But a good servant adapted to the situation, and Beltra nodded and snapped into action.
“Milady.”
“You’re not going to say ‘Milady, don’t go,’ are you?”
She stared at him without hesitation.
“I have to take it back. If he’s driving a wagon full of goods, he has to take the roads. There’s only one way he can go, it’s not like there are a lot of roads to the castles.”
Ora didn’t voice any objection; not even his eyebrows twitched. But Fleur knew what was his eyes were saying.
“But can you do this?”
She knew the question had to be asked.
“I can. I’ve been a merchant once, and now I’m off to get my determination back.”
A rain coat, all the cash they had left in a coin pouch, and a short sword.. those were the things she received from Beltra before turning to salute them.
“In truth I’d like nothing more than to just shiver in my bed, lying there dreaming in the blankets. But I have to be able to live on when your time comes to leave me.”
She tilted her head and smiled sarcastically.
“I.. will profit greatly from that Jones’ company.”
Noble blood was worthless without the cash to back it up.
“I can only go forward now, and I understand that clearly..”
“You mean..?”
“That for us merchants, with no beliefs and comforted only by money, profit must always be our first priority.”
Ora’s eyes opened wide. He was speechless, like a parent watching a child that had come into their own. Fleur shot him a lonely smile, flung on her coat and placed her scabbard on her belt. The moment her face was covered by her scarf, her heart beat painfully.
“I can’t just sit here and wait for a good life.. I have chase after it, Ora.”
“Right.”
Her loyal mentor and household manager stood up and spoke.
“Well, are you going to join me or not?”
“Ah..”
“Beltra..”
She finished tying her scarf and shouted.
“We’re off!”
She placed their cash in a saddlebag and immediately hopped onto a quick horse to ride off into the rain. If they let Milton get away, they’d never see him again. Even if the clothes wouldn’t sell for much, she had to catch him and take them back. Questions could come later. This was what had to be done. So they rode off to get their property back.
“Ora, will I need my sword?!”
Of course her words were almost drowned out by the horse’s trotting and the rain, but she still shouted it loudly. It wasn’t just to make conversation, either.
“If it’s as you think and he’s alone, then probably not.”
Fleur’s ex-husband wasn’t a normal merchant, and had lost himself a few times as well. Ora had been his right-hand man during those episodes, so Fleur now felt it was her turn to rely on him in that regard.
“But are you sure you know where he’s going?”
“I know the people he mentioned, and that they’re the only ones he could sell such clothes to! This is the only choice he has!”
The road was muddy, and their horse stumbled several times. Fleur could ride a horse, but was no expert rider. She couldn’t force the horse to run in this weather. As such, she was only able to clutch the reins tightly and trot quickly. But that only gave her enough time to think about why she harbored no love or hatred for Milton. The only answer she could come up with was that she was just as lonely as he was.
“Milady!”
The rain had ruined part of the road, but the horse didn’t stop at the sight of the pond. It was only by luck, and not Fleur’s skill, that they made it through without incident. As the horse jumped she caught a glimpse of the damage done to the road and noticed the mud that filled the hole.
“Milady!”
She managed to stop the horse, though she nearly collapsed off of it in fear. Still, she managed to sit up tall. But hearing that person call to her that way made her feel more shame and remorse than usual.
“Don’t call me that-!”
Upon roaring at him, she noticed his expression.
“Ora?”
The rain obscured their vision, and mud was all over the place.. the road looked more like a swamp. The mist of the horses’ heavy breaths were wiped away by the rain as soon as it exhaled. Ora had stopped his own horse on the other side of the road.
“That way, milady..”
She turned her horse and finally saw why he had been calling her. She couldn’t see clearly, but on the road..
Perhaps it was a miracle. That must be what had caused this hole.
“So that’s what caused this hole.”
“Seems like it.”
Fleur jumped off her horse and walked up to the edge of the road. The steep slope there led down to a river. The river had risen from the downpour, and become muddy. And there between the road and river.. was a wagon with one wheel caught in the mud, and a horse facing the sky, motionless. That was where the wagon that had left her home ended up.
“Milady.”
She couldn’t believe what she saw. Maybe she was seeing things. She pulled off her scarf and carefully made her way down the slope. It was a grassy slope, but she couldn’t see any footprints. But if Milton had run off, they would surely still be there.. was he dead?
Step by step, she approached the wagon in the freezing rain. When she was a few steps away, she sensed his presence. One wheel was trapped in the mud, but trapped under the wagon was a man. His face was bloody and dirtied with mud, and he seemed to be lying still as if asleep.
“..You.. came after me?”
His sudden exhalation was proof he was still alive. She stopped in her tracks, staying away from him.
“..My life is worthless.. but I still..”
His left wrist was half-cut, but his right hand still reached out to her as he spoke hoarsely.
“Please.. save me..”
Did she look like she had come to save him? She never had that intent. But then, people became desperate on their deathbeds. She wondered if he was lying.
“Perhaps.. I over thought things.. but I knew you would.. ask for repayment in the future..”
He smiled tearfully, and she knelt down to touch his face. His tears were warm.
“I’m.. so frightened..”
It might be because the muddy land was softer, but his wagon wasn’t destroyed. He held her leg, with more power than she expected. If she staunched the wound on his wrist and kept him warm with the clothes on the wagon, then asked Ora to fetch him help, he should make it.
“I’ll never betray you again.. so please..”
“So you want me to save you?”
She shot back, and it seemed to fire up some hope inside him. He smiled plainly.
“Please..”
She closed her eyes at his pleas, but he only gripped her tighter.
“We.. we’re both nobles, are we not?”
She opened her eyes, but didn’t turn to him for a second.
“..Fleur?”
She ignored the man calling out to her, and just reached her hand out slowly. It was holding a stick, perhaps a spoke from the wheel or a support from the wagon bed. She stabbed it into the ground.
“Fleu-”
He went silent, looking up at her.
“Ora.”
Fleur called the name of her loyal mentor.
“The goods?”
“They’re fine. They’re safe in here, only some scroll seems to have been soaked in this muddy water.”
“Truly?”
The goods were fine.. so he was saved. He smiled. But his smile didn’t last long once he realized she was still holding the stick she’d thrust into the ground.
“You told me..”
She spoke grimly at Milton, who stared up into the sky with tired eyes.
“That those dark clothes.. would only be worn for funerals.”
He was quite a sharp guy. She breathed in deeply.
“You.. you have such a handsome face. I see. Really! I see.”
“Ha, haha..”
He laughed as though it was a struggle. And actually, it probably was. His face was muddied, and because of the cold it had also turned a yellowish-brown. He kept staring at the sky.
“I see.. haha..”
He closed his eyes after his exhausted laugh, then smiled.
“Damn.. I was pretending to be on my deathbed to earn your sympathy. Buy you saw right through me, didn’t you?”
She knew that his pale face wasn’t really an act. He was scaring the daylights out of her right now, because she knew that he really was dying.
“I kept cheating you, so I deserve this. You never stopped being a noble, huh? You, a merchant? Don’t joke around! I didn’t even feel bad when I cheated you. I actually felt happy! Until even God had enough of me, it seems..”
He suddenly stopped talking, because he saw her come up to him. But he didn’t avert his eyes. She hesitated.. did she really have to end his miserable life?
“Hey..”
His voice scared her again, and she stepped back.
“..if you don’t do this, I won’t be able to go peacefully..”
She’d never forget the sound of running him through.
“..so you were able to do it after all? Good..”
She wouldn’t forget the smell of the blood in his mouth, either.
He held her hand with his quivering fingers.
“..Because you won’t be able to be a good merchant until you’ve shed your last tear and drop of blood..”
She listened to him gurgle his last breath, and held his hand for a very long time. When she finally stood up, she no longer felt like she was herself anymore. She was reborn.
“Ora.”
Her short call received an immediate reply.
“Yes.”
“Place all the goods on the back of our horses. When we return home we’ll immediately prepare the dark clothes and amber finery for sale.”
“Yes.”
She stared at her bloody hand as she issued her last statement.
“His family may be in decline, but one of them has just died in an accident. They shall soon be needing black clothes and amber jewelry.”
“Indeed, milady..”
He stopped short, sincerely, and saluted Fleur as she turned to him.
“I am not ’milady.’ I am a merchant. My name is-”
Merchants could only be comforted by money, and Milton was the one who taught her this. And so, she too would choose her own name.
“Eve.”
“HUH?”
That was the mark he would leave on her life. They had been partners.
“Eve Boland, merchant, at your service.”
The rain continued to pour, so she covered her face with the scarf again and helped Ora load their goods. In this frozen moment, Eve Boland had finally taken her first step as a merchant.
Translation Team
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Translator: Terrence
Editor: Bashzestampeedo
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Spice & Wolf XI (DWT) Page 15
