The Isolated Marchioness Just Wants to Make a Living - Chapter 238

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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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Part 2, Episode 43
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“H-here… these are the green berries you requested.”
The Head Chef was an old man. As I’d suspected, he was a native of this region.
When I asked him to bring the green berries that went into Rhea’s fish soup, he trembled as he brought them in a bowl.
“Miss Rhea is so particular about fishy flavors…… She only ate the highest-quality meat.”
The white-haired Head Chef, his hair tied back tightly, continued hesitantly.
“But circumstances have become difficult, and we’ve had no choice but to use ingredients that commoners eat…… I’m terribly sorry.”
“Commoners?”
“Yes…… When times are hard, we eat seafood that’s on the verge of spoiling. If you boil this berry in the broth for a long time, the fishy smell fades.”
Now I understood why these berries were treated as commoner food. Nobles would eat only fresh seafood, after all.
Alpheus gazed curiously at the berries in the bowl.
“These look like tiny grapes.”
Green berries clustered thickly along delicate stems. When I brushed them with my fingertip, a faint vegetal and peppery aroma emerged.
Small and tough, with a weak scent, they looked utterly unremarkable.
“This is a vine plant, isn’t it? It grows well at the edge of damp forests where sunlight barely reaches.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“When they ripen fully, they turn red.”
“Yes, yes! That’s correct. Then the aroma becomes slightly weaker, and birds and insects mainly eat them.”
The Head Chef’s eyes flickered slightly.
“Shall I bring the ripe berries?”
“No, not at all. These are perfect as they are.”
I picked up a cluster of berries—slightly smaller than peas, smooth yet firm on the surface.
“Pepper is actually eaten at this stage.”
“……Pepper?”
“Yes. That’s the name of this berry.”
Truth be told, this region wasn’t entirely unfamiliar with pepper. It was used as an ingredient in spice blends, or by commoners to mask fishy odors.
Even some nobles and merchants sought it occasionally, but the price wasn’t particularly high.
The reason was simple: with Warp active across the entire territory, obtaining fresh ingredients had been effortless until now.
Spices were seen as obscuring the true flavor of ingredients, so that culinary tradition had never fully developed.
“Hmm.”
The Count of Jonston’s expression grew slightly disappointed.
“These berries are already eaten commonly in our region…… Surely there’s a reason they haven’t been commercialized?”
“Yes. There is.”
I spoke with confidence.
“They need to be dried, ground into powder, and consumed that way.”
And I instructed the Head Chef:
“Have all the green berries at this stage gathered. Then spread them thinly in a place with good sunlight. Don’t dry them too long—we’ll dry them for exactly three days.”
Everyone’s faces showed confusion.
“If they’re dried improperly, mold can develop. I’ll check on them regularly.”
But given the reputation I’d built up until now, I could see undisguised hope flickering across everyone’s faces.
Rhea was among them.
“My goodness, so you’ll be staying at our mansion for three days?”
She laughed and spoke.
“Then we can chat to our hearts’ content!”
I recalled her ‘favorite topic’ and felt a jolt of discomfort.
Who would have guessed she’d want to discuss that…
Rhea really knew nothing about me. Well, that was natural—we hadn’t spent our lives close to each other.
Three days passed that way.
“What?”
I asked her seriously.
“So both Johan and Oliver confessed to Siena? At the same time?”
“That’s what happened. I mean, Siena isn’t exactly pretty, is she? But she laughs well and is kind, so she was the most popular among us. Eventually George was exchanging letters with her too, before Rebecca grabbed him by the hair.”
“Hah.”
I exhaled deeply.
“I wasted my time at the Academy.”
In those two years at that small Academy, the number of romantic entanglements was countless.
Though to be fair, only I was ten years old—the others were between twelve and fourteen, the age when they were beginning to notice the opposite sex.
“Actually, Silvia knows more about this sort of thing, but I can’t reach her. I thought she’d definitely come visit by now.”
A sense of foreboding stirred.
Silvia was Leopold’s cousin…… I wondered if something had happened.
But there was nothing I could do about it. Besides, my birthday was coming up soon. I had to go to the Western Region anyway.
“By the way, Brisa, these are really fascinating.”
Rhea’s eyes brightened as she looked at the perfectly dried pepper berries.
“The aroma is incredibly strong.”
After three days of drying, the green berries had taken on a blackish hue, their surface wrinkled and hardened. They looked like tiny stones.
“Now comes the easy part. The key is grinding them.”
I placed a few peppercorns in a mortar. The instant I ground them lightly, the black shell crumbled and a thin, wispy aroma rose up.
Rhea immediately sneezed.
“W-what is this smell?”
It was pungent, sharp, and unfamiliar.
I answered seriously.
“The smell of money.”
Meat quality had become poor lately. Fresh meat was difficult to obtain.
The overall state of distributed meat had become increasingly poor; prices had risen while sales dropped, yet because Warp was so convenient, the technology for long-term food storage hadn’t developed.
“Are you that concerned about it, Brisa? How much?”
“As much as I’m concerned about tasteless meat.”
I’d been thinking constantly about how to mask the off-flavors of aged meat. Now that problem was solved.
Pepper wasn’t merely a pungent berry. With its woody, earthy notes, it could eliminate the greasiness of fatty foods and mask off-flavors.
“It’s light and doesn’t spoil, making it excellent for distribution and storage.”
I smiled.
“Try sprinkling a little on your cooking. You’ll be able to eat roasted fish now.”
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Pepper doesn’t grow everywhere. It’s extremely particular about climate and environment. So we couldn’t grow it in Sears even if we tried.
On the continent, it was safe to say that it grew almost exclusively in Jonston Territory.
“This is insane…”
Not long after, merchants began streaming to the Jonston Warp one after another.
Rhea shook her head as she watched.
“Have you ever seen anything like this?”
I nodded familiarly.
“When we first started cultivating House Strawberries in Sears.”
The price of pepper was set extraordinarily high.
I quickly filled boxes with whole dried peppercorns and sent them to Sears.
“Tell Langsi to try grilling shrimp skewers with salt and pepper sprinkled together.”
They’d surely be amazed and eat eagerly. Even poor-quality meat would become fully enjoyable.
Thinking of how my Territory Residents’ evening tables would become more abundant filled my heart with warmth.
“So, you’re leaving soon?”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
Actually, tomorrow was my birthday. I planned to go to Sears today, spend the night, and then head to the Western Region in the morning.
Though they’d all already figured it out, I’d decided to keep it secret for the mental health and happiness of the people in the Western Region.
But there was a downside to that—I couldn’t invite Rhea to the birthday party. I was supposed to know nothing about it.
“Has Leopold still not sent a reply?”
When I asked casually, Rhea nodded.
“No. No reply at all. I don’t even know if he’s read it. Oh, and……”
She pulled my hand.
“I got Father’s permission. I can’t go to your birthday party, but I want to give you your present early.”
“A present?”
“Yes.”
She led me familiarly deep into the corridors of the Count’s Residence.
“Seeing the merchants line up like that, Father seems to have developed some shame. He said since it’s ‘something nobody knows about,’ it’s fine if he shows it to you for a moment.”
I swallowed hard.
‘As I thought.’
I’d actually considered that if pepper’s results were impressive enough, the Count of Jonston, who dislikes owing debts, might make such an offer.
Especially if it was a book written in a language no one could recognize even if they saw it.
“Our family’s secret is something you discovered, not something we gave you…… And Father says that with you, we might finally find someone who truly understands the value of what we’ve been protecting.”
We passed through several secret doors I couldn’t quite remember. Then came a small room leading underground.
“This is where Jonston’s ancestors gathered their treasures.”
Rhea familiarly picked up a lamp and descended the stairs. And before the massive corridor that lay beneath, I stopped dead in my tracks.
“See? You recognize it immediately.”
Rhea smiled sweetly and pointed to a small pink book.
“This one.”
I pressed my skirt hem tightly to hide my trembling hands. The text written on that book’s cover was none other than Hangul.
<Sin Isoo’s Diary>
Sin Isoo?
I swallowed hard.
Eight hundred years ago, the Queen of Riente who came here was named Sinis.

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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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