Monica's Proposal (1)
Emily had read those innermost thoughts of Lisa's with uncanny precision. The lord's son is watching. If I let her act according to her nature, we're in for a disaster. Terrified her mistress was about to cause a scene, she struck first.
"Lady Lisa! It would be rude to keep the lord waiting! Please go inside the castle at once!"
Emily shoved Lisa in the back.
"Leave this to me!"
"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"
"Lord Jisturaju came out to greet you. Are you going to keep him waiting? I'll handle the rest, so please go."
"Is something the matter?"
When Jisturaju tilted his head and asked, Emily hurriedly whispered into Lisa's ear.
"What good could come of letting him see you lose your temper at a merchant? When I tell you to go inside, just go!"
Lisa shot her a look of displeasure, but in the end she turned away.
"Tear that merchant bastard to pieces."
"Leave it to me."
Lisa started toward the castle, passing Jisturaju as she went.
"Shall we?"
"Yes, Countess."
Jisturaju smiled and quickly fell into step behind her.
Emily smiled in satisfaction.
"Whew. Finally got her out of here."
But it was far too soon to relax.
"Have you perhaps heard of the history of our Lantes Castle?"
"No."
"Oh, wonderful. Our Lantes Castle dates back several hundred years—"
"Would you mind not walking so close?"
"Pardon?"
"I'd appreciate it if you kept at least three feet away."
"M-my apologies."
"And I'll be looking around on my own as we walk, so you needn't say anything."
Watching Lisa walk alongside Jisturaju, Emily grew anxious that her mistress might still commit some terrible blunder.
"Honestly, she never lets me rest for even a second."
Emily let out a sigh. She'd better hurry. She quickly turned toward the carrot merchant.
Kestiria was standing among the people trying to buy carrots, staring blankly at the scene.
"Shouldn't you be going to Lady Lisa?"
"I can't leave you alone."
"You're here to protect me?"
"That man. Good physique."
Kestiria eyed the carrot merchant with a wary gaze.
"Too well-built for a farmer. If a fight breaks out, you could be in danger."
But Emily didn't hear a word of it.
"Oh my, he's even more impressive up close."
She clasped her hands together, her expression rapturous.
"How could I possibly pick a fight with someone that handsome...!"
Admiring the carrot merchant's broad, powerful shoulders, she found herself far more inclined to strike up a conversation than to pick a quarrel.
"Carrots grown by a man like that would have to taste amazing...!"
"Emily?"
Utterly spellbound, Emily walked right past Kestiria and approached the carrot merchant. She swept her hair behind her ear in a pretty little gesture and smiled.
"Excuse me... could I have one of those carrots?"
"Oh, carrots, carrots! I don't sell them one at a time — three kilos for three silver! I'm sorry, but I don't have any wrapping, so you'll have to carry them as is. Would you like some?"
Hearts all but sparkled in Emily's eyes as she gazed at the carrot merchant's face.
"Of course. I'll carry them right here, against my chest."
"Here you go!"
The carrot merchant held out five carrots, and Emily handed him five silver instead of three.
"Here."
"That's too much. It's three silver."
"The extra two is a tip."
She threw him a wink. He beamed.
"Thank you!"
Even after buying the carrots, Emily showed no intention of leaving. Clutching the five thick carrots in both arms, she stared at the carrot merchant's face and body as if she'd been put under a spell.
"Succubi, I swear..."
Kestiria, who had been quietly watching from nearby, shook her head as if there was no helping it. She strode over, plucked one of the carrots from Emily's arms, and snapped it in half. Her eyes widened as she examined the inside.
"This is genuinely high-grade carrot...?"
Emily, standing beside her, took a small bite.
Chew, chew.
Her eyes went round.
"Oh my, it's delicious even raw!"
"It's good?"
Kestiria hurriedly bit into the half she'd broken off.
Crunch, crunch.
The instant her tongue registered the flavor, a shiver rang through her mind like a struck bell.
"Nngh! I-it's delicious!"
She wrapped both arms around herself, a moan slipping out before she could stop it. A carrot so good it made even Kestiria — that taciturn female knight — writhe.
How to even describe it? The more she chewed, the crisper and sweeter it became — like biting into an apple? No. It was the feeling of eating a strawberry nestled in cream cake. That honeyed sweetness women couldn't resist. The texture and flavor were so astonishing she had to wonder if this was even a carrot at all.
"This is no time to stand around. Lady Lisa must taste this at once. Follow me!"
Kestiria grabbed the collar of the still-smitten Emily and hurried toward the castle.
"Just a little longer! Just a little!"
Emily was dragged along, still clutching the carrots tightly to her chest.
"Thank you! Enjoy!"
Rian was in high spirits — business was booming. Whether the location was good or bad, it seemed customers could always recognize quality when they tasted it.
The little coin pouch that had sat empty just a few hours ago now jingled, stuffed plump with silver. He hadn't counted exactly, but by a rough estimate he'd pulled in well over a hundred silver. And it still wasn't over. Customers were still lined up waiting, and he had half his carrots left to sell.
"Here you go! Remember my face and come find me again next time!"
"Wait... is that Panty?!"
"Huh?"
"The incubus!"
He was selling so frantically he barely had enough hands, when a woman's voice suddenly said something strange. He looked over.
"You're that incubus from the southern village, aren't you!"
"......?"
Rian stared at the woman, dumbfounded, then his face lit up with delight.
"Ah, Green!"
"See! See! I knew it!"
The woman clapped her hands in joy. Rian grinned from ear to ear.
"What are you doing here?"
"What do you think? I work here, that's why. How did you even get this far? Weren't you locked up? Did they let you out?"
The two of them chatted as warmly as old friends, even though they'd only met once and barely knew each other.
"Growing carrots already? Not bad."
The green-haired woman looked over the carrots Rian was selling, then tilted her head.
"But why are you selling such good produce here after all that hard work growing it?"
"Where else would I sell it? Is there somewhere besides the market?"
"Something like this, you should've sold to nobles. You think you'll get a fair price at the market? People here don't have that kind of money."
"Hmm?"
The woman explained this and that with an air of expertise, then told him to pack up his stall right then and there.
"I'll sell them to the nobles for a much better price, so just trust me."
"Really? You sure that's okay?"
"In return, throw me a little something for my trouble. I need some energy if I'm going to sell these with real enthusiasm."
"I'll take care of you."
Rian accepted the proposal of this woman who approached him so familiarly despite barely knowing him, hurriedly stopped selling, and followed her. The two of them pulled the cart over to a stream.
"Nobles will never buy vegetables with dirt on them."
Squatting by the stream, the woman pulled out a dirt-covered carrot and washed it clean in the water.
"They think it's filthy and unsanitary. If you want to sell to nobles, it has to look clean first."
"Got it."
Rian squatted down beside her and started washing carrots as well.
"We never even introduced ourselves. My name's Monica."
"I'm Rian. Kim Rian."
"That's a pretty unusual name."
"That's what everyone says."
"You came from far away, huh?"
"Yeah."
"When I first saw you three months ago, I could tell right away you had a story. Anyway, we can get to that later."
She smiled warmly.
"You're going to stay here a while, right?"
"I don't know. Maybe."
Rian accidentally glanced at her chest, then hurriedly dropped his gaze. Because they were both squatting, her cleavage — which hadn't been visible when she was standing — was on full, unobstructed display.
I'm not even interested, so why is this bothering me?
On top of that, she was wearing a commoner's dress with a wide-cut neckline, so every time she bent her head to wash a carrot, her ample breasts swayed, threatening to spill out of her clothes at any moment.
Rian quickly started talking.
"When I was in the village, I waited for you to come. But even after almost two weeks, you never showed. Were you busy with work?"
"No, I was just sick."
"Where?"
"Just... somewhere."
She seemed reluctant to answer, so Rian didn't press further. He figured she had personal reasons for not coming and let it go.
Hmm?
Rian found himself witnessing yet another bewildering sight. It was when he tried to look at Monica's face. The front of her chest was wet. It was a stain that felt different from something you'd get from water splashing while washing carrots. How to put it. Marks that seemed to have spread outward in circles from both breasts...?
He was about to speculate further when he cut the thought off immediately. Monica's eyes were on him.
"Anyway, doing business in the market without permission? You've got some nerve. You know that? You barely escaped with your life."
"Why?"
"You never got official permission. If you want to do business here, the first thing you have to do is get the lord's approval."
Rian nodded.
"I suppose so."
"You also have to register with the Merchant Guild."
"There's that too?"
"That's not all. You have to kick up stall fees to the back-alley boys as well."
"Why is it so complicated?"
"Business isn't something just anyone can do. You probably thought you could just set up a stall, but the fight over interests is fierce."
"So you're saying I can't do business like I did today?"
She smiled.
"Count yourself lucky you didn't get caught. Good grief, it's a good thing I found you first — some country bumpkin almost got himself killed."
After they'd washed all the carrots, Rian followed Monica to the inn where she was lodging.
"I'll change and be right back."