Marked as the Tyrant's Daughter-in-Law - Chapter 33

I gestured towards the child.

“Here, would you like to come over?”

And to the child who approached hesitantly alone, I offered a salad in a paper cone.

To the child who was hesitating, looking at their mother’s expression, wondering whether to take it or not, I smiled and said.

“Try it. It’s free, just to taste.”

“Really?”

The child’s expression brightened as they took it and put the red sugar beet salad, which felt similar to a fruit salad, into their mouth.

When the sweet sugar beet juice burst in their mouth, the child’s expression changed as if dreaming.

“Wow… It’s so delicious…!”

The child’s mother also approached slowly.

“Please try one. It’s great as a snack!”

Before long, the front of our tasting tent became bustling.

“Unbelievable, is this that tasteless red sugar beet?”

“I was looking into it because they said it’s good for children’s brains, but I couldn’t bring myself to try it because it tasted awful!”

“It’s so delicious. It’s crunchy.”

“I can’t believe it! This is that horse feed?”

“Wait. That man and child over there, aren’t they the ones who bought red sugar beets last time?”

Among them were people I had seen in the market before.

“Give me one too.”

“Me too, miss!”

Adam, with a dazed expression, noticed the market people looking at him and shrugged, then distributed tasting samples to them without fail.

“This is…!”

“Oh. With this taste… no wonder children would like it.”

The resentment that had been in Adam’s eyes was finally washed away.

We also distributed flyers with the official opening date of our business and the items for sale.

Right now, in the underground storage, deliciously aging sugar beets were waiting for the day they would be sold.

“You’re truly amazing. To think of promoting the business like this.”

Adam, who hadn’t been sure of the effect when I said I would hold a tasting event, stuck out his tongue as he saw the people flocking.

“I told you to trust me, Adam.”

Hehe, the tasting event is a success!

And then, I saw someone crossing through the crowd, coming closer.

Just as Adam was about to stop them, saying they shouldn’t come in here.

“Wait a moment!”

“…”

Passing Adam who had hesitated at my restraint, a boy stood in front of me.

Black eyes inside a white mask were looking at me.

“…Did you come to help, Mas?”

I had mentioned that I would be holding a tasting event today… but I didn’t know he would come like this.

Mas nodded and silently rolled up his sleeves.

And then, people suddenly started murmuring as they looked behind.

‘Huh? What’s going on?’

…What’s that? What are those armored cavalrymen?!

The ground shook with each step they took.

People watched the approaching army, frozen with fear in their eyes.

There were about a hundred soldiers, all wearing armor, with terrifying spears in each hand.

And the man at the forefront… winked at me and started shouting loudly.

“Hahaha! Listen, my men!”

The tanned-skinned Minister of Military Affairs, Famel Guermont, showing off his mohawk hairstyle!

Uncle, why are you appearing here…?

“Today, you shall participate as support troops for the great general who will lead the Military Department in the future, and show off your skills!”

“Woooah!”

Wh-what?

“Any enemies threatening Arinel Mylar will not dare raise their heads before the great army of Albreon! Our spears will pierce the sky and annihilate the enemies!”

“Wooooah!!!”

Is ‘annihilation’ a word to use at a mere tasting event?!

But Famel aside, why are the soldiers so excited?!

“War! War! War! War!”

The soldiers started shouting in unison with Famel’s signal.

The ground shook as they pounded the ground with the bottoms of their spears.

Boom- Boom- Boom-

The people who were tasting were trembling with paper cones in their hands at the sudden appearance of the army.

“W-war, you say?!”

“I-I’m scared… Waaah!”

“This child is going to be the head of the Military Department?!”

At this rate, my tasting war… no, the tasting event will be ruined!

“N-no, everyone. This is…!”

Just as I was flustered and trying to salvage the situation.

“We’re from the Department of Economy!”

Young men in uniforms started walking towards us from somewhere.

I could see Famel’s eyebrows twitching.

“…Miss.”

The man approached me closely and spoke in a hushed tone, almost whispering.

“He said you would know if I mentioned Uncle Amrus. We came out to help you at his request.”

I looked at him with surprised eyes.

Uncle Amrus said to help me?

Then these people must be Uncle Amrus’s juniors.

Famel snorted and asked in a stern metallic voice.

“What business does the Department of Economy have with Military affairs! We of the Military Department have already taken the position of Arinel’s support troops!”

Support troops… I never requested that…

“We understand that Your Grace Duke Guermont wants to help with the young lady’s tasting event, but he said this would rather weaken our forces.”

“What?!”

“Your Grace, what do you think is the purpose of this tasting event? Isn’t it an event to distribute food to many people, and through such an experience, promote product purchases based on the positive impression they will have of the products when the young lady’s business starts in the future?”

Famel tried to deny it in an angry voice, but the man from the Department of Economy spoke without hesitation.

And because he kept saying the right things, Famel’s momentum gradually began to subside.

“He said that if Your Grace wants to help the young lady, you should disarm the soldiers and have them participate in the tasting event.”

“Going to the battlefield without weapons is…”

“Didn’t I tell you? This is not a battlefield, and weapons will only weaken the young lady’s forces. That’s what he said.”

The man who finished speaking panted as if exhaling a held breath.

It’s not easy for anyone to express their opinion in front of Famel Guermont’s tremendous aura.

Uncle Amrus, you really have brave people by your side…

And it seems he made his intentions very clear.

“…..!”

Famel, who had been looking disgruntled for a while, finally seemed to make a decision and exhaled a strong breath through his nose.

“As myself, I only want to strike down the enemies’ heads with this iron at once, but I cannot harm our forces.”

Wh-whose head are you talking about striking down?!

He trembled his fist and then raised it towards the sky.

And he roared at the soldiers.

“Disarm!”

“Yes, sir!”

A deafening shout was heard, and they began to take off their armor.

I could see people who had been frozen, thinking a real war was about to break out here, letting out sighs of relief.

The man who had come at Uncle Amrus’s request also let out a sigh of relief, and when our eyes met, he smiled.

“It seems we’ve dealt with the enemy forces for now.”

“Phew. Thank you.”

I answered in a small voice so Famel couldn’t hear.

“Now then, we’ll help you with the systematization plan for the tasting event.”

“…Systematization plan?”

“Yes. Here’s the document he wrote.”

The man suddenly pulled out a thick report. The white part was paper, and all this dense writing was text.

…Huh?

“Well, it’s hard to read it all here, so here’s a summary.”

I dazedly looked at the last page, which even included charts.

Waiting area, tasting booth, and even a place to distribute promotional materials. The process for this event was written out in great detail.

It’s certainly practical, but did he really send such a thick report just for my tasting event…?

The footnotes and references were also extensive.

No, is this really something that needs to be written with so much effort?!

“We have all familiarized ourselves with the contents of the document, so now we will start helping with the event in earnest. That’s why we were sent here today.”

At the man’s words, I stood there blankly for a moment before nodding with a dazed expression.

And not long after, the situation began to settle down.