The Villainess Builds a Department Store - Chapter 21

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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 21

“Miss, what is this?”

“Preserved fruit. They say you can store fruit for a very long time this way.”

But now that I’ve finished making it, it looks too ordinary.

Hmm, should I attach a cute ribbon or something?

Ah! I have a good idea.

“Antoine! Do you want to draw pictures with Older Sister?”

Now that I’ve attached Antoine’s artistically inspired apricot drawing, it finally looks somewhat special.

“Oh my, is this Époisses cheese? I can almost smell that pungent aroma just by looking at it! You drew it so well, Young Master Antoine.”

“….”

Well, there are rarely people who can recognize the true value of a genius’s artwork.

Holding the warm heat of the completed preserved fruit in my arms, I headed straight to Father’s study.

He’ll definitely be pleased.

But there was already a visitor in the study who had arrived before me.

“This is treating you with contempt, Baron. Anyone can see this is an unreasonable amount.”

The angry voice was loud enough to make the thick door shake, and I unconsciously stopped walking.

“Common sense dictates they should have checked at least once.”

What’s going on?

Instead of opening the door right away, I tiptoed closer and pressed my ear to the keyhole.

“Baron. You must demand a refund immediately. There’s no use for all this fabric and insufficient warehouse space to store it.”

“How can I blame them when this happened due to my mistake?”

Hmm. I can roughly guess what kind of situation this is.

An ordering mistake.

From what I can gather, it seems they ordered far too much fabric for sail repairs.

“Sigh… I feel sorry for them. Since there was also fault on our side for not checking until the end, ask them to refund at least a portion if not the full amount. And also look into whether there are any trading companies that might purchase the inventory.”

In the end, the decision for a refund was made.

At that moment, I couldn’t help but burst open the study door.

“That won’t do!”

“Adele?”

I barely acknowledged the visitor and rushed to Father.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Adelaide. But more importantly, a refund? That won’t do!”

“Adele. You shouldn’t eavesdrop on adult conversations.”

“I’m sorry about that. But your voices could be heard all the way to the corridor.”

“Ahem.”

“I don’t know the details, but if it’s sails used on big ships, they must be enormous in size, right? They wouldn’t cut and sell such things piece by piece like fabric at a store. So the contract and payment must have been made at that time too.”

“Baron. This is not the time for this. Right now…”

“Wait, wait a moment. You should cool your head too.”

Encouraged by Father’s attitude of listening to me, I gained courage and continued my explanation.

“That money has probably already been spent on raw materials and employee wages. But now asking for it back – wouldn’t that make the factory unstable?”

“Miss Adelaide. That factory has been dealing with the Baron for longer than your age. So if they had wanted to, they could have informed him at any time, but they never contacted him first even once. They were the first to betray trust, so why should we consider the circumstances of such ungrateful people?”

Hmm. That’s not wrong.

But when has the world ever flowed according to predetermined answers?

“That’s because it’s their role. When they receive money, they deliver the goods the other party wants within the deadline. They simply kept their trust.”

“Then are you saying your father should take on all this bad inventory?”

That’s not it either.

“There’s a way to handle it without refunding.”

“A way? How?”

Father, who had been quietly listening to my story, showed a reaction for the first time.

“Make clothes with that fabric.”

Very, very sturdy clothes at that.

I focused on the receipt on the desk, or more precisely, on the name “serge de Nîmes” written there.

“Clothes…?”

At my words about making clothes from sail fabric, question marks appeared on Father’s face.

“But Adele, who in the world would like rough clothes? Everyone prefers clothes that are even a little softer and smoother.”

You know one thing but not two.

“Father. What kind of fabric are good sails made from?”

“Something that doesn’t get wet easily, is tough and sturdy. And it should also be flame-treated in case of unexpected situations.”

“Wow. With fabric like that, it would never tear no matter how rough the work.”

“Rough work?”

Father furrowed his brow in puzzlement.

Then, as if he realized what I was trying to say, he exclaimed “Ah!”

“Right. Indeed, it would be hard to find fabric more perfect than this for work clothes.”

There’s no one who dislikes soft clothes.

Similarly, there’s no one who likes having their precious clothes torn while doing rough and harsh work.

Sculptors who handle hard stone all day, blacksmiths who work with hot iron, and even dock workers.

“Haha, I go to the harbor every day, so why didn’t I think of those people? No, wait! I myself used to get scolded all the time as a child for tearing my clothes!”

Before I knew it, Father’s eyes were looking into the void, or rather, at the countless possibilities that lay beyond.

“Is there any dye left in the warehouse? That deep blue stuff!”

“Do you mean indigo? There should still be some left. Su-surely you’re not really going to do as Miss suggests?”

“Why, doesn’t it seem feasible?”

He was silent for a while. Was my persuasion really too lacking?

I was anxiously worrying when this happened.

Finally, he opened his tightly closed mouth.

“No. It’s possible. No, it will definitely work.”

“Then it’s settled!”

“Then I’ll look into factories right away. What shall we call the new fabric?”

Father, who had been thinking for a moment, snapped his fingers.

“Serge de Nîmes! Since it’s made from serge fabric from the Nîmes region, we can shorten it to ‘de Nîmes’! How’s that, a good name?”

“De Nîmes sounds like the name of a new silk, so people will probably like it.”

“Right? Hahaha!”

Father burst into hearty laughter like someone who had gulped down ice-cold carbonated water on a hot summer day, then lifted me up in his arms.

“Thank you! Adele! Thanks to you, not only will we handle the inventory, but it will return as even greater profit!”

That wasn’t all.

There are things in the world more important than money.

Something that must be cultivated with care over a long time.

Something that sometimes cannot be bought even with billions.

That’s credit.

“Even while making much more fabric than usual, the factory met the deadline and maintained quality. Confirming that fact is also good for Father, right?”

“That’s right. Such places are hard to find and they’ve probably already signed contracts with others.”

“Similarly, the factory must have gained confidence that Father is someone they’ll continue dealing with in the future, right? Incidentally, they probably also got the impression that Baron Charmeuze is a person of character who can acknowledge his mistakes.”

“How clever! Did you think that far ahead?”

“Um… actually, there’s one more thing.”

“More?”

I said with a bright smile.

“Always double-check numbers until the very end. It would be troublesome if something like this happens again.”

The remaining work is now up to the adults.

Planning to gift Emily new work clothes soon, I got up from my seat.

And only after walking down the corridor for a while did I realize I had forgotten something very important.

“Oh right, the preserved fruit!”

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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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