Marked as the Tyrant's Daughter-in-Law - Chapter 30

“Even if you’re doing manual labor somewhere, you don’t feed red sugar beets to your daughter. Is this even fit for human consumption? It’s so astringent that even adults have trouble chewing it.”

The shop owner scolded Adam, looking at him as if he were a father committing child abuse.

Ah… So this was how red sugar beets were perceived in the city.

It seemed like an excellent choice not to reveal the name right away when I first popularized red sugar beets through Mrs. Alens. If people had known it was red sugar beets, no one would have tried to taste it.

Attracted by the commotion, owners of nearby shops began to gather around to observe the situation.

“What’s this, feeding red sugar beets to a child?”

“My, my, such a normal-looking young man.”

“Look how thin the child is. Goodness, how can a person do such a thing?”

“This is worthy of divine punishment!”

Murmur, murmur-

In an instant, Adam had become a child abuser.

‘Maybe I should have just said it was for horses.’

“Look how robust he is, while the child is so skinny.”

“He must only feed it to the child, tsk tsk.”

Some people even started tearing up at the story of a father who only fed red sugar beets to his daughter.

Hmm… In this case.

I have no choice but to defend Adam.

I put my hands on my hips and said confidently.

“Feed me? Red sugar beets are my favorite fruit. I eat them on my own!”

“Oh, sob! Good heavens!”

“Poor thing, you must have never tasted anything but red sugar beets.”

“To think something less tasty than my shoes is considered the most delicious.”

Suddenly, the shop owners went back to their stores and started bringing out fruits they sold, pooling small amounts together.

“I’ve never heard such a pitiful story before.”

“You, that’s not the way to live.”

A man chimed in harshly, trying to deny Adam’s way of life.

Adam looked at me with an extremely wronged expression, but… I only spoke the truth.

It’s these uncles and aunties who are misunderstanding on their own.

Still, feeling guilty about Adam suffering more damage, I decided to explain.

“You’re misunderstanding… And, I’m not this person’s daughter. He’s my late father’s… well, acquaintance…”

My words made people’s reactions even more intense.

“Oh my, so he’s not even her real father?”

“Her dead father must have entrusted his daughter to a friend, only for him to torment the child by feeding her red sugar beets. It’s unforgivable…!”

“Oh dear… Her poor dead father must be turning in his grave.”

“You can’t live like that, mister!”

The merchants criticized him while handing me a basket of fruits they had collected together. It was full of delicious-looking fruits.

“Child, stay strong…”

The lady who gave me the fruit basket encouraged me with pitying eyes.

Having received the fruit basket with my small hands in a daze, I opened my mouth again.

“No, really…”

“Miss, please stop.”

As I tried to defend Adam once more, he hurriedly stopped me.

Then he muttered in a low voice.

“…The more you speak up, miss, the more of a scoundrel I become.”

☁⊹₊┈ㆍ┈ ▫ ┈ㆍ🌱ㆍ┈ ▫ ┈ㆍ┈₊⊹☁

In the end, we went to buy red sugar beets but came back with a bunch of donated fruits!

Adam mumbled gloomily that he would never go to the market again.

Saying he had received all the scolding he’d get in a lifetime today.

“Live your life properly! Mister!”

“Little one, come back if you need help.”

“It seems people’s perception of red sugar beets is worse than I thought. At this rate, we can’t expect many people at the tasting event… What should we do?”

“Indeed. To be honest, if it weren’t for you, miss, I wouldn’t have even known there was a species called red sugar beets. I heard it’s not even preferred among horse feed.”

“Then what should we do…”

“First of all, shouldn’t the common people be informed that red sugar beets have been completely re-evaluated among the nobility these days?”

Adam, despite his gloomy state, offered quite a reasonable opinion.

“That’s right! My dishonor must be quickly cleared by revealing the truth about red sugar beets. So they can realize they’ve misunderstood an innocent person.”

Suddenly regaining his energy, he clenched his fist and spoke with determination.

It seems the earlier misunderstanding of being called trash was quite a shock.

“I think we’ll need Mrs. Alens for this too. I’m sorry to trouble her again, but… we’ll have to ask for her help.”

“That’s a good idea, miss. Since there’s a lot of overlap between lower nobility and upper-class commoners, it would be good to spread a positive perception of red sugar beets, mainly focusing on the lower nobility. Like how they enjoyed red sugar beet sherbet at the masked ball.”

Among commoners, the upper class has a strong tendency to imitate the nobility.

If they learn that sherbet and snacks made from well-processed red sugar beets are trendy among the nobility these days, it won’t be difficult for the trend to spread among commoners as well.

“We lost something from our market exploration.”

For instance, Adam’s honor.

“But we also gained something!”

Our ‘Mylar Shop’, named after putting our heads together with Adam, was designed to cater to not only the nobility but also the commoners’ demands. We almost ended up attracting only flies by proceeding without checking the image of red sugar beets.

“I, I need to write a letter to Mrs. Alens.”

Act quickly, and prepare thoroughly!

I said, clenching my small fist.

“I’ll deliver the letter swiftly for you.”

And not long after, a maid brought a plate of well-peeled fruits.

They were the ones we received from the merchants at the market earlier.

Taking a bite, the sweet flesh spread pleasantly in my mouth.

Mmm, delicious!

☁⊹₊┈ㆍ┈ ▫ ┈ㆍ🌱ㆍ┈ ▫ ┈ㆍ┈₊⊹☁

A faint smile appeared and disappeared on Parmes’ lips as he sat on the imperial throne, listening to the reports of the two ministers.

As Briton reported, they searched for internal spies, and as a result of interrogation, two of them confessed to being spies.

And now they were trying to interrogate them to find out the root of all dangers.

How dare they try to harm Arinel, they must eradicate that threat from its roots.

Those who dared to touch Arinel, his dear daughter-in-law.

‘I wonder what Arinel is doing now.’

Meanwhile, Mrs. Alens noticed that Parmes was thinking about something else during the report on state affairs.

‘Your Majesty you’re the same whether in Galnem or here.’

So Fiolena slipped in a comment at the end of her report.

“The Imperial Household Department plans to select red sugar beet sherbet as one of the new dishes for entertaining distinguished guests. Also, we plan to showcase red sugar beet products at an exhibition attended by newly risen nobles centered on commerce and the middle class.”

Parmes nodded slightly at Mrs. Alens’ words.

“That’s a good idea.”

At this, Famel’s eyebrows twitched, then he snorted and bowed to the emperor, reporting:

“Please allow us to store red sugar beet rice cakes as military provisions, Your Majesty. There’s no better food for military provisions than this, with its long shelf life and ease of storage. And if you could send Arinel to the Military Department for a few weeks to demonstrate how to make it…”

“Even for military provisions, food production and storage are the Imperial Household Department’s job, Your Grace. We at the Imperial Household Department are the ones who need Arinel. Hohoho!”

Mrs. Alens quickly tried to steal Famel’s plan to bring Arinel.

Immediately, veins popped on the excited Famel’s neck.

“My! You’ve already approached Arinel so early and monopolized time with her, yet you’re still greedy! I hear Arinel isn’t interested in the Imperial Household Department’s affairs, so you’ve already lost to me, madam.”

“Would she be any more interested in the Military Department? And Arinel dislikes being the center of attention, so she won’t enjoy being with Your Grace, whose appearance stands out.”

“Oh my, resorting to personal attacks. It seems the Imperial Household Minister’s eloquent tongue is slipping!”

“Does Your Grace know how much you troubled Arinel’s reputation by making people tremble at the masked ball? There’s a rumor among young ladies that if they greet Arinel, the Military Minister will take them away!”

The quickly escalating argument was no different from the usual scene in Galnem.

The only difference was that the Finance Minister, who used to be at the peak of these fights, was away on other business and couldn’t participate.