Chapter 59

Chapter 59

#59. The Wind of the Northern Region (2)

Inside the audience chamber of High City, an innumerable number of people had gathered.

There were high ministers, maids, butlers, knights, and witches—all gazing with dazed eyes at the new miracle born from the North.

At the center of their gazes stood seventeen celadon pieces said to have been crafted by Arad Company.

Originally, there were twenty, but two belonged to Theo and Ariana, while one was oxidized for quality management.

“Amazing…”

In place of Valkyrie, who recently left High City on some mission, Sun, tasked with guarding High City and Ariana, sincerely expressed his admiration.

“Truly remarkable.”

Sun’s life as a northern ice wall warrior had little to do with art.

Yet, such words of admiration kept flowing out of him.

Ting Ting Ting

“To think it’s this sturdy! The imperial porcelain we buy breaks just with a slight mishandle.”

Of course, Sun’s admiration wasn’t due to the celadon’s beautiful color or shape.

It was solely because of its durability.

“What exactly are you?”

After roughly inspecting the celadon, Sun turned his gaze toward Arad.

“Just as known to the world.”

“Hmph, indeed, Lord Jin.”

“Hahaha…”

The expressions of Arad and Sun, exchanging brief dialogue, weren’t particularly pleasant.

They had already exchanged words several times before.

-Hey, I heard you confessed to His Grace in the depths of the Magic Realm?

-How do you know? The knights fighting alongside us all apparently heard it.

-Why does your face look so pale? Are you sick somewhere? Tsk tsk… Well, you’re not a native of the North, huh? Be careful of colds.

-I hear that right after returning from the Magic Realm, you even presented His Grace with a handcrafted bag. So why have you been avoiding His Grace since then? Could it be… Do you believe in those superstitions?

-What?! Just because you got rejected once, you’re saying you won’t do it anymore? Are you even a man?

-Judging by appearances, it seems you’ve become rather close with Lady Mary lately…

-What? You say there’s nothing going on? Are you… perhaps a woman hater?

-If it weren’t for everything you’ve achieved until now, and if you hadn’t saved my disabled subordinates, I wouldn’t have even considered you a man.

Through these previous exchanges, Arad and Sun had accumulated quite the awkward feelings towards each other.

“So how’s it going? Your progress with Lady Mary?”

“It’s really nothing.”

“…? Could it be that you like men?”

“That’s…”

“The Duke is arriving.”

At that moment, Isabel’s voice echoed from the throne side of the audience chamber.

People who had been standing somewhat unsteadily quickly aligned themselves neatly in rows.

“His Grace, the Duke, approaches.”

When Isabel’s shout ended,

Northern Duchess Ariana appeared and took her seat on the throne.

“So these are the celadons, huh.”

She acted as if she were seeing the seventeen celadons for the first time, trying her best to pretend.

“Lord Arad Jin, you’ve truly worked hard. Indeed, thanks to you, the North is about to become rich.”

But Ariana, who wasn’t confident in acting, performed her act of marveling at the celadons rather awkwardly.

To be precise, it felt indifferent.

“I will spare no support for Lenslet in the production of these celadons. I swear upon the Order of Zeal.”

Still, thanks to Isabel’s coaching, her speech flowed smoothly—though the emotion and expression in her words were off by about two notes.

“We are eternally grateful, Your Grace.”

The supreme ruler of the North had officially promised favoritism and support outright.

None of the ministers present dared to object.

Because it was simply too accurate.

“What will we do with these seventeen celadons here?”

“They’ll soon be produced in countless numbers anyway. Nevertheless, these being the first ones hold special meaning.”

“Meaning…?”

“I shall present them all to Your Grace. It’s almost Your Grace’s birthday, isn’t it?”

“Is that true?”

“Yes, they’re my birthday gift to you.”

“Hmm! I, I will cherish them well, Arad!”

‘Arad made these ceramics himself! And they’re even for my birthday!’

As Arad offered all the celadons to the duke, emotion finally crept into Ariana’s previously monotone voice.

“Your Grace, there’s something I’d like to ask.”

“Speak.”

“It’s…”

Arad glanced around, especially at Sun, before speaking.

“Given the sensitivity of the question, it might be difficult to discuss it here.”

“…I see. Come to my office.”

Ariana allowed Arad’s private audience, sensing a strange tension.

* * *

A little later.

The door to the office opened, and Arad emerged looking unusually cheerful.

“Well then, I’ll go ahead, Your Grace!”

“Go ahead.”

“When you’re ready, please call me. I’ll present my magnum opus painted specially for you.”

“…I look forward to it.”

Ariana escorted Arad out personally, her expression slightly weary.

Once Arad had completely disappeared,

“Haa…”

Ariana let out a long sigh.

Her mind replayed the conversation she’d just had with Arad.

-Why would you want to paint both Mary and me together?

-Mary is a truly kind woman. She respects Your Grace more than anyone else. She takes pride in being a member of Lenslet.

-Um…

-She’s an employee I deeply cherish. I wanted to give her a small gift. She regards Your Grace as her ‘older sister.’

-…Is that so?

-Yes, if it displeased you, I apologize. I will accept any punishment gladly.

-No, no, I understand your intentions.

Arad had praised her.

When she was Mary, Ariana received praise for herself.

And when she was Ariana, she received praise for Mary.

It made her feel good yet somehow uncomfortable.

“Hooouu…”

Outside the office, Isabel, who had been eavesdropping intently, also sighed.

“Tsk tsk tsk…”

Sun, who no one knew when had arrived, also clicked his tongue beside Isabel.

Sun, who had temporarily taken over Valkyrie’s duties, was well aware of what Ariana was doing as Mary under another identity these days.

As if by appointment, the three gathered in the office.

“The old lady’s guess was spot-on.”

“Indeed.”

“Investigations show that the knights assigned to guard duty and even the employees of Arad thought similarly.”

“This situation has twisted far too strangely.”

“I’ll continue researching the illusion magic mentioned earlier.”

“I entrust it to you.”

Everyone in the office stared blankly at the direction Arad had disappeared for a while.

The wind symbolic of the Northern winter swept past.

* * *

Unlike in the past, the North these days is a must-stop for imperial merchants.

Why? Because in the North, there’s Arad salt, and Arad salt, and Arad salt!

Sure, rare monster byproducts and magic stones are available, but those can be found elsewhere on the continent if you’re willing to put in the effort.

Only Arad Salt brings countless imperial merchants to the North, specifically Haven.

Recently, Haven is the only place in the North where imperial merchants and adventurers are welcomed.

“What?! You don’t need porcelain?”

Anyway, a new issue arose for the imperial merchants visiting Haven.

“Are you serious?! You’re selling this fine Eastern porcelain for one gold coin?! Even in the Empire, they’re traded for two gold coins, but by His Royal Highness’s strict orders, we’re selling them at half price!”

Suddenly, northern merchants in Haven stopped buying porcelain altogether.

Not decreased—it was zero. Zip.

“One gold coin? For this vase? No thanks.”

Even though the imperial merchant thought he was offering an incredibly slashed price,

no northern merchant showed interest.

‘These uncivilized barbarians! Of course! How frustrating for His Royal Highness to try spreading culture and civilization to people who don’t even recognize the letter “art”!’

The imperial merchant cursed the northern merchants inwardly.

“Well then, how much would satisfy you? At what price will you buy?”

“Hmm… maybe one silver coin?”

“Are they insane?!”

Utterly baffled by the northern merchant’s response, the imperial merchant involuntarily blurted out a curse.

“What?! Insane are you guys! Who sells ugly white bowls like these for one gold coin?!”

In response, the northern merchant didn’t stay silent. Instead, he criticized the price the imperial merchant had offered.

“Look! This is the pottery we use nowadays in the North!”

He then showed the imperial merchant a celadon glowing with a gentle blue hue, almost boasting.

“!!”

Seeing the celadon for the first time, the imperial merchant’s eyes widened as if they’d split open.

First, the unique coloring captivated him,

and upon realizing the celadon’s design and patterns were distinctly Arcadian—not like Eastern porcelain—he was instantly charmed.

“These—what are these? I’ve never seen anything like them… Where are they from? I’ll buy them all! Two gold coins each, I’ll take the entire stock!”

The imperial merchant immediately became extremely polite, bowing low and using honorifics toward the northern merchant.

“…”

However, the northern merchant seemed unimpressed by the imperial merchant’s offer and tapped the celadon he was holding against his cart a few times.

Tang Tang Tang Tang

Upon hearing the distinct, resonant sound from the celadon,

“Aaaaaaaaah!! Dangerous! It’s dangerous! It’ll break!”

The imperial merchant screamed loudly, as if possessed, at the sight of the precious and fragile-looking pottery being handled roughly by the northern merchant, who seemed like an unfathomable being to him.

“Eh… Eh…?”

Then, gradually, he realized something.

That the blue pottery was strangely resistant to breaking.

“Eh… EEEEEEEEH!!”

Now, the imperial merchant was utterly captivated by the celadon in front of him.

* * *

One of the three great merchant guilds of the Empire, Bishop Guild.

Guildmaster Count Entaire was a prominent figure in the Empire for various reasons.

Born as the third son of a fallen minor noble family,

he started his life with practically nothing.

Yet today, he runs one of the most renowned merchant guilds in the Empire.

Impressive enough, but Entaire also made a great marriage.

With his overflowing wealth and proven ability, he married into one of the prestigious families acknowledged in the Empire—a branch of the royal family, the Havana Viscount family.

Incidentally, the woman he married was known across the Empire and the continent.

She was none other than the sole female viscountess of the Empire and Master Swordswoman of the Salamander Order, Viscountess Elisa von Havana.

Though the Havana family had fallen on hard times due to recent failed ventures, their alliance with Entaire, who needed power and prestige despite his wealth, was like giving wings to a tiger.

Moreover, Entaire was politically savvy.

Using his vast wealth and his wife’s influence, he swiftly dominated the imperial social circles.

Thanks to this, Entaire secured a position straddling both the imperial court and the aristocratic council.

In essence, he became a mediator between the royal family and the nobility.

People often called him the Shadow Chancellor.

Overwhelming wealth, a prestigious in-law family, a beautiful swordswoman wife, and the impressive title of Shadow Chancellor.

On the surface, Count Entaire seemed to lack nothing.

Neither the Emperor nor the Crown Prince, nor even the Archbishop of the Church, could rival him.

In reality, he was the happiest man in the world—until recently.

* * *

The eternal happiness.

The dream-like happiness from which Entaire woke up was, in hindsight, a natural progression.

‘Why? My children seem strangely unlike me…’

No one observed people better than he did.

Between him and his wife, Viscountess Havana, they had a son and a daughter, two years apart.

Honestly, even as infants, something felt off.

Despite his relatively plain features, both children had striking and beautiful facial features.

Their eye color and hair color were identical to the golden hair and red eyes symbolic of the royal family.

Completely unrelated to his dark brown hair and brown eyes.

Back then, he consoled himself, thinking they resembled his wife, a beauty with royal blood.

But as time passed, especially when the children began walking and eventually talking and playing,

Entaire couldn’t deny it anymore.

There was nothing about the two children that resembled him.

‘They look just like the Crown Prince!’

Especially the boy. The older the boy grew, the more he resembled Crown Prince Khanbraman.

Admittedly, one could argue that the strong royal lineage within the Havana family explained the resemblance.

After all, there were plenty of members within the royal family who bore faces similar to the Crown Prince.

‘It doesn’t make sense!’

Yet every instinct in Entaire told him the truth.

That not a single drop of his blood ran through the veins of his two children.

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