The Scoundrel Prince Sold Out the Empire - Chapter 70

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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 70: The Beginning of Betrayal (4)
I’d said I was going shopping at the Department Store, but I had no intention of actually going.
The reason was simple.
“If I graced the Department Store with my presence now, they’d be absolutely thrilled, wouldn’t they?”
“Of course. After all, wasn’t the condition for Gaigen supporting you precisely that you would shop at the Department Store?”
Gaigen was the inaugural manager of Seiel’s only Department Store.
But the rumor was that for all his ambitions in opening it, sales were terribly disappointing.
In other words, the man was probably burning with anxiety.
And if a prince simply walked through those doors of his own accord?
That would be like extracting a bad tooth for free—a deal that doesn’t add up.
“The Ninth Prince visits the Department Store’s VIP lounge and enjoys a day of lavish shopping. With witnesses and spectators everywhere, word spreads, and suddenly the store is flooded with wealthy customers. That was the calculation, wasn’t it?”
“It would likely be quite effective. After all, in this Empire, the Divine Clan are… a certain kind of existence.”
Winter continued his explanation.
“The Department Store is currently in a rather ambiguous position.”
Or, to put it differently, it was a strategic failure.
“The upper classes don’t venture to places like Department Stores to buy goods in the first place. They have people like Creyna visit their homes instead. As for the masses—”
“They can’t afford it, I suppose.”
“Precisely. With an emphasis on modern goods and prices uniformly high, the common folk don’t even dare cross the threshold. It’s a misguided half-luxury strategy that’s the real problem.”
Grasping neither the top nor the bottom of the market.
No wonder sales were poor.
They’d built ten stories of the damned thing.
Anyone would have lost their mind.
‘All right. Then I know who to summon first.’
There was no reason for me to go there.
It was better to make them come to me.
“Daien. Send word to Creyna that I have a mountain of goods to furnish the new residence.”
After spending a couple of hours arranging the Residence, Creyna arrived.
A modest gray coat and a single pair of gloves.
For a merchant who dealt in luxuries, she wore none herself—some things never changed.
“A subject of the Empire pays respects to one of the great Divine Clan.”
The bow—one knee bending—flowed with elegant grace.
But something was different.
Before, there had been a chill beneath her flawless courtesy; now only warmth emanated from her.
Ah.
‘Creyna must know by now that I’m joined forces with Zion.’
Creyna’s near-murderous feelings toward me in the past had stemmed primarily from the fact that Zion Riobert was harmful to Zion Blichez.
But now that it was known I’d aided the Crown Prince’s escape and maintained an alliance with him, her demeanor had to shift as drastically as heaven and earth.
“Creyna. Were you always this gentle and considerate?”
“Of course. I’ve always endeavored to give you my very best.”
Much like how she’d always endeavored to find an opening and do me harm, from the look of it.
Well, in any case, things had worked out well enough.
‘Still doesn’t seem inclined to reveal her connection to the Liberation Army, I see.’
Not that there was any need to mention it.
Creyna held a sensitive position within the Liberation Army.
“Let’s look at some goods, shall we?”
What followed was pure enjoyment.
A carpet for the reception room, bound books to fill the library, bedding and candlesticks for twenty-eight rooms.
With each purchase, the Liberation Army’s coffers grew fatter—and my personal residence filled more comfortably. It was the best of both worlds.
“All three carpets come to 7.2 million Luon. Add three thousand bound books and six bookshelves, and we’re looking at 13.4 million Luon total.”
After pleasantly satisfying my appetites, I broached the real purpose.
“Creyna. How do I make Gaigen come crawling to me, begging to escort me to the Department Store?”
Remarkably, Creyna answered immediately.
“Shall I have him visit by the end of today?”
“Really? That would certainly be convenient, but—”
After that startled response, perhaps an hour passed.
Daien cracked open the reception room door.
“Your Highness, a gentleman named Gaigen has arrived! What shall we do? Shall I show him in?”
“Yes. Bring him directly here.”
A portly, middle-aged man entered, his face drenched in sweat, carrying a sour stench with him.
Manager Gaigen had arrived.
“The subjects of the Empire bow before a member of the Divine Clan!”
At Zion’s gesture to rise, Gaigen pushed himself to his feet and repeatedly bowed toward Creyna.
“Thank you, Creyna. I’m truly grateful.”
‘What exactly did Creyna do?’
There was only one way to find out—ask.
“How did you hear the news and come rushing here within an hour?”
“Director Creyna sent me word that the Prince is furnishing a new residence, but the volume is too large for a single store to handle. He’s deliberating which other shop should take the remainder. Haha, haha.”
Creyna merely smiled elegantly, teacup in hand.
‘So he ran over here because he saw it as a chance to make amends for having displeased me before?’
Judging by this attitude, he hadn’t given up on currying favor with the Divine Clan.
Was saving the Department Store with the Prince’s patronage the only card left to play?
“Your Highness. I should take my leave now so you and he can speak freely.”
“Ah, Creyna. Do look after yourself. I was grateful for your help today.”
After seeing Creyna out, Zion began speaking earnestly with Gaigen.
“Your Department Store—I hear business hasn’t been going well lately.”
Gaigen’s smile vanished in an instant.
“W-what nonsense is that?”
“Nonsense? Do I look like a prince who picks up idle gossip?”
“F-forgive my slip of the tongue. But truly, our Department Store is thriving. If you doubt it, you’re welcome to visit in person to see for yourself, Your Highness.”
‘Clever, the way he’s herding me along.’
“Didn’t you say something at the Seiellia Social Club? That merchandise without a price tag cannot be displayed on the shelves?”
“Ah, that was a remark the Marchioness made, and I merely seconded it. Haha…”
“Was it? Wasn’t it you? Well, whoever said it first, you certainly agreed—laughing all the while. That much is clear.”
In any case, this was what he’d wanted to say.
“I doubt there’s a display case in any Department Store worthy of holding a jewel like myself.”
……
Gaigen couldn’t very well contradict him.
To do so risked incurring the Prince’s wrath.
“But let’s leave off the teasing. Truth be told, I wanted to have a look at this place called a Department Store, so I hinted at you to arrange it.”
Gaigen’s face brightened in a flash, then—
“Only, if there are no people about, there’s nothing worth seeing. Hmm.”
—just as quickly turned dark as ash.
“N-no, that’s not it! This is merely a temporary downturn. Times are uncertain, you see, and the people of Deber refuse to open their purses. They’re impoverished to begin with, their stock vulgar and base—they lack the discernment to appreciate modern goods. It’s like trying to drape pearls around a pig’s neck… Haha…”
Daien’s eyes dropped.
Reyanna’s fingertips trembled briefly, then stilled.
Only Winter remained unmoved, his expression unchanged.
And Zion had made his decision about Gaigen’s fate.
‘I’ll take Gaigen into my service.’
The reason was the same as with Lenskar.
‘Gaigen, you will grasp success through me. Having achieved it through reliance on me, without me you’ll crumble like a sandcastle. Yet you’ll cling to that height, both savoring it and trembling with dread—that’s the position I’ll place you in.’
Zion rose from his seat.
“Gaigen. I grant you the honor of showing this Prince around.”
* * *
The people on the streets below looked impossibly small.
The view from the Department Store’s tenth floor was like looking at toys.
“This top floor is adorned with seven hundred and thirty-two Glass Marbles, making it as bright as midday even at night. It’s designed so shoppers can enjoy themselves at any hour, haha!”
Gaigen was bubbling beside him with flattery and promotion alike.
The problem was that none of it held the slightest appeal.
‘Hmm. Is this fellow cut from the same cloth as Lenskar?’
Then again, if he possessed ability and competence, he wouldn’t have been stationed here as manager of Deber’s first Department Store.
It was then that Zion had this thought.
“Manager. I need your approval on these documents.”
A lean man with reddish-brown hair approached swiftly, arms laden with papers.
His thin frame bore sleeves stained with ink.
Dark shadows beneath his eyes told of several sleepless nights.
Gaigen’s face immediately twisted.
“Assistant Manager Meldion! Who do you think is standing here?”
Only then did Meldion recognize Zion, and he dropped to one knee.
“The subjects of the Empire bow before a member of the Divine Clan! Forgive my rudeness.”
“Spare me. Continue with your work. I’m merely observing.”
Remarkably, Meldion’s face lit up, and he promptly handed the documents to Gaigen.
Hmm, he seems rather lacking in social grace and perceptiveness, if I’m being honest.
How did he ever make it to deputy manager?
Ah, perhaps he’s simply competent at his work?
“Manager. Today is the deadline. This is the proposal for restructuring the first floor. We recommend moving premium items—including the Dwarf-made Pocket Watch and Elf-made Textile Carpet—to the front display cases on the first floor to draw in customers.”
“Are you mad? Display the finest merchandise on the ground floor?”
The Department Store’s structure was designed so that more expensive goods were displayed on higher floors.
A strategy meant to appeal to the vanity of the wealthy—the fantasy that only the affluent could ascend to the upper levels.
So far, it had yielded no results whatsoever.
“Last month, daily foot traffic fell below two hundred. That’s one-tenth of our first month after opening. People come to feast their eyes on things they cannot afford to buy. If a hundred visitors walk through, three of them will open their wallets. First, we must lower the threshold to entry.”
“The Department Store will lose its prestige!”
“Prestige is built by customers, not by an empty storefront. If nothing else, please approve this one proposal. We open a Deber Products Market on the second floor. In Seiel, five out of every eight people are from Deber. They must cross the threshold before we can do real business.”
“Silence! Why would we let poor folk into this Department Store?”
Zion regarded Winter quietly.
Winter lowered his voice and spoke.
“The deputy manager is correct. To catch fish, you must dangle bait. Gaigen, you’re making a fool’s move.”
Ah.
The picture became clear.
“If I’d arrived even slightly later, Gaigen would have been dismissed and the deputy manager would have been promoted in his place, wouldn’t he?”
“I believe so.”
What comes after, I cannot say for certain.
But at least he would have had a far higher chance of saving this Department Store than Gaigen does.
In other words.
This is how it stands.
That man is competent.
‘Hmm… You have done nothing to offend me, but… forgive me.’
In this moment, the deputy manager’s fate was sealed.
Ruin and disgrace.
The reason was singular.
The crime of being a capable Imperial.
He was an obstacle to the plan of filling the Empire’s upper echelons with incompetent men.
It was then that Winter spoke.
“Your Highness. Have you given any thought to transferring that deputy manager elsewhere?”
Transfer?
Winter seems to have need of capable subordinates.

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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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