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The people of Til Nebe Cedric paid thousands of gold coins for Eridrahan's healing.
And the generous Grand Duke had bestowed all those gold coins upon Rahan, who had gone on the expedition in her place for six years.
“I thought a thunderbolt might strike if people knew they were the gold coins of unbelievers.”
Iris chattered happily after leaving the carpenter's house, only after ordering several wooden bowls.
Since they had already circled the lower village and bought various things, Rahan was carrying a heavy bag.
At the hunter's house, they bought a whole deer haunch caught the day before yesterday, and at the woodcutter's house, they ordered firewood to be delivered.
Besides the firewood, Iris bought a bundle of small twigs. When Rahan asked what she would use them for, she said it was a secret.
Seeing that they smelled nice, he figured she intended to burn them during evening prayers.
“Iris, you're here! You look so excited!”
At Laura's general store, they bought lamp oil, some sugar, and strong liquor.
The sugar was for Iris, who loved sweets, and the strong liquor was as a substitute for disinfectant for any unforeseen situations. Since the cottage was isolated near the forest, there was no telling what kind of injuries might occur.
Laura was happy, saying, “My goodness, I sold the sugar a year after bringing it in!”
Going to the village chief's house was purely Rahan's insistence.
The chief's wife was flustered by their visit, but her expression distorted when Rahan said, “Mr. Robbie of your house gave us a goat as a wedding gift, but it's such a wonderful goat that I felt I must pay for it.”
“You brat, Robbie!”
Naturally, Robbie had already fled the scene.
“Oh dear, you shouldn't pay for a wedding gift...”
While saying this, the chief's wife quickly bit the gold coin Rahan handed her and slipped it into her pocket. Then, she pulled Iris into the kitchen.
When she emerged shortly after, she was holding a bowl filled with plenty of butter and cheese.
“The lady says it's too much for the price of a goat, but she doesn't have any change. What should we do?”
Worry was etched in Iris's eyes as she spoke. She seemed worried that Rahan might get angry because they didn't get change.
It was absurd. I told you your husband is rich.
Of course, instead of saying that, Rahan just shrugged.
“I guess we don't have to worry about what to spread on our bread for a while.”
Only then did Iris's face brighten.
“Actually, I like it too. The goat cheese from the chief's house is truly delicious. We have wild berries, so let's make wild berry jam too!”
As she walked, hugging the two bowls, Iris took the opportunity to pester him to pick a few more berries on the way back, since they didn't have enough to make jam.
Since it wasn't a difficult task, Rahan readily nodded.
“Lastly, I'd like to stop by a clothing store. I don't have any clothes.”
“Oh, dear. There are no clothing stores in Vandel.”
Iris looked troubled at Rahan's words.
Since Vandel was a small village, a clothing store did not exist. Instead, there was the house of the Vera Sisters, the daughters of the village tanner. Apparently, the Vera Sisters did all the necessary sewing for the entire village.
They said that everything from clothes to leather belts and coats could be purchased at the Vera Sisters' house.
“What do you need?”
Iris asked, her eyes sparkling. Rahan replied with a smirk.
“It's not just my clothes; it looks like you need a lot of clothes too.”
“My clothes? ...Ah.”
Rahan had already taken note of all of Iris's belongings.
The clothes Iris owned consisted of a single-layered tunic, a couple of tops, two skirts, and an apron. Furthermore, the tops were so short in the sleeves that he wondered when she had bought them.
Since they were tops worn under a sleeveless tunic, the short sleeves were even more noticeable. And that had been bothering Rahan the whole time.
'Grand Duke Lacheize wore a surcoat made from the bear I caught.'
Perhaps it was because he had spent so much time by the side of the wealthy Yvette Lacheize. Compared to Grand Duke Lacheize, who always wore a lavish coif and surcoat, Iris's clothes were far too worn out.
The Grand Duke had so many coats made from the skins of the numerous beasts he had caught on the expedition that there were even clothes she had never worn once.
'Regardless, she's my wife for the time being; I can't let her wear such worn-out clothes.'
He didn't even realize he was thinking of her as 'my wife.'
“Who are you?”
When they arrived at the Vera Sisters' house, the one who opened the door was a middle-aged woman chewing on a leaf.
“My goodness.”
She was startled to see a young man she had never seen before, especially one with red eyes, but then she spotted Iris.
“Oh, Iris.”
“Hello, Tullie!”
Iris greeted them with a bright smile. A woman named Tullie looked around, then placed a finger to her lips and hissed, "Shh."
“Father won’t be happy if he sees you. Come in quietly.”
When Rahan looked down at Iris with eyes full of question, she shrugged her shoulders and gave a bashful smile.
“He doesn’t like me very much.”
“Why?”
“Well... there are some priests at the monastery who don’t like me either...”
As he listened, he learned that since Abbot Wilbert first brought the young Iris in, there had been a few priests who openly disliked her.
It wasn't simply because another mouth had to be fed. Apparently, they believed that if Abbot Wilbert took a foster daughter, some of the monastery's assets held in the Abbot's name would eventually go to her.
Furthermore, after Iris became capable of declaring a Sanctuary, the number of priests who hated her grew. It was a form of jealousy.
'I thought she was only loved...'
Rahan had only seen how Priest Marid and Abbot Wilbert treated her, so he hadn't known such things were happening. Iris herself was far too cheerful to seem like someone who had been hated.
She whispered with a shy smile.
“Anyway, Priest Vera is one of those priests. I heard he’s the tanner's older brother.”
“Aha...”
That meant the man was petty enough to hate a young child just because his brother did.
“But Sister Tullie and Sister Millie are kind to me.”
Rahan assumed those were the names of the two sisters.
The moment he made that guess, a cheer erupted from the stairs inside the house.
“Iris!”
The younger sister, Millie, came running down with a bright smile and hugged Iris. She, too, was quite old.
“Is this the husband you married? I heard he was old, but what's this? He's so young and handsome!”
“Well... there are some circumstances.”
As Iris smiled awkwardly, Tullie clicked her tongue and pulled Millie's ear.
“Don't you keep up with the rumors?”
“Ouch, ouch!”
Regardless, Rahan asked the two sisters if he could purchase some shirts for himself, along with clothes for Iris.
“I think we'll need to buy everything new for Iris, and I'd like to purchase a few shirts for myself.”
Naturally, he couldn't buy high-end clothes. The Vera Sisters shook their heads with troubled expressions.
“Vandel is a small village, so no one buys clothes if we make them in advance. If you order now, it'll take at least a month...”
“Do you not have a single pre-made garment?”
“Well...”
Tullie hesitated before bringing out a white tunic and a couple of dresses.
“These are tunics I made to wear when going to the monastery to pray. The dresses were second-hand and cheap, so I bought them while I was in Arnsberg...”
“Ah! I have some new clothes I intended to wear when I was a maiden!”
Millie quickly ran upstairs and brought back a few more pieces. Rahan couldn't help but chuckle at one particular garment that caught his eye.
It was a long, crimson cotardie. Millie looked at him tentatively.
“I had it tailored when I went to the city a long time ago, but my husband threw a fit, asking if I'd gone mad...”
Crimson clothing was something only nobles wore. Naturally, it was extremely expensive, and Millie said her husband had practically foamed at the mouth when he saw her buy it.
“I'm glad I divorced that stingy bastard!”
“Don't say things like that in front of Father.”
Tullie snapped at the boasting Millie. In any case, Tullie's clothes, being for someone short and thin, fit Iris well.
“Sister Millie's clothes are too expensive. They need alterations, too...”
“What does that matter? They're pretty.”
Rahan cut off the hesitating Iris and flicked a gold coin to Millie.
As Millie quickly caught it and shouted, “Thank you, customer!”, Iris had no way to intervene.
Tullie also quickly held out her hand to Rahan. Rahan smiled and pressed two gold coins into Tullie's palm.
“I'll order my shirts with this. Could you show me some fabrics?”
“Ah, about that.”
Tullie's expression became troubled.
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