MTDL 29

Chapter 29

Britton woke up before sunrise and trained in swordsmanship at the training grounds. Only after the sky had brightened did he head to the Emperor’s office.

When he arrived at the office, he saw Emperor Parmes Aslet reading reports concerning state affairs from early in the morning.

The symbol of the Aslet Imperial Family—silver hair and an atmosphere so cold that it sent chills down the spine.

“Your Majesty, it’s Britton.”

Even though Parmes had known Britton was coming long before he spoke, he did not take his eyes off the documents until he heard his voice.

There was no fatigue in Parmes’s red eyes, but his gaze seemed particularly dry today.

Britton noticed the faint scent of blood coming from him.

There were also faint bloodstains splattered on the collar of his uniform.

It seemed the interrogation from the previous night had gone on for quite some time.

“Yes, Crown Prince.”

Parmes moved his lips in a low voice.

“Has everything from last night been sorted out?”

A brief silence followed.

Now it was Britton’s turn to report.

If the people being interrogated had not all died, Britton’s report would serve as additional reference material for the interrogation.

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will report on what happened last night.”

Duke Germant had given a brief report, but Britton had been there from the beginning.

“The remnants of the Second Prince’s faction were waiting inside the pond. They were probably planning to attack once prominent figures came out to enjoy a private meeting. From their perspective, my appearance must have been an unexpected but welcome opportunity.”

“Were they targeting Arinel?”

“Judging by their reactions, they did not seem to know about Arinel. However, they intended to kill Arinel along with me to silence her.”

A murderous gleam flashed in Britton’s blue eyes.

It seemed they did not know that Arinel, who had been with the Crown Prince, was the daughter of Marquis Myla.

Britton’s words confirmed that this was indeed the truth.

How many of them had Parmes knocked unconscious while questioning them about it?

Parmes frowned slightly.

“Although Duke Germant captured all of the remnants waiting there, there must have been an insider who helped them get in. The depth of the pond varies, so they would have needed prior knowledge of the terrain to hide there at regular intervals. It would be wise to thoroughly investigate the servants and maids who know that area.”

“Yes. Good point.”

As Britton had said, there must have been someone who helped them beforehand, and whoever that person was would end up in the underground prison.

“But you said you bought time with Arinel until Duke Germant, who was patrolling outside the ballroom, arrived.”

“……”

“You wouldn’t have had your sword with you at the time, and they would have been armed.”

Britton looked at Parmes for a moment.

The Emperor’s sharp, penetrating gaze made anyone standing before him feel as though they could not hide a secret.

Even though he had surely already heard the answer from the men interrogated the previous night, he wanted to hear about it from Britton one more time.

“I owe my life…… to Arinel.”

Britton moved his lips in a low voice.

His blue eyes were shrouded in deep darkness.

Last night, Britton had experienced a terrifying sense of helplessness for the first time in his life.

What frightened him more than the possibility of dying was the thought that he might not be able to protect Arinel.

That fear had become reality, and his poor decision not to carry a sword because it was a masquerade ball had allowed the enemy’s threat to close in around his neck.

“When death was right before us, Arinel used spirit magic to push them away.”

Britton reported to Parmes that it was because of Arinel that he had escaped the crisis.

Parmes’s red eyes trembled noticeably in surprise as he heard those words.

‘Has Arinel awakened the power of the spirits? And…….’

Just as Myla had once protected him, his daughter Arinel had now protected Britton.

“……”

Britton remained silent with his head lowered for a long time, but his eyes gleamed ominously.

Even though he had learned swordsmanship, he had never had a clear purpose.

He had grown accustomed to a life without danger, like a carp living in a pond without predators.

But the terrifying situation he had faced yesterday gave Britton a more definite motivation than ever before.

“I realized and deeply regretted my own helplessness.”

Britton clenched his fists as he spoke to Parmes.

Parmes’s cold eyes seemed to reproach Britton, yet at the same time, they encouraged him.

“I will become strong so that she will never be in danger again.”

Britton’s blue eyes gleamed coldly.

“Whew!”

As soon as I got up, I stretched and began getting ready to go to the market.

Instead of a lace-trimmed dress, I chose something comfortable and easy to move in. I would have to do a lot of walking today.

‘If Lady Allens saw me, she might have something to say about my fashion sense.’

“Ready!”

It would take some time for the red beets to grow in the field I had purchased through Count Annes. So until then, I needed to buy fresh red beets and use them as ingredients.

‘I’m also considering holding a tasting event before officially launching the business, so I’ll need to make plenty.’

After the masquerade ball, red beets had become a hot trend among the nobles, and I heard that some people had tried to recreate the sherbet I made but failed.

Lady Allens had told me that many people were waiting for my business to launch.

Adam reported on the progress beside me.

“Quite a few people volunteered. Many of them had experience working in the food industry, so I hired an equal mix of experienced workers and newcomers.”

“The people we hired this time will all be handling the processing, right?”

“Yes. But they have never prepared red beets before either, so please teach them properly, Miss.”

“Of course!”

I was confident when it came to teaching people how to prepare red beets.

I had taught three of my neighbors in Galnem whenever I had the chance, and two days ago, I had even demonstrated the process for the Imperial Palace chefs at the masquerade ball.

The head chef had looked at my small, capable hands with absolutely shining eyes.

He had even earnestly asked me to stop by whenever I visited the Imperial Palace later.

“You have an exceptional talent!”

After leaving the Marquis’s estate in a carriage, we soon stopped in front of the busy district of the capital.

The market streets were crowded with people selling all kinds of things from their stalls, including vegetables, meat, and sweets.

Children ran around, while people performed juggling tricks in front of shops to attract attention.

The lively market made me feel excited, as though I were truly just a child visiting a market for the first time.

“Then shall we pick out some good turnips?”

“Certainly, Miss.”

Adam willingly escorted me.

Wearing a bonnet-like hat to protect me from the sunlight, I began walking around the market and inspecting the stalls.

Red beets.

There was a vegetable with a similar name even in the modern world, but the red beets here were completely different from those in modern times.

The red beets here were closer to fruit. They had an astringent taste if not prepared properly, but when prepared with precision, they tasted as though mangoes and apples had been mixed together and generously sprinkled with sugar.

However, the people here did not know how to prepare them. They looked down on red beets as worthless, astringent fruit, and many stalls did not even sell them.

So it was only after visiting several shops that I finally found one selling red beets.

The shop was located in the very corner of the market street, and there were even flies buzzing around it.

“Child. You’re buying all of these?”

The shopkeeper looked at me in confusion and asked again.

I smiled brightly and nodded.

“Yes.”

“You must have a lot of livestock. But be careful not to feed horses too much of this, or they’ll get an upset stomach.”

“Ah, they’re not for horses……”

There was a whole pile of red beets on the stall, and even buying all of them cost about as much as a basket of apples.

“They’re for people to eat.”

At my response, the corners of the shopkeeper’s eyes twitched.

Then he suddenly looked at me with a pitiful expression.

“Don’t tell me…… you eat red beets?”

I answered calmly without giving it much thought.

“Yes.”

The shopkeeper carefully examined my somewhat thin arms and my tiny, delicate hands.

Then, his eyebrows shot up as he suddenly glared at Adam.

“Is that really true? What this child says…….”

Adam nodded with a slightly bewildered expression.

“Well…… yes, that’s true.”

The shopkeeper’s face hardened as though he had been struck by a shock.

He raised a finger and pointed at Adam.

“A perfectly healthy man shouldn’t do this to his daughter, no matter how badly off he is. Good grief. Tsk, tsk, tsk.”

I flinched at his sudden reaction.

The look in his eyes was almost as though he were looking at the worst man in the world.

“Wh-What? Me?”

Adam, who had suddenly become a terrible father, looked bewildered as he pointed at himself and asked in confusion.