Making a Monastery
Sylvester wore a satisfied grin as he sipped his tea, having completely devoured the desserts. “Not a bad lunch, if I do say so myself. I honestly wasn’t expecting much from a lower city eatery, but the food tasted good enough to prove me wrong.”
“Your praise is greatly appreciated,” Benno said, his voice containing the emotional sincerity of someone who had pushed themselves to their absolute limit to make sure the meal was a success. Freida and the guildmaster seemed just as pleased, beaming at the knowledge that they had successfully hosted the archduke, of all people, at their eatery.
“I’m very interested to see what the future holds for this restaurant,” Sylvester said. Then, his expression hardened; everyone straightened their backs, sensing that things were about to get serious. “Alright, Benno—it’s about time you tell me what you learned on your trip. Clear the room.”
On Sylvester’s order, Benno directed the waiters and attendants to leave. Rosina stopped playing music and exited as well, her harspiel in hand. Only now could they go and eat lunch.
Benno hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at Freida and the guildmaster. While they were unrelated to the orphanage investigation, we would need as much help from the guildmaster as we could get when branching out the Rozemyne Workshop.
“Freida, you may leave, but I would like to ask the guildmaster to stay and listen.”
“...Benno, why are you keeping him here?” Sylvester asked.
“Gustav is the guildmaster of the Merchant’s Guild. He has better connections with Ehrenfest’s major stores than I do, and we will be able to progress a lot quicker if word spreads about the business we are setting up here.”
In other words, the guildmaster would no doubt be wrapped up in whatever Sylvester’s next unreasonable demand for Benno was, so it was more convenient for him to stay and be involved from the start. I could guess that Gustav would soon have to whip his old body into shape to keep up with us.
My sympathies. But, well... maybe he’ll be fine, since he still seems to be full of energy?
“Hm. Very well, then. Eckhart, guard the door. Everyone else, ensure that nobody attempts to come in.”
Once the guards that were lined up in front of the door had received Sylvester’s orders, they did exactly as they were told: Eckhart stayed behind, while the other three left with Freida. As they passed through the door, Mark entered and stood behind Benno.
The door closed, and silence fell over the room. We had planned ahead to weather whatever storm was going to hit us today, but we were dealing with Sylvester here—there was no telling what he might demand.
As tensions rose, Ferdinand looked at Benno. “Your report, then.”
Benno faced the archduke and repeated what he had already told Ferdinand. He very carefully explained the orphanage situation, the financial state of the city, and then how the plan’s success depended on the scholars put in charge. I could guess that Sylvester had already heard everything from Ferdinand, as his expression didn’t change in the slightest as he listened to Benno. The report was only being repeated for the sake of appearances, and so that Gustav could hear.
“Hm. With all that in mind, Rozemyne, what do you think we should do?” Sylvester asked, shifting his gaze to me once Benno had finished.
I exchanged looks with Benno, then turned to face Sylvester. “I believe that, despite the cost and effort that it will involve, we need to set up an entirely new orphanage and workshop. I would like the workshop to operate under my rules, and do not wish to have any unnecessary disputes with the city’s authorities.”
I went ahead and explained the differences between the orphanage in the temple and the one in the city. Sylvester nodded, encouraging me to continue.
“Right now the temple has very few blue priests, but an excess of gray priests. I think it would be wise to send several gray priests and shrine maidens over to a new orphanage and workshop, where they can teach the orphans how to live and work according to the principles developed here. To that end, I would appreciate it if we could build a small chapel of sorts for these gray priests to live in, which would also give me an excuse to visit.”
Having an entire new building constructed for the orphans would be beneficial in both protecting them from harassment from the city’s authorities and smoothly adjusting them to our way of life. It would also help us to prepare for the printing business expanding over time.
Once I had listed out everything that I discussed with Benno, Sylvester shot a glance his way. “If we make this workshop, would you have the tools ready soon?”
We had already ordered the tools ahead of time, just in case Sylvester told us to borrow space in the city and run a workshop from there while we waited for the orphanage to be built.
Benno gave a firm nod. “We have already begun our preparations. But, depending on the number of orphans and how old they are, they may not be strong enough to print.”
“Are you suggesting that the workshop focus on making paper, then?”
“Yes, Sylvester. That’s exactly right,” I interjected, trying to back Benno up. “Printing will require as much paper as we can get; there will never be a time when we don’t want more.”
Sylvester nodded while stroking his chin, then broke out into a mischievous smile. “Alright then. In that case, I will heed Rozemyne’s request and order the construction of a workshop, an orphanage, and a monastery with a chapel.”
“I am eternally grateful.”
I really hadn’t expected my request to be accepted so easily. Benno and I exchanged a nod, silently agreeing that we would immediately need to discuss which construction workshop we should hire and what orders we should make, but Sylvester interrupted us by suddenly pointing at Ferdinand.
“Ferdinand, you do it.”
“That won’t be a problem, but whose mana should we use for the protection magic?”
“Why not Rozemyne’s? She can handle it.”
They had suddenly started talking about something that I didn’t understand in the slightest. A metaphorical question mark appeared over my head as Ferdinand gave Sylvester a nod, let out a short laugh, and then took out a pen and paper. He started writing something using one of those magic pens that didn’t need any ink. I desperately wanted to peek at what he was scribbling down, but as it was bad manners to lean forward, I kept still.
“Rozemyne, will a workshop of the same size as the temple’s suffice? How many rooms will the orphanage need?”
“A workshop of the same size will work just fine. As for the number of rooms, I believe that about half as many will do, even if more orphans enter the orphanage later.”
“Agreed. Considering the city’s population, that should be more than enough. The chapel needn’t be particularly large, either. Should the orphanage be separated into male and female buildings as well?” Ferdinand asked, nodding at my replies as he continued to write on the paper.
I had no idea what he was noting down, or what he was thinking.
“There will need to be a basement storeroom for food and products that can be accessed by both the boys’ and girls’ buildings. I think the workshop should be in the basement of the boys’ building, the kitchen in the basement of the girls’ building, and the dining hall on the first floor of the girls’ building.”
“In that case, I will make the first floor of the boys’ building the chapel, and place the hallways and staircases here. The dormitories will be on the second floor of each building. Your room, Rozemyne, will be registered with mana, and kept locked under most circumstances. I shall make it so that you can enter the room through the chapel, since you have both male and female attendants.”
I could see Benno and Mark pale as the situation got more and more out of their control. In all honesty, I wasn’t really sure what was happening either. But what I did know was that, rather than bringing this business to a construction workshop in the lower city, Ferdinand would be managing the construction himself.
“That should do it. How does this look?” Ferdinand asked, holding out the paper for Sylvester to see. He glanced over it, then gave a satisfied grin.
“Fast as ever, I see.”
“Basing the architecture on the temple simplified matters greatly.”
“Alright then, let’s go. Eckhart, summon the guards.”
Sylvester stood up smoothly, Ferdinand and Karstedt following his lead. Benno and Gustav also stood up, just as Eckhart opened the door and called in the guards. I slid off of my chair a full beat behind everyone else; I couldn’t gracefully get down without the help of an attendant.
“Sylvester, where exactly are you planning to take us?” I asked.
“To Hasse so that Ferdinand can make the monastery. Where else?”
“W-Wait, right now?”
Sylvester nodded as the knights entered the room and formed a line. “Ferdinand, you take the lead. Karstedt, guard us all from the rear. I’ll take Rozemyne; you four, get these three on highbeasts.”
“Sir!” The guards nodded on reflex since it was an order from the archduke, but they all seemed confused.
Whew. I’m glad that I’m not the only one completely baffled by Sylvester doing this without warning.
“Eckhart, take Benno. Cornelius, take Gustav. Damuel, take their attendant. Brigitte, protect the aub’s highbeast. Quickly!”
By the time Karstedt had given his speedy instructions, Sylvester was already striding toward the entrance hall. I hurried after him, worrying that he would forget I existed and leave without me otherwise.
“Stand down. Get out of my way,” Sylvester declared in a powerful voice befitting an archduke. The eyes of every attendant and waiter who had been waiting in the hall shot open, and they immediately hurried over to the wall. I saw Freida look to me for an explanation, but I didn’t really understand what was going on either.
“Go, Ferdinand.”
“Understood. Open the door!”
No sooner had the attendants opened the double doors for him than Ferdinand summoned his white highbeast right in front of himself. He ignored the store employees clapping their hands over their mouths to contain their gasps, instead leaping onto his feathered white lion and soaring into the sky.
Sylvester followed his example by summoning a three-headed Cerberus-esque lion. He then hefted me up, climbed onto it, and flew out of the store. As the highbeasts burst out of the restaurant, those passing by yelped in surprise and dove to the ground. I tried to apologize to them, but the mana-driven highbeast I was on was moving at such a tremendous speed that it was hard to imagine they heard me.
“Sylvester, I think going to Hasse this soon is just plain reckless. It’s too sudden.”
I thought back to Gustav, who had been frozen in place with wide-open eyes, and Mark and Benno, whose faces had been twitching with terror. None of them were permitted to lose control of themselves in front of the archduke.
It kind of seemed like Gustav was confused throughout that entire meeting. That might be a problem... I just hope that the shock of riding on a highbeast doesn’t give him a heart attack.
“Hmph,” Sylvester huffed. “This is all according to our plan. Just as you all planned things out ahead of time, we three talked and made our own plans.”
As we passed over the city’s outer walls, the people down below pointed at us and yelled in surprise. We then soared past some farms and a small forest, taking us straight to Hasse. It was a pretty small city compared to Ehrenfest, not to mention it didn’t even have a Noble’s Quarter. The journey had taken half a day by carriage according to Lutz and Gil, but on highbeast, it took no time at all.
“Rozemyne, what type of land would be best suited for the workshop?” Ferdinand asked, scanning the area from above Hasse. I looked around as well, searching for a good place for a paper-making workshop.
“It would be nice to have both a forest and a river nearby.”
“That seems like a good place, then,” Sylvester said, looking down and pointing at a spot next to a water wheel. “Ferdinand, build it on the other side of that river—far away enough that it won’t impact the water wheel.”
Ferdinand looked around, gave an understanding nod, and then started to descend at Sylvester’s instruction. Given that there were so many of us coming along, I had been sure that we were going to talk—or rather force—the city’s authorities into letting us build here, but Ferdinand was the only one who flew down. He stopped his highbeast just a bit above the forest, at which point Sylvester started to soar up into the sky.
“Back off a little, everyone.”
At Sylvester’s order, everybody else followed suit and moved their highbeasts away. Sylvester only stopped flying up when Ferdinand looked about as small as my pinky finger.
Once Ferdinand had confirmed that we were all in place, he made his shining wand appear as per usual, then took some kind of shiny powder in his other hand. Ferdinand bobbed his wand like a conductor leading an orchestra, and the powder moved as though it had a mind of its own. We were far enough away that I couldn’t actually hear him or tell what he was doing exactly, but I could see the shining powder float up into the air before forming a magic circle and starting to spin around.
“Sylvester, what is Ferdinand doing?” I asked.
“Making the monastery, of course. What else would he be doing?”
“Um... Come again?”
The large glowing circle floated higher into the air and shined dazzlingly bright. Then Ferdinand swung his wand down, and the circle began to slowly descend. It gradually vaporized the trees below as it touched them, turning their leaves, branches, and trunks into gleaming white powder, before doing the same to the flowers and even the grass on the forest floor. The huge storm of powder then started to spin inside the magic circle, everything else having been destroyed.
“Wh-What is that?”
“Not something you see too often. It’s magic that only the archduke’s family is permitted to use. Take a good look; you’ll learn it at the Royal Academy one day, now that you’re my adopted daughter.”
As the magic circle came to rest on the ground, the earth it was covering quickly turned white. It started to twist, then drooped as though it was liquid.
Ferdinand took out the paper from before and threw it up into the air. It floated into the center of the magic circle as if carried by the wind, before burning up in golden flames. Then, the shining white earth started to change form entirely, as though it was concrete following Ferdinand’s instructions. A big hole opened on one side, then rows of thick pillars shot up into the sky, white earth connecting the spaces between them like stage curtains.
Before I could even process what was happening, the white earth seemed to stop moving. It emitted a blinding light for a second, which then faded to reveal what looked like a tinier version of the temple. It had no noble section and was indeed of a smaller scale, but it was made of the same pure-white stone. Surrounding it was a circle of stone pavement just as big as the magic circle had been.
This was the monastery that Sylvester had mentioned. It was gleaming a radiant white, which made it look completely out of place beside the forest and river.
“See? Now you can get that workshop going in no time, huh?”
Sylvester was grinning with pride, but Benno and Mark were both as pale as ghosts; nobody had expected that the new workshop was going to be built in the blink of an eye.
Sylvester angled his highbeast down and started to descend. “We can take a look inside. C’mon, let’s go.”
“Are you sure it’s okay for us to stand here?” I asked, lightly tapping my foot against the stone pavement once we had landed in front of the monastery. What I expected to be squishy white earth was instead the white stone that I had grown so used to seeing in the temple and the Noble’s Quarter, and, to my surprise, it didn’t react at all to me standing on it.
The monastery was a perfectly normal building, just as it appeared to be. It somehow had several glass windows and a door, but on the inside, it was empty. No furniture, no doors—the inside was pure white stone and nothing else.
“This will be the chapel. We’ll need statues of the gods and a carpet. When can those be ready?” Sylvester asked.
Mark whispered something to Benno, who then replied. “I believe the statues will take about three months. The carpet will take some time as well.” It seemed that he had already asked Mark to check how much it would cost and how long it would take for an art workshop to make the statues, since I had said that I wanted the workshop and chapel in the same building.
...That’s Mark for you. He’s a man who knows how to do his job. I love it.
“Speed it up and have them ready in two months. Make sure it’s done in time for the Harvest Festival.”
“Benno, I believe that the temple has a great deal of spare carpet,” Ferdinand noted. “There should be more than enough for this chapel; I will give you what you need for this monastery.”
Chapels needed a carpet for each season, and these took a long time to prepare.
“I thank you ever so much,” I said. “That carpet will certainly be a big help.”
“Rozemyne, there is no need to thank me. I will give you the carpet that you need now, and you shall donate the newly finished carpets to the temple when they are ready.”
...Ferdinand, did you know that being nice can be its own reward sometimes?
That said, it was true that the new carpet we were going to have made wouldn’t be ready in time for the Harvest Festival, so there was no need to look a gift horse in the mouth.
We walked into a hallway beside the chapel and climbed upstairs, leading us to the boys’ dormitories. The doorways were completely empty.
“What will you do about the interior doors and furniture? If they aren’t ready by winter, then the orphans will have a hard time living here,” Sylvester murmured.
“Our top priority will be making sure that the chapel doors and the altar are completed prior to the Harvest Festival. As for furniture, we will need dinner tables, chairs, cabinets, and beds.” Ferdinand listed off everything that we needed, while Benno noted it all down on his diptych.
“Benno, Gustav, and I can have the furniture finished quickly if we all use our respective wood workshops. Plus, if we pay a few of the wood workshops in this city to make some, then I’m sure that the people will view the monastery more positively.”
Ingo’s was the only carpentry workshop I could go to. He already had his hands full improving the printing press and making boards for the orphanage’s winter handiwork, but I was hoping he could help us in finishing before the Harvest Festival.
“Seems like the workshop’s gonna be up and running in no time, huh?”
“Sylvester, please don’t ask us to do the unreasonable,” I said. “This won’t be like the temple’s orphanage, where people’s daily needs were already being met. This workshop won’t be up and running anywhere near as fast.”
The orphans in the temple were able to work hard, follow my orders, obey the older gray priests, and equally share the food and profit earned among themselves. But it was hard for me to say whether the workshop here would be ready to begin production anytime soon.
“They won’t even be able to live here until the furniture and other living necessities have been prepared. Plus, the workshop won’t start running the second we bring tools over.”
“Fine. I’ll wait a bit, but we made a whole miniature temple for you. Get it running fast.”
“As you wish.”
Once we had completed our tour, Benno, Mark, and Gustav gathered to talk about something. They were probably discussing who would take care of what, and when everything would be ready by.
Investment was necessary no matter the business you were starting. But as there weren’t many orphans in Hasse, the initial investment would be especially high since we were quite literally starting from scratch. I looked over at Sylvester, who was with Ferdinand and Karstedt. I remembered Ferdinand saying that I would be given a budget for this since it was business for the duchy as a whole, so I was hoping to squeeze some money out of them.
“Sylvester, I think we might need some funding to cover the initial investment,” I said.
“You spent all of your government funding on building this monastery. Get the rest yourself.”
Not only had I failed to get any money, but he had rejected me without so much as a discussion. Apparently, that shining powder was fairly expensive. Of course it was. I had heard that something as simple as the parchment that merchants used for magic contracts was expensive; no way would a magic tool that could build an entire monastery be cheap. That said, it would still take a huge amount of money to get everything ready here. It seemed a bit unreasonable to expect me to earn it all myself.
“I can’t cover that much all by myself.”
“What do you think your status is for? Go and gather some donations.”
Sylvester told me to exploit my position as the archduke’s daughter to finagle donation money from other nobles. Well, that definitely sounds like it could earn me a pretty penny.
“Are you asking me to wander around the castle with a donation box?” I asked, thinking back to the fundraising people I had seen by grocery stores in my Urano days.
Sylvester rubbed his temples and shook his head. “Sheesh. Karstedt, let Elvira handle this.”
“In that case, Rozemyne can stay home with us for now as Elvira shows her how to earn donations firsthand,” Karstedt said, his eyes wrinkling in a gentle smile. It seemed that I would need to learn how noblewomen got donations, and having someone like Elvira teach me the ropes seemed like a great idea.
“Father, I thank you e—”
“Nope, that’s not gonna happen,” Sylvester interjected, interrupting my attempt to thank Karstedt and take him up on his kind offer. “I’ll invite Elvira to the castle and she can work with Florencia on this. We’re talking about the duchy’s business here.”
Now that he mentioned it, it made sense to handle the donations in the castle since this was duchy business. I nodded in agreement with Sylvester, but Karstedt smiled even wider and took a step forward, waving his hand in disagreement.
“Think about this carefully—who can say what villains might be lurking in the castle to eavesdrop on our plans? I think staying at my home will be safer and more secure.”
“Nah, nah, nah. If you’re talking about stopping information from being leaked, then Rozemyne needs to learn to be on guard about what she says at all times. Didn’t you say that she has to get used to keeping her eyes and ears on her surroundings?”
They were towering over me on either side as they argued, each with peaceful yet sharp looks in their eyes. Having no idea what was going on, I took a step back toward Ferdinand, who was just quietly watching the proceedings, and tugged on his sleeve.
“I think they both have good points here. Why are they glaring at each other?”
Ferdinand looked at the two men with a hand on his chin, then laughed. “They are both correct because they are both attempting to argue their way into having your chef stay at their home.”
They were fighting over something that hadn’t even occurred to me. While they were discussing where I should do my donation work on the surface, they were actually fighting over where Ella would be staying. And honestly, that was something I couldn’t have cared less about.
“...Wow, that sounds really tedious.”
“Indeed. They both become quite aggravating when food is involved. How about you just travel to the castle from the temple, then? It won’t take much time at all if you travel by highbeast with your knights rather than by carriage.”
“Good point. They won’t need to keep fighting if I decide not to live with either of them,” I said with an impressed nod, just as Sylvester and Karstedt each plopped a hand on one of Ferdinand’s shoulders.
“Now now, Ferdinand. Don’t try to sneak her out from under our noses here.”
...Seems like there’s a third, slightly more subtle tedious person here.
Despite their peaceful expressions they all had scary looks in their eyes, so I scooted away and headed to where Benno was. It honestly didn’t bother me where I ended up staying, so avoiding their dumb argument entirely seemed to be the best course of action.
“We need to have this all done before the Harvest Festival? We haven’t got the time or money to do that,” Benno said, his head in his hands.
“I wasn’t expecting this either,” Gustav sighed. “What’s your plan, Benno?”
I stepped in between them and looked up. “I might be able to get the money by gathering donations from nobles, but there’s no helping how little time we have.”
My sudden appearance must have taken both them and Mark by surprise, as they all gasped and reflexively stepped back. They then scanned the area, taking care to see where Sylvester was and what the other nobles were doing. There were guards standing at the monastery’s entrance and Sylvester’s group was still preoccupied, but we were far away enough that we couldn’t hear them, or vice versa.
Once Benno had confirmed that, he whispered to me, “Lady Rozemyne, are the nobles okay with your absence?”
“They’re having a serious debate about where I’ll be staying in the coming weeks. It’s because I’ll be bringing Ella with me wherever I go; she’s the one they’re interested in.”
When I explained that they were arguing over my chef, Mark stroked his chin in thought. “Master Benno, let us assume that, rather than preparing everything the orphanage needs at once, we first deliver boxes of straw appropriate for sleeping on during the current weather. Then, we gradually replace these with beds as winter approaches. How long would it take to prepare the tools for the workshop, as well as the food and other daily necessities needed for the priests to live here?”
Benno scratched his head. “Even if the old geezer and I divide the work between us, we’ll still need about a month.”
“Yes, that sounds feasible. Though, in all honesty, I would like a bit more time than that,” Gustav said with a frown.
It seemed they were both in agreement, so it was safe to say that it would take at least one month to prepare the skeleton of the orphanage, no matter what. Benno and Gustav glanced over at Sylvester while cradling their heads.
“You think he’ll wait that long?” Benno asked. It was hard to imagine that someone who’d had an entire monastery built in a single day and then expected the workshop to be running a few days later would be very patient.
Mark smiled while writing something in his diptych. “You may count on me. I will ensure that we have both the funds and the time that we need, without any complaints.”
“How will you do that?” I asked while looking up at Mark. He gave me a smile that seemed to say there was no problem at all.
“We will buy time by selling the recipes our customers want so much.”
Mark’s idea was to delay opening the Italian restaurant by one month (or potentially two) while we rushed to have the monastery prepared before fall. Meanwhile, we could lend our chefs to those who were interested for a fee and sell our recipes.
“The chefs will of course need payment even while the restaurant is closed, so all we need to do is have them work elsewhere.”
...You’re just going to refer to the Noble’s Quarter and the castle as “elsewhere” like they’re nowhere special, hm? But, that aside, it was a good idea—the chefs could earn money and would have something to do while we waited to open the restaurant. Meanwhile, Sylvester, Ferdinand, and Karstedt could each get one of my trained chefs to serve them.
When we returned from the monastery to the Italian restaurant, I called Hugo and Todd over to introduce them.
“These two are the chefs who cooked today’s meal. They are two of the very few people who can make the recipes I invent,” I said with a smile.
Sylvester, Ferdinand, and Karstedt looked at them with gleaming eyes. They honestly looked like carnivores about to pounce, and I noticed my two chefs recoil in fear of being targeted by the nobility.
“We were planning on sending out invitations to all sorts of major store owners after today’s meal in order to lead into the opening of the Italian restaurant, but we need to prepare the monastery at once, don’t we? To that end, we have decided to delay opening the restaurant a bit longer.”
“...Doesn’t that mean we won’t be able to eat here again?” Sylvester asked, shooting me a dissatisfied glare. His hunger for my food was a good sign; the more he missed it while the restaurant was closed, the more he would be willing to do to get it.
“The waiters we borrowed from other stores will have places to work even if we keep the Italian restaurant closed, but the chefs have nowhere else to go. Therefore, I will lend you each a chef, for a fee, until the restaurant opens.”
Sylvester twitched his finger, Ferdinand fixed me with a gaze, and Karstedt grinned in amusement. All three had taken the bait. I glanced at Mark, who nodded slightly while maintaining his peaceful smile.
“My recipes are somewhat unique, and so must be taught by a well-trained chef. For that reason, I will charge five large silvers per month for one chef. I will also charge one small gold for each recipe taught. I have currently taught my chefs thirty different recipes, including the ones served today.”
“A small gold for each recipe? Isn’t that a little expensive?” Karstedt asked, stroking his mustache with a surprised expression.
I widened my eyes as if shocked and offended. “Expensive? When I taught Freida the pound cake recipe, she paid me five small golds to monopolize the recipe for a single year. She agreed on the spot, saying that it was cheaper than she expected,” I said, looking over to Freida and Gustav. “In my opinion, I’m giving you all an outrageous deal because of the consideration you’ve shown me, because we’re family, and because we won’t be signing monopolization contracts.”
Freida put on a very merchant-esque smile. “Lady Rozemyne’s recipes are simply that valuable. I believe that men of your stature are surrounded by high-quality food at all times and can thus understand how valuable today’s food truly is. In fact, I would love to buy that bread recipe myself, and would be willing to pay as much as eight small golds for it.”
I smiled at Freida’s total lack of hesitation to announce what she wanted, at which point Benno began describing his own contracts with me to further support my position. “When my humble store, the Gilberta Company, bought exclusive rights to make and sell hairpins from Rozemyne, we paid one large gold and seven small golds. It was valuable information that only she knew.”
But even though Benno and Freida were merchants, they were close associates of mine; it was hard to take their words at face value, and so Sylvester, Ferdinand, and Karstedt all wore dubious expressions as they searched for the truth.
“...I do not recall you charging for the sweets recipes you made for us at home.”
“That is because you and Mother provided three rooms for me: one at home, one at the castle, and one at the temple. You also prepared my baptism clothes, hired tutors for me, and, above all else, welcomed me with all of your heart. I’ve already paid you back how I can, so now it makes sense that I would start charging.”
I crossed my pointer fingers in an “X” to emphasize that I wasn’t going to budge on the matter. Sylvester and Karstedt each knitted their brow in thought, while Ferdinand simply agreed to pay the price I had asked for with a composed expression.
“You ultimately intend to use this money for the orphanage, correct? I will have all thirty of those recipes you mentioned, and hire one chef for the one-month period. The money will be paid when the chef begins work. Which of your two will be coming to the temple?”
Mark once again whispered to Benno, who then gave Ferdinand an answer. “Todd. The chef standing on my left will join the temple’s kitchen.”
I glanced over at Todd. He had gone completely stone-faced, no doubt feeling the pressure as three nobles looked him over.
“We will need to spend tomorrow closing off the area and preparing the recipes, so I ask that we be allowed to send you the chefs the day after.”
“Very well, then. Todd, come to the temple at second bell the day after tomorrow.”
“Y-Yes, milord!” Todd squealed, kneeling on the spot.
At that sight, Ferdinand’s lips slowly curled into a grin. “And now one chef remains...” he muttered.
There were three nobles who wanted a chef, but only two who were up for hire. Someone would be missing out.
“Alright, I’ll pay. Send the other chef to our home, Rozemyne.”
“Hold it, Karstedt. I’ll—”
“Can you really move that much money without any scholars here? I think not,” Ferdinand said, giving Sylvester an exasperated look. He apparently needed the permission of scholars before he could make a purchase like that. Doing things as the archduke wasn’t quite as easy as it seemed.
“But you’ll be paying when the chef arrives, yeah? They don’t need the money to be paid right here, right now.”
At that, Sylvester and Karstedt started to argue over who would get Hugo, causing every commoner present to tense up. It was clear by Benno’s expression that he wanted me to do something about this. I nodded, and suggested that all of the commoners leave the room.
“I will inform you all when Hugo’s workplace is decided. Would you all please clear the room for us?”
At my suggestion, every commoner gracefully—yet speedily—exited the room. Hugo, who was caught in the middle of a battle between nobles, had turned ghostly pale. He clutched his stomach and pulled Todd out of the room.
“Rozemyne, why don’t you have three chefs?!”
Um... You can’t really blame me for this. As I watched Sylvester continue to throw a tantrum, I fell into deep thought. “How about I lend him to whoever plans to buy the most recipes...?”
“Who wouldn’t buy all of them?!” Sylvester shouted.
Well, well... Thank you for your business.
Sylvester had probably just blurted that out in the heat of the moment, but I didn’t care as long as the recipes got sold.
“Very well, then. While I’m not sure whether you would actually be able to pay for them all due to that scholar business, I will keep your offer in mind, Sylvester. If you are permitted to spend the money, then I will send Hugo to the castle. Father can send his head chef there as well, so that Hugo can then teach both of your chefs. How does that sound?”
“...Acceptable. Be sure to send the chef over as soon as you can.”
“Of course. I will bring him with me the day after tomorrow.”
And so, Sylvester, Ferdinand, and Karstedt each settled on buying all of my recipes. We wrote out a contract and ironed out the rules of employment, which I took as an opportunity to mention that my chefs had each signed a magic contract that prevented the illicit spread of my recipes.
“If at any point you try to force any information out of my chef, I will take him home with me, and there will be no refunds,” I said threateningly, trying to keep Hugo safe among the court chefs in the castle.
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