What’s Wrong With My Marriage? I Was Bought as a Wife, Yet My Husband Is Madly in Love With Me! - Chapter 33

—A few days had passed since the heavy-hearted events of her sister’s visit and the encounter with her brother.

A Dwarven craftsman, who had come to check on the kitchen, suddenly made a proposal to Luce.

“Madam, why don’t you attend our next meeting?”

“A meeting? Me?”

She knew that Klaus held discussions with the craftsmen, and since her first trip to the Artisan District, she had visited several times to bring them refreshments. However, she had never actually participated in a meeting.

“Those gatherings are a place for exchanging opinions with Master Klaus. We come up with ideas for new products and things like that.”

“My, I see.”

“And well, we were thinking we’d like to hear your opinion, Madam.”

(M-my opinion?!)

As Luce looked on in surprise, the Dwarf continued.

“As craftsmen, we tend to focus on perfecting the technical side of things. We think that’s important, sure. But whether or not that result is something the general public can actually use… well, that’s a different story.”

That stove was certainly convenient, but it was so expensive that people would surely hesitate to buy it—even if the price was non-negotiable because the Dwarves had poured their souls into it.

“Even with the magic stone stove, we needed the perspective of someone who uses tools every day. Because we had that starting point, our creation was accepted. That’s why your opinion is incredibly important, Madam.”

Then, with a laugh, the Dwarf added, “And besides, you can stop the Master before he gets into a fistfight.”

“I don’t think Klaus is a violent person…”

“…Well, yeah, he’s a total gentleman in front of you. Anyway, feel free to drop by. Oh, actually, why not come see how things are going right now?”

“Right now?”

“We’re just about to pitch some new product ideas to Master Klaus.”

“Wouldn’t it be an intrusion to show up so suddenly?”

“No one here would ever think of you as an intrusion.”

In fact, the Dwarf said they’d prefer if she came every day.

“The Master is in a much better mood when you’re around! He’s likely to give us the green light for just about anything!”

Luce wondered if that was really a good thing.

Still, even when she stayed at the estate, Luce didn’t have much work to do as the Lady of the house. Moreover, she was afraid that if she stayed home, another one of her siblings might come calling. She had told the servants they didn’t need to announce them, but she was still terrified they might force their way in. She wanted to believe they wouldn’t commit such an outrage if Luce herself wasn’t there.

Luce prepared for the outing and boarded the carriage for the Artisan District. The Dwarven craftsman had already left the estate, saying he would go ahead to tell his colleagues.

As she watched the scenery of the district from the swaying carriage, she noticed another carriage stopped in the middle of the road, blocking the way.

“What’s happened?”

“Madam, I shall go and investigate. Please wait a moment.”

The coachman returned quickly, explaining that the wheel of the stopped carriage had broken, making it immobile. They had called for help to move it to the side shortly, but…

“…The problem is, they can’t explain the situation to the passenger. They don’t speak the same language, and the passenger has become frightened and is causing a scene.”

“Oh, they must be from abroad.”

“Yes, it seems to be a tourist from the Kingdom of Ghoolam.”

It appeared to be a standard city carriage that the tourist had hired for private use. The passenger seemed to understand a few words, but actual conversation was impossible. The coachman of the broken carriage had tried to explain with gestures, but failed to get the point across.

“They’ve barricaded themselves inside the carriage, so the workers can’t move it safely.”

“Um, in that case, perhaps I should try talking to them.”

Luce had become reasonably proficient at conversing with the Ghoolam-speaking Dwarven craftsmen. Even if her skills were clumsy, she might be able to explain the situation.

(Barricading themselves in a carriage… they must be feeling very scared.)

Luce summoned her courage and spoke from outside the carriage.

『Hello. My name is Luce. If you can understand me, please answer.』

She knocked on the carriage door, but there was no response. Since the coachman said there had been a commotion just moments ago, she was certain someone was inside.

After a moment, the window opened a crack, and she made eye-to-eye contact with the person inside. When Luce offered a smile, the door opened slightly, and a young girl peered out.

『You… you understand the language of Ghoolam?』

『Yes. The Dwarven craftsmen taught me. I can manage a simple conversation.』

『…Are you an agent of those bandits?』

『We aren’t bandits. I am Luce Barth. I am a Countess. If you are anxious, please look at this.』

Luce held out the ring engraved with the Barth family crest.

The ring was different from her wedding band. It was meant to verify her status; by decree, only the current Count and his wife were permitted to wear accessories engraved with that specific crest.

『I know the House of Barth. That entrepreneur… I’ve seen this crest before. This isn’t a fake imitation.』

The girl’s face visibly brightened, and she looked relieved. However, she immediately remained cautious of her surroundings, keeping her hand on the door as if ready to shut it at any moment.

『But then, what are they doing?! The carriage stopped suddenly, and the driver is acting so strange.』

Did she not realize there had been an accident?

As Luce wondered this, the driver of the broken carriage scratched his head and explained that the young lady’s luggage was so heavy the axle had started to come loose. He had noticed the abnormality immediately and stopped to move it to the side of the road, but the axle made a strange noise and gave out completely.

From the passenger’s perspective, the carriage had simply swerved toward a side path and stopped abruptly for no apparent reason.

『Listen, this carriage is broken and it’s blocking the road. I need you to step outside and switch to a different carriage.』

『Eh?! Th-then those people over there are…』

『They are laborers called to move the broken carriage. Unfortunately, the driver doesn’t speak your language. He’s been apologizing profusely—he tried to explain the accident with gestures, but he only ended up frightening you.』

『The driver?! This isn’t the carriage I arranged for?!』

『Arranged? The driver says he made it a private hire because he was given money.』

Luce looked at the girl, wondering if there had been some sort of mistake.

The girl put her head in her hands and started muttering to herself about how “that’s why everything felt so weird.”

『…I intended to hire a carriage with a driver who spoke Ghoolam. That carriage showed up at the pick-up location, and when he gestured to ask if I was getting in, I just hopped on.』

『You were likely waiting at a public carriage stop, weren’t you?』

Luce had used public carriages many times, so she knew these things happened. If there are no other passengers, the drivers have no problem making it a private hire. Sometimes they just pick up a confused customer and take them to their destination.

This time, the confusion clearly stemmed from the language barrier.

『How awful. My maid must be incredibly worried. Oh no… I told her I could get to the hotel by myself! Ohhh!!』

Luce couldn’t just leave the lamenting girl behind.

『Which hotel were you trying to go to? I’ll take you there in the Barth family carriage.』

When Luce added that she would go with her, the girl named the hotel.

『Oh, that hotel…』

Luce had never been there, but she knew the name well.

After all, it was a hotel managed by Klaus.