Translator: Nox

33 - Chapter 33

Cambon, though small, was a city of considerable size in this area.

As they approached Cambon, the surrounding farmland disappeared, replaced by old houses and stalls selling goods in front of them.

Further in, more presentable buildings began to appear.

Past the houses with large gardens on the outskirts of the city, tall, narrow buildings of more than three stories lined the streets.

These were the homes of the city dwellers.

Passing through them and arriving at the central square with the church, they found a market where merchants from nearby villages had parked their baggage wagons and were selling goods.

Perhaps it was because it had been a while since he had been in a place with so many people, but even though it was clearly much smaller and quieter than Newham, Ryan found it quite bustling.

‘I still prefer quiet places.’

It had only been a short while ago that he was thinking of simply returning to the capital from quiet Blissbury, but Ryan, forgetting that he had even considered that, was already thinking only of returning to Blissbury.

Leaving the carriage at a nearby inn, the two set out for their original purpose.

“Let’s go to Mr. Keynes’ and Mr. Wilson’s stores first. The other stores are nearby anyway, so we should stop by each of them.”

Ryan smiled at the mention of the merchants who had fought in Blissbury.

Eloise didn’t know it, but after that day when they had backed down, Mr. Keynes had sent him a letter.

He said that he regretted not being able to talk to him properly that day because of Eloise, and that if Ryan entrusted all the orders after the Summer Ball to him alone, he would properly repay that trust.

Ryan quickly understood what that letter meant.

It was the way merchants who supplied the military spoke when they were offering to help embezzle funds if Ryan would trade with them.

He wondered what kind of reaction they would have when he entered their stores with Eloise.

“Hello, Mr. Keynes.”

“E, Eloise, Miss? What brings you here… Sergeant Thornton, too?”

Mr. Keynes, who had greeted her with a slightly awkward expression, hurriedly wiped his hands and came forward to greet them when he saw Ryan entering with her.

“D, did you come together?”

“Yes. I came with Sergeant Thornton to check on the orders and introduce him to the others. Is everything going well?”

“Ah, yes. Of course.”

Mr. Keynes kept glancing at Ryan as he answered.

He had thought that Ryan would call him separately after he sent that letter, or that he would come alone, but he had come with Eloise.

Moreover, it seemed to him that Eloise still had the authority to manage Blissbury.

While Eloise was inspecting the goods, Ryan stood beside her and checked them as well, but he didn’t say anything in particular.

This made Mr. Keynes even more anxious.

He would have preferred it if Ryan had shown some reaction, but Ryan was just smiling quietly, making it impossible to read his thoughts, and his mouth felt parched.

In fact, there was a reason why he had sent the letter.

He had raised his voice that day, claiming he was innocent, but everyone suspected him. He was indeed the one who had torn the top of the order form.

‘It’s all because that Wilson got a new client.’

Until then, his grocery store, which had connections with the slaughterhouse, had much better quality meat. But since last year, Mr. Wilson’s store had also started trading with a new slaughterhouse, and a wider variety of meats and poultry of similar quality began to arrive.

The people of Feltham, a little further away, might not know it yet, but the people of Cambon were increasingly heading to Mr. Wilson’s store.

‘Still, it’s good to have Blissbury as a client.’

They always ordered the highest quality cuts. That alone was a great profit, and the meat orders for the Summer Ball were more than the sales of two months combined.

‘Who doesn’t like money? Except for the Suberton father and daughter.’

In fact, when Mr. Suberton first took over as the manager of Blissbury, he had made a similar offer.

But Mr. Suberton had refused outright, saying he couldn’t do that.

Still, his store had much better meat at the time, so they continued to trade, but if things continued like this, there was a high possibility that Blissbury’s orders would go to Wilson’s store someday.

That’s why he had even written a letter…

Mr. Keynes watched Ryan standing behind Eloise and checking the goods, and he sensed it.

It seemed that he might not get Blissbury’s orders next year.

The two then headed to Mr. Wilson’s store.

Unlike Mr. Keynes’ store, it was crowded with people. Moreover, there was no unpleasant smell when they went to the sales counter, and the clothes of the employees cutting the meat were clean.

“Ah, you’ve arrived!”

Mr. Wilson spotted them and quickly led them to the reception room next door.

From behind, they heard voices saying, “Isn’t that Miss Suberton?”, “But who is the gentleman next to her?”

‘I might end up introducing him to everyone here without having to go anywhere else.’

Eloise sighed, feeling the gazes on her back.

‘The friends in Feltham might put a noose around my neck.’

Even though he had retreated powerlessly from Blissbury, the women of Feltham had not given up on Sergeant Thornton.

He was still the best bachelor. Just because he was going back to the capital didn’t mean people were hesitating.

‘It’s a good thing, rather.’

If they got married and went to the capital together, what could be more of a dream come true for everyone?

But to introduce such a Sergeant Thornton to Cambon. The friends in Feltham would never let her get away with increasing the competition.

Meanwhile, Mr. Wilson showed them the list of orders he had placed and explained exactly when and how much he would be able to prepare. He then brought out some imported tea that he had recently brought in from abroad.

It was a tea full of a sweet floral scent that she had never smelled before. At first, it was just an unidentifiable, fingernail-sized lump, but as time passed, it regained its original flower shape in the teacup and bloomed brightly.

“It’s really beautiful.”

Eloise couldn’t take her eyes off the tea, which was in a form she had never seen before, and kept looking at the teacup.

“Isn’t it? As soon as I saw it in Newham, I knew I had to bring it to Cambon, so I bought everything they had. I heard that it was all sold out after that, and they can’t get it until the next shipment arrives. So the price is constantly rising in Newham. No one knows when the ship will come again.”

Mr. Wilson, like a true merchant, continued to explain the product.

“Since it’s such a precious item, it would be perfect to bring it to Blissbury. How about it? It would be great to serve to the guests at the Banquet before the Summer Ball.”

Eloise gave a troubled smile at Mr. Wilson’s suggestion.

It was natural to have high-quality tea available for the guests who visited the mansion.

But since it was said to be a rare tea even in the capital, the price would be considerable, and above all, she didn’t have the authority to decide on such things now.

Sergeant Thornton had said that she was also a manager to make her feel good, but her involvement with Blissbury would only be until the Summer Ball. She had no intention of staying there any longer.

‘My father will be back, too.’

Even so, she was tempted by the exotic scent lingering at the tip of her nose.

It would be nice if she could serve this to the guests who came to Blissbury…

“I understand. Please include this with the next delivery. I’ll take everything you have in the store right now.”

Eloise and Mr. Wilson’s eyes widened at Ryan’s words.

“Sergeant Thornton!”

“Oh, thank you. I’ll prepare it right away.”

Unlike Eloise, who was surprised and called out to him, Mr. Wilson quickly got up from his seat and went outside.

“Do you even know how much it will cost? You don’t know the price or how much is left. And there’s still quite a bit of tea left in Blissbury. If you buy this much, the budget…”

“You don’t have to worry about the budget. I’m going to buy this with my own money. Of course, I’ll serve it to the guests who come to Blissbury as well.”

Eloise had nothing to say to the fact that he was going to buy it with his own money.

“Did you like it that much?”

“Yes, the scent and taste are good, but…”

He looked at Eloise and said with an unconscious smile.

“It’s fun to watch.”

And then.

“…Is that really Ryan?”

Outside the window, two gentlemen were staring at Ryan, who was smiling, as if they couldn’t believe it.