"I swear, when I have enough money I will leave this shitty city!" Sophie tapped her fingers irritably on the table. Rhea, her friend served her a cup of coffee with milk.
"What happen again this time? Did your aunt bully you again?"
"Worse! someone tried to seduce me into sleeping with them,"
"Again? That's the fourth time this month. You're very popular, aren't you?" Rhea laughed, finding it funny even though Sophie was clearly annoyed by it.
"I mean, I do look shabby. But I'm also a lady! I'd rather starve to death than become a prostitute!"
Rhea did not respond immediately. She shifted a few coins on the table towards Sophie.
"This is your payment for this week. My advice is, buy new clothes so those lecherous men don't think you're a poor girl willing to sell your body for money."
Sophie took the money, counted it quickly and then put it away. She shook her head.
"I will use this money for more useful things. Even if i buy new clothes, I guess it would be a waste anyway. They will still persuade me to sell myself. Good grief! Can't they just seduce other girls? Is it because I look poorer than other girls?" Sophie grumbled while stirring her coffee.
'That's because you are much prettier than all the girls in this village put together,' thought Rhea. But she didn't reveal it. Sophie is a bit strange. It was as if she never looked in the mirror. She never felt beautiful even though many people said so. she thought, all the men who chased her only wanted to sleep with her because she was poor and seemed easy to persuade.
This was also a result of her family's doctrine which continued to try to lower her self-confidence. They always said that Sophie was shabby, unattractive, smelly and other insults.
If there is something that Sophie considers special about herself, it is that she has a good nose.
Like a shepherd dog, Sophie has a sharp sense of smell. Of course that didn't mean she could smell anything from hundreds of meters away. Let alone tracking lost socks with her nose. For example, sophie can guess cooking spices using her nose and sense of taste. She could also know whether the bread and wine she had just bought from the market were still fresh and good enough?
Most of her abilities were honed thanks to his hard life. She often had to stay overnight in the horse stable because her aunt told her to. Aunt Maya was very submissive to her husband, she didn't dare raise her voice. When Uncle Ernie messed up, gambled or came home drunk— Aunt Maya wouldn't scold him.
Aunt Maya always takes out her anger on Sophie, her sister's daughter whom she has been forced to care for since dozens of years ago. Not only forced to fast and sleep in a horse stable. Sophie also has to work until dawn on the farm. Sophie never argued, let alone protested. because Sophie realized that she didn't have anyone apart from her uncle and aunt.
Because she often lived in a stable, Sophie became accustomed to the smell of horse urine, rat droppings and rotting hay caused by the humid summer air. Maybe this condition makes her sense of smell sharper.
In fact, Sophie was not alone in receiving this treatment. She has an older brother. His name is Roran. He is a young man who is now nineteen years old. Roran is tall, above the average for young men his age. But he is thin, because he hasn't eaten enough since he was little. even his shoulder collarbones were clearly visible. His eyes were sunken. Even so, he was born with a handsome face and charming light brown hair. So, somehow, despite the daily manual labor, Roran looked like he had noble blood.
Aunt Maya always said that they both should be grateful because she wanted to take care of them. She could have sent them both to an orphanage. Although Sophie wasn't stupid enough to know, Aunt Maya just wanted to have free slaves to look after their fields and livestock.
Sophie is now sixteen years old. She wants to leave the house. Of course, her aunt didn't know the plan, let alone think that Sophie could do it. But Sophie couldn't put it off any longer, because Uncle Ernie was getting crazy in debt. Loan sharks came to the stubborn old Baron's house almost every week.
Aunt Maya will not want to sell her livestock, especially since their land is not very large. She was too proud of her title as baroness and didn't want to lose it.
Three years ago, her fairly rich neighbor was drafted into the military. There was a rule that allowed a person to enlist a substitute if he refused to join the war. Roran is the replacement soldier. That said, he was immediately sent to the front lines. Everyone said it was basically a death sentence. Because no one can subdue the nine-headed water dragon, which has been nesting in a strategic narrow route in the Dagestan sea for the past decade.
they already sold Roran. Soon they might have to sell Sophie. The difference is, instead of being mercenaries, Sophie would probably be sent to a brothel.
Initially, there was still a little common sense in Aunt Maya's mind. After all, Sophie is her sister's daughter. being a prostitute was too despicable for her family name. However, Uncle Ernie became more and more absorbed in his gambling pleasures, until Aunt Maya had to give up not participating in social events for three months in order to pay off debts. Sophie knew that being a prostitute might no longer be impossible for her.
by using her extraordinary nose, Sophie was able to earn quite a bit of money. Sophie secretly helps Rhea in her perfume shop. Rhea is a perfumer. She creates fragrances.
Perfumers work with their noses, trying to make their vision of a fragrance come to life.
Perfumers have quite tough competition, especially in a small town like Summerville. There are only three perfumers, and Rhea is the youngest. she inherited her sister's perfume shop who decided to travel with her husband to another continent.
One day, Sophie visited Rhea's shop. At that time, Rhea was trying to imitate a famous perfume from another city. there were no buyers, so Rhea was willing to host Sophie even though she didn't want to shop.
Unexpectedly, Sophie was able to correctly guess the composition of the perfume Rhea was researching. After that, Rhea's shop became busier and Sophie still occasionally helped Rhea.
Sophie already has savings from the money Rhea gave her as wages. She is now sixteen years old, Sophie can be called an adult. But there is one catch. An unmarried girl like her, couldn't leave her family home.
"You can marry Gaston, I heard he is looking for a wife," Rhea responded to Sophie's confusion.
Today she only had less than two hours to work at Rhea's perfume shop because his aunt asked him to send sacks of harvested wheat to the mill. it was supposed to be uncle Ernie's job but the old man was being more useless than usual.
Gaston isn't bad. But his family would not accept a shabby-looking daughter-in-law like Sophie. At least Gaston went to school in the capital.
"The point is, whoever that man is, I doubt that my uncle and aunt will let me get married. If I leave home, who can they enslave?" Sophie complained.
"What happened to Abigail?" Rhea discussed Aunt Maya's only daughter and cousin Sophie.
"She's acting like a princess at home. She can't even ride a horse,"
"Eh? You can?" Rhea raised her thick eyebrows which almost connected in surprise.
"Of course I can because I sleep in their cage almost every week," Sophie felt stupid.
"I don't want to sound mocking, but I think you're quite lucky. Riding ability is important, and not all women can do it,"
Sophie didn't think it was flattery. She doesn't ride for fun, let alone fulfill a hobby. Sophie just grinned slightly in response.
"Well, the world is unfair to women,"
"But that doesn't apply to you, Miss Rhea," Sophie complained, a little jealous.
"I can be a little freer because I was married to a useless man. A widow usually doesn't pay much attention to anyone. Even though I walk around the city at night, they won't call me a prostitute," explained Rhea, rapping her knuckles on the display cabinet.
"Is there a man who wants to marry me for a while and then separate? I don't want to get married now, but it's the only way I can get out of that house," Sophie complained.
"Are you crazy? Marriage is still marriage. Don't be like me, maybe I can be independent but not all women can. I'm just lucky. You have to remember that a woman's chance of getting married a second time is very minimal. Men won't take you seriously because the world calls you a failed wife. I think I will be single for the rest of my life." Rhea gave serious advice.
"If only Roran were still alive, I could force him to leave my uncle's house and live in the city. I could work and he would be my guardian," Sophie couldn't hide her sadness. It had been three years since Roran left. Everyone said he didn't survive. but Sophie's little heart believed he was still alive somewhere.
Roran might become a deserter. He fled the war, and he wouldn't be able to tell anyone because he was a fugitive. Whatever it was, Sophie just hoped that Roran was still alive.
"I'm sorry, but you can't hope for things that are uncertain, dear Sophie,"
Rhea looked out the window, realizing the sky was turning hotter.
"I have to get a glass bottle from the craftsman's house, just a moment. You still have time, right? please look after the shop for a moment," said Rhea while wearing a bottle green coat.
Sophie objected. Staying longer in town meant increasing the chances of being punished by her aunt when she came home late. But Sophie was too weak to refuse. realizing Sophie's reluctance, Rhea added.
"I know, I promise it won't take long, if I'm late you can just go, close the shop and put the key in the usual flower pot,"
Sophie sighed. She sat on a chair and table attached to the window while sipping a cup of coffee that was starting to get cold. Rhea's shop wasn't too busy, but it was enough to support her. Becoming a perfumer is a promising profession, especially if they open their business in the capital, where many rich people and nobles live.
In small towns like Summerville, customers are quite satisfied with using rose or lavender oil dissolved in alcohol. they also only wear them at night or if they have to shop in town. Fragrances are only useful to cover up bad body odor in summer. Unlike in big cities, wearing perfume is a lifestyle and a marker of social status.
Clang!
The glass door opened, Sophie turned nervous. there was a customer and it looked like he was from out of town. He was a tall and sturdy man. From beneath his hooded coat, Sophie could see dark, dark gray eyes. He seemed cold and lonely.
"Fragrance for horses," the man said in a deep voice.
"Uh, what?"
"I need perfume for horses," he repeated again.
Sophie immediately came to her senses. Rhea's shop doesn't sell many such specific perfumes. Sophie could have said nothing and let the man go to another perfume shop. Moreover, Sophie was almost late.
"I may need some time to mix it, do you want to wait?" Sophie was ready to sleep in the stables again tonight.