134 A world without an amulet is dangerous
***[Heroine Oscar]***
Inside the box are dyed and natural silkworm cloth.
The silk merchant put his hand into the box as if he had forgotten that he was in front of a nobleman.
Without touching the fabric directly, move your hand slowly, leaving a slight gap.
It looked like he was stroking the cloth through the air.
After that, he took a towel out of his pocket and wiped his palms, then gently ran his fingertips through the silk.
After doing so a few times, the merchant stroked the cloth several times with his entire palm.
I asked while I was watching the merchant do it.
“How is it?”
Instead of answering that, the merchant jumped up and slipped out of the side of his chair.
And lie flat on the bare floor.
“Please let me sell. I’m sure I’ll make a lot of money.”
The merchant’s behavior is really interesting.
I smiled and offered the merchant a chair.
“I called to entrust it to you. If you like it, I want to sell it through your store.”
“Thank you, Duke. You will never regret entrusting it to me.”
The merchant looked up at me, still lying on the floor.
The eyes of the merchant looking at me are shining like a child receiving a present.
Seeing how happy they are, silk seems to be competitive enough.
My heart also rejoiced.
The merchant raised himself from the floor and asked politely.
“I’m sorry, Duke, but can I take a closer look at this silk?”
“Do by that way.”
After receiving my permission, the merchant asked the attendant for water to wash his hands.
After waiting for a long time until all the water was dry, even between the fingers, the merchant stroked the silkworm cloth again as before.
He had been cautious before, but this time his hands were more polite and slow.
Maybe it was because I was so excited when I first saw him that I acted more wildly than usual.
‘Although it didn’t look like that.’
The merchant lifted the silk from the box with both hands, weighed it, and laid it on the table.
Check the weave of the fabric, shine it in the sunlight, or put it on the back of your hand as if you were wearing a dress, and then run the silk from your palm.
Gathering the fabric, holding it in the palm of your hand, sniffing it, and slurping it from top to bottom several times.
His behavior looked like a craftsman who had been inspecting silk for about a hundred years.
Totally different from the first impression.
It was sincere, as if people had changed.
After repeating the same action several times and fiddling with the silk for a while, the merchant folded the silk finely as it was.
The merchant wrinkled his forehead and thought about something, then carefully looked at me.
“Um… Duke, is it okay if I tell you honestly?”
“of course.”
“… that… I’m really sorry, but I’m a little concerned about the condition of the dye.”
“…”
“Of course, it’s not that it’s bad. It’s not bad at all. The weave is less dense than oriental silk, but instead, the yarn itself is more elastic and fine. Even the weight is lighter than silk. It’s absolutely not bad. Even in this state, it’s good enough. If it is competitive and manages the quantity well, it will be as expensive as oriental silk.”
Sweat broke out on the merchant’s forehead.
The merchant backed away a bit, as if fearing that his own sweat would splatter on the silk, then wiped his face and hands with a cloth.
And watch me carefully
“It’s just… I really only thought about it a little bit, but it’s a pity that if I could dye it a little more meticulously, I could sell this fabric at a higher price than oriental silk.”
Indeed, when an expert sees it, does it reveal something lacking in dyeing?
‘It’s worth recommending interest to someone else with confidence.’
After being recommended by the owner of the magic tool shop, I checked to see if this person was really a good merchant through various channels.
Most people reacted positively to this silk merchant.
He knows a lot about silk and thoroughly inspects products, so he never sells low-quality goods.
It was said that he was quick to judge, not only knew how to cut losses boldly, but also had good faith.
However, there is one downside, even in front of nobles, I can’t hear the sound of the mouth.
No, it’s not that I can’t speak with my mouth, but I heard that I’m too honest about things related to silk like now.
It is said that he has a personality that aristocrats hate because he added one more word like this to what can be done by evasive moderation.
In fact, most of the negative comments about this merchant came from the aristocracy.
[Please look at it with a generous heart, Duke. That person, as much as his skills are certain. As long as you have a family that looks after you, you will definitely become a huge merchant.]
Recalling the words of the owner of the magic tool store, I opened my mouth to the silk merchant.
“Does the dye fall off as you see?”
The merchant sweated again and lowered his head.
“That… I’m really sorry, Duke.”
“It’s okay, so tell me honestly.”
“Yes. I don’t know how this fabric is made, but the yarn is much finer than oriental silk.
“…”
When I didn’t say anything, the merchant continued as if he had given up a bit.
“…Yes, yes, yes, to be honest, it really is. I’m a little dissatisfied with the dyeing. If you dye it properly, this fabric will literally fly away with wings, but it’s too wasteful, unfair, and painful.”
Well, to the point of suffering.
The merchant had an expression as if he was prepared for death.
When I laugh, the merchant’s eyes startled.
He looked at my complexion for a moment and opened his mouth with a bashful smile.
“Hey… Actually, I know a craftsman who is amazingly good at dyeing. He doesn’t run a studio right now, but his skills are really top-notch. What if the Duke hires that person? .. and… over there…”
The merchant’s voice gradually faded.
After that I don’t hear it at all.
Even though he has good skills, he seems to be a person with a problem.
I don’t think there’s any need to talk back to this merchant or hide his true feelings.
I looked the merchant in the eye and asked a question.
“So, what’s the problem with that dyeing master? Why can’t such a talented person run a studio?”
“… that, that’s it.”
The merchant was speechless for a while, sweating profusely, then bent down as if he were about to hit his head on the table.
“He was once in charge of dyeing the cloth supplied to the royal family, but he somehow earned the royal family’s wrath.”
“…”
“It wasn’t a big mistake. No, he did it, of course. I’m not saying it was wrong in the royal family. But I’m really good at it. That’s… I don’t like the color of the fabric for Her Highness’s outfit. I don’t think you did. The dyeing went well, but it wasn’t the color I wanted… At that time, designers and tailors lined up to close their shops.”
It seems to be a story of the crown prince when he was young.
Robert hated being compared to me for his looks, so he was once very picky about clothes and accessories.
‘Is that the victim?’
I let out a small sigh.
How many more victims there will be in a place I don’t know.
‘I can see why this person’s store can’t get any bigger.’
No matter how good the dyeing craftsman is, there is no place to hire someone who has earned the royal family’s wrath.
Aristocrats and merchants, as well as the dyeing guild, would have looked away from him because they noticed the royal family.
This person who recommended such a dyeing craftsman to a high-ranking aristocrat, and even to me, a monarchist, was certainly a bit careless as a merchant.
It’s fortunate that I am myself, and if I had been an aristocrat to the core, this merchant would have been in trouble.
Perhaps reading my thoughts, the merchant shook his head.
“No, Duke. If it wasn’t for the Duke, I wouldn’t have posted this. Even if I’m like this, I’ve lived as a merchant for a long time. I’m telling you this because I know that if you’re the Duke, you’ll be kind enough to understand what I’m saying.”
It was quite frightening for such a thing.
The merchant spoke seriously.
“Even though my mouth sometimes makes mistakes, I’ve been stuck like this until now, and the store is still open.”
“…”
Perhaps, among the merchants, there are even rumors that the duchy and the royal family are on bad terms.
Maybe that’s why he thought it might be okay to talk about it.
For some reason, I felt something like that in the merchant’s tone.
‘Well, it’s not been a year or two since Robert was hostile to me.’
I don’t know if there are merchants who are only looking at the timing to split up.
But it doesn’t seem like this merchant said it with the back and forth of the situation in mind.
It felt like he was just thinking about silk and then talking about it and then taking care of it belatedly.
As evidence of that, sweat was flowing down the merchant’s face like rain.
I pretended not to know that and opened my mouth.
“This silk is dyed for yarn, not for fabric. Can the dyer you mentioned be able to do that as well?”
At my words, the silk merchant’s face brightened.
“Of course. In fact, both the yarn and the fabric are dyed. Rather, dyeing the yarn is what the person does best. He will create an enchantingly beautiful thread.”
“Then call me right away. I want to dress in that silk in the new year.”
“Thank you, Duke! Thank you very much!”
The merchant shuddered and said.
“I, no, the duke will be very rich. I will sweep gold coins with a broom. Maybe I will overtake oriental silk.”
“I hope so.”
As I smiled, the merchant muttered with a dreamy face.
“I can already see the gold coins piled up in my eyes. I can see the gold coins piled up like a mountain behind the duke’s hair.”
“…”
It would be good for this merchant to check his eyesight before selling silk.
I got up, leaving the merchant still daydreaming.
***[Catherine, Duchess]***
In a room full of women, Katrin was sitting like a doll wearing only short underpants.
The posture is very strange.
His head was upright, one arm outstretched to the side, and his legs tucked together.
Of course, it was not because Catherine was a strange person, but because of the work of Anne and the ladies-in-waiting.
The lady-in-waiting and Anne, sent by the lord lady, were wiping Catherine’s hair with balm, trimming her nails at the same time, and wiping her face, neck, and chest with hot water and tightly wrung towels on the other hand. .
In order to make their work even a little easier, Katrin stands still in a strange posture.
The amulet, which she always carried in her dress pocket, had nowhere to attach it, so she put it on her lap.
Because of this, the legs must be attached so that the amulet does not fall.
As anyone who has done it knows, it is quite difficult to sit for long periods of time with your knees firmly attached.
Katrin let out a small sigh.
“This is a talisman, can’t we put it somewhere else for a second?”
The voice of Anne, who was brushing her hair with balm, echoed overhead.
“No, ma’am. The Duke ordered that the amulet never be removed from the body.”
“but.”
“It’s not even for a moment. Please wait a little bit. I’ll hang it around your neck when you finish cleaning your wife.”
ha.
Catherine sighed.
‘Anne do it. How hard is this?’
I gave too much strength to my legs, and now it seems that my bones and muscles are shaking.
The lady-in-waiting who was wiping her breasts turned around to wet her breasts again.
Every time the wet towel touched it, I gave it a lot of strength, and now my stomach hurts too.
Thinking that it wouldn’t tickle for a while, I lost a little bit of strength in my body.
The wind swayed the legs that were tightly attached to it, and the amulet fell to the floor.
“ah!”
It was the moment the talisman was about to say that.
Suddenly, my mind went blank and I couldn’t hear anything.
I feel like I’m suddenly deaf.
I thought it was strange and tried to call Anne, but my body didn’t move at all.
It’s like falling asleep with your eyes open.
At the moment of panic, the vision darkened a little, and then the sound suddenly returned.
“Madam, you must not drop the amulet. It is the Duke’s order. Never take it off your body.”
It was Anne’s voice.
Anne, who was touching her hair, knew how to pick up the amulet and put it on her lap.
“Strengthe your legs, ma’am!”
Anne clenched her fists.
“I mean, sometimes I wish I had two bodies. Then I could work while messing around with my fiancé.”
Saying that, Anne hurried back behind Catherine.
It’s a bit strange, but sometimes it’s deafening.
Whether it’s when going up a slightly hilly road or when you’re sleepy.
maybe it was like that
“…”
It was very brief.
It occurred to me that I wasn’t sure if that was strange or not.
‘But I must never take the amulet off my body again.’
Feeling a little frightened, Katrin strained her legs with the amulet.
But my leg hurts so much.
“ha.”
Unknowingly, Catherine sighed, and Anne let out a long breath from above her head.
“I’m sleepy to death, ma’am. I don’t know if I’m dreaming or if I’m really awake.”
“Neither do I.”
When a sigh came out of both of their mouths at the same time, the maids who had acted as if they hadn’t heard anything until now laughed lightly.