CH 70

Why is Katharina here, of all places? Now, if you go straight along the road from the north gate of Carruzan, you will arrive at Caanburg in no time. It should be easy to come to Manor Caan which is right before the main road. But it wasn’t like that… why is Katharina, who seems to have given up on me, appearing before me now?

Her face, which used to have sunken cheeks and sunken eyes, now has a moderately feminine fullness. With long eyelashes and plump lips, her beautiful face was similar to Helmut’s.

Her dry skin is now smooth and supple, and her hair, which was once brittle, is shiny and soft and flowing in the wind. Her ragged nails and their peeling are gone. However, even if she isn’t showing much of them, her palms are probably rough like a worker’s. At a glance, I can see that she’s worked her hands plenty.

I want to run to her right now and hug her. The thoughts that have been locked away for so long are overflowing. But I can’t. That is unacceptable. Katharina got fed up with me and left. So, if I take such an attitude now, it will only make Katharina uncomfortable. I tried my best to endure it and called out calmly.

“Helmut… what do you mean by this?” I said.

“Yes,” Helmut said. “Since that day, Katharina has been working hard just to serve you, Miss Flora. I know there are still tasks she can’t do well, but if you head to the royal capital now, Miss Flora, she will lose the opportunity to serve you. That’s why I brought her before you today before you move.”

………… Hmm? What?

I got a different answer than I expected. Or rather, did Katharina make an effort to serve me? Why? I’m not sure. Katharina got tired of me and left, right?

“Lady Flora!” Katharina said. “I have done everything I could to see this day. Although I am still a novice, I have returned before you as I promised that day, Lady Flora. Please allow me to serve you as your maid!”

As I promised that day, she said? ……Maybe, maybe it was all my misunderstanding……? Didn’t Katharina get tired of me or give up on me and leave?

That’s right……. come to think of it, on that day, when Katharina returned to Manor Royce, she certainly said something like that at the entrance of Manor Carruthers.

I was in shock at the time, so I didn’t listen properly and thought it was a polite greeting. But it’s true that Katharina said that she will come back to me again. Was it really like this?

What I wanted from Katharina was to be friends with girls of the same age as me, or to have a close relationship like sisters who lived together. But did Katharina want me to be her master and her my servant instead of that kind of relationship? So why did this kind of misunderstanding happen?

If she says that, I understand many things now. Katharina’s stiff expression at that time was probably not a face that was rejecting me, but a sign of her firm determination.

I want to be close to Katharina like a friend, and I want to play with her like a sister. And if possible, I want to do yuri things.

It may not be in the form I wanted. What Katharina wants from me is to be the master she serves. Even so, if Katharina wants to stay by my side like this again, that’s fine, isn’t it? And if I want to be like lilies again one day, I should just persuade Katharina this time.

Before I knew it, I was standing in front of Katharina, who was standing up from her chair and bowing her head.

“Please raise your head, Katharina,” I said. “Welcome back… and from now on, you’ll stay by my side, won’t you?”

I raise Katharina’s face and gently hug her. Katharina didn’t resist, in fact, she accepted my embrace.

“Yes…!” Katharina said. “I will definitely serve you forever, Lady Flora!”

In this way, after six and a half years, I was finally able to clear up the misunderstanding with Katharina and reunite with her.

It’s a normal morning like usual, but I’m so nervous right now. And I can see that the person standing behind me is also nervous as if my nerves were infecting her, too.

“We-Well then, please leave it to me,” Katharina said.

“Don’t be so nervous, just do it normally,” I said.

I called out to Katharina because she was nervous and stiff but I was nervous and stiff, too. Because from now on, I will let Katharina change my clothes.

Until now, Isabella was in charge of changing my clothes. But from today onward, Katharina will do it under Isabella’s supervision. Katharina is nervous because she’s helping me change clothes for the first time, and I’m nervous because I’m afraid that a girl of the same age will see me naked and touch my skin.

But we’re being serious. It is unreasonable to just say that you should not be nervous, your heart will not stop beating just from that. I’m not crazy. Imagine being around 15 when a girl in your class sees you naked and asks to change your clothes. Anyone would be nervous.

Shuffle, shuffle, the silk pajamas are taken off. Silk is smooth and pleasant to the touch. I’d like to try sericulture1 someday, but unfortunately I haven’t been able to do it yet, so this is an imported product. Katharina’s hand touched me as she took off my silk pajamas, but her palm was still hard and rough.

According to Helmut, it seems that Katharina has been working hard to master all kinds of things, including academics, housework, and cooking, ever since she returned to their parent’s house from Manor Carruthers. The fact that her hands are so rough is proof of Katharina’s hard work. I shouldn’t feel uncomfortable being touched by her hands.

My undressed limbs are reflected in a large mirror. Large mirrors made from large plate glass from the Knights of Khan territory are traded at a considerably high price. But we are the manufacturer, so we can use it as much as we want without worrying about it. The production cost, including the white porcelain, is not really that high.

When my skin became exposed, Katharina let out a heated breath, “Hou…”. Her face is red as if she was feeling flushed. Katharina looks strange when I look at her in the mirror, her expression is enraptured.

“Katharina? Are you okay?” I asked.

“Huh…?! Oh! I-I’m sorry! I was a little dumbfounded by the beauty!” Katharina said, bowing her head in panic.

Well, I don’t know how she feels. It’s hard to find a mirror like this, or rather, you can only find it here.

“Isn’t that right?” I said. “It’s a special product of House Caan. You won’t be able to get a single large piece of glass flattened this much anywhere else. The decorations are also elaborate, aren’t they?”

The large mirror is made of a single sheet of flat glass and is beautifully silver-plated, the surface is crystal clear. The decoration is also beautiful and elaborate to give a sense of luxury. Mirrors like this are only produced in House Caan’s territory in this world. I am also satisfied with the beautiful finish that Katharina admires.

“Haah… Miss Flora, you are so…” Isabella said, sighing and shaking her head.

What’s the matter? After that, Katharina seemed to have calmed down somehow, changed my clothes, and we headed out to breakfast.

When we arrived at Manor Caan, I immediately started processing the documents. Katharina is in the middle of being mentored by Isabella and taught about her work. If she’s going to follow me to the royal capital, it’s better to memorize her work now.

While checking the documents, I also think about the recent state of House Caan and think about the upcoming problem. I’ll have to leave for a long time, so it would be better to take care of the problems I need to as much as possible now.

First of all, Caanburg is now lined with houses and shops along the road to the Dierbe River. It’s a scale that can be said to be a single town, including everything from the eastern dock. Recently, more and more passengers are coming to Caanburg instead of Carruzan, and the shops along the road are also bustling.

In addition, vinyl greenhouses are lined up along the river to the northeast, and cotton cultivation is flourishing. The amount that can be exported is still small, but I have no problem with underwear and sanitary products.

Plastic greenhouses are being put into practical use with something like thick cellophane made from cellulose. Unlike the transparent vinyl and cellophane of the modern world, it has a muddy color and cannot be thinned, so it is thick and difficult to handle, but it is better than nothing.

The only problem is that cellulose is highly combustible. If something catches fire, it will spread quickly. We have taken measures such as setting up fences for fire prevention and setting up plastic greenhouses along the river and installing fire pumps to suck up the water from the river, but we have to be prepared for the possibility of a big fire in case of emergency.

Also, even if you grow cotton in a greenhouse, not everything will be successful. The yield is not stable because each greenhouse is poorly produced, or in the worst case, all of them wither. This is probably because the insulation effect of the vinyl houses is not stable. I think it’s because it’s too hot or too cold and the temperature isn’t adjusted well.

In addition, a glass factory and a mirror factory are being built along the Dierbe River, so the income from there is also important for House Caan. White porcelain produced in Hexenacht, also under Ehren’s jurisdiction, is also very profitable.

Speaking of Hexen White Porcelain in the Kingdom of Ploiss, it is now a hot topic brand, and there is no end to the number of people who want to buy it even if it costs a lot of money. Not to mention the Kingdom of Ploiss, even the nobles of the Kingdom of Frasia seem to be purchasing Hexen white porcelain, and it is rumored that some people are proposing radical ideas such as trying to steal Hexen products in a war.

There is also a village in the west that is being developed in preparation for that, but of course, that’s not all. If we avoid the northwestern demon territory and control trade in both the northwestern and northeastern seas, we should be able to expect a considerable profit.

In addition to Ehren, Eins and Anneliese have also made great contributions to the Khan family. Eins’s research didn’t turn into a concrete product, but it was thanks to Eins that I succeeded in synthesizing cellulose. Also, because cellulose was made, plastic greenhouses became possible, albeit imperfectly, and the mass production of cotton was accelerated.

Anneliese has made a great contribution to the development of cosmetics and healthy foods. The recent success in extracting dyes from safflowers has made it possible to obtain red dyes. There are also other herbs and medicinal herbs that have been successfully commercialized after confirming their effectiveness. Cosmetics and health-related products are always popular with women.

It’s not just about making money, but the land and water routes from Caanburg to Cien are also becoming more popular, and the number of merchants coming to the Caan territory to purchase goods is also increasing. Kruck Trading Firm has been a regular customer of mine for a long time, so I give them some preferential treatment, but I actually started my own company.

My company, named Caanza Trading Frim, is expanding its sales channels not only in House Caan, but throughout the Kingdom of Ploiss, and its influence is increasing day by day. Well, I guess that’s just so. Since Caanza wholesales House Caan’s products, the more they sell the goods from there, the more Caanza’s influence will increase. It looks like a match-pump scheme, doesn’t it~? It’s scary, isn’t it~? I’m a corrupt person, aren’t I? 2

The Port of Cien is already becoming famous as the number one port in the Kingdom of Ploiss, even though it hasn’t been long since it opened. In addition, since they are using carracks and caravels for long-distance trade, they are now going to transport and trade with partners that have been difficult to do business with and areas that have had transportation problems. Their profits are also immeasurable and enrich House Caan’s finances.

Early products such as beet sugar and chicken eggs have already started to be imitated by others, so it’s not like House Caan is the only producer. It was the main product that supported House Caan’s finances until now, but there’s no need to stick to it because others are following suit. Of course, we will continue to produce and sell as much as we are producing. However, profits are considerably lower than in the previous monopoly.

I don’t know where the beet sugar production method leaked from, but no one has followed suit with dairy products yet. I don’t know if it’s because the profit margin is low despite the initial cost, or because the manufacturing method hasn’t been leaked yet.

We also build and sell outdated cog ships and hulk ships. We are also increasing the number of shipyards, and in order to train craftsmen and not run out of work, we also accept external construction requests, so we sell old-fashioned cog ships and hulk ships that are commonly available.

However, carrack and caravel ships are still in our monopoly, so it’s too early to sell them to outside parties. There was all trial and error until the successful completion, so I would like to monopolize it until I can recover the initial cost.

Caan territory also has a large number of soldiers compared to its population. Normally, if there are too many soldiers, tax revenue will not be able to cover it, and it will be a big problem. House Caan can only afford to have many soldiers thanks to their various incomes.

Also, I have succeeded in cultivating the rice and soybeans that Mikoto gave me. After a while, I started going back to the place where I used to meet Mikoto. But since then, Mikoto has never appeared there even once. Since I pushed and hurt Mikoto like that, I’m not in a position to say anything to Mikoto. But I still wonder if Mikoto is doing well.

Anyway, I did rice and soybean cultivation as Mikoto taught me, so I was able to get rice and soybeans. Now I can make tsukemono, Japanese vegetables preserved with rice bran, and I can also make sake, rice wine, from the rice grains. Trial and error are underway to make soy sauce and miso from soybeans. For the time being, something like that has been made, but it is still something different from the Japanese version. It’s a lot better than it was when nothing existed, but it’s still far from what I want.

Today as well, I was stuck at my desk in my office and struggling with paperwork to clean up various things before going to the royal capital.