STE 13

Chapter 13

“It seems he has arrived, Sister.”

“He has?”

Just after Penelope repeated the question, the sound of a horse neighing came from outside.

Only then did Penelope look out the window and spot a carriage approaching Andos Palace from so far away that it was barely visible.

After watching it for a moment, Penelope’s amethyst eyes gleamed as she turned to look at Eurydice.

“You have rather sharp ears, Eurydice.”

Although the corners of her lips were curved upward, there was no smile in her eyes.

Eurydice immediately sensed the slight chill in the atmosphere, but she pretended not to notice and smiled as she answered.

“I always keep my eyes and ears keenly alert so that I can serve you, Sister, with the utmost care.”

It was the same servile-looking smile Penelope had criticized earlier.

But Eurydice knew that deliberately refusing to correct the “ugly habit” Penelope had pointed out pleased her even more. So she intentionally made the expression even more obvious as she rose from her seat.

“I think I’ll go prepare some refreshments, Sister.”

“Go ahead. Oh, you gave all that tasteless tea to that woman earlier, didn’t you?”

“Yes, of course. You didn’t like it, Sister.”

“You really do understand me well, Eurydice. Then bring out some of my favorite rose tea as well.”

Eurydice politely bowed her head and left.

The moment she was gone, the smile hanging around Penelope’s lips disappeared.

Of course, Eurydice was unquestionably one of her people, so she could be trusted. But when it came to the deal she was about to make with the merchant, the fewer people who knew about it, the better.

By the time Eurydice returned with an appropriate selection of refreshments, the merchant had also been escorted in by another maid and was able to meet Penelope.

“It is an honor to see you again, Countess. In such a short time, your already magnificent beauty seems to have blossomed even further.”

“The facial lotion I bought from you worked quite well. I would like to order another bottle. Would that be possible? I intend to give it to my dear younger cousin.”

At those words, Eurydice’s eyes widened.

“Haha, you are truly generous. It was such a popular item that I thought Your Ladyship might want another, so I brought one with me in advance. However, it may not have quite the same effect as it did for Your Ladyship…”

“That’s fine. Not everyone can become as beautiful as I am, but if it can make an ugly face even slightly better, that should be enough.”

Penelope gave a small laugh before gesturing toward the facial lotion the merchant had taken out.

“Eurydice, take it.”

“T-there’s no need to do that.”

“Don’t refuse. You’re a young woman of marriageable age, after all.”

At those words, Eurydice reluctantly reached out her hand.

Seeing this, Penelope smiled brightly and spoke.

“Yes. Just making your skin a little smoother and your eyelashes a little more lifted can change the level of husband you can attract. It would have been better if you had taken care of yourself from the beginning, but you should make an effort even now.”

“…Yes, Countess. Thank you.”

Eurydice’s face flushed hotly after having her appearance criticized repeatedly in front of someone else.

Perhaps sensing her desire to flee immediately, Penelope kindly instructed her,

“Take it outside.”

Eurydice hurriedly slipped out, and Penelope watched her retreating figure with a pitying look before finally getting to the main point.

“So, what about it?”

The merchant smiled slyly at Penelope’s sudden impatience, as though the arrogant display she had put on in front of the maids moments earlier had never happened.

“It took an incredibly long time to obtain, Countess. I hope you will take into consideration how much trouble I went through.”

“You found it?”

“Of course. You were the one who asked me to find it, after all.”

The merchant answered ingratiatingly before pulling a small pouch from inside his clothes.

From within it, he took out a bundle of herbs wrapped in coarse cloth.

“Now, this is the Coldroot Herb, brought from Klesto, the Forest of Everlasting Snow located in the northern region of the Duchy of Romayer.”

“This really can make someone infertile after taking it just once?”

“Yes. As far as I know, the uterus freezes immediately after consumption, leaving the person permanently unable to bear children. As for the side effects, since it makes the body cold, the person who takes it becomes weak, and in severe cases, they may even die…”

“I don’t care about that. As long as she doesn’t die immediately after taking it.”

“Hahaha. In that case, it certainly sounds like a very useful item for you, Countess.”

The merchant answered Penelope’s questions with his usual easygoing manner, smiling as he fiddled with the cloth wrapped around the Coldroot Herb.

“The price is 220,000 Euros.”

“What?”

“Ah. Twenty thousand Euros is the pure labor cost of obtaining the Coldroot Herb. The labor alone was enormous. It is a difficult region to reach, and the Duchy directly manages the Coldroot Herb, which made things even more complicated… Anyway, the rest is the cost of maintaining secrecy.”

“You’re charging me for keeping it secret?”

“Why the Coldroot Herb was obtained and who it was sold to. Everything will be kept completely confidential. It is one of our merchant guild’s strict principles.”

Only then did Penelope’s amethyst eyes, which had frozen as coldly as the Coldroot Herb itself, slowly soften.

A person who merely promised to keep a secret was less trustworthy than someone who accepted payment for confidentiality and then made absolutely certain to keep their word.

“Fine.”

“Thank you. I’ll give you the facial lotion you took as a complimentary service.”

“I would have been disappointed if you hadn’t.”

“You certainly know how to joke, Countess.”

It is something I was supposed to be paid for anyway.

The merchant muttered the words to himself before placing the withdrawal authorization for 220,000 Euros, which Penelope had hastily scribbled out, inside his clothes and standing up.

“Oh, and when you use the Coldroot Herb, you should mix it into strong liquor if possible. That way, it will be difficult to notice the cold sensation.”

The fact that the merchant had accurately understood how she intended to use it was rather irritating, but there was nothing she could do about it.

The oracle had spread throughout the entire Karnes Empire.

And if the Emperor’s mistress was seeking an infertility medicine under such circumstances, the reason would be obvious.

“That is a useful tip. Thank you.”

“It is only natural service for a customer. I look forward to doing business with you again, Countess.”

“Yes. Until next time.”

The corners of Penelope’s lips curled coldly upward as she watched the brazen merchant leave.

Perhaps it was because she had been excessively tense during her meeting with the Archbishop.

Tethys returned to the Empress’s Palace slightly earlier than usual and fell into a deep sleep, not waking until after noon.

Afterward, she found herself hungry for the first time in a while.

Fortunately, perhaps because she had thoroughly cowed the maids yesterday, she was not greeted by dried-out rotten bread or anything of the sort.

“Is the meal satisfactory, Your Highness?”

Perhaps Baroness Aegis had noticed Tethys picking at her food and become concerned.

“It’s excellent.”

Tethys lightly eased her worries.

The food laid before her resembled the simple breakfasts she used to eat when she had been a princess.

Dalia’s influence was undoubtedly behind it.

“I’m glad. If there is anything else you require, please tell me at any time.”

“No. This is enough for breakfast.”

“Ah, yes. Understood, Your Highness.”

Tethys liked the fact that her attitude had become noticeably more respectful.

The other maids, who had constantly tried to meet her eyes and engage in a battle of wills, had also been thoroughly cowed and now kept their heads lowered.

It seemed they had all gone to their respective families after leaving the palace yesterday and investigated anything that might serve as a weakness.

Telling them one by one exactly what weaknesses she had on them would have been rather exhausting, so Tethys was pleased that they had understood the situation on their own.

…Now that things have come this far, perhaps it is time for me to start moving.

“Has the room Mother used been put in order?”

“…Pardon?”

“The room where the former Empress used to stay. I’m asking whether it has been cleaned and arranged since that day.”

“Ah.”

Baroness Aegis hurriedly lowered her head.

“I-I apologize, Your Highness. In truth, the Empress’s Palace is so vast, and the room you use is on the exact opposite side from the room the former Empress used…”

She seemed unable to bring herself to say the words aloud.

It had never been maintained.

But Tethys understood.

The Empress’s Palace was enormous, and the room she currently used was located on the opposite side from the room her mother had occupied.

Moreover, the former Empress had not died peacefully, and with Tethys away at Armus, anyone who had tried to carelessly tend to her belongings might have fallen out of Romain’s favor.

“I think it’s time I started taking care of it.”

“Baroness Aegis, organize the list of guests who have requested an audience and have it ready for me by this afternoon.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

After hearing her answer, Tethys set down her utensils and rose from her seat.

The time had finally come to look through the traces of the mother she had desperately tried to avoid confronting.