Don't Touch #1
"Who's the representative here?"
"That would be me."
No sooner had the word "representative" been spoken than Jail rose to his feet.
He might have been confined to the house, but he was not bound hand and foot. Thanks to that, he could move about without real discomfort.
"Jail Hound, at your service. Fortune has been kind enough to let me play at being a Viscount."
"A noble coming all the way out here himself? How curious."
A faint note of excitement colored Freesia's reply. It was the thrill of novelty. Even for a minor noble, it was rare for one to make the journey in person.
"I was in rather a hurry, you see. Chaos is opportunity for some, is it not? Of course, for the Yo people it must have been an unfortunate situation…"
Jail trailed off before he could finish.
According to the rumors he had heard, a human led the negotiations while the Yo followed. Yet here the conversation was being driven not by the human Edgar, but by Freesia—and in thoroughly casual speech at that.
"If it would not be too forward of me… might I ask your name?"
Asking for a name was as good as asking her to declare her status. Freesia read the intent hidden beneath Jail's polite phrasing and gave a small nod.
Calling herself a princess out loud still felt faintly embarrassing, but she swallowed the awkwardness and spoke as if it were nothing.
"Freesia. I'm the princess."
"The… princess?"
He knew well enough that a pink-haired Yo woman had been traveling around selling silk with a human. But that Yo woman being a princess?
Jail's eyes went round with disbelief. Edgar answered for her.
"The lady before you is indeed the princess of the Yo. You seem to find it hard to believe."
"Ahem, ahem…! Not at all. I was merely astonished that someone of such high station would come all this way in person. Forgive my rudeness."
Jail scrambled to explain, thoroughly flustered. Edgar's flat voice cut in.
"Ah… I can understand that completely."
Sorry for the misunderstanding. When Edgar bowed his head in apology, Jail accepted it without protest.
"Now that the introductions are over, shall we get to the silk? That works better for you too, right?"
"Of course. It's exactly what I've been hoping for."
At Freesia's urging, Jail replied with a touch of excitement.
He had come a long way to buy silk and spent time locked up here. Now the fruits of that journey were finally within reach; he could hardly help himself.
Edgar watched Jail prepare seats, then turned his gaze to the others still sitting against the wall. They looked rather pitiful, abandoned like sacks of grain no one had any use for.
"Let me confirm once more. You came because you want to buy silk?"
Freesia asked as she took a seat. Jail settled across from her.
"Yes."
"Silk doesn't have the best reputation right now, does it?"
"Reputation is only reputation. Beauty is simply beauty. And I love the beauty of silk."
"Love, is it…"
"Yes. The emotion I felt the first time I laid eyes on silk is still vivid in my mind. I doubt I'll forget it even on my deathbed."
The answer was a little overblown, but the sincerity came through. Freesia looked at the man suddenly launching into a silk panegyric and sighed inwardly.
It was good that he valued silk highly, but the degree of it was exhausting.
"Fine. I understand. In light of your sincerity and feelings, I'll sell you the silk."
"Truly?"
Jail asked in surprise. Freesia's head tilted slightly to one side.
"You came to buy silk, so why the shock?"
"Well… even on the way here I was half-doubting it."
"You heard those rumors and still came all this way, didn't you? I'm selling it because of that sincerity."
Freesia spoke with a touch of pride. Jail bowed his head as if overwhelmed by the honor.
Then he slowly raised it again, his expression turning rather serious.
"Princess. If you would permit it, I would like to engage in regular silk trade from now on."
"Regularly? Meaning…?"
Freesia's brow twitched. A sharp curve touched Jail's lips—not soft, but keen.
"Yes. Please give me the chance to take the place of that merchant who was so rude to Your Highness."
Sensing his moment, Jail bowed deeply.
Where Hans had bowed for money, Jail was bowing, drunk on silk. All because of the desire to handle as much silk as possible, as closely as possible.
Is this really okay?
Freesia eyed the human so thoroughly intoxicated by silk and showed a flicker of fear. She half-wondered if he had gone mad from loving silk too fiercely.
When she failed to answer, frozen in alarm, Jail spoke with his head still lowered.
"I have a rough idea of what Your Highness is concerned about. If I am given the opportunity to trade silk, I will ensure that nothing of the sort ever happens again! Should there be any other conditions you desire, I will do my utmost to accommodate them."
At this point it was less a trade and more like a slave contract. He called it a transaction, but he looked ready to accept outright subordination if it meant getting the silk.
Edgar stared at the back of Jail's head, then met Freesia's eyes.
Her gaze seemed to scream for rescue. She was far more skilled at proposing terms and negotiating… but she clearly wanted nothing to do with dealing with him herself.
It was simply too much pressure.
Edgar nodded silently and took the seat Freesia vacated for him.
"Please raise your head. From here on, I will speak on Her Highness's behalf."
"…As you wish."
Hearing Edgar's voice, Jail lifted his head.
A young man with pure white hair. There had to be a reason a human would side with the Yo, yet no one knew what that reason was. The Seeker party who held the clues kept their mouths shut. So Jail, uncertain how to treat the man, soon made up his mind.
Since the princess kept him at her side, he would treat him with similar respect.
"Selling silk in the current climate seems extremely difficult. Do you have some method in mind?"
"None. I simply wish to buy it."
Good heavens. Edgar clapped a hand to his forehead the moment he heard the blatantly unprepared answer.
"And yet you say you want to trade silk…?"
"Trade is originally the act of buying and selling something one likes, is it not? Intermediation is not the whole of commerce."
"That… is a fair point."
If he had truly come all this way simply because he wanted the silk, it was hard not to acknowledge it. Still, Jail drew a clear line, saying there was more to it.
"Of course I do intend to profit from the silk. As the proxy, and as the present situation makes plain, we cannot sell silk immediately. But I believe a path will open before long."
Jail smiled as he spoke of the current state of those who had bought silk before. As far as he knew, almost no one who cursed the Yo had actually burned their silk.
Too good to throw away, huh.
In the end, greed had won out over pride. Edgar reached that conclusion and opened his mouth.
"Understood. If you brought money today, then buy silk accordingly. If you intend to purchase regularly, we should settle on dates and locations, yes?"
"Naturally. Tell me what is convenient for you and I will do my best to match it. Of course I have my own affairs, so matching perfectly may be difficult…"
"That's why we're having this conversation."
Edgar steered the discussion as if it were nothing of great consequence.
How much the silk would cost.
What the future schedule would look like.
And the quantity of silk to purchase right away.
Once all the necessary talk was finished, Jail smiled with a face full of color.
"Thank you. I look forward to working with you. I will never betray your trust."
Jail added the firm resolution that he would take it to heart. Edgar, wearing a gentle expression, extended his hand.
"We look forward to working with you as well."
Jail clasped that hand, answering with a look full of strength instead of words.
I'm exhausted.
The sun had set and the night was full of black darkness. Freesia climbed into the carriage and sighed.
It was the result of firmly refusing the village chief and villagers who had urged her to use their houses. If she stayed in someone's home both sides would feel awkward, but the hosts far more so.
The empty house was being used by Jail and his party, so they could leave once the messenger Freesia had sent returned with the silk.
She had slept outdoors several times before, so sleeping in the carriage or in the tent pitched outside was familiar enough. The same went for Edgar, who had kindled a campfire outside. By roughing-it experience he far outstripped her.
"Princess. Everything is ready."
With a creak, Edgar opened the carriage door from outside. Freesia stepped down looking thoroughly tired.
Gently turning down the villagers' offers had drained every last bit of her energy.
However.
Once she ate the meal Edgar had prepared himself, she brightened as if nothing had happened. The tteokgalbi packed in a small box played a part as well.
The box containing the tteokgalbi was enchanted with a chill-emitting spell, functioning much like a refrigerator.
"I'm glad."
Edgar, squatting in a corner, replied in a voice laced with laughter. He was washing the dishes with warm water under his palm.
After finishing the remaining cleanup and settling by the campfire, Freesia sidled over. Sticking right next to Edgar had become ordinary. That was why the shyness and fluster Edgar had first felt had largely diluted.
A few days earlier, Iris's words rose in Freesia's mind.
What did it mean, indeed.
Apparently she had somehow picked up rumors about Edgar.
Freesia let out a short sigh and fixed her gaze on the campfire.
She was uneasy.
And anxious.
The Northern Chief's daughter was a beautiful maiden even by her standards. Her character was good too. Therefore, the chance that Edgar would fall for her was very high.
Of course she would make a fine bride candidate, but still…
…That can't happen.
Edgar falling for the Northern Chief's daughter and leaving the palace?
Absolutely not.
Freesia's eyes coldly glared at the image of the Northern Chief's daughter flickering beyond the campfire.