The changing seasons in the Black Forest are intense, yet in the Lengshan Barony, the harsh winter of the Sword Year has only just passed, and there are no signs of warming. There were two heavy snowfalls around the month of the Sleeping Moon, but they seemed to faintly herald the first harvest of this domain. The streets were still swept by a bitter cold wind, and there were few pedestrians; however, the sole tavern inside the city presented a different scene, with the fire casting a warm glow over the hall. Since the end of summer, adventurers who roamed near the Lengshan Domain had gathered here, waiting for the ice and snow in the forest to melt.

As each adventurer entered this inn, besides taking off their snow-covered cloaks, after observing the entire hall, without exception, they would remove their hat and pay respects from afar to a young girl sitting in a corner of the hall. This little girl had a high forehead, smooth as jade, shining under the firelight, with big eyes that seemed somewhat intelligent, sparkling with curiosity towards the people and things around her. She wore a beautiful formal long dress; although she wasn't particularly old, her chest had already begun to develop under the dress, creating a full appearance—the dress cinched at the waist, perfectly accentuating the young lady's slender figure—yet the dress, full of noble young lady's demeanor, did not suit her and seemed rather sneaky, as if she wore clothes stolen from somewhere.

"Big Sister, this is the deer hide you wanted. The forest is completely frozen now, and we went through a lot of trouble to track down a herd of deer. Harto even got some frostbite; you can't be too stingy with the reward—" Several people dressed clearly as hunters stood before her negotiating, with the leader obviously a mountain person from the nearby area, wearing a thick leather coat and carrying a longbow.

"Oh, Harto got frostbite? Then he was really unlucky," Romantic blinked her eyes and curiously asked, "Are there no more deer herds in the forest?"

"It's all because of those damned Cave Dwellers causing trouble, scaring all the animals into hiding."

"Huh, I heard the Cave Dwellers quieted down before the snowfall."

"Well... there's a little relation to it, I suppose."

"I want these deer hides to make a coat for Brand; will two hundred silver coins suffice?" Romantic carefully poked the deer hide with her fingers and looked up to ask.

"We would be happy to make a coat for Lord too; this way the Lord will surely like you even more, Big Sister," said one with a clear look of disbelief that this young lady could actually make a coat, but still flatteringly said: "But that's a bit on the low side, Big Sister, considering Harto got frostbite."

"But this is clearly last year's deer hide; look, some parts are already moth-eaten." The Merchant Lady flipped the deer hide with an innocent face.

"Ah—?" The 'big merchant' rendered these fellows speechless with a single remark. The adventurers immediately showed embarrassed expressions, coughing: "The year shouldn't matter so much, right? Besides, we really did go into the forest, and Harto really got frostbite."

"So, these deer hides aren't worth that much money, and you know it. The rest is for Harto's ointment, you better not lose it to Mano, that gambler, because I'm sending someone to check on Harto tomorrow." She glared at them: "If he doesn't get the money, I'll send the Cave Dwellers to eat you." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

After being reprimanded, the hunters quietly took the money and left. Though they didn't swindle the young lady, they didn't show much dissatisfaction, seemingly used to this kind of bargaining. Meanwhile, Romantic restlessly tapped the round-toed shoes under her gown's hem, her big eyes constantly darting around as if never settled, looking around while holding a steaming cup of barley beer as if still waiting for someone.

All winter long, this self-proclaimed big merchant lady had been sitting in this spot, doing her business or winning people's hearts here. But the respect she received wasn't unreasonable; it wasn't merely because she was the Lord's fiancée or held half the wealth of the territory, being seen by everyone as a god of wealth. It was rather because she was affable and never used her status to suppress others, even willing to haggle over several copper coins with adventurers for an entire afternoon.

Yet it's precisely because of this that people wouldn't feel the disparity in status—an adventurer's life is not truly affluent, and money is a crucial thing; they don't look up to those who squander money heedlessly. Among all of Brand's partners and staff, only Romantic and Frey truly understood this point.