‘Now the money that was left will be over with this.’

The money that was left for me will end once I pay the fare for the carriage to the library.

I would have walked for anything else, but today I couldn’t. I have to finish what I intend to do and return home as quickly as possible, before my parents or Elise wake up.

However, despite Aelfrie’s anxious heart, when she reached near the central square, the road was jampacked, making it difficult for carriages to pass.

“Miss, it seems a ship of Ash Trading Company has arrived at the harbor. It’ll be a bit congested, won’t it?”

The coachman spoke as if the congestion wasn’t his fault.

At those words, Aelfrie looked toward the harbor.

As the carriage moved a little further and entered the center of the square, eight broad roads stretching out were visible. Aelfrie looked at the eastern road that led to the harbor.

“Wow!”

An exclamation burst from Aelfrie’s mouth the moment she saw the harbor.

That reaction was not hers alone.

Everyone passing through the square couldn’t close their mouths at the sight of the huge warship moored in the harbor.

Children ran cheering, and even respectable gentlemen stopped in their tracks, unable to turn their astonished gaze away.

“Incredible…….”

Aelfrie too looked at the ship, pressing her fluttering heart.

The names of the ships were written on the heads of the warships. Unlike the ships of the Denertum kingdom, which always named them after women, the ships from the empire owned by Ash Trading Company borrowed the names of heroes from legends.

And under each ship’s name, another name was engraved, and in that location, all the ships had the same name.

The owner of the company’s name.

“Calon Ash…….”

Calon Ash.

The owner of Ash Trading Company, with the most branches and overwhelming trade volume on the continent.

People whispered that his wealth might surpass that of the Emperor. Even the pompous Emperor himself halted his work to welcome him at any time.

However, people didn’t know how old he was, where he came from, or even his real gender.

Even though the name was masculine, they were unsure whether he was a man or a woman since nobody had seen him in person.

He only met a very few people directly, operating mainly in the empire, and never appeared in public.

So people guessed that Calon Ash must be a middleaged man over 50, recalling that Ash Trading Company rose to prominence about 25 years ago.

Aelfrie looked at the ships with envious eyes.

She sincerely envied Calon Ash.

Not only for his enormous wealth owning all those ships but for something else she sincerely envied.

‘He can go anywhere he wants.’

He could sail out to the sea on those many ships and head anywhere in the world. Like the wind.

As Aelfrie, whose face was unknown to him, was staring blankly at the ships, envious, voices from people passing by the carriage were heard.

“Is Calon Ash coming to this country?”

What?

Startled by the unexpected words, Aelfrie held her breath for a moment and listened to the conversation.

She wasn’t the only one surprised.

“What? What’s that you’re talking about?”

“Shh! Shh! Keep your voice down! Someone might hear!”

The person who spoke grabbed his companion’s shoulder and hastily said. And just as he feared, Aelfrie, who had already been eavesdropping, held her breath even more.

“Is Calon Ash really coming to Denertum? Before that, is it really Calon Ash? Where did you hear this ridiculous rumor?”

“It’s not a rumor. I was working at Ash Trading Company’s warehouse yesterday. I was so tired that I was resting behind a box when the company managers came in. I hid quickly, afraid of getting scolded if they saw me.”

“So you slacked off?”

“No, that’s not important right now. Anyway, they were whispering because they thought no one was there. Even one of them was the head of Ash Trading Company’s Denertum branch.”
“Ah, that man? Does he have no pride? His boss is a woman, yet he obediently works under her. He might as well quit.”

“The Empire gives high positions to women too. That’s what he said anyway. Calon Ash is coming soon, are preparations going well? The moment I heard that, I immediately thought of how the people at Ash Trading Company seemed unusually busy these days. I wondered what was going on, and it turns out it was because Calon Ash was coming himself!”

“I see. So that’s why.”

“Furthermore, you know, right? The mansion on the hill northeast of the capital. Ash Trading Company bought it. If they’ve purchased something so expensive and are even repairing it, Calon Ash is not just passing by, he will stay for at least a year…!”

“Hey, lower your voice. They’ll hear everything.”

Despite being told to keep quiet, the speaker’s voice rose again in excitement, so the listening friend had to silence the chattering one.

The two quickly left their seats, presumably thinking there were too many people around.

“Haah…”

Aelfrie couldn’t hide her disappointment at not being able to hear more and sighed.

‘Really? Calon Ash is coming to our country?’

When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem

This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Synopsis:

“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”

Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.

Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.

While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the  Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…

Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.

_____

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