Kays Translations

Chapter 274: As Expected of Nero

“Lord Julius! Lord Julius!”

“Hm? What is it, Nero? Is something wrong?”

Nero's voice brought me back to my senses. I had apparently become lost in thought, and Lady Fabienne was watching me with concern.

“Nothing is wrong. It merely looked as though you had thought of another peculiar invention.”

“I do not think it is particularly strange…”

Nero seemed unusually tense today. Perhaps Brother Alex had warned him before we left. I preferred to believe that was the reason.

“What did you think of?”

Lady Fabienne's concern quickly changed to curiosity. Since the idea might interest her, I decided to explain.

“I was thinking about a pen made entirely of glass.”

“A glass pen?”

“Yes. The tip would have several narrow grooves, like this…”

I quickly sketched the shape on the paper Nero held out. As expected, he had anticipated exactly what I needed. A glass pen would still require bottled ink, but that was unavoidable.

“What an unusual shape.”

“The grooves would hold the ink, allowing the pen to write for longer after each dip.”

“I see.”

Lady Fabienne studied the sketch with obvious interest. I should make one for her later. Perhaps we could have matching pens. No, would that be excessive?

Afterwards, we examined luxurious pocket watches, table lamps, colourful high-quality inks, scented stationery and several practical magic tools.

“Next, shall we visit a shop intended for ordinary townspeople? We still have time, do we not?”

“That would be fine.”

Nero checked his pocket watch. I owned one as well, but his was particularly fine. Such watches had not spread among commoners, which was why the bell tower still marked morning, noon and evening.

Appointments would be much easier if affordable timepieces became widely available.

We returned to the carriage and travelled from the noble district to the commoners' district. People hurried aside when they saw the House Heine carriage.

“I may have inconvenienced everyone. Next time, we should use a carriage that does not alarm ordinary townspeople.”

“You are very considerate, Lord Julius.”

“Do you think so? Perhaps it is not a very aristocratic concern.”

We laughed together. I had never enjoyed displaying power or status. Guided by Lady Fabienne, we reached a general store used by commoners, where another problem immediately became apparent.

“We stand out terribly in these clothes.”

“I am afraid we do.”

We examined our outfits. We were unmistakably noble children, and entering like this might disrupt the shop. Unfortunately, we had brought no ordinary clothes.

“Let us go in just this once. We do not know when another opportunity will arise.”

“You are truly that curious?”

“Of course. I have wanted to understand how commoners live for a long time. I would even like to try living as one.”

I declared this with complete sincerity. Lady Fabienne looked surprised, while Nero, Giles and Christopher wore expressions of weary understanding. Were they already exasperated with me?

I took Lady Fabienne's hand carefully as I helped her down from the carriage. Her hand was warm and soft.

The shop naturally fell into confusion when our party entered. A group of noble children accompanied by escorts was bound to attract attention.

I am sorry. Next time I will come dressed like an ordinary townsman, so please forgive us for today.

“They sell playing cards and board games here. I have never seen any of these designs.”

“They are popular, and new varieties appear almost every month.”

“The previous shop did not carry any.”

“Shops specialising in toys and games for noble children are separate, Lord Julius.”

Nero immediately supplied the missing information. As expected of him.

“I see. Combining them with luxury goods would make the shop noisy and diminish its refined atmosphere.”

The commoners' general store sold feather pens, dip pens and even clocks, although much of the merchandise appeared poorly made.

Surprisingly, it also sold magic potions. They were all low-quality products. They were cheap, but using them might do more than simply fail—it could worsen the patient's condition.

“They sell magic potions here too. Do people buy many of them?”

“Probably. They are quite inexpensive.”

“Perhaps potions from specialist shops are too costly for many people.”

“That may be true. People might also believe that all potions are essentially the same.”

“That is absurd.”

I turned around instinctively, but no one objected. This was evidently a common belief among ordinary people, and perhaps even among nobles.

“We may be among the few people who know that some potions are easy to drink.”

“After trying Lord Julius's potions, I understood that quality and flavour can differ. Before that, I assumed they were all alike.”

Everyone nodded in agreement with Nero.

So that was the problem. Ordinary people still did not know that magic potions could be effective without tasting dreadful. We might need to advertise their quality more clearly.

Perhaps we could sell potions bearing the House Heine seal. Naturally, Brother Alex would oversee the venture. Surely he could manage one, two or even three more businesses. I would discuss it with him after returning home.

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