Is Rosy the only one who can do something worthwhile in that house? Also that mother of hers. Just ughh.
Now then, there are two matters left to settle. I guess we still need a little cleaning.
It"s about the dresses and jewelries, as high as mountain, that mother had stacked in her closet since her marriage. For the ones that could not be put in the closet for a lack of s.p.a.ce a separate room was prepared. In there the dresses were piled in a high heap in a box. All the inlay-ed jewels shined and sparkled.
"Grandmother, I don"t think I"ll be using any of these flashy dresses ever, but just disposing of them seem a little wasteful."
"That"s right. With dresses in such bad taste I don"t think I"ll want to fix them up…"
Isn"t there a recycling merchant somewhere…?
"Umm, in that case, I"ve heard about a bartering business that could help."
Cecile gave her opinion timidly.
"Bartering?"
"Yes. Instead of money it"s possible to exchange things for objects of equal value."
"Eee~"
"But… as expected, for the count"s house to use things from bartering is…"
"Ah! How about this then? If I am not mistaken there is supposed to be an orphanage in the capital, right? We can periodically exchange them for things the orphanage has a need of and donate them. It"s better than randomly disposing of them."
"Maa, Rosy, you"ve even given a though to charity?"
"No, I thought of it just now. I"ve thought about if there"s anything we can do, since it"s a waste, though."
"That"s right. This may be a good idea."
"If so, may I make a trip outside? There"s something I would like to see and I would also search for the bartering business too."
"There"s no need for you to go personally."
With her hand on her cheek grandmother says, slightly troubled.
"What if I am together with Cecile?"
"That"s all right. You are not familiar with bartering, after all."
"Understood, Madam."
"Then for a start I"ll take this necklace."
"That"s alright. Make sure you don"t forget to conduct yourself as a lady."
"Yes, grandmother!"
Grabbing the necklace that was on top, I leave my mother"s previous room with Cecile in tow. I got good information so I am in high spirits.
"Ah, Cecile, I want you to go and take the food invoice from the head chief."
"Eh, the food invoice, is it?"
"Yes, there"s something I want to look into."
"Understood. Once I take it I"ll make preparations for our trip, so please wait a while."
"Um, understood."
Thus, what Cecile and I visited first was the commercial district. The crowd that was gathered at the marketplace was overflowing with energy. There were tents as shops and then there were horses pulling carts made of wood. It was quite diverse. At the storefront a variety of vegetables and fruit were arranged.
By the way the cornerstone of the kingdom-the capital is 25km from north to south. It spreads for 30km from east to west and the north side is surrounded by a splendid towering mountains. The large river that encircles the capital plays the role of a natural fortress. Because of this mountain the palace naturally holds a vast expanse of land. On the east side of the palace on an adjacent plot of land stands the academy. The land the palace takes is double that of the academy. Also, on the west side of the palace the Centre temple is located. Three main streets stretch south respectively from the palace, the academy and temple. The one closest to the royal palace is the aristocratic district. There are hotel streets and commercial districts in the east, south and western districts surrounding the aristocratic district. From there the wealthy residential district and the commoner residential area are spreading. The stores are not limited to the commercial district only. There are shops littered around all districts.
Now then. Let us return to the main topic.
Mission start.
I refrained from wearing clothes that scream n.o.ble, so I chose the most innocuous dress I could find. I had Cecile come in casual clothes. This is all for finding out our house"s kitchen"s situation.
"Cecile, if you would add the prices of the ingredients on the food invoice, please."
"Understood."
We went around the market and slowly filled out the prices. Once we made one round it became clear that all ingredients can be found on the market. But the important thing is the price.
"As I thought. The quality is the same but the price on the invoice is twice the amount."
"Is there anything wrong with that?"
"The company that has been dealing with our house daily has been charging us exorbitant prices. And up till now we"ve been paying the asking price. Such a waste of money."
"Young miss, could it be…you"re looking for a trading company?"
"Yea, that"s right. The people involved with mother have all been suspicious individuals. Dresses and jewelries too, if we inquire from some other place it may be cheaper."
"But, how are you going to search for a company."
"That"s already decided. We"ll go door to door."
"Wha…haa…"
"You compare our price with the price tag from the store. Please tell me if there is any difference in the market price."
"Haa…understood."
"That"s right. In the shop interior you are forbidden from calling me young miss. For this occasion, you"re my older sister, so call me Rosy, alright."
"Eh!But!"
"It"s a very important job of choosing a trade partner. There could be no mistakes!"
"Young, young misssss."
"It"s alright."
Accompanying the hesitating Cecile, we set off on a hunt for a trade company dealing with foodstuff.
The first half was lined up with shops that had prices that were even higher than the market price. The clientele was comprised of rich people so when a kid like me entered I went completely ignored.
I had gone through six buildings yet there was no shop that had caught my eye.
"Welcome. How can I be of help today?"
"Can I look through the store?"
"Of course you may."
Meanwhile Cecile is comparing the prices according to my words. If she doesn"t call out to me then there"s no difference in the market prices, but if she makes eye contact- then it"s bingo.
"Excuse me, do you accept bartering here?"
Looking closely there are not only foodstuffs here but also daily necessities, too. I called out to the guy I thought was the shopkeeper.
"Oya, oya. You know it quite well, even though you"re so young."
"Yup. I was sent on an errand. What can I get for this necklace?"
"Oh? This seems like an article of fine quality?"
"Can you have a look?"
"Of course. Can you wait a while?"
"Yes."
After waiting for around a minute the shopkeeper returned.
"If it"s something of this quality, then let"s see. You can take all these articles in this part."
"Eeh? All of these?"
"Ha ha ha. Did you not know the worth of this necklace?"
"Aa, yes. Ah, but sister and I can"t carry all of these. For now, I"ll consult with father, so for today can I buy this with money?"
"Yes, that"s okay. There"s no need for the little miss to take us into consideration. Come when it"s convenient for you."
"Yes! Thank you!"
"You are welcome. Come again."
Saying this the shopkeeper showed us the way out.
"Young miss…young miss"s future prospects are kind of scary…"
"Eh? Why?"
"Exactly, where have you learned this kind of acting ability from?"
"Well, I"ve been dealing with that mother of mine, you know? I"ve learned at least that much. If I didn"t at least do this much I had the feeling that our lives would"ve been ruined."
"Young miss…"
"More importantly, the previous shop would be the first candidate. They appraised the necklace correctly and luckily you can banter too. And above all it seems their policy is customers are kings."
"Yes, looks like it."
"The front looked old, I wonder if it"s a shop with long history. The way they catch the hearts of their customers tells me so."
Cecile was looking at me while walking with me at my side, while I was mumbling things to myself.
Just in case I walked around the other shops too, but there wasn"t any that left me with a lasting impression. Then it"s decided on that one.
When I returned to the mansion and explained the situation to grandmother and Sebasu, they nodded with furrowed brows. Of course, there is no need to mention that I got scolded with a "there"s no need for the young miss to do this herself".
We closed transactions with the trade company we"ve used up till now and started a new trade with the new company I found. When the invoice came, the reality of how much we"ve been wasting till now became apparent. Also, since the need to host tea and evening parties disappeared we could cut expenses from there too.
The bartering charity project is proceeding favorably too. It would be a bother to receive a lot of things they don"t have a need for so I"ve made sure to investigate the goods they require first. We send them the goods routinely twice a year.
Our house"s reform doesn"t include the handling of money only but the state of education too.
The teachers hired by mother were completely changed. The doctrine of complete supremacy of the aristocracy they advocate was not something I could agree with. Grandmother used her connections to look for a teacher with a broader and impartial outlook. Since Oscar would be 4 very soon I chose a tutor for both of us and as expected his cleverness became apparent. The teacher said we should look forward to his future prospects.
About the wet nurse Rita. Since the previous persecution environment was changed she retired. She is a person that took great care of us so I am quite sad. Somewhere, I had thought of her as a mother.
After that all of us gathered at the dining table and had our dinner. Even if father is still quite awkward he learned to at least talk to us a little. Seeing the smile father sometimes shows makes me feel relieved.
"Randall-dono has divorced, apparently."
"Maa…seem so. We"re talking about that person. It was bound to happen…my condolences."
"Father, is there perhaps something more to this?"
"Why do you think so, Jeremy?"
"From what father had said I thought that the count is a person who cares about appearances. Would such a person make such a scandal?"
"Seemingly the previous count was moving behind the scenes."
"Something doesn"t feel right. Why now?"
"It was quite a hot topic in the social circles too. The Randall"s marriage was made under pressure."
"Pressure, is it?"
"That"s right. The wives were talking among themselves that since that person"s reputation wasn"t good, finding a marriage partner would be quite hard. But because the marquis house forwarded the marriage there was no way to refuse, or so."
"The Randal house doesn"t have a connection to that marquisate."
"I"ve told you that the previous wife lived quite the lavish social life, right? Then perhaps someone pulled the treads from behind. Perhaps the count wanted to protect that person even if it means that scandal spreading."
"There may be some truth to that. Unexpectedly, it may be someone close to him."
"The best candidates would be his daughter and son. It"s a thing with such a bad reputation. I, for one, wouldn"t want to keep it close to myself."
"That"s right. Getting involved with that person…you"re bound to become the same."
"Anyway, it is a good thing for that house. They could get rid of that pus."
"That"s right. She"ll probably disappear from the high society and hopefully all of the bad reviews would make her lay low. I have to steel myself too."
(I am curious, who was the one pulling the strings in the back, though.)