Even if I twist the neck of a chicken, dawn will come.
Whether my brother Albert, the Baron Medici, is jealous of me or not, I must continue to move forward.
I need to digest the sudden assignment of the supply duties for two divisions from the Emperor.
“Young master, please have a cup of tea and take a little break.”
Chloe placed a teacup on my desk and poured some black tea.
A slightly sour yet rich aroma filled the room.
Just the scent seems to ease my fatigue.
“Thanks, I’ll drink this and cool my head before getting back to work.”
It reminded me of something a YouTuber said while I was living in Korea.
“If you want to earn a lot of money, then you have to work more. That’s the only answer.”
His tone was annoyingly paternalistic, and the content was akin to something a middle-aged manager would say.
But that statement seems to hold some truth.
To make a lot of money, in the end, you have to work like crazy.
‘That’s exactly how I am right now.’
Upon hearing my words, Chloe frowned and puffed out her cheeks.
“I always think the young master is amazing for being so dedicated to work, but if you keep working 13 to 14 hours a day like this, you’ll wear yourself out. What will you do if you collapse while working?”
“Still, I need to finish the tasks piling up in front of me.”
“Both the butler and Kris said that the urgent tasks that need immediate attention are already completed.”
In most noble families, a personal maid would not dare to nag her master.
If she upsets her master, she risks being thrown out onto the street.
Moreover, genuinely loving and caring maids are treated like “stories from novels” among the nobles.
However, it’s clear, both objectively and subjectively, that Chloe cares about me.
‘Especially in bed, she’s very proactive, even trying to entice me again after we’ve been intimate.’
With a smile that comes from the heart, she seems to be eager for more.
“I can endure the loneliness of not being loved by you lately because you’re busy. But if you were to collapse or fall ill while working, it would break my heart.”
Since the gracious Emperor bestowed upon me the supply rights for two divisions, I’ve been working like this for almost two weeks.
These days, even after drinking coffee, I feel like I might doze off in broad daylight, or I can feel a lack of energy when I wake up.
If I keep overworking like this, I might end up in trouble.
“I’ll drink this, do a little more work, and then take a good rest after lunch. That sounds good, right?”
Chloe beamed at my words.
“Yes, I’ll give you a knee pillow or whatever you need. You just rest comfortably, young master.”
“Though you said to rest, are you trying to pamper me?”
Upon hearing my words, Chloe lowered her head and turned as red as an apple.
As I contemplated teasing her a bit more, Kris knocked on the office door.
“Young master, all the interviews with the candidates have been completed. May I come in to report?”
“Come in.”
As Kris entered, he took a good look at Chloe and subtly smiled.
He didn’t say anything, but I understood that they were having a silent conversation filled with meaning.
“I apologize for interrupting your pleasant time with the Major Baron, Chloe.”
“It’s fine.”
If this weren’t my office, I might have playfully poked Chloe’s cheek with my finger while grinning mischievously.
But the moment I turned my gaze inward, my expression shifted to work mode.
“Since the Major Baron did not place any restrictions on applicant qualifications and the salary is 1.5 times that of other places, applicants have flooded in. As soon as the announcement went up, 400 people applied.”
In 21st-century Korea, it’s common for hundreds, sometimes over a thousand, to flock to job postings for small office positions in medium-sized enterprises...
However, in this era, the literacy rate is less than 20%.
Among those, only about 3 to 4% can perform clerical work.
Considering that there’s no internet to access job information, it’s truly remarkable that so many people have come forward.
“We, the butler, Alberto, and I conducted interviews with these candidates. We decided to hire 33 of them.”
With 33 office staff, it seems we could manage the increased paperwork due to supply duties, much like King Sejong working with his Minister Heo.
This number alone is barely enough to rotate the workload, so we will need to hire more...
But is now really the time to be picky?
If we handle the deliveries properly, the interests we receive will be equivalent to two small towns.
“What criteria did you use to filter the interviewees?”
“For the first round, we showed them accounting documents with intentional errors to test their ability to find and correct mistakes. In the second round, we presented specific situations during the interviews to gauge their resilience and character.”
You can’t fully determine a person’s character through an interview.
However, we can minimize the chances of discovering glaring shortcomings, such as poor adaptability or an unpleasant personality, afterward.
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It seems they did well without me needing to give special instructions.
“And what we pursue for the Major Baron and what our guild seeks is innovation. While the necessary competencies can be gradually developed with the willingness to learn, like Chloe here, those who cannot accept innovation cannot be with us.”
It is outright illegal and unacceptable for a company to forcibly meddle in the personal lives of its employees.
Thus, a paternalistic manager creating unnecessary gatherings to entertain himself or prying into whether employees are married can be considered a form of harassment.
When working at a company, even if the directives regarding work differ from one’s own beliefs, compliance with the company’s policies is mandatory.
Even foreign companies that we often say are much freer than in Korea are far stricter in this regard.
‘While discussions with superiors about work can be on equal footing, protesting orders can quickly ruin one’s performance evaluation.’
This applies even to large corporations like Pineapple and Teslam.
“How did you determine if someone could comply with the company’s policies?”
Kris pointed to herself.
“I asked them if they could accept me as their superior. If they were to join our guild, I would be their superior.”
“It’s certainly not easy to accept a woman as a superior.”
In the 1990s in Korea, even if a woman was incredibly capable, it was considered normal for married women to be let go from their companies.
Let alone in a country with a patriarchal society and a system of polygamy, having a woman as a superior would be seen as a repulsive notion.
Some might genuinely feel nauseous at the thought.
‘Even so, there’s ample value in continuing to use Kris.’
Her abilities are in the top 0.1%, and she is more diligent than anyone.
Additionally, the direction I pursue is a few centuries ahead of the conventional mindset.
However, those who can’t accept a woman as a superior likely won’t just disagree with my values; will they even follow me?
Upon hearing my words, Kris gracefully held her skirt with both hands and bowed her head.
“I am always grateful to you, young master, for providing me with the opportunity to demonstrate my abilities without worrying about others’ objections. I want to repay you with everything I have.”
A chill ran down my back at that moment, but it must just be my imagination.
Glancing at Chloe’s face, she wore a cold smile that seemed reminiscent of winter.
‘Could it be that Kris... just like Chloe said?’
But such thoughts can wait for later.
“We have completed the hiring process following the procedures outlined. Is there anything concerning about this, Major Baron?”
“I’d like to give it a score of 120 out of 100. Indeed, our guild’s treatment isn’t inferior to others. We aren’t solely hiring from merchant families like other guilds, so this level of expectation is reasonable.”
In the Toscana Empire, unless you’re a small hole-in-the-wall shop, hiring employees is typically done through connections.
General citizens hoping to break through that barrier must rely on university ‘professor recommendations.’
We’ll hire anyone capable, even if they’re a farmer named Antonio; it doesn’t matter.
“I’ve found all the methods to handle administrative tasks. However, with our guild’s current capacity, it’s impossible to carry out the supply duties for two divisions. Have you found alternatives?”
Though I say I’m competing with the merchants, my standing is infinitely weaker than theirs.
‘I’m like a tuna caught in a whale fight.’
So when the whales think one step ahead, I must think a million steps ahead.
Yet, I’ve always sought ways to survive.
“We need to break away from traditional guild management methods.”
Saying that, I handed Kris a report I had organized over several days, drawing from the knowledge in my head.
Kris read the title written on the cover.
“Comprehensive Trading Company?”
To summarize it in one sentence, this could be described as a sophisticated colonial management approach developed in the late 20th century.