Chapter 19

Chapter 19

That’s it.

With a triumphant smile, I gave the fabric a big, deliberate wave.

“Wow! It’s so pretty! I wa—Ack!”

I used the fabric as a distraction on my father and grandfather and “accidentally” knocked over Father’s cup with my cloth-waving hand. The tea quickly spread across the desk, causing my grandfather and father to leap out of their seats.

Seizing the moment, I dropped the coroy-flannel fabric onto the puddle of water.

“Oh no...!”

Father seemed startled. He picked me up to set me down at a distance.

“Tia, are you alright? Did the hot water get on you?”

Father was too busy worrying about whether I had been burned to notice anything, but I noticed. Grandfather’s expression began to change as he watched how quickly the fabric absorbed the tea.

“I’m sorry, Daddy. It was a mistake.”

“Whew... As long as you’re not hurt.”

“Gallahan,” the patriarch called while Father was busy brushing off the few drops of tea that had splashed onto my clothes.

Following Grandfather’s gaze, my father’s eyes also widened as he realized how useful the coroy-flannel fabric could be.

“Oh, it has amazing absorbency.”

Father lifted a corner of the fabric. Though there was still some moisture left underneath, the majority had been absorbed by the fabric.

“If used well, this could have many applications. We should include a brief explanatory note when supplying it to the clothing shops.”

That was certainly a good idea, but it was also lacking. We needed something that could be executed immediately.

I stepped in front of my father and touched the now-heavy fabric.

“Wow, Daddy, this is so interesting! Surely people will buy a lot of it! What if they fight over it because it’s so popular?” I asked as if it were an actual worry.

Father gave a wry smile and said, “Haha, well, the response hasn’t been great so far, but I hope it ends up just as you described, Tia.”

“The response isn’t good? Why not?”

“Well, that’s because... people don’t know much about the fabric yet.”

Exactly, right! That’s the point!

I nodded sadly at my father’s words and said, “Uh-huh... If only they could try using it ahead of time.”

“What did you say, Tia?”

“Well, you said that people don’t know much about the fabric yet. So...”

“Well, of course... Why didn’t I think about that in the first place?”

I watched as my father finally took the hint and had a moment of realization.

As Father and Grandfather had discussed, there was already enough fabric to start sales. If the weavers kept on producing, the fabric would just become excess inventory. Rather than waste money on storage, it would be better to use the fabric in promotional efforts.

“The quality of the fabric is excellent, so if people could just experience it firsthand...”

“That is a great idea. Why don’t we give free samples to the nobles, who will be our target market?”

Of course Grandfather would think of it.

In the Lehmbruck Empire, nobles often visited tailors to select the materials and design for their custom clothing. This applied not only to clothing, but also to bedding and curtains.

Instead of simply showing the fabric to customers, presenting items made from the fabric could stimulate a desire to purchase even more.

“But there isn’t much time before we begin selling. To meet the deadline, it would have to be a simple product...”

It was my time to shine.

I picked up a dry piece of the fabric and handed it to my father.

“Please make me a handkerchief!” I said.

“A handkerchief?”

“It’s so soft and nice! If you cut it into small pieces and add a flower here in this corner, it’ll be so pretty! I can show it off to Giliou and Mayron!”

“Father...!”

My father’s eyes grew wide and he stared straight at Grandfather.

Grandfather, who was busy stroking his beard, nodded.

“A handkerchief. It would be a great product.”

“Why didn’t I think of this to begin with! I have even witnessed the Dyurak guildmaster cutting off a piece of the fabric to wipe his sweat. He’s been carrying it around to this day because it worked well!”

Father laughed dryly and said, “No special processing is even needed. It just needs to be cut properly and ironed. A simple decoration would be good!”

There was nothing more for me to do. The floodgate of ideas had been opened.

Handkerchiefs were only the beginning. He began to list numerous ideas for new products that the artisans could begin working on.

“I have no time to waste! Father, can you watch Tia…?”

“Don’t worry about Firentia.”

It had been a rare day when Father left work early so he could grab dinner with me. Our visit to Grandfatheronly was only supposed to be a quick stop.

Father hurriedly gathered the fabric and turned towards me. “Tia, I’m sorry, but I have to go back to work. We’ll have to postpone dinner. Is that okay?”

“It’s okay! I’ll see you later!” I replied, smiling and waved cheerfully.

Father glanced back with a guilty expression a few times, but he ran out of the office.

I was watching with satisfaction when I felt a hand gently rest on my shoulder.

“How about having dinner with your grandfather today?”

Oh! An unexpected reward.

I nodded and replied, “Okay, Grandpa! I want to eat meat!”

***

“Aha, I didn’t realize you were such a good eater.”

“It’s so delicious!”

“Good, good. Eat well and grow strong.”

This was so unfair.

When I bit into the juicy steak, it was so tender. Of course, I knew there would be a difference between our family chef and the chef who cooked for Grandfather, but I didn’t expect there to be such a big difference!

Now I had another reason to dine with Grandfather more often.

“You should eat too, Grandpa!”

“I am getting full just watching you eat.”

After I finished the pieces of steak I had cut for myself, Grandfather cut the rest of my steak into bite-sized pieces.

“I’m seeing a lot of new sides to you, Firentia.”

“Ahem... huh?”

“The timid little crybaby now beats up her cousins, and the picky eater who worried her father now eats so well. And today...”

The steak I had been enjoying seemed to get stuck in my throat.

Have I finally been caught...?

I continued to eat the vegetables beside the meat as nonchalantly as possible while examining his expression.

“Firentia,” said Grandfather.

“Y-yes?”

“Don’t worry anymore.”

I didn't quite understand what he was trying to say, but at least he didn’t seem suspicious of my sudden change in behavior.

“Haha...”

Though he smiled somewhat wistfully, his gentle patting of my head seemed to show that he was proud of me.

Feeling relieved, I ate a piece of the steak Grandfather had cut for me and changed the subject.

“Oh, this is delicious! Hahaha...”

“Eat as much as you want. If it isn’t enough, I’ll have them bring more.”

“Okay, Grandpa!”

Thankfully, Grandfather didn’t have much to say after that. He simply pushed the foods I liked towards me, and we finished our meal normally.

Feeling reassured, I let myself enjoy the fruit and sweet chocolate that were served for dessert. However, I could still feel Grandfather’s gaze fixed on me.

When I stopped eating, he gently asked, “Firentia, is there something you would like to have?”

“To have?”

I wondered why he asked me this.

“What do you like, in general?”

“I... like books.” I answered cautiously, not knowing the reason for his question.

“A book, huh…?”

Grandfather stroked his beard thoughtfully before snapping his fingers and saying, “Perfect. Since you like books, I will build you a little library!”

“Oh, a library... OH, A LIBRARY?!”

I was stunned.

He’s building me a library because I said I like reading?!

Grandfather chuckled heartily at my shocked expression.

“It is the birthday of my granddaughter after all. I need to live up to the people’s expectations.”

“Oh, my birthday!”

I had forgotten that my birthday was coming up. The same birthday where my father had offered to buy me a foal and its mother.

I had been so busy that I had lost track of time.

“Oh, that’s why!” I cried. I now finally understood my cousins’ strange behavior as well.

“Hmm, what do you mean?”

“Lorraine, Giliou, and Mayron asked me about my favorite color. I just realized why they asked.”

Grandfather laughed heartily, clearly pleased.

“You’ve gotten close to your cousins, haven’t you?”

Did that really count as being close?

Compared to my past life, this was the friendliest I had ever been with my cousins, so I nodded.

“Good, that’s very good,” Grandfather said as he patted my head again. “So, what do you think about a library as a birthday present?”

A library as a birthday present for an eight-year-old. In addition to my father’s gift of a horse and foal, the scale of presents was becoming difficult to comprehend.

“Hmm. Would I be the only one who could use it?”

“If that is what you want.”

It wasn’t a bad proposal. When Father started working, I started to have more time for myself, but I had recently been spending a lot of time at Shananet’s house. I felt the need for a quiet space where I could organize my thoughts—and potentially use it as an office in the future.

However, I shook my head.

“I like the idea of a library just for me, but I think I want something else for my birthday, Grandpa.”

“Something else? Tell me what it is.”

“It’s nothing big. Just promise me a favor later.”

“A favor?”

Grandfather’s eyes widened for a moment before he burst into laughter.

“Hahaha! A favor, a favor!”

Though I kept smiling innocently at my grandfather, my palms were beginning to sweat.

I would soon need grandfather’s help with something important. If he refused me now, I would have to find another way to ask for his help.

“Do you realize that this is a much bigger birthday gift than just building you a library?”

Of course.

He wasn’t going to make it easy.

“Really?”

I pretended not to understand and laughed sheepishly, as if I were clueless.

“Hmm...”

Grandfather looked at me with a peculiar expression for a moment. Then he smiled kindly and said, “Alright, I agree.”

Whew.

I suppressed a sigh of relief and shouted, “Wow! Thank you, Grandpa!”

“Haha, you’re so excited.”

With his agreement, I had secured a critical piece for my future plan.

I plucked a grape from the bunch in front of me and enjoyed the sweetness of the moment.