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ABOUT ten days had passed since Riddhe left for Erdal. Preparations for the Star Festival had begun in earnest at Egdiel Castle.
The main man in charge was the king’s right-hand man, Chief Adviser Nigel. Under his command, the advisers were busy organizing the schedule of the festivities and keeping each ministry up to date. Princess Adviser Clovis was especially busy, and Alicia couldn’t find the time to speak to him about Erdal or their previous lives.
Not that Alicia was idling her time away. In addition to seeing to the usual political affairs entrusted to her by the king, she had to attend extra etiquette and dance lessons taught by the enthusiastic chief lady-in-waiting.
It was one of those hectic days when he made a sudden appearance.
“Long time no see, Princess Alicia. And Clo, you look great!”
“Jude!! You really made it!” Alicia cheered as she put down her pen and stood from the desk, dashing towards the Marquis of Rozen as he appeared at her door with a dimpled smile and outstretched arms.
Jude Nicol was one of the better-known marquises of Heilland and the head of the Mercurius Company. Despite being one of Alicia’s allies, he hated socializing with his fellow nobles, so it was rare to see him at the royal castle.
Alicia, who sent him an invitation to attend the festivities celebrating their kingdom’s founding every year, was pleasantly surprised to see that he’d actually come this time.
“I thought you’d come up with some excuse and refuse to come again,” she laughed.
“That’s mean. Does Your Highness really think I’m that rude?”
“But you’re the one who skips the festivities every year,” Clovis muttered.
“Hahaha! Clo always speaks the harsh truth. But I have my reasons and my moods,” Jude answered with a smile and a nonchalant shrug, his tone devoid of sarcasm. Alicia gave a wry smile as he crossed his arms, his gaze switching to that of a shrewd merchant’s. “Besides, I’m here in Egdiel not as the Marquis of Rozen but as the head of Mercurius. Your Highness met with the head of Ist during your visit to Erdal, and I’d like to hear more.”
Alicia thought of Dudley Hopkins and Barnabas McGregor, the two leaders of Ist whom she’d met during her visit to Erdal. Since then, she’d been thinking about how to progress with concrete talks about a partnership between the two companies.
Jude must have been motivated to visit Egdiel because he’d sensed her intentions. Alicia had also seized upon that and invited several other well-known merchants who held important positions in Mercurius to Egdiel, too, hoping it would spur Jude to join them. It seemed to have worked.
They all sat around a table filled with tea and sweets prepared by Annie and Martha. Jude was the first to dig in, taking a sip of tea and smiling in satisfaction. Then his look turned mischievous as he faced Alicia.
“How did Your Highness find the two leaders of Ist? They’re quite astute, aren’t they?”
“They are,” Alicia agreed. “Honestly, I’m so glad I’m not the one who has to negotiate with them. But now, we’re one step closer to forming a true partnership. I’ll leave it to you to work on that, Jude.”
“Please count on me. I’d much rather work on this than attend some ball. Bargaining with Dudley is always exciting, and I imagine the profits for Mercurius will be enormous. Just thinking about it makes my heart race!”
Jude was right. As evidenced by the huge ships in Sampston’s harbor, Erdal was an expert on trading by sea. Ist was known to sail extensively to trade with faraway lands, purchasing rare items from foreign places and amassing great wealth.
By solidifying the partnership with Ist, Heilland’s goods could be sold in those faraway lands, and they could also purchase unique goods and sell them to collectors and nobles back home.
“But we have to be careful,” Clovis warned. “As we’ve discussed, a partnership like that will only benefit Heilland. Although Ist has the hidden motive of staying in Empress Elizabeth’s favor, their accepting such an unfair partnership may be a sign that we’re being taken advantage of without our knowledge.”
“I’m glad you remember my words, Clo,” Jude said. “Your worries are justified, but I’ve told you I have a plan. That’s why I’m here—to show it to you.”
With that, the young lord opened the wooden box beside him and took out a bundle wrapped in velvet. Carefully opening the cloth revealed a smooth, lustrous white to everyone present.
“Can it really be…?” Alicia said in awe.
“It is. Here, real porcelain produced in Heilland, the long-held dream of House Nicol!”
Jude cheerfully handed the item to Alicia, who took it with timid hands. The rim was delicately painted blue, and when she turned it over, the crest of House Nicol was stamped on its bottom. It looked and felt identical to real porcelain.
“Wow… It’s so beautiful,” she breathed.
“Thank you. I’m glad to hear that Your Highness thinks so.” Jude leaned forward with a proud smile.
The beautiful white color and glass-like hardness of porcelain had long fascinated those who’d had the chance to own a piece. However, the technique to make it had been shrouded in mystery, privy only to artisans from somewhere over the distant sea. Thus, some collectors and nobles had been conducting research into recreating porcelain in their own countries.
House Nicol was one of those fascinated by porcelain, so much so that they had an entire room in their estate dedicated to the pieces, as well as a research facility in Rozen. Jude had shared that his family had been researching the technique to make porcelain for generations but didn’t hold out hope that they would succeed.
“It is an unexpected byproduct of Mercurius’s establishment.”
Jude happily explained that their porcelain research had been close to completion when Alicia visited the Marquisate of Rozen for the first time. However, a huge issue had ground their research to a halt.
But with his new position as head of Mercurius, Jude got the chance to meet with many merchants from the East and eventually gained knowledge, which led to a breakthrough in their research.
“Of course, we still have to develop painting techniques, but we’ve got a foot in the door now,” he said. “I expect not only nobles but also royalty from neighboring countries to start placing orders for these. And Mercurius will be the main distributor, no doubt.”
“I see. Is that where our partnership with Ist comes into play?” Alicia asked.
“Yes, Your Highness is quick to figure things out. Our porcelain will only be available through Mercurius and our partner, Ist. When I hinted at this to Dudley, his eyes sparkled in a rare manner. That man definitely knows the value of porcelain.”
With a finger, Jude lightly traced the white porcelain plate Alicia had placed back on the desk. Its smooth white surface glimmered in the sunlight streaming through the window.
“When will we show the finished product to Ist?” she asked.
“I’m planning to fire some pieces in a new kiln soon, so I’ll show those when they’re done. Besides, things will be easier once Heilland’s founding day festivities are over. I don’t want to risk being robbed, so we’ll sail from Held straight to Sampston.”
“Please send word when the pieces are ready,” Clovis replied. “This will be an important asset in our negotiations with Ist, so the advisory office would like to check over them before they leave the kingdom.”
“Of course. That’s what I was planning to do,” Jude said. “Will my Clo make a trip down to Rozen too?”
“I can make arrangements,” Clovis said.
Jude nodded cheerfully, then blinked. “By the way, I heard a member of House Sutherland was sent to Erdal. Was it Master Riddhe? Didn’t he mention that he hoped to start a business or something?”
Alicia and Clovis looked at each other before she replied.
“We did send Riddhe to Erdal, but we’ve not heard anything about a business.”
“Oh, he spoke to me about it when Your Highness was still in Erdal.”
According to Jude, Riddhe had visited the Nicol mansion in Rozen and asked the marquis if he had any connections with various Erdalian companies and to recommend some trustworthy merchants.
“Viola is within Sheraford, isn’t it? Back then, I thought he was asking for information so he could set up a new business in Viola, but then he suddenly left for Erdal. So I was wondering what that was all about.”
Jude looked at Alicia and Clovis quizzically, but neither had an answer for him.
It was highly likely that Riddhe already had plans to move to Erdal when Alicia was away on her trip. In that case, his questions about merchants were probably his way of looking for clues that could lead him to Loid’s killer.
“Well, no matter his goal, I gave him names of trustworthy merchants. I doubt Master Riddhe will ever get into serious trouble, but if he does…” Jude’s voice trailed off into uncomfortable silence as he gazed out the window. The blue sky had clouded over, and the air was heavy with a mist of rain.
Three days later, on the day before Heilland’s founding day, a letter from Riddhe arrived for the anxious trio.