While I was in the middle of preparing, a face suddenly popped through the slightly opened door.
It was Balzac.
“What are you doing?”
When I looked, Joshua and Richmond were behind Balzac.
“Preparing to go down to Euroseong Territory.”
“Why to Euroseong Territory?”
“To make money!”
To be precise, it was to take the Wild Mage as my subordinate and hold a class reunion for Dad.
Well, that’s all about making money anyway.
Question marks appeared above my brothers’ heads.
Balzac asked as if wondering what that meant.
“Money? Do we have something to earn money from?”
“Why not!”
I looked sharply at Balzac as if saying this was serious.
The more money, the better.
To make Dad the Duke of Astra, astronomical money was needed.
Of course, also so I could live leisurely later.
“If we get the family’s money, we have to work accordingly.”
Balzac entered the room and said,
“Isn’t the distribution fee from Baeksujeong enough?”
“Grimie is much richer than us.”
Probably, they have more money hidden in the shadows than what appears publicly.
If Grimie operates the <Veil>, their funds would be beyond imagination.
“In comparison, all our assets are exposed.”
I must earn a lot for the future.
Joshua nodded.
“We can’t rely solely on Baeksujeong.”
Then Balzac frowned.
“Why? Others are desperate because they can’t.”
“Baeksujeong is controlled by the Emperor.”
“Why?”
“...You should study more.”
Joshua sighed deeply.
Richmond answered instead.
“The authority for import-export approval lies with the Emperor.”
“Ah.”
“Moreover, if relations between the Empire and Aligiosa sour, Aligiosa won’t allow us to distribute Baeksujeong anymore.”
“Our financial source is in the Emperor’s hands...”
Exactly.
So, we must prepare money sources besides Baeksujeong.
Balzac folded his arms and nodded.
“I get that, but are you going alone to Euroseong Territory? It’s a dangerous place with countless territorial wars.”
“I’m bringing monsters.”
“Powerful monsters will be blocked by the barriers.”
“Yes, so I’m bringing not powerful monsters.”
“Then the escort is meaningless!”
“It’s okay. Alexis is going with me.”
With Alexis here, who would dare touch me?
When I said this casually, my brothers’ eyes narrowed.
Regardless, I packed my luggage cheerfully.
“Ah! I should tell Dad I’m going.”
Even as I left the room quickly, disapproving looks didn’t stop.
The next day.
I was waiting for a carriage outside the capital outskirts.
Han Jihyeok was trembling as he barely held my huge luggage.
“What kind of luggage is this... Ugh... Just take the carriage!”
“Who rides carriages like a commoner?”
“You don’t have to look like that even in the capital!”
I couldn’t do that.
“No one can know that ‘Erilot Astra’ went to Euroseong Territory.”
Euroseong Territory is a lawless zone.
Countless illegal trades like drugs and slaves happen there.
“If people find out I went there, all kinds of rumors will spread.”
Especially if they find out I went with my fiancé Alexis?
They’d surely think there’s a secret pact between Astra and Ishiron.
When I explained that, Han Jihyeok frowned.
“It’s just rumors anyway, so what.”
“If the Emperor or Grandfather start to be wary, it would be serious.”
I just barely gained the Emperor’s trust and can’t lose it.
“In any case, if something can be handled carefully, there’s no need to openly say you want to be comfortable.”
“Then do something about your face.”
“I disguised myself. Can you tell?”
Han Jihyeok put my luggage on a bench and came closer.
Then he started rubbing my makeup roughly.
“What are you doing?”
Han Jihyeok rubbed my face so hard it almost blurred his pronunciation and nodded.
“Now the blotchiness looks country-style.”
“Should I redraw my freckles?”
“A lot. Give me the makeup.”
I obediently let Han Jihyeok take my face.
Being a former con artist, he was skilled at disguise.
He did the hair dye, and even got colored lenses that are not sold here.
Looking in the mirror, I saw a girl who definitely didn’t look like me.
“The makeup is amazing. The magic tools could only change the body shape, lower the nose bridge, and slightly reduce the eyes...”
I murmured, and Han Jihyeok shrugged.
“There are tons of people who look completely different just by makeup on X-Tube.”
“Maybe I should start a cosmetics business.”
“Not a bad idea.”
While chatting, three carriages stopped in front of us.
A man got off the second carriage and approached us.
“You’re Rilu and Zik, right?”
Han Jihyeok quickly stepped in front of me to answer.
“Yes, yes, sir! That’s right.”
“I heard your master’s acquaintance asked for a job. Come along; I’ll give you space in the luggage carriage.”
“Ah, thank you!”
Han Jihyeok rubbed his palms and replied.
I felt like watching a drama.
Though I knew he was a con artist, his acting was professional level.
‘I think he would have earned well even if he became an actor, not a con artist?’
Han Jihyeok bent halfway and carried my luggage.
“Hey, Rilu! They’re busy people, so let’s hurry!”
...I guess I really had to make him act.
I followed Han Jihyeok toward the luggage carriage.
The second carriage left first.
After loading luggage in the back, we moved to the front cabin.
There were familiar faces in the front.
“Ah...!”
It was the Mari and Masa sisters.
Masa tried to acknowledge me with a bright face.
‘People who know me well notice even with a disguise.’
Fortunately, no one else knew me.
Since I wanted to hide my identity, Alexis seemed to have arranged the procession with people who didn’t know me.
Other servants asked Masa.
“Do you know each other?”
Masa hesitated, and Mari quickly answered.
“We’ve seen each other passing by. The Countess Erilot Astra and the young master are close acquaintances.”
“Ah, you also entered by recommendation of Countess Astra. If both know the acquaintance, that makes sense.”
As expected, Mari.
I only told them I was riding the servant carriage, yet they figured out I was hiding my identity.
Masa looked at Mari nervously and shut her mouth.
Han Jihyeok whispered, looking inside the carriage.
“They say there are people in the front cabin?”
Then why is there so much luggage in the front too?
I gestured to the seats.
“There’s a seat over there.”
“...Looks like only one person can sit?”
“They wouldn’t give a proper seat to the luggage servant.”
“Not all duke’s servants have it easy. It’s harsh, harsh.”
Han Jihyeok sat down first.
When I was about to sit beside him,
“What are you doing?”
A sharp voice came from the opposite side.
A blonde girl who looked about twelve raised her eyebrows.
“Yes?”
When I asked, she crossed her arms and said,
“Move.”
“Is someone reserving this seat?”
“What is she saying now?”
The blonde girl chuckled, and nearby servants giggled.
The blonde girl put her foot on the seat I was about to sit on.
Then she pointed at the floor and said,
“The apprentice seat is here.”
—She was telling me to sit on the floor?
She was putting her legs on the remaining seats.
Han Jihyeok frowned.
“There’s a seat, so why sit on the floor?”
“Oh my.”
The other girls couldn’t take their eyes off Han Jihyeok’s face.
He dyed and styled roughly with magic tools because few people recognized him.
His handsome looks were partly revealed.
The blonde girl looked at me.
“What are you doing? You have to sit to start.”
“If you move your legs, can we ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) start?”
Masa looked flustered and glanced between me and the blonde girl.
“Uh, Bloni...!”
She seemed to try to stop her somehow, but the blonde ignored Masa.
“She can’t understand words.”
The blonde girl crossed her arms and stood up.
Then she lightly tapped my shoulder and said,
“The apprentice’s seat is on the floor.”
“Is that a rule for servants?”
“There are unspoken rules.”
I sat down silently.
Of course, not on the floor but beside Han Jihyeok.
“...!”
The blonde girl’s expression hardened.
Masa’s eyes went wide, and Mari silently snickered.
Han Jihyeok burst out laughing.
The blonde girl’s face turned red and pale.
“You, now...!”
She was about to shout when a voice came from the coachman’s seat.
“Are we late! If we don’t leave soon, the young master’s carriage will catch up! Go prepare ahead!”
The blonde girl looked at the coachman and shot me a glare.
Since the coachman cared for the family’s horses, he had rank among servants.
That’s why no one could treat him roughly.
Mari said to the coachman,
“We’re ready to leave.”
Han Jihyeok quickly closed the door.
As the carriage started, the blonde girl reluctantly sat down.
She glared at me as if trying to kill me the whole way.
I looked out the window.
The carriage had been running for eight hours, but the gates of Euroseong Castle were still not in sight.
‘It’s night, but we haven’t arrived yet.’
I whispered to Han Jihyeok.
“How much farther?”
“About five hours left?”
“That’s too far...”
“Exactly. It’s hard for me, but even harder for you. This is your first long trip.”
Of course, that was true for me, but the other servants were dying too.
We had been cramped in a low-grade carriage that transmitted every bump in the road for eight hours.
Then suddenly,
“We’ll take a break!”
A welcome voice came from the coachman’s seat.
As soon as the carriage stopped, the servants including me rushed out.
“Ugh, I thought my back was breaking.”
Han Jihyeok patted his back and groaned.
Other servants rubbed their joints or squatted down sighing.
Masa looked tired and leaned against a tree.
“So... carriages are really hard...”
I was watching Masa.
She looked at me with a blank expression and glanced at Masa.
“How can you not endure this?”
“But it’s my first time coming this far by carriage... Are you okay, sister?”
“The Countess Astra gave me more than I deserve. From now on, I have to get used to this life.”
“...”
“That’s why I told you to sleep early. It’s already a long journey, and you’re chatting with other maids until dawn.”
“...”
“If you don’t take care of your body, you’ll be the one who loses.”
Mari threw motion sickness medicine to Masa with a annoyed face.
Masa sulked and lowered her head.
People frowned.
“Your sister is having a hard time, and you can’t even worry about her. You’re always so full of yourself...”
“Masa, come here.”
Masa reluctantly went near the others, and Mari was left alone.
I approached Mari who was standing apart.
“Do you have any motion sickness medicine left?”
“Only one. Dex has some, so if you’re tired, go to him—”
“Not me, you.”
“...”
I sighed deeply and said to Han Jihyeok.
“Give me a handkerchief.”
“Ah? Ah, here.”
I washed the handkerchief in a nearby stream.
Then I forced Mari to sit and put the cold cloth on her neck.
“What are you doing?”
“You look like a corpse.”
“...”
“Why would a weak person come here stubbornly? I heard the butler watches you well, so leave.”
“Mind your own business.”
“You came along because you were afraid Masa would cause trouble, right? You’re trying to clean it up.”
“...”
“You really don’t have skills.”
Mari was teaching Masa how to live alone.
She didn’t know how long she would survive with her weak body.
“Speak gently.”
“I’ve never seen her change with kind words.”
“Oh dear.”
I rubbed Mari’s stiff muscles and squinted.
Mari whispered, frowning.
“Why are you so eager to be nice to me?”
“I get flustered even if I’m nice.”
“Suspicious.”
“I just feel affectionate for you.”
Her lack of skills reminded me of my first life.
Mari glanced at me.
“Annoying...”
“Liar. You’re just shy now, right?”
“I’m noisy.”
“Liar~.”
“This is real.”
While Mari and I were bickering,
Screams echoed from among the maids.
“Young Master Alexis is resting over here too? Really?”
A black-haired maid asked, and a blonde maid named Bloni smiled.
“Yes, I heard that.”
“We, the low-ranking servants, rarely get to meet him!”
The maids were very excited.
“He really likes Bloni, huh?”
“He almost never rests with a third-rank maid!”
A young male servant chuckled.
“All the effort wasn’t wasted. You worked hard to get into the low-ranking servants’ quarters, didn’t you?”
“What effort? The young master just likes me.”
Hearing that, Mari snickered.
“No kidding.”
“What?”
“Bloni, you really worked hard to get involved with Young Master Alexis.”
Mari muttered with a displeased look.
“I saw it.”
“What?”
“She gave money to the low-ranking servants’ quarters to do the young master’s laundry.”
“...”
“Third-rank holmaids like Bloni normally can’t enter the mansion proper. But she’s trying hard to get into the inner mansion.”
I nodded.
The servants started preparing eagerly to serve Alexis.
And some time later,
The luxurious carriage of the main Ishiron family arrived.