Published: August 10, 2026
In my room at Granado Castle.
I was sitting on the floor with my daughter. Lisa, now over a year old, had begun playing with toys that used her fingers and head. She was gripping a set of building blocks and trying hard to stack them, but she couldn't get the balance right, so they kept collapsing.
"Waaah, aaah, come on!"
After concentrating so hard for so long, Lisa raised her voice in what looked like a tantrum. I picked up the fallen blocks and stroked her head to comfort her.
"It's okay. Let's try again a little more slowly this time, and put the bigger pieces on the bottom."
She turned her back to me in a huff and faced the blocks again. Lately, Lisa had been refusing my help like this.
Oh dear...
She was still as clingy as ever, but when she was doing something on her own, she seemed to dislike adults interfering. What was that called again? A rebellious phase? The first signs of independence?
Seeing her earnest growth, I found myself smiling with delight instead.
Across from Lisa sat our pet cat, Zudaboro, with his eyes wide open. This cat, only a little older than Lisa, seemed deeply interested in her. Whenever Lisa was trying something new, he was always nearby, slowly swishing his tail. Was he worried about her, or was he aiming to smack down the completed block castle? Both were possible, so I always kept a close eye on the cat's movements.
"Zudaboro, don't knock over Lisa's blocks, okay?"
I warned him just in case, and Zudaboro narrowed his eyes as if he understood, then for some reason began purring.
Cold winter air drifted in through the window, which was opened just a little for ventilation. But thanks to the large fireplace, the room was warm and so comfortable that I felt like I could doze off while sitting there. Thinking that, I glanced at my daughter, only to see that she was also starting to blink sleepily while still holding a block.
Oh, right. It must be about time for her afternoon nap...
—Just then.
There was a knock at the door, followed by a young man's voice. It was Thomas, the gatekeeper.
"Excuse me. Lady Marie has a visitor, but..."
"A visitor for me?"
I asked Thomas in surprise.
It was rare for someone to come looking for me specifically. I was the lady of the castle here at Granado Castle, but the lord of the castle was still Lord Cyrus. Anyone who asked for me by name was usually family, like my older sister Anastasia.
"Who is it? Someone I met at a social gathering before...?"
"Well, that's the thing—I'm not really sure. It's someone I'm meeting for the first time too, but... apparently they said they were 'connected to the granado trading company.'"
"The trading company?"
If that was the case, then even more so, it seemed like someone Lord Cyrus should be meeting, not me.
As his wife, I did help with the trading company's work to some extent. But it was only minor bookkeeping and simple calculations—just clerical tasks, really. I couldn't possibly talk about the details of a merchant's business.
About the only thing I could answer with some confidence was the pearl brand model matter.
It had become my job after Kaede, a Mizuho merchant, approached me in the land of Ipsandros.
The pearl jewelry designed under the concept of "a gift from Duke Granado, the richest man in the country and one of the most prestigious noble families after the royal house, to swear eternal love to his wife" had become a brand called The Mermaid's Promise and was put into production. I also ended up in the role of supervisor and received compensation for it. ...Though in truth, I had no sense for jewelry design at all, so all I really did was look at the samples and say things like, "Amazing, so pretty, so cute..."
Even so, perhaps because the concept was well received or because the sales strategy was good, it seemed to be popular not only as accessories for unmarried women, but also as gifts from parents to daughters.
If the visitor was a merchant, then maybe they wanted to sell that The Mermaid's Promise line in their own stores. As I idly thought such vague things, I at least picked up Lisa and left the room.