Starting Today I'll Work As A City Lord

"Monster?" Catherine tilted her head, blinked her eyes, and said with a smile, "Aren't 'you' the real monster?"

"You're the monster, your whole family are monsters." Dahlia rolled her eyes and pouted. "So, what are you here for today? You wouldn't just drop by without a reason."

"Uh..." Catherine shifted awkwardly, her eyes staring pitifully at Dahlia as she said in a pleading tone, "Dahlia, the music shop in the royal city just got a new four-string lute, and, um..."

"Don't tell me you want to buy 'another' one?" Dahlia glared at her with her eyes, exasperated. "You already have enough lutes to rival a whole music shop."

"This lute is different!" Catherine jumped up excitedly. "It's a four-string lute, the only one of its kind right now!"

"So what if it has an extra string?" Dahlia said calmly. "Anyway, unless you're here to borrow money, I don't want to hear it."

"Uh..." Catherine was speechless. She 'was' here to borrow money. Immediately, she put on her pitiful tone again, "Dahlia, don't be like that. Fine, I'll give you a two-string lute as a gift!"

"...," Dahlia smacked her forehead, annoyed. "No way, a lute like that costs several gold coins. That's basically a rip-off."

Besides, she couldn't even play the lute. Why would she need one? And now, a two-string lute only costs a few dozen silver coins anyway.

The lute was a popular instrument of the time, a curved-neck plucked string instrument, similar to guitars or pipa on Earth.

"But I really want it. I even want to perform at the theater with the four-string lute." Catherine pouted, sounding like a little kitten abandoned by its owner.

"Stop. You always pull this trick. I'll lend you the money, but I have one condition." Dahlia raised a finger.

"Name it! Whatever the condition is, I'll agree!" Catherine beamed with excitement.

"Tell your brother to stop bothering me. He's been coming to the shop a lot recently, pestering me so much that I can't even focus on bookkeeping." Dahlia said, a little annoyed.

Dahlia was a business prodigy, one of the five most remarkable women in the royal capital. What made her stand out was her sharp business acumen. She had fully inherited Joe's wisdom in commerce, and in some ways, she was even more skilled than him.

What made Dahlia truly famous was an auction she hosted at the age of fourteen. The final bids at that auction reached the highest in the history of the Siacan Kingdom. Her young age, combined with the incredible success of the event, catapulted her into the spotlight and earned her the title of a business prodigy.

Many nobles dreamed of having their sons marry Dahlia. There was a popular saying in the royal city: "With Dahlia, you'll never have to worry about money." True to her reputation, Dahlia managed her family's business and accounts with perfect order, which was one of the reasons Joe entrusted her with the family's wealth.

"No problem, leave it to me." Catherine agreed without hesitation. Compared to the lute, her brother's happiness was a distant second priority.

Catherine was a music fanatic. As one of the five most remarkable women in the royal capital, her uniqueness lay in her extraordinary talent with music. She was the best lute player in the entire royal city, without question. No one could match her mastery of the instrument, making her the top musician of the kingdom.

Every year, the king invited Catherine to perform at the royal banquets, and she was a frequent performer at the city's theaters, where tickets for her performances were always sold out in no time. The revenue from her concerts was several times higher than that of regular theater shows.

In short, none of the five remarkable women of the capital were ordinary—they were all geniuses in their respective fields, almost monstrous in their talents.

"Tell me, how much gold do you need?" Dahlia asked as she sipped from her glass of water.

"Not much, just twelve gold coins," Catherine said, counting on her fingers while casually swinging her legs in the air.

"Pu—" Dahlia spat out the water, spraying it all over Catherine's face. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she exclaimed, "What did you just say? Twelve gold coins?"

"Yeah, just twelve gold coins!" Catherine wiped the water off her cheek, looking completely innocent.

"I finally understand why the Duke cut off your gold supply." Dahlia muttered, her eyes twitching.

It was clear that Catherine had a habit of being quite the spendthrift. Buying a lute for twelve gold coins was outrageous. If Dahlia were in charge, she'd probably have kicked Catherine out of the house by now.

"Uh…" Catherine gave a sheepish smile, recalling her father's furious expression when she had asked him for twelve gold coins.

'knock, knock, knock!'

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Mind your manners," Dahlia adjusted her posture before calling toward the door, "Come in!"

"Creak!"

The door opened, and a maid entered, holding a box with both hands. She bowed respectfully and said, "Miss Dahlia, there is a letter from the master."

"Give it to me." Dahlia took the box and gestured for the maid to leave.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk… Looks like Uncle Joe isn't planning to come back for your birthday." Catherine said with a pout, glancing at the box.

Dahlia didn't respond right away. She opened the box and saw several items inside. The first thing she picked up was a stack of thin sheets of paper.

"What's this? It's so thin!" Catherine exclaimed, her curiosity piqued.

"Let me read what's written first," Dahlia said as she scanned through the letter. Her expression shifted constantly—raising her brows, furrowing them, and even twitching her eyes as her emotions fluctuated.

"Hey, hey... What does it say? Why are you so emotional? Could it be…" Catherine's eyes widened in fear.

"Smack!"

Dahlia slapped Catherine on the shoulder, annoyed. "What are you thinking? Stop jumping to bad conclusions."

"Uh... nothing!" Catherine quickly turned her head away, though she had been wondering if Uncle Joe had… Well, 'kicked the bucket.'

"This thin material that can record writing is called paper. And this here is called chocolate, and this is a lollipop. Father sent them from a city called Sedona City." Dahlia's eyes sparkled with curiosity as she examined the items.

"Paper? Chocolate? Lollipop? What are those things?" Catherine asked, completely baffled.

"Catherine, in a few days, I'll be setting sail with the fleet to Sedona City." Dahlia said seriously.

"What? You're leaving?"

"I want to see this fascinating city for myself."

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