CH 37

It’s been 2 days since I returned to Carruzan in a tremendous rush. Only 2 months left until my public debut. If I started making a dress now, I wouldn’t be able to make something that elaborate, but I’d be able to make it in time… that should be my goal.

If I started having it tailored now, I might not be able to make it in time for elaborate designs with fine embroidery and lots of frills. Damn it…! Ever since I was born, I’ve been looking forward to making my social debut in a cute dress! Or rather, I’ve been really looking forward to it since I was reborn!

Well, it can’t be helped even if I air my grudges. It’s a matter I can do nothing about because time can’t be rewound even if I wanted to.

…… No? Wait? How about if the Knight of Caan buys that dress that House Carruthers, my family, prepared for me? Then I can finish the dress I tried on before without having to remake it. Nearly 2 months would be enough to finish the rest.

“Helmut! Helmut~!”

Maybe it was just in my head, but it was a lucky day. Am I a bit wrong? Anyway, now that I’ve thought about it, I couldn’t stand still, so I hurriedly searched for Helmut.

I come to the tailor’s shop now in a rather depressed mood. The reason being… the other day I was told that my plan was impossible.

House Carruthers had already ordered a dress and had it tailored, so it’s not unreasonable to say that the Knight of Caan will buy it now and take the lead in the finishing touches, right?

In other words, no matter how much I really paid House Carruthers for it, it was a private matter and outsiders wouldn’t know. To begin with, even if I exchanged money in front of the public, I was still the daughter of Margrave Carruthers, so people would think that I was just moving the money from one money pouch to another money pouch we also owned.

I had to make my social debut as a Knight of Caan without the help of House Carruthers, but I was told that if I wore a dress that they had ordered, that would count as having received help.

To avoid such misunderstandings and intentional notoriety, I ended up ordering a new dress in the name of Sir Caan. Even if I order now, the dress itself will probably be just in time, but as I said before, I don’t think I’ll be able to have an elaborate dress finished in time now. I’m so sad…….

“Miss Flora… no, in this situation, it would be better to call you Sir Floto, yes? I’ve been waiting for you, Sir Floto.”

“Ms. Victoria…” I said.

When I came to the tailor’s shop, Victoria was there. I wonder if she was waiting on the assumption that I would be coming soon to order a dress. In that case, it would have been better if she could have sent me a letter or a messenger at my home…

“This store is owned by the Kruck Trading Firm, so please do not hesitate to place an order,” Victoria said.

Eh? It was? I have been to this store several times. It’s a pretty good shop among the tailors in Carruzan. The location is good as it is very close to the aristocratic district. I thought it was a store with a lot of money and power, but if it’s a business related to Ms. Victoria’s company, I’m convinced it must have been so.

“Also, how would you like me to pay you for the business arrangement the other day? If you want gold coins right away, I can have them delivered to the mansion later?” Victoria added.

This is Victoria’s shop, and I only have people from House Carruthers around me, so it’s probably fine, but I wonder if it’s okay to talk business in a place like this. At least the tailor shop clerks have blank faces. They probably know that I’m the daughter of House Carruthers, but if Victoria, who is the head of their parent company, talks about money directly with a child like this, they’ll usually be dumbfounded or think it’s a joke and then laugh.

“Helmut, how much was the last sale price?” I asked.

Actually, I don’t know much about money transactions. Or rather, because I don’t know the price, I don’t know how much it’s being traded for. It’s fine if it’s just checking income and expenditure reports, but I think it wouldn’t be very good for me, a child, to intervene, so I leave most of it to Helmut and Isabella.

I don’t think they’re going to fudge the numbers and deceive me. In the future, I’m thinking of doing a final check to some extent, but up until now I’ve been leaving it to them, so I don’t even know the market situation.

“Right away,” Helmut said. “The total sales price for the last transaction was 3 million Ploe.”

If they gave a detailed breakdown here, it would reveal we sold sugar and oil, so Helmut only told me the total amount in a whisper. Hey, wait a minute!

“Three…! Three mil…!”

I was on the verge of yelling but somehow managed to keep my mouth shut. I don’t know the price per item, but I know the value of the Ploe. I was knighted and received a pension, so I learned a little about the value of money from Helmut and Isabella.

Apparently, the average monthly income in this country is around 5,000 to 10,000 Pleo. Roughly speaking, assume the value of the Ploe is 30 times that of the modern Japanese Yen. Then 3 million Ploe is 90 million Yen. It’s an amount that can’t be thought of as the sales proceeds from just selling sugar, oil, etc.

To begin with, if this is the amount the Kruck Trading Firm will pay just me, then the bill paid by the royal family will not be enough. Since Kruck receives money in return for transporting goods between places, what price does Kruck sell these things at…?

Transportation costs in this world are ridiculous. It’s not as simple as modern Japan with a well-developed transportation network where a single cardboard box can be transported anywhere for a few hundred or a few thousand Yen.

Transporting goods over long distances entails considerable risks. The cost of the escorts and the cost of the carriage are also required. Maintenance costs for horses, repair and purchase costs for carriages, labor costs, and sometimes monsters and bandits can cause losses. Since they will be sold with those added, there is a possibility that the price will be several times the amount they bought the products from me, maybe tens of times or even dozens of times.

Is it really okay to pay such a large amount of money? Isn’t there something behind it that puts the amount above the market price?

I sent a glance to Helmut, but he secretly replied with a gesture that there was no problem with this price. Helmut can quickly guess what I’m thinking, so that helps.

The pension paid to the Knight of Caan is 25,000 Ploe a month, and the monthly income is worth 750,000 Yen, so it looks like a pretty high salary. However, this amount of money is not enough for nobles. They seem to be able to live a better life than the common people, but they have a lot of other expenses, and with this amount of money, unless they are somehow poorer than the common people, they won’t have enough money.

Of course, if you make achievements in battles, you will get rewards, and not only in battles, but if you achieve some kind of achievement for the country, you will get special allowances and rewards. Also, I’m in my first year of being ennobled, and since I’m a child who’s not even 10 years old, it’s 25,000 Ploe, but it seems that other families have different amounts.

If someone was ennobled for his achievements, there would be a reward for doing so, and even within the same rank as a knight’s family, there would be a difference in reward scale depending on the size of the achievement. If the scale is different, the pension will be different, and it will increase or decrease depending on the number of years since becoming a noble and the family’s composition, so everyone is not the same. Rather, I’m a child and it’s quite a lot for a recently knighted noble in her 1st year.

In any case, considering that Knight of Caan’s annual pension is 300,000 Ploe, it’s no surprise that I was shocked by Kruck selling a bit of sugar and oil and paying me the equivalent of 10 years’ pension.

“Helmut, Isabella, please discuss the money matters with me later…” I said.

Suddenly talking about such a large amount of money made me stiffen up and all I could say was that. I mean… actually, I still have some sugar in storage… if I suddenly sell all of them, there is a possibility that I will be in trouble, and I didn’t know how much I could sell, so I still have some in stock.

Of course, it would be profitable for businesses to transport as much as possible in one go. Since the cost for one round trip is the same, the unit price will be lower if you transport more at one time. 1 That’s why I tried to bring as much as possible, but we still have some left in stock here. What if I sell them all? Thinking of that, I feel uneasy and I may not be able to sleep at night with peace of mind.

Considering the income of House Carruthers, 3 million Ploe is a small amount of money, but if I, who hadn’t touched much money until now, suddenly got such a large amount of it, a minor citizen like me wouldn’t know what to do with it all.

“Ah! Actually, there is something I would like to ask of you, is that alright?” I said.

“What is it?” Victoria asked, smiling.

She looks like a sweet old lady. Come to think of it, I don’t have grandparents. I wonder if both my parents’ parents have already passed away, even in a world where life expectancy is not very long. I haven’t had them since the beginning, so I haven’t really thought about it, but it feels a little strange. Normally there would be one or two people left, but…

Anyway, I have to ask Victoria a favor!

“The matter is… can I have a dress made that was designed by me?” I said.

“A design by you, Sir Floto? What does it look like?” Victoria said.

I show Victoria the design drawings I prepared. It’s not easy to tell what they are because I’m an amateur who doesn’t have any special artistic talent. But I tried my best to draw it because I thought I could at least convey the overall image of the design.

Up until now, my father had ordered all of my dresses, accessories, jewelry, and such, so I couldn’t give detailed design instructions. I don’t know if it was something that my father and the tailor had discussed or if it was designed by the tailor, but I was just measured, tried it on a few times during the process, had it adjusted, and then handed over to me as a finished product.

But not this time. Since I’m the one ordering this time, I decided to ask if they could make it my favorite design. I don’t think it will go exactly the way I want because I can’t do a technical drawing and they can’t make it in time for my debut, but I’d like to consult with Vicotria about that.

“The thing is… I don’t know the actual production method,” I said, “so if it is technically or physically impossible, please let me know. I would like to decide while consulting with you now, so how about it?”

“My! It’s wonderful!” Victoria said. “Please, let us make this! You all should come here and take a look. It’s a beautiful design.”

Victoria beckoned to the store clerk who was just observing from afar till then. They came over, saw my design, and neither “ooh’d” nor “hrmm’d.” It seems that they’re seriously considering the design.

After this, I spent a significant amount of time working with the tailor shop clerks to decide on the design, the production schedule, and the price.

As Flora visited the tailor shop Victoria owned, Victoria observed the butler standing behind Flora. Victoria has met Helmut several times before. He was taciturn and expressionless, but Victoria knew that he was a handsome man and a good man who the women around him, so they just wouldn’t leave him alone.

However, unlike the atmosphere of a master-servant relationship when she was in the royal capital, seeing how Flora and Helmut came to the tailor shop today, Victoria felt her mouth curve into a slight smile.

(My, my? That doesn’t look like a butler and his master, but a girl who came to tailor clothes with her lover. Neither Prince Ludwig nor Prince Rutger is likely to be able to compete with that young butler right now, so this is unexpected, is this the appearance of a powerful rival?)

Since her early days, Flora has relied on Helmut many times. A little girl would easily fall in love with a handsome older butler she could rely on.

Victoria understood that Helmut’s heart was moving in response to Flora’s words and deeds, even though he was expressionless at first glance. Sometimes he is a guardian who watches over her, sometimes he is like an older brother who looks after his younger sister, sometimes they are like innocent couples, and sometimes they are like a couple who have been together for a long time. It contains more loyalty and emotion than you would have for the lady you serve.

After being such a troublemaker in his early years, Ludwig has changed significantly since he visited Carruzan to discuss an engagement with Flora. Victoria thinks he’s calmed down a bit now, but he’s still a young child.

As for Rutger, it’s more difficult. He’s exactly the kind of boy who bullies the girl he likes, and it’s hard to believe that love can blossom in such a situation.

In case there’s a battle between Ludwig and Rutger over Flora, it would be fine for the three of them to decide their relationship with each other as they grow up, but if Helmut joins the fray, it seems that Ludwig and Rutger have no chance of winning as they are now. Helmut has a wall to scale with their differences in status, but Flora’s heart may be stolen by Helmut, the older man she can always rely on.

What would Ludwig do then? What will Rutger do?

Victoria is the closest relative to Rutger, even though she is an in-law. However, the pattern of love between these 3 people, no, 4 people is also exciting in its own way.

Thinking about Flora and the others in the future, Victoria felt like a spectator watching the story unfold before her eyes and was looking forward to the continuation.

T/N: Because I know several yuri fans like myself have been burned before with hints of a yuri romance only for it to go nowhere or end with a heterosexual romance instead, the latter half of this chapter is just Victoria fantasizing and enjoying herself.

This story is still firmly about female-female romantic relationships and Flora’s ever-growing achievements.