Chapter 16: 16. Exit the pavilion
The Duke didn’t even know anything about the engagement. After all, arranging engagements—or finding prospective fiancés for the Duke’s children—was the Duchess’s responsibility.
The Duke said that the engagement might not go through. This was because the Duchess wanted Kaileon’s fiancée to be one of the princesses of the Nagreize royal family—specifically, the daughter of the king’s concubine.
That princess was one of the weakest contenders in the struggle for the throne, because she was merely a girl, and also the child of a concubine. Even so, she was the King’s favorite.
Because Kaileon’s reputation wasn’t very good, the King might not necessarily approve.
The King himself was actually the younger brother of Duke’s father, or the grandfather of Kaileon and Justine. Even so, there is only a five-year age gap between the King and the Duke.
The King and the Duke, who are partners in business, are also close friends.
Although the King is actually Duke Hendry’s uncle, he is more like an older brother to Hendry.
Even so, the Duke isn’t sure the King would simply hand over his beautiful daughter to Kaileon, who is merely the son of a concubine. Even if the King were willing, it would surely be for Justine.
After the Duke explained all that, it was Justine’s turn to be frightened. Well, it’s understandable; Justine is just a child. Although childhood engagements are common there, there’s naturally a certain fear associated with it.
But the good news is, the journey to the kingdom isn’t that quick. It takes about three days to reach the kingdom of Nagreize. Then the Duchess usually stays for up to a week once she arrives in the capital.
That means there’s plenty of time without the Duchess. Though Kai still has to be careful, because the Duchess might send some spies to keep an eye on Kaileon.
Since the Duchess isn’t around, this is Kai’s chance to explore the city of Arslan.
That morning, Kai was getting ready, as was Peoni, who would be accompanying him.
It had been exactly two days since Peoni and Lily joined as maids at the exile pavilion.
Kai wasn’t joking when he said he would make his maids beautiful. As far as Kai knew from his time on Earth, there were many ways for women to become beautiful: skincare, makeup, hair care, and body care.
It turned out that in Ardhez, there were similar things, but they were magical.
There was a magical shop besides the one in the magic tower, called Floutessia.
When Kai asked Keith, Peoni, or Lily about it, they didn’t know anything about it. Even so, driven by intense curiosity, Kai bought a product from that shop because it looked very intriguing.
Kai thought it was a skincare-type product. There were creams or lotions for the face and body that naturally brightened and nourished the skin. The product also seemed to function like sunscreen, as it claimed to protect the skin from the sun’s burning rays. When applied to the face and body, it felt cool and comfortable. It had a soft, pleasant scent that lasted all day.
Since it only cost one small silver coin, Kai bought three 500ml bottles, each in a beautiful and unique tube-shaped container with a rose on the cap.
Kai gave each maid a bottle, telling them to use it after they bathed.
The two maids were very happy that they could bathe whenever they wanted without running out of water. Moreover, Kai provided soap and shampoo with a pleasant scent. Because of this, the two maids followed Kai’s routine of bathing twice a day—in the morning and in the evening.
After just one day of using the face and body lotion, their skin already looked brighter, healthier, less dull, and more supple.
Kai was very happy, but he became confused. Why weren’t the skincare and body care products sold at Floutessia known to Keith and the maids? Products as good as those should at least be well-known to the public.
Should Kai ask the Duchess later? Maybe only noblewomen actually knew about Floutessia.
"I’m ready, young master," said Peoni, her face beaming. The maid’s confidence had skyrocketed since she woke up that morning and saw her face was no longer dull. Her body was also clean and fragrant, putting her in a great mood.
"Let’s go out; Keith is already waiting with the horse-drawn carriage," said Kai.
The fairly wide footpath had been completed, thanks to the workers who had been so eager to finish everything yesterday.
So, right now, Lily was busy with the laying hens that Kai had bought from the supermarket system. Lily also said she would plant vegetables as well, since she was skilled at gardening and raising livestock.
A simple horse-drawn carriage was waiting in front of the pavilion. Keith had just finished feeding his horse. In addition to the carriage, there was also the man who usually drove it: Nathan.
"Good morning, young master. I believe this is our first time meeting. My name is Nathan," said Nathan.
"He’s from the same orphanage as Peoni and Lily—in fact, he was the one who suggested we hire a maid from there," said Keith.
Kai smiled at Nathan and greeted him politely; they exchanged some small talk before finally leaving the Duke’s residence.
As it turned out, the pavilion was quite a distance from the main gate. It was located behind the castle, separated by a small forest and a lake. The distance from the pavilion to the main gate was roughly 500 meters.
After the carriage exited the main gate, Kai could finally see the bustling city of Arslan. At first, he smiled widely, as it was his first time leaving the Duke’s residence. But gradually, his smile faded away.
Keith hadn’t lied about what he said. There were only large shops managed by nobles there. Even though the shopkeepers were commoners.
There were no commoners spreading out mats to sell their wares. Not even when they reached the public market.
The public market was a special place built by the Duke for commoners to sell their goods. In theory, anyone should be able to sell there, but once again, even the public market was controlled by the wealthy.
"We’ve arrived, young master," said Keith as he opened the door.
Kai stepped down from the horse-drawn carriage, looking at the rather nice building situated in front of the public market.
The building was large, had three stories, and was clearly the largest structure there. It just looked a bit dusty. With a little renovation, the place would look much better.
That building was the only one suitable for a supermarket. Fortunately, it was one of the Duke’s abandoned properties, which no other noble had bought yet due to its high price.
The Duke gave it to Kaileon for free. Of course, Kai wasn’t foolish enough to refuse it; on the contrary, he gladly accepted it.
"This building is already in your name, young master. You’re free to use it," said Keith.
Kai nodded happily.
"Great, then whose property is that empty lot right next to it?" Kai asked, pointing to the vacant lot directly adjacent to his building.
"That belongs to the Duke as well."
Kai turned and looked at Keith with a broad smile, "In that case, could you tell the Duke to make that land over there mine as well?"
Keith and Nathan were surprised to hear this, but then Keith nodded and didn’t ask any further questions.
"Yes, young master."
Meanwhile, Kai was pleased, because he was able to make good use of his position.
"Alright, let’s go inside. Let’s see what the conditions are like in there."
