Mehmet stepped into the manor, the largest building in the demesne. 

It was a double storey building with a large hall and a living room. 

Unlike Mehmet’s dwelling place earlier, the manor was very well-lit, collecting light from the outside in a brilliant display that seemed to make the interior sparkle. 

The polished hallways were free of litter; practically spotless, in fact.

He walked past the living room and hall to the upper floor. He then walked along the clean and spacious hallways. Despite being this large, there was not even a single man guarding any part of the building. There was only Mehmet, his mistress and the servants. 

The security was non-existent in spite of her status of being an aristocrat and previously hailed as a tactical genius.

There were several rooms on the upper floor and he walked past rooms upon the corbie steps. 

Shortly after that, Mehmet arrived at his most frequently-visited room in the manor.

After checking several times to make sure nobody was around, he reached out and turned the doorknob.

Entering without knocking was an exceedingly impolite course of action. However, the owner of this chamber had asked him to do so. His mistress had refused to listen to his protests, no matter what he said.

In the end, Mehmet had given in. There was no way he could win against the stern woman.

Just as Mehmet was about to push it open, he heard the sounds of a heated discussion through the half-opened door.

There were two voices, both female.

One of them belonged to his mistress. Mehmet was still standing outside the door but she had not noticed him. That was probably because she was too excited about the discussion. That being the case, Mehmet did not wish to dampen her ardor. He stood still, listening to the discussion within the room. He felt guilty about eavesdropping, but he would feel worse if he interrupted their conversation.

"The buildings you were talking about, Claire...I have no idea how that works..but I am interested in how those things spread hygiene throughout your kingdom. There is nearly no disease now."

"Excrement in each area flows into the cesspool. There, human waste is treated. People don't need to defecate outside of their houses they do it safely inside by sitting on something that looks like a bowl."

"What an amazing king...the serfs receive  necessities from the king.  And that 'sewerage treatment plant and toilets!"

"Milady. Why don't you be like me, just abandon this useless Dioral and come to Hezri Kingdom!"

The room fell silent, which told Mehmet that the discussion was over.

"Mehmet. You can enter."

Mehmet’s heart lurched as he heard those words. He was surprised that she had sensed his presence, but at the same time, he had been somewhat expecting that. 

He slowly opened the door.

“—Pardon me.”

A familiar sight filled Mehmet’s eyes.

The room was luxurious but not tacky, and there were two maidens with simple hairstyle seated at a window side table 

Both of them were beautiful young ladies in complementary dresses.

The woman with the medallion coloured hair was the owner of this room, Cass Brankovic.

The other one with slate coloured hair sat opposite her. Her eyes were green and her lips were pink, and she was in radiant health. While her looks fell short of Cass Brankovic, she exuded a charm of her own. If Cass sparkled like a gemstone, then she glowed with vitality.

"Mehmet. This lady works for Flitch company. She is a merchant."

"I am Claire." She sweetly smiles.

"I called her here as my network found out that she is the only person from Dioral who is seen travel past the great wall in the central plain."

"You mean that huge long walls that suddenly appeared out of nowhere?"

"She is the only one from here who knows what actually happens behind that walls."

Then, he realized something.

"Forgive me for my late greeting. Pleased to meet you, my name is Mehmet.”

Mehmet bowed deeply to Claire.

“Huh? Don’t worry about it.

Claire waved casually to him.

"Still, it is an honor to make the acquaintance of the merchant from Flitch company. I hope I will have the chance to benefit from your guidance in the future.”

“Talk after you sit down, Mehmet.”

Saying so, Cass poured a fresh cup of tea.

He knew that there was no protesting this and resigned himself. Thus, he sat down and drank his tea.

“It’s delicious, milady.”

Cass smiled, but in all honesty, he could not tell if it was good or not. Still, since Cass had made it, he automatically deemed it good.

"Still, Miss Claire. You seem in good relationship with the king."

"Of course, we are that 'close'!"

"Does he bed you?"

"Milady. Your guess?" 

Thus did the teasing lady, Cass and the giggling Claire go back and forth, in an argument that hardly qualified as an argument.

He was happy that he could witness a heartwarming scene like this.