TVBDS 34

 Chapter 34

At last, that day had arrived.

We woke up early at dawn and headed to Port Nantes.

In the quiet morning sky, a familiar and welcome flag waved toward us.

It was the flag of the Loire Eastern Trade Merchants’ Association.

The one who deserved to enjoy the joy of reunion first—and most of all—was Felix.

While waiting, he kept scraping the ground with his feet like a restless puppy. The moment he saw Uncle Guillaume, he ran forward without hesitation.

“Felix!”

“Father!”

And then, a reunion between father and son that no one could watch without tears.

There was nothing more to say. Everyone’s eyes filled with tears, and sniffles could be heard everywhere.

Me too.

The waves patted their backs, crashing loudly as if crying on their behalf.

Even the seabirds folded their wings, perched on the mast, and cried softly.

Maybe it was the sea breeze… or maybe it was because I had been holding back my tears for so long.

The drops on my lips tasted especially bitter and salty.

Now that the touching reunion was over, it was my turn.

“How was it?”

“It was incredible.”

Uncle Guillaume closed his swollen eyes and recalled the moment.

“Ha! Even thinking about it now gives me chills. We had already set sail safely, passed all the dangerous waters, and were near the end of a peaceful journey—sleeping twenty-three hours a day. Sounds peaceful, right? But that’s actually when people start going crazy from boredom. Chess gets boring in a day or two, and gambling empties your pockets in three.”

He poured out all his words in one breath, then drank wine.

“Anyway, in that situation, I laid out a tablecloth and prepared tea. Those guys looked at me like I was crazy. Sailors have no sense of elegance at all. So I spread the cloth, brought out a porcelain teapot, took out the brick-like biscuits I had saved… and finally—bam! I revealed the canned fruit. And then, our first mate—the guy who can tell where land is just by smelling the air—he…”

“Uncle, would you like more wine? We also have cheese.”

“Oh! Great. It’s been so long since I’ve eaten cheese that won’t kill me!”

Finally, he quieted down.

In short, his plan was a huge success.

Near the end of the voyage, when food supplies were running low and people were desperate enough to think mold might count as vegetables—

A golden glass jar appeared.

The moment he opened it, sailors and merchants swarmed like bees.

Amid their envy and admiration, Uncle Guillaume began his grand dessert show with fresh apricots.

‘Mmm! Très bien! The pure sugar syrup soaks perfectly into the hard biscuit, turning it into a crumbly delight dancing on the tongue!’

‘Now, let’s try the fruit… gasp! This chewiness! This softness! This freshness! The natural sweetness numbs my tongue! And this refreshing sourness wakes me right up!’

‘Ah… to eat fresh fruit without worrying about getting sick… I’m glad I lived this long…!’

Honestly, maybe the others were more desperate to stop his dramatic performance than to eat the fruit.

Anyway, his show ended successfully, and as proof, he brought me a thick stack of contracts.

“I knew you wouldn’t stay quiet, but I didn’t expect you to get involved in the market redevelopment too. I heard everything from Damien. You said they should be given a chance?”

While I happily looked at the signatures on the contracts, Uncle Guillaume clicked his tongue.

But he sounded more amused than annoyed.

“And the patent too—if you had monopolized it instead of sharing, you could’ve made much more money.”

“That wouldn’t be fun.”

“Fun?”

His eyebrows twitched, as if he couldn’t believe what he just heard.

A monopoly… I had thought about it.

But I wasn’t running a food company. What would I even do with preservation technology alone?

“I’m already rich enough. Not just from what I’ll inherit from Father, but also from the canned food patent fees piling up in Rivers Bank.”

I’m probably the richest among people my age.

“So, I’m not desperate.”

“Desperation…”

Desire comes from lack.

But I was living a life with no real shortages. So my desires were small.

I didn’t particularly want anything, so I had no strong will to achieve anything. And no desperation either.

“There’s no need for higher profits, no competition I need to survive, and I don’t even have employees to feed.”

I paused and smiled.

“That’s probably why I don’t feel like improving or developing canned food any further. How long do you think this version will last?”

Uncle Guillaume thought for a moment, then asked:

“You don’t want to build a factory? Like you said, you’re rich enough—you could build one easily.”

“That sounds like a hassle.”

“What?”

His face immediately frowned.

A factory… employees to manage… just thinking about it felt like too much responsibility.

And honestly, I didn’t have the talent for it. I knew my limits.

“I only made canned food because I wanted you and Father to eat fresh fruit—not to make a huge fortune.”

“Then other people who bought your patent will make big money using your technology.”

“In return, there will be more variety of canned goods. Or maybe someone will even discover better preservation methods.”

Because they are desperate. They’ll want to earn more than others.

“And while they do that, you’ll keep collecting patent fees?”

“Probably.”

“So basically, others do the hard work, and you just collect money from behind?”

“Oh my. When you say it like that, it makes me sound like a bad girl.”

Well… I was a villainess in the original story, so it’s not entirely wrong.

I widened my eyes and blinked innocently, and Uncle Guillaume let out a series of helpless laughs.

More importantly… Uncle, aren’t you forgetting something?

“Ahem. So… did you get the ‘item’?”

There was something more important than canned food.

I leaned forward on the sofa, rubbing my hands together in excitement.

I could barely sit still from anticipation.