Published: August 10, 2026
The woman who ran the imported clothing shop, Naji Lu, whom we had not seen in about three years, shouted the moment she saw Lord Cyrus's face.
An immigrant from Ipsandros, she came right at Lord Cyrus in her usual thick merchant's dialect.
"What's this I hear? You might not be able to supply fabric goods this winter? That'd put me out of business, y'know!"
"I-I said it might happen. We still have stock for the summer, and—"
"That won't cut it, not by a mile!"
Naji Lu stomped her feet.
"What are we supposed to do when that stock runs out? My shop just buys goods from elsewhere, folds 'em up, lines 'em out, and sells 'em. If there's nothing to sell, I'm finished!"
"Listen, it'll be fine. As a substitute, I'm working on getting wool products circulating."
"Wool products? You think I can sell somethin' like that to my customers?"
"...I'm doing everything I can. And no matter what happens, I won't let this shop go under. ...Please trust me."
When Lord Cyrus bowed his head, the female merchant from Ips snorted and turned away.
Still looking elsewhere, she muttered as if to herself.
"Well, you and, of course, Ms. Marie have made me a good bit of money until now, so..."
"To me?"
"Ever since you two got married, I've been flooded with orders askin' if I had any Ips-style women's clothing. Seems folks started dreamin' bigger about meeting a handsome man from the Eastern Continent like your husband."
"What is that? That's such an unexpected development."
Lord Cyrus narrowed his eyes, and Naji Lu covered her mouth with her hand, grinning.
"Well, business is a fickle thing. It rises and falls, and all sorts of things happen. Maybe this'll turn into a new business opportunity. After rain comes ground that hardens, y'know?"
"...I hope it does."
Lord Cyrus said that and smiled with a hint of self-mockery.
After leaving Naji Lu's shop, we headed to the Artisan District.
Giovanni's jewelry workshop—that was the shop that had cut the red diamond Lord Cyrus gave me as an engagement ring into a ring.
It had been a very long time since I'd been here. As always, when you entered the building with no sign out front, the inside was lit by soft light, and colorful gemstones were lined up on top of cabinets. It seemed rather careless, but since visits were by complete appointment only, they said that as long as Giovanni was there, no one could do anything improper.
"Long time no see, Duke Granado."
Behind the counter, Giovanni bowed politely, still wearing his gentle smile.
Lord Cyrus spoke in a slightly tense voice.
"Giovanni, as I told you ahead of time, there is something I need to explain. Recently, it has become somewhat difficult to procure gemstones and precious metals via Ipsandros. There is a chance our wholesale supply may decrease."
Lord Cyrus's words were simple, but I could tell he had chosen them carefully and was speaking cautiously. Bending his tall frame at the waist, Lord Cyrus lowered his head.
Giovanni narrowed his eyes and slowly nodded.
"Please raise your head. We'll be fine."
Then he took a large box from beneath the counter. When he opened the lid, twelve small boxes were neatly packed inside.
Giovanni picked up one of the small boxes and opened it before us with a snap.
"Please don't worry. The 'the mermaid's promise' series has been doing very well, actually. Pearls have no cutting or anything, so they require very little work, and we make a huge profit simply by passing them along. The unit price is high, so even if sales decrease a little, we'll still be able to manage just fine."
I let out a relieved breath. the mermaid's promise had been a project launched to add brand value to natural pearls in order to resist the impending price collapse brought on by the development of cultured pearl production. Though I say it myself, I, Marie, have been working as the model and ambassador.
Really, I'm basically just lending my name and doing almost nothing.
Still, I felt some strange sense of fate that this series would save Lord Cyrus in this way.
Giovanni turned his face toward me.