119. The Disappeared Marquis Pochet

The Pochet family wasn’t the only one listed on the Golden Plate. All the young ladies applying to be the crown prince’s bride would have outstanding qualities and solid backing.

Participating in that fierce competition required money. Like the dresses Caitlyn was buying now, there were adornment costs, accommodation expenses in the capital, and countless other concerns.

When family circumstances were affluent, the Marquis could have boldly dismissed it even if Caitlyn went to the capital and failed the crown prince’s bride selection, saying it was a good experience for his daughter. But now, even that was a significant expense.

Nevertheless, Caitlyn’s participation in the crown prince’s bride selection sounded like an attractive proposal to Marquis Pochet.

‘Just Caitlyn entering the bride selection would make the ignorant commoners look up to our marquis family.’

They would think, not just anyone can participate in the selection, so the Pochet family must be a great household to send their daughter as a candidate for the crown prince’s bride.

In truth, although he hadn’t told his family, Marquis Pochet had already borrowed money from loan sharks. And these loan sharks had recently been pressuring the Marquis, saying the loans had reached maturity.

For the high-nosed Marquis Pochet, it was truly vexing that commoners dared to appear before him saying it was time to repay the money he had borrowed.

‘These worthless commoners. Daring to press the great Pochet family for fear we might default on their money—their guts are hanging out. When a noble takes money, they should be honored and wait quietly until it’s repaid.’

He wasn’t repaying because their attitude displeased him, definitely not because he had no money to repay!

When Marquis Pochet first borrowed the money, these same people served him tea and said it was an honor to be able to help the Marquis.

If only Caitlyn became the crown prince’s bride, they would be too honored to know what to do with themselves and would wave away the debt, saying how could they ask for repayment from the crown prince’s father-in-law.

Even if she didn’t become the crown prince’s bride, at least during the selection period, he could boast that his daughter would soon be the crown prince’s bride and delay repaying the debt.

How would ignorant commoners know about the crown prince’s bride selection process? If none other than Marquis ‘Pochet’ guaranteed that his daughter would soon become the crown prince’s bride, they would hesitate and assume it must be true.

‘And if she really does become the crown prince’s bride, as Caitlyn said, surely the imperial family wouldn’t let their in-laws’ debts go unpaid……’

From the beginning, it wasn’t an amount that couldn’t be cleared if he decided to settle it.

Though investments and farming had failed in succession leaving him without cash, what kind of family was the Pochet family?

‘That petty debt could be paid by selling some ancestral land, but how could I sell such historic land just because I borrowed a little money from commoners?’

Having never farmed himself, he didn’t truly understand its value, but as a Southerner by blood, he had been taught that land is not something you sell even if you’re starving to death.

‘Besides, lately my dreams have been……’

There was one more reason why Marquis Pochet didn’t sell land to settle his urgent debts.

Amid his financial difficulties, he had happily sold what had been a burden—a mine—when a buyer appeared, but the dreams he had afterward were ominous.

His deceased father appeared in his dreams, repeatedly cursing him as a fool and a sucker.

Considering how much his father had loved him during his lifetime, calling him the eldest son who would inherit the marquis family, it was truly an absurd nightmare, but it was unsettling nonetheless.

He couldn’t sell the land, and the temporary cash flow problem would resolve itself over time.

True to someone who had lived arrogantly as a great noble all his life, Marquis Pochet thought optimistically about the situation. It was just a matter of delaying payment for a while. And doing so in a way that wouldn’t damage his dignity as Marquis Pochet.

Marquis Pochet had already forgotten that he had been considering the possibility that Caitlyn might not become the crown prince’s bride, and laughed heartily.

‘My spitting image, Caitlyn, can’t fail to become the crown prince’s bride, of course not! That’s my daughter, knowing exactly how to find her own rice bowl!’

* * *

“What do you mean our family isn’t listed on the Golden Plate? What nonsense is that?”

Crash.

Caitlyn, who had been elegantly tilting her teacup saying she needed to be refined as the future crown prince’s bride, threw what she was holding at the unexpected news.

Swoosh, Caitlyn’s fierce gaze turned upward.

“The only helpful thing that detestable Anette girl ever did for my life was marrying into the Grand Duke’s family, so what nonsense is this!”

“B-b-but this is news directly from the Marquis who went to the capital.”

The Marquis, saying he needed to personally attend to Caitlyn’s marriage that would bring glory to the family, had gone directly to the capital to express Caitlyn’s intention to participate in the crown prince’s bride selection.

And in that process, he discovered something. Despite Anette Pochet and Darius Inkheart clearly being married, the marriage fact had not been recorded in the noble yearbook that manages marriages between the royal family and major nobles!

“The Great Temple in charge of recording the noble yearbook said they couldn’t believe how they hadn’t even heard news of a wedding ceremony between two great noble families……”

“That’s because they didn’t actually hold a wedding ceremony! But those two are definitely husband and wife, husband and wife!”

Bang, Caitlyn slammed the table. Who would have thought that her attitude of ‘Why bother with a formal ceremony for Anette’s marriage?’ would come back to bite her like this!

“Wait. The Great Temple in the capital is currently headed by a high priest from the Eastern Duke’s family, right? Ha, Margarita from the East! Now I see, she wants to make her niece the crown prince’s bride, so she’s blocking me, a strong candidate? If I enter, it’s obvious I’ll become the crown prince’s bride, so of course she would!”

Caitlyn’s not-so-bright mind was spinning unusually fast in the face of this life-or-death crisis.

It was obvious that the Eastern Duke’s family would also want to make their daughter the crown prince’s bride, so regardless of Caitlyn’s actual qualifications, the fewer candidates for crown prince’s bride, the better.

Marchioness Pochet, who was with Caitlyn, held her head and asked:

“If things went wrong, why hasn’t the Marquis returned?”

But before she could hear an answer to her question, Caitlyn burst out in anger, cutting her off.

“You should have registered the marriage in advance! Mom, you’re at home all day, why couldn’t you take care of something like this?”

“I thought Inkheart would register it! They’re the ones welcoming a wife!”

“Does that make any sense? We gave them so much dowry and did everything for their benefit! And now our family isn’t listed on the Golden Plate!”

“If it was such an important matter, why didn’t you, Caitlyn, take care of it yourself? You’re the one who wanted to become the crown prince’s bride. You ordered all those clothes!”

The Marchioness snapped back at her daughter when she blamed her.

She had recently discovered that the Marquis family’s financial situation wasn’t good. She had been able to look at the household income ledger secretly while the Marquis was away in the capital.

Having faced the truth that the Marquis had been hiding all along, she was already anxious, and with the consecutive bad news, the Marchioness’s mood had completely soured.

‘When he returns, I was going to ask what on earth is going on!’

Meanwhile, Caitlyn didn’t worry about her father at all. Her only concern was whether she could participate in the crown prince’s bride selection or not.

“Fine. I’ll go directly to Grand Duke Inkheart’s residence and ask! What on earth is going on!”

She needed to qualify by early summer when the social season would begin. Only then could she participate in the crown prince’s bride selection!

Caitlyn, a young lady raised in luxury, had never been on such a long journey.

But her desire to become the crown prince’s bride was remarkable.

It made Caitlyn, who only knew how to order others around with her fingertips, pack her own luggage and head north.

‘Anette, you girl, trying to interfere with my becoming a noble status by doing things this way!’

Her habit of blaming others hadn’t gone anywhere, and Caitlyn boarded the carriage, blaming Anette for everything not going well.

* * *

“You’re a family member of Lady Anette? The daughter of Marquis Pochet?”

“Are your eyes crooked? Can’t you see the Pochet family crest painted on this carriage!”

At the northern checkpoint.

The northern soldier, who hadn’t heard about any noble visitor coming, tilted his head in confusion.

Caitlyn’s heart dropped.

‘Did that gloomy Anette make herself so hated by the northern people that they’re taking it out on me too? That tactless girl, it’s so obvious! Oh dear, should I not have mentioned the Pochet family name?’

If they harass me, I’ll shout that I’m about to become the crown prince’s bride in a day or two! That’s as good as decided!

“Indeed, who would dare impersonate the family of the Grand Duchess. I’ll immediately send word to the Grand Duke’s residence that a lady from the Pochet family has arrived.”

However, contrary to Caitlyn’s worries, the soldier became even more polite than before when she said she was Anette’s younger sister, and personally escorted her to the carriage.

“What’s this?”

Hmph. Even the dogs of the North recognize their master?

Mentioning the Pochet family name didn’t disadvantage Caitlyn. Rather, people seemed pleased to hear she was Anette’s family. Surprisingly so.

“I’m delighted to escort a family member of Lady Anette!”

Even the innkeeper at the inn they stopped at on the way to the Grand Duke’s castle beamed with joy and prepared a special room without charging for it.

The innkeeper was someone whose life had improved thanks to the road maintenance project Anette had recently initiated.

Convenient transportation helps with the movement of goods and people.

As the roads developed, visitors to the inn increased significantly. Moreover, the road maintenance project created jobs, so during construction, the workers ate at this inn.

This made the innkeeper practically worship Anette.

“How is it, does the food suit your taste?”

Gulp.

Caitlyn, who had brought a spoonful of the stew served by the innkeeper for dinner to her mouth, soon opened her eyes wide.

‘What is this explosive flavor?’

Warm broth that thawed her body frozen by the cold northern air. Sufficient calories to comfort her mind and body exhausted from the long journey.

‘Did this bear-like innkeeper really make this? Are all northern people this good at cooking?’

Caitlyn was shocked. She had always thought the South had the best food!

The taste of the rich meat stew was dancing on the tip of Caitlyn’s tongue.

“W-well… it’s not bad! But it’s still commoner food! Hmph! I’ll eat it considering the effort put into making it!”

Slurp!

Munch, munch.

Contrary to her words, Caitlyn’s spoon frantically rushed toward the stew bowl.

Gobble, gobble! To think such a taste existed in the world! What I’ve been eating until now wasn’t stew at all!

It had been several months since she started managing her figure for the crown prince’s bride selection. No, even without that, Caitlyn had always eaten sparingly, believing that a young lady should have a slim figure.

Perhaps that’s why Caitlyn couldn’t come to her senses at the taste of the rich northern-style stew she was tasting for the first time.