chapter 22
Standing in front of the executive office where Damian, the Mage Tower Master, was, I could already hear the voices of the two people in conversation.
Damian didn’t seem particularly pleased with the situation either.
“Why do you keep trying to change something that’s already been decided in the meeting? Do you think others are idiots?”
“If we go with the popularization route, it will also hurt the sales of the existing magical artifacts sold at the Mage Tower. The mages there will seem overly familiar, almost cheap. It could actually negatively affect revenue.”
Wow, they were repeating the exact same argument. Don’t they get tired of it?
“If you’re going to ignore everyone else and act unilaterally, why don’t you just quit?”
“Master Damian!”
“It’s strange that a mage acting like this even got into the Tower.”
The Prinz Mage seemed frustrated that even Damian wasn’t taking his side.
I, on the other hand, was dumbfounded.
The Clotilde guild had been founded by the late Duchess Clotilde.
That didn’t mean everyone in the guild liked her daughter, Melanie Clotilde.
Loyalty to the guild was a separate matter.
André, who had worked there the longest, was particularly skeptical of Melanie.
“Working with the Mage Tower? What has that incompetent duchess’s daughter gotten herself into this time?”
Until now, she had done little as the guild’s head except hand over the profits to a man named Polius.
“I don’t expect her to be as capable as her renowned mother. She’d better just stay out of trouble.”
André had been able to work at the guild thanks to the late Duchess’s patronage.
So he saw Melanie as someone tarnishing her mother’s reputation.
“She’s not just failing to expand the guild; she’s acting like she’s going to ruin it.”
Suddenly, she announced a video stone business and even said the guild would handle deliveries.
If Melanie succeeded, the Clotilde guild collaborating with her would grow.
But the main actor in this business was Melanie herself. He didn’t trust her.
“Why is the duchess’s daughter suddenly interested in business? She’s just thinking she’ll inherit her mother’s guild.”
She didn’t consider that someone without business sense shouldn’t take on a big undertaking.
If it weren’t for the systems her late mother had built, or the loyalty of the staff, the guild would have collapsed multiple times over.
Even with the duchess family’s prestige, it was risky.
“Still, it looks like she’s at least trying.”
“Trying, yes, but that’s about it.”
“Honestly, before, she barely even stamped documents. At least now she seems to be working.”
Other employees were amazed by the precise feedback Melanie gave on documents for the first time.
But André remained indifferent.
“You’re new to the guild, so you don’t know what kind of person Princess Clotilde is yet.”
“Is that so…?”
He began to take notice of her when Melanie personally interviewed candidates.
“You’re meticulous, but sometimes overly bound by your own values. Do you think you can handle a task requiring creative thinking?”
She had remembered what countless applicants said and pointed out inconsistencies sharply.
“People can change. Maybe Clotilde has changed a bit,” one employee speculated.
“No chance. She’s probably still just good at criticizing others,” André scoffed.
“The video stone business too. Damian’s from an extreme family, but the princess isn’t. What does she know? I hope she doesn’t overextend herself.”
“Yes… I guess that’s true.”
Still, one day André saw Melanie staying late to handle documents even after everyone else had left.
‘She said she’s doing this business unnecessarily, and looks like she couldn’t finish on time,’ he thought.
Newly hired staff, working with the Mage Tower, saw this and thought Melanie was diligent.
Just when André was thinking things were getting a little better, trouble struck.
The Prinz Mage openly confronted Melanie in a meeting and caused a commotion.
“How interested do you think people are in culture? Even nobles doubt it, let alone commoners!”
He raised his voice, veins bulging, and made sure everyone could hear him, even though the Tower Master was present.
‘How dare he openly disparage the head where everyone can hear?’
It was true Melanie didn’t like him, but even the employees she worked with shouldn’t get involved—who did he think he was?
And this was the first time he had spoken on the topic in a meeting with her!
“If the Black Moon subscribers exceed 500,000, I’ll quit the Tower!”
Prinz didn’t know limits and boasted about subscriber numbers.
‘This brat… I’ve had enough,’ I thought, about to intervene when the main person appeared.
“Step aside, please.”
André, who had thought of the young duchess as weak and incompetent, was honestly surprised.
Melanie remained calm and composed despite an employee openly disrespecting her.
She strode between people with large steps and smiled.
“Oh, really? That’s some confidence.”
“What… when did you—”
In her hands was recording equipment capturing the scene. She waved it leisurely.
“Prinz Mage, can you take responsibility for what you just said?”
“I’d like to ask you the same, Representative. If we fail after taking the popularization route, how will you take responsibility?”
Damian seemed about to step in, thinking his subordinate had crossed a line, but Melanie stopped him.
André unconsciously nodded.
‘Yes, it’s good to see Representative Clotilde handle this. Otherwise, it’d just look like she’s under Damian’s protection.’
“Prinz Mage. Shall we make it a bet?”
“What would Representative Clotilde wager? It wouldn’t be fair if only I risked something.”
He made an even more arrogant remark.
But Melanie responded calmly.
“Then I’ll… give you the co-representative position, Prinz Mage.”
She said this confidently, even crossing her arms.
“But quitting the Tower if I lose seems like a dog tailing off and running away, doesn’t it?”
“Then what would you like?”
“You do as I say. Whatever it is.”
“Ha, fine. Incredible confidence.”
And so the bet was made.
Melanie had been working diligently lately, but after that, she truly put her all into her work.
André witnessed it: she even refused Damian’s meal requests without hesitation.
“Sorry, I don’t have time to eat outside.”
“…I doubt the Tower cafeteria serves healthy food anyway.”
“Well, everyone eats it.”
André knew she didn’t even eat in the cafeteria.
Even if convenient nearby options were available, she avoided the communal dining to prevent discomfort among other staff.
Despite not feeling well, she would just get a simple sandwich made from the day’s food.
‘Why go through all this even when you’re unwell?’
André didn’t like it.
Fortunately, the cafeteria was later upgraded.
“Why are these sandwiches so big now?”
“The cafeteria budget increased, so we could put more ingredients in the sandwiches.”
It turned out Damian had increased the budget.
Yes, since Prinz had stirred up trouble and she was working so hard, she should at least eat properly.
André finally admitted he was seeing Melanie in a new light.
“Ahem, if the representative works this hard, we should too.”
Other employees seemed similarly motivated, cheering her on.
“I heard about the bet. I’ll really work hard too, Representative!”
“I want to give that Mage supremacist a taste of his own medicine!”
Not just Melanie, even the planning staff who supported the popularization route were feeling their pride stung.
