CH 15.1

Lila eyed the bottles on the table. She had decided to attend the Autumn Ball after all, and she wanted to make the most of her rainy day.

She’d already told Lucas that she wanted to start a cosmetics business, so she ordered the bottles, which were made of crystals in the design she wanted.

“I didn’t realize glass was so expensive.”

Lucas burst into laughter when she asked why she can’t just use glass to make the bottles because jewellery is too expensive.

Is it one of the specialities of the Duchy of Charlesworth?

Lila blushed as she remembered Lucas telling her that he had ordered a set of blue glasses to give as a gift.

“I thought they were common in the Duchy.”

Whether it was in the northern manor or in the capital, it was always served in a glass for cold tea or juice.

So Lila couldn’t have been more mistaken. Grumbling, she filled the jar with her cosmetics.

Creamy cosmetics popped out of her secret pouch.

“Let’s just stick to moisturizers and hydrators for now.”

Since she was in a hurry, she didn’t have a lot of jars, so she decided to sell only basic creams.

Lucas agreed to do all the distribution. Lila was quite surprised to hear that he was running the company.

And the Tenebris Company at that.

“…What, did you blush when you heard the compliment?”

She remembered the man who had introduced himself as Gale Marcus. He had told Lucas, who might have been his boss, to come in and work with him.

With a big compliment as a bonus.

Lila stopped her fidgety hands and smirked at the memory of the situation.

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t help but laugh.

Lucas and Owen were at Branch 3 at the Tenebris Company, located within the capital city.

Owen must have been quite surprised when Lucas asked him out of the blue to come along, as he hadn’t heard of the location before.

When Lucas specifically asked to go to Branch 3, he believed that he had made a big mistake there.

“What kind of mistake could they have made to make the Duke come to see them personally?”

He couldn’t help but ask. Lucas just smirked at Owen’s comment.

“I was just curious and thought I’d pay them a visit.”

They opened the door and walked in. The office was sparsely staffed, as they had been working for a while.

When they barged into the branch manager’s office, he jumped up from his papers.

“Boss?”

Recognizing Lucas’s face, the branch manager rushed over.

“How are you?”

“What’s going on? What happened?”

Joshua, the branch manager, and an early member of the Tenebris Company, sat down across from Lucas and Owen.

“Joshua, are any of these people working here named Gale Marcus?”

Joshua looked puzzled at the name of his employee.

“He’s a good, hard-working person, and he’s been here a long time.”

“Hmm, really?”

Lucas was silent for a moment, seemingly thinking about something. Joshua shot a quick glance at Owen, but he couldn’t make out the words, and neither could Owen.

“I’m going to put in a new item.”

Owen and Joshua, who had been glaring at each other, snapped their eyes back to Lucas’s words.

“What are you putting in it?”

Lucas replied to Joshua’s innocent question.

“Trying to sell some beauty cream.”

At his words, Owen asked.

“Don’t you already have beauty creams in your items, even though they’re an unpopular item?”

“That’s right. But this time, I’m thinking of selling it in earnest. The target customers will be the wealthy commoners.”

Joshua wondered what that had to do with his store.

“You mean only in our store? You see, we’re in the business of distributing cloth and paper to other parts of the country.”

“Hmm, what about that guy Gale Marcus?”

“… As I mentioned, he’s a hard worker. He’s strong, and he’s been around a long time, so he knows his way around the company.”

“I’m thinking of leaving him to his own devices, do you think he’ll do a good job?”

Joshua couldn’t understand. It wasn’t that Gale couldn’t do his job, but he wasn’t a high-profile enough employee to be dropped in and given the job, especially by Lucas, the owner of the company.

Joshua, who was sure he was mistaken, opened his mouth to try to convince Lucas otherwise.

“Are you sure you haven’t mistaken him for someone else? He’s hardworking and conscientious, sure, but he’s not yet experienced enough to take on the job out of the blue.”

Taking on a single sales route required more than just responsibility, it required deep insight. Moreover, a sense of promotion was paramount.

If you don’t know how to sell, who to sell to, and have experience, you’re going to struggle.

And it didn’t have to be his own branch.

“What about Branch 1? Isn’t that where the beauty creams were originally located? It’s the base of the fragrance oils, scented candles, and bath products.”

Lucas scowled at Joshua’s comment.

“You take charge and train him.”

“What?”

“As a bonus, I hear he’s got a girlfriend. Ask if she can work with him. Oh, and I’ll give him a raise.”

At this point, Owen had to speak up.

“Why are you suddenly trying to sell beauty cream?”

The name Gale came out of nowhere, but he couldn’t understand the idea of ​​expanding a field that was almost closed.

“Not me, but my wife will run the business. So, Owen.”

“Yes?”

Lucas said, turning to Owen, whose eyes widened at the mention of Lila running a beauty business, and not him.

“Take charge and come up with a business plan.”

Outside the office, Lucas heard the sound of employees returning to the space. It didn’t take him long to find a familiar voice in the din.

“I can’t do this, no matter how much you ask. Why would you ask for a cream that even Karin uses sparingly?”

“Oh, come on, I’m not asking for it, I’m asking you to tell me where it was sold! You know Marie’s personality, if she wants something, she has to have it to get it! Ah, so why are you bragging about it…? This is Karin’s fault too, so take responsibility!”

“I said I don’t know! How many times do I have to tell you I didn’t buy it? Are you deaf?”

“Then where the hell did you get it! I need to hear it today!”

“Ugh, don’t talk!”

Lucas sat on the couch in his office, listening intently to the audible sounds coming through the open door.

“Where the hell did you get the cream to make Karin’s face so glowing? I always knew she was pretty, but she’s even prettier these days.”

“Do you want to pick a fight with me? Why do you care so much about someone else’s lover?”

“What interest do I have, come on, I’m only interested in one person, Marie.”

As the two of them argued at the top of their lungs, Lucas quietly stood up and turned to Joshua.

“By next week, I want him trained to perfection.”

With him setting a date and giving orders, Joshua was speechless. Starting today, he would stay up all night to train Gale on the job.

Returning to the mansion after work, he entered Lila’s room, not his own.

“You’re here?”

She was sitting on the couch, hard at work on something, and Lucas approached her with light steps.

“Yes, I’m home.”

Placing a quick kiss on her forehead, Lucas sat down on the couch, sprawled out on the wide, long sofa, and rested his head on her slender thigh.

“Really…”

Lila blinked at him, then resumed her work.

“What’s that?”

Lila, who was weaving lace in a circle, replied in a girlish tone.

“I’m weaving lace.”

“Why are you weaving that?”

Lila had been filling a jar with cream earlier when she suddenly had a thought.

She wondered if she was making too much money…

Sure, it was a secret pouch she’d gotten from her own untimely death.

However, she felt a twinge of conscience at the thought of selling something that originally belonged to her for money.

So she came up with a promotional item.

After all, when buying something, people wanted to satisfy their desire to get additional items that came with it.

How often did people switch to a different coffee or do something to get an additional bonus item?

“These are for the people who buy the creams.”

“A lace?”

When he looked at her with an uncomprehending expression, Lila replied.

“Freebies should be pretty, and they should be useful.”

“… Freebies?”

As he parroted her words, Lila showed him the lace mold she had just finished.

“Why would I make lace to fit the frame? Look, see how the lace fits perfectly into the round frame?”

Lila explained as she spun the frame, a little larger than the palm of her hand, in front of his eyes.

“Here, you see the butterfly shape here and there. In the spaces here…”

While speaking, Lila took off her earrings from her ears and hung them on the lace frame.

“Ta-da! This is not just lace, it’s a lace frame that can store earrings! Or precisely, it’s an earring holder!”

Looking at her with great pride in what she had made, Lucas just blinked his eyes in amazement.

The sapphire earrings hung well on the lace, swaying in front of him.

“… Lala.”

“What?”

“You’re the best.”

Lila’s dark blue eyes narrowed at his praise. Pleased, she took the earring holder from his hand and set it on the table.

“I take it this is a freebie?”

“Yes, it’s a bonus.”

“With the cream. Have you thought about your target customers?”

Lucas asked, even though he had already made up his mind, and ran his fingers through Lila’s loose hair.

“Well… I think I prefer commoners over nobles. But since there aren’t many bottles available yet, how about we sell them only in the capital for now?”

Lucas didn’t ask how she made the beauty creams. He didn’t pry on her secrets, even though he’d told her everything.

He hoped that one day she would tell him.

Of course, it wouldn’t change his mind.

“Well, then, let me know when you’re ready.”

Lucas said, kissing her mauve hair respectfully, braiding it once with his fingers