The Sand Bride - Side Story 1.1 - Epilogue 1

Epilogue: 1

The young merchant from the Kingdom of Donova, Jeremy, was an ambitious man.

That is why he confidently inscribed his name on the export caravan bound for Gharyam, a venture everyone else hesitated about, and there was a trustworthy side to his boldness.

The fact that Sayar, Gharyam’s supreme leader, had a wife from the Kingdom of Donova was already known to the entire world, but the information that his wife was frail, and that Sayar was devising all sorts of plans to please such a wife, was only known by a few through word-of-mouth.

Jeremy used a connection—a friend who had supplied goods to Gharyam’s royal palace—to learn this information and smacked his thigh with a thwack. A brilliant business idea had flashed through his mind.

Recently, among the upper classes of southeastern countries, including the Kingdom of Donova, it was a trend to gift cute, affectionate puppies to spouses suffering from depression.

Whether they were too old to give birth, no longer needed more children due to succession issues, or for various other reasons, the upper classes throughout the kingdom were enthusiastically getting puppies instead of babies. The reasons were that puppies were cuter, there were no complications involving property or titles, and they offered affection that could be returned.

Jeremy was confident. He poured all his time, effort, and a vast sum of money into acquiring a pregnant female dog whose mother was the same as the queen’s dog.

He then contracted an excellent ship for safe transport and arrived at a port city in Gharyam a week later. He immediately began preparations for the birth, nurtured the puppies, made them plump and healthy, and then entered the capital with them.

Sure enough, people took the puppies for a price that yielded more profit than what they cost to bring into Gharyam. Those who took them were mainly high-ranking nobles or royalty. For their beloved spouses, they paid the eye-watering prices without hesitation.

All but one were sold for astronomical prices, but Jeremy’s ambition did not end there. He had already set aside the one that looked the cutest. This was because he planned to offer that puppy directly to the person with the highest status in this country. Sayar.

However, when Jeremy presented the puppy at the royal palace after receiving a noble’s letter of recommendation, he felt perplexed. The reaction was too different from what he had expected.

The one woman and two men who owned this colossal palace showed no reaction upon seeing the cute puppy. They didn’t even offer a gentle smile, instead looking at Jeremy with eyes that seemed to ask, “What is this?”

“What is that beast used for?”

Finally, Hakan, who was watching the flustered merchant with displeasure, asked, and the woman, Greta, who examined its white, fluffy fur, also inquired.

“Is it used for its fur?”

Hmm. Karzhen, who had been indifferent, raised an eyebrow, suddenly interested by Greta’s remark. Perhaps because of the extreme temperature difference between day and night, the frail Esther often caught colds. It might also have been due to the clothing that exposed her shoulders and neck.

So, he gave her a scarf made of silver fox fur—a magnificent scarf that made everyone sigh at the beauty of its silver-like fur. Yet, Esther showed no particular joy even when wearing that scarf.

But with fur as white as snow, a scarf made of the type of fur often used in her homeland might please her.

However, Jeremy couldn’t hide his look of bewilderment. Fur? The nobles of his kingdom, who raised dogs like their own children, would scream if they heard this. Jeremy nervously waved his hands with an awkward expression.

“Ah, good heavens! Your Majesties jest! Ha, haha! This dog is not for its fur!”

“Then what is it used for?”

Greta’s cold eyes scrutinized the cotton-like white fur, the excessively small body and thin legs, and the large black eyes and nose.

“That dog is preposterously weak-looking to be used as a hunting dog, and yet it is too cumbersome in appearance to be used for tracking scents. What good is it?”

At that thoroughly calculated remark, Jeremy felt utterly deflated. But he did not give up. Exhibiting a merchant’s tenacity, he picked up the puppy and said confidently.

“It is for joy!”

“…….”

Right on cue, the puppy’s pink tongue flicked out to lick its own nose and smiled innocently, yet the two men and one woman still showed no change in expression. Seeing their faces, Jeremy felt a cold sweat break out despite the hot climate.

He saw Hakan glance at the gatekeeper. If he didn’t present something more now, his reputation in Gharyam would be utterly ruined. It wasn’t just about this one puppy. Mone of the three kings had taken any pleasure in his goods.

In his haste, Jeremy blurted out anything before Greta and Karzhen could wave their hands and have him dragged out.

“T-This puppy, surprisingly, is extremely popular in our kingdom—no, in the southeastern kingdoms! Ah, especially for a spouse or lover suffering from depression or lacking the joy of life, there is no greater expression of affection than this! After receiving this puppy, everyone’s relationship improves, and a smile returns to the face of the one who was once cold…….”

“A smile?”

At the deep, resonant voice, Jeremy’s head snapped up. The man with black hair and golden eyes was staring at Jeremy. His face was expressionless, but Jeremy, the tradesman, noticed the interest seeping into those eyes.

Furthermore, the man’s chair was the highest. That is, it was Sayar!

Jeremy’s spirit revived, and he skillfully nodded.

“Ah, of course! Within a week, they grow so attached that they smile, saying they are happy just looking at it!”

“So, they smile just by looking at that son of a b***h?”

Son of a b***h. Jeremy paused for a moment at Sayar’s choice of words to describe such a cute puppy, but he quickly managed his expression.

“That’s what I’m saying! Especially the people of our southeast, they all absolutely adore this puppy! It’s even more true for lonely people! Raising it instead of a baby brings couples closer, and this cuteness is a panacea for affection!”

“…….”

Karzhen was silent for a moment. He examined the tiny puppy Jeremy offered, then recalled his own dogs.

The dogs Karzhen raised were hunting dogs, consisting of two groups: one for scent tracking and one for attack. The enormous dogs, which were nearly the size of an adult man when standing on their hind legs, were utterly ferocious.

When Karzhen mentally considered gifting one of those dogs to Esther, the clear image of her trembling in fear immediately appeared before his eyes. This time, he tried to picture Jeremy’s puppy, but Esther’s image did not come to mind.

This was because Karzhen had never seen Esther genuinely smile.

In the end, Karzhen raised his hand, and Jeremy’s face brightened as he tied a silk ribbon around the puppy’s neck. Thus, the official procurement of the puppy, laden with his ambition, was confirmed by Karzhen.

* * *

Gharyam’s night was chilly, as if to replace the heat of the day. As the blue sky was stained crimson and the golden sunlight scattered and dispersed, the cold would rush in along with the curtain of black night.

At night, the people of Gharyam would put fuel in their hearths and stoves to warm their interiors and would put on an outer coat over their light garments when going out late.

The higher one’s status and the wealthier one was, the better the length and quality of the outer coat became.

People in truly noble positions wore long coats made of multiple layers of silk or goat hair and velvet. Those who wanted to be more fashionable added ornaments or buttons decorated with gold and jewels and enhanced the splendor with delicate embroidery.

Among them, the most highly prized were those made of thin, imported goat hair woven into a twill fabric.

Karzhen had recently procured three new outer coats made of goat hair and wrapped Esther up tightly in them. This was because Esther, who came from a homeland with a temperate climate and little temperature difference between night and day, often caught colds due to the sudden shifts in temperature.

All three were in pale, cool colors that suited Esther well—though, of course, they were not chosen by Karzhen, whose aesthetic sense was poor, but by Iphir, one of his brothers who was knowledgeable about clothes.

Iphir, a royal rumored to be a rake who loved to lounge around and disliked serious matters, had his head in his hands, carefully selecting women’s coats to send up after being threatened by Karzhen that if Esther did not like them, his royal budget would be halved.

When the three coats—in blue, sky blue, and silver—that matched the silver fox scarf were sent as a trial, Karzhen returned with a very satisfied face, and Iphir concluded that his palace budget would not be cut.

However, Esther was neither particularly pleased nor displeased with the coats Karzhen proudly presented. But since Esther wearing the coat and the fox fur scarf pleased Karzhen immensely, he did not carry out the threat he had made to Iphir.

To him, the mere fact that she wore them instead of burying them in a corner, like the other objects he himself had brought, was taken to mean that Esther was satisfied.