“Oh? Yours has an emerald hue, Lady Francette.”
“Mine is enchanted so that Gabriel will know my current location.” I explained that I had been kidnapped by his great-uncle before and that Gabriel had been so worried afterwards that he had specially made this bracelet for me. He’d given it to me for my birthday, and it was a beloved treasure of mine.
Emilie gave a faint smile and said something I never would’ve expected: “The slime duke must love you very much, Lady Francette.”
Gabriel’s and my eyes instantly met, and we blushed. As I stood there, red as a tomato, Emilie turned to my mother-in-law and curtsied.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, madam. I am the ogre duke, Emilie.”
“The pleasure is mine. I’m Gabriel’s mother, Maria de Slime.”
Emilie explained that she had come here via a connecting wyvern flight. “I was so surprised. Triste used to be a multiday journey from the capital, but by wyvern, you can get here in a few hours.”
“Yes, isn’t it wonderful?” my mother-in-law replied. “It’s all thanks to our dear Miss Francette’s negotiations with Prince Axel.”
“You’re amazing, Lady Francette!” Emilie gazed at me with clear, sparkling eyes. I couldn’t help but gasp at her radiance.
My mother-in-law spoke as if I had done all of the work, but it had actually been Gabriel’s idea, and he had been the one to arrange the meeting with Prince Axel. All I had done was discuss it with the prince. I didn’t want to take full credit.
“Not only do you run the Lakeside Duck Bakery well, you even have negotiation skills!” Emilie exclaimed. “You really are incredible!”
“Yes, Miss Francette is the slime duke family’s pride and joy,” my mother-in-law added.
I cleared my throat and tried to steer the conversation in a different direction, but every topic resulted in my mother-in-law bragging about me. Unable to bear the embarrassment, I ended up hiding my face behind my hands.
“Please relax and enjoy your stay,” my mother-in-law said to Emilie before leaving.
Gabriel and I showed Emilie to the guest room, where we had Triste’s specialty tea served with a seasonal lingonberry tart. Emilie praised them both.
After she was settled in, Gabriel asked, “So, what brings you here, Your Grace?”
Emilie clapped her hands. “Oh, right! I wanted to apologize again. You were hoping to buy our aurora pearls, but we weren’t able to provide them.”
She explained that she had been rushing around until the very last minute, looking for a way to restore production. She’d hired a magician to investigate, read a large number of ancient tomes, and tried everything she could think of, only to conclude that it was hopeless.
“I’m really sorry we can’t provide the pearls for your wedding,” she said. “I’m so ashamed.” She bowed deeply and fell silent.
I decided to ask something that had been on my mind for a long time. “Um, Lady Emilie, why exactly are you no longer able to harvest aurora pearls?”
“That’s...” The girl’s bright disposition instantly clouded over. She lowered her gaze and pursed her lips.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked that.”
“No, it’s fine. It’s a long story, but would you like to hear it?”
I nodded.
“This is the ogre duke family’s secret—it’s never graced an outsider’s ear. The ogre duke’s territory is a remote area deep in the mountains. Because of that, it’s rich in natural resources, and the environment was originally suitable for cultivating aurora pearls. But my uncle became blinded by greed and started a tourism business aimed at the wealthy.”
Apparently magicite was used to cultivate the aurora pearls in a short period of time, and after they were harvested, the oysters were disposed of. During the time it took for new oysters to grow, revenue would fall, so Emilie’s uncle had come up with the idea of inviting tourists to make up for their losses during the offseason.
“He lied to the wealthy and said it was an exclusive special region that even the nobility had no knowledge of,” Emilie explained. “He charged them large sums of money to visit, which in itself wasn’t a bad thing, but the invited guests went on drunken sprees, dumping garbage into the aurora pearl lake, polluting the water, and behaving however they liked. My uncle hid their misdeeds so well that I didn’t notice until it was too late. By the time I realized that something was wrong, the lake was already so dirty that it couldn’t be purified, and the oysters needed for cultivating aurora pearls had all died. None of the attempted solutions worked—the beautiful aurora pearls couldn’t be produced again. I didn’t want to lose them, but there was nothing I could do.”
She bit her lip, frustrated.
“Some of my family members even tried to persuade me to give up. I know it might be selfish of me to insist on recovering the aurora pearls, but...”
I was at a loss for words.
Gabriel broke the silence, seeming to remember something. “Were the pearls you wore to the last party aurora pearls?”
“Yes, they were special aurora pearls that have been handed down in my family for generations.”
“I remember how beautiful they were,” I said.
“Thank you. It makes me happy to hear that.”
During our visit to the capital for the monster duke meeting, I had met Emilie at a soiree held by the king. I could still vividly recall the radiance of the aurora pearls that had adorned her outfit.
“It’s so saddening that the aurora pearls will be lost forever,” I said.
“Thank you for your sympathy, Miss Francette.”
Seeing the girl so glum, I wished I could do something to help. I’m powerless in this situation...but what about Gabriel? I looked to him, and he met my gaze. He nodded as if he understood what I was thinking.
“Um, Gabriel, would you be able to help Lady Emilie?” I asked.
“I won’t know without more information, but I can at least help brainstorm a solution,” he said.
Emilie looked up immediately, her previously downcast eyes now glimmering with hope. “Are you sure about this?!”
“Yes. For now, I’d like to exchange documents and discuss at a later date.”
“Gladly!”
And so, we decided to devise a way to restore the aurora pearls. After Emilie left, I expressed my gratitude to Gabriel.
“Thank you for helping with the aurora pearls.”
“I can only hope that I’ll be able to do anything.”
“You definitely will. Wait, am I putting pressure on you by saying that?”
“No, I’m happy about this outcome. Earlier, I was debating whether to help the ogre duke or not. I didn’t know if it was right to meddle in another territory’s affairs. But since you gave me a gentle nudge, the conversation moved in a positive direction.”
“That’s good, then.” I was relieved to know that I hadn’t forced him to grant my wish.