Lord of Rot

Roaring Castle.

’Miss Red Rose,’ Evangelina Leopold, finished her afternoon tea with the other noble ladies.

The main topic of their conversation was Miss Red Rose’s hobbies.

”Achoo.” Xiaona rubbed her nose and mumbled softly, ”Their perfume is way too strong.”

Miss Red Rose sounded a bit helpless. ”Xiaona, don’t say that.”

”They’re always trying to imitate you, my lady,” Xiaona said. ”They buy that Jinri perfume and use it so carelessly, you’d think they wanted to bathe in it.”

For a noblewoman, wearing perfume was a matter of etiquette.

As for why some noble ladies and madams liked to douse themselves in such strong perfume, it wasn’t because their noses were broken. It was because of body odor!

Even with frequent bathing, those with strong body odor could do nothing about it. This was especially true now, with the weather still hot and noble attire so heavy and thick. The moment they broke a sweat, the smell... TSK.

To avoid being impolite, their only option was to spray on as much perfume as possible to cover up the stench.

Miss Red Rose had no such worries. She had very little body hair; some parts had none at all.

A maidservant approached.

”My lady, there are two soldiers outside the castle requesting to see you.”

”Soldiers?”

The maidservant answered with her head lowered, ”Yes. They say they’ve come from Porcupine Castle, bearing the courtesies and friendship of Baron Leech Clarence.”

Miss Red Rose thought for a moment. Of course, she hadn’t forgotten Leech.

Last year, just after Leech inherited his title and territory, his own stepmother nearly had him killed. He merely chose to marry her off, and although her new husband was a bloodthirsty maniac, it was what his stepmother deserved.

He had even spared his own younger brother.

Miss Red Rose quite admired Leech’s ”mercy.”

More recently, she’d heard that Baron Porcupine had flown into a rage over a few stolen slaves and launched an expedition against tens of thousands of people.

Her own father had roared with laughter at this, greatly appreciating the young baron’s temperament, though he did say the boy was a bit brainless.

But his luck was excellent. By the time his army arrived, the rebels’ rabble had already scattered. Still, the new Baron Porcupine remained covered in spines, a fact the other nobles would not forget.

The man was crazy—crazier than his father, Lieder—and absolutely refused to suffer any slight.

”Let them in.”

”Yes!”

The small garden was a place for the ladies to chat. Duke Leopold rarely came here, so it wasn’t a suitable place for an official reception.

She met the two armored Porcupine Soldiers in a small courtyard of the castle.

”Honorable Miss Leopold, we have come under the orders of Baron Leech Clarence to bring you a specialty from the Porcupine Territory: Porcupine Brand soap.”

”Soap?”

”Yes,” a soldier replied.

Her maid, Xiaona, went over and accepted the exquisite wooden box.

The packaging looked decent, if a little plain.

After all, the gifts Miss Red Rose usually received weren’t decorated with mere flecks of gemstone; they were studded with gems the size of pigeon eggs.

But then she thought of the impoverished Porcupine Territory.

Not a single stone-paved road, people living in mud huts, and even a dilapidated, drafty castle.

’This is probably the best the Porcupine Territory can offer,’ Evangelina thought to herself.

She didn’t care if the gift was valuable. The fact that he had thought of her and sent a gift from so far away was enough to make her happy.

Opening the box, she found a letter inside.

Beneath the letter was an exquisite, palm-sized bar.

”To the beautiful and kind Miss Evangelina, I send my blessings and greetings. Though a year has passed since we parted, I still remember your red hair, as beautiful as the sunset glow. I am watching that very glow outside my window as I write this, but alas, it cannot compare to even a fraction of your beauty.”

What a smooth-talking opening. The beautiful and kind Miss Red Rose likely never imagined that his study didn’t even have a view of the sea.

Furthermore, before writing this letter, Leech had mass-produced similar ones in the same style for ”the beautiful Miss Water Hyacinth,” ”the beautiful Stacy,” and every other noble lady and madam he could think of.

He’d just change the descriptions—red hair became black hair, or blonde hair—but the basic template remained the same. It was much less effort to write them that way.

A smile touched Evangelina’s lips. She often heard such smooth talk, which she usually detested. But hearing it from a minor lord she hadn’t seen in a year was, for some reason, both delightful and surprising.

Because they weren’t in the same social stratum, his words carried no pressure.

Mostly, it was the wonderful feeling of being remembered by someone for a whole year.

”As you can see, that is a bar of Porcupine Brand soap. It has the scent of fresh flowers, and using it to bathe will leave you with a floral fragrance.”

Miss Red Rose suddenly understood. The poor Porcupine Territory was trying to start a side business.

But perfume production was the domain of scholars. The methods were incredibly complex, and the materials were precious. Leech thought he could make the same kind of money with soap? Impossible.

She knew the Porcupine Territory was desperate for money.

Leech had someone deliver this soap probably because he wanted her to help recommend it and sell it to the other ladies and madams.

In her opinion, the chances of successfully marketing and selling it were slim.

’I could lend the Porcupine Territory some money,’ she thought quietly.

She’d heard her father mention the importance of the Porcupine Territory before, and she didn’t want to see a loyal vassal family fall into ruin.

”Your Knight, Leech Clarence”

Letters sent by raven didn’t typically include a signature, but Leech was fond of this format. Signing his name at the end had a certain romantic feeling, like something out of a translated story.

And this style of writing seemed to strike a chord with the ladies. Whether it was Miss Red Rose or Lady Jie Lin, they both seemed to quite like it.

Miss Red Rose looked at the two soldiers and said, ”I’ll try it. Afterward, I’ll send Leech a letter by raven. You must be tired from your journey. I’ll have someone show you to a place to rest.”

Sending two soldiers just to deliver a single bar of soap... Miss Red Rose felt she was being taken seriously.

From what she understood, Porcupine Castle only had thirty or forty soldiers in total.

The two soldiers shook their heads. ”Our lord ordered us to return immediately after making the delivery. There’s much to be done in the Porcupine Territory, and they can’t spare the manpower.”

”Very well.” Miss Red Rose looked to her maidservant.

The maid, Xiaona, nodded and handed two Silver Moons to the men.

The two soldiers stared at the Silver Moons with strange expressions.

’The Duke’s household is so stingy! The travel expenses our lord gave us were more than this. Is that all?’

”Thank you,” the two said, not daring to voice their true thoughts.

Watching the two of them hurry away, Miss Red Rose sighed. ”Life is truly not easy for the minor lords.”

”Indeed,” Xiaona nodded.

’Look at those two soldiers, getting so excited over just two Silver Moons. Although my own salary isn’t much higher, I spend all day by my lady’s side and have seen so much more of the world.’

’Even though I only earn one or two Silver Moons a month like them, I look down on commoners who earn ten. It’s called having high standards.’

Of course, one could also call it not knowing her own place.

That evening, while bathing, Miss Red Rose remembered the soap Leech had sent and had a maidservant bring it to her.

As she gently rubbed the soap on her body, her skin surprisingly grew slippery with foam.

With a light blow, a mischievous soap bubble slid from her shoulder down to her chest.

There was also a floral scent, which lifted her spirits considerably.

Miss Red Rose was a very clean person, bathing almost every day. Even in winter, she would bathe every three or four days.

But as she soaked her body in the tub and saw the murky water, she froze. ”Am I... Am I really that dirty?”

She couldn’t believe the muddy water, yet the smooth, clean feeling on her skin was undeniably real.

After drying herself, Miss Red Rose sniffed the faint floral fragrance on her skin, her mood becoming utterly blissful.

”Porcupine Brand soap!”

She suddenly realized that the Porcupine Territory’s invention might actually have a chance to compete with expensive perfumes.

The scent of perfume was too overpowering, something she had never really liked. It was nowhere near as pleasant as the scent of this soap.

Even more miraculously, Miss Red Rose had an exceptionally comfortable sleep that night.