Isn’t Being A Wicked Woman Much Better? - Chapter 63

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Chapter 63
“Golden Star?”
“Should we sign up?”
“It sounds fun.”
As they expressed interest, an Employee who had been waiting by the exit approached and explained how to register as a regular customer.
“Once you fill out a membership card with your name and signature, you’ll become a member of Armand.”
Because the Armand seal was so beautifully designed, the coupon book looked equally appealing, and the young ladies immediately said they wanted to register as members.
When the Employee unfolded the neatly creased parchment, a paper with twelve star-shaped blank spaces was attached inside. He stamped two of the blanks with a seal bearing the Armand insignia.
“Congratulations on becoming a Purple member. Once you fill all the remaining slots, you’ll be promoted to Silver member status and receive a small gift.”
“Wait, that means I’m number 76!”
“Does that make me the 77th member?!”
The young lady standing in the middle’s eyes widened as wide as lanterns.
“Congratulations on winning the first prize in our new member registration event!”
When the Employee clapped his hands, the café fell momentarily silent before erupting into cheerful commotion.
“They’re actually giving out prizes!”
“Was this real?”
Drawn by the exciting spectacle, people from the Plaza Fountain soon rushed over to watch. The Shop Manager came out personally and handed over a nameplate reading “77th Member” and a star-shaped pure gold piece in an elegant purple case.
“Such fortune has come to me! I can hardly believe it. I had a good feeling about today from the moment I woke.”
The young lady was so deeply moved she was on the verge of tears. And the scene spread by word of mouth, drawing even more customers eager to register as members.
“The new menu gives you two stamps.”
The membership registration event was doing an excellent job promoting the new smoothie menu. Moreover, even those who didn’t win would receive two stamps each, naturally igniting the desire to fill all remaining blanks.
Furthermore, since the event offered pure gold—something all Empire citizens preferred—Armand became the talk of the town from day one with no sign of the buzz fading.
* * *
Offering prize benefits to new member registrants. It was an event a newly opened shop could execute flawlessly.
‘If an established shop ran such an event, it would only amplify complaints from regular customers.’
Creating membership cards and encouraging customers to accumulate stamps was a fundamental marketing technique for building a loyal customer base.
‘Still, the smoothies need to sell well.’
Selling a single smoothie generated higher profit margins than selling black tea and cake as a set. Seasonal fruits had low costs, while quality tea leaves always came with steep expenses.
‘Smoothies. If they sell well with such high margins, they’ll be a genuine blockbuster item.’
This menu had been fortunate. Beleck Simour, a renowned genius, had created a blender that exceeded my expectations.
‘I suppose he thought it was a cruel device.’
The blender he’d made possessed otherworldly rotational power and destructive force capable of grinding bone to dust.
‘The performance is genuinely excellent. Not to mention the durability.’
Hoping the smoothies would appeal to Empire citizens, I stepped down from the carriage. Smoothies aside, I had to visit the Magic Tower today for a seminar to increase the salary stipend.
‘Oh, but I also need to attend the Epsilon club meeting first.’
The Fifth Princess’s ‘Mana Research Circle.’
Thinking of that club alone brought bewilderment and confusion. It consisted of just three members—the Fifth Princess, myself, and a member who never showed their face. How could that possibly be called a club?
Feeling as though I’d signed some strange contract, I sniffled.
‘I don’t want to go.’
At the thought of it, my steps grew heavy, as if shackles had been fastened to my ankles.
I haven’t visited the Men’s Salon, so I can’t say much about it, but the Women’s Salon in Epsilon had an eerie and unsettling atmosphere. It was because of the realistic articulated dolls lined up along the walls.
The moment I stepped into the salon, I felt the dolls staring intently at me, and a chill ran down my spine. Some of them were even blinking.
I’m genuinely terrible with ghosts and occult stuff like that.
‘I heard there’s a puppeteer among the six Epsilon executives, but….’
Puppeteers are those who infuse mana into threads to move dolls, and I’d heard that highly skilled puppeteers could even lead dolls around like an army.
In the past, they handled tactical operations during wars and were counted among the rarest professions. The barrier to entry was high because they required near-miraculous craftsmanship and mana control abilities.
Sure, all that’s fine, but why on earth did she have to display dolls in a salon? She could do this perfectly well at home.
‘When is the Fifth Princess arriving?’
“Deborah Simour!”
While I stood alone among the dolls, breaking into a cold sweat, the princess entered the salon with her usual attendant maids, her face bright with welcome.
“Your Highness. You’ve arrived.”
I felt relief wash over me and quickly approached her.
“Oh! I never expected you to greet me so warmly. It seems the membership welcome banner I personally ordered really pleased you.”
The membership welcome banner hung not only on the Social Club bulletin board but also scattered throughout the Academy Grounds, which left me feeling inexplicably embarrassed.
‘Surely it’s been taken down by now, right?’
Only the Emperor and the Crown Prince could remove a banner that the Fifth Princess had personally ordered, which made my outlook even grimmer.
‘I’m grateful, but it’s too much….’
“It seems hanging banners with messages has become fashionable lately, and I was ahead of the trend. Haha.”
She laughed heartily, clearly delighted.
“…Thank you for your consideration.”
“I’m happy since you’re pleased. By the way, I heard you’ll be presenting a new thesis at the Magic Tower soon, and I’m looking forward to it.”
After exchanging a few words about recent happenings with her, I began studying mana-related theses. I was reading through a paper that had recently become a major topic at the Magic Tower when I paused. A rattling sound began coming from the doll behind me.
‘S-scary!’
The Fifth Princess furrowed her brow and clicked her tongue.
“You were concentrating, but that doll seems to be bothering you.”
The Fifth Princess misinterpreted my terrified expression as she pleased.
“It’s fine.”
“Sigh, I don’t know how much longer Michèle intends to leave those gloomy dolls in this salon.”
So I wasn’t the only one who thought they were gloomy.
“Ah, I haven’t properly introduced Michèle Grandbert. She’s one of the Epsilon executives and, as you can see, a puppeteer who makes dolls, but she’s shamelessly juggling two organizations.”
“Two organizations?”
“She belongs to my circle while running another one.”
The Fifth Princess grumbled with a sulky expression. That puppeteer must have been the only other member the Mana Research Circle had.
‘She seems like another eccentric… No, I shouldn’t think so negatively.’
Marquis Grandbert is the Imperial Army Commander. It’s quite the valuable connection and networking opportunity. I mentally justified it to myself several times—that I was getting along well with the famous social butterflies of the central High Society.
* * *
Michèle Grandbert, the puppeteer, had been running the Gourmet Club for a long time and was quite famous throughout the Empire as a fastidious epicurean.
Gastronomy was her only hobby besides doll-making. She created booklets listing delicious restaurants and distributed them to those around her, and recently she had been writing papers related to food culture in earnest.
‘Should I visit that newly opened dessert shop today?’
Armand.
I had already marked down the dessert shop as a place I wanted to visit. As I imagined delicious cake, life returned to my vacant eyes.
‘Why are there so many people here?’
Well, it was natural for crowds to flock to a new establishment out of curiosity. Especially since I’d heard this place had done quite the loud promotional campaign.
‘But why are Thierry and Guillaume here of all places?’
The faces of men who belonged at racetracks or gambling dens looked decidedly out of place in a dessert shop, and a flicker of bewilderment crossed my eyes.
“The 1,091st customer, no less. That was cutting it awfully close.”
“That’s exactly why I said we should just wait ten minutes and then get in line.”
“When did you ever say that!”
I watched their bickering forms disappear into the distance with a suspicious expression before surveying my surroundings.
‘They seem to be running some kind of flashy event.’
They certainly knew how to make their promotions entertaining. The people around me looked genuinely delighted. But all of that was mere decoration—ultimately, taste was what mattered most.
‘The line is still long. What should I do?’
Still, it had been so long since I’d ventured outside. It would be a shame to simply turn back now.
‘The weather is lovely too.’
With no other choice, I positioned a doll in the waiting line and settled myself on a bench before the Plaza Fountain to pass the time. Customers gasped momentarily at the sight of a doll standing in place of a person, then began whispering that the eldest daughter of the Grandbert family must have arrived.
The scorching sunlight blazed down upon my pallid face—a face that had been confined to a cramped room all week, touching nothing but dolls.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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