Chapter 18
“I’m doomed.”
Like the protagonist stranded on Mars, I seemed to be doomed after all.
‘No, how could I not receive a single reply from anyone?’
I’d sent so many letters, too.
It wasn’t as though I could go around visiting noble houses in person to promote my product, either.
“This is a real disaster….”
If I’d known this would happen, I would have paid more attention to socializing, even if it meant barely scraping by.
If I’d attended a ball or tea party even once, things wouldn’t have been this bad.
“What do we do now?”
“Indeed….”
Heter, who had watched the entire process from beside me, asked worriedly.
“Ugh….”
In truth, there was still another option.
It was just rather like entering a tiger’s den to escape a wolf.
Just as I was seriously considering whether there was truly no other way—
Patter-patter-patter-patter-patter.
“?”
Ruby’s hurried footsteps could be heard outside the study.
The last time she had run about in such a hurry was when the Snow Wyrm attacked the vineyard.
‘Could something similar to that incident have happened again?!’
Around the time my back grew damp with cold sweat and sweat began to gather in my cleavage—
“Alice!”
Ruby flung the door open without knocking, but contrary to my expectations, she didn’t look distressed.
“What is it, Ruby?”
“This! An invitation arrived!”
She held out a sealed envelope, her face bright with excitement.
“A-an invitation?”
“Yes!”
Clatter! Thud.
Heter caught the chair as it began to topple backward because I had risen so abruptly.
But I was in no state to pay attention to that.
“You didn’t misread it, did you?”
“No! It definitely says ‘invitation’!”
“Uuuugh!”
I waved both hands and stomped my feet.
I wanted to scream and punch the air, but since other people were around, I settled for this much.
“Phew…. So who sent it?”
Once my head had cooled somewhat, I asked Ruby who the sender was.
“Uh, well….”
Only then did Ruby check the sender’s name.
Apparently, she had brought it over immediately after seeing that it was an invitation.
“It says it was sent by the Marquess of Drosselmeyer.”
“…Who’s that?”
I had never heard that surname before.
And a marquess?
“What…? Could it have been sent to the wrong person?”
“No. It says the recipient is House Fortune.”
“Really?”
Well, the territories were so far apart—how could they have mistaken the address?
“Then I’d better read the contents.”
“Yes, here you are.”
I broke the sealing wax on the invitation Ruby handed me and read its contents.
“This is….”
“What does it say?”
“It’s a wedding invitation.”
“A wedding?!”
Ruby’s eyes grew round as a rabbit’s.
“My lady, do you know that Dross… whatever Marquess? Why did he send you an invitation?”
“Exactly.”
I briefly summarized the contents of the letter and explained them to Heter and Ruby.
“He’s marrying a duke’s daughter from the capital and wants to hold as lavish a wedding as possible, apparently. So he sent invitations to every house in the North.”
That was why the very first line of the invitation apologized for sending such a letter so suddenly.
“Every house in the North? Good heavens.”
Ruby’s mouth fell open.
“Then how many people will be gathering at the wedding?”
“I have no idea.”
In any case, this was an opportunity.
How many more chances would there be for all the North’s nobles to gather in one place?
And if I gave the bride soap as a wedding gift, I could promote it naturally.
‘I absolutely have to go!’
I immediately asked Ruby to bring me a map.
“Here it is!”
“All right, let’s see… The Drosselmeyer territory is….”
Soon, Ruby scurried over with the map, and I searched for the location of the marquess’s territory.
“Ah, here it is.”
Eventually, my finger stopped at one spot on the map.
The Marquess of Drosselmeyer’s territory was at the very top of the map—
In other words, it was located at the northernmost edge.
“That’s far… It’ll take a long time to get there from here.”
Dismayed even after confirming the distance on the map, I checked the date of the wedding.
“In… four days?!”
No, if the wedding was only four days away, why was the invitation arriving only now… Ah.
Come to think of it, this wasn’t the sort of place where a letter arrived within a day or two of being sent.
That meant the wedding might still have been a long way off when this letter was sent.
Besides, our territory was a small rural territory even by Northern standards.
“This is no time for this. Ruby! We need to start preparing right now.”
“Right now?”
“Yes!”
At this rate, we might arrive after the wedding was already over.
“Ah, all right!”
“Sir Heter, go to the factory and tell Sir Gold to prepare soap to give as a gift, along with the finished soap, then arrange a carriage.”
“A carriage? Can’t we ride a golem there?”
“Not this time.”
Because it was simply too far away.
Needless to say, while magical tools were expensive, magic stones were hardly cheap either.
That was why I always kept only enough magic stones to travel to Mugwort.
‘Of course, I did keep a few extra as spares.’
Even taking those into account, I didn’t have enough to reach the Marquess of Drosselmeyer’s territory.
“Besides, golems are fine for transporting heavy things like wine barrels, but they’re not cost-effective otherwise.”
They were slower than horses, too. When we needed to move as urgently as we did now, a carriage was much better.
“That makes sense. Understood.”
Apparently convinced, Heter hurried out of the study, and I gathered the documents I would need to look over in the carriage while Ruby finished preparing.
***
After driving the horses for three and a half days, until they were nearly exhausted—
“We… have arrived.”
“Good work.”
“I think I’m dying….”
Heter, Ruby, and I managed to reach the Marquess of Drosselmeyer’s territory without being late.
Sir Gold stayed behind this time because he had work at the factory and we had to leave so urgently.
“Hold. Who are you?”
“I’m from Fortune Territory.”
“Confirmed. Baron Fortune, welcome to Iron Circle, at the northernmost edge of the North.”
When we showed the invitation to the guards at the entrance to the territory, they let us in immediately.
“Do you know where the marquess’s residence is?”
“No. Could you explain?”
“Yes. First, go straight ahead, and then….”
“I see. Thank you.”
After listening to the guard’s directions and entering the territory, I saw a bleak landscape that made Fortune Territory look charming by comparison.
“So this is the northernmost edge….”
I had felt it even on the way here, but this truly seemed like a place where people could hardly live.
‘But why does something about it feel familiar?’
It was a landscape that looked as though I had seen it somewhere before….
No matter how hard I thought about it, I had never been to a place like this.
Just as I was wondering whether it was merely my imagination—
We arrived at the Marquess of Drosselmeyer’s residence.
“Welcome, Baron Fortune. My name is Gavial. I’m the maid assigned to attend you during your stay.”
The residence’s doors opened, and as we entered, a neatly dressed maid came out to greet us.
Was it because he was a marquess, after all?
It seemed he had assigned a manservant or maid to every guest who came to the wedding.
“Leave the horses and carriage to the coachman, and hurry inside to prepare for the wedding.”
“Understood.”
We got out of the carriage and followed Gavial inside the residence.
“How long until the wedding?”
“Approximately eighteen hours.”
That meant we had to wash, dress, and even meet the bride before the ceremony, all within eighteen hours.
‘Oh dear… It looks like there won’t be any time to recover from the journey.’
To socialize, I would have to wash and prepare myself with considerably more care than usual, after all.
“…Come to think of it, Sir Heter.”
“Yes?”
“Do you have a uniform to wear on an occasion like this?”
Heter’s face fell as he realized the problem.
Right. As a wandering knight, where would he have gotten clothes to wear in a situation like this?
Normally, we should have prepared something in advance back at the territory, but time had been far too tight.
‘What should I do? Should I leave Heter behind?’
Just as I was thinking that it might be fine since security wouldn’t be an issue at a wedding—
“We have uniforms prepared in advance for situations like this. If you need one, I can show you where they are.”
“Is that true?”
“Yes. We receive many guests who come from distant places, after all.”
Wow… As expected of a marquess’s house. Even the service was on another level.
“In that case, Sir Heter, change separately later and then join us.”
“Understood.”
Even so, he couldn’t share a room with a knight of the opposite sex, so Heter was shown to the room where the escorts were gathering.
After taking a short rest, washing, and getting ready, only about an hour remained until the wedding.
‘When is Heter coming?’
I was waiting for Heter in the large hall where the wedding would be held.
The reason I hadn’t gone to pay my respects first was… because he was carrying the soap I intended to give the bride as a gift.
As I anxiously checked the clock again and again, wondering when Heter would arrive—
“Oh my, who do we have here?”
“?”
An unfamiliar woman’s voice came from beside me.
When I turned my head, three women wearing dazzling dresses and jewelry so flashy they hurt my eyes, unlike me, were smiling at me.
“The young lady of House Fortune… No, you’re the head of the house now, aren’t you?”
“Ah, h-hello?”
Normally, I could have spoken to them in a less formal register, but I deliberately used the same polite speech they did.
The fact that they had spoken to me now meant they must have made their debuts alongside me at the debutante ball.
“I never thought the head of House Fortune would come here. You never came even once when I invited you to my tea parties, did you?”
“Ha ha….”
There was a barb in her words.
Apparently, she hadn’t liked that I kept ignoring her invitations.
“I’m sorry. Things were difficult in the territory in many ways back then.”
“No, I understand. You must have had your reasons. After all….”
The former head and his wife had passed away, so you must have had quite a lot on your mind.
“….”
For a moment, I almost let my expression harden, but I forced myself to keep smiling.
I still didn’t know whether she had said that to spite me or meant it sincerely.
“Still, couldn’t you have come at least once after some time had passed? There were so many men who waited for you with bated breath, you know.”
“Ha ha….”
I didn’t know why, but every word she said carried hostility.
‘What is this…? Did I offend her at my debutante ball?’
No, I hadn’t done anything that could be called offensive. I had received a sudden confession then and immediately run away.
“I’m sor…ry?”
“Ha!”
When I apologized, the women snorted as if they found me absurd.
‘No, why are they angry even when I apologize?’
“So many young ladies have been unable to marry because of you, and all you can offer is a verbal apology….”
“?”
What was going on? The duke’s daughters who had suddenly grown angry trailed off, and their faces began to turn red.
“My lady.”
Heter’s voice came from behind me, and the moment I turned my head—
“….”
I could do nothing but freeze in place.
I thought I understood why their faces had turned red.