WTTAO CH 04

“What? Your… first love?”

Gray asked back, looking genuinely surprised.

“Why? Am I not allowed to look for my first love?”

“Ahem. Well, of course, there’s no reason you can’t. What does this person look like?”

He lightly covered the corners of his mouth with his hand, which had begun to twitch into a smile. Something about his reaction felt suspicious, but Roselia told Gray what Cardian looked like and that he was a commoner.

She also told him that he probably had a father and an older sister as family. Gray took out a notebook and wrote down everything she said.

“Understood. Then, what information are you offering to trade with me?”

“Before I tell you, please take a look at what I’d like to add to the contract.”

Roselia handed him the terms she had prepared in advance. They stated that the profits from any information she provided would be split fifty-fifty, and that if either party provided false information, they would have to pay double the agreed-upon penalty.

Gray skimmed through the document before placing it on the table.

“You’re quite thorough for someone so young. Shall I hear the information first before we draw up the contract based on these terms?”

“Alright. The information I’m giving you is this: I want you to buy up large quantities of hibiscus herbs from all over the empire, not just around here.”

“Hibiscus? You mean that herb that’s so common that even herbalists practically throw it away?”

“That’s right. It’s common now, but it will become scarce very soon. So trust me and hurry to purchase a large quantity within a week.”

Roselia answered Gray’s puzzled expression with a smile.

“And use this to pay for the request and to help cover the cost of purchasing the herbs.”

She placed a leather pouch on the table. It contained sixty gold coins—the amount she had left after setting aside the spending money she had given Mary as a reward for her efforts.

Gray picked up the leather pouch, opened it to check its contents, and then set it back down.

“Understood. It’s hard to believe, but I trust that Lady Roselia of House Hailen wouldn’t lie to me.”

“W-What? How did you know who I was?”

“I’ve known for quite some time that there was a beautiful teenage lady with silver hair and blue eyes in House Hailen.”

Gray smiled casually as he watched her astonished expression.

‘I suppose he didn’t become the head of an information guild for nothing.’

“The fact that you already knew my identity makes me trust you even more. Shall we draw up the contract, then?”

And so, Roselia entered into a contract with Gray, the head of the Golden Whale Guild and the owner of the merchant organization.

“A message came from the Golden Whale Guild.”

Mary handed Roselia a plain-looking envelope just as she was about to go out for a walk. Exactly one week had passed since Roselia had met Guild Master Gray.

“Really? Then I’ll read it while I walk around the garden.”

“Yes. Then I’ll prepare some refreshments and bring them to the gazebo in the garden a little later.”

“Okay. Please do. See you later.”

Before her regression, Roselia had practically been confined to her room. These days, however, she often spent her time in the garden rather than staying inside the mansion.

When Roselia reached the arched gazebo at the back of the garden, she casually looked around.

After confirming that no one was nearby, she sat down on the white bench inside the gazebo and took the letter from her dress.

The only thing written on the outside of the envelope was a simple ‘G.’

She pulled out the letter and unfolded it, revealing handwriting that was barely legible.

“I have purchased large quantities of hibiscus at low prices from herbalists throughout the empire and stored them in three large warehouses.”

‘Oh~ He works faster than I expected. Though, if there’s one problem, it’s his terrible handwriting.’

Roselia nodded to herself as she thought that. However, as she read the next part, her brows furrowed.

“And it seems I’ll be finding your first love soon.”

‘Ugh. I shouldn’t have called Cardian my first love. I should’ve just said he was a friend.’

There was no point regretting it now. What was done was done.

‘Surely Gray won’t find Cardian and start talking nonsense about him being my first love or something, right?’

Roselia let out a small sigh, carefully tucked Gray’s letter into her dress, and stood up.

‘There’s still some time before Mary brings the refreshments, so I might as well finish looking around the garden.’

She stepped out of the gazebo and slowly walked along the neatly maintained paths, admiring the fresh green leaves and unfamiliar flower buds.

The breeze, now considerably warmer, carried the scents of flowers and grass. She felt her body and mind naturally relaxing.

Then, a strange sound reached her ears.

‘What is that sound?’

She looked around, trying to locate its source. Soon, she realized that it was a human voice coming from a secluded corner of the garden.

Curious, Roselia carefully walked toward the sound.

As she approached, she caught sight of a gray-haired figure from behind through the trees. There was something very familiar about him.

“How many times is this going to take?!”

‘Oh no. That’s Sven! What on earth is he doing here?’

Roselia hurriedly hid behind a nearby tree, peeking out just enough to see what was happening. After watching for a moment, she realized something was strange.

‘What is that?’

Squinting, she saw a brown rabbit crouching about two steps away from Sven. Its long ears drooped down, and it seemed to have trouble moving one of its hind legs.

And floating directly above the rabbit was Sven’s lower water spirit.

“Heal it already!”

‘Let’s just leave. If I run into him for no reason, I have a feeling my entire day will be ruined.’

Thinking that, Roselia carefully began backing away from the tree where she had been hiding.

Then—

“The rabbit’s hind legs are too weak? Then should I injure its front leg so you can heal it?”

Roselia froze at Sven’s words.

‘What did he just say? Was he planning to deliberately injure the rabbit and order his spirit to heal it?’

Horrified, she quickly hid herself behind the tree again and watched Sven closely.

Despite Sven’s constant urging, the lower water spirit simply floated above the rabbit’s curled-up body, just as it had before.

“You useless spirit. So that’s how you’re going to be, huh? Then I really will have to injure the rabbit’s front leg!”

Sven reached down and grabbed the thick branch lying beside him.

Roselia immediately sprang out from behind the tree.

“Stop!”

She spread both arms and stepped between Sven and the spirit, glaring at him.

Startled by her sudden appearance, Sven flinched.

But when he realized that it was Roselia standing in his way, his expression turned incredulous.

“What are you doing here? Why are you telling me whether I can stop my training or not?”

“What? Training? You call injuring a perfectly healthy rabbit and ordering your spirit to heal it training?”

“Hah. What would someone like you, who doesn’t have even the slightest bit of ability, know? Don’t interfere and get out of the way!”

Despite Sven’s intimidating glare, Roselia refused to move.

“Don’t you feel sorry for the rabbit and the spirit?”

“What’s there to feel sorry about? This is part of my training! Now move!”

“Part of your training, my foot. I’m not moving!”

“You little—!”

Sven angrily raised the hand holding the branch. It looked as though he was about to bring it down on her.

Roselia shrank back and squeezed her eyes shut.

“…Lady Roselia! Lady Roselia! Where are you?”

Just then, a voice calling for her came from nearby.

It was Mary.

“Damn it!”

Sven hurriedly lowered the hand he had raised, a curse escaping his lips.

When Roselia opened her eyes, she saw Sven glaring at her viciously.

“You’re lucky today. Next time, I won’t let you off so easily!”

Sven threw the branch far away, turned around, and quickly walked off in the opposite direction.

His lower water spirit followed him, but then suddenly stopped in midair.

At that moment, a faint yet clear and gentle sound echoed inside Roselia’s mind.

Her pupils widened in surprise.

‘W-What is this?’

The sound was so faint that she couldn’t make out the words clearly, but somehow, she felt as though it was expressing gratitude.

She hurriedly looked around for the spirit, but it had already disappeared after following Sven.

Roselia carefully picked up the injured rabbit and walked in the direction of Mary’s voice. Soon, Mary’s voice grew closer.

“Lady Roselia! Where on earth were you—Oh my! Where did you get that rabbit?”

“I happened to find a rabbit with an injured leg. Is there anyone at the mansion who can treat it?”

Mary thought for a moment before answering.

“I think Mr. Hans, the stable master, should be able to treat it. He takes care of the horses, after all.”

“Then please take this rabbit to him. I need to hurry to the study in the main building right now.”

“Yes. I’ll take it to Mr. Hans right away.”

After Roselia handed the injured rabbit to her, Mary hurried away toward the stables.