The Villainess Builds a Department Store - Chapter 25

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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 25

 

The ship set sail again the next day.

 

Father was fine except for catching a cold, and Mother’s condition had noticeably improved now that Father was by her side.

 

This incident wasn’t a complete loss.

 

At the time, Father was wearing denim pants like the other merchants, and people took notice of the fact that the clothes remained intact even when soaked in seawater.

 

It became natural for not only the workers at the port but also ordinary people to wear denim pants as work clothes.

 

Thanks to this, Father’s wealth actually increased despite paying massive compensation.

 

On top of that, there was the sale of the preserved meat patent rights.

 

Full-scale sales would begin after the merchants returned, but this too would certainly not be insufficient as funding to change the future.

 

‘You’re doing well. Just keep doing what you’re doing now.’

 

Father, who had wandered the world his entire life, had returned to Mother’s side.

 

This was definitely a change that hadn’t occurred in the original story or my previous life.

 

And in a very good direction at that.

 

That evening, with the whole family gathered together, Father made a suggestion.

 

“You kids, don’t you want to go to the invention exhibition?”

 

“Invention exhibition? What’s that?”

 

“It’s where people gather to show off the inventions they’ve made.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Antoine, you showed off that drawing you made last time to the people at the estate, didn’t you? You felt good when they praised you, right?”

 

“Yeah! They said I should draw even cooler pictures and bought me new colored pencils.”

 

“Just like that, adults also want to show off what they’ve made. They want to receive praise and get money to make new inventions.”

 

“Adults need praise too?”

 

Antoine blinked his big eyes and tilted his head curiously.

 

How could they need only praise? Unlike whales that would dance just for praise, adults had much higher fuel consumption.

 

“Emily is entering as a representative of the workshops.”

 

“Is that really true?”

 

Anyway, hearing that Emily would be participating made it impossible not to be interested.

 

“An exhibition… I want to go too.”

 

“Mother?”

 

“Eleonore. Will you be alright?”

 

Mother’s health had visibly improved since Father changed his mind and decided to stay in Loire.

 

But the doctor still advised avoiding long outings or crowded places.

 

“I want to meet this Emily person. You and the children have already met her, but only I haven’t. From what the children say, she seems like an interesting person.”

 

For once, Mother’s eyes were sparkling with interest. There was no way Father would refuse when she spoke like this.

 

As expected, Father gave permission on the condition that they would return immediately if she felt dizzy or unwell.

 

“Come to think of it, wasn’t the first place you and I went on a date also an exhibition?”

 

“Huh? Oh… that’s right.”

 

Oh my. This was another story I was hearing for the first time.

 

Like nobles of that era, my parents had an arranged marriage.

 

Fortunately, they fell in love quickly, and even now, honey dripped from their eyes when they looked at each other.

 

“Other suitors only talked about boring things like art exhibitions and operas, but you recommended an invention exhibition to me. You were the first man like that.”

 

“Ah… that was…”

 

“Turns out the date was just an excuse and the exhibition was your goal from the beginning.”

 

I stand corrected. It wasn’t honey but bright yellow flames shooting from Mother’s eyes.

 

“So, what is Emily entering? The phonograph?”

 

I changed the subject before Father could turn into a nicely toasted piece of bread.

 

“She’s unveiling the phonograph and all the automatons she’s made so far. If she makes a deep impression on people at the exhibition, she might gain other sponsors besides me, and it would also have a good influence on her academy admission later.”

 

“I see…”

 

That meant there would be other talented people besides Emily aiming for academy admission or sponsors.

 

‘Hehe. I should mark my territory in advance.’

 

That night I dreamed of plucking young inventors with fresh green sprouts on their heads from a field and putting them in a basket.

 

* * *

 

‘Money should be earned when you can earn it.’

 

Charles knew well the nobles of his generation who had become complacent with reality, missed opportunities, and fallen behind.

 

An era had arrived where titles no longer guaranteed silk clothes and abundant tables.

 

Yet the price paid by those who trusted only in their inherited territories and the income from them, living luxuriously as their ancestors had done, was tragic.

 

Those who belatedly read the trends and ventured into investments and finance were relatively better off.

 

However, those who missed even their last chance were selling off not only their territories but also the jewels, paintings, estates, and even that proud bloodline passed down through generations.

 

Charles thought he was as lucky as he was capable.

 

He had capital, he had a like-minded friend, and the decisions he made with that friend always brought success.

 

Thanks to this, he was able to grow his family even as the old nobles were falling.

 

Recently, new fortune had come to him.

 

It was his beloved daughter Adelaide.

 

Serge de Nîmes, preserved fruit, and even the phonograph.

 

Every time Adelaide chattered with her little mouth, revolutionary ideas and surprisingly deep thoughts that even he as an adult couldn’t think of flowed out.

 

Was his daughter simply blessed by the goddess of fortune? Or did she really have special talents that even he as her father didn’t know about?

 

The exhibition hall was a place of opportunity. Just as inventors desperately needed investors, those with money also hoped to discover items that would bring them massive profits.

 

If he could see what his daughter paid attention to there, he would find his answer.

 

* * *

 

Large and small mechanical devices and the roaring sounds, steam, and flashing lights they produced.

 

Participants explaining their inventions like their own children with passionate voices.

 

Spectators enthusiastically showering applause and exclamations, or criticism and jeers without reserve.

 

“Wow! Sister! Look over there!”

 

“Antoine! Don’t ruuuun!”

 

“Young master!”

 

And children like Antoine who were half out of their minds, busy running around everywhere.

 

“Honey!”

 

…Even the children and their guardians.

 

The exhibition hall was nothing short of a chaotic battlefield packed with people.

 

‘At this rate, I won’t even be able to see what they’ve made properly, let alone recruit talent…!’

 

Cancellation lines were being drawn one by one over the list of talents I should recruit that I had organized in my head last night.

 

I chased after Antoine with Camille, but it was quite difficult to catch a child much smaller than me.

 

“Antoine! What are you going to do if you lose Mother and Father like this? Do you want to never go home and live in the exhibition hall forever?”

 

“Yeah! Hehe. There are so many amazing things here! So many fun things too, and also…”

 

This is driving me crazy. When will I ever raise this kid to be a proper person?

 

Looking at Camille’s face, she seemed just as frustrated as I was.

 

“Antoine. From now on, never let go of your sister’s hand. Hold Camille’s hand tightly with your other hand. If you let go, I won’t read you bedtime stories tonight.”

 

“…Waaah.”

 

Crying won’t help.

 

That’s when it happened.

 

A black steam locomotive model blew its whistle and then an enormous amount of steam burst out.

 

In an instant, thick fog dense enough to block vision covered the area and chaos erupted.

 

“Waaaah!”

 

“I can’t see anything! Honey, where are you?”

 

“Ack! Someone stepped on my foot! This monster-like thing is supposed to carry people and run?”

 

“Antoine! Camille? Are you there?”

 

People seeing a train for the first time in their lives fled in terror from the black iron mass that spewed white smoke like a demon.

 

When I came to my senses, there was no one around me.

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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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