“…I’m not sure…”
“Go ask at the Information Guild. Find out who handled this contract. There’s no way the guild wouldn’t know the agent who managed the sale of an estate this size.”
Since Kayan had a rough idea of the capital’s layout, he responded immediately.
“I saw a cluster of Information Guild offices near the alleys of the Remo Market. I’ll send someone right away.”
Though Ivnoa was smiling, Kayan could tell in an instant that she was furious.
Kayan signaled to one of the knights on the spot.
“You heard her, right? Go quickly.”
The large knight gave a slight bow and immediately dashed off.
Ivnoa called after him, “Only go to one place! Don’t visit multiple!”
Kayan suddenly felt curious about the reason.
If it was something she really wanted to know, wouldn’t it make sense to visit several places?
Before he could ask, Ivnoa fixed him with a serious look and asked another pointed question.
“And second—what’s the name of the tailor where you got the clothes made? And how much did it cost?”
“Uh… well, we went to Laisano Tailors, a place that seemed quite reputable,” Kayan answered calmly.
“I vaguely remembered the maids at the palace mentioning the name while you were staying there temporarily.”
“Laisano…”
Ivnoa furrowed her brow and muttered to herself.
“Not top-tier, but definitely a skilled place. So why is this…?”
“Is something wrong?”
“A lot is wrong. Did you make a reservation, or just barge in? Tailors of that caliber usually work by appointment only.”
“No, we didn’t know that, so we put down a 300-million-gold deposit in advance and asked to purchase whatever was needed. They guided us right away.”
“…I see.”
Ivnoa took another deep breath and spoke.
“Guided you right away, huh? Then it’s possible they didn’t have enough staff to measure you or discuss designs and materials properly. You were lucky. With that kind of money, no one would be reckless enough to just buy clothes outright, like an idiot…”
“That’s exactly what we did.”
“…Pardon?”
“We just told them to give us whatever was necessary and took it on the spot. It was tedious to go through everything one by one.”
Hearing this, Ivnoa clenched her teeth. After several deep breaths, she slowly began clapping.
“Wow, truly impressive. You understand the value of time. Really, Kayan, you’re extraordinary. Time is money, after all. Yes, yes.”
The knights cheered again.
“Exactly! Lord Kayan prioritizes efficiency above all!”
“They even made additional uniforms for us on the spot! We didn’t even know knights’ attire needed to be standardized.”
Ivnoa’s temple throbbed even harder. Behind her, Connie looked like she might faint.
Ivnoa forced a smile as she spoke.
“Do you have the receipt? Is it here?”
Kayan, the only one not smiling, signaled to one of his attendants, who quickly fetched the receipt.
Ivnoa and Connie examined the receipt together, their jaws dropping in unison.
“Unbelievable…”
“Wow… these… these crooks…”
Connie staggered, clutching the table for support.
Ivnoa could no longer force herself to smile.
“Kayan Barklith,” she said, grinding her teeth, her voice still deceptively gentle.
“I’d like to have a word with you in private. Shall we go to your room?”
Despite her barely contained rage, Kayan remained unruffled.
“As you wish.”
When Ivnoa rose, Kayan immediately followed suit. The knights also stood en masse, chattering amongst themselves.
“I’ll escort the princess!”
“No, I will! Get lost!”
“Let’s settle this with rock-paper-scissors!”
“No way! Arm wrestling instead!”
The commotion grew louder as they argued. Ivnoa, surrounded by their clamor, struggled to suppress her anger.
Noticing her expression, Connie took a deep breath and yelled.
“Be quiet, all of you!”
A sudden silence fell over the room.
“Don’t you have any sense of the situation? Look at the atmosphere right now!”
The burly knights froze on the spot.
Clenching her fists, Connie shouted, “You big idiots! Is there nothing but sawdust in those huge heads of yours? Move! Clear out!”
The knights dispersed like a receding tide.
“I don’t think I can handle staying here any longer,” Connie muttered, despite having already adjusted quite well to the chaos.
***
After leaving the meeting room, I headed straight for Kayan’s quarters.
“Sit down.”
I sat across the table from Kayan. While I had expected this, seeing it with my own eyes made me grit my teeth.
‘The real estate scam is one thing—let’s say they just got unlucky and dealt with a swindler.’
But for a tailor shop, frequented by nobles, to blatantly take advantage like this?
How little must they have thought of him? How unafraid of consequences were they?
‘A place that relies on the reputation of noble families to survive… How much must they have looked down on the Barkliths?’
Suppressing my laughter, I fumed silently for a long moment.
The silence stretched on, and Kayan let out a faint sigh.
He seemed to have realized from my reaction that he had been swindled. But he didn’t seem particularly upset. Instead, he spoke calmly.
“Even Northern merchants charge outsiders higher prices. It’s only natural to face some difficulties when settling in for the first time. I was prepared to take some losses initially.”
I looked at him squarely.
The tension between us grew thicker.
Kayan hesitated before quickly adding, “The sword… I see there’s no sword nearby. Your Highness, wouldn’t it be better to resolve this with words rather than violence?”
Indeed, in the North, anger often led to fists flying first. At least that avoided the disaster of harsh words.
‘Ah, is that why I’m not good at sharp-tongued remarks?’
But now wasn’t the time to dwell on such realizations.
“No,” I said, calming myself quickly. Then, I smiled softly.
“It’s natural to face difficulties when settling in for the first time. I completely understand what you’re saying.”
Kayan’s eyebrows twitched slightly upward. He looked even more uneasy.
“That’s just how the world works, I suppose,” I said, nodding slowly.
“Yes, that’s true. But—”
Of course, what I really wanted to say would come after the “but.”
“In the world of nobility, it doesn’t work that way.”
Kayan furrowed his brow slightly, as if he didn’t quite understand what I meant.
I emphasized my point again, deliberately.
“In noble society, there’s no time to learn from mistakes.”
“…”
“There’s a reason noble families value their reputation and history so highly. They don’t tolerate even minor failures.”
That’s why nobles were taught every little detail of behavior from a young age.
Adaptation, growth, improvement—these things were actually looked down upon. It was proof that there had been shortcomings in the past.
“If you continue like this, it’s as good as broadcasting to everyone that the Barklith family is ignorant and easily scammed. This will become a lasting source of ridicule.”
I drove my point home firmly.
“The world of nobility is not like that of warriors. It’s not a place where efforts to grow and overcome are appreciated.”
“…”
“You must hide your struggles and present a perfect image from the beginning to the end. Only then will you avoid being looked down upon.”
Kayan lowered his gaze slightly at my words. After a moment, he slowly asked,
“And if one chooses not to join that society?”
“Huh?”
“What happens if you don’t follow the rules of that society?”
It was then that we heard a knock at the door.
Hans poked his head in and reported, “Uh, well… Orca has returned from the Information Guild.”
“Already?”
Hans quickly relayed the message.
“He said the guild he visited was quite reputable, something called the Red Falcon Information Guild.”
I immediately asked, “So, who is the real estate agent?”
Hans scratched his head awkwardly and replied, “They said they don’t know.”
“…What?”
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