Chapter 32

“Guild master?”

 

The people who had been diligently lifting and carrying boxes all bowed their heads the moment they saw me. It was natural since I was practically their employer.

 

“Don’t mind me and keep working. I’ll give you all a generous bonus this time, so look forward to it.”

 

“Haha, that’s our guild master!”

 

The reason the place ran smoothly without me was thanks to the people working under me, so this much was only fair. Watching their motivation spike, I looked around.

 

The reason I came today was to check the herbs imported from Zeiran. I needed a larger supply of the herbs required for the medicine I had just successfully made, and I also needed to inspect the other delivered herbs myself.

 

“Where’s Eldan?”

 

“If you mean the secretary, he’s in the warehouse.”

 

“Okay. Got it.”

 

Following the employee’s words, I headed toward the warehouse. Eldan was about my age, so young considering his position, but everyone acknowledged and trusted his competence. Well, the guild master wasn’t much older either. I smirked.

 

When I arrived, I found Eldan pushing up his glasses as he inspected the goods. He was organizing the warehouse himself—a job he could have easily delegated.

 

He must have a lot to do…

 

Eldan was checking the list with sharp, focused eyes.

 

“Looks like some of the goods haven’t arrived yet?”

 

“Ah, that… they were attacked by pirates…”

 

Pirates… Right, around this time of year. I paused in thought. Eldan didn’t bother hiding his irritation—quite a lot had been stolen, and the ship transporting them had sunk.

 

“Those bastards have nothing better to do. I hope they run into a storm and sink.”

 

The employee beside him only gave a strained laugh. With a cold, flat expression, Eldan drew a line through the goods stolen by pirates. I chuckled softly and spoke to him.

 

“Eldan, I told you to delegate work like this.”

 

He raised his head at my voice. His snappish expression from moments ago had completely vanished.

 

“I cannot do that. It is my job to deliver the goods quickly and accurately to those who need them.”

 

“How deep does your love for this guild run?”

 

One thing was certain—Eldan loved and cared for the guild far more than I did. Which wasn’t surprising. He prepared everything before I even asked. The guild had grown far bigger than when I left everything to run like a research lab.

 

“This is my life. But more importantly, did you come to check the imports from the Zeiran Empire?”

 

“That’s right. And you were talking about pirates earlier… is the damage severe?”

 

“It’s within expectations. We knew from the start that pirates were running wild.”

 

The Zeiran Empire avoided maritime trade partly due to internal issues with communication, but the bigger problem was the lawlessness of the sea. With pirates everywhere, it was difficult to conduct trade with Zeiran, which could only be reached by sea. I’d heard pirates were quite a headache for them as well—raiding merchant ships and even kidnapping people to sell as slaves.

 

“Well, I’m sure it’ll end soon. You said it yourself—the age of pirates is almost over.”

 

“I did say that.”

 

“Then that’s enough for me.”

 

“Don’t you trust me a little too much? I’m not a prophet.”

 

“I’ve never regretted following your judgment. So I’ll trust you this time too.”

 

“….”

 

This guy was sometimes too good at social niceties—almost touching, really.

 

“But I must apologize.”

 

“For what?”

 

“The ship that was robbed happened to be carrying the herbs.”

 

“What?! Those damned pirate bastards!!”

 

Any attempt to brush it off vanished as fury shot up in me. Of all the cargo they could have taken—why the herbs?! They could’ve taken the jewels instead!!

 

“The guild hardly suffered any losses, but for you, it’s critical. But fortunately, the herbs you ordered separately arrived intact.”

 

Eldan smiled lightly, since the damage was minimal. I, however, was on the verge of tears.

 

Those herbs… you have no idea how rare they are…

 

At least his final comment was comforting.

 

I need to deal with these pirates. Soon.

 

Originally, it was supposed to be Bastien who secured the trade rights with Zeiran—the empress’ son and major conquest character. And it was also Bastien who would later wipe out the pirates.

 

So stealing his achievement had a price, it seemed…

 

Since I’d assumed Bastien would eventually take care of them, I had jumped at the trade deal. Even if I couldn’t eliminate the pirates, opening the trade route was something I could handle alone.

 

“By the way, there’s a rumor going around.”

 

“Oh? About what?”

 

“That you received an extravagant gift from the duchess.”

 

“…You knew?”

 

“One must keep an eye on every rumor in the capital. I told you—if you need anything, you should tell me. If you need a dress, I can have one brought immediately—”

 

“No, no! Absolutely not! I don’t need that, don’t send anything!!”

 

“You should know how to spend the money piling up in your bank account.”

 

“Don’t give it to me—divide it among yourselves…”

 

As guild master, a portion of the profits naturally went to me. Money in my name was piling up. But I wanted to use it for Evan. The guild was a gift from the duke, after all.

 

Eldan gave me a withering look, like I was painfully naïve.

 

“Are you running a business digging up the ground, Lady?”

 

“Well, no, but still…”

 

“You need to take your fair share. And the crown prince’s birthday banquet is coming up. You should pay attention to your attire.”

 

“Oh…”

 

So it was about that time already. A sign the original story was about to begin.

 

‘…Wait. Do I have to attend too?’

 

The duchess had mentioned a banquet she couldn’t skip. She definitely had an agenda. But Evan wouldn’t be able to attend…

 

“I’ll send the needed herbs to Baron Perio. Also, Ben contacted me—he wants you to visit.”

 

“Ben?”

 

“Yes. Probably about the lily of the valley. Something about the tides or whatever… not solid info yet, but likely a lead. I’d go myself, but as you can see, I’m… swamped.”

 

Eldan smiled brightly, then moved aside to reveal the hectic scene inside, leaving me speechless.

 

“You’re working the boss to death…”

 

“People with free hands should be the ones to move.”

 

Since he would report everything to me anyway, he insisted it was more efficient for me to go myself.

 

“…Fine. I’ll visit when I have time.”

 

If he wanted to say it directly, it meant the information was credible.

 

 

***

 

 

Warm sunlight fell over my face. I groaned and sat up slowly. Next to me, Mary threw the blankets off.

 

“My lady, wake up! It’s morning!”

 

Hands on her hips, she looked down at me sternly.

 

“Mmm… five more minutes…”

 

I buried my face in the pillow, unwilling to rise.

 

“Please just let it go… I went to bed late…”

 

It didn’t work.

 

“That’s why I told you to come home early!”

 

I had no choice but to drag myself up.

 

Yesterday I stayed late checking the guild. Then I visited the greenhouse to plan herb cultivation with Pat. And at night, I couldn’t sleep because I was too curious about what Ben wanted to say.

 

I stretched wide, yawning hard. At the academy, I always woke early, but now that I was home… I’d grown lazy.

 

“Are you going to visit the young master today?”

 

Since I’d gone to the guild yesterday, Mary’s guess wasn’t wrong. But I had somewhere more urgent.

 

“No. I’m stopping by the information guild first. I might be able to learn something about the lily of the valley that blooms on the full moon.”

 

I shot up. Thinking about today’s schedule left no time to dawdle. I needed to show my face to Evan, even briefly. And check if the herbs had arrived safely.

 

“And then I’ll visit Evan. Mary, you can rest at the estate today too.”

 

Mary sighed.

 

“Honestly… I raise you so well and then the young master steals you away…”

 

“Mary, please. I grew up perfectly fine on my own.”

 

Her sulky grumbling was familiar. Despite living together, many in the estate complained that Evan had “stolen” me. He even had something like anti-fans—within the household, anyway. My parents didn’t say it out loud, but the duke’s family… well, let’s not go there.

 

“And my lady, I keep telling you it’s not good to wander alone! You snuck out without me again yesterday!”

 

“I didn’t ‘sneak’ out. I simply walked where I needed to walk.”

 

“That’s how you get into trouble!”

 

“Oh please. The capital has excellent security.”

 

Honestly, how did I ever move around with attendants and knights glued to me? After living freely at the academy, having someone follow me everywhere felt suffocating.

 

Mary puffed her cheeks, glaring with determination. When I agreed to take a knight with me, her expression finally eased.

 

“Shall we get you ready?”

 

“Yes.”

 

I sat in front of the dressing table. Mary gently brushed my hair and continued, “Do you know how strange it felt to read news about you in the newspaper? The master was heartbroken.”

 

“What news?”

 

“About the Grow Guild. They said you completed the trade successfully. The master was so proud his nose practically reached the sky. And the madam… oh, she nearly cracked her teeth when she learned you went to the boutique with the duchess.”

 

“Haha…”

 

I laughed awkwardly.