Chapter 10
***
10. The Merchant of Veneti (2)
...
Reina eyed the situation, hoping Josef would refuse.
"I'll make it so."
Against Reina's wishes, Josef thought it was a good deal.
Bartering for the vinegar in Aviles, he was tempted by the idea of no cash outlay.
Reina stood there, conflicted. Should she go or not?
"So, how much vinegar should I give you?"
"I have 500 sacks of barley and 1000 sacks of wheat that I'll bring later, so the vinegar will be ............... per barrel."
"No, you can't sell vinegar."
Reina shouted just as the words were about to come out of the merchant's mouth.
Josef, who was leaning back in his chair, turned his head.
He saw Reina stomping her foot, her mouth agape in surprise at what he had said.
A small smile spread across Josef's face. The merchants stared at Reina in surprise, and a murmur went up.
"Don't sell vinegar, why?"
Josef asked, gesturing for Reina to come over.
Reina took a deep breath and stepped forward. Her heels hurt from stepping on Angulem earlier, but she tried to ignore it.
When she stood a few feet away, like a servant, Josef stopped her.
"Bring a chair to my side so that the Princess Aviles can sit."
The merchants widened their eyes as a servant quickly brought the chair over at Josef's command.
Reina was embarrassed, this was like the Grand Duke and Duchess.
After a moment's hesitation, she sat down.
She could feel Josef and the merchants' eyes on her. Resisting the urge to storm out, she opened her mouth.
"Because of the war, Aviles is littered with unclaimed corpses. By the time summer rolls around, the rotting corpses will cause an epidemic."
Her voice was calm, but the long lashes that framed her almond-shaped eyes fluttered.
Families had been slaughtered, and it reeked of blood and rot wherever she went.
"What does that have to do with vinegar?"
"Because if you wash yourself with vinegar mixed with water and disinfect your home, you can prevent the plague."
Reina didn't want to ask Josef for any favors.
But she wanted to do what she could to help the manor people, who had lost everything in the war and were suffering under Angulem’s tyranny.
At Reina's somber expression, Josef laughed softly.
"I’ll leave you to it."
Reina stumbled to her feet, but Josef gently grabbed her shoulder.
"It’s not you, Princess Aviles."
No one had expected the merchant to ask for vinegar in barter.
In other words, Reina had come for something else and had stumbled in.
Josef crunched the numbers and drew conclusions based on this tiny clue.
Reina, meanwhile, was suddenly ashamed of the word princess.
Princess and mistress, what a mismatched pairing.
Many curious eyes flew like arrows, piercing her heart.
But Reina arrogantly raised the tip of her chin as she held her bleeding heart.
No matter what anyone said, she was the daughter of the Duke of Aviles and a scion of House Sabelli until the day she died.
Even if it was a muddied honor, she didn't want to appear cowardly or weak.
Angulem had enough of that, more than enough.
"I have something to tell you, but it's not the place to talk about it."
"Well, it's good that you're here, because I was going to pick out the princess's things after I bought the grain."
"It's all right."
"I thought you said not to give them vinegar."
There was a threat in his tone. Reina looked at Josef with disdain.
Reina slowly sat back down beside him.
"As you can see, if this is the Princess's will, we cannot trade vinegar."
Josef squared his shoulders as if he had no choice.
"Yes, I see, then I'll take it in money."
The other merchants exchanged meaningful glances while the deal was made.
For the first time in their life, their interest peaked at the situation unfolding before their eyes than having money.
What had brought Grand Duke of Ascania and Princess of Aviles together, and why did he respect her word?
"Now that we've purchased what we need, I want you to bring me something I think the Princess Aviles will like."
At Josef's words, the merchants scrambled to bring out their wares.
Reina's eyes widened in surprise and she threw up her hands.
"You've already given me enough, and I really don't want any."
"Consider this the shopping spree you haven't had for the past two years. Bring that closer and show it to the princess."
"It's a comb made of ivory. When you comb your hair with it, it becomes shiny and incredibly soft.”
"This bracelet is made of gold. Look at the delicate workmanship."
Reina clutched at her dress hard almost to the point of tearing, refusing to look at the objects.
Her face was flushed, her ears buzzing like a hive of bees.
The pearl headband was just the tip of the iceberg. At least it was in private.
The lavishly gifted Reina was clearly the Duke's favorite mistress.
Josef ran his eyes over her tight lips, her stiff neck, her slumped shoulders.
Then he felt heat in the pit of his stomach. He felt a strange sense of satisfaction.
While Reina endured this hell, the merchants grew increasingly despondent.
They'd picked out only the best items to show her, but she hadn't shown any interest.
With nothing left to show, the merchants wringed their hands, feeling lost.
It was then.
“It is time to show you my treasure. Please put away the tacky clutter that has been laid out in front of His Majesty and the Princess.”
One of the Venetian merchants stepped forward with a haughty air, and the others' eyes lit up.
"What, you southern pumpkin, where do you get your smugness?"
"Living off his snout. Come on, let's take a look. I’m sure it's not the real deal."
"How dare you, a guy who could barely get his spices together a few years ago!"
They wanted to cry, but it was like a slap in the face, so the merchants tried to play dirty.
But he didn't care and clapped his hands a couple of times.
Realizing the owner's intentions, the workers brought him a wooden crate with Mulberry carved on it.
They quickly took the fabric out of the box and spread it out on both sides, and the commotion stopped.
+++
On the deep blue cloth, exotic red flowers that they had never seen before were blooming, and the sight of small birds fluttering and sipping nectar was vivid as if they were about to take flight.
"How can such exquisite embroidery be done on silk? It is truly a marvel of skill."
Someone else commented with a mixture of awe and admiration.
"Well, that settles who's tacky. Are you blind? How did you embroider this?"
"Then how did you make it?"
The merchants asked with great admiration, despite Veneti merchant’s smugness.
"It's made by weaving the threads together to create a pattern. It's called stippling. Wow, your levels are so low."
For the first time, Reina forgot her surroundings and stared at the strange beauty of the fabric, mesmerized.
She never even thought about wanting to own one or make clothes.
Even the thought of cutting and tailoring it seemed sacrilegious.
"This is a rare treasure that I risked my life to bring back from a kingdom on the far eastern continent. As you can see from the patterns, the flora and fauna are not found in Naparoa-no, the Western Continent. Isn't amazing?"
Josef ran his fingertips over the craft, reading Reina's expression and the anticipation in the room.
Yes, it was worth buying.
"Give it to her. I think it would look good on the princess."
The merchant beamed at Josef's words, and Reina jumped.
"No, I don't want it, no, I don't."
"If you have any other colors or patterns, bring them to me."
Reina pleaded, but apparently Josef didn't hear her.
The Venetian merchant grinned from ear to ear. By the looks of it, the Grand Duke was going to buy more of those expensive things.
"Very well, Your Highness."
While the Venetian merchant showed off the other pieces, the minds of the other merchants gathered in the hall raced with all sorts of wild fantasies and calculations.
Had the Grand Duke ever given such an expensive treasure to Princess Alice before? No.
If he had, the merchants would be the first to know.
"How much?"
"Fifty livres per piece."
At the exorbitant price, Reina looked at Josef as if struck by lightning.
"How many do you have?"
"I have about 30 items."
"I'll buy them all."
The jaws of the onlookers dropped.
The price was the equivalent of several years' worth of production from a huge estate.
Originally, the Venetian merchant had planned to travel from kingdom to kingdom, visiting wealthy kings and lords who could afford it.
At most, he thought, he could get two or three sales per person.
He hadn't imagined that any monarch would be wealthy enough to buy thirty pieces of goods.
"Thank you. Your Highness, you have excellent taste. I will do as you command."
The Venetian merchant felt like dancing, having made a fortune in one fell swoop.
The other merchants envied the Venetian merchant for his windfall, and Reina was devastated to receive such a rare gift.
The public display of the rare gift almost made her famous as Josef's favorite concubine.
It was a tag, an identity, that would follow her for the rest of her life.
"Take all the goods to Stauffen, the capital of Ascania. Bring a letter bearing my seal and they will pay you. Princess Aviles will be traveling with me to Ascania anyway."
Reina looked up at the sudden announcement.
"I'm going with you? That's too sudden."
"You thought you were staying here then?"
Reina winced at his sharp criticism that she still didn't understand her situation.
He had a point. There was no reason to leave the mistress here, one he hadn't even gotten to enjoy yet.
Disdainful smirks tugged at the corners of the frantic chatterers' mouths.
And so they feasted on Reina's misery like ravenous goblins.
The more they did so, the more her misery grew in size.
***
To donate for extra chapters for my series or to tip me visit my kofi page
Write a comment