SWS CH 03

Chapter 03

I went straight back to the market.

A sign I hadn’t noticed earlier now caught my eye.

A name that appeared often in the original novel.
The market where a sword spirit was said to appear and devour goods.

People here believed the spirit was nothing more than a legend, but much later, when Docep returned with his companions, he would encounter it.

Of course, that was long after the Bloodymary family had fallen.

For now, it was just a peaceful marketplace.

“The shop I noticed earlier was…”

I searched for the store I had seen in passing.

“Here it is.”

Up close, the ingredients didn’t look especially fresh.

Still, they were much better than the shop next door.

“Huh? Aren’t you Halara?”

A shop owner with a thick beard approached me.

Does he know Halara?

Well, this was a neighborhood where poor commoners lived together. It would’ve been stranger if no one recognized her.

Still, I couldn’t casually pretend to know someone I didn’t.

“Hello.”

The moment I greeted him—

“Huh??”

The man raised his voice in surprise.

“W-What is it?”

“Eh? What’s this? Am I dreaming’?”

Did Halara have a bad relationship with him?

Why was he reacting like that?

“Did I speak casually to you before? Were we close? Sorry, my head’s been a mess lately. My memory’s a bit fuzzy.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Then…?”

What kind of relationship was this?

“I know you, miss. But you wouldn’t know me! You’re famous around here, after all. Ha ha!”

Thank goodness.
They weren’t acquainted.

I quickly composed myself and lifted the corners of my mouth into a smile.

“I’ll be coming here often from now on.”

“Oh? Really?”

“Yes. This shop looks like it has the widest variety and the best ingredients in the market.”

I smiled sweetly and laid it on thick.

Getting on good terms with market shop owners was one of my specialties.

Back when I lived with my in-laws, they insisted that ingredients for ancestral rites be inspected meticulously. Every shopping trip was like a battlefield.

“Well, I’ll be! The beauty of the village coming to my shop often? Thought you never touched market food at all!”

“Haha…”

That definitely sounded like a very Halara-like rumor.

It was probably true.

How many cigars had I seen discarded in her house’s ashtray?

They were likely gifts from noblemen. No doubt they treated her to good food as well.

At least give clothes or expensive jewelry. Something easier to sell.

I sighed internally, then smiled warmly at the shop owner.

“I’m planning to start buying ingredients here and cooking for myself.”

“Good, good! New stock just came in. Take your time and look around!”

“Yes.”

The man ran off toward a cart that had just arrived, leaving me free to browse quietly.

Fruit is expensive, but potatoes and grains are relatively cheap.

As expected of the Bloodymary territory, a land ruled by a knightly house.

Unlike other great noble territories, most of Bloodymary’s land was used to grow wheat and potatoes.

Fruits that spoiled easily were grown only on a very small scale, and flowers were rare.

You could call it extreme cost efficiency.

Because the territory lay on the outskirts of the Western Empire, trade wasn’t very active. Even when traders came through, inspections were strict, making travel difficult.

This closed-off way of managing the land turned Bloodymary into a massive fortress, but it also made luxury goods and cultural development scarce.

“Still, it’s nice that vegetables are diverse.”

Carrots and onions, at least, were cheap.

That was when I saw a man grab an apple that cost ten times as much as a carrot.

His long hair hung down, covering his eyes.

Did he get splashed with water or something?

His hair was damp, as if he’d been doused. He wore a plain lace-up shirt commoners usually wore, but it was yellowed with dirt and dust.

Even so, his physique couldn’t be hidden by a cheap shirt. This wasn’t a body built overnight.

A mercenary?

Judging by the sword at his waist, that seemed likely.

The Bloodymary family went to war often, so they were always short on knights. I’d heard there were several mercenary groups operating in the territory.

With rough hands, the mercenary picked up another large apple.

My eyes followed his movements. The apple was enormous, yet it fit perfectly in his palm.

“That one—”

And then—

“Take a different apple instead.”

The K-auntie instinct kicked in.

“…?”

“That apple. You were fooled by its looks. The inside’s already waterlogged and mealy.”

It looked glossy because it had been polished with oil.

The stem was already rotten.

It probably wasn’t fully spoiled, but one bite would ruin your mood.

“Hm. They all look about the same.”

I rummaged through the basket.

“Oh, this one’s fine. Take this instead. I can’t promise the sweetness since I haven’t tried it, but it’s fresher than the others.”

I handed him a smaller but solid, well-ripened apple.

The mercenary took it without a word.

Crunch—!

He crushed the apple he had been holding in his hand.

“Gasp! Why would you break such an expensive apple?!”

It crumbled like a cookie and fell to the ground.

Even if mercenaries earned well, that was excessive.

“If you weren’t going to buy it, you shouldn’t have touched it. I’ll talk to the owner, so—”

But the mercenary didn’t listen.

He turned away indifferently and walked off.

“Hey!”

Without paying.

I hurried after him, but he had already disappeared into the crowd.

“Wait!”

That was when someone called out from behind me. The shop owner was staring at me with a stern expression.

“Halara, do you know that mercenary who just left? He didn’t pay.”

“Ah… well, um…”

“If someone takes goods, someone’s got to pay, right?”

Yes. Obviously…

In the end, I pulled out my wallet with an awkward smile.

I’ll definitely find that mercenary later and make him pay me back.

***

It had been three days since Halara stormed into the Bloodymary ducal house.

Carlos, the head butler of the great Bloodymary family, was holding his head and taking deep breaths.

Respected even by other butlers and maids, he had assisted the family’s affairs since his father’s generation.

And yet, this was the first time he had made a mistake.

“Carlos. You can do this. You can get through it. Father, please watch over me.”

He opened a pocket watch containing his father’s portrait and muttered affirmations to himself.

He had experienced all kinds of situations while serving the family, but tailing someone was new to him.

“It’s not that hard. I’m not following a trained knight. It’s just one woman.”

As soon as Francesca ordered an investigation into Halara, Carlos had his subordinates gather information.

But all they learned was that she was an unparalleled beauty and that her looks had earned her the derogatory nickname “temptress” in the village.

She didn’t work and rarely left her house unless she was meeting a man. There was only so much the servants could find out.

In the end, Carlos decided to act personally.

She claimed it wasn’t a pregnancy, but I can’t leave loose ends.

Since this was the duchess’s order, he would see it through perfectly.

Disappointing one’s master meant one wasn’t even qualified to be a butler.

Swallowing the tears gathering at the corners of his eyes, Carlos left the ducal castle. For someone who had spent nearly all his life inside its walls, it felt like a rare outing.

The farther he got from the castle, the faster his heart beat.

That must be her.

It didn’t take long to find Halara.

Her appearance stood out too much.

She wore a much simpler dress than when she had come to the estate days earlier, her hair tightly tied back.

The plain outfit only made her striking looks stand out more.

I heard she lives off rich men, eating well and living comfortably.

They said men had never left her side since she was young, thanks to her beauty. She was used to being pampered.

She didn’t look like someone who had ever done menial work.

Carlos clicked his tongue.

Pathetic.

She was exactly the type he despised.

The kind who clung to others without effort.

Was I too sensitive? She probably approached the young master just to squeeze money out of him, since he’s known as a brute.

Then she must’ve been intimidated by the family’s power and fled.

A sigh of relief escaped him.

This might end more easily than expected.

Given her behavior, it was likely she was seeing several men besides Docep. If he could catch her in the act, the matter would be settled quickly.

In terms of persistence within the family, I, Carlos, come right after the young masters.

He adjusted his clothes and took up a position nearby, prepared to spend several nights outside if necessary.

“Aiyo!”

At that moment, a middle-aged woman popped out from the neighboring house.

She looked like a neighbor.

If she starts talking about men coming and going, that’d be perfect.

Carlos hid behind the fence and pricked up his ears.