Late in the summer, Liam, Bal, Lord Reineke, and I went into the forest next to Lord Reineke’s temple. Some of the shrubs and vegetation were already beginning to show signs of the upcoming fall.
We were headed toward the forbidden zone within the forest—a special place that only those with Lord Reineke’s permission could enter. I’d heard that ancient plants and creatures long thought to be extinct still survived in this land.
Before entering, we stopped by the river with the hot spring to prepare curry soup for our return this afternoon. Lord Reineke then led the way in his usual, smaller fox form, with me right behind.
The only human to have ever entered the forbidden land was House Renard’s founder. Excitement bubbled within me at the thought of soon stepping foot in such a place myself.
The reason for our trip had all started with the appearance of a certain merchant. After hearing of our pseudo magical ore, he traveled to our domain from the capital and presented House Renard with a bright green fabric. In the Garland Kingdom, green cloth was extremely rare. It had supposedly existed in the ancient past, but the knowledge of how to make it had stopped being passed down for some unknown reason. The material itself became the stuff of legend, even being dubbed “the cloth of the gods.”
The merchant’s fabric was the most vivid of greens. My mother instantly fell in love and wanted a dress made from it. But the merchant ridiculed her, claiming right in front of Lord Reineke that a backwater domain like ours wouldn’t be able to produce anything like it. The infuriated spirit asserted that the Renard domain could produce an even better cloth, and immediately took us to the woods to show us the necessary materials.
“The dye that man was using is bad for your health anyway,” Lord Reineke huffed.
“Really?” I looked at him with surprise, but he only shot me a glance.
The bright green pigment, called Paris green, had been all the rage in my past life. It was developed by House Cordier—the marquisate where the queen had been born. This was also one of the three families who held the title of chancellor in our kingdom. As the maternal relatives of the crown prince, they had strong influence over the royal court.
The queen adored Paris green and showed it off in a public event, asserting it as the revival of the cloth of the gods as a demonstration of the royal family’s power. This made the popularity of green pigments soar among the royal court, and House Cordier turned a huge profit.
In the present, Paris green was still rare and only occasionally distributed among high-ranked aristocracy. However, a decade from now, it would become mass-produced.
“I don’t know why, but that pigment instantly kills insects. Humans don’t perish quite so quickly, but it cannot be good for their bodies,” Lord Reineke said nonchalantly.
“What?! But in my past life, Her Majesty even used it in her wallpaper,” I whispered into his ear.
Since my past-life memories were a secret, the spirit responded telepathically.
“That’s why she was so sick in her late years. At the time, they thought it was some mysterious illness, but Paris green was the cause.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Indeed, the queen had been sick in my previous life, and the same illness spread throughout the capital. In fact, the disease turned into an epidemic right around the time I became crown princess, and people directed their resentment at me for it.
They also spread rumors that the illness was a punishment for breaking the promise between the royal family and House Renard. In response, the queen claimed that the Renard vixen—that is, me—cursed everyone.
The queen wasn’t exactly a fan of mine and practically harassed me. She blamed me for every misfortune, including her illness. His Highness Hodr never stood up for me. Instead of denying or protesting against his mother’s accusations, he just told me to ignore them. But everyone else kept slandering me and telling me to disappear, to the point that I began believing I truly was at fault.
Of course, I hadn’t cursed anyone, but I had broken the promise between the royal family and House Renard. It made sense to me that there would be some punishment, and my heart had ached at the thought that I might be the cause of the disease after all.
But it all happened because Her Majesty loved Paris green so much.
Enamored with the newly developed color, the woman had dyed not only her attire, but also her curtains and tableware. Even public decorations and donated items had to be green.
I thought I was the reason behind that strange sickness, but that’s not true.
I breathed a sigh of relief as some of my guilt dissipated.
“But if that’s the case, we can’t let mother have a Paris green dress!” I exclaimed, huffing.
“Right. We can’t have it used widely in the kingdom either,” said Liam.
I gasped. Liam doesn’t know what happened in my past life, but he’s already thinking so far ahead! I thought, gazing at him with admiration.
“I’ll write a letter to Dr. Guillotin and see if he can find the cause. I doubt anyone will believe Paris green is toxic if we don’t know how it works,” Liam explained.
“You’re so cool, dear brother! I was only thinking of our mother, but here you are, taking the whole kingdom into consideration!” I said. My tail was wagging.
Liam smiled, his cheeks slightly red.
“It’s no big deal.”
Classic Liam!
I was proud to have such an intelligent yet humble brother.
“But if we have to wait, won’t the toxic cloth continue to be sold? Can’t we ban it or something?” Bal asked.
Liam furrowed his brows. “We can put up a notice asking people within our own domain not to deal with the fabric, but as just a marquisate, we don’t have the power to ban it throughout the country.”
“Are you sure? I mean, House Renard’s important. I was taught that it’s one of the oldest, most venerable families involved with creating the kingdom.”
Liam shrugged, smiling wryly. “Nominally, perhaps. But in reality, we have little influence over the royal court. We protect the frontier, so our power within the capital is limited.”
Bal looked dejected. He had a strong sense of justice, so it’d be difficult for him to look the other way while harm was being done.
I understand how he feels... Is there really no other option?
I pondered for a while. Suddenly, realization dawned on me and I stopped in my tracks.
“I know! How about we popularize cloth made in our domain before that other fabric can spread? Even if we can’t replace it completely, we’d still reduce some of its sales. Isn’t that better than nothing?”
Bal brightened at my idea, rushing over and grabbing my hand.
“Yes! Awesome! That’s a great idea!!!”
“It is indeed.”
I grinned when Lord Reineke praised me as well.
Bal and I held hands, humming and skipping together as we continued to make our way toward the forbidden zone. After a while, Lord Reineke stopped.
“Here it is.”
There was a massive boulder in front of us, split in two. But no matter how much I strained my eyes, the area around it seemed distorted, as if it were a mirage. This boulder had to be the entrance to the forbidden zone.
The shape of a grapevine was engraved on the stone—the same as the one on Lord Reineke’s forehead. Wild grapes grew around the crack in the boulder, bridging the gap between the two halves. The dense vegetation seemed to act as a blockade, preventing people from venturing in.
“Whoa, this is crazy! Can we get in?” Bal asked, dumbfounded.
“Only with my permission,” Lord Reineke responded arrogantly, swishing his tail.
A golden light surrounded the three of us. With a loud sound, the wild grapes snapped apart, opening up a path inside the boulder.
“Wooow!” I cried.
“Cool!” Bal cheered.
Liam’s eyes were wide with surprise.