Mrs. Hurzurn spoke firmly while her husband next to her also arrogantly crossed his arms. They were making Rubica look like she wasn’t paying attention to the well-being of the Claymore family if she didn’t buy their hoes.

Rubica soon realized what was going on. These people hadn’t come to plead for justice or get close to Rubica. They were merchants eager to use an innocent idiot to strike it rich.

And unfortunately, Rubica wasn’t such an idiot. She had met plenty of these kind of merchants at the abbey. She knew what to say to them.

“According to the books I got from Ann, I decided the hoes we already have will be enough.”

No, I won’t buy.

“But Your Grace, this hoe is different from the other hoes. Food production will increase greatly in the fall.”

“It looks like the price of purchasing hoes will be bigger than the increase in food production. I will not buy them.”

No, still no.

“But…”

“I will think of buying them if the hoes rust by next year.”

Her smile made it clear: she was saying she would think about it, but she wasn’t saying she would buy them. In the end, Mrs. and Mr. Huzburn had to leave without getting what they wanted. They only got to find out the duchess wasn’t an easy opponent.

Of course, Rubica wanted to enjoy spending a lot of money to bankrupt the Claymore Family. However, what she wanted was to spend money on fun, not to be used by some greedy merchants. Granting a wish of such people couldn’t be good. They would thank her but spread words on how Duchess Claymore is so stupid and easy to fool the moment they stepped out of the room.

Why should I be called a fool even when I’m spending money?

“Your Grace, you are doing so well.”

When Rubica got rid of the 19th visitor-salesperson, Ann offered her hot coffee. Good, she had been having a headache. No wonder Edgar had a headache. Rubica silently muttered to herself as she drank coffee.

“Haa.”

The coffee had a pleasant scent that Rubica had never felt before. The smell of fruits and almond? It had to be an expensive coffee that she had never drunk before. She enjoyed the smell and got rid of her worries.

“Now you have only one visitor left. Lord Sesar.”

“Who is she?”

Rubica hoped it might be the fairy she had seen at the feast, but that bubble of hope popped when she saw the document Ann gave her. It said Sesar was an old man.

“He is a relative, second cousin of His Grace… he is a little weird. But it shouldn’t be a problem as you have been doing well.”

Ann wasn’t trying to hide that she wanted Rubica to say ‘no’ to Sesar. Rubica smelled her coffee again and read the rest of the document.

Sesar was a botanist. He spent almost all he had on writing a book on the plants of the Seros Mountains to become a member of the Aron’s Academy. That was unusual as most Claymores worked in the munitions industry. Moreover, he had spent all he had on a plant book? Yes, he was a bit weird.

“Will I get visitors tomorrow as well?”

“Yes, you will have to meet visitors for about three more days.”

Rubica was relieved to hear that. Most of the visitors she had met were close relatives or relatives involved in important businesses. There was no way Ann had scheduled meetings randomly.

Unfortunately, dependent lodgers like Rubica’s fairy had to be far behind in the line. She decided to be patient and wait for the fairy.

“Then Ann, bring refreshments and tell Lord Sesar that I am ready.”

“Okay.”

The maids cleared up the table and brought a glass of cool water, a cup of coffee, and some cookies.

Rubica decided to go through the last visitor and end this boring time.

“Your Grace!”

Soon the door was opened and botanist Sesar came in with his beard that reached his shoulder. He must have worn the best clothes he had for the occasion, but there was still dirt on the tip of his white beard. One of the servants brought the heavy documents and left them on the side table. The servant looked at Rubica as if he pitied her for wasting time on that weirdo. He shook his head and left.

Sesar was certainly different from the relatives she had met till now. Rubica smiled at the red and white roses he abruptly offered to her. She immediately called a maid and gave them to her.

“Please put it in a vase.”

“No, no Your Grace. It is a very important material of what I am about to tell you.”

“Excuse me?”

“Edgar, he… no, His Grace won’t just listen to me.”

Rubica stared at Sesar confusedly. He got rid of the beginning and the middle part to directly go to the ending.

“Please invest in the improvement of roses!”

“What!”

“Trust me, it will work!”

“I don’t know…”

“I am going to make a new rose using these red roses and white roses. Here, this is a sketch I made myself. I am going to make a rose that is red in the center and white at the edge or white roses with red spots. Oh, and of course I can make red roses with white spots if you want.”

Rubica blankly stared at him. He said what he wanted and started to explain how it was possible using hard terms. He used so many difficult words that it was rather hard to understand him.

“And this much money will be needed. The expense for making a garden and greenhouse, expense for buying seeds needed for the experiment, expense for hiring assistants, expense for buying tools, I wrote the minimum expenses. Your Grace, I assure you, I will make really beautiful flowers.”

Sesar spoke of the money that could be used to develop a new weapon. Ann took a step away and shook her head as if she was stressed. She was thinking Rubica would say no as she had done till now.

But to her surprise, Rubica read Sesar’s documents and started to study his sketch of the new rose.

‘… beautiful.’

It was pretty. She didn’t know how it was possible, but she wanted to see a rose that had both red and white colors and every color between the two.

She raised her head and looked at Sesar. It was hard to believe he had just abruptly said what he wanted. He was sweating hard. He already looked disappointed, so he must have been rejected more than once or twice.

Rubica had said no to all the investment suggestions of the visitors till now. She wanted to have fun spending money, but she didn’t want to waste money.

“I will invest.”

However, she had to buy this.

Everyone in the room except for her was surprised at hearing that. Sesar clenched his fists. During the last two years, he had met every wealthy relative he knew including Duke Claymore to get funded. However, they all had said no to him. Today he had come to Duchess Claymore only because he had been desperate, and now she was granting his wish.

“Your Grace! Please, no.”

However, there was no way things went the way he wanted as Ann immediately protested. She couldn’t understand why Rubica was offering to help with such a ridiculous business when she had been refusing just fine. Buying Huzburns’ hoes would have been better than this. Roses were pretty but pretty much useless.

“I think it would not be right to invest on just roses.”

“Mrs. Taylor, please do not call my roses just roses. These roses will bring a sensation as soon as they bloom. I will also name one of them after Your Grace so that your name will be known to the people for generations.”

Sesar didn’t want to lose the funding he required and countered Ann. Rubica had to stop herself from sighing at Sesar’s way of convincing others. She could see why he had failed to get funded until now.

Suddenly offering a rose and saying it would work and you should invest without any explanation. He said that without considering even a bit how to convince people.

Ann wasn’t worrying about how much the roses’ value was. She had managed the household for three years till now in the absence of the duchess.

Moreover, they had spent a huge sum of money because of the duke’s sudden wedding. Investing in Sesar’s experiment would not be a huge problem, but they would be somewhat short in money. Ann wanted to reduce all these useless spendings. She, instead, wanted to spend money on Rubica as much as possible. She wanted to buy enough housedresses and maternity dresses for Rubica and clothes, diapers, and toys for the upcoming baby. She didn’t want that money being spent on some roses.

“But Lord Sesar, you went to His Grace at first, right? This is an investment in experiments. This isn’t about the management of household which Her Grace handles. This belongs to the budget His Grace manages.”

Ann was a veteran and quickly found a good excuse.

Rubica had just started managing the household, so she just couldn’t say no to her. It made sense. Sesar’s face turned dark immediately. This plant-loving scholar didn’t know how to convince people. However, Rubica was different. She knew well how to convince Ann.