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"You tiny, evil goblin, how dare you to tell her to close the shop!"
"Ouch."
The impact of being thrown to the ground undid Minos's transformation. He rubbed his knees and stood up again. Blanco had already come back to her original form as well.
She looked quite deadly, but Minos didn't let it overwhelm him and squared his shoulders.
"I've invested in that shop some money."
"You must have smelled gold. You were after my gold, weren't you? You greedy goblin!"
She wasn't completely wrong, but Minos decided to deny it.
"As I said in the shop, it would be far more profitable to open a shop at a harbor than to keep that shop in this small rural town. It was opened here only because I asked for it to Madam Berry for you and your love for pretty dresses."
"Asked? Who do you think you are to ask a favor to someone like Madam Berry? And why on earth would she grant a favor to a goblin like you?"
"Because I'm her friend."
"You're... her friend?"
"Yes."
Sudden silence came. Blanco opened her mouth and then closed it again, completely dumbfounded. The traitor who had sided with Claymore was a friend of Madam Berry, her greatest hero? She didn't know what to think of it.
"But even The Little Bird's News couldn't find out who she really is!"
"But I know who she is."
Blanco's eyes shook and Minos didn't miss it. As a banker, he had made a number of deals, and he was an expert at reading his clients' desires.
"Would you like to meet her?"
"Meet... Madam Berry?"
"Yes, she'll agree to meet you if I ask. She will even recommend dresses that suit you. You must have read about Ms. Grace's change."
Of course, Blanco had read about it. She could recite the entire article now. The dramatic change of a girl who previously couldn't get anyone's attention was more than enough to tempt Blanco.
'She, she can do it for me?'
The dresses she had bought from Presa were very pretty, but to be honest, they really didn't look good on Blanco. They had been made for humans. Of course, they weren't right for a dragon's underling.
"I'm sure she'll instantly make a dress that suits you when she sees you."
"Of course, she will! She has great skills!"
Blanco angrily yelled. Madam Berry had given her a chance to wear dresses, and now she was like a goddess to her and her friends.
'Well, it's really hard to flatter her. '
However, Minos didn't lose his smile and apologized first. Blanco's anger faded only then. She fiddled with her fingers for some time and then asked, "But wouldn't she faint when she sees me? I mean, humans are usually afraid of us."
She had almost made up her mind to meet Madam Berry. Minos was delighted to hear that, but he didn't show it.
"No, she doesn't have any prejudice. She says ugliness is beautiful because it has the potential for beauty."
"Are you saying I am ugly?"
"No, no. Of course not. You are beautiful. And Madam Berry would never miss a chance to witness yet another kind of beauty."
That was the right answer as Blanco blushed with excitement. What kind of dress would Madam Berry make for her?
She couldn't even guess, but she was sure it would be very pretty. Maybe, just maybe, the next edition of The Little Bird's News might have an article about her. Just imagining it made her feel like she was walking on the clouds. She couldn't miss this opportunity.
"Okay, I would like to meet her. What must I do?"
There aren't many creatures that can win their nature. Blanco simply decided to forget she had just been regarding Minos as her mortal enemy. It didn't matter anymore. He was going to let her meet her goddess.
***
Rubica was summoned by the queen again. As always, she offered her tea and complimented Claymore's accomplishments.
"It was indeed a great idea to sell bulks of ready-made clothes. I heard the business is now even more profitable than your roses."
"Yes, but the price of fabric has gone up too high."
"The Kingdom of Sharman, they are eager to gain in this opportunity, " the queen bitterly replied. Seritos had been caring solely about its weapons industry for too long and had neglected all the other industries.
Now it had the ability to make and sell clothes of surprisingly huge amounts, but it lacked materials. In addition to that, Sharman, the kingdom that was famous for its high-quality fabrics and luxurious goods, was putting up a fight against Seritos, so now Seritos was struggling to fight an economic war they were not familiar with.
"Really, nothing is easy. It will take us a long time to train more weavers, what should we do?"
"Maybe... we won't need to have more weavers."
"Then..."
"Edgar is looking for a way."
"He must be thinking of making a machine for it. Good, good. I was thinking it would be a better solution. Of course, Edgar would be able to do it."
The queen smiled with satisfaction. Rubica realized the queen would have suggested it if she hadn't spoken of it first.
'Oh, but Edgar isn't your personal inventor. '
She had asked him to make this and that herself, but she didn't like it when someone else did it.
Edgar had been very stressed recently. It was partly because of Ios who came to visit every day and disturbed the couple's time together, but it was also because of his busy schedule. Why was he always so busy?
"But we must have more weavers as well. Machines will never be able to perfectly imitate the human hands' delicate work. We must do more research about the materials to make fabric."
"Of course, don't worry about it."
The queen frowned just slightly. It was easy to have others do something, but to do the work herself was quite bothering.
Rubica knew it wouldn't be good to linger behind, so she put down her teacup. She tried to make a good excuse and leave, but the queen wasn't ready to let her go.
"I'd like to meet Madam Berry, would you bring her here?"
"I... beg your pardon?"
"Our recent successes wouldn't have been made possible without her. I'd like to meet her and thank her for her hard work."
The queen said it matter-of-factly, but it almost made Rubica faint. The queen still didn't know who Madam Berry really was.
Edgar had told her the king and the queen were good rulers, but it was all the more reason for them to be careful. Letting the queen find out Rubica had a side occupation that didn't fit her status as the duchess wasn't going to do them any good.
"But Your Majesty, even I don't know who Madam Berry exactly is. I can't have her come here."
This time, the queen frowned much harder.
"She is quite arrogant, for a designer."
Rubica really wanted to say that designer was now gaining more than one-third of the kingdom's earnings. Instead, she tried for a light smile and agreed.
"But most designers are at least a bit arrogant."
"Yes, you're right."
The queen sighed to think of the group of people her daughter was always with. Christopher had been crossing the line more than once recently, and it was giving her a headache.
Madam Berry was gaining the kingdom huge fortune, but he kept criticizing her as a lowly designer who sold clothes to commoners who didn't even know how to appreciate fashion. He said she was inviting girls in secret and transforming them just to sell more of her clothes.
She wished she could summon him and put a stop to it, but he had too many fans. Marchioness Leofold, who was against the expansion of the king's authority, was going to tell everyone the queen was interfering with the matters of a mere designer.
"If you can't bring Madam Berry, bring your maid instead."
"My... maid, Your Majesty?"
"The one who did Grace's makeup. What was her name... Jennie?'
Rubica held her breath for a moment.
'She invited Grace yesterday and had a long talk with her, she must have asked about Madam Berry. '
It must have been easy for her to make a young girl who had just been introduced to society tell her everything she knew. Maybe she had threatened her about her father's business or his domain.
Rubica thought it had been right to follow Gabriel's advice and hide her true identity from Grace.
| ← Ch. 230 | Ch. 232 → |