There was one thing I had yet to ask about.
I was having dinner with Nadir when I broached the topic. “Am I allowed to carry on with my business?”
Nadir blinked. “You’re no longer in debt.”
“Oh, not because of that,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s more like a hobby now.” Yes, originally I’d started the business to repay what my family owed, but I’d wound up genuinely enjoying it. The earnings never had amounted to more than covering interest payments, but still. “I’d like to continue doing it, but I am your fiancée right now. If it poses a problem for you, I’ll stop.”
I didn’t want to, not really, but I didn’t have a choice either. Upper-ranked noblewomen running businesses was unheard of. I wasn’t sure why—perhaps it was frowned upon by their noble husbands.
“I don’t see the issue,” Nadir said readily, despite my reservations. “Do as you please.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Yes. Do what you want.”
“But I’ve never heard of the wife of a high-ranking noble having a job.”
Nadir put down his fork. “That’s because they can afford not to work, not because there’s a rule preventing them from doing so.”
“Would people not gossip about it?”
“That’s where Leticia comes in handy, no?”
Leticia? Really?
Seeing me tilt my head in confusion, Nadir explained, “You’ve been doing business without choosing your clientele so far, but you may want to set that aside for the moment and focus on Leticia and other nobles. And start with making Leticia your priority.”
“Why?”
Nadir signaled for Ben to bring him a drink before replying, “Despite her personality, Leticia is the crown princess. She’s popular. If she’s fond of one particular business, people will naturally be drawn to it and place their trust in it.”
“You have a point...”
“Not only that, few would dare criticize a woman so favored by the crown princess. So you’d be able to keep running your business without worry.”
“Right...” In other words, doing business primarily with the crown princess would ensure smooth sailing for me. “You’re right. Now that I think about it, Leticia is tremendously influential.”
“Exactly. Despite everything, she’s the future queen.”
“Right, she is the crown princess despite everything.”
Things like her tendency to run away and how weirdly quick on her feet she was were irrelevant. She was the future queen and able to act the part perfectly in public. Honestly, it gave me whiplash. One moment she’d be scampering around, and the next she’d be walking gracefully and waving to everyone at some formal event or another. How could anyone switch so quickly?
“So don’t worry about what others might say,” Nadir said. “Do as you please. I don’t make it a habit to chain women down.”
“Nadir...” Oh, that almost brought a tear to my eye! I was so moved I was willing to ignore his blatant omission of the fact that he had chained me down with debt repayment.
To be fair, he’d helped me in so many ways. Truly, the man was my savior. I had a place to sleep and high-quality food to eat, and while I certainly had a number of duties as a maid, the work wasn’t taxing. Going on dates with him was fun too.
Why, there were no downsides!
“Nadir, is there nothing you want me to do for you?” I asked hesitantly.
“Why the sudden question?” he asked in turn, eyeing me curiously.
“I mean, objectively speaking, I think you’re getting the short end of the stick here.”
“Oh, that? Don’t worry about it. It’s thanks to you that I don’t have to deal with others playing Cupid.”
“But I still want to thank you somehow,” I protested. “Name something! Anything.”
Nadir paused at my words before breathing a deep sigh. “I have something important to tell you.”
“Yes?”
“Never give a man carte blanche to ask anything he wants of you,” he warned. “You might not like the results.”
“Huh?” I looked at him, confused as to what he meant.
“There are many in this world who would take that very literally.”
“Oh?”
“So it’s best not to say something like that so flippantly if you want to stay out of trouble.”
Um. What? I wasn’t trying to be flippant! I was only trying to show gratitude.
Nadir noticed my flustered expression and gasped, eyeing me intensely. “Wait. You haven’t made that offer to anyone before, have you?!”
“I-I have not!” I replied quickly. Scary.
“Really?! You haven’t said that to Ben, right?!”
“Why Ben specifically?!”
“Well, he is dense and might not understand the implications,” Nadir mused. “Still, I would be pretty annoyed if he got to hear that before I did.”
“He didn’t! I’ve only ever made the offer to you!”
Nadir brought a hand to his mouth.
“What?” I asked.
“Oh, nothing,” he replied. “I’m just a bit...overcome.”
“Overcome with what?” I asked, confused. “Nausea?”
Nadir pressed a palm to his chest and sighed.
“Um, you’re not feeling sick or anything, right?” I said.
“No, I’m fine,” he assured me. “I just need a moment.”
“Oh?”
What kind of symptom was that? Had he had too much to eat?
“Listen,” he said sternly. “This is important, so I need you to promise me.”
“Promise what?”
“That you’ll never make that offer to another man,” he insisted vehemently. “Never!”
“Fine! Gosh!”
The matter of my gratitude was pushed aside. I wasn’t sure what any of that meant, so I tried asking Ben the next day.
“And you think I’d know that?” was his response. I gave up.
Men.