Chapter 86

Gritting her teeth, she clenched the letter containing the secret that her mother had given her.

If it weren't for that child, the emperor wouldn't have wandered for 15 years.

'If only I hadn't wasted my time, I could have enjoyed the glory of the empire!'

The woman, who was emitting a murderous aura, took a deep breath to calm herself.

After all, it was just a dead woman; thinking about her would only disrupt her composure.

If she lost her cool, she might ruin the relationship she had built with the emperor, even if it was fake.

She had to hold her ground no matter what.

If she could sit at the highest place in the empire, she could do anything without hesitation.

'So, first of all……'

Kartia shook the bell beside her.

Swoosh. A chilling sound echoed for a moment.

"Did you call for me?"

A figure in a black robe appeared before her.

It was the same person who had informed her of Eli's information through the Viscount Corvino.

"Is there any interesting news?"

"Yes."

He quietly reported what he had found out.

The more he spoke, the more distorted Kartia's face became.

"Haha…… Duke Schuetz, that guy has finally gone mad."

To get married without the royal family's permission was tantamount to treason.

However, Duke Schuetz was not someone to be trifled with due to their long-standing madness.

'What should I do about this……'

She touched her red hair and smiled coldly.

"How old did you say those children are?"

"Eleven and thirteen years old, respectively."

"Oh my. What a coincidence. The son is eleven, the same age as the Second Prince, Matteo."

She smiled.

"Our Matteo will have a good friend. Don't you think?"

Kartia's words made him look at her with sharp, snake-like eyes, then he bowed his head again.

* * *

"Wow……"

I looked around with shining eyes.

'So this is what a salon looks like.'

It was my first time visiting a salon, so everything was fascinating.

"How do you like it?"

Jerrit asked cautiously.

"It's full of mirrors and light bulbs."

"Haha. Isn't it?"

Jerrit chuckled, seemingly finding my answer cute.

"But what's that?"

I pointed to something that looked familiar.

"It's a hair styling tool. We haven't decided on a proper name yet."

"If it's a hair styling tool, could it be……"

My eyes sparkled.

The round shape and the clamps clearly indicated it was an iron.

In other words, a curling iron!

"Lord Heron and Duke Schuetz showed me a mysterious gemstone. It's almost like a holy stone……"

Jerrit stopped himself, realizing he had almost said too much.

The new holy stone was still a forbidden topic.

"……Anyway, since it's a gemstone that can maintain mana for a long time, I had a fire mage transfer mana to it for research purposes. I thought it might be useful as a heater, given how cold it is."

He must have thought of a hand warmer.

'But it's such a good stone to use as a heater. It would be a waste.'

Jerrit seemed to think the same way.

"But I felt it was too much of a waste to use it as a heater, so I started thinking about what else I could do with it. I fell asleep with the gemstone by my pillow, but my hair didn't burn even after a long time."

"Wow!"

"That's when I thought, why not use it instead of a hot iron?"

People here used hot irons or hair rollers to style their hair.

However, hair rollers couldn't create the desired shape, and hot irons could burn hair if used incorrectly.

'But it doesn't burn even after a long time.'

It was even better than a curling iron.

'So that's why you decided to open a salon!'

It was a great idea.

No matter how good a product is, it's useless if the user lacks the skill.

'Even the best equipment is useless in the hands of an incompetent user.'

But what if you gave the curling iron to a professional stylist?

It would be a huge success! I clapped my hands in excitement.

"Really impressive, big brother!"

"R-really? Thank you."

Jerrit blushed at my praise.

'As expected, Jerrit has a good business sense!'

He had created a salon and a tailor's shop on the second floor, allowing customers to freely browse clothes, and a coffee house on the first floor to keep them there longer.

'And he didn't forget the pads!'

Jerrit's thinking deserved praise. I clapped without hesitation.

Jerrit blushed and smiled, then suddenly sighed deeply.

"Of course, I don't know if it will succeed……"

Jerrit's timidity appeared again.

'Why is he so unsure when he has such a good strategy?'

Is there some other reason for his anxiety? I was about to ask him when——

"Hey! You touched my scissors again, didn't you?"

A sudden, shocked yell made me shudder.

The sound came from the tailor's room.

"I'm sorry. Were they important scissors? If so, I apologize."

"These are for cutting hair, not fabric! Can't you understand? Are you deaf?"

"Is there anyone in the world who can answer when they're deaf? That's amazing."

"Ugh!"

The sound of continuous arguing came from behind the curtain.

"Here we go again……"

Jerrit sighed.

"Who are they?"

"They are the stylist and tailor who agreed to work with us……"

At that moment, someone roughly pulled back the curtain and appeared.

It was a woman with blue-tinted hair.

"Ah, forget it! I don't want to talk to you."

Then, a man with green-tinted hair and a large, sturdy build followed her out.

He looked straightforward and said,

"But Charlotte, you still seem angry."

"It's because of you, you! You can't even tell the difference between scissors!"

The man replied with a troubled expression,

"……I'm sorry, Charlotte, but I do know what scissors look like."

"That's not what I meant! Ugh!"

Charlotte, as she was called, grabbed her head in frustration.

'Hmm…… It's more like one person is unilaterally getting upset rather than a fight.'

Moreover, since he was sincerely apologizing, it didn't seem like she could stay angry.

To avoid any trouble, I took a step back.

"Is everything okay? This could turn into a big problem."

I tugged at his sleeve and asked.

"It will be over soon. Please bear with it for a moment."

Just as Jerrit whispered that——

"Fine! I'll just get angrier if I keep this up."

Charlotte stomped away.

"Are you going to buy new scissors?"

The man followed her without hesitation.

"Don't follow me! It's not about that!"

"But we were talking, weren't we?"

"No, we weren't! You were just angry because you touched my scissors!"

"Then should we go buy new scissors?"

"No!"

Despite her words, their steps were perfectly in sync.

Bang!

The door slammed shut.

Suddenly, it became quiet as if nothing had happened.

'……Just now.'

What exactly happened?

As I blinked in confusion, Jerrit sighed deeply.

"Both of them are highly skilled…… but Flint's sense of judgment……"

"Uh…… I understand what you mean."

Charlotte's ability to respond so precisely was impressive.

"I thought about not hiring Flint……"

Jerrit sighed as if carrying the weight of the world.

"Skilled tailors already have their own shops. Even if they haven't opened one yet, they wouldn't want to work with me."

That made sense.

Tailors prefer to run their own shops under their own names.

"Besides, Charlotte is good at understanding what colors suit customers. Her skills are unparalleled. But Flint's sense of color is…… lacking."

Jerrit shook his head.

"Actually, he has none at all."

"Without Charlotte, it would be a disaster."

"But they make up quickly, so it should be fine. As long as they can control themselves in front of customers."

Jerrit smiled faintly.

Hmm, I could almost see Jerrit's despair.

'But the idea itself is good.'

If the tailor made the clothes and Charlotte styled the hair with the curling iron, the salon would be a huge success.

'But something seems to be missing.'

Charlotte and Flint.

Was there a way for them to work together and create synergy?

As I thought about this, I paused.

A pile of fabrics caught my eye.

'That's it!'