Translator: Skye
* * *
I followed him here, thinking it was just going to be a simple walk, but my father was going around this high-end street buying everything I looked at.
‘So burdensome.’
Of course, shopping was part of my ‘New Life’ plans, but buying things thoughtlessly like this was not. I had planned on getting things that matched my tastes after all.
‘Is he testing my patience to see how I’ll react?’
If I could, I wanted to just drop everything and go home.
But in reality, I was just a duke’s daughter who was unable to stand on her own two feet. There was no reason for me to disobey my father’s will.
‘Yeah, it’s my fault for being incapable.’
As I let out a small sigh, something was shoved in front of my face.
Oh, it was the bizarre-looking porcelain rabbit I had been looking at in the store earlier.
‘If I reveal it was a mistake….I’ll probably get in trouble, right?’
Left with no choice, I accepted the figure as I heard my father speak.
“Let’s go.”
For some reason, my father looked a bit more relaxed than usual, to the extent that one may think something good happened.
‘Well, it’s definitely not from bothering me like this, maybe it’s that.‘
I sighed while glancing at the porters. It seemed my father was the type to relieve stress by shopping. Careful not to ruin the mood, I cautiously walked behind him.
At that moment, someone came into view.
‘A woman…but she’s wearing a sword?’
In our empire, where gender discrimination was very much real, it was hard for one not to notice a woman walking around with a sword as it was a rare sight.
‘I thought the number of swordswomen fell ever since the captain of the previous Empress’ royal guards, Yulia, went missing.’
Maybe it was because it was my first time in a while seeing a swordswoman in the capital?
Though people have been talking about it, I thought that it’d be nice if there would be many active swordswomen again one day.
“Wait here for a moment.”
I watched my father approach the woman.
‘Do they know each other?’
As soon as they disappeared from view, I felt the shift in attention of the people around me.
“Just now, wasn’t that the Duke of Floyen?”
I began to hear whispers and it seemed like they were looking at me–it was unpleasant.
‘Ah, I want to go somewhere where it’s quiet and rest –’
As I began to shuffle somewhere, Geraldine [1], my cousin and guard, called out to me,
“Juvellian. Where do you think you’re going?”
Meeting Geraldine’s eyes, I frowned when I sensed that they seemed to convey his thoughts about how I was probably going to cause some kind of trouble.
“There are many eyes here, Sir Geraldine, you shouldn’t speak to me so casually.”
He seemed startled by my scolding, but with an embarrassed face, he quickly corrected himself,
“Where are you trying to go, milady?”
“There’s something I want to buy over there.”
Following my finger which pointed to a sparsely populated corner shop, Geraldine’s face hardened.
“Really…you wish to go there?”
Seeing his strange expression, I turned around but immediately froze.
<Wailing Bear’s Armor Shop>
‘Ha, of all things…why did I have to pick that kind of place?‘
While I was regretting my actions, Geraldine spoke in a sarcastic voice,
“I’ll respect milady’s tastes.”
I couldn’t say it wasn’t my preference at this point, so I merely nodded my head in response.
“Thank you.”
Walking into the store with Geraldine, we were greeted by a man whose appearance resembled that of a bear.
“Welco-…Oh? Why is such an angel gracing my shop with her presence?”
Even if it was a grimy shop that I had just walked into, I was embarrassed to receive such excessive praise.
“Ah, you see—”
“Did you come to buy something?”
‘I don’t think I can say I’m not here to buy anything…’
I glanced at Geraldine, but saw he was distracted by something else.
“Oh, this gauntlet! I like it.”
I glared at Geraldine who had already become distracted when someone came up next to me.
“How much?”
Though he had only said two words, the bleak voice was cold enough to make one’s knees tremble. Glancing sideways, I saw a man wearing a robe with a hood that covered his face.
‘He looks a little suspicious.’
“That’ll be 10 silvers, sir!”
The shop owner spoke in a lively voice as the man dug into his pocket.
‘He’s quite tall. Looking at his high nose, he also seems to be a pretty good-looking man…’
Then, I caught a glimpse of crimson eyes looking at me. I quickly lowered my gaze, but our eyes had already met.
‘Ah, so embarrassing. I should apologize, right?’
At that moment, I heard an off-putting voice speak in my direction.
“What are you looking at?”
Wha–look at him speaking to me so casually. Though I was the one who was rude first, I didn’t want to meekly apologize to someone who spoke so disrespectfully.
“Well, you see…that thing you’re trying to buy is actually what I was looking for.”
Hearing my answer, his face became stiff.
“You wish to buy….this?”
Only seeing what the item was now, I became quiet.
‘Ah…why did it have to armor polish?’
Typically, a knight in armor was the image one would have when picturing a knight, but that was only when there was a battle. There was no need for a knight to wear armor if there was no war going on. In short, the polish was a useless item.
“Yes! I’ll buy it!”
I shouted bravely, not wanting to admit that I had been sneaking glances at the man.
“The decorative armor in my house have lost their shine so I must buy that polish.”
The shop owner nodded at my answer. “If you wish to polish all the armor in your house, one won’t not be enough.”
“Huh? No, I just need one…”
The owner didn’t hear my words, however, and continued, “Wait just a moment, I’ll go look in the back for some more!”
It wasn’t until the shop owner disappeared that I realized I had just unexpectedly made an impulsive purchase.
‘To think I’d be buying useless armor polish…..I no longer have the right to be criticizing my father.’
While I was lamenting over digging my own grave, the man next to me placed a gold coin on the counter, picking up the polish before turning around.
If it was a small amount, I would’ve ignored it, but a single gold coin was more than enough to provide a commoner and his family with two weeks worth of meals.
“Are you not going to take your change?”
I was sure I spoke clearly, but there was no response from the man, as if he didn’t hear what I had said.
“The change!”
I said it again while following behind him, but he continued to pretend he didn’t hear me.
No way, is he deaf? Maybe that’s why he misheard how much it cost. Thinking that was the case, I began to feel somewhat sorry for him.
I called out once more just to check.
“Hey, can you not hear me?”
At that moment, he turned his head to glare at me.
‘Well, doesn’t seem like he’s deaf.‘
Despite being embarrassed, I said what I had to say.
“I’m saying this because I think you misheard the amount, but it was 10 silvers.”
It seems the noise must’ve caught Geraldine’s attention because he chose that moment to call out to me, “Milady, what seems to be the problem?”
“Uh, you see—”
I tried to explain the situation but the man had already left the store.
‘Geez, is the money going to rot?‘
I was frowning in bewilderment when the shop owner returned.
“Hohoho, miss! It just so happens that I have exactly ten left in stock!”
“Oh no, ten is a bit….”
I was trying to say I didn’t need it but the shop owner continued to speak, preventing me from finishing my words.
“All of this will cost one gold coin! Oh, what’s this? I see you’ve already paid!”
One gold–the amount I had to pay was exactly the amount the man left behind.
“That aside, I can’t believe that thief-like man just left without even paying!”
I tried to clear up the owner’s misunderstanding, “No, that’s not it…”
“That fucking bastard!”
I had to suffer through his long rant cursing out the man before I could tell him the truth.
“That one gold, that man is the one who left it behind.”
The shop owner awkwardly responded, “Oh, you should’ve said so earlier.”
‘Is he blaming me right now? He wasn’t even trying to listen to me, only saying whatever he wanted to say…’
I vowed to never step into this store ever again.
* * *
Inside a carriage, which was in a hidden place, a bobbed-haired woman was nervously waiting for someone.
‘Why isn’t he coming?’
At that moment, someone entered the carriage and the woman let out a sigh of relief.
“My Lord, I’ve delivered the scheduled date of your visit to Duke Floyen. “
“Alright.”
Though the voice sounded cold as usual, it also sounded a bit irritated. Noticing the change, the woman asked him, “Did something happen?”
<Hey, can you not hear me?>
A woman who seemed to lack fear and a dog that hovered around her, baring his teeth as if in warning .
A wave of annoyance washed over the man, but strangely enough, the hostility vanished the moment he recalled the woman’s eyes. Recollecting what had just happened earlier, the man opened his mouth with a frown.
“No, nothing happened.”
* * *
‘I’m so tired.‘
After I left the store, I was in the middle of trying to restore my exhausted mind when I heard a voice,
“Juvellian, where were you?”
Seeing the stiff face of my father, I quickly answered, “Ah, there was something I had to buy.”
Then, my father turned to look at Geraldine who was holding the luggage.
“What is that?”
“Armor polish, sir.”
Hearing Geraldine’s reply, my father turned to stare at me with a slight frown before sighing.
“Let’s go.”
That’s right, you’ve been buying a bunch of useless things so you can’t scold me for doing the same thing–that is, if you have a conscience.
Walking with my father again, another obstacle appeared before me.
‘Oh, of all things, why stairs.’
It may have been because I had been following my father for several hours without a break, but my feet were slightly in pain. I refused to let it show, however, because I knew the final fate of the original novel’s Juvellian who had messed with her father’s temper.
‘Let’s hold it in for a little longer. I may have to suffer a bit now, but surely the good days will come.’
Thinking of the big picture, where I would inherit my father’s wealth in the future, I tried to endure the pain in my feet.
‘Oh, what’s wrong with me?’
Suddenly, I felt a throbbing headache and my vision went black. I was in the middle of climbing up the stairs when I lost the strength in my legs.
“Ack!”
Thankfully, I managed to prevent myself from falling by grabbing onto something solid
‘Phew, I’m saved.’
As soon as my vision returned, I looked up, only to freeze immediately when I saw what I had been holding onto.
“What are you doing?”
No matter the lack of things that were available, why did it have to be my father’s arm that my hands chose to grab?
T/N:
[1] Geraldine (제럴딘)
In case you’re confused, yes, Geraldine is a male. To my knowledge, I’m pretty Geraldine is the feminine form of the male “Gerald” so I’m not sure why the author chose to go with Geraldine. (Gerald is usually spelled as “제럴드” in Korean)
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Partial Edit 7/30/20
Also finally edited the part about Yulia.