Chapter 42
It was on her way back after leaving the temple. As she looked around the market, which had become familiar to her by now, she suddenly felt that something was different from usual.
An unpleasant premonition came over her. Standing still, Eliza looked around.
She saw a man who had nearly made eye contact with her suddenly pretend to be looking elsewhere.
‘What is it?’
She could hear strangely hushed whispers coming from around her. Eliza realized that the atmosphere was similar to the one she had often felt when she was in the capital.
‘What could there possibly be for rumors about me to spread now?’
Curiosity mixed with faint hostility among the subtle glances. This could only mean that some scandal had been attached to her.
Crossing her arms and looking around, Eliza pondered for a moment. Then she came to a conclusion.
Since she could no longer leave Ruben, she would have to deal with this matter for the sake of keeping things peaceful.
“Hello?”
“Huh? Ahem, hello there.”
When she turned around and suddenly spoke to him, the merchant who was skewering meat openly cleared his throat.
The people of Ruben were innocent, and for that very reason, they were not good at hiding their reactions.
“Wow, that looks delicious.”
“I haven’t even grilled it yet.”
“You can tell just by looking at the shape of the meat. Are you going to grill it over a wood fire? It would be really delicious if you grilled some green onions together with it.”
“Oh, young lady, you know your food. You’ve been cooped up in your house this whole time.”
“That’s why the food outside must be so delicious, right? I regret not knowing that there was such a skilled owner here.”
“Ho-ho-ho! You’ll regret it even more once you taste it! My wife’s secret sauce is absolutely incredible!”
Although Eliza had lived in the same village for several years, she had always subtly kept her distance from others. But when she began speaking to the man in a gentle manner, he started to get excited.
Eliza smiled triumphantly and was about to get to the point.
“I’ll come visit later…….”
“Just how many people are you trying to seduce?!”
It was then that the man’s wife appeared. The woman, who had hurried over in the direction the people had pointed out, planted herself squarely in front of the man holding the skewers.
“Whoa, honey. What brings you here?”
“You stay out of this!”
Sending the bewildered man behind her, the woman snorted angrily and pointed a finger at Eliza.
“Listen, young lady. You seem to think being young is a weapon! If you lay a hand on my husband, I won’t let you off!”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“Everyone’s already heard the rumors! They say you pretended to be innocent and even seduced the priest!”
“……What?”
After learning the true nature of the rumor surrounding her, Eliza’s mouth fell open. It was good that the matter had been resolved so easily, but the content of the rumor was something she could never have imagined.
“I haven’t even met a man since I came to Ruben.”
“Hmph, of course you haven’t. Acting all high and mighty like that, is there anyone you couldn’t seduce?”
“No, he’s a priest, to begin with. There’s no way someone who serves a god would be interested in a woman, is there?”
“Then why have you been going in and out of the temple until its doors are worn out?”
“To make holy water…….”
“Ha! Yes, about that. The people who went volunteering with you told me. They said you and that priest were always sneaking away somewhere together?”
Eliza was momentarily rendered speechless. So the priest she had been rumored to be involved with was Gesle.
When she let out an involuntary sigh, the woman’s gaze grew even sharper.
“Don’t you dare lay a hand on this man again. Honestly, men! Come here, quickly!”
“Ow, ow, no, I was just doing business.”
The woman dragged the bewildered man away by his ear. Left standing there, Eliza put a hand to her forehead as the people openly gathered around to watch her.
She was already busy with one thing after another, and now she had acquired an unexpected headache.
***
“Miss Eli, it’s time to dye your hair, isn’t it? I’ll have to rummage through the warehouse. There’s been so much inventory lately that I don’t even know if everything is being properly managed.”
“Aren’t you busy? I can get the dye myself by now.”
“You’re always my number one priority, Miss Eli!”
Jenia linked arms with Eliza, her eyes sparkling. When a small laugh escaped Eliza, Jenia felt proud and took something out of her arms.
“You said the bird you’re raising keeps escaping, right? This is a new lock we brought in this time. Apparently, it has some kind of magical device that makes a sound when the door is opened.”
“You must be busy, yet you still thought of me? Thank you. If you tell me how much it costs, I’ll…….”
“What are you talking about? Everything from Bennett is free for Miss Eli for the rest of her life!”
“A person in business shouldn’t do that.”
“My father is the one running the business. I can do that.”
Once again, Eliza lost to Jenia’s shameless insistence. She had also grown accustomed to Jenia stubbornly escorting her all the way to her house.
“Ah, Jenia. By the way, perhaps…….”
“Yes?”
“Hmm……. Shall we have tea? Will you come to my house tomorrow?”
“Oh my, I’d love to! I’ll bake some madeleines and bring them—”
“No, come empty-handed. I still have some of the sablés you brought last time.”
“You still haven’t eaten those? What have you been doing? No wonder you keep getting thinner.”
“See you tomorrow.”
“Geez, you’re so cold!”
Eliza firmly closed the door, cutting off Jenia’s nagging. Then she looked at the lock she had received as a gift.
‘Do I have to go through Jenia again?’
Eliza had received so much help from Jenia that she wanted to deal with the rumors circulating in the village herself, but she had deliberately cut herself off from building connections all this time.
It seemed she would have to think a little more about whether or not to accept Jenia’s help, at least until today.
Eliza organized her thoughts as she looked around the birdcage. Then she found the empty cage and put a hand to her forehead.
“……Where did you go again?”
The bluebird had always been clever, but lately, it had become particularly fond of opening its cage and escaping.
It seemed that a bird capable of somehow forcing open its cage found it easy to undo the latch on the window as well.
Eliza stuck her head out through the wide-open window and looked around, then sighed and closed it.
‘If I’d known this would happen, I should have just sent it on an errand.’
Perhaps flying through the vast open sky was not enough for a bird that only went on walks, because the bluebird had once even gone all the way to the Waluer residence in the capital without Eliza telling it to.
When she first found out, she had been horrified, but apparently, it had somehow only met Nancy before returning.
‘I should probably think about what to do if Helreos finds it.’
Just then, as Eliza finished organizing the accumulated paperwork, there was a knock at the door.
“Jenia?”
Did she bring something else again? Eliza first covered her face and headed toward the door. Then she called Jenia’s name again, but there was no answer.
“Who is it?”
“A guest.”
There was a crude distortion mixed into the voice that came from beyond the door. It was an eerie voice that could only have been produced by a magical voice-altering device.
Eliza took out a dagger for self-defense from the drawer of the side table beside the door.
“Who are you here to see?”
“Hmm…….”
There was no answer for a moment, and then a sheet of paper was pushed through the gap beneath the door. Eliza immediately recognized that what was written on it was her own handwriting.
“This is your handwriting, isn’t it?”
The guest’s identity had now become even more suspicious. Eliza still did transcription work as a hobby, but all of it was done through Jenia.
There was no way Jenia would have revealed to anyone outside who had written that handwriting. Eliza’s mind began racing as she thought about how to deal with this uninvited guest.
‘Should I ring the emergency bell?’
Jenia had repeatedly urged Eliza to have guards stationed around her out of concern for her living alone, but Eliza had refused, thinking that would only make her seem more suspicious.
Instead, Jenia had left her with a bell that could summon the guards of the Bennett Trading Company.
She had just realized how much help she had received from Jenia, and now she wondered if she should rely on her help yet again. Eliza bit her lip, feeling as though she had become incapable.
It was her own miscalculation, having focused solely on accumulating wealth without developing any other abilities.
“Your handwriting is beautiful, so I came because I was curious who wrote it. I’m terrible at writing, you see.”
“I’m sorry, but this isn’t my handwriting. Please leave.”
“Really? It isn’t?”
Staring at the closed door, Eliza swallowed dryly. Just as her tension was mounting, an unexpectedly compliant voice came from outside.
“All right. Then next time.”
Eliza blinked several times before silently pressing her ear against the door.
There was no sound outside. Just in case, Eliza did not undo the latch, secured the windows, and did not go outside for several days.
