TAPED 26

Chapter 26

“The value of red plum tree fruit isn’t what it used to be! One gold? You can’t even get it for five gold most of the time these days!”

“Oh, quit trying to sell me that nonsense. Everyone knows those fruits used to be everywhere! Do I look like I don’t know how the world works?”

When I pretended to tip over the herb crate right next to me, the merchant—his face paling—quickly stepped in front of me to block my way.

“That’s not it! As you said, milady, the red plum fruit used to be plentiful, but not anymore. The habitat of the red plum trees has been damaged—there’s no way to get the fruit now!”

The merchant rattled off his words like a rapid-fire crossbow, then pointed behind me.

“Ask them! Every herbal trading company on this street has been groaning because of the shortage of red plum fruit.”

I glanced around—at some point, a crowd of onlookers had gathered, stealing glances at us.

“Come on, tell her!” he urged.

Everyone looked more concerned about avoiding eye contact with the Duke’s mad dog than speaking up.

“It’s fine, go ahead. What’s the reason?” I said, giving them room to speak.

One brave merchant finally stepped forward.

“Since you said it’s fine, milady, I’ll speak. What he said is true. We haven’t been able to get the fruit either—we’re dying here. People want to buy it, but we have nothing to sell.”

The other merchants nodded reluctantly, glancing at me as if gauging my reaction.

“They say the habitat’s contaminated, and it’s not easy to restore.”

“Really? Mendel got contaminated?”

“Yes, yes. Not sure if it’s the land or the lake, but the forest is dying…”

From the way all the merchants joined in with their pitiful groans, it really did seem hard to get.

Still, they kept inching their feet backward, wary that I might suddenly lunge at them.

“Miss, I guess the high price makes sense now,” Lina whispered awkwardly.

True enough—if it’s no longer being produced, the price would naturally go up.

Besides, Mendel was the only habitat for red plum trees.

“My apologies for doubting you,” I said.

“Not at all, milady. You live at the mansion, so of course you wouldn’t know,” the merchant replied—subtly implying you’re too sheltered to understand.

I gave him a sweet smile.

“But you know… if it’s really that rare, why would you sell it so cheaply? Are you sure this fruit is real?”

“…Pardon? What do you—”

“You just said you can’t get it for five gold, right? But you sold it for one. gold. Isn’t that a huge loss for you?”

I raised my voice so everyone could hear.

“One gold? That’s dirt cheap. You could name your price—why sell it so low?”

“That guy’s suspicious…”

Exactly. Like they said, if it were truly rare, the price would be much higher.

I lifted my chin at the sweating merchant, signaling for him to explain.

“It’s just… the gentleman seemed so desperate—”

“I don’t recall ever being desperate,” Hereis said, shrugging.

“N-no, the gentleman clearly said he absolutely needed it, so I took a loss just to—”

“Well, it’s easy enough to check if you’re telling the truth.”

I snatched the fruit from Hereis’s hand and popped it into my mouth.

“Milady!”

“Sienna?”

As expected. The moment the sweet taste burst on my tongue, I twisted my lips.

“Pfft.”

I spat out the seed and planted one hand on my hip like a street thug.

“This is jaju fruit.”

Judging by the way the merchant’s face went ghostly pale, I was right.

“If I’d never tasted it before, you might have fooled me.”

Red plum fruit and jaju fruit looked nearly identical—same color, same size, same scent.

But there was one big difference: the taste.

Red plum fruit had a bitter, astringent aftertaste, while jaju fruit was sweet as honey.

“I-I don’t know what you’re implying. Don’t slander me like this!”

“I’ve tasted every herb in the Empire.”

I grabbed him by the collar.

“I know more than most herbalists. And you try to scam me?”

I set the last fruit on his stall and jerked my chin at the onlookers.

“Come and check for yourselves. Tell me what this is.”

The other merchants rushed over and examined it.

“Oh, for—!”

“It really is jaju fruit!”

“This bastard’s ruining the reputation of all herbalists!”

“Selling a 50-silver fruit for one gold? You’ve got no shame!”

The other merchants were even angrier than Hereis, swarming the scammer.

The herbal trade on this street had an unspoken rule: prices were fixed across the board.

And this guy? He scammed for personal profit. No wonder the merchants lost their minds.

I stepped back from the brawl, smirking.

“Hmph. Trying to swindle our innocent Herein? Look at those wounded eyes of his.”

“Innocent…” Ban muttered under his breath, but Sienna—her focus locked on the fight—didn’t hear.

“Such a cruel world. It’s scary to even walk around,” I sighed.

“Of course. You’re like a newborn fawn, easy prey for people to strip bare. That’s why you shouldn’t go alone. Got it?”

“Mm. I’ll trust you,” Hereis said, his eyes misty with emotion.

My heart ached—he hadn’t made that money out of thin air. He’d honestly used the allowance I gave him, only to end up in this mess. How crushed he must feel.

I patted his shoulder.

“Just trust me. I’ll take care of you.”

“Sienna, that’s a promise.”

“Promise my ass… Lina, I feel sick. Let’s go.”

Ban looked utterly disgusted, but—as usual—his voice got drowned out.

That night, in a quiet residential street, inside a modest home…

A pot-bellied man with swollen, bruised eyes was rolling an egg over his eyelids and grumbling.

“Damn it, of all people to scam, it had to be someone under a noblewoman.”

It was the same scammer who’d tried to cheat Hereis and gotten a thorough beating from Sienna.

Gnawing on a juicy chicken leg, the merchant muttered,

“Thought she was a sheltered lady who didn’t know a thing… tch. Just bad luck.”

He had thought a little sweet-talking would be enough. He hadn’t expected to be outplayed.