The Ugly Wife of the Shady Duke - Chapter 48.2
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Her stomach churned, and she felt suffocated, but Grace wanted to move forward.
It was natural.
As long as she was alive, it was human instinct to want to live.
‘I don’t know why he said it’s revenge against me, but there’s only one way to resolve this.’
There could be various reasons why Benjamin was heading to the royal palace now.
It could be about Tom Birkin, a request for assistance regarding the recent fire accident, or…
‘Western contamination.’
It would have taken more time originally, but with Aria’s help yesterday, if they finished quickly, they could progress the story swiftly.
‘They may not have detailed results, but the conclusion would be that they need to trace the source of the contamination.’
Given Benjamin’s intelligence, he would have realized that the western outskirts were the cause.
‘Once the results regarding the western contamination come out, an expedition will be organized, and I must follow.’
Originally, she would have tried to prevent Benjamin from going, let alone follow him. However, with Tom Birkin’s incident and the orphanage director’s statement, Grace became the topic of conversation once again.
In the end, there was no other choice.
‘I have to shift the focus elsewhere.’
Although it wouldn’t completely eliminate the criticism, some of it would fade away.
‘Even if the expedition is organized early, it will take time to go to the western region. If I endure a little longer, the interests will naturally shift elsewhere.’
There were two large textile workshops in the capital. In the original story, these two workshops colluded and manipulated prices, exploiting small workshops and causing them to fail, taking advantage of their large guild status.
‘Even though they are textile workshops, it is impossible to produce all kinds of fabrics, so some fabrics have to be imported. They ruined the small workshops by continuously intercepting the middlemen.’
The reason Grace didn’t buy muslin from these two workshops was that she knew about future events.
After the illegal activities were exposed, the two workshops refrained from doing business for a while. The official reason was self-restraint, but there was a different intention. The nobles hosted parties almost every day, and the higher-ranked nobles would not wear the same dress twice. To prepare new dresses for the parties, new fabrics were needed. If the largest workshops, themselves, didn’t work, it would eventually become difficult for the high-ranking people.
Around that time, the Western issue was resolved smoothly, and a party was held at the royal palace as a social event.
‘Aria was able to wear an exclusive dress made from rare fabric that others couldn’t obtain.’
It was a gift arranged by Sylvester, and everyone admired and envied her.
As an alternative, Grace informed the small workshops of other trading partners.
One of them was the Arshia Kingdom, not far from the Baimon Empire.
‘It has a favorable position for imports, so the connections can be established quickly.’
Grace recalled the setting from the original story.
Although it was embarrassing to call it a kingdom, it was a small state, and the Arshia Kingdom was a nation formed by several ethnic groups.
Among those ethnic groups, the Pescian people showed natural talent in fabric production. The reason they were not well-known in the Baimon Empire was not only because they came from a small state but also because the relationship between the Arshia Kingdom and the Baimon Empire was not very friendly.
Although there was a language barrier, there were quite a few Pescian mix-bloods hidden in this empire.
‘Even though they all work at the large textile workshops.’
They had worked without receiving the proper recognition for their labor and receiving low wages. Aria was the one who noticed this.
After the commemorative party, she learned about the issues in the textile workshops and the unfair treatment of the Pescian descendants. As a reward for resolving the issue, she began trading with the Pescian people.
Through this process, a friendly relationship was established with the Arshia Kingdom, but the actual contract did not bring significant financial benefits.
Although the original story did not explicitly state that they didn’t gain any profits, Aria mentioned that relationships and trust between people were more important than money.
From that aspect, it could be inferred that they didn’t gain much financial gain.
‘Let’s inform them before we leave.’
Since the contracts between the workshops were not made in Grace Felton’s name, there wouldn’t be a big problem if she was absent.
‘The problem is how to contact Cleta.’
Grace hesitated to contact Cleta through Sally. Grace turned her gaze towards the window.
<Will that woman listen to your words? Just give up.>
‘Annoying.’
Honestly, even if Grace offered to meet, there was a high chance that as the hostess of the mansion, Cleta would comply with the meeting.
Grace was aware of that.
However, at the moment, they were the only people she could ask for help.
Grace looked at her own cheeks and spoke to the flustered Sally.
“Can you prepare the tea room to receive guests?”
“Yes, madam.”
“Call Cleta Dunn from the main building. I have an important matter to discuss with her.”
“I understand. I’ll send the maids who will assist with your dressing.”
“Thank you.”
Sally didn’t ask any further questions and only sent worried glances before leaving the room.
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