IARMDH - Chapter 94



Fall limited edition scented candle 'Swan's Tears'.

Like the tears of a swan that fall when the first frost falls, seasonal products that were sold only before the first frost fell became wildly popular in aristocratic society.

True to its name, Swan Tears, the scented candles, which feature white feathers on top of white candles, were sold out before the first frost.

Many nobles wanted to obtain swan tears, but Judith never produced anymore.

The apparent reason was that they could not obtain the Swan's Tears flower, but Ouz knew that was not the case.

“There’s going to be chaos because I can’t get the next limited edition.”

The catalog was in a mess in Ouz's hands. Judith had recently made and distributed something called a catalog when she showed off Swan Tears. When you turned over the large piece of paper that said, "Miss Harrington's Special Candle Shop," there was a drawing of the candles Judith sold by type.

Next to it were written the product name and description. The problem was the name. Some of the names had the modifier 'premium' in front of them.

I don't know why it's considered high-end, but since it's called high-end, don't you want to buy it at least once?

Even the catalog itself was only available to customers who spent over a certain amount at Judith's shop.

“One head can turn incredibly well.”

When he first saw the colored candles, Ouz was amazed. That had to be good. Thirty years of experience as a merchant whispered to him. So he stole them.

The colored candles were not too difficult to follow. The only tricky part was adjusting the amount of dye to get the desired color.

But the incense was different. He couldn't do anything to replicate it. No matter how much he poured in, or how little, it didn't smell as fragrant as Judith's incense.

No, it did smell, but the candle smell was so much stronger that he couldn't really smell it. Once he lit the candle, there was no smell at all.

“What is the secret?”

Ouz gave bribes to a store that Judith frequented and found out the list of ingredients.

But even if he bought the same ingredients, he couldn't make Judith's candle. So he set a trap to force her to sell the secret recipe, but she escaped that too in an amazing way.

“I didn’t know you could spread fake pitcher plant incense.”

It was a strategy that he honestly wanted to applaud. Thanks to that, Ouz couldn't even have fun with the pitcher plant incense.

Of course, he didn't mean to have fun with it, but he set a trap so that Judith would have no choice but to sell the secret recipe for the incense. But failure always hurts. The more it happened, the more he coveted Judith's incense.

“Did you call, Sir?”

As Ouz shook the rope, the secretary who had been outside came in.

“Bring me a box.”

"Yes."

Ouz was putting the catalog he had obtained with difficulty and three or four of Judith’s expensive candles into the box when he suddenly clutched his chest and fell down onto the chair. The secretary opened a drawer as if she was used to it and took out a small vial.

“Yes.”

Ouz, groaning, picked up the bottle with trembling hands and drank it all at once. After about a minute, Ouz's face, which had turned bright red from exertion, gradually returned to its original color.

“How come you don’t know the secret recipe for incense when you can make something like this so neatly?”

Ouz grumbled, wiping his mouth with the handkerchief his secretary handed him.

“Did you get that?”

“Yes, I saved it.”

“Put that in with some gold coins and send it. To the usual place.”

***

“Are you saying that even if I earn this much, I won’t be able to repay 200 million gold?”

“Two hundred million gold is a lot of money.”

What good is it if you make a lot of money with swan tears? All the money goes to Smith. Judith divided the living expenses, material costs, and loan money into separate sacks.

Sadly, the sack she had to take to Smith was the heaviest.

“Haven’t you heard from the Marquis? Is there anything floating around on the black market?”

Marquis Mosley was monitoring the black market after receiving information that the priest was crazy about money and selling anything. The suspicious items floating around the black market could be a clue that could help track down the priest.

“Health bracelet.”

“Health bracelet?”

“Oh, I heard that bracelets that make you healthy when worn are selling well on the black market these days. They only cost ten copper coins, so it looks like everyone is buying them.”

“Does that work?”

“There’s no way.”

Of course, it was superstition. Just in case, Cain also bought one and wore it for a few days, but nothing happened. Of course, his health did not improve at all.

However, the price is cheap and the design is not bad, so these days it is trendy and everyone is wearing one.

“Hmm, I don’t think that has anything to do with Followers.”

“I guess.”

“Other than that?”

Erne shook his head. Cain said the black market was very quiet these days.

“I might be taking care of my body. I mean, I’m wearing cosmetics.”

“The Marquis thinks so too.”

“Ah, is there any evidence that the Ouz top made the helmet flower incense?”

Cain promised Judith that he would find it for her.

“They said they couldn’t find it.”

“I thought you hadn’t been coming to our candle shop lately.”

She didn't have much expectations either.

It was not that he did not trust Cain's abilities, but rather because of Ouz's confident attitude.

Judith and Erne left the mansion with the interest they owed to Smith. When they arrived at Smith's office, the Luhmann brothers welcomed her.

She also asked the Luhmann brothers what was happening in the back alleys these days, but she couldn't get much good information from them either.

“It’s finally today.”

Erne, who had just paid off the loan this month, stroked Gold's nape.

“You too are now finished with your hardships. Even though you only pulled the cart once a day.”

Today was the long-awaited day to buy a cart and a donkey. It would have been better to buy a horse or an ox, but horses and oxen were too expensive, so Judith and Erne settled on a donkey.

After hearing information from here and there, she heard that she could buy healthy donkeys at a reasonable price only on the day the market opened, so she waited for the day the market opened.

“Erne, Mr. Luhmann told me the name of a trustworthy merchant at the market.”

Erne came out a little earlier, and Judith had a brief conversation with Big Luhmann in front of the office door, and it seemed that she had obtained some information in the meantime.

“Go to that person first. He said he would never scam you if you told him the name of Mr. Big Luhmann.”

“If you think you can throw a tantrum after seeing that face, be careful.”

"Ah!"

As he walked from the main entrance of the office building to Erne, a boy named Milo ran towards him.

Judith hurriedly stepped back but bumped into the boy slightly. Erne caught Judith and kept her from falling, but the boy rolled to the ground.

“Are you okay? Huh? Hey!”

As Judith tried to help the child up, the child picked something up from the floor and ran away.

“Madam, see if anything is missing. That guy is a pickpocket.”

Big Luhmann came running late.

“Was it pickpocketing? But nothing is missing.”

There were a lot of pickpockets in the square, so she always left her money with Erne.

“But that guy picked something up earlier, check again.”

When Erne heard his words, he turned his waistband and saw that the bottom of the pocket on his waist was torn.

“When did he tear this? His technique is good.”

Judith stuck out her tongue.

“What should I do when all he stole was charcoal? Tsk tsk.”

In this world, the only thing used as a substitute for a pencil was charcoal.

“Nothing is missing besides that. Let’s go quickly.”

Judith was the type who would throw away charcoal when it became as short as a baby's fingernail, but she wasn't the type to go out of her way to chase after a pickpocket boy in search of charcoal.

“I’ve never been pickpocketed before. Is this bad luck?”

"What?"

“It’s nothing.”

Judith, who was quietly mumbling, climbed onto Gold with Erne's help. Soon, Gold, carrying Judith and Erne, started walking towards the market.

***

A pair of healthy donkeys and a used, but like a new, packhorse.

The horse merchant Luhmann introduced sold donkeys and carts at a cheap price, which made for a very satisfying shopping experience for Judith.

“Have lots of children.”

Judith kept whispering to the two donkeys that had entered the stable that Erne had fixed.

“Would you mind eating it if it’s too burdensome?”

Erne, who was watching from a distance, shook his head.

“Have you named it?”

"No."

“You’re telling me to have a baby without even giving it a name? That’s too much.”

Come to think of it, Erne had a point. Judith thought for a moment, then pointed to the male donkey and said,

“This is Insence.”

Incense? Erne suddenly felt uneasy. Surely not. You wouldn't name a donkey Incense, would you? Hey, surely not.

While Erne was doubting whether it was true or not, Judith's finger pointed towards the female donkey.

“She’s a beginner.”

“...”

“The two together make incense.”

“...I should have just told the kids to do it.”

It was my fault for asking Judith, who had no sense of naming, to name her. Erne thought so.

Judith was pleased whether Erne clicked his tongue or not at the name of the donkey behind her. With the donkey carrying the incense and even a cart, she could feel that her business had grown.

It seemed like everything was going to be fine from now on.

One day, that proud feeling gradually subsided and the donkeys had finally adjusted to the mansion.

"Ah!"

Judith, who had been walking smoothly, suddenly fell over with a crash. Erne, who had been walking slowly from the end of the hallway, was startled and ran over to her.

“Are you okay? No, there’s no place you could trip and fall, so why did you fall?”

He looked around as he lifted Judith up. It was a flat corridor with no obstacles.

“I tripped over my own foot.”

Erne's eyes grew dim as he watched Judith tapping her palm on the ground.

“Why do you seem to fall so often these days, you?”


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