What’s Wrong With My Marriage? I Was Bought as a Wife, Yet My Husband Is Madly in Love With Me! - Chapter 34

Luce changed her destination to the hotel managed by Klaus. Since she felt guilty about missing the gathering she’d been invited to, she asked one of the laborers to pass a message to the dwarven craftsmen.

(They told me to come by whenever I felt like it, but it made me happy that they actually seemed to need me.)

As the luggage was being transferred between carriages, the dwarven craftsmen perhaps because they were close by came swarming over to the scene of the accident. They looked back and forth between Luce and the young girl.

“As expected of the Madam, you’re so kind!”

“That’s right, helping people is a good thing!”

“Come back and see us again!”

“Come by tomorrow if you can!”

When Luce thanked them and waved, the dwarves let out a cheer and laughed happily. They walked away chatting amongst themselves, just as they had arrived.

(I don’t dislike this kind of rowdiness.)

If anything, it felt comfortable.

As Luce smiled despite herself, she noticed the girl staring at her with wide eyes. She was staring so intently that Luce began to worry if she looked strange.

“U-um…?”

“Amazing. You’re really beloved by those dwarven craftsmen, aren’t you?”

“They are all very kind people.”

“Dwarves… kind? Those dwarves who are famous for being prickly and difficult?”

Luce was just as perplexed by the girl’s confusion as the girl was by the situation. To Luce, the dwarves had been friendly from the start, and she had never heard a sarcastic word from them. Their attitudes were straightforward and sincere, which she found very likable.

“Anyway, please, get into the carriage.”

“Thank you. …And, well, I haven’t properly thanked you yet. I was in trouble, so it was a lifesaver that someone who understands my language passed by. I am Adelheid. The forty-eighth princess of the Ghoolam Royal Family.”

“A—A princess?! M-my deepest apologies for my rudeness!”

As Luce scrambled to apologize, Adelheid laughed and told her not to worry.

“I told you, forty-eighth in line. I’m a royal in name only. I’m no different from any random noble lady. In fact, I might even be lower than a noble lady.”

(Is that even possible?)

Based on what she had heard from the dwarves, Luce found the political system of Ghoolam a bit hard to grasp. Klaus had mentioned that the most important thing was just to accept that “that’s how it is” over there.

“If I have been disrespectful in any way, please let me know. I wouldn’t want a new encounter to be ruined by a bad impression.”

“You really are a kind person. Please, call me Adel. May I call you Luce?”

With a very frank attitude, Adelheid shook hands with Luce. It was rare for ladies to shake hands here, but perhaps it was common in Ghoolam. Luce recalled that the dwarves were relatively quick to put an arm around someone’s shoulder or grab a hand to confirm their friendship.

Adelheid explained that she had been helping out at her mother’s family’s merchant guild since she was a child, and recently there had been talk that it was time for her to strike out on her own. Before leaving her mother’s protection, she decided she wanted to travel and see different things to help her learn how to manage a guild. For that reason, she had traveled all the way from Ghoolam to this country by herself.

(Th-that’s incredible. She’s so brave, completely different from someone like me.)

Luce respected Adelheid from the bottom of her heart.

“My main goal in coming here was to see with my own eyes how Earl Bart manages his merchant guild.”

“…My husband’s?”

“Yes! He’s always putting out such amazing products. He’s steady yet bold! He does business on such a large scale, yet it never collapses! He’s like the perfect model for the kind of guild I want to lead.”

Apparently, one of Adelheid’s half-brothers had studied at the same school as Klaus. Having heard stories, she decided to visit the capital of Klaus’s country to look around as part of her studies.

“I did try to learn the language of this country. But when it comes to actual conversation, it’s so difficult. …I even mistook a stagecoach for the private carriage I had arranged.”

Adelheid let out a deep sigh, looking visibly dejected.

“But it’s a good thing I got to know the Countess of Bart. I’ve been wanting to talk shop!”

When she mentioned the magic stone stoves, Luce blinked in surprise.

“Many guilds sell magic stone stoves. But they’re all pretty much the same. However, the Bart Guild was different. High quality, high performance—they were strictly top-of-the-line luxury items.”

“But recently, a different kind came out.”

The smile vanished from Adelheid’s face, replaced by a serious expression.

“A completely different concept. Low quality, low performance. To put it another way, they changed their target audience and narrowed their focus. …The moment that happened, it became a massive hit! People who tried them out started asking if there was something that could be used even more long-term. It looks like they’re going to spread through Ghoolam all at once.”

(That’s amazing.)

As Luce listened in shock, Adelheid continued.

“My intuition tells me that because Earl Bart’s business sense is so brilliant, he must have hired a new, talented craftsman.”

As far as the magic stone stoves were concerned, it wasn’t a craftsman but simply Luce who had offered her opinion. Still, being praised by a complete stranger made her feel quite happy.

“I’m betting on that foresight and I want to form a business partnership! It’s the chance my guild needs to grow!”

Adelheid clenched her fist, stating that while they weren’t acquaintances yet and her guild was too small for now, she was absolutely determined to make it happen one day. Luce wondered how a princess could own a merchant guild, but Adelheid answered that question immediately.

“Ghoolam is a meritocracy. Just because you’re a princess doesn’t mean you can live without doing anything. I’m interested in business, so I help out with my mother’s family’s trade. I was finally allowed to go independent recently.”

In Ghoolam, it seemed that even those with royal blood were expected to learn a trade and were made to live independently from their parents upon reaching adulthood.

“My older brother doesn’t have the slightest interest in business, though. He said he wanted to train deep in the mountains and just left on a journey.”

“H-he sounds like a very unique person.”

“You could say that. He’s an interesting man; I’ll introduce you next time. …Say, after I return to Ghoolam, would it be alright if I wrote letters to you?”

“Yes, of course!”

Luce found herself drawn to Adelheid’s lively personality. Her rapidly changing expressions were a bit different from the “ideal” model of a noble lady in this country, but she was very likable.

“Madam, we have arrived at the hotel.”

The coachman called out, and Luce stepped out of the carriage along with Adelheid.

The hotel Klaus managed in the capital was located right in the center of the city. Luce had heard about it, but this was her first time stepping inside.

“Wow, it’s so luxurious!”

Beside an impressed Adelheid, Luce was also wide-eyed with surprise. Since she had never been to a high-end hotel before, everything looked new and fascinating.

(Klaus really is incredible.)

While Luce was helping Adelheid at the reception, the manager came out to greet Luce. He offered her words of profound gratitude regarding Adelheid.

“Thank you so very much! Our staff went to meet her, but she was nowhere to be found. When we asked around, they said she had chartered a public stagecoach! We’ve been receiving frantic messages from Ghoolam, worried about their precious lady…”

(It seems they were quite panicked when Adelheid went missing.)

In any case, Luce breathed a sigh of relief that everything had turned out well.