Chapter 69

"What is it?"

"I've been racking my brain over what might be of use to the territory, and I thought perhaps offering our region's specialty product would be the best option."

"Specialty?"

"Yes. The Pirantо region has deep, mountainous terrain, so we get a great many medicinal herbs."

And most of the nobles who came calling proposed offering their specialty products along with gold and silver. They each made a point of saying she should let them know if she ever needed anything.

"I'll have a formal proposal drafted once I return, and I'll send it on for your consideration. If the opportunity allows, I'd love to keep this relationship going for the long term."

"Understood."

"Ah… and one of the dishes served at dinner was something I'd never seen before. Would it be all right to ask what it was?"

It seemed the eggs and Cheongyangs had captured the nobles' palates, just as Iberin had hoped.

By the time they were on their way out, nearly all of them had asked what that unusual ingredient was.

This noble was no exception.

"Sounds like it agreed with you."

"Yes, it was unlike anything I've ever tasted. If there's any way to get hold of it, I'd love to try…."

"It's a crop that grows in Lecashe."

"Sorry? Crops grow in Lecashe?"

This reaction of disbelief was also pretty much the same across the board.

"Glad you took to it. I thought I might send some back with you."

"…Ah, I'm not sure if I can ask this, but…"

"Go ahead."

The next question was easy enough to see coming.

"…There's nothing toxic about it, is there…?"

There it was, right on cue.

"No, nothing of the sort. We've been eating it without any trouble."

That was where the reactions split.

The squeamish ones politely declined and went on their way, while the others said they didn't mind and asked for some anyway.

"…In that case, I'd be grateful if you'd send just a little along with me."

This one fell into the second camp.

It had clearly hit the spot.

For nobles like this, the head chef had prepared boxes that came with a booklet of recipes tucked inside.

Once every last noble had gone, the residence settled back into quiet so fast you'd never guess how full it had been.

"They've all left."

"They all said they'd be in touch again, though."

"With the ijet on the table, of course they would. Just a little longer and the south — no, all of Aleta — is going to be buzzing."

Iberin stretched until her arms popped and yawned.

"You tired? You should go rest."

"Mmh. A little sleepy."

She didn't feel like she'd actually done all that much, but knowing the whole thing was finally over had the exhaustion crashing in on her.

---

True to expectation, the appearance of ijet sent the world into an uproar.

So did the news that sales were being restricted to nobles who'd actually attended the party.

The southern nobles just kicked themselves, but the nobles from elsewhere went up in flames.

The complaint was: did this mean nobles outside the south weren't even getting a shot?

"The nerve of them."

Iberin let out a dry laugh when she heard.

"The pushback from the central nobles is pretty heavy, apparently."

"What are they going to do about it, though?"

"Nothing they can do…."

"And the emperor?"

"Surprisingly quiet, by all accounts."

The source was Nais.

"Honestly, nobles."

No matter what any of them said, all Iberin wanted was to expand her influence in the south.

"How many of the nobles are you going to actually give ijet to?"

"If I had it my way I'd give a piece to every guest, but the offers vary, and if I gave it out to everyone it'd cause another mess."

"Of course it would…."

Hand it to all of them and even the emperor — quiet up to now — would step in.

"Two feels about right."

One felt too stingy, three felt too many.

The chest was packed to overflowing with ijet, sure.

"If the chance comes up, I can just release another batch later."

For days they pored over every proposal the nobles had sent in.

Beyond the proposals, even the nobles who'd been too busy hedging their bets to accept Lecashe's invitation started crawling back to try and curry favor.

Some asked her to attend their own parties, others sent gifts. But she turned all of it down.

It was too transparent — the kind of thing that worked against you.

In any case, the ijet had nobles flocking to Lecashe in droves.

"And there's a rumor going around that Lyssel's gorgeous."

"I heard that too."

"Some of the nobles inviting us are probably as curious about Lyssel as they are about the ijet."

Lyssel kept his face straight, but he couldn't hide the red creeping up the tips of his ears.

The young ladies who'd seen him at the party must have been pouring their souls into praising his looks, because the rumor had spread like wildfire.

The old whispers — calling him hideous, or claiming he wore the shape of a monster — had vanished without a trace.

Iberin couldn't stop laughing, oddly pleased.

"You're teasing me. Drop it and let's talk about who's getting the ijet."

"I'm not teasing. I'm just proud. The way I see it, Lyssel could conquer Aleta on looks alone."

"…I'm partial to Count Elton."

"Way to change the subject."

"My guess is you're going to say Marquis Bilson, Iberin."

"You're right. House Marquis Bilson's the one I like. Their proposal's the most interesting too."

Count Elton had offered to give her a ring with a holy spirit bound inside.

He'd clearly picked his offer thinking it would suit Iberin to wear it.

The spirit wasn't a powerful one, so it wouldn't be much help, but it wasn't a bad gift either.

If not for Rozelia, Iberin would've said I'll take it on the spot.

On top of that, he'd made the bold declaration that he'd support anything else that contributed to the territory's development.

It probably wasn't just talk, either — after House Marquis Bilson, House Count Elton was the next-wealthiest family in the south.

Marquis Bilson's offer was similar but pitched differently.

If Elton was material goods and manpower, Bilson was trade.

So that was why Lady Medinen Bilson had such a head for business — Bilson was a merchant house.

They already ran a sizable trading guild, and on top of that, the young lady had apparently taken to the eggs and Cheongyangs enough to promise to buy them in bulk.

These were crops only Lecashe grew, so wider distribution was nothing but good news for them.

---

With ijet on the line, every reply came back sharp.

"They say they're coming to collect in person."

"In person?"

Both Marquis Bilson and Count Elton sent word they'd be coming all the way to Lecashe themselves.

"Knowing each other face to face won't hurt."

"True enough."

"Plus, ijet isn't just any old gemstone."

"Fair point."

House Elton was relatively close, but House Bilson was a long way off.

"The south really is huge."

Iberin murmured, looking at the spread of pins on the map.

She'd pulled the map out to get a sense of where everyone sat, since they'd be doing business together.

"Even on the map they look so far that going back and forth is going to take a while."

"More importantly, the Gelta Six are losing it."

They were the ones who'd skipped the invitation entirely.

"And yet their proposals came in. The brass on them."

"Wow. There's bound to be a few nobles like that. We're talking thirty-odd people at the party, and proposals keep rolling in."

"Right."

They clearly hadn't learned yet — which meant Iberin felt zero sympathy.

"They brought it on themselves."

It was the punishment for sucking Lecashe dry all those years.

"More to the point — how's the egg situation?"

She'd been so swamped with the party that she hadn't been paying attention.

But the people of the Gelta region were still suffering.

"The head chef went down and gave it another try, but they say nobody really turned up."

"Yeah?"

"Mm — wasn't all for nothing, though."

People had been pulled in by the smell and slipped over to buy on the sly.

Just as Iberin had thought, those buyers were almost all the ones who were genuinely desperate.

"Were the children there?"

"Yes. They bought a whole load of it, and they came back the next time too."

"Really? Thank goodness."

"That said — I think the kid situation needs to end here."

"…I was probably overstepping."

"Not quite that. It's more that Lecashe is going to keep developing from here on. The eggs and Cheongyangs are going to start selling, too."

"And?"

"If we keep helping, it'll never end, and they'll start taking it for granted — that's the worry."

Sure, they'd be grateful now. But if the help just kept coming?

"That's a fair point…."

They'd start seeing it as a right.

They'd forget that nothing was free, and the asks would only grow.

It wasn't as if Iberin hadn't considered it herself.

"I think I was only looking at how pitiful the kids were."

"That's not a bad thing. I felt for them at first too. I just don't think we have to keep tying ourselves in knots over this."

"I know."

He didn't have to spell it out — she knew he was right.

The situation was sad, but they'd done plenty.

"How many eggs were the kids buying?"

"Turning out their pockets for them, basically."

"…If they spent everything they had, that'd actually feed them for a while."

"It would."

"Let's stop selling them that way."

Long-term, Lyssel had it right.

"We finally got the territory some leverage. Can't be the easy mark anymore."

Iberin grinned.

---

Trade was officially underway.

Given what was being traded, Marquis Bilson and Count Elton moved aggressively.

Hardly a surprise — ijet was something you couldn't buy for any amount of money.

Ether's eyes went round.

A place that used to be piled with monster carcasses was now packed to the rafters with goods — no wonder he was thrown.

"Mommy… what is all this…?"

"It's all from Count Elton. You remember meeting him before, Ether?"

"Yes. But why's he giving us this much stuff?"

Count Elton had come by earlier, and Ether seemed to remember him.

"He was really nice, too…."

"Was he?"

"Yes, he smiled at me lots."

Ether grinned shyly as he said it.

Beside them, Rozelia, who'd been quietly watching, scrunched up her brows.

"Ether, don't get all happy just because someone's a little nice to you."

"Huh?"

"You're going to be Grand Duke Lecashe someday. You can't go around lighting up because someone smiled at you."

True, but the comment was awfully cold for a kid her age.

"Count Elton's after something. That's why."

"After something?"

"Yes! You think he gave us all that for no reason?!"

"After what?"

She'd seemed uninterested, but apparently she'd caught everything.

Rozelia stressed to Ether, several times over, that nobody was generous without a motive.

"Lady Iberin, obviously!"

"…Huh?"