Chapter 58

Chapter 58

#58. The Wind of the Northern Region (1)

Maria’s bookstore was small, but it had everything you could want in a cute little package.

There was even a cozy little spot to sit and read the books you picked out, though naturally, you had to pay for that privilege.

However, for some reason, Theo didn’t have to pay.

Maybe it was a special discount for regular customers?

Anyway, sitting in that space, Theo was reading a book.

Before he knew it, Maria herself had sat right next to him, also reading.

It seemed like she just naturally ended up here since there weren’t many customers.

Of course, while Maria was focused on her book, Theo’s attention had been on her from the start.

“Hmm… Isn’t this bookstore kind of barren? Maybe we should decorate it with something?”

As he fished around for the perfect moment to bring out the porcelain from his pocket, Theo casually suggested to Maria:

“Like, maybe put out a piece of porcelain or something?”

“Porcelain?”

At Theo’s words, Maria looked up from her book with an expression that said, “What are you talking about?”

“Do you know how expensive porcelain is?”

“Is porcelain really that pricey?”

“Of course it is!”

“But I see it around pretty often these days?”

Theo knew all too well how expensive porcelain was—after all, he was the operating manager of Arad Company—but he feigned ignorance to keep the conversation going with her.

“Even if you see it often, places as poor as our bookstore could never afford it.”

Maria’s father was supposedly a bureaucrat of High City, if Theo remembered correctly.

“And if we spent money on porcelain, we should be buying more books instead. We could get at least fifty more with that money alone.”

Seeing how frugal she remained despite being part of a bureaucratic family, Theo figured her father must either be incorruptibly honest or relatively low-ranking.

“Besides, managing such valuable porcelain would take away from work. There’s always the risk of theft too.”

“Thieves? This is High City! And it’s even inside the inner castle!”

“That’s what I mean. If something worth its weight in gold were just sitting out here, wouldn’t someone feel tempted?”

“Aren’t books expensive too? Most cost more than a silver coin each, and the pricier ones go for gold coins outright.”

“Come to think of it, it *is* weird. Books are clearly expensive, yet I’ve never heard of thieves targeting them.”

“Well, anyone interested in books probably doesn’t need to resort to thievery anyway.”

“Hearing you say that makes me think putting out a few pieces of porcelain might not be so bad after all. It’s just their price that intimidates people.”

As they talked, Theo’s heart raced.

Though he didn’t show it, Maria seemed subtly interested in porcelain like celadon too.

“So, Maria, I prepared this for you.”

From his coat, Theo pulled out a piece of celadon he’d worked hard on for two days straight and handed it to Maria.

“!!”

Her eyes widened when she saw the blue vase-shaped porcelain.

“What is this?!”

Its color and luster were unlike anything she’d ever seen before. Even the flowers of the northern region, clumsily painted on its surface, opened her eyes to a whole new artistic horizon beyond books.

“I made this at the company over the last two days.”

“You, Theo, you made this?!”

Maria was shocked—more shocked than when she first saw him, despite him only having one arm until recently.

“If your company can do this…”

“Yeah, that’s right. Arad Company. They make Arad Salt and even built my arm. So, where do you think this should go?”

“But… something this expensive, I can’t accept it!”

“It’s not expensive at all. I guarantee that soon this celadon will become cheaper than most books.”

“Really…?”

“And this piece holds a bit more meaning. It’s one of the first celadons ever made in the Northern Region, no, the entire Arcadia Continent. Plus, I stayed up all night making it myself.”

“…!”

Given how much Theo had said, there was no way Maria couldn’t understand the feelings behind his gesture.

She’d already suspected his intentions for a while now.

And truthfully, she didn’t dislike the diligent knight who kept coming to her bookstore without making any clear moves.

It was frustrating and nerve-wracking how he’d visit but never properly confess.

‘Can this count as a confession?’

But it seemed like today was the day to end this ambiguous relationship.

‘So this is why he dragged things out till now?’

In Maria’s eyes, the celadon in front of her was nothing less than a heartfelt declaration of love, brimming with Theo’s sincerity and effort.

‘Alright then, my turn too!’

Maria calmed her racing heart and spoke up to Theo.

“Hmm… Didn’t you say you were taking a break today?”

“Yeah? That’s right.”

“Then I’ll close early and let’s grab dinner together, okay?”

Since the other party had gathered so much courage and poured so much effort into this…

Maria thought it was time for her to gather her own courage.

“Water? Of course! I’m game for anywhere!”

“The gift’s on me.”

“Nonsense! I’ve got plenty of money!”

“You spent it all on books, didn’t you? From now on, save your money. There’ll be plenty of expenses coming up later.”

“Eh…?”

As they stared at each other, both Maria and Theo’s faces flushed red.

Despite the winter chill, it felt like a warm breeze was blowing through the air.

***

Lenslet Castle.

Palace of Glory.

Ariana, the Grand Duchess of the Northern Region, entered her bedroom after finally getting some time off, shedding her disguise.

No one had noticed her on the way here because she used one of the secret passages known only to a very select few in High City.

“Ugh!”

The moment she entered her room, Ariana collapsed onto her bed.

She hadn’t changed clothes or even washed up.

Even though it was high noon, she didn’t care.

If Isabel, her chief stewardess, saw her like this, she’d surely scold her.

But Ariana planned to ignore whatever Isabel might say.

‘I worked all night for two days straight, so I deserve at least one day of rest.’

She felt justified.

This break was her rightful reward.

‘Still, it was fun.’

Lying in bed, Ariana gazed at the ceiling with a gentle smile.

From the pouch ‘Arad’s Devotion’ strapped to her waist, she took out something.

It was the world’s only blue water bottle she’d personally crafted at the Second Factory just moments ago.

Ding Dong Dong

Right as sunlight hit the blue water bottle in her hand, the sword and shield emblems she’d meticulously carved and painted overnight glowed faintly, as if infused with mana.

Green light spilled out of the bottle.

‘It’s beautiful…’

Looking at the ethereal glow of the bottle, Ariana felt strangely moved to tears.

‘Why am I feeling like this…?’

A story she’d vaguely heard came back to her.

In the advanced empires and kingdoms, there existed works of art so moving that they could make people cry just by looking at them.

At the time, she thought it was nonsense, but now she understood.

This was why wealthy people across the continent went crazy for porcelain.

Ding Dong Dong Dong

The sound of leaves rustling in the wind reached her ears from the window where sunlight streamed in.

True to the harsh climate of the Northern Region, the wind was biting even at midday.

But for Ariana, a native of the north, it was merely refreshing.

“Is this what you meant, miss?”

At that moment, Isabel’s voice echoed from the doorway.

“Old hag! Make some noise next time!”

Upon hearing Isabel’s voice, Ariana carefully held the nearly dropped bottle, saying,

Thanks to Arad’s quality management lesson at dawn, she knew this porcelain wouldn’t break easily, but precious things were still precious.

“I’ve been making noises since a while ago, miss?”

“Huh? Really?”

“Have you been too relaxed lately?”

“Even you look at this and tell me if I’m not distracted!”

“Truly… it’s breathtaking. How did you manage to create such colors?”

“By the way, I made this.”

“You’ve been living at the factory recently, haven’t you? Working on this?”

“Yeah.”

“This needs to be designated as a treasure of the Northern Region!”

“Treasure?! What nonsense! Don’t do that. If it gets designated, I won’t be able to use it as a water bottle anymore.”

“Hehe~ That could happen.”

Ariana and Isabel stared silently at the blue water bottle for quite a while.

After a while,

Having finished admiring the bottle, Ariana spoke to Isabel.

“Oh, by the way, there are other celadons at the factory too. They’re prototypes, though.”

Hearing this, Isabel gave a meaningful smile.

“They’ve already arrived in the inner castle, courtesy of Sir Arad.”

“Wha- Arad is in the inner castle?!”

“Yes, and rumors about celadon have spread throughout High City.”

“Why would he come to the inner castle himself?”

“Apparently, he wanted to meet His Majesty after a long time.”

“Kyaaa!!”

Ariana started hastily changing her clothes, nearly dropping the bag ‘Arad’s Devotion’ she’d placed atop the leather cover.

“You can take your time, miss. He said it would take a while.”

While trying to calm Ariana down, Isabel continued.

“Oh, by the way, miss, I heard from Sir Arad that you’ve taken some leave?”

“Huh? I worked nonstop for two days making celadon, so I decided to take today off.”

“Did Sir Arad say anything else to you while arranging your leave?”

“Yeah, just to rest and hurry home.”

“Hmm… I see.”

Isabel looked at her lord with an expression that said she had much to say but couldn’t.

‘What’s the problem?’

She pondered over the progress—or lack thereof—in the romance between Arad and Mary (Ariana).

There had been plenty of opportunities in the past, and even now, chances abounded.

Even if it was under the guise of Mary rather than as Duchess Ariana, those chances were undeniable.

‘Two people alone in one space, and nothing happened?’

Sure, there was Theo nearby during the porcelain-making incident.

But the evening study sessions before that? Anyone could see those were signals from Arad to Mary.

Yet nothing happened?

Does that even make sense?

“By the way, why would Arad request an audience personally? Old hag, have you heard anything?”

Isabel’s deep thoughts were interrupted by Ariana’s cheerful question.

The old witch’s sole lord was already fully dressed.

“Yes, he requested an audience to introduce the completed celadon and discuss something else with His Majesty.”

“Something else? Is there something he needs to tell me directly, bypassing Mary?”

Apparently intrigued, Ariana muttered to herself.

“Apparently, it’s related to a portrait. Something he conveyed through Mary before, but hasn’t received a response yet.”

“!!”

Ariana’s face hardened instantly, as if forgetting her earlier excitement.

“Is something wrong? What exactly is this portrait about?”

Worried by Ariana’s sudden change in expression, Isabel asked.

“It’s…”

Ariana explained the matter of the portrait to Isabel.

“Miss, why didn’t you mention this earlier?”

“I’ve been so busy lately, old hag.”

Continuing her protest, Ariana added,

“But no matter how I think about it, I don’t understand. Why does he want to paint both Mary and me together?”

“Perhaps…”

Isabel seemed to have grasped something significant.

“Perhaps he’s mistaken Mary for your relative or half-sister?”

“Ah, no way.”

“Not necessarily. It’s possible. If the mind-affecting magic in that necklace malfunctions somehow.”

‘Hold on! So that’s why the romance hasn’t progressed?!’

Another hypothesis popped into Isabel’s head, but she decided to focus on the immediate issue at hand.

“Then, the fact that Arad has been communicating with me through Mary lately?”

“There’s a possibility it stems from his care for Mary. Did you, perhaps, compliment or show interest in the Grand Duchess while pretending to be Mary?”

At Isabel’s question, Ariana tilted her head upwards in thought.

-Do, do you have more questions? The Grand Duchess has done well…

Not long after, an undeniable memory surfaced.

“Is this really how tangled things have gotten…?”

The more she thought about it, the more plausible Isabel’s theory seemed to Ariana.

“If your guess is correct, old hag, what should we do now?”

“We should let Sir Arad paint the portrait as planned, including Mary. It’s suspicious to keep postponing it.”

“!? Can the mirror illusion support dialogue?”

“I’ll look into it. It might be simpler than expected.”

“I trust you, old hag!”

“Still, my guess isn’t confirmed yet, so make sure to ask Sir Arad properly later.”

“Of course.”

With that, the two finished their preparations to head to the audience chamber.

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