Chapter 40
Empress Palace of the Lambrew Empire.
Even within the Imperial Palace, the most splendid space was slowly starting the day until midday is over.
This was a normal thing because the empress, who usually cannot fall asleep easily, used to fall asleep only at dawn.
The empress’s bedroom was dimmed with curtains to prevent the bright sunlight outside.
The wet-haired empress, who had just finished taking a bath, sat in front of the mirror.
The bedroom filled with the people, such as a maid who combed her hair down hundreds of times to dry it, a maid preparing a dress for the empress today, and a maid cleaning up the bedding from asleep.
However, the space was cramped and quiet.
Occasionally, they could only hear the Empress’s annoying sighs.
Dozens of maids moved without making a single noise or footsteps.
But no one was frowning.
In front of the empress, they knew they had to be careful even breathing.
After a while, the empress’s clothing was all over.
The empress laughed with satisfaction when he saw a beautiful woman sitting in the mirror that no one else could match.
"Go out, only you can stay."
The empress pointed to one of the maids who was organizing the underwear she had taken off.
As if it were familiar, everyone walked out of the bedroom, bowing their backs politely.
However, the complexion that stood upright from the servant turned pale.
It was because she knew well why the Empress asked to see herself.
"You."
It has already been five years since she had served the Empress right next to her, but the word she always called was ’you’.
The dark-haired maid, named Bella, had her hair tightened even further.
“Yes, Empress.”
"Why is there no news?"
"That, it is"
Bella’s eyes trembled anxiously.
"I bought it with my hand as clearly ordered..."
What Empress Rabini told Bella was simple.
To poison the food of second prince Perez.6
No matter how much her mother came from, she was definitely the son of the emperor.
To poison the second prince.
It was a work of anger, but the face of the Empress, who gave the order, was dry as if to pull out the weeds that useless.
Bella was so scared.
I didn’t want to do something terrible.
However, she had no right to deny the Empress’s order.
Bella’s family, one of the many vassal families of the Angenas family, were poor nobles with one palm-sized manor in the western part of the empire.
Bella, the eldest daughter of such a family, was dedicated to the Empress by her father.
By the way, her father commanded that she should have served the Empress right next to her because she is the best looking and smarter among the brothers and sisters.
There was also a saying that she should not think about returning to the estate again for anything else.
Among the maids who attended the empress, the servant was in such a situation, and the lives and deaths of them and her family were all dependent on the words of the empress.
If you disobey the Empress’s words to add poison to the food of the second prince, not only me, but all of my family will die.2
So she closed her eyes and started poisoning.
After the death of the second prince’s mother, once a week, she took his food and brought it to the separate palace.
It has been a few months already.
However, the second prince has not yet died.
"If he lying on the bed every time you go, he must have the same poison, but... Why doesn’t he die!"
Bella’s face became sad.
If the kid doesn’t die, he dies.
Innocent families die.1
Bella recalled the dull appearance of the skinny Second Prince.
Such a child.
If you die quickly, everyone would be comfortable.
"I’ll add more poison next time."
The empress glanced at Bella’s trembling shoulders and said.
"Go, thank you!"2
Bella’s voice was light.
It was a feeling of relief that she would never die and that she had a chance again.
Empress, who annoyedly looked at Bella, shook one hand.
It meant to disappear in front of me.
It was like chasing even annoying bugs, but Bella was just thrilled.
As a habit, she laughed, stealing tears as she left the empress’s bedroom.
That’s good, it’s really good.
It wasn’t she that was dying, but she was really fortunate that no one was concerned about it.
* * *
“Here is a report on the sales status of clothing stores.”
Clerivan handed me a stack of paper written in neat handwriting.
"And this is the result of a simple survey and the age distribution of customers you mentioned."
The last time I asked Clerivan.
It was an event where people who visited the clothing store were given a ribbon or button that could be attached to clothes and decorated by asking for their understanding in advance of answering a simple questionnaire.
Those who were regretful that they bought ready-to-wear clothes that were the same as others were willing to participate in whether they liked the small items that could be decorated with their liking.
"Definitely, there is an overwhelming number of female customers. And the age... Most of them are in their 30s and 40s."
"I wonder if it’s because women who originally made clothes at home prefer to buy ready-to-wear clothes."
"I think so. Hmm.."
While I was thinking for a moment, Clerivan waited by the side.
No, it is not quiet.
Even though I didn’t say anything, he was looking forward to seeing what I would say from my glowing eyes, and I didn’t know what to do.2
"Yes, we are looking for a suitable spot in the same Haslot market."
"What does my father say?"
"Gallahan is in charge of the operation, so he is very busy... ."
Well.
If you’ve always read-only books, you’re going to be busy running a business that’s so busy.
It will take some time to adjust.
I nodded and said to Clerivan.
"Even if you are in a hurry, please pay attention to decorating the interior and exterior as luxurious as the main store. Because the price is cheap, you must avoid the image that the ready-made clothes are cheap."
"Yes, I understand."
"And if possible, I think it would be better to start with other types of clothes instead of the original women’s clothes in time for opening the branch.
"You mean different kinds of clothes?"
"This time my grandfather matched the clothes of the Lombardy employees, and the sewing staff had the experience of menswear."
It took money to set up a new model and make prototypes, so I have to worry about anything I can worry about.
"Men’s wear with a relatively simple design and less embellishment can leave a lot of margin on the clothing store."
"But the main customer base is women. Would it be okay?"
"Because the main customer base is women, I think men’s wear will work well."
I said tapping the report with my fingertips.
Clerivan thought for a moment at my words and then struck her knee.
"Ah, if you’re a woman in her 30s and 40s, you’d also buy your spouse’s clothes!"
"Right."
"Of course, my lady...."
Clerivan is so thrilled that he can’t speak.
It’s probably the first time he has seen a smart Lombardy.
I understand that heart, Clerivan.
I reached out with a short arm and patted Clerivan’s shoulder.
Then he reached out the other hand.
"You must also give the order form."
"Oh, here you are."
Clerivan put a stack of papers with all sorts of numbers in my hand.
In fact, I had no intention of paying attention to the details of the money coming in and going out.
There was only one item I was looking for in this complex order form.
"The margin ratio is significant?"
"Yes. Somehow, I did a lot of trading through the top of Lombardy and the guild."
Clerivan said proudly. It is natural.
The most accurate measure of ability is how much a merchant who sells goods makes a profit.
I turned over a couple of reports.
And finally I found what I wanted.
Also.
As expected, there is a need for a little adjustment.
"Please raise the wages of weavers and tailors a little more."
"Yes? Then the clothing store’s interest rate will decrease."
"I see. But these people, after all, are Lombardy people, right?"
People who live on this Lombardy land, work for Lombardy, and pay taxes to Lombardy.
That’s why it doesn’t make much sense to save money for them and make more money.
"And if you raise your wages, the efficiency of your work will naturally increase. You will have to find more and more workers in the future. It goes without saying that it will be easy to save people at that time."
Clerivan raised his glasses and nodded.
"Okay, from a macro point of view, it’s a way to give up a little margin right now and instead strengthen Lombardy itself."
After all, Clerivan is quick to understand.
Even if I didn’t have to explain everything, he was reading the lines accurately.
In a posture of studying again, I got up from the seat and walked to the nearby bookshelf leaving Clerivan scrutinizing the reports he wrote.
I was worried that it would be full of books only for children because it was my library.
Last time he said, ’Because I saw you reading people from the south, the books were rather tailored to the level of an adult.’
There were so many interesting books that could be useful to me right now, and while I was searching through them, I suddenly realized one thing and asked Clerivan.
"Isn’t it the day that Lombardy scholarship students will be gathering soon?"
"Yes? Yes, yes, but how did you know that...."
How long.
I called the Lombardy scholarship students who meet once every quarter as ’Lombardy Kids’.
They are people from all walks of life who have grown up with Lombardy’s patronage, or more precisely, sponsored by my grandfather.
Clerivan is also one of them.
There are nobles and commoners, but what they have in common is a strong sense of belonging and bonding as Lombardy Scholars, and deep loyalty to my grandfather.
Since the Lombardy Kids are considered to be as powerful weapons as the family’s fortune, Viese attended with the excuse of being present for my grandfather on the day they met.
"Where are you gathering this time?"
"The location was decided here for the Lombardy mansion, but I received a message that the date may change."
"Ok?"
It’s unusual.
Since each of them has a key position, the date and location were usually set a few weeks ago.
What Happened to Grandpa?
It all depends on my grandfather anyway, so I had to watch it.
"Then will that person come too?"
She was small and could not erase the traces of her age, but at the same time, she had a tremendous presence.
"It would be great if you open your face in advance."
I muttered as I recalled the gray-haired middle-aged woman I had seen for a while in my previous life.
* * *
After my ’in-depth class’ with Clerivan, I left my study.
Not long ago, Gilliu and Mayron started taking swordsmanship classes.
Shananet decided to exhaust the energy of the twins, which emanated enormous taste as the days passed.
It would be a good choice as they were two people who had been going to the top when the tournament was held in their previous lives.
"Because the weather is nice. Would you like to take a walk?"
In a little while, it’s time for the twins’ swordsmanship class to end.
We slowly stepped in to go to Shananet together.
And it was when we were on the path of a quiet road to the training center of the annex.1
phut!
Something flew and bumped into my face with a big sound.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺