VOLUME 1

Chapter 6. The Banquet Begins

“Where did you learn to become increasingly cheesy?”

Adelia grimaced with disgust.

She shook her head vigorously, her face all scrunched up.

He was initially like a wary cat, but he had somehow turned into a fox.

With slyly curved eyes and slightly upturned lips

“Isn’t it because of my outstanding appearance that many young ladies are fond of me? I studied to protect their delicate hearts.”

“Well, go be cheesy with those delicate young ladies.”

“Ha-ha. Are you jealous? You are always the first in my heart, Master.”

“Get lost. Unless you want your body to become material for artifacts.”

“Yes!”

Conrad covered his mouth with both hands and scampered away.

He then returned with a cold face, having shed his gentle smile.

Adelia took out a box from her arms.

It was similar to what she had given to the imperials, but wrapped in pink cloth and more elaborately decorated.

Inside the box was a necklace so splendid it could catch anyone’s eye.

At its center hung a small but mysteriously shining pink gem, surrounded by large rubies and red diamonds.

Conrad, peeking from behind, swallowed hard.

“Master… Are you really just giving it away?”

“Of course. It’s for the princess.”

Adelia said nonchalantly without even turning her head.

After all, all she had was money; spending some was nothing to her.

Then Conrad almost cried out,

“Just the gems on it could buy a couple of large mansions in the capital… If it’s an artifact, it could even be worth a kingdom…”

“The more beautiful and valuable the debut item is, the higher people’s standards become. When nobles aren’t satisfied with ordinary items and start spending money to find something even slightly similar, that’s when we rake in the money.”

Listening to her smooth explanation, Conrad quietly closed his mouth and watched her inspect the artifact.

He had many questions, but he only moved his lips without speaking.

She was meticulous and profit-oriented but exceptionally generous when it involved the imperial family.

Even when she blurted out about being a great white mage a month ago, Conrad was more shocked by her transferring trade rights to the imperial family.

“Is it love…?”

Conrad muttered softly.

But soon he let out a snort of laughter. It seemed unlikely to him.

That stern merchant talking about love. Besides, she habitually said,

— I prefer someone who doesn’t just look kindly at everyone but only has eyes for me. A man should be modest. Flirts like you aren’t popular, right?

Considering his boss’s taste, the ice-cold Crown Prince was far off the mark.

While Conrad was lost in unnecessary thoughts, Adelia completed the artifact.

After engraving the magic formula for a splendid entrance on the box, she placed it on the desk.

“Done! Keep this safe and bring me the remaining documents. Let’s finish everything while I’m here.”

“Yes, understood.”

The efficient Conrad quickly stored the box in the safe and built another tower of documents next to the already high pile.

Adelia took out gold-rimmed glasses from the drawer and placed them on her nose bridge.

The glasses chain, adorned with diamonds, slid through her hair silently.

She started reading from the top document and swiftly went through them,

“As expected of the Master!”

Conrad wiped away tears of admiration from behind.

Indeed, for someone he chose as his boss, the speed was remarkable.

Even he, who had been rolling in this field for so long, would have needed half a day for that amount of paperwork. But once Adelia focused, she would finish reading and processing everything before dawn.

Unaware of her past life memories, Conrad was once again amazed by his boss’s abilities today. However, with his workload piling up like a mountain, his tears quickly dried up.

When the paperwork was nearly finished, he skillfully made sweet milk tea and placed it in front of her.

“This is the milk tea with syrup you mentioned last time.”

“It’s black sugar milk tea. Sweet and very good.”

“The syrup tastes different from ordinary ones, so we’re experimenting with various menus. It will be ready after the Harvest Festival.”

“Prepare to rent out the shop on a holiday before launch. Tell the chef I’ll pay double the hourly wage.”

Adelia said while enjoying the cool milk tea.

Then she relaxed from the strenuous work by indulging in the desserts brought along.

She’s always craving sweets after completing work in bulk, so desserts enchanted with preservation magic were always ready.

After finishing off the last plate, Adelia turned around to face Conrad.

“What’s been bothering you? You’ve been giving me looks.”

“Me? Really?”

“Yes. Since today’s dessert was particularly delicious, I’ll answer your question. One, two…”

“Why are you so generous only towards the imperial family!”

Conrad blurted out quickly as she counted.

He covered his mouth. It was too trivial and personal a question; he had been hesitant to ask.

She had many secrets. Recently, she had been dropping various facts here and there, but that was it.Seemingly close yet distant. It felt like there was an impenetrable wall around her that nobody could enter.

Even their relationship seemed shallow without trust or faith.

“If it’s difficult, you don’t have to answer. There must be a reason for everything. But… it seemed unlike the Master to risk your life and even take losses out of curiosity.”

Conrad said awkwardly scratching his cheek.

Even such a thin thread of relationship was fine with him. As long as one of them didn’t let go, it wouldn’t end.

Adelia looked at him sideways and murmured softly.

“That’s why he died so kindly…”

“What?”

“Nevermind. I’ve been hiding too much indeed.”

Adelia dropped her glasses as she said that.

The glasses hanging from a chain around her neck swayed wildly near her chest.

She rubbed her dry eyes and opened her mouth,

“It’s just paying back a debt. I owe them my life.”

“Master’s words are still difficult for me.”

Conrad groaned.

Though her words seemed evasive, it was clear they held nothing but truth.

My young boss was surprisingly bad at lying, and the faint smile on her face was genuine.

“Exactly as I said. Without them, I wouldn’t be here now. I was saved, so now it’s my turn to repay them.”

Adelia’s face, previously smiling softly, twisted slightly.

Though her life had already ended, just thinking of her past life made her head throb.

A childhood stained with family violence and abuse, and her 20s spent working to death.

Reading novels was her only joy and the driving force of her life. Her favorite had been the original work of this world.

‘It’s funny to say I lived for a novel, but there was nothing else. It was as miserable as Adelia’s. I would have died long ago if not for depending on novels.’

Adelia looked down at her wrist.

Her smooth white skin and slender wrist, overlaid with a thicker, scar-filled wrist, appeared blurry.

Quietly pulling down her sleeve to cover her wrist, she turned her head away.

“They don’t know. It’s a grace only I am aware of. You know too. Revenge is doubled, grace is tripled.”

She said with a sly grin.

At that, Conrad knelt before her.

His long, greenish hair fluttered and settled softly on his shoulders.

With his slender and long hand, he gently held Adelia’s hand.

“If they are the Master’s benefactors, then they are mine as well. I will serve the imperial family with even more dedication.”

He lightly kissed her hand and winked.

Adelia grimaced and slapped his back, but he just grinned as if he enjoyed it.

* * *

The Harvest Festival banquet was grand.

The table was filled with various fruits and grains, and on one side, wine was stacked like a tower.

The main decoration was a golden nugget shaped like wheat tied with a cloth embroidered with splendid patterns.

Although it was an imperial banquet attended only by nobles, representatives from various firms also visited for the Harvest Festival banquet. It was a marketplace for predicting this year’s food situation and harvest quantity to buy and sell crops and processed goods in advance.

Lords from regions where the land was damaged due to heavy snow in winter negotiated with firms to buy food at low prices, and lords who planted a lot of grains, predicting a good harvest, consulted with firms on the selling price.

Most deals were made with the usual firms, but it was an important occasion that occasionally led to new deals.

Of course, Eileen Merchant Guild was an exception. People rushed to make deals even without them having to move.

While the lords discussed their harvests, others engaged in social exchanges.

The most shared stories were, of course, gossip. The most mentioned name at this banquet was indeed Adelia.

“Did you hear that Lady Vita is coming today?”

“So that rumor was true. I doubted it a bit. I thought maybe she died in the meantime and couldn’t come….”

A lady trailed off as she looked somewhere.

The ladies she was talking with also turned their gaze in that direction.

The imperials’ seats were set slightly higher than the floor where the nobles stood.

At the center was the Emperor. On both sides were the seats for the Crown Prince and Prince, and next to the Crown Prince’s seat was one prepared for the Crown Princess.

“Usually, they don’t prepare a seat when it’s just an engagement.”

“That’s because they’re not imperials when they’re just engaged. But seeing a seat prepared like that….”

“Are they announcing the marriage today?”

“It seems that rumor is true.”

“Right? They say the two are so passionately in love they wanted to have the wedding quickly! That’s why they skipped the engagement ceremony?”

The ladies smiled behind their fans.

For nobles who mostly lived like friends with their politically married husbands, stories of young love were always the most entertaining.

A bit away from them were several young ladies from influential noble families gathered together.

Their expressions were cold.

“Tch. Wasn’t she so frail she can’t even wander outside?”

“That’s right. Must’ve seduced him with that pretty face… How long will it last?”