IDGM 51

Chapter 51

Granada came with the merchant to Chloe’s room.

“As I mentioned this morning, I’ve brought the merchant.”

Earlier, Granada had noticed that Chloe did not have suitable clothes to wear in Ronheim. After breakfast, she had promised to call in a merchant for her.

“You found a merchant so quickly. Good.”

Chloe, who had heard that there weren’t many established shopkeepers in Ronheim and that people usually dealt with wandering merchants, looked pleased.

Since they were wanderers, she had thought it would be difficult to find one.

But in Ronheim, finding someone was never that hard.

Whenever even a single traveler visited the town, word spread quickly, and anyone could tell you who they were and what they were doing at that very moment.

Rumors from the outside world might come slowly, but no one spread information faster than the people of Ronheim.

So, finding out which house a traveling merchant was staying in and when he was leaving took only a few minutes.

“Shall I bring him in?”

“Yes, please.”

Chloe pulled her thin shawl tighter around herself. The clothes she wore were too light for the cold, and she kept shivering.

The merchant, burdened with a large bundle, carefully tidied his shabby outfit and stepped into the room.

The maids—except Lamia—looked horrified.

No matter how he tried to neaten himself, his clothes remained dirty and ragged.

Unaware of their expressions, the merchant smiled cheerfully and began spreading his equally dirty and stained bundle out across the carpet.

Granada, used to such sights, casually glanced over the goods he laid out.

“My goodness…”

Vanessa pressed a hand to her forehead.

“How could you possibly bring such things before Her Highness the Princess!”

Only then did the merchant notice the maids’ unpleasant looks and flinch nervously.

But Chloe firmly stopped Vanessa.

“How dare you act so rudely toward my guest? And from now on, address me as ‘Madam.’”

Vanessa pouted and snapped her head away.

Granada thought Chloe seemed to be tolerating Vanessa’s behavior less and treating her with more strictness.

Perhaps she remembered Granada’s advice yesterday about how to deal with her maids.

She doesn’t take lessons lightly.

At that moment, Chloe turned to the merchant.

“I’m looking for some clothes I could wear here. Do you have anything suitable?”

Quickly recognizing who held the authority in the room, the merchant answered energetically with a bright smile.

“Ah, of course! You’re in luck! This very morning, Madam Veloze sold me some fine garments of excellent quality!”

“Madam Veloze?” Chloe tilted her head.

The merchant, aware that Chloe was Arental’s princess—since word about her had already spread throughout Ronheim—explained in detail, as he would to a foreign customer abroad.

“Yes, yes. In Ronheim, the wives of hunters are usually very skilled with their hands and have access to the best hides. They make the finest clothing.”

“I see.”

“Among them, Madam Veloze is especially gifted. Her work is famous even in other countries for being both beautiful and comfortable! Her clothes are not easy to come by, so it’s truly fortunate you have this chance!”

The merchant’s words contained no lies.

Vanessa’s assumption—that such a shabby-looking man would only sell cheap wares—was a mistake.

Madam Veloze’s clothes, which he dealt in, were as fine as those sold in luxury boutiques abroad.

However, Granada frowned slightly. The merchant had begun by showing Chloe Veloze’s clothes—renowned not only for their quality but also for their expense.

After seeing those, no other garments would stand out.

Madam Veloze was indeed a master.

Her clothes were rare, and many people desired them.

So in truth, the poorer Ronheim folk could rarely afford them; they usually ended up being bought by wealthy foreigners.

The merchant spread out beautifully embroidered clothes before Chloe.

These garments, crafted by Madam Veloze, were made of kuna leather—rarer and finer than nyak hide.

Her husband must have had a very successful hunt recently, Granada thought with an inward sigh.

Kuna leather was softer, lighter, and whiter than nyak hide—and much harder to hunt.

Which meant it fetched an extremely high price.

And Mainz has been worrying so much about finances…

Ronheim’s coffers were so empty they could hardly pay the knights, let alone expand the military.

Yet here the merchant was, laying such expensive items before Chloe.

That damned peddler…

Granada lost her composure for a moment, cursing the merchant silently.

Ronheim’s financial state was that precarious.

She prayed Chloe would choose something else, but as expected, Chloe’s eyes lit up at Veloze’s work.

“These are so beautiful! The embroidery is exquisite.”

Of course, Chloe, being from the South, naturally preferred more ornate designs.

Even if she had no particular interest in jewels and dresses, she had grown up surrounded by them.

With sharp discernment, Chloe picked out the most expensive pieces among Veloze’s clothes.

A maid from Ronheim Castle, watching with the merchant, glanced at Granada nervously.

From her eyes, Granada could read the unspoken words: ‘Won’t our prince go bankrupt at this rate?’

But Granada could only close her eyes tightly.

How could she, in front of the merchant, tell her lady to choose cheaper clothes instead?

And since she’s already shown how much she likes them, bargaining is impossible now.

The merchant, oblivious to Granada’s worries, urged Chloe to try them on.

Behind a screen, maids helped her change, pinning the garments to fit her roughly.

When Chloe emerged in Veloze’s dress, Granada considered suggesting she try something else, but quickly abandoned the thought.

The clothes suited her perfectly, as though made just for her.

“They suit you so well! Truly, they’re perfect!”

The merchant exclaimed with genuine excitement.

And it wasn’t mere flattery.

Even Granada was inwardly astonished.

She is breathtakingly beautiful.

I, too, knew why Granada’s face had clouded the moment I chose the garment.

Perhaps I shouldn’t have picked this one.

The thought crossed my mind, but the merchant pressed me to try it on as soon as I touched it, leaving me no chance to put it down.

As I dressed, I kept wondering why Granada wore that expression.

Was this a garment I wasn’t supposed to wear? If so, she would have told me. Was it meant only for ceremonies? But it doesn’t look like that…

It wasn’t a jewel-encrusted party gown, but rather a practical-looking leather cloak and skirt. I hadn’t even considered the price.

I had never bought clothes for myself before.

To me, expensive clothes simply meant pretty ones with lots of jewels.

Even though this was my second life, I had lived the first one trapped in a well, ignorant of such things.

What I had learned from that life was only the web of interests between Andrea and the nobles.

Andrea had never once mentioned clothing prices or palace finances in front of me.

He was probably just as ignorant as I am in such matters.

Would he ever have worried about money while buying clothes?

All such affairs were surely handled by stewards and the palace’s chief administrator.

I only realized Granada’s concern had been about the cost when I overheard Vanessa grumbling.

“Why do they gossip that Her Highness is wasteful just because of a few pieces of clothing? Such ill-mannered people.”

After the merchant left, Vanessa had apparently overheard the other maids whispering outside.

I beckoned her closer.

“What did you just say?”

“They were saying outside that Her Highness is being extravagant.”

“Is that so?”