Chapter 28

***

Unnecessary?

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing.”

Kalian shrugged lightly.

“You can call me Mr. Carl as you called me before.”

“Yes, Mr. Carl.”

When I answered with a smile, Kalian tilted his head slightly.

“It’s not really bad.”

He’s saying something I couldn’t understand.

“What are you going to do now? Are you going to look for another book?”

“Yes. I was going to look for all the books on test subjects.”

“You’re studying hard.”

“It’s because there are so many shortcomings.”

“Humble, too.”

He looked proud as if he liked my answer.

“I’ll help you.”

“It’s okay. I can do it by myself.”

This time, he looked at me as if he was hurt.

“What a really sharp refusal.”

“I’m saying this because I can really do it alone.”

Getting a view on politics was a privilege that no one else had.

If I accepted his help here, it would be an unfair evaluation, so I politely rejected Kalian’s help.

“Really? Then there’s nothing I can do.”

He clicked his tongue as if it was a shame and stepped back neatly.

“Then I’ll see you next time.”

“Yes, Mr. Carl. See you next time.”

After a cliché and polite greeting, I walked to the bookshelf with books on tax.

*****

Kalian said I didn’t need to study politics anymore, but just in case, I bought some books I hadn’t read that looked good.

In addition, I bought more than 10 books on other subjects.

Sarah looked at the books I had picked with her eyes widened in astonishment.

“Are you really going to buy all of this?”

“Of course.”

If I wasn’t going to buy them, I wouldn’t have picked them.

After I paid the bill, I asked the staff to deliver it to the Duke of Williot.

“Where are we going now, My Lady?”

“Well.”

I made a promise to Sarah, so I guessed we would take a look around the capital. Where should we go?

After thinking for a while, I decided on my destination.

“Let’s go to Handwork Street.”

There were a lot of shops selling women’s favorite accessories along that street.

“Ah, really?”

I thought Sarah would like it, and it was as expected.

“Then I’ll get the carriage right away!”

“No need. It’s not that far from here, so let’s just walk.”

“That’s a good idea, too!”

Then, I headed down the street with Sarah.

There were many street vendors on the street and there seemed to be more street vendors than before.

It meant that the empire, which had been chaotic by war, was entering a stable period.

As a noble of the Empire, it was a pleasure for me.

The street vendors caught the attention of passersby with their fancy and unique goods.

“…”

And one thing that caught my attention was the Emperor, Kalian.

Although he was wearing plain clothes, his appearance was so noticeable that he drew people’s attention.

People of all ages, regardless of gender, passed by and looked at him at least once.

I was one of them.

I never thought I would see him again in a place like this after we parted ways at the bookstore.

It was a little weird to see the emperor so often when people could hardly see him even if they visited the Imperial Palace.

What should I do, should I say hello?

He didn’t see me, so I could just pass by, but I thought it would be better to say hello just in case.

I walked right behind Kalian.

He’s still looking at something without noticing I was here.

What is he looking at? 

Curious, I tiptoed and looked over Kalian’s shoulder to see what he was looking at.

What he was looking at was a yellow seed.

I have seen this seed before. Where did I see it? 

As I was looking back on my memories, the merchant raised his voice and gave a passionate explanation to Kalian.

“This seed is the seed of a crop that can be planted in the rainy season without any problems. Rather, it grows more rapidly during the rainy season.”

“Really?”

When Kalian showed interest, the merchant nodded enthusiastically.

“Didn’t they say the rainy season is coming to the Empire soon? If you’re in an area that suffers a lot from the rainy season every year, take this seed and plant it! There will be no concern of bad harvests.”

Ah, I was wondering where I saw it, I saw it then.

At the merchant’s words, I remembered buying that seed in bulk about five years ago.

“If that’s the case, I’ll buy it.”

“You can’t buy it, Mr. Carl.”

When Kalian tried to buy the seed, I hurriedly stopped him.

Only then did Kalian notice that I was here. He looked back at me, slightly startled.

“Since when have you been here?”

“I’ve been here since that merchant started lying.”

“Lying? What are you talking about, Miss?”

When the merchant looked at me as if he was hurt, I smiled.

“Quilt.”

I said the name of the seed.

At my words, the merchant opened his eyes with great surprise.

As expected, that seed was the seed of the Quilt.

However, ‘can be planted in the rainy season without any problems’.

There’s a degree of lying, and this was already a scam.

I explained the Quilt to Kalian, who almost got scammed.

“Quilts are mainly grown and eaten by nomads in the desert at the eastern edge. In other words, this merchant is lying when he says it can be planted in the rainy season without any problems.”

“Hmm, really?”

Kalian looked at the merchant without hiding his discomfort.

When the lie was revealed, the merchant couldn’t look straight into Kalian’s eyes and kept coughing.

“Ehem, ehem. I, I must have explained the crop description wrong. I’m new to the seed business.”

You sell so many seeds when you’re new in the seed business?

Such a completely unreliable excuse.

“I, I guess I should study more about seeds.”

The man made ridiculous excuses for a long time before he grabbed his bag.

There weren’t many things spread on the stand, so he quickly packed up.

“Ah, this seed is a gift of apology for my mistake, so just take it! Then, bye!”

The merchant picked up his bag and quickly disappeared.

“He’s a scammer, don’t you think we should go catch him?”

“Already gone.”

Already gone to catch him? Who’s gone?

I looked around in bewilderment, but no one stood out.

“There’s no use looking around. You can’t find them, My Lady.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. If the Lady sees them, they’ll have to take their clothes off.”

“Then I shouldn’t look for them.”

When I said it in the sense that it wasn’t that I couldn’t find them, it’s that I didn’t look for them, Kalian laughed.

“By the way, I knew the Lady is smart, but I didn’t know you knew much about crops.”

The blue eyes that looked at me gleamed with interest.

“You surprise me in many ways.”

“It’s thin knowledge. It’s not enough to surprise Mr. Carl.”

“If that’s thin knowledge, what am I to not recognize that this seed is Quilt?”

Ah, I didn’t mean it that way.

As I looked down in fluster, Kalian smiled slightly and waved his hand.

“It’s a joke, so you don’t have to be so flustered.”

“…if I offended you, I apologize.”

“It’s really okay. In that sense.”

Kalian put the pouch of Quilt seed in my hand.

“I’ll give it to you. It’s not something I’m looking for, and I think the Lady will use this seed better than me.”

I too didn’t need the seed, but I accepted it because it wasn’t polite to refuse.

“Are you looking for any seeds?”

“Well, yeah.”

Kalian’s lips tilted obliquely. His eyes sparkled somewhat frighteningly.

“There’s a plant I really want to find.”

I didn’t know what plant Kalian was looking for, but looking at his expression, it didn’t seem like he was looking for it for something good.

In this case, it’s usually poison.

If he’s really looking for poison, what is he going to use it for?

I was curious, but I decided not to ask.

I thought I shouldn’t do it. I didn’t want to waste my energy because it was obvious that if I asked a question, I wouldn’t get an answer.

“I see.”

I nodded and Kalian looked at me with strange eyes.

“Then I’ll be on my way.”

It was already the second goodbye today.

“My Lady.”

As I was about to say goodbye politely and leave, Kalian called me.

“Where are you going now?”

“I was on my way to Handwork street.”

“Then can you give me a little of your time before you go?”

“I don’t mind, but… may I ask why?”

“I need your help.”

“I don’t even need any help from the Lady.”

Philen said he doesn’t need my help, but he says he needs my help.

As my wounded heart healed, I was filled with joy.

It was such a pleasure to be of help to someone.

I smiled brightly and answered vigorously.

“I’d be happy to help you!”

*****

“I’d be happy to help you!”

He asked for help, but Leila smiled with a sparkle in her eyes.

Deep dimples were dug under her lips that rose smoothly in line.

He already knew she had a pretty smile, but seeing it this way was even prettier.

Especially her cheeks, which were as red as an apple, were very lovely.

Kalian held her hand, barely suppressing the urge to touch her cheek for a moment.

Holding her hand was also somewhat impulsive.

“Then shall we go?”

Leila opened her eyes wide as if surprised by the sudden contact but still followed Kalian’s lead.

Seeing Leila like this, Kalian didn’t like her attitude.

Fearlessly following the lead of a stranger.

What if something happens to you?

Leila said she could protect herself. She was carrying a pretty helpful self-defense weapon, but… it was something you never knew.

Someone who was immune to poison like himself could attack.

They might try to do something weird after making her guard down.

Damn it, no matter how I think about it, she’s too defenseless.

Kalian stopped walking and looked at Leila with a displeased look.

“Is the Lady originally this defenseless?”