Unchanging Days and Changed Things 3
After finishing breakfast and waiting for Ashren-sama
to finish his paperwork regarding his territory, we headed out to buy furniture
as promised last night.
The carriage rode for longer than I expected and stopped in
front of a large workshop on the outskirts of the royal capital. When we got
off, the scent of greenery was so thick it felt like being in a forest. Upon
asking, I learned that this workshop was run by Baron Carton, and
apparently, timber brought from his territory near the border is dried in the
warehouse in the back.
「I was completely sure we were going
to a furniture store.」
「I thought that would be fine too,
but the furniture stores in the royal capital have many flashy items. I figured
you would prefer this place, Layla. Besides, consulting directly with
the workshop makes things proceed faster.」
Next to the workshop with "Carton Workshop"
written on it is Baron Carton's townhouse. In his territory, they mainly
make ready-made goods, but here, they apparently take custom orders for nobles
living in the royal capital, and it serves as both a workshop and a furniture
showroom.
「I have been waiting for you. I
apologize for receiving you in such attire.」
Appearing in an apron looking just like a craftsman was a
middle-aged man.
「No, Lord Carton, I should be
the one apologizing for the sudden request.」
「Not at all, I heard from your mother
that you might be coming soon, so I have been preparing and waiting. The lady
next to you must be Layla-sama.」
「That is right. Layla, the
furniture made at Carton Workshop is of such high quality that my older brother
takes them along on diplomacy. You are particularly good at chairs, aren't you?」
「Yes, I also made the chair in your
office, Ashren-sama. Also, my recent recommendation is the dyed goods my
daughter makes. We have fabrics such as curtains and sofa upholstery prepared,
so I will guide you there later.」
Prompted to enter with a "This way," the inside of
the building had the workshop in the back and the showroom in the front.
However, there were no glittering chandeliers or flamboyant decorations,
showing a steadfastness in competing purely on good quality. Somehow, I felt I
understood the reason why Ashren-sama chose this place.
「I have gathered the main furniture
to be used in your room, madam, right here.」
In the section we were guided to, dressers, chests, and
several types of slightly low shelves were lined up. Since there are times when
I can't reach high shelves even if I stretch, this height is very convenient
for me to use. Since the wood used can be changed, we decided to choose the
designs first. That being said, having no particular preferences, I mostly left
it entirely up to Ashren-sama.
While watching Ashren-sama briskly making decisions,
I was curious about the curtains a little further away. It was a calm, light
green curtain, but depending on how the light hit it, it looked as if tinged
with yellow, orange, or blue—a rare piece. Many things used to dye cloth are
plants, but I wonder what on earth that was dyed with.
「Are you fine with these for the
furniture?」
「Ah, yes. I am sorry, I ended up
leaving almost everything to you.」
「I don't mind as long as you are fine
with it, Layla. For the color, we have dark brown, natural brown, and
white using birch. Which one will you choose?」
「I would like natural brown. If
possible, something that gains character the more it is used... I like things
where you can enjoy the changes over the years.」
If you use it, it will inevitably get scratched and dirty.
But the reason I want to enjoy those changes is because I want to cherish the
life I will build with Ashren-sama from here on out.
When I said that, Lord Carton brought a
recommendation, asking, "How about this?"
「It is a relatively soft wood. If we
round the corners, it will be safe even when children are born. As it is used,
it will develop a calm luster. By that time, both of you will likely have gray
hair mixed in, like me.」
"Haha," Lord Carton stroked his slightly
thinning hair. Meeting my eyes, Ashren-sama smiled gently.
「We will go with that, please.」
「Certainly. Then next, please choose
the furniture to place in the bedroom. We have prepared the highest quality
items: sofas that you won't be able to stand up from once you sit down, and
beds that will put you to sleep immediately.」
Once again, several pre-selected types were lined up there,
but the large number of beds is just my imagination, right. All of them were so
large that three adults could sleep spread-eagled on them.
Pushing it with both hands, the springs bounced back just
right, and if no one were here, I would have wanted to flop down and lie on it bosun.
As I was thinking that, Ashren-sama sat down on the bed and patted the
space next to him pon pon. Is it alright? I looked at Lord Carton,
and he urged me with his hand as if to say, Please, go ahead. Sitting
down while feeling bewildered—ah, this is absolutely going to be comfortable to
sleep in.
「I might not be able to wake up in
the morning.」
「In that case, I will wake you up.」
「You are a heavy sleeper in the
mornings, aren't you, Ashren-sama. The other day, Karin-chan, who
went to wake you up, said you wouldn't wake up even when she climbed on top of
you.」
「That was a terrible experience. She
jumped up and down on my stomach, after all.」
That is quite a dynamic way to wake someone up. Ashren-sama
rubbed his stomach as if remembering it. Lord Carton excused himself
with a "Please excuse me for a moment," and left the area. As if
waiting for that, Ashren-sama flopped down and lay on his back.
「Looks like the two of us will be
oversleeping together.」
「Flora-san and Tick will get angry at us, you know.」
「We'll be forgiven while we're
newlyweds.」
「And who was it that made those
newlyweds work overtime?」
I recalled Tick writing documents half-crying. But
hearing about it later, it seems he only worked one hour of overtime. Did Ashren-sama
choose and hand him work that was high in volume but not that difficult, or did
Tick's abilities improve... Probably the latter.
「So, is this bed fine?」
「Yes. And then...」
「You are curious about those
curtains, right. You were looking at them this whole time.」
As expected, he had noticed. I am not knowledgeable about
dyeing, but I think that is a rare item. As we were talking about that, Lord Carton
appeared holding exactly that curtain fabric.
「This here is a new product. I
brought it because I absolutely wanted Ashren-sama to see it.」
「Perfect timing. We were just talking
about it. It is a rare color, but is this a plant dye?」
「Yes. It was dyed with the leaves of
the Monitares tree located in the Earl Hadren territory.」
Lord Carton is entrusted with the management of a
part of Earl Hadren's territory, but since the income from territory
management alone is small, he apparently makes furniture from local plants and
dyes textiles.
「This is my first time seeing cloth
that changes color with sunlight. Do you have things other than curtains?」
「We can make anything, such as sofa
upholstery and bedsheets.」
It seems we can custom-order these as well. That being said,
having the whole room the same color is a bit too much, so we decided to order
the curtains and sofa upholstery with this.
「Speaking of the Monitares tree, its
origin was the Tarteria Kingdom, wasn't it. The climate should be warmer
than this country, but are you growing the trees in a greenhouse?」
「That used to be the case, but Earl
Hadren's son selectively bred it, and it can now grow even in the Kanista
Kingdom's temperatures. So, afforestation was carried out even in the
territory I am entrusted with managing.」
「Hm? If it is Earl Hadren's
son, he should be working as a civil official under my older brother. A slender
man with red hair; he is a classmate of mine, Mark, and Her Royal
Highness Princess Stira.」
「That would be the heir, Ethan-sama;
the one who improved it was the second son, Blake-sama. He is still a
student, but he is excellent.」
I had studied the names of the nobles of the Kanista
Kingdom and the lands they govern. Even though I won't be involved in state
affairs, I am going to become an Earl's wife, so if I don't know at least this
much, I will bring shame to Ashren-sama.
However, when it comes to the names of their sons, I am not
yet perfect. Ashren-sama seemed to know, but this was my first time
hearing it.
「There are still many things I have
to learn.」
「You came from a foreign country, so
there's no need to feel pressured. More importantly, do you know about the
Monitares tree?」
「Only to the extent that it's an
evergreen tree about two meters tall that only grows in the Tarteria Kingdom.
I don't believe there were any reports of it becoming an ingredient for
medicine.」
「Being knowledgeable even about
plants native to foreign countries is just like you. The Earl Hadren
from a few generations ago was a plant researcher. He was studying abroad in
the Tarteria Kingdom, became close with the Crown Prince at that time,
and apparently received seeds of several types of plants from the Tarteria
Kingdom when returning home. He is growing them in a corner of his own
botanical garden.」
Earl Hadren's
territory is located on the border between the Tarteria Kingdom and the Kanista
Kingdom. Even though they are adjacent, the temperatures differ, perhaps
because they are separated by mountains, and therefore, most of the plants he
received are apparently grown in the greenhouse in the botanical garden.
「I wonder what other kinds of things
are planted in the botanical garden.」
「I thought you would say that. In
that case, Earl Hadren is also coming to Her Royal Highness Princess Stira's
birthday party being held soon, so you should try asking him.」
「Her Royal Highness Princess Stira's
birthday party?」
To me tilting my head, Ashren-sama also tilted his
head similarly with a "Hm?"
「It is in two months; did I not tell
you? Though a birthday party is just the pretense, and the reality is picking a
prince consort for Her Royal Highness Princess Stira.」
「Her Royal Highness Princess Stira
is twenty-one, one year older than me, right. If it is about choosing a prince
consort, won't not only influential nobles within the country but also
neighboring royalty come?」
「I hear the second and third princes
of neighboring countries are coming too.」
It felt like this was going to be quite a large-scale party.
By the way, that means Ashren-sama, being her cousin, is also attending,
right. In that case, naturally I, as his fiancée, will also...
「Um, this is my first time hearing
this, but surely not...」
「Did I not tell you? You can just
choose whatever you like from the dresses I showed you yesterday.」
「...Understood. By the way, when were
you planning to tell me that?」
「Hm? I was planning to tell you by
the birthday party.」
Oh, really. By the birthday party.
I don't really like evening banquets. I only attended the
bare minimum even in the Jilgista Kingdom, so to attend a royal birthday
party as Ashren-sama's fiancée makes my stomach hurt just thinking about
it now. Ashren-sama knows that as well, so it is entirely possible he
was planning to take me there as a surprise attack.
「Anyway, for the sake of our peaceful
life too, we need Her Royal Highness Princess Stira to get married
quickly and give birth to an heir.」
「If that happens, your right of
succession to the throne will go down, Ashren-sama.」
Beside Ashren-sama nodding deeply, I recalled the secret meeting I saw a few days ago. Just who on earth was that person she was secretly meeting in a place hidden from public view?
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