Rewriting the Trash Ending - Chapter 11

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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11.

“Well, the pepper prices are beyond help, but I can offer you this silk at a most reasonable rate.”
“Silk?”
The Merchant unfolded the Green Silk across the table as he spoke.
“I heard the Grand Duke is taking the Imperial Princess of Wijert as his bride.”
“That’s right.”
“Since you’ve spent your life in the Northern Region, you may not realize that a royal wardrobe demands nothing less than this quality.”
“But even if the silk is cheap, the cost is still—”
As the handmaid hesitated, the Merchant continued in a pointed tone.
“Surely you don’t intend to have the Imperial Princess’s gowns made from just anything?”
“…How could I? Fine, I’ll take it. Let me see the Trade Document.”
“Ahem, the Imperial Princess will surely be delighted.”
The Merchant’s lips twitched as he fought back a smile, then slid the Trade Document across.
Then.
“Wait.”
Lumière, who had been standing at the threshold, stepped into the Reception Hall.
“What is this about?”
The Merchant frowned, plainly displeased.
Of course—interrupted on the verge of closing a substantial deal.
“Just now you said she’d be absolutely delighted?”
The Merchant paused for a moment, then replied with shameless audacity.
“Is there some problem?”
“A problem? Why would there be no problem selling garbage like this?”
“Garbage? That’s rather harsh language. Are you suggesting I deliberately sabotaged goods meant for the Grand Duke’s household?”
Lumière examined the silk, then let out a short, sharp laugh.
“The dye is uneven, and the color’s already faded. This looks like fabric that’s been gathering dust in a warehouse for a good ten years. If this isn’t garbage, what is?”
At first glance it might escape notice, but examined closely, the color tone was far from uniform and the sheen inconsistent throughout.
A Northern Region native with little exposure to fine silk might be fooled.
But she, a flower plucked from the palace walls or not, had been dragged to Imperial Court galas time and again—to her, it was no better than refuse.
“Moreover, royal garments are never made from Green Silk. The dye is difficult to apply evenly, and colors fade just as easily as this.”
“That is—”
The Merchant faltered, realizing she was no Northern simpleton, and the handmaid looked at her with eyes full of doubt.
“Is what she’s saying true?”
“No, it’s not discoloration. This is a cutting-edge dyeing technique, developed precisely from the inherent problems of Green Silk. When the color fades, it reveals a one-of-a-kind masterpiece—”
Lumière snorted derisively and spread the silk wide, examining it from every angle.
“And what about these moth-eaten marks? Another revolutionary weaving technique?”
Tiny holes, like those from a needle, riddled the fabric in places.
How little regard did he have for the Grand Duke’s household, to attempt peddling defective goods at a premium without even proper inspection?
Her anger had transcended fury into something beyond words.
“Who do you think you are, barging in like this in the middle of a transaction!”
The Merchant realized the deal was utterly lost and shouted, his face flushed crimson.
“Let me ask you one more time—you truly think this cloth suits me?”
Lumière gently pushed back her hood, and the Merchant’s face drained of all color.
“Y-Your Highness?”
There could be no mistaking her.
The white hair and violet eyes were unmistakable hallmarks of a princess of the realm.
“Handmaid, though I have not yet had my ceremony, I will soon be the mistress of this castle—may I issue a command?”
“Of course, Your Highness. Please.”
“Summon soldiers to arrest this merchant and confiscate the Merchant Company’s carriage.”
Attempting to sell moth-eaten silk to a princess and claim it was worthy of her.
It was a capital offense deserving of the noose.
The handmaid hurried from the Reception Hall, and the Merchant fell urgently to his knees.
“Your Highness! I beg your mercy! The damage must have occurred in transit!”
In transit, nothing.
From the state of the discoloration alone, this couldn’t have happened in a day or two.
“Your case will be settled when the Grand Duke returns.”
“Your Highness! Please, I beg for my life, Your Highness!”
Soldiers rushed in and dragged the Merchant away.
In my past life, how many times had I wanted to strike him from behind whenever he cheated the Grand Duke’s house.
In any case, I was relieved to be able to dispose of the wretched man the moment I arrived at Grand Duke’s Castle.
“I apologize for showing you such an unseemly sight upon your arrival.”
As the head maid’s eyes grew complicated, Lumière spoke as though it were no great matter.
“Never mind that. Show me to the bedroom instead. I’d like to rest a while.”
She followed the head maid, whose courtesy had grown more pronounced, as they made their way down the corridor.

***

After seeing the Imperial Princess to her bedroom.
Thera stood in the middle of the hallway and sighed.
It was a Merchant Company they had dealt with for many years.
Few foreign merchant companies ventured to this place, which was constantly under threat of Demon Beast incursions, and among those who did, only a handful came regularly.
She was aware that because of such circumstances they quoted prices higher than their worth, but to attempt fraud while invoking the Imperial Princess herself—
‘And the Imperial Princess uncovered it herself at that.’
She had heard the Princess was troublesome, but the one she’d met today was far from easy to dismiss.
She neither panicked nor carried on foolishly as one might expect from someone intimidated by this marriage, nor did she conduct herself without dignity as the rumors suggested.
Though she’d need to observe her further to be certain, beneath that delicate appearance lay a resolute bearing—the very picture of an ideal Grand Duchess.
Yet no matter how the rumors proved false, the fact remained that she had been born and raised in the Imperial Court.
Thera had already been displeased at the prospect of serving an Imperial Princess as mistress of the house, and now this spectacle on the very first day.
Beyond wounded pride, she worried what the Imperial Princess would think of the Grand Duke’s house.
‘Now, who should I appoint as her personal maid…’
It was customary for noble ladies to bring trusted maids from their natal homes when they married.
Yet she had come alone, which suggested the rumors of neglect by the Imperial Court held some truth after all.
Thera swallowed her sigh and began mentally reviewing the list of available maids as she walked.

***

After the head maid withdrew.
Lumière changed into house clothes and lay down on the bed.
This was a guest room in Grand Duke’s Castle.
Indoor robes that fit any frame, perfumes and cosmetics from the Northern Region, and more.
Everything she might need had been prepared, so there seemed to be no particular problems for the time being.
Despite her reservations, they had prepared everything she needed.
It was treatment she could never have expected at the Imperial Palace, so the head maid’s meticulous care felt genuinely appreciated.
In any case, she closed her eyes thinking she’d rest a while and then tour the castle.
Or so she had intended.
Lumière murmured in a hoarse voice.
“How long was I asleep?”
When she opened her eyes, bright sunlight was filtering through the gap in the curtains.
She had slept for a full day as though unconscious.
‘I’ve slept that long and I’m still exhausted.’
It was probably because this was where her former self had died.
Her condition was already wretched from jet lag, and choosing to sleep here of all places only made it worse.
‘At least I didn’t have nightmares.’
Her gaze drifted to the window from which her past self had leaped, and a chill crept across her skin.
What on earth had possessed her to sleep in this room of all places.
She had used it anyway, fearing that refusing the bedroom prepared by the Grand Duke’s house would lend weight to prejudices born of her being an Imperial subject.
She wasn’t sure if that had been the right choice.
‘I should get up now.’
She rubbed away the goosebumps on her arms and sat up.
Her prospective husband was working hard outside; she couldn’t just lie here doing nothing.
Ding.
Lumière stretched her stiff arms and pulled the bell cord.
Whether the head maid had been waiting outside or not, the moment she tugged the cord, the maid entered with another attendant in tow.
“Your Highness, were you satisfied with the bedroom we prepared?”
“Thanks to your kindness, I rested well. I only meant to close my eyes for a moment, but an entire day seems to have slipped away.”
“I worried that in such an unfamiliar place your sleep might be unsettled, so I’m relieved to hear you rested comfortably.”
Thera gestured with her eyes toward the fair-haired maid standing beside her and continued speaking.
“This child is Becky, who will attend to Your Highness for the time being.”
“I am Becky Wensler, Your Highness. Though I may be inadequate, I shall do my utmost to serve you without bringing shame upon the Imperial Court.”
Lumière studied Becky’s face in silence.
A shy smile, hands clasped demurely above her navel.
There was something about her face—a flicker of recognition that wouldn’t quite come—that left an odd, nagging unease.
Even if she had once wandered the halls of the Grand Duke’s Castle in her past life, she couldn’t possibly remember every servant’s face.
So much time had passed; expecting to recall each person individually would be unreasonable.
Yet if she felt this way, there had to be a reason.
‘Who exactly was she…?’
Narrowing her eyes, she sifted through memories of her previous life, and then—struck by a sudden recollection—let out a short, bitter laugh.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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