The Devil's Betrothed novel Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Promise To Meet Again

With a steady gait, Oriana walked into the shop and stopped next to the man who was being bullied. A look of pleasant surprise appeared on her face.

"My, are my eyes fooling me? Featherfew, and they look freshly plucked? Brother, how did you get these rare herbs?" she loudly gasped. "Last night, my fellow villagers told me there was a landslide on the part where these are found. These herbs are the most precious thing now!"

The man looked at her in surprise. "Is it?"

She leaned closer to him, as if trying to tell him a secret, but her voice was loud enough for the shopkeeper to hear her words as well.

"The news is not out yet but it's true. You have these precious herbs with you. I heard the shopkeeper wants to buy them for only thirty coppers when the current market price is fifty. I suggest you not sell it right now."

"Not sell it?" the man asked in a low voice as well.

Oriana nodded. "Besides, winter season has arrived. People get easily sick around this time, so the price can only grow higher, not lower. I suggest you sell it after a couple more days."

"I need the pay now. My daughter is not well and..." the man sighed.

"Worry not, brother. I can buy your herbs at a higher price!"

She was about to pull out the stack of coins from her pouch, when the shopkeeper interrupted them."Stop! I will buy it! I will buy!" he yelled. Turning to the man, he pulled out a small chest where he kept the shop's earnings. "I will give you more than this young man is giving. Sell me the herbs."

"What?" Oriana exclaimed, her brows creased. "Mister, it is not good to interrupt—"

"Hey, I recognize you, boy. You often sell well-preserved herbs to my son. You should not disrupt business."

"The deal is not yet complete, right? I am not disrupting."

"You rudely interrupted our transaction."

"Well, Mister, there are two buyers and one seller. How much you can give him?" Oriana argued, her eyes mocking.

"More than you," the shopkeeper replied as he opened the small chest.

"I am giving him sixty coppers."

"I am giving him seventy."

"You are bluffing," she scoffed.

The shopkeeper pulled out a pouch of coins from the chest and began to count in front of them. "Here, seventy coppers, no more, no less. Give me the featherfew."

Oriana sighed, her shoulders drooping. "Alas, I only have sixty-five copper coins with me. You win, you win."

The shopkeeper got the herbs from the man and the man got his bag of coins. A grateful smile graced his face as he bowed towards Oriana.

"You have my thanks, young man. I can have my daughter treated now."

Oriana was about to leave but she tripped a little and some of the herbs she had in her waist pouch spilled on the ground. The shopkeeper noticed it, and they were stalks of featherfew as well! His eyes brightened up. "Hah, no wonder you want to buy these herbs. Are you hoarding them because of the landslide, young man?"

Arlan was observing Oriana's every word and action, and discovered all them were calculated—from how she emphasized the low supply, how she raised the value of the featherfew, and how 'accidentally' exposed her own herbs by 'tripping'.

Oriana hurried to pick up the herbs from the ground. "Mister, as I said, the prices of featherfew will only go higher in the next few days."

"So you have no plans to sell them now?"

"No plans."

"I can give you little more than what I gave to that man," the shopkeeper replied. "How does seventy-five coppers per bundle sound?"

"Ninety."

"Eighty."

"Eighty-five. Buy it, or no deal."

The shopkeeper smiled as if he won and hastily threw a bag of coins at Oriana which she caught without a miss. She gave him five bundles of featherfew, and she earned four silvers and twenty-five coppers.

"If you get more of these herbs, sell it to me again," she heard the shopkeeper say as she walked out of the shop.

As she reached Arlan, she gave him a wink before bowing as if she was in a stage play. "This is how you do business, Young Master. Be sly with sly people."

"The landslide was not real," Arlan said, but it was not a question but a statement.

"Hmm, but it is true the price will increase due to the coming cold days. The shopkeeper won't suffer a loss."

Arlan thought she was quite ruthless, but he realized she had a moral bottomline. Afterall, the shopkeeper might be a little greedy, but he was also only doing it for his shop's profit.

Her quick wit, coupled with her daring personality and fighting prowess, Arlan found himself liking and liking her more.

'I should send Imbert to investigate Oriana. As long as her background is clean, I will make her one of my trusted people.'

As she walked ahead, he followed her until she turned around to face him.

"Young Master, so how was it? Did you learn a lot from our little adventure?"

"Indeed, you opened my eyes, Orian."