CH 146

It’s only about a week until the day of the soiree, but the preparations are progressing steadily. Obtaining raw materials is particularly difficult. Things like sugar and butter can be stored to some extent, but raw eggs, milk, and fresh cream cannot be stored for long. Furthermore, if you suddenly secure all the necessary amount on the day before or on the day itself, you will not have enough to pass around to our regular distribution routes.

For example, let’s say you need 500 eggs on the day of the party, and the daily distribution of eggs is 1,000. Usually, 1,000 eggs are sold, but if 500 are lost due to an evening party, and the distribution volume becomes 500, there will be a shortage of products here and there, which will have a serious impact.

So, for example, reserve 100 per day and distribute 900. On the next day, reserve another 100, and now you have 200 for the event. On the next day, reserve another 100 and now you have 300 for the event. It is necessary to devise a means to gradually carry over the losses in the distribution to both have enough for the event and not disrupt normal operations.

The supply is limited and cannot be increased suddenly and explosively. If it can be produced in a factory, it would be possible to adjust the production volume by adjusting the factory’s operating rate and operating hours, but it is impossible to suddenly mass-produce or reduce the distribution of eggs and milk.

Luckily, there is still time until the day of the event, so if we carry over the excess over a few days, we can secure the needed amount while minimizing the impact on the normal distribution. If this had been said out of the blue the day before, our entire logistics system would have clogged.

If I close the crepe cafe and use the money for the evening party, I might be able to secure them all, but I don’t want to do that. It would be terrible if I asked my staff to temporarily close the crepe cafe and send the ingredients and manpower there for a noble’s evening party instead. Since the crepe cafe was originally intended for the commoners, it should not be neglected for the sake of nobles.

We are currently training cooks to make puddings. No matter how difficult it may be, I can’t keep suddenly dedicating my days to making it when someone wants it. Furthermore, I can’t teach them all the time, so I teach Damian, Carruthers’ Head Cook, and Damian teaches Caanza chefs, which is a double hassle.

Well, when I explained how to make it to Damian, he made it better than I did, so I’m sure Damian’s skill is good. I can teach him processes and new dishes with modern knowledge, but after all, my cooking skills are amateur. Since I came here, I’ve had more opportunities to cook, but I can’t even compare myself to a professional chef.

The pudding can be kept for a while. It would be good to start preparing the pudding the day before and store it in the refrigerator using my Ice magic. If you have to prepare everything on the day, it would be a big problem if there was an accident. Besides, the crepes also need manpower, so it’s impossible to cook crepes and pudding on the same day with a large number of people in a small kitchen. Crepes can’t be made ahead of time.

Even so, I’m curious about Duke Bayen. Why should an aristocratic family as big as Bayen skimp on such an expense?

As far as I know, House Bayen’s evening party is on a very large scale. Invitations have been sent to most of the high-ranking aristocrats, including the royal family, the Kreff Duchy, and Margarete’s family, the Greif Duchy. And most of them wrote back that they will be attending.

A large number of provincial aristocrats who came to the royal capital to attend Amelie’s evening party are also staying in the royal capital right after it. Of course, invitations would also be sent to them and they would also attend Bayen’s party. Though few would have left their territories just to attend House Bayen’s evening party, it’s only natural to delay their return home if the other event was being held close enough anyway.

I don’t know if it’s due to factional politics, but it seems that many Houses weren’t invited to Amelie’s evening party. It has already been confirmed that simple scale alone will surpass Amelie’s event. Furthermore, the number of high-ranking aristocrats attending is much more than Amelie’s evening party. In some cases, ironically enough, it might surpass Amelie’s party and humiliate her.

At such an important evening party, the situation is so critical that they have to outsource catering to Caanza. If the subcontractor gets offended by the mistreatment and refuses the request or does not uphold their end of the bargain, Duke Bayen’s reputation will crash to the ground. Would you take such a risk just to skimp on this amount of money?

It was so mysterious that I instructed Helmut and Isabella to investigate the affairs around Duke Bayen. However, the information cannot be collected in a day or two. Above all, Duke Bayen seems to be very cautious.

Duke Nassam seemed to have a weak side, probably due to his personal qualities and temperament. Perhaps it was because he had a large faction, but perhaps because he didn’t understand the importance of information, it flowed easily even to the underlings who were likely to betray him in a heartbeat. So it seems that it was relatively easy to collect information from such people.

In comparison, Head of House Bayen, Duke Alto von Bayen, seems to only share important information with his closest aides. It seems that even excellent people like Helmut and Isabella can’t gather information so easily.

It’s probably Duke Bayen’s educational policy, but you can understand it well by looking at Helene’s aides. Although there are now only four of them, Helene was raised with the quintet from an early age. This is similar to how my father assigned Helmut to my older brother Friedrich, for them to grow up together.

From an early age, they establish their hierarchical relationship and they grow up as Helene’s closest aides. People like that won’t betray you so easily even when they grow older. Above all, there are five of them so if you think anyone starts to falter over time, you can cut them off. If you feel that the trust is broken or you feel that they’re becoming incompetent, you will be able to replace it with someone else no matter how sudden the change.

Just as he is educating his daughter, Helene, Duke Bayen himself is doing something similar. Only the closest aides he trusts can be given important information or called into the discussion, and he will only give orders directly to them. In this case, even if you try to gather information from around you, you won’t be able to catch their tails.

Duke Nassam was careless about information management due to who he was and his overly large organization. Andre was the one who assisted and controlled the information to some extent, and you can see how much damage Nassam’s Faction had suffered from Andre being arrested in the previous incident.

On the contrary, Duke Bayen is thought to be cautious and distrustful of others. Keep most of the information to yourself or to your closest aides, and do not let the information flow to unnecessary places as much as possible. Decision-making and discussions are done only with the closest aides.

If you are discussing and deciding policies in an inner circle of only the closest aides, your Yes-Men who’re guaranteed to agree with you, you will often fall into an unexpected pitfall. I can imagine that it would be an environment where free opinions, opposition, and criticism are difficult. But thanks to that, information can be very easy to control. It is quite troublesome that information about Bayen can’t be collected.

Well, not the time to panic yet. There are still days until the evening party. Let’s wait for Helmut and Isabella to bring us good news. In the worst case, even if there was no information, it wouldn’t be too much of a problem. Unlike Amelie then, it’s not like there are some personal stakes for us.

If I could have, it would be the quickest if one of Helene’s closest aides, Christa, could tell me something… but Christa wouldn’t tell me anything if I asked. I don’t know if Christa doesn’t want to say anything, or if she can’t say anything, but I can’t help if Christa does not ask for help.

After that, there is nothing we can do other than wait for Christa to tell us one day, difficult as that must be…

A few more days have passed and Helen’s soiree is 3 days from now. Caanza’s preparations are progressing smoothly, but Helmut and Isabella’s investigations are having difficulties. There is no particular new information, and I have not been able to grasp the movements of Duke Bayen, other than superficial patterns that anyone could have seen.

The only information I have received is that Duke Bayen is busy preparing for the evening party. That’s a matter of course in any House where an evening party is imminent, and it’s probably because the Bayen’s preparations were so critical because of an accident that forced them to ask Caanza for help.

I already knew that much information, so I can’t say it’s new information. I know what kind of things are collected from where and how much from the businesses, merchants, and logistics contacts. Recently, there are many people who have a connection with Caanza, so if anyone makes a big move, we will also receive information from Caanza’s partners.

From the information I got, I know that Duke Bayen is now rushing to buy food from all over the country. It seems that he is also calling out to influential chefs here and there.

Normally, if you want to hold an evening party, you should have a certain amount of preparation in mind before sending out the invitation. And yet, at this point in time, even though it’s only 3 days away from the evening party, should I consider that there was a considerable accident that they’re doing something like this now…? Maybe that’s why he seems reluctant to pay Caanza’s due.

“Miss Flora, it’s about time to head out,” Katharina said, knocking on my door.

“Yes, then shall we go?” I said as I come out of my thoughts.

I leave the room as soon as the preparations are complete. The destination is Caanza’s office. Today we are going to sign a formal contract for Helene’s soiree.

I’m a little wary of signing a contract without knowing who the other party is, but this time I think it’s for Christa’s sake, so I’ll give priority to Christa. In the worst case, even if you didn’t receive a single coin, it would be fine. The expense itself is not that big. It’s more trouble that nobles will think they don’t need to pay their dues, but we know how much we’ve lost.

…… No, my senses are also quite stupid. It’s true that it’s insignificant compared to the finances of the Caanza and House Caan, but the amount is definitely not cheap… if you think that it’s okay to let such a deficit pass, both House and Company will soon start a downward slide.

Even if it can’t be helped because it’s for Christa’s sake this time, it’s no good to think, “This level of loss isn’t a big deal.” I need to brace myself up again. Only this time is an exception. This should not happen often.

All right! I’ve sorted out my feelings!

While I was thinking about such things, I arrived at Caanza’s Head Office. A bit after I was waiting in the meeting room, Christa arrived.

Inside are me, the owner, Hugo, General Manager of the Royal Capital Branches, Kyle, Head of Accounting, Leonor, Head of Product Development, and Bianca, Assistant Manager of the Second Branch.

I thought that Helene would be here, but Christa was the only one who showed up. Both the carriage and the attendants belong to House Reingen. There is no one related to House Bayen… this doesn’t seem right, does it….?

“I’m sorry Floto…” Christa said. “I could only prepare this much for the deposit. I’ll definitely pay the rest later, so could you sign the contract still?”

I check the money Christa gave me. That’s less than half the amount Hugo suggested last time. Christa has a very apologetic look on her face, but this is… even if you don’t have to pay in advance if we’re talking Caanza or Caan’s finances, there’s no point in asking for this much. No, but…

“Christa……, I don’t mind about the amount you’re putting up for the deposit,” I said. “However… are you sure you want to sign this contract with your name, personally, and not Duke Bayen’s or your parents, Lord or Lady Reingen?”

“Umm……” Christa muttered, averting her gaze.

Ah, I finally figured it out. The one who was asking for Caanza’s help now was neither House Bayen nor House Reingen, who are subordinate to the former. This is a contract between Christiane von Reingen and Caanza Trading Firm.

No wonder she’s having trouble paying the money. Even though she is the daughter of House Reingen, the amount of money that Christiane can use herself would be insignificant. If House Reingen is commissioning Caanza, she could have used her family’s money. However, in this contract, which is not supported by House Reingen, let alone House Bayen, Christa must raise the money by herself.

I’m not even sure she should go this far for Helene…

How good is this girl’s heart? You can understand Helene’s character from her bullying Emma, someone she’s known and who served her for so many years. Helene is fine with throwing away people who have given their all for her, all their life. If she doesn’t like Christa, she will easily be discarded and mistreated as Emma is now.

And yet… even so, she’s doing this all for Helene’s party, even if she has to somehow raise the funds herself…?

I don’t think very highly of Helene now. Back when she was bullying me, I didn’t care so much. Even though I thought it was the normal reaction of a girl who was trying to defend her fiance, unofficial as it was since Ludwig was literally the prince of her dreams.

But after that, Helene’s attitude and actions gradually became unforgivable. Especially the treatment of Emma. Even though she used Emma that much to make her play such a horrific role, she became the target of bullying so blatantly just because Helene was angry with her. That’s too cruel.

Even if I do my best for Helene, Christa may also suffer a terrible fate someday. Still, Christa has gone this far for her childhood friends.

I don’t really like Helene and the others, but Christa is different. I want to make this party a success for Christa. Yes, Christa instead of Helene…

“This makes it more convenient,” I said. “Let’s make this contract between you, Christiane von Reingen, and Caanza Trading Firm. In that case, your family’s House, Reingen, and much less House Bayen are unrelated third parties, strangers, so they’ll not have any say on this.”

“…… Huh?” Christa asked.

She probably thought the contract wouldn’t be signed because it had neither Bayen nor Reingen’s involvement or backing, so now she looked dumbfounded. But it’s the other way around, really. It’s more convenient for me than Christa.

If I had an outsourcing contract with House Bayen this time, it would have been troublesome. However, neither Bayen nor Reingen are involved in this contract. It is a personal contract between a single young lady and Caanza.

If this is the case, there is no reason for Houses Bayen or Reingen to claim any connection or complain about it, so we have an excuse to refuse any other nobles who wanted to outsource to Caanza moving forward. It was an unexpected development right before the contract, but it turned out to be a good one for me.

“Now then, let’s make a new contract and sign that, instead,” I said.

“Huh? What?” Christa asked.

As I leave Christa while she struggles to wrap her head around everything, I started to think about what we’ll do from now on and had a new set of terms and conditions written up.