MTDL 30

Chapter 30

“You could do any kind of manual labor and still not feed your daughter red beets. Is this even fit for human consumption? It’s so astringent that even adults have trouble chewing it.”

The shopkeeper glared angrily at Adam as though he were a father abusing his child.

Ah…… So this was how poorly red beets were regarded in the city.

When I first made red beets popular through Lady Allens, it had been an excellent choice not to reveal their name right away. If people had known they were red beets, no one would have been willing to taste them.

The commotion attracted the owners of nearby shops, who slowly approached to see what was going on.

“What? He’s feeding red beets to a child?”

“Good grief, he looks like such a decent young man.”

“Look how skinny the child is. My goodness, how could anyone do such a thing?”

“He’ll be punished by heaven for this!”

Murmur, murmur—

In an instant, Adam had become a child abuser.

‘Maybe I should have said they were for horses.’

“Look how healthy and sturdy he is, while the child is practically skin and bones.”

“He must be feeding the red beets only to the child. Tsk, tsk.”

Someone even dabbed at their tears over the story of a father feeding nothing but red beets to his daughter.

Hmm…… At this point……

I had no choice but to defend Adam.

I put both hands on my hips and declared confidently,

“Feeding them to me? Red beets are my favorite fruit. I eat them because I want to!”

“Waaah! Oh, dear!”

“Poor thing. It seems red beets are the only thing she’s ever tasted.”

“She thinks something less delicious than my shoes is the most delicious thing in the world.”

Suddenly, the shopkeepers went into their stores and began bringing out the fruits they sold, pooling a little from each shop.

“I’ve never seen such a pitiful story in my life.”

“You shouldn’t live like this, sir.”

One man joined in with a stern voice, trying to condemn Adam’s way of life.

Adam looked at me with an extremely aggrieved expression, but…… I had only told the truth.

The misunderstanding was entirely something these men and women had created themselves.

Still, I felt guilty about letting Adam suffer any more, so I decided to explain.

“It’s a misunderstanding…… And I’m not his daughter. He’s an acquaintance of my late father…… I mean, someone who knew him……”

My words only made everyone’s reaction even more intense.

“Oh, my! You mean he isn’t even her real father?”

“Her dead father must have trusted his friend enough to leave his daughter with him, only for this man to torment her by feeding her nothing but red beets! What an unforgivable……”

“Oh, dear…… Her poor dead father must not even be able to rest peacefully in heaven.”

“You shouldn’t live like this, sir!”

The merchants condemned Adam as they handed me the basket of fruit they had collected together. It was filled with all kinds of delicious-looking fruit.

“Hang in there, dear……”

The woman who gave me the basket looked at me with pity and encouraged me.

I absentmindedly accepted the basket with my small hands, then opened my mouth again.

“No, really……”

“Miss, please stop.”

Just as I was about to defend Adam one more time, he hurriedly stopped me.

Then he muttered in a low voice,

“……The more you try to help me, Miss, the more of a piece of trash I become.”

In the end, we went to the market to buy red beets and came back with nothing but a huge amount of fruit given to us out of pity!

Adam muttered with a gloomy expression that he would never go to the market again.

He said he felt as though he had heard every insult he would ever receive in his entire life today.

“Live your life properly, mister!”

“Little one, come back if you ever need help.”

“I think people’s perception of red beets is even worse than I expected. If this continues, we won’t be able to expect many people to attend the tasting event either…… What should we do?”

“Indeed. To be honest, if it weren’t for you, Miss, I wouldn’t even have known there was such a thing as red beets. I hear they aren’t even a preferred type of animal feed.”

“Then what should we do……”

“First of all, shouldn’t the common people also learn that red beets have recently been completely reevaluated among the nobility?”

Even in his gloomy state, Adam had come up with a fairly reasonable suggestion.

“That’s right! The truth about red beets needs to be revealed quickly so my reputation can be restored. Then they’ll realize they misunderstood an innocent person.”

He suddenly regained his energy, clenched his fist solemnly, and declared this.

Apparently, being mistaken for a piece of trash had been a tremendous shock to him.

“I think we’ll need Lady Allens for this as well. I feel bad bothering her again…… but I’ll have to ask her for another favor.”

“That’s a good idea, Miss. There is quite a bit of overlap between lower-ranking nobles and the upper class among commoners, so it would be good to spread a positive image of red beets by targeting the lower-ranking nobles first. For example, we could spread the news that everyone enjoyed red beet sherbet at the masquerade ball.”

Even among commoners, the upper classes had a strong tendency to imitate the nobility.

If they learned that sherbet and snacks made from properly prepared red beets had recently become popular among nobles, it would not be difficult for the red beet trend to spread among commoners as well.

“There were things we lost during our market expedition.”

For example, Adam’s reputation.

“But we gained something too!”

The ‘Myla Shop’ that Adam and I had named together was designed to meet demand not only from nobles but also from commoners. If we had proceeded without checking the image of red beets, we might have ended up with an empty shop with nothing but flies buzzing around.

“I should write a letter to Lady Allens.”

Act quickly, prepare thoroughly!

I clenched my small fist and declared,

“I’ll deliver the letter quickly, Miss.”

Not long afterward, a maid brought out a plate of neatly cut fruit.

It was some of what the merchants had given us at the market.

I took a bite, and the sweet flesh spread pleasantly through my mouth.

Mmm, delicious!

A faint smile appeared at the corners of Parmes’s lips as he sat on the Imperial throne listening to the reports of two chancellors, only to disappear moments later.

As Britton had reported, they had searched for an insider, and after interrogation, two of them confessed that they had been spies.

Now they were being interrogated to uncover the root of the entire threat.

How dare they attempt to harm Arinel?

He would have to uproot the entire source of the threat.

Those bastards who had dared to lay a hand on Arinel, his adorable daughter-in-law.

‘But what is Arinel doing right now?’

Meanwhile, Lady Allens noticed what Parmes was thinking about instead of the state affairs she was reporting.

‘His Majesty really hasn’t changed at all, whether he’s in Galnem or here.’

And so, Piolena slipped the subject into the end of her report.

“The Palace Administration intends to designate red beet sherbet as one of the new dishes served to distinguished guests. We also plan to showcase red beet-based foods at an expo attended by emerging nobles and the middle class who have built their wealth through commerce.”

Parmes gave a slight nod at Lady Allens’s words.

“That is a good idea.”

At this, Parmel’s eyebrow twitched. He snorted and leaned forward as he addressed the Emperor.

“Your Majesty, please also permit us to stock red beet slices as military provisions. They have a long shelf life and are easy to store, so there could be no better military ration. And if you would send Arinel to the Military Affairs Department for a few weeks to demonstrate how to make them……”

“Even if they are military provisions, food production and storage are the responsibility of the Palace Administration, Your Grace. Arinel is needed by our Palace Administration. Ho ho ho!”

Lady Allens quickly tried to steal Parmel’s plan to bring Arinel over.

At that, the excited veins in Parmel’s neck immediately bulged.

“Ahem! You already approached Arinel so early and monopolized all that time with her, yet you still want more! I hear Arinel has no interest in the work of the Palace Administration. You have already lost to me.”

“Does she have any less interest in the Military Affairs Department? And Arinel dislikes being the center of attention, so she won’t enjoy spending time with Your Grace, whose appearance is so conspicuous.”

“Hmph! Resorting to personal attacks? It seems the esteemed tongue of the Chancellor of the Palace Administration is trembling!”

“Do you even realize how much you damaged Arinel’s reputation by frightening everyone at the masquerade ball? There’s a rumor among the young ladies that if they greet Arinel, the Chancellor of Military Affairs will come and take them away!”

Their argument quickly grew heated, just as it always had in Galnem.

The only difference was that the Chancellor of Economic Affairs, who had always been at the center of their battles, was away in another region on other business and could not join them this time.