Countess Youngae’s Money-Sweeping Makeup Shop - Chapter 58
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
58
The Nobleman, Kiel, and me.
Somehow, the three of us ended up sitting at the same table.
Perhaps because I used to always eat alone in the past, I couldn’t get used to eating with people called family.
So I always went to eat after meals were over, but today I didn’t check the time and ended up in this situation.
Clink, clink.
Forks and knives moved without any conversation.
That was fine, but for other reasons, I couldn’t tell if the food was going into my nose or my mouth.
Why are you staring at me like that?
I could constantly feel the Nobleman’s gaze, making cold sweat run down my back.
There weren’t even any pressed marks!
The Nobleman put down his utensils and turned his head to openly stare at me.
“Sillia.”
“…Yes.”
I absolutely can’t eat in this state.
I put down my utensils, thinking I’d need to get some digestive medicine.
The Nobleman, who had been silent for a moment, tapped the table.
“Would you like dessert?”
“Pardon?”
I unconsciously asked back at the unexpected topic.
But the Nobleman didn’t seem to mind and stopped his finger, giving a look to a Young Man.
“Cake, I mean.”
I never thought such a day would come, and Kiel’s expression matched my feelings.
Kiel’s expression was clearly full of bewilderment.
A Young Man brought a slice of pretty purple cake topped with blueberries in front of me.
I stared down at the cake quietly and hesitated.
Because there was no cake in front of the other two people.
I glanced around cautiously, then felt I should at least take a bite, so I cut the cake with my fork and ate it.
Munch munch.
“Wow.”
An exclamation automatically came out.
It was a taste that made my eyes widen.
It was moderately sweet with the freshness of blueberries embedded throughout the fluffy layers, making it an interesting cake.
This was my first time having such delicious blueberry cake.
Even while admiring the taste, I soon flinched at the two pairs of eyes watching me and cleared my throat.
“It’s delicious. Aren’t you two having any?”
“We don’t usually eat dessert. Father doesn’t, I don’t, and neither do you.”
Kiel answered grumpily, seeming somewhat less energetic than before.
No other words followed, but the two didn’t get up first and instead glanced at me eating dessert while having their conversation.
The conversation was roughly about questions regarding what Kiel had recently learned from the Nobleman and answers to those questions.
I bit my fork and stared blankly at the two of them.
Are they showing off?
It doesn’t even matter to me anyway.
I don’t particularly need the Nobleman’s attention, and I’m probably earning much more money than them right now.
I tilted my head, finished the last bite, and put down my fork.
That’s when it happened.
The Nobleman turned his gaze from Kiel to me.
“How are your results?”
“My results?”
“Yes. I only heard that you’re doing business, but I don’t think I heard the exact results.”
“You said you wouldn’t get involved.”
“I can listen to information and invest as an investor.”
After dabbing my lips with a napkin, I looked at the Nobleman.
Investment.
If the Nobleman invests, wouldn’t the makeup popularization business be fine too?
You have to row hard when the tide comes in for sales to keep rising.
I was about to run into financial problems due to lack of partner cooperation, but this changes things.
Soon I made an innocent expression and spread both hands like a child, then pretended to calculate by folding them one by one.
“Excluding reservation orders, what I’ve earned so far…”
When one hand was completely folded and about three fingers on the other hand were folded, I smiled brightly and casually.
“About 5,000 gold.”
“Wait, what?”
Kiel jumped up and glared at me as if telling me not to lie.
But that’s the truth, so what can I do?
“Oh, excluding cosmetic production costs and labor costs, it would be roughly 4,500. The exact amount is written in the report.”
“Didn’t you add an extra ‘0’ by mistake?”
“If you can’t believe it, shall we go to the Bank?”
When I answered promptly, Kiel, who hadn’t even recovered his initial investment, shut his mouth.
The Nobleman, who had been quietly watching all of this, looked at Kiel, and Kiel sat back down in his chair without saying anything.
He looked at me again and picked up his teacup.
After briefly holding the tea in his mouth, he slowly swallowed and put down the cup, speaking in a serious voice.
“How much more can you grow in the future?”
“If this adventure succeeds properly, I guarantee it. Most of the Empire’s citizens will visit my Shop.”
“Adventure?”
“It’s an adventure that might shake things up temporarily. My business originally targeted nobles, but this time I’m thinking of expanding the target customers to include commoners.”
“That would be a risky adventure. What’s the expected profit?”
“For now, the goal is 5 times the investment value.”
“What’s the success rate?”
“Over 80% if there are no variables. How about it, Ebennain Yeongae?”
He closed his eyes and maintained a long silence.
For several minutes, no sound came and went in the Dining Hall.
Even breathing was cautious.
Pink eyes slowly appeared between his eyelids.
“I’ll deliver the contract by tomorrow morning, Ebennain Yeongae. If you have any specific conditions you want, follow me to the Study.”
The Nobleman got up from his seat and looked down at me.
I met the Nobleman’s eyes directly and lifted the corners of my mouth, showing a confident smile.
When I also got up from my seat, the Nobleman started walking.
Without showing any interest in Kiel.
Kiel didn’t lift his head.
He just sat quietly with his gaze downward.
He sat alone in that spot until we left the Dining Hall.
The door closed and Kiel’s figure completely disappeared from view.
Then I felt strange.
The situation I had talked about had come, but I felt like I had become the villain.
I had originally planned to mock him thoroughly, but the corners of my mouth wouldn’t move.
Arriving at the Nobleman’s Study, I adjusted the contract terms with the Nobleman as an investor and business representative.
The next morning, I carefully checked the investment contract that arrived, signed it, and delivered it directly to the Nobleman.
When I returned to my Room, a Man was sitting in the chair almost lying down with his feet up on the desk.
“Oh- you’re here?”
“I never said to meet in the morning.”
“Realistically, I need time to make all that quantity. I’m someone who has to work at your shop too. Do you want your schedule to get messed up?”
“That’s true, but I have to go to work right now, you know?”
“If I snap my fingers, you’ll be there in no time. More importantly, I need to hear what you want me to make, right? Hurry up and spill everything.”
“I’m telling you I need to change clothes and get ready to go out?”
“Ugh, are you a clock? The world won’t end if you’re a little late!”
“No, it will end. My world will end. What money can’t buy is restoring broken trust.”
“You’re really draining my magic from the morning, aren’t you.”
Lucian clicked his tongue and drew something in the air with his finger.
Then a shimmering, opaque wall formed around me and Lucian.
When I carefully touched the wall, circles spread out larger and larger like touching a lake.
“What did you do?”
“Time.”
“Time what?”
“I stopped time. Except for this space, time doesn’t pass in the rest of the space. Are you ready to talk now?”
When I turned my head to look at Lucian, he shrugged and sneered as if looking at something trivial.
If things get too tough in the future, I should grab him and make him stop time.
An extra break time? That sounds good.
When I didn’t say anything, Lucian approached me, brought his face close, and glared at me.
“Hey, I told you to talk! This also consumes a lot of magic, so it’s hard!”
Oh, looking at him like this, he is quite handsome.
Compared to Ricardo, in terms of beauty, he feels more like just a handsome guy.
Most colors would suit a face like this, but if I could do makeup on him…
Lucy seemed like she’d suit orange-based makeup well,
but Lucian seemed like he’d suit simple makeup using gray and black.
If I created strong contrast, it would focus attention on his eyes and give a more mysterious feeling.
“Hey, hey! Can’t you hear me?”
A hand waved in front of me.
Then I came back to my senses and thought ‘oops.’
I quickly shook my head and pushed Lucian away, then approached the desk.
“Can you make something with the same effect but different formulation?”
“Formulation? What are you talking about? Whether I can make something hard into something fluid?”
“Yeah. I want to make a cream formulation into a slightly flowing liquid formulation.”
“That wouldn’t be difficult. Is that all you need?”
“Huh? No. Of course there’s more. Empty containers, makeup tools, and mass replication with the same effects after changing the formulation.”
“What, what?”
“You said it wouldn’t be difficult.”
At my bright smile, Lucian answered with an expression close to shock.
Thinking I’d test something while I was at it, I handed him the bottle containing the ointment foundation that was on the desk.
“What’s this?”
“Can you make the foundation in here into a water-like formulation like I mentioned? I’m curious if it really works.”
“What, do you think I just go around bragging and bluffing?”
“Don’t you?”
Lucian looked at me with a blank expression, held the bottle in one hand, and summoned an orange magic circle with the other hand.
“Look, it’s this easy—”
Crack!
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————