The Isolated Marchioness Just Wants to Make a Living - Chapter 240

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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 45
Lost in thought, Lea asked me casually.
“So what’s it actually about?”
The Johnston family seemed to believe with absolute certainty that this diary belonged to the Imperial Family.
“Why does it mention Riente, and how can you—a member of the Riente Royal Family—read it?”
“Overall, it’s about a love affair.”
I answered vaguely.
“I think it’s better if the world never finds out.”
“Ah…….”
Lea nodded with trembling eyes.
“A vegetable garden, family troubles, unable to meet mother…… So His Majesty the Emperor back then had an affair and fathered an illegitimate child from Riente in the garden, then took them away!”
“Don’t insult the vegetable garden.”
“Oh, that was quite shocking to our girl, wasn’t it? Sorry. Then maybe this is a record written by that illegitimate child, wondering about their mother. That would explain why there was a rabbit drawn in it.”
The story had been refashioned to Lea’s taste.
“Your prejudices are showing again, Lea. And you’re the one who said even adults enjoy rabbits.”
After bickering back and forth, we climbed back to the Reception Room of the Johnston residence, where Alpheus was waiting.
“Brisa! I’ve been looking for you—were you playing with your friend?”
Lea’s face lit up with genuine delight.
“My goodness, Marquis! Are you acknowledging me as Brisa’s friend?”
She squeezed my arm tightly in celebration.
“The legal consultation fees are locked in!”
I responded calmly.
“Regarding any unilateral statements made by representatives before internal deliberations are complete, I will send a corrective notice at a later date.”
In the meantime, Alpheus spoke up briskly.
“Let’s go now, Brisa.”
Since today was the day before my birthday, we were committed to returning to Sears no matter what.
“Did you pack the pepper?”
I asked urgently.
“Our share of the pepper.”
I was already thrilled at the thought of distributing pepper to the territory residents and telling them to use it when grilling meat. The grilled shrimp would taste so much better too.
“Of course!”
Alpheus said proudly.
“So let’s go home today and get to bed early.”
His face, free of any worry, was swollen with anticipation.
“After all, tomorrow I need to become the happiest adult in the world!”
I sighed toward him and whispered.
“Keep it secret that I noticed the party in the Western Region.”
Alpheus’s eyes went wide.
“Are you worried everyone will blame me?”
He shook his head and spoke solemnly.
“Brisa, there’s no need for you to show me that kind of sympathy! I deserve the blame! I’ve ruined everyone’s joy—I have no excuse for being pointed at. If I keep this secret just because I don’t want to be scolded, my conscience will be burned to ash!”
“What? There was such an added benefit?”
I perked up.
“I wasn’t expecting that far!”
After that, I explained while earnestly hoping that this opportunity would deal a mortal blow to Alpheus’s conscience.
“Strictly speaking, you haven’t actually ‘ruined everyone’s joy’ yet, have you? Since no one knows. Would you rather suffer alone, or would you rather see everyone deflated and gloomy?”
Alpheus’s good heart wavered, unable to find solid ground. He disliked lying, but he also hated making everyone unhappy.
I concluded firmly.
“This day comes only once in a lifetime. I don’t want to start it by making everyone depressed. If I spend the whole day watching disappointed people, how much resentment would I feel toward my own perceptive self?”
“That won’t do! Absolutely not! Our Brisa mustn’t suffer emotionally on that day.”
Alpheus hurriedly agreed.
“I won’t tell anyone. Really, not a soul.”
Even so, he pointed out a sharp loophole.
“But Brisa, can you act well? I mean, acting surprised and deeply moved.”
To be honest, even without acting, expressing surprise or joy came very hard to me.
“No one will expect that kind of reaction from me anyway.”
I answered halfheartedly.
“I’ll just open my eyes wide a bit. You handle the theatrics.”
Alpheus let out a heavy sigh. Then he muttered weakly.
“How am I supposed to face the Wolf-dog now? He’s been preparing so hard…….”
I almost scoffed and said ‘as if’, but stopped myself.
If I had met someone I liked after a long time, I probably would have stayed closer to them during the balloon or fire time.
So I believed without doubt that Leopold would be that kind of person too.
But the moment I thought such things, I felt like real anxiety would consume me, so I just nodded.
* * *
The moment we arrived at the Sears Marquis Territory Warp, all the waiting servants came rushing toward us.
“Young Lady!”
Masa cried out with a face that looked ready to weep.
“W-w-we thought perhaps the Young Lady would arrive late! We feared something had happened!”
I sighed once and spoke.
“I already sent word that I’d arrive today.”
“But if you were to be even a day or two late, that would be a disaster! Tomorrow is the day the Young Lady comes of age—a day that comes only once in a lifetime!”
“Every day comes only once in a lifetime.”
To be honest, I didn’t attach great significance to my coming of age ceremony.
The event itself—having everyone gather to celebrate something—didn’t particularly appeal to me.
I’d felt the same way about past birthdays too, so I’d only accepted personal visits. And while there were occasions when visit times overlapped and we all ended up dining together, that was the extent of it.
“Anyway, did you prepare what I asked you to make?”
As I calmly changed the subject, Masa nodded.
“Yes! I placed it in the stone warehouse exactly as you instructed!”
Sure enough, when we went to the mansion’s warehouse, a large jar came into view.
“A glazed clay jar, made specifically according to your instructions.”
I gazed at the jar with satisfaction.
Inside the jar, a linen cloth was prepared to provide an extra seal over the opening, and beeswax could be applied to the rim of the lid for a complete seal.
“The beeswax is from Sears,” Masa said proudly. The honeybees brought from the Eastern Region certainly had done good work.
Indeed, the bees from the east had done their work well.
“Good. Let’s put the pepper in here.”
Pepper had to be stored in a sealed, dry place.
Wendy carefully poured whole peppercorns into the jar.
“Hmm?”
“Uh…….”
Disappointment flickered across the faces of the servants and knights who had crowded around.
To be fair, the small black peppercorns looked exactly like gravel and didn’t look appetizing at all.
“Is this…… that pepper that caused such a stir in the noble houses?”
“That’s the one. I already sent a box ahead. I told you to sprinkle it on your food.”
“Well, the appearance is rather…… plain, so we thought perhaps something had gone wrong in the shipment. But I suppose it’s supposed to look like this.”
“So you haven’t tasted pepper yet?”
I crossed my arms and spoke.
“For reference, this single jar is worth as much as all of Sears’ farming land combined.”
Since meat was already expensive in these times, everyone’s mouths fell open.
But spices were naturally costly.
Pepper didn’t grow just anywhere, so supply was essentially controlled naturally, and now that we’d begun distribution with only wild harvests and no full-scale cultivation, the price had skyrocketed.
And the extreme rarity itself raised pepper’s price even further. It was the perfect luxury good for nobles to display their wealth, spreading it generously over their dishes.
So even if the Johnston Territory sold pepper, the price was so exorbitant that commoners never got to taste it.
“That’s why we’re storing it here in the mansion.”
I instructed them to take a few peppercorns and grind them to sprinkle over grilled meat and shrimp.
“Tomorrow is my birthday. As a way to celebrate, distribute it to all the territory residents.”
Pepper would remain extremely expensive in the future, but I’d brought a significant quantity at cost.
So at least in our territory, everyone could taste what pepper was like.
“Oh? Yes…….”
Everyone filed out of the warehouse, shaking their heads at the unremarkable appearance of the dried peppercorns.
But that evening.
Every soul in the territory shared a dinner of wonder and delight.

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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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