8 – Shopping
Inside the spacious and dazzling office, a middle-aged woman with somewhat dull blonde hair, wearing a ring, looks anxious.
She is Duchess Gibson. One of the two top-ranking nobles in the kingdom.
* Knock Knock *
“Come in”
The one who walked into the office was an elderly maid.
“The report has arrived.”
“What happened?”
Duchess Gibson looked sharply at the maid as she took off her ring.
But there is a hint of anxiety in her eyes.
“To summarize the result, the first meeting was judged to be successful. The next appointment has also been confirmed.”
“How did that happen…”
“The Tyler Duchess has kept a sorcerer. It is confirmed that he changed the appearance of Her Majesty to resemble the young beauty of the duke.”
Duchess Gibson had a perplexed expression.
“How could he do something that can be exposed so easily? No, he’s planning to hold out till the engagement ceremony?”
In the aristocratic society of the kingdom, divorce is relatively frequent but once a formal engagement ceremony takes place, it becomes quite difficult to break it.
That’s why, for the most part, they pledge engagement verbally until the right age while the engagement ceremony itself is virtually held when the marriage is already finalized.
This is because the noble’s engagement ceremony is performed in front of the main church altar of the king’s religion.
Breaking an oath ordained by religion is difficult.
“I never imagined they would go that far…”
The aristocratic alliance must somehow thwart this marriage proposal between Tyler and Anderson.
And the leader of that aristocratic alliance was the Duchess Gibson.
“All the planned schemes have fallen through…”
The initial plan was to take advantage of Anderson Youngsik’s dissatisfaction.
Expertly expanding his discontent about his fiancée’s appearance, and ultimately, enlist beautiful women to rob him of his fidelity.
If a nobleman couldn’t maintain fidelity, the Duke’s family, even if they wanted to, could not accept him.
But what if the disguise was the young beauty of Duke Tyler?
Duke Gibson recalls her young appearance when she was his academy junior.
“She really was something.”
Back then, she was the heartthrob of all the academy’s males.
The plan for the beauty community was abandoned.
“What’s the other option?”
“The first plan is to cast a dispel on young Tyler in the next meeting.”
The duke stroked his chin with an unpleasant expression.
“Although it’s not an attack magic, the target is that Tyler’s young one. If it is revealed that we were the ones to cast the spell, it could be a spark for a civil war.”
The Noble Alliance also did not want a civil war.
They were, in their own way, an organization that prioritized national peace and simply wanted to maintain the balance of power with the King’s faction.
But that balance of power would break the moment Tyler and Anderson became in-laws.
If that happened, it was certain that the fulcrum would lean towards the centralist king’s faction.
So, what should they do?
“In fact, we have to take some risks, but don’t we have the Marquis of Hex?”
The butler brought up the name of one noble family.
Hex Marquis.
The current Chief Court Magician’s magical prestigious household.
Anderson was a confidential family, and if you were to rank the kingdom’s prestigious magical household, they would put the Marquis of Hex as the first priority.
On top of it, that Hex was also a pillar of the Noble Alliance.
“They would be able to use a method that leaves as little evidence as possible.”
Duke Gibson closed his eyes.
Should they take some risk and proceed, or just let things flow?
In fact, even if they prevent them from becoming in-laws, there will not be zero trouble.
The absence of the Sorcerer.
Although it was top secret, if it was Duke Gibson’s information network, a certain level of prediction was possible.
However, that was possible because it was Duke Gibson.
If he thoroughly investigates himself and leads the noble alliance as before, there won’t be a major problem.
The bigger problem comes when the momentum turns towards the king’s party. At that point, he can’t do anything.
Duke Gibson opened his eyes.
“Prepare the announcement to send to Hexga.”
“Yes, as you wish, my lord.”
Duke Gibson picked up his pen and began to write a letter.
——————————————
The bustling avenue
On both sides of the avenue, there were lines of shops stretching out long.
Occasionally, there were makeshift stalls and merchants soliciting customers.
This is the central market of the Royal Road. It’s said to be the place with the highest population flow in the kingdom.
“Carol, can I see that note again?”
I spoke to my personal maid walking diagonally behind me.
“Of course, Master Thomas.”
She handed over the note politely.
“Um…”
The note had a list of items that I needed to buy.
They were preparation materials for magic lessons I would take while staying in the Duke’s Villa on the Royal Road.
A spell casting medium,
Tailored robe order,
Ring of focus,
Ring of balance,
Astral viewing amulet,
Gloves of wizardry,
etc, etc, etc,
Fourteen errand lists were laid out. All of them were things that I would use.
The spell-casting medium written at the top must be the most important one.
“First, let’s buy this medium thing.”
“Yes, this way.”
Following her guidance, I leave the main road and step into a narrow alleyway.
After making a few turns, Carol opened the door of a shop.
“Let’s go in.”
At first glance, it resembled an antique store.
It felt like wand shops that appear in English wizard movies.
As we entered the shop, there was a quirky old woman behind the counter.
She was puffing on her pipe, not even bothering to look at us.
‘Does she even want to do business?’
The displayed items were mostly covered with dust, suggesting she didn’t clean often.
“Andersons mainly use brooches.”
Carol hinted, following me as I looked around the shop.
I thought about the Anderson family.
“Ah, you mean something like a gold badge attached to the chest?”
“Yes, that’s right. The Anderson’s emblem.”
I looked at the place piled with brooches.
“Hmm…”
I couldn’t find anything I liked. Next to the brooch corner, a bookshelf caught my eye.
It was filled with magical books.
“This is it.”
We’ve all imagined it at least once.
A dramatic casting scene in which a magical book is neatly opened and a beam of light pours out from the pages.
I take out a magical book from the shelf and open it.
“Ahh”
A sigh of burden escapes from my mouth.
The cover of the book was wrapped in thick leather, and its thickness and size were extraordinary compared to general textbooks.
‘Exaggerating a bit, but this must be over 5 kilos.’
No matter how important style is, this was impossible to carry around.
I put the book back and looked around the shop again.
“Oh, what’s this?”
I discovered something strange in a pile of coins stacked on one display shelf.
“These are ancient coins. They contain a mysterious substance with magical power.”
I heard her speak, but I could not make heads or tails of what she was saying.
Right now, all of my mental capacity is focused on a single coin in my hand.
“Why is there a 500 won coin here…:”
What I had found was without doubt a 500 won coin.
The issue year, 1998, was written at the top edge of the coin, and the Bank of Korea was inscribed at the bottom.
“hehehe.. Your eyes are quite sharp.”
While I was engrossed in examining the 500 won coin, the old man at the counter began speaking to me.
“I was unable to determine what material that item is made of. However, I sensed that it has an unusual potential.”
“Where did you get this?”
I had to ask.
When I was summoned to this place, I was tossed here in the clothes I had fallen asleep in, without a single possession.
Therefore, this cannot be my property.
If that’s the case, this means another Korean was also transported to another world.
“That item came from the empire. During my time here, nobody except me noticed its value.”
The old man manipulated the smoke from his pipe into a ring as he spoke.
“And yet, finally, someone who recognizes it has appeared.”
After a moment’s pause to look at the old man, I let out a sigh and returned the coin to where I had found it.
Right, what’s the point in searching for others from the East now?
I am destined to get married and live here, anyway.
Even if I tried to escape, the Duke’s web is too vast.
It would probably be quicker to settle my position within the Duchy and find a way back from there.
“Just take it.”
Hearing the old man’s words, I paused in the act of returning the coin.
“I have never been wrong with my instincts. That item resonates weakly with you. Such items in question naturally find their way to their rightful owner.”
“Is that all right?”
The old man nodded his head.
When I left the store, I asked Carol, who was standing next to me.
“Do you know who that old man is?”
I had a feeling that he was no ordinary elder.
“His name is Pharel. He is an alchemist whose surname is not known. No one knows his exact age, and rumor has it that he successfully synthesized the Philosopher’s Stone.”
“I see.”
It gave me a classic witch feeling, the kind one feels from fairy tales in childhood.
In any case, this coin…
Shaking my head, I brush away the budding confusion again and picked up the note to decide the next destination.
“It’s a clothing store next.”
“I’ll guide you.”
I followed Carol.
I had received knowledge about the clothes directly from Maria.
‘Anderseun’s tailored robe and the outfit for the next meeting with Her Highness’
From Noble mtl dot com
“The Hayes Clothing Store we’re heading for now is a favorite of the Duke. Most of the family members wear clothes from Hayes.”
“Including what you’re wearing now, Carol?”
“Yes, you’re correct.”
As I listened to her, we moved for a short while until we arrived at the clothing store.
However, upon reaching the shop, I noticed someone anxiously peeking inside.
My gaze was instantly nailed to her.
“Wow…”
An exclamation involuntarily escapes my lips.
She, who was dressed in an academy uniform, had a unique figure.
Yes, it was unique—it was so different from the typical women’s bodies in this world, that’s why such a sentiment arose in me.
However, as per my personal values, it was incredibly attractive.
It felt so challenging to take my eyes off certain parts of her.
“Master Thomas?”
Carol’s questioning call brought me back to my senses.
Looking upward, her hair was a bob cut dyed a familiar red.