Before marrying into the Limburg Margraviate, I wanted to gather everything I might need.
However, I had no money I could freely spend, so I decided to sell some magic stones.
Magic stones might be in short supply, but I had no idea how much they were actually worth.
I created several of them using some of the jewelry and furnishings in our home. Still, if a young woman like me tried to sell them herself, the buyer would only take advantage of my inexperience.
I asked the steward to summon a merchant who dealt in magic stones.
When the merchant arrived and examined them, his eyes widened in astonishment.
“These magic stones are of exceptional quality! Stones of this caliber rarely appear on the market!”
He offered to purchase approximately ten of them for thirty gold coins.
“Should you acquire any more magic stones, I would be delighted to purchase them. Please summon me at any time.”
“Thank you.”
With these thirty gold coins, I could begin purchasing the things I needed.
My maid and I first visited a magic shop.
The establishment sold items imbued with all manner of spells. Every available space within the store was packed with merchandise.
A beastkin clerk with a pair of ram’s horns approached us and asked what sort of items we were searching for.
“I am looking for a storage bag and an appraisal item.”
“We have some excellent products available.”
A storage bag was a Magia Item capable of holding a large number of objects.
“We recently received a shipment of convenient shoulder-pouch models.”
The pouch could apparently hold around five hundred items.
It cost ten gold coins.
That was quite expensive, but it would be extremely useful for transporting supplies, so I decided to purchase it.
“As for appraisal items, we have bracelet, ring, and eyeglass models.”
Although I had learned appraisal magic, casting the spell every single time was troublesome. I wanted to rely on a Magia Item instead.
The more precise the appraisal magic, the more expensive the item became.
If I tried to save money now, I might regret it later, so I decided to purchase a high-performance model.
“In that case, I recommend this bracelet.”
Its magical power could be replenished using magic stones.
I found that feature convenient as well and decided to buy it.
“This one costs five gold coins.”
It was an expensive purchase, but it would surely prove useful eventually.
Afterward, we headed to the flea market held in the central district.
My maid regarded the place with suspicion, but I needed to acquire materials that could be transformed into magic stones.
We first visited a money changer to exchange the gold coins into smaller denominations.
All sorts of old goods were sold cheaply at the flea market.
Among them were valuable bargains waiting to be discovered.
I activated the appraisal bracelet I had just purchased and kept its information display active.
One after another, I bought brooches, earrings, silver spoons, forks, and other objects that seemed likely to produce high-quality magic stones. Each item went directly into my storage pouch.
I must have purchased close to a hundred items.
That should be enough for today.
After returning home, I began producing magic stones.
However, I soon encountered a problem.
Although I had tried to purchase small objects, several were still too large to fit inside the Magitris Workshop.
As I wondered what to do, instructions for another incantation appeared before me.
Auto Drain.
I decided to test it.
“Auto Drain, Formare!”
The objects in front of me were immediately absorbed into the Magitris Workshop.
What an incredibly convenient function.
With this, I would no longer need to place every object inside the box individually before reciting the spell.
Magic stones spilled over the edges of the box.
Just as I had hoped, every one of them was of excellent quality.
I sold the newly created stones to the merchant and received one hundred gold coins.
I had earned far more money than expected.
I used those funds to purchase additional Magia Items.
There was incense that repelled monsters, scrolls containing offensive magic, scrolls containing protective spells, magical potions, and many other useful supplies.
I also bought fur products to protect myself from the cold.
Naturally, I did not forget to prepare gifts for the Limburg family.
For Lord Hartwig, the Margrave of Limburg, I purchased a bow whose arrows were guaranteed to strike their target.
For his uncle and aunt, I chose a magical lamp powered by magic stones.
For the twin sisters, I selected an assortment of cosmetics currently fashionable in the royal capital.
I hoped they would be pleased with them.
I also managed to master barrier magic before my departure.
I could only feel grateful to the mage who had agreed to teach me on such short notice.
Then, at last, the day of my departure arrived.
Father had been discharged from the hospital and recovered enough to see me off.
“Aurelia, take care of yourself.”
“I will… Father, please take good care of your health as well.”
“Yes, I understand.”
An escort arrived from the Limburg Margraviate.
The journey from the royal capital to Limburg took approximately one month by carriage.
I had prepared myself for a long and grueling journey.
However, what arrived was not a carriage.
It was a wyvern carrying a suspended passenger cabin beneath its body.
The wyvern landed in the garden, and a knight descended from its back.
He had long, slender limbs and landed gracefully as his cloak billowed behind him.
He was a strikingly handsome young man with long blond hair tied high behind his head.
When Carlene married into the territory in my first life, I was certain she had said she traveled by carriage.
Had the circumstances changed?
The knight approached me, lowered himself onto one knee, and bowed his head.
“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Hartwig de Limburg, Margrave of Limburg.”
To my astonishment, the man who was to become my husband had personally come all this way to escort me.
Father and I could only stare at him in surprise.
