Chapter 251: Please Reconsider That Proposal, Your Grace
Chapter 251: Please Reconsider That Proposal, Your Grace
"And having thieves break in is a real problem, isn’t it?"The Duchess said it as if it had nothing to do with her—which, to be fair, it didn’t.
"It happened so suddenly that I started worrying about the capital’s security. And this morning the security captain who came to apologize for the lack of protection was such a limp man..."
I grumbled. The capital of the Marie Kingdom wasn’t exactly a fortress of vigilance either, so I couldn’t really throw stones, but since no one here knew that, I could say whatever I wanted without consequence.
"As long as you’re careful, it should be fine. These things don’t happen often."
The Duchess looked at me like What do you expect me to do about it? Elle and Annie’s faces remained carefully blank.
"Haa..."
"Don’t worry! The security forces will catch the ringleader for sure. They’re excellent at their jobs. Just wait and good news will arrive."
She said it so lightly, but after seeing that captain’s face this morning, I found it hard to believe. Still, there was nothing I could argue, so I simply nodded.
"If people keep attacking even after that, I’ll ask my husband to tighten security. That should be enough, don’t you think?"
The Duchess was thoroughly optimistic.
"Come to me with any problem. But each consultation costs one cup of medicine. If it’s something especially difficult... maybe two cups? Once every five days... no, once every three days would be ideal, wouldn’t it?"
She no longer showed the slightest intention of paying actual money. Consultations and medicine had already been decided as a perfect trade-off in her mind.
"Is that all for today? I saw something truly wonderful. Wouldn’t it be possible to show that to other trustworthy ladies? Yes, that’s a good idea. We could charge a nice fee and put it toward the embassy’s debt. Perfect! No capital required, and if we keep it private it should be fine."
The Duchess spoke as if she’d just invented a brilliant business model. That is absolutely not okay. Annie couldn’t be made to do that much, could she? If one of the attending ladies took my place instead... the thought alone made something inside me heat up. But if Annie and I kept going like this, I was certain we’d cross a line someday. And once that happened, no one would stop us. Neither Annie nor I would be able to stop ourselves.