Chapter 44
Fortune of the North, where a goddess lives.
Several weeks ago, a rumor began circulating in the imperial capital.
Many thought this rumor was nothing but absurd nonsense, but some nobles thought differently.
They all spoke as though they had truly seen a goddess.
‘When I attended the debutante ball, there was a goddess there,’ they said.
Despite these claims, most people dismissed them as the ramblings of nobles obsessed with gossip.
“Huh?”
Edmund, who had investigated the rumor more thoroughly than anyone else, realized something.
All those who claimed to have seen the goddess were the same age.
There was only one person whose age was different.
The Duke of Arno, the Ghost of the South.
Unlike other nobles, Duke Arno was not the sort to spout nonsense.
Edmund became certain.
There really was a goddess in the North—or at least someone beautiful enough to be mistaken for one.
***
“So I immediately drove my carriage north. The mail carrier happened to be headed to Fortune, so I asked him to guide me.”
“I see….”
I brought Edmund to the mansion and heard the full story, but then—
“Sigh.”
A deep sigh escaped me, as though the floor itself might cave in.
“Was that… all there was to the rumor?”
“There was more. The goddess of the North was the goddess of beauty, and she had brought tools for making people beautiful….”
I pointed to the box of soap sitting on the table.
“They said this soap was the proof.”
“….”
I could roughly guess where this ridiculous rumor had come from.
‘I did ask her to promote it, but this is too much.’
When I visited the tea party,
I had enclosed a letter with the box of soap I had given specifically to Clary, asking her to promote it.
There had been no special reason.
It was simply because, when I had seen her at the wedding, she had looked like the leader of the group.
‘Surely she didn’t do this just to mess with me?’
If that wasn’t the reason, I couldn’t explain the rumor at all.
What was even more ridiculous in all this was—
“As the head of the house, you certainly do rival a goddess.”
“Hmm.”
‘Crazy people.’
Ruby and Heter had listened to Edmund and seemed convinced.
“No, what do you mean, I could rival a goddess? Even so, isn’t that exaggerating things far too much?”
“I thought it was an exaggeration too, but after seeing you in person, I no longer do.”
Edmund said this while gazing at me with deep, dreamy eyes.
“To be honest, I’m still wondering whether you might be a goddess who lost her memory rather than a human.”
“Ugh….”
Would dialogue made from lard feel like this? Just listening to him made my stomach churn.
“Ah, no, that’s not it. I’ve been with the head of the house since we were children, and she was only very pretty and a little clever. Other than that, she was an ordinary person.”
“Ruby… don’t answer him seriously.”
Sigh.
I was already worried that a rumor like ‘Our lady is actually the goddess of beauty!’ would spread throughout the territory.
I let out another deep sigh and thought it over carefully.
Yes, I didn’t mind rumors spreading that I was pretty. If they helped me sell more soap, I would even be willing to spread them a few more times myself.
But associating my beauty with a god was a problem.
If taken too far, this rumor could be seen as an attempt by a mere human to challenge a god.
“For now… yes, let me begin by thanking you. Thanks to you, I learned that a rumor like this was circulating in the capital.”
“No thanks are necessary, my lady.”
“And let me say this once more: I am not a goddess. So let go of that half-baked belief as well.”
“Is that so?”
Edmund looked deeply disappointed by my words.
“Why are you so disappointed…? Anyway, if your purpose was merely to confirm whether I’m a true goddess, you may leave now. I have something private to discuss from this point on.”
I needed to call Sir Gold immediately and discuss how to suppress the rumor.
If we delayed even a little, someone from the church might come looking for me.
“…? Why are you still just sitting there? Didn’t I tell you to leave?”
Yet despite my dismissal, Edmund did not rise from his seat.
“The thing is, I have a way to let the capital know that you’re human.”
“…Is that really true?”
“Of course! To explain, you first need to know what kind of merchant I am…. Miss, could you go to my carriage and bring back anything from the luggage compartment?”
Ruby looked at me as though asking what she should do.
I wasn’t particularly pleased that someone else had ordered Ruby around, but he was a guest who had given us valuable information, and his tone had sounded more like a request than an order.
“Ruby. Could you go?”
“Yes.”
Before long, Ruby returned with—
“Clothes?”
“A dress to offer as tribute if the goddess of the North truly exists.”
It was a beautiful dress that combined white, blue, and sky blue in just the right proportions.
“Are you really a merchant?”
It clearly did not look like something an ordinary merchant would carry around.
“I am a merchant. Of course, I don’t only sell goods.”
Then Edmund took a metal badge from inside his fur coat and placed it on the table.
“What’s this…?”
“Gasp!”
As I examined it, wondering what it was, Ruby, who was holding the dress, let out a shrill cry and began trembling as though she couldn’t believe her eyes.
“Could this badge be from Rudyard Boutique?”
“You seem to recognize it, miss.”
Edmund smiled, raised his chin, and spread his arms wide.
“That’s right. I am Edmund Rudyard, the owner and chief designer of Rudyard Boutique!”
“Wow! Then this dress I’m holding is also….”
“Yes, it’s one of my boutique’s products.”
“Amazing!”
Ruby hopped up and down as she stared at the dress in her hands.
Judging by her reaction, Edmund must be quite famous.
“Heter… do you happen to know who that is?”
“I only know that he is the designer your sister praised.”
A designer praised by Heter’s sister.
Then he must certainly be famous.
‘Is he planning to use his reputation to prove that I’m not a goddess?’
Well, there was no need to speculate. I could simply have him explain it.
“So let’s dispense with the banter and hear your explanation.”
“Ah, ahem. I got carried away.”
Edmund cleared his throat, sat down, and took a sip of tea to moisten his lips.
“The reason I visited the Fortune territory was to find the goddess of the North.”
“Right.”
“And the reason I was looking for the goddess of the North was….”
Edmund took an envelope from inside his coat and gently handed it to me.
“To make this proposal.”
“What’s this?”
When I opened the envelope, I found a sheet of paper with the word Contract written at the very top.
“My lady, would you become a model for Rudyard Boutique?”
“…Huh?”
He wanted me to become what?
“Once you become a model and your portrait is displayed in the capital, everyone will know that someone must have mistaken you for a goddess and spread that rumor.”
“Um….”
It was an unexpected proposal, but his argument certainly made sense.
Still, there was one thing I found baffling.
“What would you have done if I really were a goddess?”
From what I had heard, Edmund seemed to be a man from the capital, so what was he thinking, coming all the way to this remote place in the North himself?
“What if I really were a goddess and refused your request?”
“Haha, first of all, I’m someone who believes that a goddess wouldn’t actually devote herself to this land. And if you really were a goddess, wouldn’t that be even better?”
His eyes shone as he imagined what he would do if I truly were a goddess, but—
“Then I could actually dress a goddess in clothes I made.”
“….”
That wasn’t the thought of an ordinary person. It was the thought of a madman.
‘Is he an artist?’
It was only a vague guess, but I had the feeling he wouldn’t betray me even if we worked together.
“So what will you do?”
“I have a condition.”
“Hmm?”
His eyes narrowed as though he hadn’t expected me to set a condition.
“How unexpected. I thought you’d be the one in a hurry right now.”
“Even so, this involves putting my face out there, doesn’t it?”
No matter how urgent the situation was, I didn’t want to suffer a loss.
Besides—
“If you don’t like it, feel free to refuse. But could you find another one?”
“Find what?”
I crossed one leg over the other, slightly raised my chin, and gave him the most alluring smile I could muster.
“A model who surpasses me, I mean.”
“…Pfft, bwahaha!”
Edmund opened his eyes wide as though he had been struck, then burst into laughter.
“Haha, you’re right, my lady. It wasn’t you who was in a hurry, but me.”
After laughing for quite some time, Edmund finally wiped away his tears.
“Then could you tell me your conditions? I’ll accommodate them as much as possible.”
“All right.”
I nodded and slowly opened my mouth.
“First of all, my condition is this.”