Chapter 17

“What do you mean?”

“I want to go to the House.”

As expected, Howard, the manager of the headquarters, showed no signs of surprise at her words. If anything, he laughed as if he didn’t know what she meant. Amelia became even more brazen in response to his reaction.

“Guide Howard, you’re the guide to the House.”

Howard’s face, which had been smiling at her words, wrinkled. The managers of each branch in Chester Merchantry were guides to the house. The House referred to meeting the owner of the merchantry, the Master. She didn’t know how it was done, but it was possible to meet the Master in any branch.

“There is nothing here that would be of any benefit to Your Highness.”

Amelia smirked at the sight of Howard, his friendly smile gone and his face set in a frightening way. This time he’d let her off the hook, which meant she could buy some dresses and then disappear.

“Whether it’s good for me or not, I will be the judge of that.”

“…….”

“And since when did guides start making judgments?”

Her external image was that of an immature grand duchess. That’s why she thought he wouldn’t understand the underlying meaning of her words.

“Do I need to say it again?”

“I apologize. I made a slip of the tongue.”

Even with Howard bowing and apologizing, Amelia’s narrowed eyes showed no sign of easing. She received the same treatment even outside the Grand Duchy.

“I will guide you immediately. I will report my rudeness to the Master and accept punishment, so please release your anger.”

Fortunately, the fact that Howard wasn’t as tight-lipped as the people from Siegfried was a relief. He was a professional. There was nothing more to say when he immediately bowed low and asked for forgiveness.

“I will make sure that this never happens again. And from now on, if the Grand Duchess wishes, she can be guided directly to the house.”

“Okay, I’ll let it go this time.”

“Thank you for your generosity. But there’s one problem.”

Problem? What problem is he talking about?

“The road to the House is still unstable. Would you be okay with wearing a blindfold?”

“A blindfold?”

According to her memory, neither Aaron nor Leonel wore blindfolds. They both walked in dark, cave-like places until the warp location appeared.

“It won’t take long. This is the headquarters.”

“Is the Master in the capital at the moment?”

“That’s classified information, so I can’t tell you.”

The identity of the Master is a strict secret. It’s still the same.

“Well, I guess I have no choice.”

“Then would you wear this?”

It was just an ordinary blindfold. Even if it was enchanted, there was no way for her to find out.

“You’ll be arriving soon.”

As soon as she put on the blindfold before asking how she would get there, her surroundings began to shake wildly. It was difficult to keep her balance as her body shook like riding a roller coaster.

“I can only guide you here. If there’s no response when you knock on the door, the Master doesn’t want to see you.”

“What does that mean…!”

Before she could argue about whether such a thing existed, the presence next to her disappeared. Incredibly, in the blink of an eye.

“What…?”

Looking around after removing the blindfold, she found herself in a pitch-black cave. The only source of light was a large brown door. It seemed so thick and massive that even if she hit it with her fist, it wouldn’t make a sound.

Fortunately, there was a bell installed in front of the door for knocking.

Thump, thump, clang, clang.

Even when she used the bell to knock on the door, there was no response from inside. She tried turning the doorknob in case the door was open, but it was firmly locked.

“I thought everyone would be able to enter?”

Until now, both Aaron and Leonel had met the Master directly. But were there cases where they were not welcome? If that’s the case, they should have said so from the beginning. Rather than bring someone all the way here just to say it’s not possible.

“Excuse me, can you hear me?”

Amelia knocked on the door even harder. If they didn’t answer, how on earth was she supposed to go back? Although she had no intention of going back like this.

“Isn’t it too much to bring someone all the way here and not let them in?”

No matter how hard she knocked on the door or shouted loudly, there was no sound coming from inside. Since she had come this far, she couldn’t retreat. If the door wouldn’t open, she would have to break it and go in.

“I’m definitely not going back.”

Amelia firmly planted herself on the stairs, raising her chin. Maybe they weren’t discriminating against her. Aaron and Leonel had both been allowed to meet at once.

“Hey!”

You want to see who’ll win right now? She felt like she wanted to wait in front of the door all night, but the time she was allowed was limited.

“If you don’t open the door…!”

Before she could finish the sentence that she would lie down in front of it, the thick door that seemed like it would never open, opened. The speed at which it opened was as slow as its size, and the creaking movement was quite eerie.

“Please come inside.”

“Uh…”

Amelia was startled by the voice coming from the darkness, where nothing could be seen. There was something eerie about the voice… It was strange; it felt unsettling.

Should it be called an artificial voice? It was a voice that sounded like his vocal cords were severely damaged and splitting.

“Aren’t you going to come in?”

“No, no.”

There was no need to be afraid of his appearance. She already knew what the Master looked like.

“Please come in.”

Contrary to the view from the outside, the room inside was brightly lit. The space seemed completely different, as if magic had been cast. Except for the many sofas and tables for entertaining guests, it was not much different from an ordinary office. Up to this point, it was exactly what she knew.

“What is the reason for your visit?”

“Are you the Master…?”

In the book, it was written that the Master wore a long hood that covered up to his chin. Unless you could see his jawline occasionally, you wouldn’t even know that there was a person in front of you. But who is this man standing in front of her right now?

“Yes, I am the Master. Is there a problem?”

“…….”

Light brown eyes and faded blonde hair. If they had met outside, she would never have remembered this vague impression. The colors he possessed were not distinct and appeared faint. Even though he was clearly in front of her, his face did not register in her eyes.

“I see that you were surprised when you saw my face.”

“Ah…”

“It’s alright. Everyone has that reaction at first.”

Was that why he hid his face? The present time is over a decade before the novel took place. Naturally, the employees may have changed, and even the owner of the merchantry could be different.

“Please have a seat for now.”

She was so shocked that she just stared blankly at the man.

“Now, is there a reason why the esteemed Grand Duchess has come to see me?”

“You knew I was the Grand Duchess?”

“Of course.”

“Then why didn’t you open the door earlier?”

In response to her question, the man smiled mischievously. It meant that he didn’t want to answer. If she pushed further, he might not take on her request.

“I thought it would be bothersome.”

“Then why did you open it?”

“Out of curiosity. I wanted to know why you came to find me.”

For a moment, the man’s vague impression became momentarily clear. The voice she heard outside earlier must have been fake. Since she entered, there had been no sound resembling scraping metal.

“Nice to meet you. Your Highness the Grand Duchess?”

With just a brief conversation, she could tell whether the other person had any favors for her or not. And this man was on the unfavorable side. It wasn’t that he harbored ill will, but it was evident that he didn’t like her. Was that why he didn’t want to open the door?

‘But why not? Amelia is a loyal customer who spends a lot of money.’

Wasn’t it best to cater to customers who make significant purchases?

“What brings you here?”

“I’ve come to make a request.”

The other person clearly showed their dislike towards her, so there was no reason for her to be kind.

“This is not a guild, but a merchantry.”

“It’s a place to purchase goods.”

“…….”

“If there’s something I want, anything at all.”

She shouldn’t have been relieved by his gentle demeanor. The other person was none other than the one who operated the largest merchantry in the empire.

“If that’s the case, you should talk to the butler.”

At first, she had relaxed her guard due to his vague impression.

“How would you know what I want to buy?”

“What do you want to buy?”

In response to the man’s question, Amelia smiled quietly. There was a reason why she had come to the Chester Merchantry rather than an information guild. There was no place untouched by Chester’s influence under the Khalid Empire. There was nothing that Chester couldn’t do.

“Make me rich.” 

It meant that this one man in front of her was better than any information guild.