"Why must it be the daughter from the Scarr Family? That family can hardly be called a proper House, but His Majesty plans on tying them around Ethan's neck. Does that make any sense to you?"
Because she did not share a son with the emperor, the only way the Consort could remain in the Palace was to raise the new emperor with her own hands. However, there was no way the Crown Prince would stretch out a hand to her now that she had pushed out the empress and taken all of the emperor's favor.
In the end, all she could do was make the next emperor a figurehead and take away all of his power. In order to do that, she desperately needed Ethan's military strength and the duke's authority.
"I am deeply grateful to you for taking my lacking daughter under your wing. However, an Imperial decree is absolute. If he said that Ethan is to marry the daughter of the Scarr Family, then there is nothing I can do."
"You must prevent this from happening. I cannot give my Ethan to such a useless family!"
The Consort ground her teeth as she tapped her finger on the table.
She always needed one more person to add to Ethan's support. He was filled with resentment due to their past right now, but she was still his mother. She only needed to persuade him steadily, and it would be enough. However, first things first. She needed to stop this impending marriage as soon as possible.
"His Majesty cannot do this to me."
She had everything she wanted right now, but once the emperor was gone, her life would basically be over as well.
She was doing all this in order to live, but His Majesty had warned Consort Min to stop wanting more power.
"But there is one thing this servant is curious about. If he didn't want to give you more power, he could have just used a daughter of another middle-class family. I don't understand why His Majesty chose the daughter of the Scarr Family for the commander."
The Consort bit her lips at his question.
"His Majesty is sending me a warning."
Although the Consort could feel the duke's gaze, she looked off into the distance. Love and affection were always subject to change, so she needed to work even harder to endure and survive.
"Can you find someone for me?"
The duke's eyes grew sharp at her request. There was no reason to reject the Consort since she usually never stepped out of line.
"It's better to get rid of the instigator in advance."
Any family was better than the Scarr Family. She barely managed to detach herself from them. She couldn't let them crawl back into her life again.
A dangerous gleam flashed in Consort Min's eyes.
"I'll take one for each. What do you think?"
When she heard the shop owner's offer, the woman furrowed her brows and shook her head. Her hair was pulled up into a neat ponytail, and she was wearing clothes that would be comfortable for her to move in.
When the shop owner received a response he didn't like, he continued speaking with a frustrated voice.
"Don't I buy your leather and animal skins for more than ten whenever you're selling them? Because of the business between us, I've already cut down the price especially for you."
"The skins don't have any cuts and have dried very well, so they deserve to be bought for my price. The price you just offered is half of what I can get anywhere else. I was being considerate of my business with you, Ahjussi, so I brought my wares to you first."
The maiden did not seem intimidated or bewildered by the shop owner's words. Instead, she gave him an aggravated look and gestured to her animal skins.
"You know very well that the noblewomen will start sewing clothes made out of animal skins around this time of year. Fox fur is the most sought-after right now, but rabbit fur isn't inferior to it. You need to give me a little more than this. Or else I'll just go somewhere else."
"Why are you in such a hurry?! When did I say I wouldn't give it to you?! Just wait a little. Just wait."
When the maiden grabbed her skins and made a move to leave, the shop owner grabbed her and frantically shook his head.
A few years ago, she used to be above everyone else as a member of the nobility. However, when her household collapsed and all of their belongings were taken away, she lowered herself and began to mingle and interact with the commoners.
"Anyway, I haven't seen you carrying any medicinal herbs lately. I was planning on buying some from you today, but I can see that you aren't selling any."
"The grandpa selling medicine near the South Gate gave me a better offer, so I've been selling them to him."
"Are you telling me that the old fart got it first?!"
"He even told me you had some fun playing the middleman."
Seeing the flustered man's mouth open wide, the maiden took the money she received and placed it inside her inner pocket.
"Then I'll be leaving for today."
"Ah! Lady Adelina! Wait."
Adelina turned around at the shop owner's call and raised her head. The owner went back inside the shop and came out with a piece of paper in his hand. When he handed it to her, she read the words written there. It was a list that began with a number of fox furs among other things.
"Not that long ago, a customer came here and took a liking to your furs and placed an order ahead of time. The faster you can get these for me, the more money you'll receive. So can you do me this favor?"
The things on the list were always procurable as long as she put her mind to it. And the price at the bottom of the paper was a lot higher than she thought. Although she couldn't do anything else when she went out to hunt, the money would compensate for it.
"Thank you for always taking care of me."
"No need to thank me… But if you happen to find some really good medicinal herbs, make sure to give it to me. Do you think I'm always in it for the profit? The capital always takes all the harvested medicinal herbs, so people like us have a hard time even seeing one around here."
Adelina nodded at his grumbling.
After walking out of the shop, Adelina stopped and let out a deep breath. The tax in this town continued to increase by the day. Based on what she made alone, it was difficult to pay the taxes and make a living for her family at the same time.
"Hey, you! Stop right there!"
Adelina, who had been walking through a crowd of people, stopped in her tracks. A child who looked like they had just barely turned ten years of age was writhing in a man's grasp.
People began to gather around them to see what was going on. Adelina cut in between a few people to see what the commotion was about.
"Who do you think you're trying to steal from?! Are you crazy?!"
As the continent was plunged into war and the aristocracy continued to enjoy their overindulgent lifestyles, the provincial towns grew more and more destitute.
Every time the man's large hand struck the child, the child's dirty skin began to grow red. People began to murmur that the man would end up killing the child at this rate, but the man was too terrifying, so no one stepped forward to stop him.
When Adelina saw the apple in the child's hand, her hesitation disappeared.
"Agh!"
The man lifted his hand up into the air for another strike, but Adelina grabbed it. At the sudden interruption, the man froze.
"That's enough."
"And who are you?"
"The child will die at this rate."
"If he stole, then he deserves to die!"
"This is still a young child."