Chapter 9
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09. The Merchant of Veneti (1)
...
Since the incident with the pearl headband, Josef hadn’t visited Reina.
But he sent people to inquire about her condition from time to time.
Marian had been diligent in her care, having been firmly receiving orders to spare no time or money in healing her wounds.
Even if she hadn't, she would have done her best, but supplies were more plentiful these days.
Today, she was washing Reina's body with warm water mixed with buttermilk.
Her flesh was gradually glowing and her wounds were healing.
But she had become depressed, saying little but what was necessary, and spending long periods alone with her thoughts.
"This special ointment mixed with lemon oil works really well. I'll put a lot of it on and give you a massage after your bath."
"Okay."
Reina said mechanically, without heat. Then she rearranged the scented oils on the side of the tub to their proper height.
Organizing things always felt like organizing her anxiety, but it didn't work this time.
There was nothing Reina could offer him for Aviles. As soon as he entered the castle, Josef forbade plundering.
In his haste, he purchased large quantities of wheat from neighboring lords and doled it out to Aviles for free.
The lords' wariness and anger had subsided, and they even chattered about how much better it was than Angulem.
Reina closed her eyes and sank headlong into the wooden tub. The noise of the world faded away.
In the days that followed, she kept thinking about why she had been chosen as the mistress.
Josef hadn't made her his mistress because he was enamored of her beauty, as most men were.
It was clear from their first meeting that she wasn't his cup of tea.
Besides, if the king and nobles of Kalev ever found out, they'd roll their eyes and criticize him.
Reina was both Sabelli and August.
To have the former king of Kalev, Berto's only granddaughter, as his mistress would be a spit in the face of Kalev's pride.
Even if she was an enemy, she was a direct descendant of the August royal family.
Besides, he's about to be married!
It was not love at first sight, and he had a lot to lose politically.
If there was one woman in the Western Continent that Josef shouldn't have as his mistress, it was her, Reina August Sabelli.
She rose from the tub, water splashing.
"Sit up a little longer. Your elbow still has a hard cut and can’t be soaked.”
Marian, suddenly drenched, grumbled.
"That's not important, I need to see the Grand Duke of Ascania right away, so get me ready."
+++
"Why won't you let me see her? I'm her brother!"
Angulem was stopped by the Ascania guards guarding Reina's quarters.
The guards couldn't hide a smirk at the sight of his ruddy, blushing face.
It was a price Angulem had earned when he sold Reina to make up for his loss.
"I wasn't really asking for.........Aviles, I was asking for the right to rule by proxy. Let go of me!"
Angulem, who was bleeding from the nose, shouted for his life. He tried to float just in case, but he was going to get beaten and die like this!
As he spoke the real demand he had originally had in mind, Josef raised his hand to stop Kian.
Then Angulem burst out with the following words.
"The Grand Duke will appoint a vassal to govern Aviles and return to Ascania, and the best person to govern this place is me, a man born and bred here."
Kian rolled up his sleeves, ready to beat him to death, but in the end, Josef granted Angulem's request.
Angulem rubbed his swollen cheekbone from the blow. He had just barely won the position of acting ruler of Aviles.
What next? Of course I'll rebel and take my place! The idea of rebellion was ridiculous. It was always mine!
To do that, he needed to find out what was going on with Josef and what he was thinking.
And since Reina was his mistress, Angulem had a lot to use.
There was a lot she needed to do for him, but he couldn’t believe she wouldn’t be allowed to meet with him.
Angulem clicked his tongue, saying that she was still upset about what happened at the spire.
But she'd find out in time. That it was just him and her alone in the world.
"What's all the fuss about?"
Reina finally opened the door, revealing herself.
She was mesmerizing in a dress of light blue silk embroidered with yellow flowers.
Angulem's jaw dropped when he saw the pearl hairpin that adorned her red hair.
The extravagance of her appearance had clearly won Josef's heart.
"These idiots were in the way, because I have something important to tell you."
Angulem gave her an impish grin. As if nothing had happened between them.
Reina lowered her eyes obediently as usual, then forced herself to look up.
Up until now, she had rationalized that she was avoiding him because he was disgusting, but she knew better than that.
Reina was still afraid of Angulem.
Despite all her preparations, the sight of him made her heart race and her heels tingle.
The sight of Angulem’s disgusting grin, forced and contorted, made her want to flee to her room at once.
But he was no longer the master of this place. His reddened, bleeding face was proof.
"Would you mind leaving him alone for a moment?"
Reina spoke softly, and the guard hesitated for a moment before letting go of Angulem's arm and stepping back.
Reina clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms.
"Yes, that's my good little sister, now come with me to your room and...."
"Tsk!"
The sticky spit stuck to Angulem’s forehead then slowly began to drip downward.
Angulem wiped his hand across his forehead, checking it with his eyes.
Then he looked at his sister once more.
His carefully cultivated sense of entitlement exploded as he realized that his sister, once a punching bag for his anger and now a disgraced mistress in the south, had humiliated him.
"You crazy thing!!! You're the one who got beaten from the spire! You disrespect me too, and I'll kill you! Come here! Come here!"
Angulem flailed his arms, trying to grab Reina by the hair in his usual fashion.
"What are you doing!"
The guard punched and kicked Angulem in the shin.
Angulem fell face first to the ground, and the guard jumped on his body and snapped his arm.
Angulem screamed in agony as his arm felt like it was going to fall off.
With a little more luck, he would have been king!
He wouldn't have been humiliated by these lowly creatures!
"Let go, let go, let go. I am the sole heir to the bloodline of the great House of Sabelli and the House of August! Let go of me now!"
Reina looked down at the screaming Angulem.
Her gaze shifted from his face, which was puffy from the pressure of the leash, to his right hand, which the guard had seized.
The right hand that had been hitting her cheek, the right hand that had held the salted stick, the right hand that might have signed the papers that sold her.
Strangely enough, her heartbeat calmed again, and the pain in her heel suddenly subsided.
Reina placed her foot as if taking aim at Angulem's right hand.
She lifted her foot as high as it would go and slammed it down hard enough to make the hem of her dress flutter.
"Ahhhh!"
Angulem let out a blood curling scream and tried to pull his hand away, but Reina wouldn't let him, putting her full weight on it.
"So this is what it feels like. It's like being a judge, and that's why you couldn't stop."
Reina muttered something unintelligible and applied more pressure to her foot.
Angulem grunted in agony, unable to respond, his limbs flailing like a fish on a skewer.
"He’s going to lose the use of his hands. Enough is enough."
Marian nudged Reina, worried that she might take the blame.
But Reina just rocked her foot from side to side, digging deeper and deeper.
+++
Meanwhile, Josef was dealing with merchants from all over the world in the hall.
Reina, who had gently stepped on Angulem’s hand, glared at Josef, who was sitting on a chair from a distance.
The chair, shaped like vines winding up from either side and meeting in the center to soar upward, could only be occupied by the Duke of Aviles.
He fit into it as if he had always owned it, and the lines in Reina's brow deepened.
"Your Highness, if you wish to purchase wheat for the people of this manor, you may leave it to me. I'm acquainted with the lords who own the wheat fields around here, and I'll get you a good price....................."
"You shouldn't take that impostor's word for it! Naparoa has had a bad harvest across the board, and the price of all grains has skyrocketed. On top of that, the Grand Duke personally set fire to the wheat fields, so the price of wheat has gone up......... No, not this. Kuhm, it's not too late for you to hear my story first and then decide."
Josef would ask the price carefully, and if they were lying, he would call them out on it, coldly and calmly.
No other lord dealt with merchants this way.
The handling and haggling of money was considered lowly.
His deep voice was surprisingly pleasant to listen to, as he dealt with the merchants with skill.
Reina clucked her tongue when she saw Josef buying grain again.
It wasn't a one-off event to unload the grain for the commoners.
He was really trying to stabilize this place. Like a warlord with a point.
Aviles was seething with hatred for him, but who wouldn't want grain?
There was no business before the hunger of the children. It was the best way to win the people's favor.
Reina sighed. If only Angulem had been half the man he was!
"Your Highness, , I would like to exchange grain for Aviles vinegar. I haven't been to Aviles in two years, and I don't have any vinegar made from wine, which is a specialty here."
The merchant demanded, barely a dinar more per sack than Josef had offered.
Reina was about to turn back when she heard the merchant's words.
‘Aviles needs vinegar now more than any other region. You shouldn't be selling too much!’
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