The Abandoned Princess, Yet She Is Loved - Chapter 49

Meisten looked back and forth between the woodblock and the artwork with interest in his eyes.

 

“Even though the ink was applied to a block and pressed, it feels like it was drawn directly on the paper.”

 

“I did my best to achieve that effect.”

 

“When we sold them within our territory, both the locals and external merchants reacted very positively. I also heard that some places, like the temple, are trying to replicate this method.”

 

Meisten slowly nodded as he listened to them. Judging by his expression, he didn’t seem completely unwilling to make a deal, which gave Grace a good feeling.

 

“Do you have a specific quantity and price in mind?”

 

“Here it is.”

 

Isaac handed over the prepared documents. After briefly scanning through them, Meisten carefully set the papers down on the table and looked directly at Grace.

 

“These are good products. I’ll take the deal.”

 

He agreed immediately. Grace and her assistants brightened up. A problem they’d been worried about had been resolved just like that.

 

“However, I would like to discuss modifying one of the conditions.”

 

“In what way?”

 

The word “modifying” gave them a bad feeling. Meisten adjusted his glasses and spoke.

 

“If you can guarantee us a 20% profit margin from the total sales, I’ll consider it.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

Hailey asked, surprised. They had originally offered a 10% profit margin to the trading company—now he was asking for double that.

 

What should they do? Grace, Isaac, and Hailey exchanged glances. If they gave 20%, Meisten’s side would be making more profit than Grace’s team. They’d be giving more to the distributor than to the producer.

 

But they couldn’t just raise the selling price drastically either—that would go against the purpose of starting this business in the first place. Maybe they needed to look for a different distributor.

 

“The commission is too high.”

 

After a moment of thought, Grace spoke up.

 

“When you trade minerals with us, I understand it’s fixed around 10%…”

 

She referred to the rate Anthony had mentioned.

 

“Minerals are a traditional commodity with stable demand and existing sales channels, so as long as there’s supply, they sell. But with these prints, there’s little precedent of them being sold in the capital. It will take effort and cost to create new sales routes and promote them.”

 

Meisten’s point wasn’t easy to refute. Prints were indeed a new type of product, and selling them across various regions and social classes would require significant effort.

 

Finding another trading company and inviting them all the way here to sign a contract would be cumbersome as well…

 

“Alright. We’ll accept.”

 

“My lady…?”

 

Isaac and Hailey looked at Grace in surprise.

 

“But… we’d also like to propose something.”

 

Grace swallowed and continued speaking.

 

“If… the response is good and we sell more prints after this,”

 

“……”

 

“Then, from that point on, we’d like to deal with you at the same profit rate as minerals.”

 

“That’s acceptable.”

 

Meisten agreed readily. Grace quietly let out a breath no one noticed.

 

“We’ll head back to the trade company and draft a formal contract. It’ll take a few days.”

 

“Yes, understood.”

 

“I’m glad we could form a good relationship. I look forward to working with you.”

 

And with that, the deal was verbally sealed, and the meeting concluded.

 

On the way back, Meisten stroked his chin in thought. Grace’s confident gaze and her firm request to adjust the profit rate next time had left an impression.

 

‘She looks so refined and innocent, like she wouldn’t know how the world works—but she’s got grit.’

 

Meisten found himself intrigued by Grace. It was already unusual for a noble lady from a rural territory to run a business, but to negotiate a deal like this?

 

“This is going to be interesting.”

 

He leaned back in the carriage, a smile playing on his lips.

 

 

“Your Highness, have you heard the rumor spreading through the art world lately?”

 

“The art world?”

 

It was three in the afternoon, tea time in the palace. Rubens, sipping his tea, responded with a short question to Vincent.

 

A rumor in the art world? Since he usually didn’t pay much attention to that sphere, nothing came to mind immediately.

 

“They say inexpensive paintings are becoming popular. Shops are selling them under the names of painters, but they only cost about 10% of what normal paintings do. Both nobles and commoners are buying them.”

 

“Is that even possible? Only 10%?”

 

As far as Rubens knew, paintings were usually commissioned directly by nobles or royalty. While some artists sold their works through shops, it wasn’t common to see the price drastically reduced.

 

“They’re called prints. They carve a single plate and use it to produce multiple copies, so they can sell the artwork cheaply.”

 

“Prints?”

 

“Yes. They engrave the image on a plate, apply ink, and press it onto paper. Temples and other institutions are starting to adopt this method too. It’s especially efficient when the same picture needs to be reproduced multiple times.”

 

“Oh.” Rubens let out a short sound of admiration.

 

“That’s quite a novel approach. Where did this trend start? A salon?”

 

“No, it was produced in the Winstaine territory. It’s already being supplied to the capital and selling quite well. I thought it might interest you, so I brought it up.”

 

“What? Winstaine…? That’s Frederick’s territory. They made this?”

 

Rubens’ eyes widened at the unexpected name. He had never heard that Frederick was good at painting or even interested in art.

 

“He said he wanted a quiet life, yet here he is doing something interesting. But why is he suddenly producing and selling art?”

 

“It wasn’t the Duke, but his wife who started it.”

 

“His wife?”

 

Yes. At Vincent’s response, Rubens tried to recall who Frederick’s wife was. He remembered she was a daughter of the Reinheim family, but which one exactly, he couldn’t remember.

 

“Who is she again? I only know she’s a Reinheim daughter.”

 

“That’s all anyone knows. Since no one seems familiar with her, she likely wasn’t active in high society.”

 

“Starting a new business in Winstaine and expanding to the capital… that’s truly unexpected.”

 

Thinking back to Frederick saying he wanted to avoid attention, Rubens almost laughed.

 

“He swore he’d never set foot in the capital again, and now his wife is out here making a name for their family.”

 

Rubens stroked his chin and smiled mischievously.

 

“This is my territory. If I block them, they won’t be able to sell their goods.”

 

“Your Highness, you’re not seriously thinking of using that as leverage, are you?”

 

“Come on, Vincent. Do I really seem that petty to you?”

 

Yes, you do. Vincent nodded firmly. He seemed like the type to pounce the moment he had an excuse.

 

“No, no. Easy now.”

 

Rubens chuckled as he took another sip of tea.

 

“I just find it amusing. You were surprised too, weren’t you? Of all places, Winstaine?”

 

“Well, yes. That part was unexpected.”

 

“I’ve been thinking about Frederick more these days anyway. If it weren’t for this damn tax report mess…”

 

Rubens clenched his teeth and gestured toward the stack of documents on his desk. Being trapped in the palace with tight deadlines was getting on his nerves.

 

“My dear younger brother has been acting strange lately, too.”

 

The emperor’s health had been worsening recently, and the crown prince had been going out more frequently.

 

“What is he planning?”

 

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? He’s trying to build his own power base. I’m sure he’ll try to bring in outside forces too.”

 

“That makes sense. There’s a limit to what he can gather within the Empire.”

 

“That’s why we need to make sure he doesn’t start scheming with foreign nations.”

 

There was a sharp clink as Rubens set down his teacup with force.

 

“First, strengthen our surveillance. Focus especially on any contact he makes with foreign figures.”

 

“Yes, understood.”

 

 

After handing over the second batch of prints to the trading company, Grace enjoyed some leisurely days.

 

When she had free time, she mostly read books or practiced horseback riding. She only did some light sketching and coloring for fun and didn’t create any more works for sale.

 

Isaac and Hailey were handling the print business now, and with more artists involved, there was no need for Grace to participate directly in production. Especially since they had begun selling in the capital, artists from other regions had started visiting Winstaine to learn about printmaking.

 

As the system became more established, there were fewer things Grace needed to oversee herself. Quite a bit of time had already passed since she came to Winstaine.

 

“I’ll be going somewhere soon.”