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“Anastasia-sama, did you sleep well last night?”
“Hmm, I guess it’s alright.”
The next morning, when Nina came to wake me up, I said this to her and stretched my body. Nina opened the curtains of my room, and there were only a few clouds in the sky. Yes, the weather seemed to be fine.
“Speaking of which, Anastasia-sama. You’re going to look around the territory today, aren’t you?”
“Yes, that’s the plan.”
At any rate, I couldn’t do anything without knowing the territory first, that’s why I was supposed to go around the territory with my brother, Max-san, and Sylvia-san today. William-sama seemed to have business as the crown prince here as well, so we were going our separate ways. As for Lloyd and Nina, they will be assisting the attendants here, so they’re also not coming with us. Both of them looked quite dissatisfied, but when I asked them, they agreed in an instant. Beautiful girls were the best, weren’t they?
“This land seems to be mainly used for growing fruits, so I’m wondering if I can make something with the fruits.”
It seemed that this land was not very suitable for growing vegetables. However, it was suitable for growing fruits, and fruit cultivation became the main business about a hundred years ago. That’s what I read in the information about the estate that William-sama gave me. The main fruits grown were apples, which were also present in the previous world. But in this world, there were not a lot of uses for fruits. So, in the end, there was not much profit to be made.
“Also, tourism is a problem here. Most of the land is used for cultivating fruit trees, so there is no area for tourism. Tourism should be a big source of income for us, so we’d like to improve on that as well.” This story is hosted at novelping.com.
It took a lot of money and time to build a tourist spot, so we have no other choice but to look for a place that could quickly become a tourist spot. Well, I have an idea for what I’m looking for, but to make it a tourist spot, we needed permission from the owner of the land. It’s a new idea in this world, so there was no guarantee that it would work, which meant that the owner of the land would probably be reluctant to go along with this plan. I could foresee that much.
“…I see. By the way, the chef at the royal palace said he wanted to make a new sweet dish, so why don’t you come up with a recipe using apples, which are the specialty of this place anyway, right?”
“Let me see…”
Sweets made with apples. I think it’s common in this world to put them on cakes. It’s something that’s enjoyed on a cake or tart. Or, you could eat them raw. Those were the only two options for consuming apples in this world. Hmm…
(Come to think of it, I’ve never seen an apple pie or baked apples in this world…)
I’ve been thinking about this as I pulled up my memories of living as Anastasia. In this world, apple pie was a luxury sweet that left a strong impression on the nobles when they ate it. But in my previous life, I could eat it casually. I wonder if I could somehow use it well here. As for baked apples, apple pie has a complicated cooking process, but I think I could learn how to make baked apples fast.
“…Apples. I’ll see if I can find some other suitable fruit.”
This place was a fantasy world, but there was something here like a greenhouse from my previous life. Well, the inside was magically controlled and the temperature was constantly adjusted, so it was completely different on how you could maintain the same temperature all year round. Only their uses were similar. In other words, in this world, you could grow the same crops all year round as long as the soil was suitable. Simply put, the apples could be harvested throughout the year.
“Well, I guess we can take a look at that when we go to visit the fruit growers. Anyway, I’ll have to suggest to my brother that we use apples. I’m sure my brother will be able to negotiate with them.” New chapters come out on novelping(.)com first.
Brother was more used to these kinds of situations than I was. I heard that Max-san often took on these kinds of matters, but I think that older brother had more experience and power. Moreover, brother has the personality of a demon king. I was sure that he’ll be able to make the conversation go as he sees fit.
“Oh, that reminds me, Anastasia-sama. I heard that Max-san and Sylvia-san are going to take their meals somewhere else.”
“…Wait a minute. Doesn’t that mean me, my brother, and my husband will be eating together…?”
“Yes, it does. I’m sure you’ll be pleased to know that Lloyd and I will both eat in the servants’ dining room.”
…I was stunned by such casual words coming from Nina. My brother was good. I didn’t mind him at all, but I don’t want to have dinner with William-sama, even if he’s… my husband. I won’t be able to eat properly because I’ll be too worried. I didn’t want to if I could help it.
“Umm… I’m not feeling very well today…”
“If you’re not feeling well, I’ll have to inform Matheus-sama this.”
“Please don’t! Please don’t do that! I’m fine!”
If a report like this would reach my brother’s ears, we would have to postpone today’s tour of the territory. If at all possible, I would’ve liked to complete the tour by today. This was why I instantly withdrew my temporary illness and put my trust in Nina to not tell my brother about this. Even her gaze appealed to my request as well.