The Villainess Builds a Department Store - Chapter 16

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Villainess Establishes a Department Store

Chapter 16

Everyone was left speechless by the shocking confession. Meanwhile, Emily took a deep breath and asked for my permission.

“Miss, may I excuse myself for a moment?”

“By all means.”

With my permission granted, Emily began disassembling the automaton with skilled hands.

Then she pulled out a gear wheel engraved with her own distinctive mark.

“I’ve engraved this mark on all the machines I’ve made.”

Emily then disappeared into the back of the workshop and returned with two identical-looking music boxes.

At first glance they looked identical, as if made by the same person, but upon closer inspection there were differences in the craftsmanship of the joints and finishing touches.

“Emil. You know what this is, don’t you?”

“That’s… what we first made in the workshop…”

“That’s right. It’s the first and last piece I made at the master’s workbench, which Grandfather allowed on the condition that I… would never enter the workshop again.”

Emily began disassembling it without hesitation.

The gear wheel taken from the music box had the same mark engraved on it as the one on my automaton.

“Wh-what is this!”

“I engraved it so I wouldn’t forget that I made it.”

“You… how dare you deceive me all this time and do such things behind my back?”

“The one who deceived isn’t Emily, but you.”

How shameless.

“Emily is both the maker and the one who repaired it, so I don’t understand why this is called Emil’s Workshop. How about changing the name now? It’s only one letter different.”

Thinking that he was an adult who didn’t deserve any consideration, sarcasm kept slipping from my mouth.

Why do works made by master craftsmen sell for high prices?

Because of superior performance? Or because they use expensive materials? Because of their rarity?

That’s not wrong either.

But I think the reason lies in ‘trust.’

Trust that materials weren’t embezzled.

Trust that there’s no need to doubt the performance.

Trust that the maker’s identity can be guaranteed.

Then can Emil really be called a master craftsman?

I don’t think so.

“Emil. Look at me for a moment.”

“B-Baron!”

“Miss Emily. Could I ask you to look after the children for a while?”

When Father took Emil inside the workshop for an adult conversation, I could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Emily was equally dazed.

As soon as Father and Emil left, she collapsed to the floor.

“Wh-what have I done…!”

“Emily.”

“Miss! I-I was wrong. How dare someone like me, a mere receptionist, deceive you…”

“The one who deceived was Emil, not you. You made my automaton and took responsibility for repairing it to the end, didn’t you? You deserve praise instead.”

I expressed my gratitude to Emily with the most graceful and polite gesture I could remember.

“Thank you so much. Emily, you are the finest clockmaker on this street.”

“That’s…! No, no. I’m just a mere receptionist… Of course, I do fix simple things, but that’s only trivial and minor matters, gasp! Not that I’m saying Miss’s automaton is like that!”

The endless self-deprecating humility showed just how excited she was right now.

“I’m fine, so calm down. If you’re going to tremble like this, what gave you the courage earlier?”

“That… I don’t know either. I just got unbearably angry seeing Emil bragging that he made it… When I came to my senses, the words had already left my mouth…”

In other words, she lost her mind.

Whatever triggered it, the truth being revealed like this was actually good for me.

“I think Emily, who puts the same care into a clock made from royal crystal as into a child’s broken toy, is a true craftsman.”

Emily’s eyes became moist and she bowed her head deeply. Her thin shoulders trembled faintly as muffled breathing sounds could be heard intermittently.

So Emil was completely ruined and the workshop closed down.

…Such a thing didn’t happen.

As much as I wanted to completely drive Emil from the street and tear down the building, that wasn’t what Emily wanted.

If Emil’s Workshop, which had been exclusively handling royal timepieces, suddenly closed overnight amid unseemly scandal, the repercussions would be enormous.

Emily also didn’t want the workshop where she was born and raised, which had been both her playground and learning ground, to disappear in scandal.

Instead, Father made a different proposal.

“Miss Emily. Would you consider studying at the Academy?”

At Father’s suggestion, Emily’s eyes widened as if they would pop out.

“Th-th-the Academy! I haven’t properly learned anything and at best I’m just imitating what I’ve seen over others’ shoulders!”

“Yet you have finer skills than Emil, who went through formal apprenticeship.”

“That’s… true, but…”

“If you study properly at the Academy, Emily will surely achieve something tremendous that will remain in Loire’s history.”

“Someone like me could never do that!”

“What do you mean, someone like Emily?”

“I’m…”

Emily trailed off and pursed her lips.

Emil, who had the finest skills among apprentices his age, and Emily, a natural genius who even surpassed him.

However, Emil was the one who would inherit the workshop, and for him to exist as a craftsman, she had to live her entire life crouched down.

And even now, she was forcibly cramming herself under Emil’s shadow. Frustratingly so for anyone watching.

“And above all, you need to do at least that much for people to acknowledge a female clockmaker.”

“…”

Sadly, Father’s words weren’t wrong.

“Graduate from the Academy. Then formally become an apprentice and inherit the workshop.”

“Then what about Emil in the meantime…”

“That’s karma Emil needs to resolve. You don’t need to worry about it.”

Father drew a firm line.

Emily’s absence would soon result in evaluations that Emil’s skills weren’t what they used to be.

The decline in reputation would mean declining sales and damage to his honor as a craftsman, but…

If he didn’t like that, Emil would have to work with deadly determination too.

“Emily. If it’s machines that Emily makes, they’ll surely make the world a better place. That’s what I think.”

In her previous life, Emily invented not only automatons for nobles but also machines that helped in daily life.

Machines exist to help people.

That was Emily’s belief.

All I had to do was believe in her conviction and give her a little push earlier.

“…I’ll go. Please send me to the Academy.”

Emily decided to try making the world a little better with her own power.

I momentarily worried whether Emil might harm her out of spite, and my feet wouldn’t move.

But seeing her resolute expression, unlike when she was completely intimidated earlier, I felt I could be at ease.

But something still felt unsettling. As if I’d forgotten something very important… Aah!

“Aah! Father! Wait, wait! Stop the carriage!”

Good heavens, look at my mind. I’d forgotten the most important thing!

“Emily!”

“Miss Adelaide?”

When I jumped down from the carriage, Emily, who was just about to return to the workshop, reflexively reached out toward me.

“Make me a machine that records sound!”

“Sound…?”

Emily, her eyes wide, asked back in bewilderment.

“Yes! Wouldn’t it be wonderful if sound could be recorded like pictures or writing? If we could hear the same song over and over again anytime, anywhere without a performer, if we could keep a loved one’s voice forever, wouldn’t that be amazing?”

“…”

“Can you… do it…?”

When Emily didn’t say anything, I belatedly worried that I had made too unreasonable a request.

But contrary to my worries, Emily quickly came to her senses and nodded vigorously.

“I’ll give it a try!”

Her confident appearance, as if she had something already planned, made me feel energized as well.

“But Emily, there’s one problem…”

Could it possibly be made within a week, no—within five days? I’ll provide any support you need!

Please! If we miss this opportunity, we’ll have to wait at least half a year!

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