My Mom Entered a Contract Marriage - Chapter 44

Fjord looked at Diare. Her deep green eyes, which resembled moss, were formal.

Fjord was used to this kind of gaze.

It was a gaze that evaluated what kind of person he was.

Fjord did not shy away from her gaze.

Diare Wolfe’s reaction was also somewhat understandable.

“I understand.”

At Fjord’s words, Diare frowned slightly before switching into a smile rapidly.

“Then we’ve made up.”

Diare shook the hand that was intertwined with Lilica’s back and forth gently.

“Princess, we’ve made up. I’ve apologised. Hmm?

“That’s right.”

When Fjord also helped her from the side, Lilica glanced at both of them.

Fjord said.

“The tea is about to become cold.”

“That’s right. Besides, I think I’m even more hungry after washing up.”

“Alright, then.”

Lilica let go of their hands and quickly picked up her teacup.

Brynn asked.

“Would you like a fresh cup?”

“No, I like it when it’s slightly cooler.”

Diare’s hand quickly reached for the snack.

It was hard for her to resist the sweet smell that had been wafting about from a while ago.

The fluffy and airy bread snack quickly disappeared in her mouth.

The maid quickly replaced the emptied plate with a new one.

After sampling the soft gold bullions, Lilica also nodded.

She might have been hungry as Diare mentioned, but it only surfaced when the sweetness touched the tip of her tongue.

“It’s great that I can eat as many snacks as I want when I play with you, Princess.”

Lilica was puzzled by Diare’s words and asked.

“Don’t you eat a lot of snacks when you’re with the Wolfe family?”

“Well, it’s because there’s a lot of us. Even if snacks were bought back, everyone can only get a piece.”

“I see.”

Lilica smiled softly.

“I’ve done that before. I happened to get leftover snacks, and they were so delicious. So I initially was going to split it into several pieces and eat a little everyday.”

She sighed deeply.

“But they were all taken away by the ants. I regretted it so much, and would’ve eaten them all had I known.”

Fjord’s and Diare’s eyes shook.

Diare, who soon came to her senses, pushed her own plate in front of the princess.

“Have some more!”

“Ah, I get to eat a lot now, so it’s okay. Diare is the one that should have some more.”

She pushed the plate in front of Diare.

Fjord, who was watching the scene, said.

“Now, Wolfe will be able to eat snacks to their heart’s content.”

Diare and Lilica turned their gazes to him at the same time.

Fjord moistened his lips with a sip of tea and continued,

“When the north starts producing sugar, the northern aristocrats will also be free from poverty.”

“Poverty?”

Brynn explained.

“In other words, they’re unable to possess all they need due to a slender purse.”

Diare bristled with rage.

“It’s not to that extent.”

“Please excuse me,” said Fjord, and lowered his cup.

“Everyone knows that the estate of the Wolfe family, who has been in the imperial faction for a long time, doesn’t have great yields.”

The reason they didn’t wear luxury items was because of the family’s unique chivalry, it was also due to the lack of money to spare in that department.

As their land was mostly filled with vast forests and barren land, the northern aristocrats, along with the Wolfe family—as well as the various imperial estates—often relied on the salary that the empire gave.

That’s why they could only return with a box of snacks.

Lilica was shocked.

‘That candy… So Tan had spent a lot of money on it!’

He gave her the candy bottle nonchalantly, so she thought that it was because he’s an aristocrat, but after hearing this story, Lilica can see that Tan cared a lot.

“But the Southern aristocrats would be in a state of turmoil.”

Fjord continued, and Lilica nodded at that.

Since an incident happened in the daytime.

Diare said angrily.

“Why are you telling that to the princess?”

“Well… Isn’t this the job of a conversational partner?”

Fjord tilted his head as he spoke.

“I may not be a conversational partner, but I’m the princess’s friend. I’ll inform her of any information that she may require.”

Wouldn’t it be problematic if she encountered a situation whilst unaware?

Diare was rendered speechless.

She looked at Lilica with eyes ablaze.

“I’m not that knowledgeable about that kind of content though.”

Lilica smiled and placed another cookie in Diare’s hand.

“It’s okay. Diare had a great time with me today.”

As Diare ate the gold bar snack while mumbling, she decided to keep her ears peeled for more news.

Lilica agreed deeply with Fjord.

If Atil hadn’t told me in the morning, I would have been more embarrassed when he suddenly cursed behind me.

‘But it was better because I was with Diare.’

She gave Diare another snack and patted her head, causing her to smile shyly.

‘Cute.’

Although Lilica wondered if she could do this to someone that’s older than her, Diare was still very cute.

‘Come to think of it, Lauv would often show a cute side. Maybe the entire Wolfe family is very cute.’

Lilica looked at Fjord, determined to dote on him proudly.

She was worried and had many things she wanted to say, but she couldn’t voice them because Diare was present.

When she extended her hand, Fjord held it very carefully.

Lilica smiled.

“I played in the water with Diare, and it was really cooling and nice. It would be nice to go with Fjord again in the future.”

Because they agreed to make time together later on, Fjord nodded in agreement.

“That sounds like it would be a lot of fun.”

“Right?”

Lilica nodded and continued.

“But the sugar from earlier. Is it alright when they’re opposing it that much?”

“There’s no reason why it isn’t okay. Currently, the price of sugar from the South is due to a monopoly.”

Fjord’s answer appeared fluidly.

“Monopoly?”

“Yes, the Southern union is currently fixing the prices of sugar. But if sugar is being produced from the North, the south’s sugar alliance, which were bound together due to profit, will be broken. In that case, wouldn’t the prestige of the Sandar family, the head of the Southern aristocracy, also decrease slightly?”

Fjord smiled.

“But then, the price of sugar falling is unavoidable. Also.”

Fjord looked at Lilica and revealed a graceful yet perfectly cold smile.

“What would the northern aristocrats do in the face of sudden profits? And, I wonder how Her Majesty the Empress, who led this entire incident, will handle it.”

Lilica’s eyebrows drooped at the mention of her mother.

“Is there any way I can help Mother?”

“It seems like she’s engaging in discussions with a new merchant group.”

“Oh, right. I’d accepted the offer to be introduced.”

“You’ll find out more by hearing from their side.”

“Yes, thank you. Fjord.”

Lilica answered quietly and looked at Fjord quietly.

If his mother—the Duke of Barat—knew that Fjord was talking about this, wouldn’t she dislike it?

Won’t you get in trouble if you go back after meeting me like this?

Would you get hurt like you did previously?

Would you hold back the pain all by yourself?

Will you be alright today?

At the sight of Lilica’s complicated expression, Fjord asked.

“Don’t you like being with me?”

“That can’t be true!”

Lilica raised her voice.

Diare nodded behind and made a regretful expression.

“Then that’s alright.”

Fjord laughed refreshingly while Diare slumped gloomily.

Their conversation continued after that, but since Diare and Fjord were together, it became a moderate and superficial conversation.

In other words, it became boring.

After finishing the bath, drinking warm tea and filling her stomach.

Lilica kept enduring the constant rush of sleepiness.

Fjord, who noticed this first, said that he would take his leave first, and when Brynn noticed, Diare also left with him.

Lilica went to bed much earlier than usual.

* * *

The stars were falling down.

Golden sand filled her vision as she looked down at the ground. Wherever she looked, sand that shone under the moonlight filled her vision.

Her hair fluttered gently in the wind.

She looked up at the sky again.

A beautiful creature that was slowly swimming beneath the moonlight entered her vision. Its huge body reflected the starlight while moving slowly and gracefully.

She stretched out both of her hands.

The creatures that lived in the air and fire flew so high that she probably couldn’t reach them.

Tears welled up.

* * *

“Wow…”

The flowing tears trickled down her temple.

Lilica closed her eyes slowly and savoured the dream that she just had.

It was truly a distinct and pretty dream.

‘But it was really sad.’

While she was in the dream, she was too sad.

The snow white dragon that cut through the night sky came to mind.

It’s amazing, how it was so big even when it was floating high in the sky.

She was amazed again and sighed softly.

“A dream of a dragon. Did I have such a dream because of Takar? It feels like I really became a Takar.’

Lilica laughed softly.

It made her even more happy when she thought that Atil or His Majesty was such a dragon.

Lilica slowly sat up.

When she reached out with her hand and rang the ceramic bell at the bedside table, Brynn entered.

“You woke up quite early today. Would you like to get up immediately?”

“Mm.”

At Lilica’s nod, the maidservants entered the room.

The curtains were opened, while clothes and water to wash her face with were brought in.

The weather was rather nice.

As Lilica washed up and changed her clothes, she asked.

“Brynn, can you ask Mother if she’ll be meeting the head of the merchant group today?”

“Yes, of course.”

Brynn approached Lilica and asked quietly.

“Did you have a bad dream?”

Brynn couldn’t have missed the fact that the princess had cried.

“No. It was a very beautiful dream.”

After hearing the words Lilica said while shaking her head, Brynn seemed to be convinced and retreated.

Her mother told her to go over for tea after breakfast.

Lilica spent the time in the morning studying.

‘Whatever you learn will do you good.’

Lilica recalled the words of the shoeshining mister and studied hard.

No matter what it is, the things that you keep in your head and familiarise your body with will remain there for your entire life.

Those words were true.

In order to invite the Inro family to be her tutor, her mother sent a letter to them, but she did not receive a reply, revealing a cold face.

Although everyone’s expression said they expected this, it didn’t seem like her mother would give up.

When Lilica came out of the study, she made eye contact with Lauv and smiled faintly.

Lilica soon noticed a necklace around his neck.

It had a simple design that made the jewel she’d given him into a pendant worn around his neck with a leather strap, but it could be made very quickly.

“It looks good on you.”

Lilica said so, but Brynn had an expression of disbelief.

She couldn’t believe that that jewel was made into such a pendant.

— There’s absolutely zero aesthetic sense.

That was the kind of look on her face, but Lauv didn’t care.

It’s okay because his master said that it looks good on him.

When Lilica glanced at Brynn, Brynn smiled and said,

“I left my jewel with a craftsman. I’ll show it to you when it’s done.”

“I’m looking forward to it. I think it’ll be very pretty. The silver brooch was also very pretty.”

“Huhu. Please look forward to it.”

Brynn laughed while helping Lilica to change her clothes.

After changing into new clothes, Lilica headed towards the Silver Dragon Chamber.

When she entered the drawing room, the person standing there attracted her attention at once.

Due to the unique outfit she was dressed in, it couldn’t help but make him stand out.

Her skin also was darker than His Majesty’s.

“Lily, come on in.”

Ludia rose from her seat and greeted Lilica.

With a quick curtsy, Lilica ran into her mother’s arms.

She’d always liked her mother’s arms, as she always gave her a big hug regardless of etiquette.

A crisp and sweet scent emanated from her today.

“Our Lily, you’re so cute today, too.”

Her mother continued to praise her continuously without pause, Lilica listened to her with a blush on her face.

Those words were pleasant to the ear.

After the usual lengthy welcome, Ludia introduced Lilica to the head of the merchant group.

“This is Chacha, the head of the Golden Sands merchant group. This is my daughter.”

Chacha knelt down and greeted her.

“This lowly merchant, Chacha, greets the child of the one that soars the highest.”

It was a new kind of greeting, but Lilica nodded in response.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

The moment she returned her greeting, Chacha bowed her head even further.

“I have prepared a few inadequate gifts for you, my princess. I hope that you’ll accept them.”

The servants that were waiting behind quickly opened the box.

Lilica’s eyes widened.

Beautiful and shiny white ornaments were displayed within.

What should she do with such a gift? She glanced at her mother and saw her nod.

Relieved, Lilica spoke.

“These are all very pretty ornaments. Thank you.”

“Excuse me.”

The servants closed the box and withdrew.

Ludia said.

“Get up.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

When Chacha rose from her position, Lilica could see her appearance in detail.

She was a beautiful woman with distinctive features.

The unique outfit of wide and voluminous pants attracted Lilica’s attention.

Her black hair was tied into several braids, and a long ornamental cloth was worn on the back of her head.

After Ludia and Lilica took their seats, Chacha also sat down.

A glass was also placed in front of Lilica.

After tasting the sweet and sour lemonade, Lilica spoke to Ludia.

“Mother, a lot of southern aristocrats had come due to the issue of sugar, right?”

Ludia nodded, noticed something had happened immediately, and asked.

“By any chance, did those punks say something to you?”

“A little bit.”

“Oh, is that so? Who?”

“Mm, I don’t know their name.”

“Really?”

Ludia tapped the armrest with her fingertips.

Her daughter might not know, but her maidservant, Brynn, should know their names.

“I see. As expected of those southern hillbillies, they’re nasty.”

Chacha smiled bitterly at those words.

Ludia smiled faintly.

“Did it sound like an insult?”

“No, it’s true that the southern borders are a mess. It’s astonishing enough that I was given this opportunity.”

“I like capable people.”

“I’ll be sure to meet your expectations.”

Ludia nodded at Chacha’s words.

Lilica asked Chacha.

“Then Chacha, are you really a citizen from the desert?”

“No, I’m a mixed race. But since I’ve lived in the desert for half of my life, it can be said that I’m from the desert.”

“I see.”

Lilica nodded and asked.

“But it’d take a long period of time to grow sugar radishes, wouldn’t it?”

When the main topic was suddenly mentioned, she blinked.

Usually, when people looked at her appearance and listened to her story, they would ask further questions.

Chacha had several plausible stories to describe those times.

But this princess didn’t ask at all.

‘The same was the case with Her Majesty the Empress.’

Her origins, bloodline and family history wasn’t that important, it was rare for Chacha to encounter such an attitude.

‘As expected, was it because like mother, like daughter?’

“We plan to obtain nutrient solutions from an alchemist. This will save us a lot of time. From next year onwards, we’ll be able to distribute sugar in the North.”

“Then that’ll really make it fast.”

She seemed to understand why the Southerners were in such a mess.

* * *