On the morning of the business trip, Lily handed me a thick fur coat.

“A coat?”

“Yes. Porto is in the northern region.”

“Is it very cold?”

The coat was heavier than I expected. Is it cold enough to need this? I don’t like the cold…

“By the way, aren’t you coming, Lily?”

When I asked, curious about why she only gave me a thick fur coat while she had nothing, Lily nodded.

“No. The Duke decided to go alone on this trip.”

“…What?”

“Didn’t you know? I thought I told you.”

Lily tilted her head.

“This is more of an inspection than a business trip. He plans to tour the village in disguise.”

Sebastian, who had just arrived, chimed in.

“An inspection? So that’s why I’m supposed to wear these clothes.”

Today, instead of my usual dress, I was wearing comfortable pants and a shirt with a thick jacket. It was the plainest outfit I owned.

By the way, an inspection? Does that mean we have to go around together again? I don’t really like that…

“But where’s the Duke?”

Ilion, who I thought would come with Sebastian, was a bit late. Usually, he would have been out first and scolded me for coming out late. Did he oversleep?

“He’ll be out soon.”

Sebastian’s expression seemed a bit dark as he said this. I was about to ask if something was wrong, but as Sebastian said, Ilion soon came down, and I missed my chance.

Ilion briefly apologized for keeping us waiting as soon as he came down.

“Doesn’t Your Grace’s room have a clock…”

“Let’s go then.”

“Ah, no, wait…”

I tried to return the same words he had said to me before, but Ilion cut me off sharply and activated the artifact.

No, wait a moment. I wasn’t finished speaking. I wasn’t going to go alone with you. Hey, wait!

“…I wasn’t finished, ugh, it’s cold.”

I was about to say something to Ilion, but before I could close my lips, I quickly put on the coat Lily had prepared for me as the cold seeped into my body.

“What were you saying?”

“…It’s nothing.”

What’s the use of saying it now that we’re already here?

“You said we’re here for an inspection, right?”

“Yes.”

“You knew but didn’t tell me, right?”

When I looked at him with a sullen expression, he asked what I meant.

“What?”

“Lily’s not coming, Sebastian’s not coming, how am I supposed to enjoy the festival alone?”

“Didn’t you come to help me?”

“…No. Well, that’s true, but…”

If you put it that way, I have nothing to say.

I should have known something was up when things were going too smoothly.

My plan to leave Ilion to work and enjoy the festival with Lily had gone up in smoke.

It seemed that the cold wasn’t a joke. Steam kept escaping from my mouth, and the wind crept in through the gaps in my coat.

If I had known it would be this cold, I should have just asked Ilion to bring back a few crabs when he returned.

“Take this.”

Ilion handed me a necklace as I kept shivering and complaining about the cold.

“What’s this?”

“It’ll keep you warm if you wear it.”

It seemed to be a necklace with magic on it, as warm energy emanated from it.

Why are you being so considerate all of a sudden? Since I was weak to cold anyway, I quickly accepted the item he handed me.

The sky looked like it might snow at any moment. After worriedly looking at the sky that seemed about to snow, I followed Ilion.

“Is this Porto?”

“Yes.”

The place we arrived at looked like the town square, and despite the cold weather, there were more people than I expected.

“I read in the article that there’s a night market in the evening! Let’s come back later to see it!”

“For someone who came to help with work, you’ve made quite a detailed plan to have fun.”

“It’s a rare opportunity, isn’t it?”

As I persistently asked if we could have fun after finishing work while following Ilion, he reluctantly nodded and said okay.

In reality, I never had the leisure to enjoy festivals or travel, so the streets bustling with people, numerous street vendors, and performances in the square were enough to lift my spirits.

Since we rarely came to such places, I felt I should enjoy it enough for Lily’s share too.

“By the way, where are we staying?”

“Sebastian has made reservations for our accommodation.”

“Could it be the Grand Porto Hotel where the previous Empress stayed? I heard their cafe is so beautiful!”

“Well. I don’t think a commoner would stay in such a luxurious hotel.”

As expected, he had a knack for popping my inflated expectations.

“Do we need to be so faithful to being commoners even with accommodation?”

“Are you complaining? I don’t think I forced you to come along.”

Ilion’s lips curled into a smile as he said this, and certain that it was a sneer, I shut my mouth.

Should I just give up and go home at this point? It seems like I’ll lose more than I gain if I stay here.

As Ilion said, staying at the Grand Porto Hotel would be too much for our commoner disguise.

The place we were staying tonight had no cute cafe, nor did it offer breakfast that no Korean would miss.

Instead, it had modern metal windows that let in the winter chill along with moonlight, a nature-friendly space where you could feel the earth’s energy, a straw bed, and a thorough security system.

Additionally, the occasional visiting cockroach and mouse friends provided suitable entertainment in this dreary space with nothing else to do.

Truly, faced with such perfect sleeping arrangements, I stared blankly at the iron bars.

They say when you think it’s too late is actually the earliest time, but that’s wrong.

If you think it’s too late, it really is too late.

“You… I mean, Ilion…”

“What?”

“Are we really spending the night in this jail?”

“……”

Say something! Are we really staying here?

***

The accommodation Sebastian had reserved was an ordinary inn that cost about 5 silver for one night’s stay. A typical inn with a tavern on the first floor and rooms on the second floor.

As soon as I saw the accommodation, regret washed over me.

People are truly fickle creatures. Just because I’ve spent a few days in a soft bed as the Duke’s fiancée, I’m already averse to a hard bed.

And that’s not all…

“I’m taking the bed!”

“……”

“I’m not giving this up. I don’t want to sleep on the floor with cockroaches.”

Ilion just stood there with his arms crossed, saying nothing in response to my words.

There were two people but only one room reserved. The bed was barely big enough for two people to lie down, just a double size.

I should have been suspicious when Sebastian said he made the reservation…

Neither Ilion nor I was happy with the situation, but since there were no other rooms available due to the festival, we had no choice but to enter just to put down our luggage.

“I’ll look for another place to stay.”

“Well, I don’t mind if you do, but I’m fine sleeping with you, Your Grace.”

“There must be at least one room left in this big town.”

Ilion really seemed to hate the idea of sleeping with me.

“Do you hate sleeping with me that much?”

Knowing the reason, I deliberately hovered around him, trying to get on his nerves. Ilion rubbed his temples and muttered,

“If you’ve unpacked, come out quickly. And don’t call me Your Grace outside.”

“What? Then what should I call you?”

“Call me whatever you want.”

“Really? Then, mister? Uncle? How about brother? Or… honey?”

As I followed Ilion, suggesting what to call him, he turned around, apparently annoyed.

“…Just call me by my name.”

“Alright, fine. Oh, and please call me baby bird.”

“……”

Needless to say, my words were completely ignored.

He only answers what he wants to answer.

“So, what are we investigating?”

“We’ve received reports that the local market has been acting strange since last year. The merchant guild has been continuously running at a loss.”

“Why?”

“When you trade, you usually mix profitable and unprofitable items to sell. If you try to take only the profitable items, you’ll face backlash from the region.”

Well, trust is important in trade too. I nodded and listened to Ilion’s words.

“But recently, the local merchants have been blatantly trying to pass only unprofitable items to our guild.”

“Then what about the profitable items?”

“They’re passing them to other guilds.”

“Hmm, then can’t the Celestine Guild offer better conditions and get the items? Like buying at a higher price?”

“I thought so too, but they say they won’t sell no matter how much money we offer.”

“Why?”

“That’s what we need to find out now.”

Ilion answered my question like that, but judging by his expression, he seemed to have some idea. This inspection was to confirm that with his own eyes.

As I wasn’t particularly interested in guilds or trades, I just nodded and followed him.

Probably to observe the atmosphere, Ilion looked around the shopping district, visiting various stores.

Since it was enjoyable to browse shops even without buying anything, I followed him closely, absorbed in looking at new items.

“Wow, why is this so expensive?”

I picked up a pencil set that was displayed as a town souvenir, but I put it back down with a groan.

Souvenirs are usually similar wherever you go, and you can often see souvenirs embroidered with the imperial family’s crest in the capital too.

While a pencil set in the capital costs just over 1 silver, here it was slightly over 2 silver. The quality seemed much lower too, and even considering labor costs, craftsmanship, and transportation costs, this was excessively expensive.

Come to think of it, not just the pencil set, but the prices of all products in this souvenir shop were set quite high overall.

Even considering the festival season, this is a bit…

After leaving the souvenir shop, we visited the vegetable store, bakery, and fish market next door in order.

I could understand that vegetables were expensive because they don’t grow well in the northern region, but it was incomprehensible that the fish prices in this port city were similar to those in the capital.

The bread too, even if they had to bring flour from other cities, seemed expensive for a city with active trade.

However, when we asked why the items were so expensive, the merchants avoided answering, saying that goods weren’t coming in these days and there was nothing they could do. If we kept pressing for answers, they would even get angry and chase us out, so the investigation wasn’t going easy.

Tired of walking around without much result, I stopped Ilion for a moment.

“You… I mean, Ilion.”

“What?”

“My feet hurt.”

“……”

“Ah, I’d love to eat candy.”

As I muttered, looking at the candy being sold in the distance, Ilion stared at me.

“…Candy. Candy.”

“……”

“Surely, you’re not going to refuse to buy candy when your fiancée is begging so desperately? It’s just one candy.”

“Money…”

Ilion opened his mouth with a troubled expression.

“…Money?”

“I didn’t bring any.”

“…What?”

What is he saying now?