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The pouring sunlight squeezed through the gaps in the curtains, softly dyeing the interior of the carriage.
Peony was lost in thought, watching the scenery flow past the window.
‘The Fleur Merchant must be in chaos by now.’
As soon as she succeeded in purchasing the land, she spirited Yuria away from the Flor Cosmetics workshop.
At the same time, she didn't forget to collect evidence related to breach of contract so that Jordik, the head of the merchant, couldn't easily retaliate.
She had overcome the biggest hurdle in starting a business.
‘And I've found a store for sale and started construction... So far, it's been very smooth.’
Now all that remained was to cultivate Momon grass and create products worthy of the new brand.
‘Since the product quality is good, if I give it away for free and promote it, it will quickly become famous. Before long, I'll be able to give Count Arman a good blow.’
The corners of her lips turned up on their own.
Despite such a big incident at the Subjugation Contest, Rosia and Freya paid no price.
There was still no legal way to punish them, but if she could make them pay for their sins in this way, it might not be a bad result.
Thinking so, she soon felt much lighter.
‘Of course, there are still many mountains to climb. I need to meet Ayla quickly and let her know how far things have progressed.’
The reason she was riding in the carriage now was to check the cultivation status of the Momon grass herself.
Peony recalled the message sent by Ruzen, the estate agent she had recently hired.
‘The condition of the Momon grass isn't very good, was it?’
Peony let out a faint sigh.
‘What's the problem? I told them to cultivate it as Yuria told me to.’
She even sent a horticulture expert to help, so if there was a problem, it was probably due to other secondary reasons.
As she was lost in thought, the carriage gradually slowed down, and Peony came to her senses.
"We have arrived."
When the knight opened the door, a strong light poured into the carriage.
Peony covered her face with the brim of her hat and got out of the carriage.
The first person to greet her was Ruzen, the estate agent.
"Ruzen, it's been a while."
"Have you been well, Peony?"
"I heard the condition of the Momon grass isn't good, what's going on?"
"That's..."
Ruzen's face was dark.
"It's best to see it for yourself."
Peony followed him without a word. And her face hardened at the sight she soon faced.
"It hasn't been long since they sprouted, but they're turning yellow like this..."
Peony stopped and bent down to examine the grass.
All the sprouts were drooping as if they hadn't had enough water, and the ends of the leaves were withered and yellow as if they would crumble.
Ruzen scratched the back of his head awkwardly and said.
"It's not like they don't have enough sunlight or water. We've been managing them without fail as instructed. But for some reason, they're withering strangely."
Peony narrowed her eyes and walked slowly along the field. She had planted a lot of grass, but there were more dying than healthy ones.
"We don't know what the problem is."
Ruzen carefully watched Peony's expression.
Peony stopped walking and bit her lip tightly. At this rate, it might be difficult to start the business according to the planned schedule.
She thought about it for a long time, but there was only one conclusion.
‘I should get advice from Ayla or Yuria first.’
Ayla was a skilled Mage, and Yuria was the one who taught her how to cultivate Momon grass.
So one of them might be able to suggest a useful solution.
It would be much faster than worrying alone.
Even though it was only a two-day journey, Ayla felt very tired when she returned to the dormitory.
She put down her luggage on the floor and let out a long sigh.
Before she knew it, the blazing sunset was seeping through the dormitory windows, darkening the room.
Ayla stroked Piyo's head carefully, with the light behind her.
The Dragon was fast asleep, with a face free of any worries.
"Piyo, sleep well and wake up quickly."
A soft smile spread across Ayla's lips.
In many ways, it was a good thing to go to see Debens this time.
She felt much lighter after confirming that the things she had vaguely worried about were not a problem.
Above all, now that she knew that her and Piyo's emotions could be synchronized, she had to consciously maintain a positive mind.
‘I have to work harder for Piyo’s sake.’
Knock knock.
Then someone knocked on the dormitory door from the outside.
"Ayla, it's me. Peony."
"Peony?"
Ayla quickly opened the door.
"I saw you arrive earlier and ran over. I have something urgent to tell you... Ah."
Peony, who came into the room while looking around, stopped when she found Piyo.
"By the way, is Piyo okay? Did you hear everything well?"
"Yeah, thankfully he's fine. Thanks to the Duke's family's hospitality, I had a good trip without much effort."
"Really? That's a relief."
Peony smiled and was relieved.
She knew better than anyone that Ayla had been worried about Piyo.
"By the way, what was it like meeting the Red Dragon in person? Wasn't it scary?"
Peony asked worriedly.
Dragons used to be friendly to humans in the past, but as time went by, they became increasingly reluctant to interact with them.
There were many cases where people lost their lives after recklessly entering the Dragon's territory, so she was worried that Ayla might have offended them.
But Ayla smiled as if she was okay.
"Not at all. Rather, they were very kind and gentle. I think they liked me because I'm the owner of the Black Dragon."
"Kind and gentle, that's unexpected. You seem to be quite popular with Dragons."
Peony tilted her head and sat next to Ayla.
"Ah, I know what it is. Maybe it's because you're an excellent Mage? I heard that Dragons like those with excellent Magic abilities."
Peony chattered and gently stroked Piyo's head.
Ayla could see that there was a deep worry on her face.
"By the way, you said you had something to tell me earlier. What's wrong? Did something bad happen?"
At those words, Peony smiled awkwardly and stroked her face.
"Did it show?"
"Yeah, you've looked dark since earlier."
Peony shrugged and said calmly.
"Actually, there are two bad news."
"Two?"
Ayla's face hardened. Only then did she remember that Peony had said she would stop by Falun Province before leaving for the Duke's family.
"Did something happen to the cosmetics business?"
"Yeah, I actually went to Falun Province yesterday, and all the Momon grass was withered."
Peony sighed deeply and continued.
"I cultivated it as Yuria said, but I have no idea what the problem is."
"...All withered? What did Yuria say?"
"Huh? Yeah. I wrote a letter right away. But she said that couldn't be and wanted to check it herself."
"I see... I should check it out too."
Ayla frowned with her arms crossed. In fact, she was panicked by the situation she had never seen in the original story.
‘That's strange. When Count Arman released the new product made by Yuria, there didn't seem to be any problems like this...’
Ayla tilted her head in confusion.
Of course, it wasn't like she had no idea. So many things had changed in the meantime that she couldn't rule out the possibility that the future had changed as a result.
"How about going after class tomorrow? Call Yuria too."
"Oh, would that be okay so soon?"
"Yeah, we need to solve these problems as soon as possible."
Peony nodded as if she agreed.
"Okay, if you're okay with it. Ah, and one more thing."
"What is it?"
"Prince Darian came to see me the other day."
At those words, Ayla paused and looked back at Peony.
"Prince Darian?"
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