The Aroma of Wine Fears No Deep Alley?

"Hehe! Lina, regardless of anything else, this is a token of Sir Nalant's sincerity. If he were to know you spoke of him this way, I certainly wouldn't help you then!" Stella laughed as well. She had no intention of keeping gifts sent by second sons; had her father not insisted they be delivered, she wouldn't even have allowed them into her room.

However, having said that, if Nalant was going to act like this, he might as well have sent nothing at all!

"It's clear he doesn't have you in his heart, My Lady! I'm not afraid of him!" Lina pouted, answering indignantly.

Although Lina was Stella's maid, she was also a noble scion; her father was a proper baron and lord.

Therefore, while Lina was merely a servant in front of Stella, once she stepped outside Tulip Castle, she was a noble young lady in her own right.

Stella smiled and shook her head, saying nothing more as she lowered her head to continue reading.

Seeing that her mistress had stopped speaking, Lina prepared to set the perfume aside. However, being a girl, she subconsciously pulled the wooden stopper from the bottle before putting it down.

Pop!

As the stopper was removed, Lina prepared to bring it to her nose for a sniff. Yet, before it even reached her nose, an unprecedented fragrance rushed toward her.

"Ah!" Lina's eyes widened instantly, and she stared at the perfume bottle in her hand in disbelief.

"Hm?" At this moment, Stella, who was sitting on the sofa, also caught the scent and looked up in surprise.

"My Lady... this... this perfume is so fragrant, so pleasant! I have never smelled anything like it!" Lina said in astonishment, handing the perfume bottle to Stella.

"What kind of perfume is this? The scent is truly wonderful, but how is it that I never knew jasmine perfume could smell like this before?"

Stella looked in surprise at the porcelain bottle, which likely cost less than ten copper coins to produce.

As the daughter of a count, she was no stranger to the high-end perfumes of the principality, and she dared to conclude that the perfume in this bottle was not a whit inferior to those luxury scents.

"My Lady, it seems I misunderstood Sir Nalant! But who would have thought Sir Nalant would use such a crude bottle to hold such precious perfume!" Lina's face flushed red; she hadn't expected to be proven wrong so quickly.

"He really is a strange second son!" Stella found it difficult to gauge exactly what kind of person Nalant was.

If it were any other noble second son, they would certainly have used a luxurious bottle to hold such precious perfume, so as not to be misunderstood.

Had Lina not subconsciously opened it just now, Nalant's reputation for stinginess would have been set in stone.

In truth, Nalant had no idea these accidents would occur. He hadn't even remembered the matter of sending a gift to Stella; after all, he had never even seen her face, and he had no way of knowing if she was ugly or beautiful.

When the caravan set out, Nalant had only instructed Thomas to send some gifts to his "cheap" father, including the Headless Knight's ordinary battle axe, some salted fish, and salt, which served as a form of compensation for him occupying the original owner's body.

"Lina! Go out and take a look—has... Nalant's caravan left yet? If they haven't, ask them if they have any more of this perfume!"

Stella took a deep breath of the fragrance with her fair, delicate nose. The perfume possessed a uniquely alluring scent that she found quite pleasing, so she gave the order to her personal maid.

"Yes, My Lady!"

Located at the foot of the mountain below the castle, in Tulip City, passersby were looking curiously at a strange caravan.

Why strange?

Because this caravan had actually set up a roadside stall right in the middle of Tulip East City Square.

This was something that had never happened in the East City before. One had to realize that the people living in the East City were all prominent noble lords; such a crude act as setting up a street stall was truly unheard of.

This strange caravan was none other than Thomas and his party.

Although the salted fish and salt had already been sold along the way, the perfume Nalant had concocted had yet to be sold.

The perfume was priced at fifty silver coins, and naturally, only the nobles living in the East City could afford such a price.

The carriage stopped, and Thomas placed the perfume on a wooden table borrowed from Tulip Castle. Ignoring the dignity of a castle steward, he smiled at the passersby watching nearby and said, "Noble lords, ladies, and madams, come and take a look! Precious perfume produced by the Berick Family, on sale for a bargain!"

"This perfume is jasmine-scented; a single drop is enough to keep the entire room fragrant for a whole day."

"If applied to the body, the scent is even more delightful!"

Thomas pointed to the perfume on the table and began his introduction with refined manners.

However, while there were many onlookers, not a single person stepped forward to examine the goods, and faint laughter could even be heard from within the crowd.

"This group is truly ridiculous. Not only are they setting up a roadside stall in the East City Square, but they're also selling such cheap perfume. Do you think they might be from some backwater territory, unaware that it's nobles who live in the East City of Tulip City?"

"Exactly. Isn't that perfume bottle the most common kind used to spray in hallways? It sells for one silver coin a bottle in the South City. If you sprayed that on yourself and went out, you'd be laughed to death!"

Pop!

However, amidst the chatter of the many nobles, Thomas sensed the problem and opened a bottle of perfume.

As the cap was removed, the fragrance in the bottle instantly permeated the surrounding air.

"Uh..." The expressions of the nobles, who had been quite mocking just moments before, stiffened one after another.

"This is jasmine, no... there are other scents too. Why is it so pleasant?"

Now the nobles couldn't laugh anymore; they all looked at the porcelain bottle in Thomas's hand in disbelief.

"Noble ladies and madams, this perfume is made by the Berick Family using a unique formula. The scent is very pleasant. If anyone is interested, you may step forward and try it!"

Thomas saw the change in the onlookers' expressions and seized the opportunity to extend an invitation.

However, even now, not a single noble lady responded.

If this perfume had been in a high-end perfume shop nearby, they would likely be scrambling for it by now. But here at a roadside stall, under the watchful eyes of everyone, the noble ladies and madams looked at one another, yet none prepared to step forward.

It seems I won't be able to complete the task the Master entrusted to me! Thomas felt his heart turn cold as he observed their reactions.

He had originally suggested to his master that selling to a perfume shop would be the most appropriate course of action, but his master had replied: "A fine wine needs no bush," and that such excellent perfume should not let a shop take the lion's share of the profits.

The most important reason was that his master intended to create a brand of his own, so that he could produce and sell more perfume in the future.

Yet Thomas knew that his master still underestimated the extent to which the nobles living in the city cared about their reputation; even with the slightest possibility of being mocked by others, the nobles would have their reservations.

"Ladies and noblewomen, there are only seventeen bottles of this precious, fragrant perfume left. If you wish to purchase one, please do not hesitate!"

Thomas would not give up, continuing to urge them on with a smile.

The noble ladies and wives had burning desire in their eyes, yet they remained rooted to the spot.

"Only seventeen bottles? So few?" However, just at that moment, a slightly haughty female voice drifted from the back of the crowd.

As this voice rang out, the surrounding ladies and noblewomen turned to look, wanting to see who was so bold as to not fear being disparaged later.

Buying perfume at a street stall—if that reputation got out... tsk, tsk!

"Ah! It's Miss Stella!"

However, when everyone saw who had arrived, they immediately exclaimed in surprise, and the mood of those who had been prepared to watch a spectacle vanished entirely.

They were joking; who would dare to mock Miss Stella? Even if Miss Stella were to apply perfume that cost only one silver coin a bottle, there would still be people who would praise it to the heavens.