CH 34

I headed for the royal capital with Victoria and now, we are before its gates. From the modern Japanese point of view, it seems like it’s been a long time, but from the perspective of the flow of time in this world, it hadn’t been that long since I returned from the royal capital, so I was a bit surprised.

In this world, going somewhere far is a big endeavor that puts your life at stake, it may even take years. It takes a long time to consider everything from the route to the method of transportation, escorts, accommodations, and so on. It’s not something you can easily go to if it’s as far away as the royal capital and Carruzan.

Even so, when I said I wanted to go to the royal capital with Victoria’s trading firm, my father immediately gave me permission. If I say I’m going out alone, they won’t even let me go to the front of the mansion, so what’s the difference? Does my father not trust me?

Anyway, we started preparations as soon as we received permission, and we came to the royal capital as soon as you possibly could in this world. Even though Ludwig came to Carruzan after a year, he was considered terrifyingly fast, but I came back in a few months, so you can see how abnormal the scale of travel time is in this world.

I got on the carriage that Victoria had prepared and loaded the goods on the wagons. Come to think of it, isn’t Victoria’s trading firm a rather large one?

I explained that the royal family moves at high speed by constantly changing their horses at each station house built in various locations. We moved at a speed that was comparable to that of the royal family. We also have private horse-drawn carriages.

The Victoria Trading Firm keeps horses in towns and villages on the road from the royal capital to Carruzan. In other words, they have the same system as the royal station houses. And they own as many horses as is needed to replace both the goods wagons and the carriage’s horses. Do I even know how much all of this will cost?

Horses are living creatures that must be cared for and fed. If the labor costs of the people who take care of them are high, the cost of food will be absurd, too, won’t it? It must cost a lot of money to keep and maintain dozens of them here and there. It makes sense for me to think that a company that can afford that kind of bill is a fairly large company.

Above all, it means that they are conducting large-scale business so that they can make a profit even if they place so many horses and people in each town. It is possible to maintain it because there is a constant stream of profit, not like the royal family who receives takes it once every year and maintains it with that.

A company that still makes a profit even if it spends this much money to independently build and maintain the station house system… Helmut and Isabella didn’t tell me anything, but aren’t they ridiculous business partners?

Well, that’s enough of that. Even if Victoria’s company was a dangerous company, there’s nothing we could do about it now. Now that we’ve come this far, I’ll have to keep in touch with her at least until this business meeting is over.

Moving on, the products that I put in Victoria’s wagons are more than just beet sugar. There are many things that are fatally lacking in this world and are indispensable for a rich diet. I’m adding them as I expand my farms and ranches.

In addition to beet sugar, the products I brought this time were imitation salad oil squeezed from rapeseed, sesame oil squeezed from sesame seeds, and a number of dairy products made from the farm’s milk.

Olive oil is the main oil in this world. I don’t know if it’s really olive oil or something else, but it’s an edible oil squeezed from fruits that is very similar in taste and flavor to the earth’s olive oil.

I really wanted to deliver eggs if possible, but unfortunately, they don’t seem to last long, so I didn’t bring anything other than what we were going to eat at the beginning of the trip. For my purposes, I have no choice but to procure it locally in the royal capital. By the way, I want to build a poultry farm in the royal capital using the knowledge and experience of Carruzan’s poultry farm.

Anyway, I’m going to see Ludwig with these products. Even if I told him I’d like to meet the king suddenly, there was no way that would be allowed so easily. Last time, it took several days for even my official knighting ceremony to be held.

That’s why I’m thinking of using my position as fiancée to meet Ludwig first. Ludwig is a bit of a masochist and a troublesome child, so I wonder if he’ll listen to me even if my request is a little unreasonable. I would like to avoid feeding his ego or relying too much on him, but I don’t have a say now.

In the royal capital, and if I met the royal family, I would be able to meet … Claudia of the Royal Guard Division, so I entered with uncertainty, not knowing how I would face her again after such a long breakup.

On the same day we arrived at the royal capital, I requested a meeting with Ludwig. No matter that Ludwig is a 10-or-11-year-old child, he is still a member of the royal family. Does he also really want to see me today?

That’s why we only requested a meeting, and we were asked to stay at Victoria’s mansion in the royal capital, so we headed to her residence.

Why don’t you head to Manor Carruthers instead since it’s also in the city, you might ask? Because my older brother lives there, that’s the problem.

When I lived with my father in the mansion in the royal capital last time, I had never met my brother even once. The reason is simple: my brother never came home even while we were there.

My older brother is definitely avoiding my father. It’s not because I was with him. If you think about it normally, it’s probably because he didn’t want to see Father. Since I was born, I have had almost no contact with my older brother, so there’s no reason for me to avoid him.

I’ve never heard that my father is on bad terms with my older brother, but if I assumed that my adolescent brother was living comfortably in a mansion in the royal capital, then the prospect of my father and I coming might have him leaving the mansion entirely. He probably has enough money, and he probably has friends and retainers, so he shouldn’t have trouble finding a place to live other than his own manor for a few months.

That’s why I can only see the future when I come back to the mansion where my older brother is and there will only be trouble. That’s why I was going to take a room at an inn, but Victoria’s strong recommendation, she ended up taking care of me at her manor.

The stay this time is expected to be around 1 month, including the round trip schedule. In other words, around 10 days one way, around 20 days for the round trip, and 10 days I can stay in the royal capital.

It was already evening, and I had Helmut and Isabella make arrangements for the meeting with Ludwig, then I would have Victoria show me around her mansion, have dinner, and then go to bed, but then something unexpected happened.

“Flora!”

“Huh? Your Highness Ludwig?” I asked.

When I was walking around the mansion with Victoria, the door suddenly flew open with a “bang”! And after that, a handsome boy about 11 years old ran up to me and hugged me, as I predicted.

Hey……. you shouldn’t hug a man even though you’re also a man… it’s creepy……. Well, both on Earth and in some foreign countries, there are cultures where even people of the same sex hug each other, so at the very least it might not be strange, but I’m not used to that kind of thing, so no thank you.

“Why are you here?” I asked as I somehow pulled him off.

With sparkling eyes looking directly at me, Ludwig said something incomprehensible: “When I heard that you had come to see me, Flora, I had to come over immediately! I can’t believe that you’ve come to see me again after being away for only a few months! I have certainly felt your love, Flora, that is my reason!”

No, no…. what are you saying? I didn’t mean to do that at all, did I?

“Your Highness Ludwig seems to have misunderstood something, but I will explain the matter when I visit you at a later date,” I said. “I have some preparations to make, so I’ll let you know when I originally planned to meet up with you, Your Highness.”

“Why are you speaking so stiffly?” Ludwig said. “We’re on good terms, aren’t we, Flora? You don’t need to formally request a visit! You can always come to visit me in my room!”

Hmmm, this guy… doesn’t listen to me at all… I don’t care anymore……

“Your Highness, there are many things that women need to prepare for,” Victoria said. “Wouldn’t it be good for you as a man to be considerate of that as well?”

“Oh, ooh!” Ludwig cried. “I see, I see! That’s right! I guess I was a little overexcited at the prospect of meeting you again, Flora. Please, forgive me, Flora.”

I feel like things got even more complicated thanks to Victoria’s weird follow-up. Moreover, Victoria is even gesturing her hand and winking at me. She apparently misunderstood the direction this was going in. I can’t complain about this, though.

After this, it took quite a while to calm down Ludwig, bring him back down to earth, and make him go home. There was no time to look at the furnishings and works of art in Victoria’s mansion, so after dinner, wiping down, and getting ready for tomorrow, all I could do was go to bed.

Yesterday, Ludwig made an official appointment for today’s meeting, so I will visit him as planned. Helmut and Isabella did the preparations properly, so I’m ready for today.

As soon as I entered the royal castle and told the guards about today’s visit, I was guided somewhere inside. I don’t know much about the inside of the royal castle, so I don’t even know where I’m walking.

Last time, I waited with my father in a separate room on the side of the entrance, and later went to the hall where the ceremony was held, and the only other place I went to was the Royal Guard Division’s training ground.

When our guide knocked on the door and called out to inform them that we had arrived, we were let inside. It’s like a living room. Of course, it is completely different from what you might associate with a Japanese living room on Earth. There’s one in Manor Carruthers just like it, but living rooms are for royalty and aristocrats in this world of this era.

And the people inside were… who are these people?

Two people I do know. One is Ludwig, whom I had promised to meet today. Sitting next to him is Wilhelm. Yes, for some reason the King of this kingdom is sitting there with him.

And apart from that father and son, another father and son pair is sitting inside. I remember someone who looked like my father. He stood out to me as he sat in the front row at my knighting ceremony. Since he was there at such an important event, he must be a fairly high-ranking aristocrat or a minister. Sitting next to him was a cocky-looking boy about the same age as me and Ludwig.

I just made an appointment to meet with Ludwig today. And yet, 4 people were waiting for me for some unknown reason. It doesn’t look like Victoria, who is accompanying me, is upset or surprised. Maybe Victoria knew it would turn out like this, and she seems to have been in on it from the start.

“Thank you for coming, Flora! Now come, sit here!” Ludwig cried.

With my head confused, I managed to greet them the way Olivia, my etiquette tutor, always taught me. Since the King was there, I greeted him with the highest courtesy, but this should have been appropriate, right? My mind went blank because of the sudden turn of events, but I should have been able to make up for the actions that had been repeated tens of thousands of times without betraying myself.

“Don’t be so formal,” Wilhelm said. “Today is not an official occasion. You should treat me as the father of your fiance, not as the King.”

Your Majesty~…. even if I was told to treat you as my fiancé’s father, that would be more difficult, wouldn’t it? I don’t really feel that sort of closeness at all, I don’t know what to do since I’m thinking of breaking the engagement and all, so I can’t treat him as my future father-in-law. If that’s the case, it’s easier to follow Olivia’s manners, which I’ve always learned about.

“And this is Duke Dietrich von Kreff and his son, Rutger.”

“This is the first time we have spoken to each other in person,” said the other older man. “I am Dietrich. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Princess Flora.”

Hey… isn’t this sarcasm…? Speaking of dukes, even the lowest one would be higher than the House Carruthers. Even if someone like that called me a princess, it would only sound sarcastic and demeaning.

“Hmm, so you’re Prince Ludwig’s fiance, eh?” Rutger said. “Hmm… you’re not worthy of His Highness, Ludwig. But since that would cause trouble for your family, I’ll take you as my fiancee instead. Not a bad deal, isn’t it?”

………… What? What is this idiot Rutger talking about? Am I deaf? Or have I lost my mind? Am I having trouble understanding the words he’s saying?

“Hey, Rutger! Don’t try to steal my fiancée!” Ludwig yelled.

“No, no, a country girl like this can’t serve as your wife,” Rutger said. “That’s why I’ll take off your hands for you.”

Umm, uh… “Kya~! I’m being fought over by the Prince and the Duke’s Eldest Son!”, is that what I’m supposed to say?

I should have come to an important business meeting today, but I don’t know why I have to be humiliated by being teased by two brats in a place with one of the highest-ranking nobles and the King both present.