Chapter 76

Without even a moment to compose himself, Heron sat down in front of Elly.

"Have you been waiting for me?"

"Yes, I knew you would come again."

"…If you knew, then you must have also known that I was testing you, Lady Elly."

"Yes, I knew."

Elly smiled.

Heron's face stiffened. How could she…!

"When did you figure it out?"

"From the moment you mentioned having a granddaughter."

From that moment?

Heron looked at her in disbelief, and Elly blinked her clear green eyes and said,

"When you were eating the pudding, you said that you rarely get to eat something so sweet."

"Is this your first time trying something like this?"

"Yes, I rarely get to eat something so sweet."

"But I thought someone with bad teeth wouldn't ask for candy."

"…So you thought it was a test."

She didn't miss even that small detail.

Heron looked at Elly with wide eyes.

Elly maintained her smile, but inside, she let out a sigh of relief.

It seemed my strategy had worked.

When I first brought up Wintia, Elly was very flustered.

I couldn't understand why Heron, who cherished the Cleyder merchant guild more than anyone, was seeking forgiveness from Baron Salome and Wintia.

Forgiving someone who had wronged you was one of the most foolish things you could do. But to refuse….

'She seems too arrogant.'

So Elly signed.

There was no right answer anyway.

This was a test, and I was the one who had to come up with the answer.

And it seems that writing Cleyder's name was the right judgment.

"Does this mean I passed?"

Elly looked at him with shining eyes.

It was a loving smile, one that made her seem more adorable than the insightful and perhaps audacious child she was.

'Just as His Excellency said.'

I was the loser.

But I couldn't help but smile.

Indeed, my eyes had not deceived me.

No matter how hard she tried to hide her abilities, talent couldn't be concealed.

Some might think it was unchildlike.

'But what does it matter?'

The girl before me had a natural talent for handling situations.

'If that's the case…'

"I will greet you again."

Heron bowed deeply to Elly.

"From now on, I am Heron Hooper, at your service, Lady Elly."

It was a completely different greeting from before.

Elly, who had successfully led him to the answer, hugged her doll and smiled brightly.

"Thank you very much!"

* * *

After passing the test, I started attending Heron's classes from that day on.

I had separate classes from Damian.

Damian was the heir who would have to take over the family, so I assumed the content of his lessons would be different.

So I thought he would teach me the duties of a lady of the house.

He taught me from the basics of the economic system to what the Cleyder merchant guild did.

He also explained how the imperial market had changed before and after the war, and how the wealth of the nobility had changed accordingly.

"In a class-based society like this, nothing is more important than a title. But, Lady Elly, you must understand the value of money. If the market expands and the value of money decreases, the class system will disappear."

"Really?"

"Yes. But because of that, the wealth gap will become even more severe. The more poor commoners there are, the more solid the position of the nobility will become."

The content of the lessons was something he wouldn't have taught me if he only wanted me to be a lady of the house.

I was surprised by more than just that.

"Lord Heron, I noticed there are women on the employee list?"

"Yes. We hired them because they wanted to work."

It was the fact that he didn't impose gender restrictions on employment.

After the empire's victory, the wealth of the nobility had steadily increased, but not so for the commoners.

As the wealth gap grew, women who couldn't afford their living costs began to enter society to find any small job.

But in this era, the jobs available to women were very limited.

'Even if they manage to get hired, the problem is what comes next.'

Overcoming people's prejudices was a very difficult task.

Heron explained that the fact that these women had come to the Cleyder merchant guild was significant.

"It's proof that we are stable."

It was a decision that would have been difficult for anyone, even someone with experience in the business world like me.

"We haven't established a proper system yet, but we plan to explore concrete solutions."

So every time I listened to his lessons, I couldn't help but be amazed.

'Female employees…'

Perhaps this was a good opportunity.

Even after the lesson ended, I didn't get up immediately, lost in thought.

Heron then asked,

"Is there something you're curious about from today's lesson?"

"Oh, it's nothing much…"

I pretended to be embarrassed and laughed awkwardly.

"Most of the people on the list are mothers with children."

"Raising a child is very expensive. We took that into account when selecting them."

"Hmm…"

When my concern didn't dissipate even after his answer, Heron asked,

"What's troubling you? Please feel free to speak."

"Well, actually, before I came to the orphanage, I had an aunt I was close to."

I began to tell my story cautiously.

"She worked outside too. But because her baby was so young, she had a really hard time."

"…"

"Especially with babies, they need to go to the bathroom frequently, so they need a lot of diapers."

In this world, there were diapers.

Reusable diapers made of several layers of cotton and cloth that needed to be washed, and disposable diapers with a material similar to plastic on the outside.

But the cloth diapers were unhygienic because they needed to be washed frequently, and the disposable diapers with a coated outer layer often leaked.

While disposable diapers were better in terms of convenience and hygiene, they were extremely expensive.

But for commoners, especially those who had to leave their young children to earn money, disposable diapers were a luxury they couldn't afford.

"My aunt had to wash the cloth diapers every day, so she had a really hard time. On rainy days, they didn't dry well and smelled terrible."

"…"

"Hmm, so I thought it would be nice if there was something to help with that."

"Something to help…"

Heron looked as if he had never considered this area.

"Actually, I saw the Rügel tree not long ago."

"Isn't the Rügel tree the one that grows in our eastern region?"

"Yes, I heard it was a gift from the late Duke Cleyder to Duke Schuets."

I spoke with the innocent voice of a child who had discovered something interesting.

"The bark of the Rügel tree has amazing absorbency! Last time, ah…"

I quickly covered my mouth, realizing I had almost said too much.

"I wasn't supposed to say that…"

"Why not?"

"Lord Jeritt asked me to keep it a secret…"

"It's fine. Please speak freely."

Heron waited for my answer without pressing.

'Good. Now I can say it naturally.'

I would tell it as if I was passing on a story I had heard from a third party.

I told him about how Jeritt and I had used the Rügel tree bark to clean stains from a carriage.

"It was so amazing that I even tried using it for painting. Even after absorbing the paint, the surface remained smooth. It absorbed everything over time, even if it didn't flow like water!"

I didn't forget to add that it had excellent absorbency.

"Hmm…"

Heron stroked his chin with his wrinkled hand.

"But paper is already widely known. Even if we made a different kind of paper now, it wouldn't have much advantage as an art supply."

No! That's not it! I quickly tried to steer the conversation back on track.

"But it doesn't have to be used as an art supply!"

"Excuse me? What do you mean…?"

Heron, looking puzzled, fell into deep thought.

"Diapers… highly absorbent paper…"

Then he looked at me with a realization.

"Lady Elly, did you hear this idea from someone? Was it Lord Jeritt?"

Yes, I was waiting for you to say that.

I looked down, pretending to be upset.

"Yes… I wasn't supposed to say anything… So I did something wrong, didn't I?"

"No, absolutely not. It's just that…"

He muttered, deep in thought.

"…I think I need to meet that person."

* * *

The production facility of the Salome family, which made items for the guild without a single day off, was still operating deep into the night.

Despite the deep fatigue, a faint tension filled the air.

"Did you hear? Baron Salome stood up to Duke Schuets and lost his head…"

"What about us? Our master is Baron Salome."

"If the baron lost his head, what chance do we have?"

This was all because of the rumors.

Their lord had dared to challenge a high-ranking noble without any warning. This was not a matter that could be resolved with a territorial dispute.

"Another war is coming…"

Someone sighed and muttered.

A deep silence fell over the production facility.

They were all someone's children or parents.

People with families to support.

At a time when they were struggling to make ends meet, if a territorial dispute broke out, how could they take responsibility for their families?

A deep despair weighed heavily on their shoulders.

"Hey, Bahen! Bahen, are you here?"

At that moment, a call came from far away.

The man called Bahen raised his hand.

"Stop what you're doing and come over here. The manager is looking for you."

"Manager? The manager?"

Meeting the manager separately was never a good sign.

'Am I being fired?'

Bahen reluctantly stepped forward.

Two other names were also called out.

Jane, who lived with her elderly parents and had never married, and Rohan, who was the father of newborn twins.

"Why those three?"

"Poor things."

The other employees muttered sympathetically as the three walked away.

"Here you are."

As they entered the room, the manager greeted them as if he had been waiting.

"Manager, why have you called us…?"

Bahen stammered. The manager looked them over carefully.

"You all have ears, so you must have heard the rumors. I called you to explain…"

The manager's voice seemed to come from far away.

Please, don't let it be a firing. Please, don't let it be a firing. I prayed desperately.

Then it happened.

Bang! A loud noise echoed, as if the ground had been struck.

Everyone jumped in surprise and opened their eyes wide.

At the manager's feet was a large box.

"Take it and give it to your wives and children. If you need to, you can give it to your parents as well."