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Chapter 32 – Probably, Will That Flavor Suddenly Kill You?
Ariel was as big as a hippo, and when I asked “How?” she shyly bowed her head and whispered.
“You can collect them under the name of the ‘Shlezen’s Orphanage’ run by His Highness Grand Duke.”
“Is it possible?”
“Yep! If you say the castle will take care of it, the guild here will thank you too. It’s trash that’s difficult to deal with.”
‘The Duchess, a trash collector?’ Not knowing my shrunken heart, she suggested a way.
“Of course, we will have to negotiate with the self-governing committee. You can have Joseph do it.”
“Joseph?”
“Yes, he is the ‘Shlezen’s Orphanage’ chef, so no one will ever doubt it. He cooks with cheap ingredients like garbage.”
“Cheap ingredients like garbage?”
“Yep. Joseph cooks with demon’s ingredients.”
“Hmm, I think we should raise the budget set for the Shlezen Orphanage. We can’t just feed them garbage.”
For a moment, Ariel seemed moved. Then she looked around and asked in a very low voice.
“Excuse me, but may I ask why you need this ingredient?”
“Mmhh, I’m going to eat it.”
“Pardon? This lowly thing that only our orphans eat?”
“What do you mean lowly thing for orphans? Saying that would make orphans lowly. Those kids are never lowly. Those who took away the parents of those children through their greed are the lowly ones.”
“…”
“And why do you keep calling those food ingredients garbage? Don’t use words like that. Where in the world is there a life that is not precious? Why can’t you thank the food that gives you life and call it lowly instead? And algae and seafood are so delicious.”
At my words, Ariel nodded her head with tears in her eyes.
‘Why are you so moved?’
“Then, shall we go to the guild?”
Now I had to get the equipment that would make all of this possible.
The road to the Dyson Guild was full of pungent medieval scents. The floor was covered with gray bricks. To the left of the alley was a long wall of fortresses. On the walls of the fortress, traces of past fierce battles from fighting the Demon Realm were left. But this place will collapse the year Theodor turns twenty– fifteen years from now.
Finally, at the entrance to the fortress wall, the entrance to the guild appeared. The arched gates were covered with signs of time. The walls of the gates were old, but they were thick and looked very sturdy.
When I passed the arched gate, it was as cool as if I was passing through a cave. And it was chilling. Behind the gate, there was the clock tower where I would be torn to pieces by Theodor in the future.
‘uh…’ It was giving me goosebumps. ‘Should I get rid of that clock tower? Then, I won’t be killed there, right? Wouldn’t it be possible with the status of Grand Duchess?’
Passing through the cave and past the clock tower, the Julius Square, named after the former Emperor and Gerald’s father, appeared.
The Dyson Guild was famous. People even came from the capital, five hours away, to buy things. They took control of the city administration by raising their authority while competing with each other.
Emperor Herace, while hunting witches and demons five years ago, enslaved those who sympathized with them, and generously distributed them. The Dyson Guild also received quite a few people as slaves at that time.
Near the entrance, a craftsman’s guild spread out, mainly of craftsmen-dyers. Guilds such as millsmiths, masons, and architects in the building industry, and Guilds of painters, metalsmiths, blacksmiths, confectioners, butchers, leather tanners, and soap makers.
The rhythmic sound of blacksmiths and metalsmiths working was heard. The beautiful works they made were displayed over the windows of each workshop building. On the side of the road, a workshop store named after them had a structure in which a workshop was spread out behind it, so each workshop showed off their skills with different designs and unique materials.
The blacksmiths were also worth seeing. They also had their own shops here. From a spear that pierced the sky, a silver pitchfork, sickle, and ax, and the serenade of the dagger that darted beside it.
A dagger with small jewels caught my eye, like a toy. Shears and scissors made with jewels were also displayed.
For a while, I couldn’t keep my foot out of the workshop.
I had never seen a leather workshop before, and was already thinking ‘I can’t live without a tanner in this world.’ As Rabbi once said, it seemed as if all the shells of all the imperial animals were collected. Goatskin, cowhide, crocodile skin, buffalo skin, horse skin. There were ostrich skins and even pig skins. It is said that pigskin was used for lining because it was weak. And there was a strangely dazzling leather.
“What’s that?”
“Yes, it’s the leather skin of the monster bird, Tarion.”
‘The monster Tarion? Could it be the skin of the bird that tried to kill us?’
The miller was so excited to explain each leather process to the point saliva splattered everywhere. I barely managed to get out of the area after smiling and looking at all the different fabrics the dyers in the next workshop had dyed.
Then, savory and fragrant scents stimulated my nose. Fresh meat, including sausages, hung in the butcher’s shop. Like a refrigerator, it was kept fresh with an ice magic stone. Each of them boasted the taste by revealing which region the meat was from and where it originated.
It took me a long time to even glance at everything for a brief moment. The merchants’ guild in the afternoon sunlight looked as beautiful as a work of art no matter what angle or place I looked. And when you see beauty, everyone wants to own it. That was why I had my hands full of things I bought on impulse. Even a large teddy bear.
Of course, Ariel said she would carry them, becoming my beast of burden.
“You have to do your job. Take good care of me,” I said. Of course, I would appreciate it if she listened to all of this. I have to hold both hands up to prevent impulse buying, right?
I decided to stop my constant turning around and fix my head and eyes in front of me.
However, the western line was a merchant guild that sold goods from other continents, including the Empire, and five-story buildings with a luxurious atmosphere called department stores were placed next to each other with majestic dignity.
‘Oh, my. I’ll see you next time.’
“Shall we go to the square?”
“Yes, Madam.”
In the center of the square, as described in the book, a cool fountain spouted, cooling off the midday heat in May.
“Ariel.”
“Yes, Grand Duchess.”
“Since I’m out, I’m thinking of going to pray and go.”
“Pray?” Ariel was perplexed. Perhaps because of the sudden change in schedule?
“We need to officially inform the temple.”
“Anyone can use the prayer room.”
Each guild originally believed in their own guardianship, but Herace ended the witch hunts and believed in a single god called ‘Orlenzion,’ the deity of the Viatria Empire. Afterward, a temple was built in the middle of the merchants’ guild to pray for the safety of the guild members leaving the business.
“That’s true, but–”
“I just want to pray quietly.”
“That is impossible. The Grand Duchess is the face of Shlezen Castle. You must be treated as you deserve by the Bishop of Dyson.”
I stopped Ariel from heading to the church office.
“What is the use of a worldly status before God?”
However, she was a knightly spirit who was unconditionally loyal to Shlezen, and very stubborn…
“It is an honor. Her Highness, Grand Duchess Sinclair Vonzeyer. This is Baden, the Bishop of the Dyson Guild of Karikas Estate.”
Thanks to her, my operation, which I was trying to carry out without a sound, became an official event that suited the status of the Grand Duchess.
A junior priest placed hot tea on the table and stood next to it.
‘What to do… Originally, when you come to a place like this, you have to give an abundant donation to avoid talking.’
“I was just going to pray a little and go, but I bothered you greatly.”
“What do you mean? After Her Majesty the late Empress Stephanie left for the South, it was very sad for us to stop visiting the Grand Duke’s family. If you had given me a word in advance, I would have prepared for it”
While using the annex used by Stephanie, Gerard’s mother, I learned that Gerard’s biological mother was alive. Since she was a person whose name didn’t appear in the book, I did not know her existence. However, I heard about Stephanie through Madeleine, who used to serve her. She was an amazon-like woman who rebelled against the current Emperor Herace when he slaughtered the Mah tribe according to Orlenzion’s will and was exiled to the southern island of Kompos. I couldn’t believe it when I heard she opposed the Emperor’s knights with her own knights.
[tl/n: the Mah tribe is basically all the citizens from the demon realm who entered the Empire]
In particular, Orlenzionism was a religion on the outskirts that foreigners believed in, so it was as religiously inconsistent as Stephanie’s beliefs, which included worship of polytheism and friendliness toward demons.
Naturally, it would have been inevitable for the Dyson Temple and Shlezen Castle to have a bad relationship. Therefore, from their point of view, since I was the daughter of the Marquis family, this trip could have symbolized reconciliation with Shlezen Palace.
‘Then, where should we play the Bridge of Peace?’
“That’s right. Isn’t it for the sake of the harmony and well-being of the Empire that God allowed this marriage? That’s why I came to pray to God Orlezion to grant my mother-in-law’s freedom. God is the one who listens if you want it sincerely.”
“…!”
With that single declaration, I was able to head straight to the prayer room.
‘Why would you have to think that much before letting me go into the prayer room? Is the Emperor that scary?’
Well, with a remark like this, they must have understood it to mean that I don’t want to get close to them, right? Now that I see, isn’t Shlezen Castle the one that contributed the most and suffered the most in the rebellion incident? Herace was a tyrant. His attitude toward Prince Alfred was garbage. He threw bombs at our pretty Theodor and family, so, like sowing the wind and reaping the whirlwind, he was killed in a horrid way.
And there was a calculation that people will think Gerard might trust me a little since my challenging statement would spread rumors. When I casually brought the blade to my neck, I pretended to be calm on the outside, but on the inside, I was freaking out.
Anyway, since I reached my destination, I had to quickly achieve my desired goal. I changed into the men’s clothes I bought at the workshop earlier. Then, I put my dress on the teddy bear and stuffed the things I bought into a human figure to make it look like I was bent in front of a great deity, praying. It looked pretty accurate.
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Then I went into the bathroom inside the prayer room. I remember clearly the scene where Empress Kennes ran away from Theodor. As described in the book, there was a rose-shaped tile on one wall of the bathroom. I pressed the center rose on the wall.
Creak-
Like in the book, the wall opened. I went through the opening and pulled the string by the door.
Thud!
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