30. Bloom (10)
30. Blooming (10)
Several hours passed like that—eating, drinking, and enjoying ourselves.
Eventually, the appropriately drunk guards all went upstairs to their rooms to sleep.
And I was outside the shop with the Merchant Leader.
I was counting the day's earnings after finishing work, while he was smoking his pipe.
Hiss, tap tap.
"Sssuuuuk, hooooo...."
"....Haa."
The money in my hands right now was clearly substantial.
Of course, it was nothing compared to the amounts I handled while living in the Imperial Palace, but for my current commoner life, it was quite a significant sum.
In total, 24 silver coins and 16 copper coins.
Considering Baman said one meal per person cost 2 copper coins, this was clearly not a small amount at first glance.
Shouldn't I be happy to earn so much money?
Of course I should.
But the problem was that except for 20 copper coins, all of this money was tips.
Earning it through tips meant it was equivalent to the guards throwing money at me after seeing my breasts.
Could I really deny that this wasn't money earned by selling my body, even after all this?
"Is the money too little, perhaps?"
"....?"
At that moment, the Merchant Leader smoking his pipe beside me spoke up.
But I didn't bother to respond to his question.
No matter how skilled a merchant he might be, he was still the shameless bastard who had stripped me naked.
My emotions moved before my reason.
Probably another effect of becoming a woman.
"How about becoming my concubine? I could make you handle dozens—no, hundreds of times that amount every month."
"....Ha."
So his grand proposal was to become his concubine.
I was speechless.
"Do I look like someone who would covet something like money?"
"Of course you don't appear to be."
"?"
What exactly did this man want to say?
When I refused his sudden proposal to become his concubine, he spoke as if he had expected the refusal.
Then why make such a request if he knew it would be rejected?
"Certainly, you possess wisdom and judgment that commoners shouldn't have. If you became my concubine and we ran the merchant group together, we might become the world's greatest merchant group."
Hooo.
The Merchant Leader exhaled smoke and continued.
"But that speech and behavior—you're clearly nobility. However, to my knowledge, there's no noble family that matches your appearance...."
".....!"
I guess you need that level of insight to become a Merchant Leader.
That was somewhat surprising.
I didn't expect him to notice even that.
I thought he would just see me as some crazy woman since a commoner was using such speech patterns.
"Well, if you were an Imperial Family bastard, I'd already be dead."
"........."
Literally, if Evernoir-nim were here right now, he would be dead.
"Are you actually from the Imperial Family?"
"........"
At my continued silence, the Merchant Leader's demeanor grew serious.
"Your Highness!"
At that moment, Evernoir-nim began approaching us from across the way.
And by the time she reached us,
"..........Elise Evernoir, Captain of the 2nd Imperial Knights....."
".....?! Who are you? Reveal your identity."
Though she couldn't draw her sword since she wasn't wearing one, she began guarding against the Merchant Leader who had revealed his identity as if she would kill him.
Then she stood in front of me, blocking my front as if to protect me.
"No, that's not it.... This humble one is Wheden, Merchant Leader of the Grid Merchant Group...."
"Is that so?"
Evernoir-nim briefly scanned him, looking him over from head to toe out of the corner of her eye.
Even considering the difference between men and women, he was a civilian and she was a martial artist.
To the extent of rising to the position of Imperial Knights Captain.
Even if the Merchant Leader were armed, Evernoir-nim could kill him ten times over.
As if he could no longer withstand Evernoir-nim's gaze, the Merchant Leader made the first move.
"I will definitely erase today's memories from my life."
"No, I don't care about that. Your Highness, did this person perhaps show disrespect toward you?"
".....!"
The Merchant Leader looked at me in surprise.
Certainly.
If I reported what the Merchant Leader had done to me to Evernoir-nim, he would definitely die here.
And since he's quite sharp, he would know there's no way to survive.
The Merchant Leader's shoulders began trembling slightly as he realized this.
Also, from his reaction alone, Evernoir-nim deduced that he had done something to me and began slowly approaching.
"Evernoir-nim, stop."
"Yes?"
".....!?"
What the Merchant Leader had done to me was something that warranted killing not just him but all the guards here too.
Setting aside the guards who had humiliated and mocked me, just the fact that they had seen the princess's breasts—not by accident—was enough to deserve execution.
It was undoubtedly what's called Imperial Insult.
But instead, I stopped Evernoir-nim.
There was no other meaning to it.
I couldn't suddenly kill everyone here.
Moreover, I could use this to create a debt.
"How long will you be staying in this village?"
".....Probably about three days, I think."
"Prepare two sets of women's combat uniforms, one two-handed sword, enough jerky to last until the capital, and two horses."
"Yes? Ah, yes! I'll prepare them!"
Having delivered all my messages, I turned and walked toward Baman's house.
Evernoir-nim looked at me and the Merchant Leader once each, hesitated about what to do, and eventually followed behind me.
"Hah, haaahhh...."
The Merchant Leader's legs gave way and he collapsed without realizing it, overwhelmed by the sensation of being alive.
He never expected to be spared like this.
No matter how indebted he was, it couldn't compare to his life.
Two sets of clothes, one sword, several pieces of jerky, and two horses.
If he could buy his life with such things, he could pay ten times, a hundred times that amount.
"Hah, haah. I shouldn't act recklessly from now on."
No matter how unknown her identity, he absolutely shouldn't have tried to control the situation and harbored ambitions of commanding.
Wheden firmly resolved that there would be no such incidents in the future.
####
"Y-Your Highness!"
"Sssk, how long has it been since we became two that you're calling me 'Your Highness'?"
"Ehk, Princess, th-that's not what's important...! Why did you spare that man!"
Evernoir had noticed it long ago.
Judging by the Merchant Leader's reaction and Her Highness's reaction, he had committed an offense that absolutely couldn't be overlooked easily.
Given Her Highness's reaction without even making eye contact with her, he must have at least made vulgar remarks with that crude mouth or touched Her Highness with his dirty hands.
Evernoir wanted to rush over and cripple him right then and there.
Even though they were hiding their identities now, anyone who dared lay hands on Her Highness deserved punishment.
"Calm yourself."
"B-but...!"
Then, suddenly, Her Highness placed something in her hand.
It was money.
"....What is this?"
"Half of today's earnings. Since tomorrow will be our last day in this village, spend it wherever you want."
"I-I can't accept this!"
This was money Her Highness had earned entirely through her own work.
Giving half of it to her—she couldn't accept money without having done anything.
But as the Knight Captain, she couldn't go against Her Highness's wishes.
"I have no use for it anyway. Just take all of it."
Then she even pushed the other half of the money she was holding into Evernoir's hands.
Evernoir tried to return the money to Her Highness somehow, but whenever she tried to hand it back, Her Highness would forcefully drop it to the ground, saying,
"Then just throw it away and come."
With those words, she had no choice but to clutch the money Her Highness had given her and follow behind.
She decided to keep it for now, thinking she could return it later when Her Highness needed something or if Her Highness changed her mind.
By the way, with this much money, what exactly did she do to earn so much?
No matter how much she thought about it, Evernoir could only imagine the worst possibilities.
She didn't dare want to spend money that Her Highness had earned while suffering shame.
The fact that Her Highness, who should only see good things and only experience good things in life, had such an experience meant she herself was disqualified as a guard.
But what could she do? She had already been thoroughly dealt with by the Legion Commander, and the worst experience for a woman was already something she couldn't erase from her memory.
"..........I will definitely."
"Hm? What did you say?"
"Nothing, it's nothing."
....I will take responsibility and protect you by your side for my entire life.
####
"Huff, huff!"
Baman hurriedly returned home.
Had he heard correctly just now?
If that was true....,
It meant Jaina would leave this place the day after tomorrow.
Certainly, at first, when she knocked on his door naked in the middle of the night, he couldn't believe it.
That such beautiful and attractive women would knock on his door—naked no less, and two of them.
That such women would stay at his house.
Frankly, he rather wanted to beg them to please come to his house.
Because he didn't want them to be taken by the man across the street or other guys.
And honestly, he thought it was fate.
That kind of fate where he would marry two such beautiful women, have children with them, and build a family.
While living with them, he naturally thought they would continue living together like this going forward.
"....This won't do."
He couldn't just let them leave like this.
It didn't matter if they were nobility or whatever.
This was simply male instinct.
The reproductive instinct that couldn't let go of two beautiful wives and the children that would be born between them.
"We're back...., but are you that busy even at this late hour?"
"Ahaha, I have some requested medicine. Please rest first, you two."
The light in Baman's pharmacy didn't go out all night.