CH 31

Chapter 31: When the next season comes

After finishing his meeting with Anita, Ivan left the living quarters where the conference room was located and headed to the workshop where he had left Ermengard behind. While Ivan hadn’t visited her, she probably wasn’t bored, but how was she spending her time?

Return of the Iron-blood Sword Houn...

He opened the door he had closed earlier and peeked into the workshop. There was Ermengard, surrounded by craftswomen, with a smile on her face as she weaved. Even from a distance, it looked glamorous and enjoyable.

Although she was at the back of the workshop, she suddenly noticed him and smiled.

“Your Majesty, welcome back.”

Why is it that when she smiles, my heart feels warm?

“Oh, Your Majesty address? There’s no need to be so formal, you know~?”

“No more! Don’t tease me.”

It was hard to hear from a distance, but Ermengard was talking easily with the craftswomen. Her smile, as she walked towards him, left a lingering feeling of a good time.

Ivan thought he should bring her here again, but he didn’t realize that this thought would have been impossible for the old him.

“Are you done talking?”

“Yes, thanks to you, we had a fruitful discussion. I would like to hear your opinion at the end, would you be willing to come?”

“Okay, I understand.”

Ermengard nodded happily and turned around.

“Thank you, everyone, for taking the time out of your busy schedule. Please work hard on your jobs.”

The queen expressed her thanks in a clear voice, and the craftsmen replied in a relaxed manner, saying things like, “Please come again.” It seems that they had become quite friendly in a short amount of time.

“I thank you for taking care of the queen. Please continue to work hard.”

Ivan also expressed his thanks and went outside with Ermengard, whose cheeks were strangely flushed.

After a moment, the craftswomen who were stunned by the king’s second smile and the lovely couple’s appearance, rolled over in a frenzy, but the couple never found out.

❂❂❂

Ivan led her to a room in the adjacent building.

As soon as she entered the room, she was confronted with a mountain of fabrics wound around a wooden spindle. In the center of the room, a magnificent carpet with arabesque patterns was laid out, and Anita was waiting for her in a seated position.

“Oh, My Queen. I apologize for summoning you.”

“Don’t worry. What can I do for you?”

Ernesta replied with a smile and a nod. Ivan then answered her question.

“We are having trouble deciding on the next export item. We want to hear your opinion.”

“My… opinion?!”

Ernesta couldn’t help but be surprised at this unexpected responsibility.

“Are you really going to use my opinion as a guide?”

“They want to explore the Bral people’s sensibilities through your taste preferences. Please feel free to tell us your honest opinion.”

Even so, Ernesta hesitated to answer.

Her taste preferences were completely those of a commoner. Taking on such a big task as a substitute for Ermengard, who was excellent in art, felt somewhat burdensome.

However, in front of her was Anita, looking at her with hopeful eyes, so she couldn’t refuse her. After all, it was true that it was her subjective opinion, so Ernesta said, “…Alright. But don’t rely on it too much.”

“Yes! Thank you, My Queen.”

Anita promptly led her to the pile of fabrics. Upon closer inspection, all the fabrics were neatly stored in dedicated shelves, making it easy to check their prints.

“Well… ah, this is the one I saw earlier. I really like this young grass green color.”

In fact, while waiting, Ernesta had taken a tour around the building that was in operation. Various fabrics, including felt, silk, and even hemp, were being produced, and each one were unique and beautiful.

“This one is also cute with cool fabric. Ah… this one is perfect for a winter coat, it’s lovely.”

She sorted through them while remembering her earlier observations. Every single one of these beautiful fabrics made her heart leap just by looking at them.

She selected about 20 fabrics and laid them out on the carpet. Anita and Ivan watched her silently, but when they finished, they looked surprised when they met her eyes.

“My Queen, did you visit all the sections?”

“Yes, I did. I was shown some very interesting things.”

“Well… I didn’t know. Well, thank you very much.

Anita widened her eyes in surprise. Ernesta didn’t find it bothersome since it was her duty to do as much as possible, and she really enjoyed it.

“Why did you like this plain red fabric?”

“I thought the color was unique. It’s dyed with something Bral doesn’t have, right?”

“We use a dye extracted from the cochineal insect.”

Ah, I see. In this mountainous area, there are plenty of insects that aren’t found in Bral.

When Ernesta was satisfied with the explanation, Ivan, who had been watching silently until now, spoke.

“The dye made from the Gun-kou-mushi beetle is common here and is generally considered cheap. Do you think this fabric is good?”

“Well, yes. It’s pretty…”

I’m sorry, I’m just a commoner.

Ernesta bowed her head and apologized in her mind before raising her face again to Ivan, who was unusually flustered and said.

“No, I didn’t mean to insult you… So, in the Western cultural sphere of Bral, they don’t use this type of dye.”

“I see. I’m surprised too, Your Majesty.”

The two of them crossed their arms and put their hands on their chins, as if pondering something.

What is this atmosphere of being perplexed by the great discovery of the century?

“It might be a good idea. Ellie, thanks to you.”

Then, Ivan clasped Ernesta’s hands, causing her to flinch and jump.

“To export something, we must select what other countries don’t have. The fabric you chose fits that description.”

“Well, yeah. Something you’ve never seen before always looks wonderful.”

“We’ve only recently started to have exchanges with the Western countries on the continent. It seems we still have a lot to learn.”

Ernesta finally understood what was being talked about.

In other words, the same thing could look completely different when viewed from a foreign perspective. Maybe many of the chosen fabrics were common here.

Ivan released Ernesta’s hand and gave a firm handshake to Anita.

“Master. I’ll come by again soon and we will discuss this.”

“Yes, Your Majesty! We’ll be waiting for you.”

The two exchanged a powerful smile. It wasn’t much, but for some reason, her heart was filled with warmth.

“Ellie. It’s not a thank-you gift, but do you want to buy something?”

“Something like…?”

“Fabric. It’s better to start making winter Arkrig early. It gets cold as soon as summer ends.”

She couldn’t respond immediately to such a kind thoughtfulness.

By the time summer had ended and fall had arrived, Ernesta had long since disappeared. She had vanished without a trace, as if she had never existed in the first place.

“But, I…”

Her mind went blank and she couldn’t think of anything.

Since Ermengard had almost the same body type as her, it wouldn’t be a problem to tailor her dresses. Ernesta only needed to accept their kindness with a smile, but she couldn’t do it.

“When it comes to something for myself, I don’t know what to do…”

She was tired of making excuses.

Until now, she had been crushed by the guilt of lying. However, at this moment, Ernesta had a clear feeling.

She couldn’t bear the reality of having no future in this place.

“What’s wrong? If that’s the case, I’ll choose for you. Master, I’ll borrow it.”

A strong voice that cut through her dark thoughts made Ernesta regain consciousness.

Ivan had picked up one of the fabrics he had gathered, ignoring Anita’s smiling response.

“This is not the time to be shy. As a wife, you should be happy to support your husband.”

The fabric was reasonably heavy, but Ivan handled it as lightly as if handling clouds and presented piece after piece to Ernesta.

“I can’t bear to see you shivering. It’s normal to feel that way, so I’ll be in trouble if you don’t accept it.”

His words were blunt, but they deeply touched Ernesta’s heart, conveying his thoughtfulness.

“Th-Thank you.”

Ernesta finally managed to say just that much. She had to bite her lip to hold back tears that threatened to fall if she relaxed.

After several more pieces of cloth were piled up, Ivan let out a satisfied sigh.

“This one should be good. Look in the mirror.”

It was the young grass-colored fabric that they chose at the very beginning. As she stood in front of the mirror as instructed, it certainly blended well with the color that Ernesta carried, without any discomfort.

“Master, what do you think?”

“Yes, it looks very becoming on you.”

Anita also gave her approval, and Ernesta looked at herself in the mirror again.

“…Yes, it’s really beautiful.”

Thanks to the mirror, Ernesta succeeded in smiling without any discomfort.