn't it? I was surprised when I entered the storage room."
"I see."
"But, it's light."
"It looks like it."
However, I didn't feel light when I received it.
"Because we only sleep."
"Aish!"
"I'll just go out."
At the sight of my frustrating scream as if I want to pull my hair out, Pope suddenly bows her head to bid me goodbye before she leaves the room with my shoes and clothes in hands.
I'm alone.
Soon, there will be two people.
"Aren't you tired of just sleeping?"
No, I'm not tired of it.
"I'm tired of it."
We do not have that kind of relationship in the first place, right?
I still vividly remember that he said he only needed a young baroness from a poor family to serve as a duchess, and nothing else that a married couple should do.
Let's think about this.
"Haiz-"
We haven't decided when to end-
I wonder if it will happen after dinner tonight.
I had a vague idea that my role would end like this, but I don't know what to do with the characters in the novel.
You're feeling excited, aren't you?
What is this?!
I jump up from my seat, flapping my hands in the air, as if I'm trying to chase out a lewd demon that has come to mind.
"I need to wash up."
But if I think about it, it's strange that I'm going to wash-
Isn't it more strange if I haven't washed up?
I can't decide.
"Then, let's wash up and think about it."
A clear mind comes after a clean body.
Alright.
"Pope, prepare a bath for me."
I look outside my window toward Charles' office, and then closes the curtains before heading to the bathroom.
.
.
"Congratulations."
"What?"
"I heard you got Hortman for a bargain."
"Not me, but Abella."
He then walks past Edgar.
"Hortman's face turned to shit."
Edgar, who has been chasing after him, follows him into the office and closes the door. Even though he rarely leaves the office in good health, he doesn't leave until he gets his questions answered.
"What did you do?"
"Abella did it."
"So, how did Abella-nim... But Your Excellency, when did you start calling Abella-nim, Abella?"
"..."
"You used to call her 'Wife'-"
"Duchess."
Charles corrects Edgar without realizing it. He then sits at his desk and tilts his head back.
"But I cannot call her 'Duchess.' If I do that, I'll think of Madame Erst from the capital."
"..."
Despite Edgar's words, Charles just looks up at him without saying anything.
"Have you forgotten your mother's name, Madame Erst?"
Edgar grows more worried.
Watching Charles' gaze hardened, Edgar comes to his senses and gets up. It seems Edgar hasn't lost all of his mind.
"Get out."
"Yes."
After giving the order, he turns to Ledin standing next to him.
"Ledin-"
"Yes, Your Excellency."
"Did you see the milk cellar that Abella made?"
"Yes."
Edgar, who's turned around halfway, stands in front of Charles again to give his answer.
Charles then leans back against his chair as if he's being pushed back by Edgar's movements.
"I went to see it for a second yesterday, and it was amazing. I thought inside the cave would be cold because of the cold air from Kodorma Mountains. It will be really cool in the summer."
"Get to the main point."
"How did she come up with such a thing? I heard that she put magic stones in it, just in case, to keep the air cold. Low temperature in summer, and high in winter."
"..."
"Abella-nim is really amazing. At first, it was really... Haha, that's all."
Charles raises his one eyebrow at Edgar's one-man show, who cuts himself off and smiles.
"Talk about productivity."
"As I've found out, it seems that she thought that it was unrealistic to get 1 brie from the local people and deliver it home."
The number of young people is too high to have individual home delivery.
It's also a waste of manpower.
"So it seems that every morning, milk vendors are at the town square, selling it in the form of milk."
"As we've done so far."
"But we can go to a lot more places, Your Excellency."
Edgar quickly becomes serious and continues his explanation while straightening his posture.
"Abella-nim incited Hotman and his wizards to make a transportation magic stone, so if you put it under the milk carton-"
"Since milk has been sterilized, it will be possible to move it to a more distant place."
"Yes."
Edgar nods at Charles's conclusion.
"To be honest, this is really good for the young people of our land, but I've been wondering if it'd make any money."
"..."
"It seems that she intends to sell milk and milk tea in a glass bottle to the aristocrats and deliver it to them."
Edgar reflexively licks his lips.
"It sounds like she's going to make a profit by selling it at a really high price. In addition to that, the funds for the charity event coming up tomorrow can cover this loss."
"Then-"
"In conclusion, Abella-nim will make a lot of money."
"..."
"Because she started with no capital, she has no choice but to make a lot of money."
Well, that's Abella's ability, too.
Above all else, she wants to make a profit by doing this.
"That's great."
Edgar nods again.
"Thanks to the charity event, there won't be a loss on our end. The investment is expected to be recouped in the near future."
Edgar finishes analyzing the feasibility and profit model of Abella's business, something that no one asked for.
"Who did you tell this to?"
Charles tilts his head slightly.
"No one-"
"Then, keep quiet."
"I'm sure Abella-nim would be curious."
"So, shut up."
If Abella finds out that all of these businesses would make a profit, there's a possibility that she may leave immediately.
Because I know that she will not be able to leave if I say I've lost a lot of money.
"Never ever tell anyone."
Charles glares at Edgar and puts his arms up on the desk.
He nods with a trembling expression at Charles' bloody expression.
"Yes, well, right."
Edgar doesn't know why he shouldn't say it, but he does reply that he'll follow Charles' instruction.
Then, he looks at the unfamiliar Charles with a tilted head.
"Maybe Abella-nim won't leave because of guilt."
"Really...Get out."
Charles cuts off Edgar's accurate analysis and beckons him to leave by handing over some documents that he has put on his desk.
"Wha-"
"Get out."
When Edgar tries to ask him again, he's faced with a pair of cold, ferocious eyes.
"Yes."
Edgar bows his head and leaves the office.
After the sound of Edgar's footsteps have disappeared and can no longer be heard, Charles slowly raises his head-
"Ledin."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
"Go and bring that beast child."
"Are you talking about Leo?"
At Ledin's cautious words-
"Yes."
Charles nods without hesitation.
"Right now."
.
.
.
.
T/N: This couple is hilarious. One is trying to make money to leave while the other is pretending they've lost money so the other can't leave.
Also,
Thanks for reading y'all~~~and yes, I am back from hiatus which I didn't feel like I had any because work was such a pain in my ass.