/
While Damia waited, she looked around the lobby of the inn. It was said that it was a place for commoners with some money to stay, and it seemed quite reasonable.
However, it was definitely inferior to Damia’s sensibilities, who grew up as a noble from birth. The dĂ©cor was overly ostentatious, and too preoccupied with façade, lacking classical elegance.
But it wasn’t the time for her to leisurely nitpick. Damia was an uninvited guest who suddenly came into the inn, where others came to rest.
‘It should be about the time she comes down.’
Damia glanced at the stairway leading up to the inn’s rooms. After waiting for a while, she felt the sound of shoes rushing down from above.
She hadn’t even seen her face yet, but Damia felt it intuitively. She knew that the one she was waiting for was coming down.
“Miss Damia
 
 ?”
Sure enough, the person rushing down the stairs recognized her and stopped. At this, Damia smiled softly and greeted her with a smile.
“It’s been a while, Commander Hemish.”
“Oh my God, you really are Miss Damia! How long has it been?”
Hemish Lorraine was the custodian in charge of Count Primula’s trading guild.
As soon as she ran down the stairs, she shook hands with Damia. And she said as she rushed down and lifted up her drooping one-piece glasses.
“Oh, please understand if I’m in disarray. I just arrived at the inn three hours ago.”
“Oh, no. You probably haven’t finished unpacking yet. I’m sorry that I suddenly intruded at such a bad time,”
Damia smiled apologetically, waving her hand. Then she belatedly realized how surprising her arrival was, so Hemish inquired, looking very puzzled:
“But, lady, how did you know that I would arrive at the inn today? If I arrived a little late, we would have missed each other.”
Of course, there was nothing to disagree with. Damia came to this inn every day, waiting for Hemish to arrive.
‘I have to steal the black perfume balm from her.’
But she couldn’t tell Hemish the truth. So she smiled vaguely.
“That’s, um
 
 .”
The reason Damia waited for Hemish every day at her inn was simple.
Her father, apparently, in the letter had told her to meet General Hemish and she would hand her a ‘gift’. So if she had made an appointment with Hemish in advance, she would have chosen her fine restaurant or teahouse to treat Damia, a daughter of the upper class nobility.
And, leaving the cumbersome luggage and goods in the inn, she would appear carrying only Damia’s assigned presents. After that, it was obvious that they would only eat and part ways.
‘That would be a problem. Then I won’t have a chance to look through the items.’
Indeed. She had to come without notice and surprise Commander Hemish in order to search for the goods and raid the supply house of imports.
After all, there will be both her gift and the black balm in her inn where she is.
Fortunately, she didn’t have to worry about finding the right inn. The family’s guild had many large carts and horses, as they imported a lot of goods from abroad. The inns that could accommodate them all were extremely limited.
Therefore, it was not difficult to specify the inn. But Damia, who plotted all these crimes, pretended to be innocent and put her in a corner.
“I guess I was lucky. I was just shopping around here. I was just about to go back when I heard a rumor that some caravan had arrived. So I came just in case
 
 What a strange coincidence, isn’t it?”
Fortunately, Hemish did not seem to know that this was a thoroughly planned crime. Surely, seeing such a large caravan moving, rumors were bound to spread on a crowded street.
Hemish, unaware of Damia’s lie, was astonished by this coincidence.
“I see! Indeed, the headmaster told me to meet Lady Damia when I went to the capital, but
 
 This is something I didn’t expect.”
“I’m sorry for coming all of a sudden.”
“Oh my, what are you saying? It’s so nice to meet you so suddenly. It’s not organized yet, but would you like to go up to my room with me?”
“To General Hemish’s room?”
“Yes, you’ve come all the way here, but I should treat you to a cup of tea.”
This development was a bit difficult. While Hemish is serving tea, she would probably direct her laborers to retrieve her father’s gifts separately.
Because that’s the way to treat a lady, with respect.
‘Then there was no point in visiting the inn.’
Fortunately, she glanced out the window and it was dark and overcast. Damia used this to moderately reject Hemish’s recommendation.
“Ah, I want to too, but
 
 It’s going to rain soon, so I’m going to go before then.”
“Oh, I see.”
Hemish had a sad expression on her face. It seems that now is the right time, so Damia slyly pressed her luck.
“Oh, I heard that my father entrusted a gift to General Hemish.”
“Ah! Ah, yes, that turquoise necklace!!”
Hemish clapped her hands.
Apparently, her father’s special request for her gift was a famous turquoise necklace in Bedan.