Thanks to Rosaria’s comments, it was the first time since they had been transported to this world that the family group was able to leave the spacious mansion for an outing.
Though he didn’t say it out loud, Dariann was also consumed by boredom and agreed, while Felix cheered, saying he could finally see a medieval fantasy village.
Before they left the mansion, all four members of the Evergarden family headed towards the stables to use the carriage.
“Wow… damn…”
“This is more extravagant than any theatrical prop.”
“Awesome.”
Upon arriving at the stables and discovering the carriage for today’s outing, their jaws dropped.
The overall parts of the carriage were painted gold as if they had melted the sun, and jewels sparkled everywhere.
The size of the carriage was massive, slightly smaller than a small camper, and on its side, the family crest of the Evergarden family was elaborately painted.
The interior was spacious, featuring plush leather sofas that were so large they could even serve as beds.
“This will definitely attract a lot of attention!”
“Yes! This is a perfect carriage for the lord and lady of this territory, as well as the young master and young lady! The horses pulling this carriage are also top-quality black horses, ready to go!”
The butler, who was beside the coachman connecting the horses to the carriage, rubbed his hands together and smiled, showering praises on the carriage.
“…We could sell this if we just removed the family crest.”
Freya, quietly listening to the butler, mumbled that she should add a line to the list of valuables carefully stored in the warehouse.
“Hurry! Let’s go! Depart!”
“Hey, hey! Slow down…!”
However, Felix, who was an avid fan of romantic fantasy and the one who had recommended this novel, was at maximum excitement and jumped onto the carriage, shouting as he enjoyed the softness of the sofa.
Seeing Felix, the other family members reluctantly climbed aboard, and the carriage slowly began to move.
“Um…”
“Wow… I never thought I would experience this in my lifetime?”
Thus, the carriage carrying the Evergarden family clattered out of the mansion, passing through wide farmlands and smoothly entering the interior of the Evergarden territory.
As they gazed at the surrounding scenery, they felt as if they were in a theme park.
The windmills in the distance, the territory’s residents bending down to engage in farm work, and the smoke rising from various houses clearly reminded them that they were indeed in the medieval era.
For Rosaria, who had been staring blankly out the window of the mansion all week, it was a refreshing change of pace—except for the clattering sounds echoing from the armor of the guards surrounding the carriage.
Going out for a stroll in the territory with an incredibly expensive-looking carriage and a multitude of soldiers marching around it made it feel like a division commander was visiting.
Not only did Rosaria feel this pressure, but the territory residents, sweating profusely while working hard, bowed as the carriage passed, maintaining that position long after it had left their sight.
Once they entered the village, it became even more intense.
Passersby would gasp and bow their heads every time they saw the carriage, and parents with children on the street hurriedly led their kids away.
Despite pretending otherwise, the looks they received were filled with a mix of curiosity, resentment, and fear.
It wasn’t just Rosaria who felt these gazes; the other family members, excluding Freya, wore faces full of discomfort.
“I didn’t really expect this… it seems we’ve really made ourselves hated. Haha…”
In the midst of this, Felix awkwardly tried to smile, as if to say it was absurd.
Having envisioned the lively and dreamlike scenery typical of fantasy villages, he felt doubly disappointed.
“I’d probably react the same way if I saw a division commander visiting with a full entourage.”
“The public sentiment is probably not great, and creating such a sense of intimidation makes their gazes unfriendly.”
Just as the atmosphere began to darken with their plans for a pleasant tour of the territory turning into a visit by a division commander, Dariann, who had remained silent until now, smiled slyly and said, “…Should we just walk around on our own?”
“I think we wouldn’t stand out too much this way.”
“Right? It might look a bit suspicious, but it’s better than wandering around in flashy clothes.”
Dariann, slightly lifting the hood he had pressed down over his head, winked and smiled.
Dariann’s plan was simple.
They would get off the most noticeable carriage and instruct the coachman to take the empty carriage and wander around places with fewer people.
Then, they would stop by a fabric shop to buy some cloth to cover themselves so they could blend in and naturally roam the territory without being recognized as nobles.
Of course, when Dariann declared they would get off the carriage and travel among themselves, the coachman and soldiers insisted they couldn’t leave the lord and family unattended, fearing something might happen to them.
But due to Dariann’s firm decision, they eventually had no choice but to follow.
At such moments, it was somewhat comforting to be recognized as troublemakers.
“Is it really okay for the lord to wear such cheap clothes…?”
However, due to the soldiers’ earnest request, knowing they couldn’t simply abandon the nobles, they decided to take one of the soldiers along.
Freya even murmured that since they had brought him along, they might as well think of him as a guide since they didn’t know the area well, effectively concluding Dariann’s somewhat forced negotiation.
Among the soldiers selected according to Dariann’s intuition, a young soldier named Hansen hesitated as he looked at Dariann, who had flipped his hood over after taking off his armor.
“Oh, right. How much is all of this?”
“Oh my…! How could a humble girl like me dare to take money from the count…! I think it’s an honor to just accept it.”
When Dariann briefly removed the cloth covering her face and asked the shopkeeper for the price, the shopkeeper simply bowed down to the floor, saying he couldn’t accept any money.
Dariann’s reputation was already at rock bottom.
The shopkeeper thought that if he accepted any money, they might find some excuse to go after his family and even kill them, so he hoped that Dariann and her family would leave the shop quickly without any payment.
“What nonsense is this? If I bought something, I have to pay. Am I some kind of thug?”
“Yikes…! I-I’m so sorry!!! I didn’t mean to say that at all…”
“…How much would this be?”
However, when Dariann rebutted, not wanting to take the precious fabric of a small business owner for free, she saw the shopkeeper nearly fainting, trembling all over.
Thinking that further conversation would be pointless, Dariann rummaged through her pockets and pulled out a coin.
“Y-Yes…? Oh, no……! No matter what, I cannot accept this much money!!”
Despite begging so pitifully, the shopkeeper glanced at the gold coin in Dariann’s hand and rolled his eyes back in disbelief, waving his hands in refusal.
For a family of four commoners, the monthly living expenses were about 320 dinars, which is roughly 430,000 won.
Considering the high prices in the Evergarden territory compared to other regions, it also meant that people elsewhere lived on less money than this.
However, the single gold coin that Dariann presented was worth 1,000 dinars, about 1,340,000 won—an enormous sum.
For commoners, it was customary to buy fabric and sew clothes themselves at home rather than purchasing ready-made garments from a clothing store.
Thus, even the cloaks worn by the Evergarden family, though called hoods, were simply rough cloth, and that too was made from very cheap fabric, with their combined cost being around 241 dinars.
But when she offered a gold coin, the shopkeeper began to think that perhaps the malicious noble in front of him was taking pleasure in tormenting him.
“Um, my dear? One gold coin seems excessive. I don’t think the recipient would feel comfortable either.”
“Yes, my lord. For lowly folk like us, that’s far too generous. It’s enough for us to simply leave.”
“Is that so? Still, it feels a bit… too generous to receive for free…”
As Freya and the shopkeeper, who had roughly estimated the cost of living and market prices for commoners due to their paperwork and administrative duties, also opposed the offer of a gold coin, Dariann hesitated, wavering her outstretched hand that had offered the coin.
“Then how about this? Madame, how much cash do you currently have?”
“Y-Yes? Oh, yes, yes! Please wait a moment! I’ll be right back!”
“What? Is it not enough to take for free; do you want to extort me as well?!”
“Oh my… no, Mother… I didn’t mean to look at you like that…”
“The tyranny of a conglomerate… shivering…”
To solve Dariann’s dilemma, Freya smiled and asked the shopkeeper how much cash he had. Dariann and her siblings looked at Freya with indescribable expressions, thinking that she was implying they would take all of his money instead of giving gold coins.
“That’s not it… Well, I’ll give you a gold coin, so I would appreciate it if you could give us the clothes we’re wearing and the cash we have. We didn’t know we would go out like this and only have gold coins with us, which is a troublesome situation.”
“We think it might be difficult to spend gold coins freely, so we just need some cash that we can use for today.”
When the family gave her pointed looks, Freya became slightly sullen as she continued speaking, and only then did the heads of the people around her nod in agreement.
“Ah… I see? Even though our dear was an unlucky wretch in the past, he’s not anymore~”
“I thought it was just me… Is this the true face of an arrogant ruler that only a conglomerate heir can possess?”
“Ugh, that’s boring.”
“Hey, kids? Was my reputation that bad…?”
Thus, Freya, while enduring the teasing of her partner and children, successfully exited the fabric shop with the silver coins and pouch filled with change she had managed to obtain.
Tears welled up in her eyes, but they were hidden under her hood, unnoticed by anyone.
“S-So, where are you planning to go now…?”
Hansen, glancing back at Dariann, who had her hood pulled tightly around her, asked.
“Now that we have clothes that don’t attract attention and some money to spend… there’s only one place to go, right?”
“What?”
“What else could it be? Let’s start by having a drink first.”
Looking at Hansen, Dariann made a drinking gesture with her hand and winked.
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