chapter 35
I had heard that he was getting into the mage tower and projection-stone business.
But I couldn’t believe that the daughter he’d treated like a glass flower was the one who had drawn up detailed reports with concrete goals and numbers and was running the operation.
“How much must she have thought about it… and thought about it again…”
Duke Clotilde felt like he was seeing not only the business plan in the densely written pages, but Melanie’s dream as well.
“I’m sorry… we were supposed to go to the theater together. I’m not feeling well today.”
The duke suddenly remembered something from before.
The day of the play Melanie had been waiting for so eagerly.
Because Polius had matters to attend to and Melanie didn’t receive the fairy’s blessing, she collapsed that morning.
Legs trembling from the side effects of painkillers, her face drained of color.
“I’m sorry for breaking our promise.”
Melanie apologized even though it wasn’t her fault.
My daughter, who used to say that seeing a play let her forget reality for a little while even when things were hard, never once invited me to see a play with her after that.
“And, Your Grace… Miss Melanie has converted the loan she took from a usurer—one that was secured with the trading guild—into a safe bank loan.”
Duke Clotilde closed his eyes quietly.
The next day, the guests he had invited visited the duke’s house.
It had been a tightly scheduled visit for noble acquaintances, but they had enthusiastically accepted because they were so curious about the display stones.
“The old display stones were amazing, but at this size! The picture and the sound are superb!”
“Indeed. At this size many people could watch together. Do you call it a home theater?”
They had been fussy even before seeing the display, and when the home theater was actually run, they were utterly captivated.
“Small display stones have their own charm, but this… it truly satisfies both hearing and sight…”
The aftertaste lingered on them.
Duke Clotilde agreed; he felt the same way. He thought such a feeling probably couldn’t be achieved with a small display stone.
“To have one in your home… sigh. I envy you terribly, Duke Clotilde…”
“You raised a fine daughter. I should’ve fathered Miss Clotilde myself—sorry, that was inappropriate.”
Even nobles who usually prided themselves on dignity couldn’t hide their envy.
A noble well known for his love of the arts spoke directly to the duke without regard for politeness.
“Would Miss Clotilde by any chance consider selling this home theater? I don’t care about the price. I will buy it.”
“No, I was the one who asked if I could visit the duke’s house first!”
Voices rose among nobles who prized decorum.
“You were invited to the duke’s house and given the chance to watch—what a rude thing to say!”
Still, one of them seemed to have his wits about him.
“What if Duke Clotilde doesn’t invite you again?”
…Maybe their attention had simply drifted in another direction.
In any case they immediately fell quiet, smoothed their attire, and cleared their throats.
“We apologize, Duke Clotilde.”
“Your daughter has made such a fine thing…”
It ought to have been unpleasant to have shouted in front of him, but everything in this situation was because Melanie had made something remarkable. In fact, she’d done it so well that it caused this commotion.
“Ahem… well, I will ask my daughter about this matter later.”
When will your daughter come in? When will we hear an answer? Those unasked questions showed on their faces, yet they seemed to swallow their rudeness for now.
Duke Clotilde found his mouth twitching without meaning to.
He had not expected this. He had never imagined he’d feel like this because of Melanie.
Even doing nothing, she had always been his lovable daughter… but to have her recognized by others like this felt wonderful as a father.
There was no denying that Melanie had made something extraordinary.
Still, borrowing money with the trading guild as collateral was clearly a grave mistake. That opinion had not changed.
But—
After confirming that the guests had left, Duke Clotilde immediately called the butler.
“You asked for me, Your Grace?”
“Butler, find out as much as you can about the Black Moon that Melanie is leading—rumors, reputation, anything.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And report how many painkillers Melanie takes.”
He had used the pretext of letting her do whatever she wanted as an excuse for being too indifferent to Melanie until now.
Perhaps Melanie needed more than unconditional approval from her father—perhaps she needed varied advice.
Unaware that Polius had gone to Melanie to offer her the joint directorship of Black Moon, Josephine—who had decided to enter the display-stone business—couldn’t hide her unsettled feelings.
“Home theater, home theater… why do these unexpected things keep popping up?”
It was one thing to decide to enter the projection-stone business; she knew well that it was promising.
“But Black Moon’s growth is skyrocketing.”
She could no longer deny it.
At first, the ones praising the projection-stone service had mostly been trend-sensitive young people, but once Duke Clotilde brought his seasoned noble acquaintances to his house, the mood shifted.
If the chatter of the young had been the first wave of a trend, this was a second wave.
No—older nobles didn’t even seem to regard it as a trend.
They preferred quieter lives and thought it a wonderful way to spend time at home during lonely hours.
“They might even be more loyal than the young. Black Moon now has a loyal customer base.”
It had captured even those who initially dismissed it as a youth fad.
And with authorities in the arts lavishing praise, even people who weren’t interested in display stones wanted to look cultured and clamored to buy these so-called home theaters.
“No, there’s no need to be negative. Let Black Moon spread the display stones widely, and Polius and I will take the market with far superior quality stones.”
Once she set her mind that way, it seemed like an opportunity rather than a threat.
But how could she pull interest away from Black Moon and into her own business?
“We’ve been looking for a wizard to make the projection stones, but they’re not easy to come by. Even if we find one, they’ll be no match for the mage tower.”
So Josephine planned to differentiate by content.
Nobles liked to flaunt their refinement and to admire things different from the common run.
Honestly, Melanie and Damian didn’t have much of a cultivated image before.
So Josephine planned to leverage her advantage as the social scene’s darling—put emphasis on the content being refined and luxurious.
However—
“Black Moon isn’t just doing subscriptions now; they’re taking the premium line with home theaters too? That’s a problem.”
It had been too soon after starting for her to match them in home-theater hardware.
But she couldn’t stand by and watch.
The entire atmosphere was tilting toward Clotilde’s side, and if it kept going, Josephine would be left in Melanie’s shadow forever—second best.
“I must crush Melanie Clotilde with my refinement. That will extend to the projection-stone business.”
If Melanie and Damian had superior projection-stone technology, then Josephine and Polius would claim to have superior, tasteful content.
Coincidentally, Josephine was due to see Melanie soon.
Melanie rarely attended banquets, usually excusing herself as unwell.
She had been even less visible in social gatherings since the Foundation Festival and feared questions about Damian’s mage tower, but there was one gathering Melanie would never miss.
Count Ranilda’s—the man all nobles respected.
But he was often called Professor; he had served as a professor at the academy.
Among his former students were Duke Clotilde and his wife, and even Marquess Ingda.
He was the mentor of the famous, and it was well known that Duke Clotilde regarded his former professor with special esteem.
Even my daughter, who normally avoided social events for health reasons, was always brought to pay respects to him.
“That’s the chance. Duke Clotilde despises them as much as I do, so we’ll trample the pair together.”
Marquess Ingda, having heard Josephine’s plans for the projection-stone business, seemed to share the sentiment.
Before attending the social gathering, he called his daughter Josephine over and smiled.
“Josephine. At times like this I’m so proud that you’re the rose of society.”
Marquess Ingda was, as always, the sort of man who raised Josephine well.
“I’ll make that wretched Duke Clotilde look foolish.”
The two of them talked at length about how to set the tone when they attended the social gathering.
