Chapter 06
“If it’s that much money, you could buy half of the rough stones. Do you really need that many?”
Selene looked at me with suspicious eyes.
She must have been surprised by such a sudden large amount of money.
Also, these rough stones were not yet known for any special effects, so they were treated as nothing more than pretty junk.
If processed well, they could only be used as decorations for dresses.
To reassure her, I answered.
“Yes. I like the rough stones sold here.”
“But… they’re not diamonds or rubies. They’re not even mana stones, just rough stones. I really can’t believe someone would spend so much money on something like that.”
That was understandable to some degree.
But there was one thing I had to keep in mind.
Swen would have accepted this money.
“If this amount is too burdensome for you, I can just look elsewhere…”
“Selene!”
Ding—
Along with a bright bell sound, a deep male voice was heard.
It was the shop owner and Selene’s adoptive father, Swen.
He walked toward us quickly.
“Customer, are you looking for something? My daughter has only recently started learning the job, so she is still inexperienced.”
He first checked the gold placed on the counter and then quickly lowered his posture.
I nodded and replied.
“I was planning to, but it seems you don’t do bulk sales.”
“No, no! The girl still doesn’t know many things!”
“But father! That’s too much money…”
“Selene. The customer wants it.”
As expected from a trading company connected to the heroine, there were many things to buy besides rough stones.
While they were arguing, I looked around.
A tin case placed in the corner caught my eye.
‘Isn’t this… the tea leaves imported from that kingdom?’
Tea leaves imported from a country with heavy rain and humid weather had once inspired someone to create a successful blended tea from young leaves in this trading company.
Of course, those tea leaves were just a trendy item for a short time.
I didn’t remember it because it was an important business item, but because it was part of a story.
His adoptive father planned to gather the money earned from selling this tea and give Selene a farewell gift.
‘Then I’ll just invest so they can import more.’
I spoke casually.
“Ah, I heard some rumors recently. That Swen Trading Company is preparing tea leaves.”
“You heard the rumors? It is truly an excellent tea. Would you like to smell it?”
He opened the tin case and let me smell the tea leaves.
Honestly, it was less impressive than I expected.
‘Isn’t this just flavored tea?’
Maybe because the concept of flavored tea was still unclear here, it might feel revolutionary.
Anyway, it was not a bad item to make a quick profit.
I nodded as if I liked it.
“This is a scent that makes me want to invest more.”
“You have a very sharp eye. Then would you like to review my investment plan and sign the contract?”
“Yes. Let’s do that.”
I took the investment plan from Swen and skimmed through it.
It basically said they would import goods, sell them at a proper price, and make a good profit.
Without much hesitation, I signed it and handed over the check.
There was no reason to worry since I already knew it would succeed.
Swen looked extremely satisfied, his eyes sparkling.
It felt burdensome to keep looking at the eyes of a handsome middle-aged man, so I slowly averted my gaze.
“I didn’t expect you to agree so quickly! I don’t really have anything to give you, but…”
He looked around, then seemed to realize something and placed something on my hand.
“…This is.”
“Yes! While importing silk from the Barken Islands, I thought it had potential as a product, so I brought a few.”
It was the bead that Kelient had been searching for to maintain stable imperial authority.
Because it looked ordinary, it had been mixed with other beads and lost, so it needed to be recovered again.
And now it had suddenly ended up in my hand.
This bead, which would greatly affect future events, was supposed to be carefully kept by Selene and later handed to Kelient.
I pushed away Swen’s hand, who seemed intent on giving it to me.
“It’s fine. I’m not interested in decorative items…”
“If you drill a hole and thread it properly, it will make a wonderful accessory. Look at this beautiful glow.”
Because of that glowing light, it should not be drilled.
Given Swen’s state right now, he might actually turn it into jewelry.
In the end, I reluctantly accepted the fist-sized bead from him.
‘I’ll return this to Selene later. I can just come back secretly.’
It wasn’t needed right now, so I could just send it back through someone.
I raised one corner of my mouth and thanked him.
It felt strangely unsettling, like I had already done something unnecessary.
‘Drained.’
At this rate, when am I supposed to find a townhouse?
After leaving the trading company, my legs lost strength.
The carefully wrapped bead felt as heavy as if it were made of lead.
I went with Susan to a nearby real estate agent.
It was still daytime, so we were able to meet an agent.
“Somewhere close to the imperial family.”
“Pardon?”
“No, just a safe and expensive area.”
I muttered weakly.
It just needed to be somewhere I wouldn’t get exhausted just thinking about going home.
“It’s late today, so it will be hard to look around many places. So I think this place is…”
The place he pointed to was a mansion in an obvious dangerous area, even to someone on their second day in this world.
What’s more, the photo he showed had a building that looked like it would need at least a year of renovation.
“Are you joking?”
Even the agent I met after exhausting my remaining energy seemed like a scammer.
Who would want to live in a mansion that looked like it would collapse in 10 seconds?
I held back my anger and rubbed my forehead.
“Susan, I rushed this. Let’s take our time finding a house.”
“Ah, is that okay?”
“Yes. I might need to come to the capital again anyway.”
If I hadn’t needed to visit Swen Trading Company again, I would have pressured that scammer agent to show better properties.
But I had no energy left.
In the end, I decided to return to the ducal territory.
‘Why don’t my parents even have a townhouse in the capital?’
The sadness of not owning a house in the capital was something I was feeling again here.
I headed back to the mansion, feeling my remaining energy drain away.
Without knowing that I would be too busy with debutante preparations to return to the capital for a while.
When I opened the window, a squirrel was holding a postcard in its mouth.
…Don’t tell me?
Is this some kind of messenger animal?
I reached out my hand toward the squirrel.
‘Amazing! So cool!’
The squirrel carefully walked onto my hand.
Then it dropped the postcard it was holding.
Harriet’s handwriting was visible.
“To Lana,
The debutante is coming soon.
I have a favor to ask.
Please give this squirrel a name.
I decided to raise it so communication between you and me will be easier.
But I don’t think I’m good at naming things.
I’m curious what name you would choose.
I’ll be waiting for your reply.
From Harriet, who is always frustrated with slow communication.”
She’s already busy, and now she wants me to name a squirrel too.
Even while complaining, I found Harriet’s cute behavior somewhat pleasing and slightly lifted the corners of my mouth.
A messenger animal. This small creature carrying only light postcards?
I pouted slightly and gently stroked the squirrel’s head.
“Hm, what would Lana name you?”
I was not good at naming things.
I was born with bad sense, so naming always felt painful.
“Lady, the tailor has arrived. You need to go down for measurements.”
“Yes! Wait a moment.”
I’m in the middle of something very important right now!
Simple names are probably easiest to say and remember.
I stood up from the sofa and proudly shouted at the squirrel.
“Contact!”
“…?”
The squirrel looked at me with a stunned expression.
Just judging by appearance is a bit boring anyway.
Since it has a useful purpose, naming it accordingly is better.
“Contact. Go and deliver messages to your owner. You are Contact.”
“…Chirp, chirp.”
The squirrel cried in dissatisfaction as if telling me to reconsider, but I had no intention of changing the name I worked hard on.
“You don’t like it? Everyone dislikes their name at first.”
“?”
“You all end up living according to the name given to you anyway. It can’t be helped. Accept it.”
I shamelessly insisted and opened the door.
In the middle of this boring debutante preparation, the dress fitting was the only thing I was looking forward to.
A sparkling dress must follow a glamorous event.
Moreover, a debutante—the first appearance in high society as an adult—had to be special.
But Lana Demierd was introverted and rather plain for a ducal daughter.
She had no sense or aesthetic talent that could shake high society.
Even when choosing dresses, she had no memory of the design because she had chosen so carelessly.
Well, I must have picked something decent.
‘Still, I am a princess.’
Excited, I arrived at the reception room and held my breath to suppress a scream.
A dress that was very “Lana Demierd” was there.
