Chapter 60: Diana’s Shop
“. . .A shop?”
“Yes. Usually, we have it delivered, but I thought it would be nice to visit your shop occasionally.”
Diana and Leon exchanged glances.
“Um. . .I’m sorry, but I don’t own a storefront.”
Sophia was the one taken aback by her words.
“Huh? You don’t have a shop?”
“No. I just bring what I make at home.”
“. . .That seems like a waste. If you displayed your inventory, it would be magnificent, surrounded by the colors and scents of flowers.”
In that moment. . .
Diana felt as if flowers were blooming softly before her eyes.
“A shop. . .”
Leon also seemed to have realized something and was staring intently at Diana.
Sofia continued speaking without paying attention.
“As a noble, I’ve always had everything brought to me from familiar shops. But when the war started and I started coming to the stores myself. . .I became captivated by the charm of shops. It’s such a lovely sight to see things displayed. And the unique scent and displays in the shop truly make my heart soar. Shops are more stimulating and soothing than I had imagined.”
Diana suppressed her racing heart.
A shop. . .
She had never even considered such a thing.
“I see, you don’t have a shop. If you create another wonderful tincture, please come and show it to me. I’m already using the lily tincture during bath time. Could you also consider making a rose tincture next time?”
As Diana absentmindedly nodded,
“It was nice talking to you. As a token of my gratitude, I’ll cover the bill for everything.”
With that, Sofia stood up and left the shop accompanied by her maid.
Sofia, the eccentric woman who passed by like a storm, had given Diana great advice before departing.
・・・
『”𝔄𝔴𝔢𝔟𝔰𝔱𝔬𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔰.𝔠𝔬𝔪” – 𝔇𝔦𝔰𝔠𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔞 𝔠𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔦𝔳𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔩𝔡 𝔬𝔣 𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢, 𝔭𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔞𝔡𝔳𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔲𝔯𝔢, 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔠𝔞𝔫 𝔦𝔫𝔡𝔲𝔩𝔤𝔢 𝔦n 𝔞 𝔠𝔬𝔩𝔩𝔢𝔠𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔫𝔰𝔩𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩𝔰 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 “𝔡𝔞𝔦𝔩𝔶 𝔲𝔭𝔡𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔰” 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔢𝔵𝔠𝔩𝔲𝔰𝔦𝔳𝔢 𝔞𝔠𝔠𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔱𝔬 “𝔞𝔡𝔳𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔢𝔡 𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔰”.』
・・・
On the way back, riding on Regina.
“A shop, huh?”
Surprisingly, it was Leon who spoke up first.
“Would anyone really come to a shop built on top of a mountain?”
Diana looked up at Leon, slightly frightened.
“I was surprised.”
“What about?”
“That you brought up the topic of a shop. It was unexpected.”
While holding the reins, Leon quietly said,
“If Diana were to open a shop on the mountain, and everyone started coming. . .Diana wouldn’t have to move from the mountaintop.”
Diana looked into his dull-colored eyes and blushed.
“I realized that Diana is busy because she goes to various places for customers. If those customers started coming here, Diana wouldn’t have to move unnecessarily. Isn’t that right?”
Diana’s eyes sparkled.
“Oh, Leon. Then. . .”
“While building the house, let’s also consider the shop.”
“Really?!”
“Yeah. If we allocate more time for something different during the travels, we might be able to create something better. Besides. . .”
Leon whispered in Diana’s ear.
“If there’s a shop, even if you’re pregnant or have small children, you can continue running it.”
That’s right.
She had been too caught up in the joy of working. There might be times in the future when she couldn’t move freely, like during pregnancy and childbirth.
If that happened, the mobile sales route would be cut off each time.
Operating a shop was one solution.
She never expected to hear the solution from her husband before she even thought about it. Diana trembled with excitement. It was good that she realized it before building the house. A shop combined with a home. What a great idea.
“But for that to happen, we need customers to come to the mountain.”
Leon cautioned.
“If we don’t make people aware before opening the shop, they won’t notice it. We need to advertise. Maybe we should also increase the number of products.”
“. . .I’ll do my best, Leon.”
“Well, don’t overdo it.”
“We should reconsider the design of the house.”
“Don’t be too stiff about it. Just having a counter should make it look like a shop.”
Diana traced her finger along Leon’s jaw and gently kissed him.
“I’m glad I married you, Leon.”
Leon chuckled as if tickled.
“What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”
“You always think about me.”
“Of course. Who wouldn’t think about their wife, especially in the early days of marriage?”
As soon as he said that, both of them simultaneously thought of Sofia’s face.
“. . .Well, I guess there are people who don’t. But still, she was quite crazy. Is it because of the war? Or is it because of her unfaithful husband? It seems like an important part of her as a human was missing.”
Diana shook her head.
“Ilsa was the same, but when things overflow, something becomes overwhelming. And when there’s no one to keep an eye on the husband, there’s no restraint on shopping. I can’t say it clearly, but yeah. . .When everyone is surrounded by things that don’t match their efforts, they seem to stop thinking deeply. It’s like something becomes superficial.”
“Yes, I understand. If you don’t earn money yourself or create something to live on, you won’t have a solid foundation.”
Diana reflects on the life of the nobles who evacuated.
Their nature of clinging to material possessions is probably because they desperately try to fill something with something. It would be easy to say that it’s due to a lack of affection, but it doesn’t seem like something that can be dismissed with such a cliché phrase. The matter is more complex, and the experience of being treated as mere “objects” casts a significant shadow on them.
Diana imagines a shop surrounded by flowers, just like Sophia dreamed of.
She imagines the faces of noble daughters who come to that shop.
They will surely smile peacefully.
Suddenly, Diana realizes.
That shop should be built not in the shopping district, but in the mountains.
They should display things that people have to come to the mountains to buy.
To provide them with a place of new values.
Diana’s mind is made up.
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