Chapter 447: Maiden’s Promise

The provincial town of Rolstein sparkled beneath the midday sun.Gone were the wilted fields and fading hopes of a town uncertain their princess would ever return. And while normally their concerns would prove true, there was an important reason why I’d returned to the first town I’d visited upon leaving my bedroom.

As a diligent princess, it was important that I see the fruits of my labour.

Unlike adventurers who went wherever they pleased, did whatever they wanted and blew up everything that didn’t need blowing up, I did everything with a gentle touch. 

That included making sure that I didn’t fix everything only to leave a mess for everyone else to clean up.

Indeed, by offering my smile to the commoners of Rolstein once more, I could make sure that only gratitude and not another budding calamity was left in my wake!

… The town was also blocking my way–and no wonder.

“Miss, your hair is so lovely! Would you like a free sample of our new untangling lotion to make it even smoother?”

“Spices! We’ve spices fresh from the Dunes! Cinnamon, saffron and red pepper to burn your eyes!”

“Young lady, you need to visit Lady Malvont’s new boutique! There’s a dress in there already with your name sewn on it!”

“Lee & Tiller's Bakery! We have an 85% off promotion on all fresh loaves and baguettes!”

It was crammed with merchants.

Whereas farmers had trudged through the town before, now entrepreneurs and hooligans thronged the streets. Except this was hardly Reitzlake’s market district. 

Stalls jostled for place amidst the narrow spaces, particularly as Apple snorted the crowd aside.

Thus, I nodded.

The verdict–

100% … no, 10000% success!

Ohohohoho!

Indeed, it was wonderful!

All around me was a town utterly unrecognisable! 

True, I didn’t remember what it looked like in the slightest. And that meant my memory was working as intended. But I knew that its colour palette was different shades of mud.

The mud was still here, of course–but now it was tinged with green.

Shorn of the magic that had weighed down upon the crops, life had been allowed to blossom as though making up for arrears. Long tufts of grass, flowers and weeds competed to line every wall, painting the town as a disparate garden in dire need of trimming.

… Fortunately, a solution was also on sale!

“Gardening tools! Welcome summer with a new hobby! Discounted beginner, enthusiast and grand gardener bundles are now … oh, are you interested in gardening, miss?”

I tugged Apple to a halt.

Squished between much louder competition, a young woman in overalls was standing behind a table filled with familiar gardening tools. 

Even so, it was a stall like any other–and every stall was one I’d passed, having paused only to purchase essential provisions such as crêpes, pastries and other foods important for maintaining energy.

Normally, that is.

Instead, I closely studied the wares on display.

The tools were rugged … but passable. 

They were the same as those used by the Royal Villa’s gardeners, who eschewed the ornate shears crafted for them to instead wield what they’d brought along when hired. A promising start.

“Excuse me,” I said to the stallkeeper. “But do you sell any Maiden’s Promise seeds?”

Her eyes lit up at once.

“As a matter of fact, I do! They’re ever so lovely, aren’t they?”

“They are, although I regret I’ve never grown them before.”

“Oh, then you’re in for a treat! Despite being summer flowers, they really only grow when they want to. But that wilfulness is part of their charm. If they decide to appear, then that means summer has truly blessed you. My only advice is that you very lightly water them twice a day. Just a sprinkling will do. Their mood will do the rest.”

“Thank you. Can you vouch for the quality of the seeds?”

“I certainly can! I cultivate them myself … but I’m afraid that also makes them quite dear. It’s 15 silver crowns for a pouch. If that’s too expensive, there are similar varieties I can offer as well.”

I reached into my bottomless pouch.

“I’d like to purchase two pouches.”

The glint of 3 gold crowns immediately drew the envy of the neighbouring merchants. Hopefully, they’d begin following nature’s path as well. 

“W-Wonderful! Thank you so much! If you please give me a moment, I’ll have your seeds ready!”

The stallkeeper immediately kneeled down behind her stall, followed by the sound of a wooden box unclasping. 

Coppelia leaned past my shoulder, blinking at the various tools on display. 

I ignored the fact that several hoodlums were groaning in pain nearby.

“Ooh~ you’re buying gardening stuff?”

“Yes, I’m purchasing seeds to grow Maiden’s Promises.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a popular variety of rose, known for its distinct pink hue. It is, in fact, the same shade as your shoes.”

“My shoes? That’s a great colour! It’s one of my 387 favourites.”

“Excellent. Because you’ll also be growing them.”

I waited for my loyal handmaiden and future gardening assistant to gasp with joy.

She only pointed at herself instead.

“Eh? … Me?”

I clapped my hands in delight.

“Ohohoho … wonderful, no? With this, you can begin tending to your own corner of the orchard! Rest assured, I’ll offer you an excellent patch with plenty of sunlight!”

She blinked. Repeatedly.

“I’m a Coppelia, not a gardener.”

“Being a Coppelia and a gardener aren’t mutually exclusive. Didn’t you say you tended to the treants outside the library?”

“Sure, but that involves less watering and more asking them to stop stepping on the tourists.”

“Well, in that case, you’re already set. Asking flowers to do as you wish is half of gardening. As for the other half, I’ll be glad to teach you. To begin by growing Maiden’s Promises will be challenging, but I’ve no doubt we can achieve success–especially since I’ll have my own patch as well.”

“Eeehh … ?! It sounds like I’m already expected to fail!”

“Nonsense. I’ve complete faith in your abilities. After all, I’ll also be sharing my personal secrets about gardening.”

“... Really? Does that mean I’ll be able to garden like you do?”

“Of course. You might even do it better, since I’ll be your tutor. I had to learn by myself.” 

Coppelia puffed out her cheeks in thought.

A moment later–

“Yay! You bought me a thing!”

She promptly accepted a bundled wrap of seeds from a smiling stallkeeper, peeked inside, shooed away Apple when he went to look, then stuffed it into her pouch.

Naturally, I was delighted.

Her handmaiden training would be long, relentless and arduous … but now we were so close to the Royal Villa, I saw no reason why it couldn’t begin!

In fact, there were lots of things we could now do!

“Ohohoho … there are more purchases I intend to make,” I said, my princess aura on full display for none of the commoners to notice. “As we’ve almost made our return, our priorities regarding our personal finances can now shift. We no longer need to reserve so many crowns just for provisions.”

Coppelia gasped.

“Are you saying we no longer need to live like poor people even though we’ve robbed from everybody under the sun?”

“W-We did not rob from anyone!” I said as an extra coin suddenly found itself in a blinking stallkeeper’s palm. “The word is requisition! … Also, our finances wouldn’t be constantly perilous if the number of premium apples you and Apple consume exactly rises with the amount of funds we have!” 

“Ahaha~”

Coppelia gave no defence. She simply laughed.

It was better than my loyal, if shameless steed. He snorted towards the next source of gluttony.

A basket of … yes, premium apples.

Even with so many new stalls, it was the greatest source of colour. A finely woven basket filled with perfectly red apples, held by a neatly dressed woman as she invited customers into her store. 

She was successful. There was a queue so long that I could already hear the complaints as I ignored it.

“No,” I said, deciding to put my foot down. Yes, after the 7,287th time. “Our patronage is a valuable thing. We must carefully assess the worth of each and every merchant. As noble as their profession is, we cannot offer our seal of approval to every fruit seller we meet.”

Apple dipped his head slightly. He stopped snorting.

I pursed my lips.

“... T-This will be the last time! Since I’m uncertain if we’ll be able to find any more premium apples on the road, we can make a purchase now …”

Ignoring the amusement from my equally gluttonous handmaiden, I took a step towards the store … only to stop upon realising the name on the signboard.

Royal Tirea Company

My mouth widened at once.

“The Royal … Tirea Company?”

I read the name several times.

Even so, neither the lettering nor my feeling of disbelief changed.

The Royal Tirea Company.

A name utterly foreign to me. As it should be. 

After all, for any store to borrow the words ‘Royal’ and ‘Tirea’ was beyond impertinent!

“It sounds official,” said Coppelia, her enthusiasm evident. “Is it yours?”

“No … no, it is not.”

“Are you sure? … Because I think there’s a drawing of your flag there too. I think it’s worth asking. If we can get a discount, that’ll be great!”

I was utterly appalled.

She was right. The royal crest of my kingdom was emblazoned on a separate door sign, flapping slightly in the breeze. The lack of shame almost sent me stumbling backwards.

Apparently, the weeds came in more form than what grew along the walls.

They came as unscrupulous businesses as well.

“... How dare they!” I said. “There is audacity and then there is this! There is no Royal Tirea Company! Anybody who brazenly claims association with both royalty and the kingdom is breaking more laws than even exist! That is preposterous!”

A cough to my side caught my attention.

The stallkeeper, clearly uncertain if she could keep the extra coin in her hand, gave a smile.

“Oh, that’s actually a store managed by the kingdom.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s a very new endeavour. It’s actually Mr. Talland’s general store, but the kingdom asked if they could buy his property. He’s now the manager. As you can see, the new colour scheme is very popular.”

All I had was stunned silence. Coppelia helpfully poked my cheek. 

“The kingdom purchased a general store?” I asked, certain I’d misheard everything.

“Mmh. And not just by some lord, either. The request came from stewards of the Royal Villa.”

I was overwhelmed with bewilderment.

Since when were we troll merchants … ?!

“I … I see … well, no, I don’t … my apologies, but I’ve been away from this region … could you perhaps tell me why anyone from the Royal Villa would decide to buy a store?”

“Well, I was told it’s as a way to showcase goods from across the kingdom. I think it’s a wonderful idea. Even though most of the things Mr. Talland is selling is still his old stock, it’ll only be time until things from Marinsgarde and Trierport come here. That’s quite exciting. I’m told I can even begin placing orders through him.”

I looked at the store in question.

It was an unorthodox idea … and yet while it was the sort of thing I could imagine Roland suggesting, I simply couldn’t imagine either my mother or father dedicating the time for entrepreneurship.

“Of course, it’s not just the new signboard that’s drawing customers,” added the stallkeeper, nodding approvingly in its direction. “The people of Rolstein want to show their appreciation too. None of us could have predicted the tax relief.”

Tax.

Relief.

I placed my face in my hands.

A deep breath later, I peeked between my fingers.

“Excuse me? … Could you please repeat that last bit?”

“The tax relief. I guess the news hasn’t spread yet, huh? Because of the Withering, anyone living in Rolstein doesn’t need to pay tax this year or the next. It’s wonderful. As you can see, the fields have mostly recovered, so this is a double boon. I’ve never seen the town as lively as it is now!”

I nodded.

Slowly, I released my face and smiled. A beautiful, twitching smile.

“T-That is very generous … but also to be expected … the royal family has always been known for their deep sense of benevolence, of course …”

“Oh, well, I can’t really say about the past–but certainly now, yes. I mean, the tax relief was one thing, but only this morning, I heard about the new cat shelter they’re funding.”

Coppelia caught me as I collapsed.

Mother … Father … ?! 

What are you doing … ?!