C1 Part4

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Shiori's

talent (I'm not even kidding) and slight angst (if you can detect it, it's

kinda obscure for now) regarding Shiori's position in the country.

But let's

see how it goes, shall we?

What is the

difference between champagnes and wines?

The easy and short answer is that

sparkling wine

can only be called Champagne

if

it comes from the region of Champagne, France,

which is just outside of Paris. Further,

champagne

can only be made using Chardonnay,

Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. (Copied from Google)

PS I have not confirmed Kurosaki's first

name hahahah need to find my bro's kanji dictionary.

I DO NOT OWN THIS WORK, ASUMA

RISAI (the author) DOES.

PS. Nobody owns Shiori either.

For any re-posts or re-uploads,

please credit this blog!

And

now, on to the real stuff.

Previously

on the Royal Fiance... http://blacksoulz.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-royal-fiance-white-prince-chapter-1.html

The adjacent

room boasted of a wine cellar, along with air-conditioning set at the optimal

temperature for wine storage. A table with six wine glasses was already placed

in the centre of the room.

It seemed

that after the long-winded and selection process by Shiori's subordinates, there

were on six candidates whose champagne made the cut this year.

Amongst the

several hundreds of vineyards, only seventeen brands which boasted the usage of

ingredients of the highest quality in their wine-making process were

shortlisted for this prestigious selection process. Another round of selection

was made amongst these brands, leaving behind the six champagnes that were

aligned neatly on the tabletop.

Which

champagne, out of these six champagnes, would have the honour of being branded

as the well-sought after title of 'royal champagne'?

Although

some champagnes had been shortlisted every year and made it to the final

tasting stage carried out by Shiori, some were never approved of and given the

royal branding by Shiori. Needless to say, this exemplifies Shiori's stringent

standards with regards to the wine's quality and the overall quality control.

Upon Shiori's

arrival, his subordinates immediately stepped forward and filled the

wineglasses with the with the six short-listed champagnes individually. The

brands of these champagnes was kept an absolute secret from Shiori to prevent

any sort of bias.

"I

wonder what sort of quality these champagnes can offer to its consumers?"

Even though

the champagnes' quality might be higher than those selected for the previous

year's tasting, it does not necessarily mean that the champagne is qualified to

carry the royal branding. With the royal branding being something so elusive

and hard-to-get, champagne producers had been clamouring for and relentlessly

fighting to produce a champagne that can attain this seal of quality. Shiori

sipped the champagnes glass by glass. Most of the champagnes featured a bright

yellow coloured body, while a few of them had a slight pinkish tint. A

continuous stream of fine and long-lasting bubbles in these champagnes made

them look much more luxurious.

"This

uses Western Pears as a key ingredient, and places much emphasis on the fruity

flavour. The moment it enters one's mouth, its deep and strong warm flavour can

be tasted, and it has a pleasant aftertaste that lingers. "

Champagnes

that have a fruity emphasis, champagnes that were centered upon roses, violets,

or other similar types of flowers, champagnes that adopts a candy-like taste

for emphasis. There was a wide variety of champagne in this round of testing,

and all of them had rich and complex personalities.

The perfect

amount of balance between acidity and its own distinct flavour, a strong yet

refreshing and light taste upon the first sip, a sublime appearance... Most

people would be satisfied with just a champagne that tastes good. However, paying attention to the hard work that

the wine-makers had put into the wine-making process - from the selection of

ingredients to the fermentation was equally important.

Shiori is

someone who is able to point out minute discrepancies in the champagnes that

even his helpers could not spot - this very talent of Shiori was the value and

place that he has in Ecuratol. Although the champagnes in front of him has

already been through several rounds of inspections by his subordinates, some

champagnes' acidity levels would still leave some consumers unsatisfied, some

champagnes tasted too delicate and refined, making them feel dull, while some

other champagnes simply tasted too shallow, making them overly refreshing. In

particular, the second champagne from the right had a rough aftertaste that would

linger on the tip of its consumer's tongue.

After the

selection is over, I will give my subordinates a good lecture. How could they

even think of allowing this sort of thing to run as a royal champagne

candidate? Are they not afraid of shaming the royal family's name?

This

champagne simply lacked depth. had a sharp aftertaste, and could only leave a

slight hint of a banana's fragrance. Furthermore, the intensity of the

champagne upon entering the mouth was too much, making the consumer feel as if

one's tongue had gone numb.

Just like a

tongue that had been sucked, and willfully being pursued and intertwined with

another's tongue.

Just

like...what had happened with that man.

Shiori

placed that wine glass down, and lifted the wine glass that was beside it.

"Your

Highness, are you not feeling well?"

Upon seeing

Shiori being in a trance and not moving upon picking up another wine glass, his

secretary could not help by crease his eyebrows. Realising that his secretary had a face

plastered with worry, Shiori hurriedly gave a small cough. He placed the wine

glass he was holding back onto the table, on the right side of the

terrible-tasting champagne instead of its original position. (Which was the left

side of the terrible-tasting champagne.)

"My

apologies. I was merely deep in thought." Shiori did not like to cause

trouble for others when he was working.

"I

would like you to paste the 'royal branding' seal onto the champagne that is

the third from the right. Following that, do distribute this champagne to the

importers in Japan.", ordered Shiori while gesturing to the wine glass he

was referring to.

"Your

Highness, this evening's work has already be completed. I will be rescheduling

the assignments that were originally lined up for the rest of today to another

day. Please take a good, short rest."

Although Shiori

insisted that he did not need to rest, his secretary remained adamant about Shiori

taking a breather. The secretary immediately cancelled Shiori's remaining

engagement for the day, and made sure that he returned to his room to get a

good rest.

To Shiori,

work was a distraction. When he is alone, he could not help but recall the events

that day... Shiori shook his head in disdain.

The remnants

of the heat simply could not be cooled down. The secretary most likely mistook Shiori's

gesture when he was reflecting as an indication that Shiori was running a

slight fever.

Shiori reclined

on the long sofa and absentmindedly browsed through a book with a warm, thick

blanket rested over his legs.

However,

nothing went into Shiori's head.

Shiori

looked up to take a quick glance at the gold clock nested above a chest of

ornate drawers.

It was now

six in the evening.

The champagne

that would be served at the banquet in Japan should have already been shipped

over, hasn't it?

All of a

sudden, Shiori heard a disturbance outside of the room that broke the tranquil

atmosphere.

"His

Highness is not feeling well currently. I do not think it is very appropriate

to inform His Highness of the news now......"

"This

is a very urgent matter. We are in no position to settle this matter. Only His

Highness can make the judgement call."

Shiori

abruptly turned his whole body to face the direction where the hushed voices

came from.

"I am

afraid that, should the report be made at a later time, it would greatly increase

the burden on His Highness." The speaker sounded terribly panicked.

Shiori's

heart felt uneasy. He stood up from the sofa, and opened the door.

"May I

know what is happening?"

Both his

secretary and a clerk were standing at the doorway of his room.

"Your

condition......" Shiori's secretary was visibly concerned about his

health.

"I am

fine. I overheard that something urgent has cropped up. May I know what has

happened?"

Upon Shiori's

inquiry, his secretary looked uncomfortably in all four directions.

Is this

about a sensitive matter that should not be accidentally overheard by others?

Shiori

allowed his secretary to enter his room and closed the door behind him.

Although it

was Shiori's room, his actual bedroom was further in, in a separate room altogether.

There was a small sitting area near the entrance of his room, and that was

where he usually gives instructions to his subordinates.

Shiori sat

at the window-side table while his secretary and clerk remained standing.

Both the

secretary and the clerk swallowed nervously. The secretary took the files from

the clerk and produced a document from the file.

"Just

this evening, Your Highness, you carried out the selection for this year's

royal champagne......"

Shiori even

ordered the clerk who was standing beside the secretary to paste the seal of

approval onto that champagne's bottle personally. His secretary, who was had a

few bottles of champagne on hand, went pale.

"Your Highness,

it seems that you had selected this champagne to be a royal champagne. Before

we shipped the stocks to Japan, we sent one bottle of it as a gift to an

important client of our country. According to his testimony, the champagne

was......hard to stomach."

Shiori felt

wronged and at the same time, had a very stern expression on his face. He had

absolute confidence in his own abilities to select grape wines that has the

best quality and taste.

This very

quality of Shiori was the only value that Shiori had in this country.

As this very

allegation was denying the very reason for Shiori to exist in this country, Shiori

simply could not afford to speak up against such slander.

"Was

the other party merely being picky in order to gain an upper hand in an

agreement with the Royal Family? Or was the other party simply not willing to

pay for this champagne?"

"But......Please

have a taste of this champagne, Your Highness."

The

secretary took a wine glass and poured the golden-bodied champagne...... Shiori

had a bad feeling about this.

With the

champagne that was just approved by him in the wine glass, he hurriedly raised

the wine glass to his lips. Almost instantaneously, a burning sensation that

made one's tongue numb and taste a slight burnt flavour spread through his

mouth.

Shiori could

not believe it - he took another sip.

The flavour

remained unchanged. With the air bubbles

being too large, the taste of the champagne comes across as lacking refinement

and gentleness.

Shiori

rinsed his mouth and drank the champagne that was placed beside the low-quality

champagne during the taste test in the evening. This time, a gentle and bright

fragrance spread through his mouth. There was nothing to pick on regarding this

champagne's appearance and impeccable taste.

"I am

very sorry, Your Highness. This is an honest mistake on my part - I

misunderstood that this year's royal branding would be awarded to the champagne

that was placed the third from the right."

The

champagne that was placed second from the right had the worst quality amongst

all the champagnes that evening, and Shiori even remembered that he wanted to

admonish his subordinates for allowing

such a champagne to make it into the final round of tasting. The champagne that

was the third from the right was indeed, if Shiori remembered correctly, a

champagne worthy of attaining the royal branding.

A flashback

to the obscene incident that had occurred during the banquet dominated Shiori's

thoughts when he was doing the wine-tasting. Flustered, Shiori placed the

champagne back into the wrong position. That was, to place the good champagne

which was originally third from the right......onto the right-hand side of the

terrible-tasting champagne.

"The

champagne placed third from the right is this year's royal champagne."

The two

champagne's position had then been unconsciously switched.

As the

champagne needed to be shipped out that afternoon, making time really tight on Shiori's

side, the secretary unquestioningly followed his orders.

This mistake

was the fault of Shiori's order.

The table

clattered loudly as Shiori stood up.

"This

is a mistake on my part." Shiori's face was a deathly pale white as he

admitted his blunder to his crestfallen secretary. Not many people are able to

admit their own mistakes without putting the blame onto others first. That is

the reason why Shiori could not betray the trust that his subordinates had put

in him.

"The

champagne that was placed on the right-hand side of this bottle of champagne

was the champagne that I had intended to label as a royal champagne. What is

the status of the export to Japan?" Shiori could not afford to sit still

with the status of the shipment unknown to him.

The

champagnes had already been packaged and air-flown out of the country."

"Is it

still possible for us to recall the exports and immediately exchange it with

the actual champagne that has the royal branding?" Without hesitation, Shiori

offered an alternative.

"Even

if this champagne were to be air-flown, it is not possible for it to arrive in

time for tomorrow's banquet in Japan."

"I

understand. However, it is unbecoming of us to allow such a champagne to be

branded as a royal champagne and be distributed to the world. Are there any

updates from the champagne's company?", Shiori hurriedly questioned.

His

secretary hung his head low and replied, "The other party has told us

that.......we had utterly embarrassed him. He has already contacted a Japanese

wine importer and ordered a large amount of top-quality French wine to provided

for tomorrow's banquet. In total, this has cost the other party several

thousands in damages......"

Shiori

boarded the limousine driven by his subordinate, and headed to the hotel that

the champagne's wine-maker, who was also a major importer of Ecutatean wines,

was staying at.

It seems

that this exporter makes frequent trips to Ecuratol, and as such, had bought

the Presidential Suite in this hotel and converted it into his own personal

office.

It was

rumoured that the entrepreneur and director of this champagne's company is a

young man in his late twenties. Although the company is a relatively new

establishment and has been set up amidst a slowing economy, the year-on-year profits

that this company earns has been steadily increasing.

Even in the

wine industry, this man's ability to make wise and well-informed buiness

decisions was well-known.

Wewew

updates! Took me a damn long time to translate the whole part about Shiori

doing wine tasting. But it was worth it heh.

Went into a

sudden overdrive in wanting to translate again. Burnt out from studying I guess.

The next

update will take really, really long (Although I did do up some offline

translation.) All I can say that the next update is finally going to feature

some action that Kurosaki (?) has been desperately waiting for ahahah

Note:

This is just a one person thing, so there's no proof readers or grammar checks

and the like. Pardon any errors! Do feel free to point out any mistakes you

spot.