chapter 23
“No, why are you meddling in our work? Focus on your technology development!”
“You’re a magician yourself, yet you can’t handle distribution or marketing at all, and still you’re dismissive!”
Especially those employees who had come along simply because Melanie was the guildmaster also showed loyalty.
They had no ties with the late duchess and were loosely working for the guild.
Is this a good example of how having a common enemy unites people internally?
No, that’s not the whole story.
Honestly, Melanie had changed.
“Lately, we haven’t seen the representative around much?”
“She wasn’t usually like that… but now she is.”
Now, whenever everyone saw Melanie working alone, they assumed she was diligently handling her tasks.
So it was odd that she wasn’t present.
It wasn’t because she lacked will; maybe her illness had worsened.
“Everyone! I heard that Representative Clotilde signed a contract with the theater troupe that refused to make their performance digital!”
“The one that everyone said no one could handle?”
Andre gave a faint smile. Sure enough, Representative Clotilde hadn’t been slacking off.
Now the employees trusted Melanie.
“But recently, the restaurant meals have become ridiculously extravagant. Isn’t that because Representative Clotilde has mostly been dining at the Mage Tower, so Representative Damian stepped in?”
“Exactly. The meals at the Mage Tower were good before, but not this impressive. So why the sudden upgrade?”
Andre tilted his head, deep in thought.
‘Could it be because Damian, the Mage Tower’s master, said the meals weren’t healthy last time?’
No, that can’t be it.
“Anyway, the meals have become luxurious, and everyone’s thrilled!”
“You need to eat well to work hard!”
Well, since everyone was satisfied, this could be considered a happy ending.
The motivated employees rallied around Melanie and accomplished their work together.
…And the employees who enjoyed the upgraded meals gradually gained weight by overeating the exquisite Mage Tower dishes.
‘They were far too thin before… yeah, it’ll be fine.’
The food was healthy, after all. Health shouldn’t be an issue… probably.
Andre ignored his noticeably growing belly and thought positively.
He needed to work hard until he could finally get back at that arrogant little magician.
So, for now, eating a lot was unavoidable.
“Andre, you’ve been praising Representative Clotilde a lot lately, haven’t you?”
“Ahem, I’m just stating facts.”
Not only Andre, but all the employees were full of morale—though Melanie was the only one unaware of this secret.
Several months passed in a flash.
Seasons changed, and the fact that Melanie had attended a ball with Damian, the Mage Tower master, had ceased to be a topic of discussion.
People started casually bringing up the two together in conversation after a long time.
“Did you hear? Young Lady Clotilde and Master Damian did something unusual.”
“Oh, you mean the ‘Black Moon’ digital performance project?”
“What kind of project is it?”
“I don’t really know… they call it the ‘Black Moon’.”
Despite launching the digital performance project after much investment and effort, the initial reaction from people was lukewarm.
“You can watch a play at home… why not just go to the theater?”
“They suddenly appeared as partners, so I guess there was some background to it.”
The concept of the digital performance itself was so unfamiliar.
Even when explained, most people were only interested in who was running the project.
And Josephine Ingda mocked Melanie.
She considered herself a winner with Polyus, whom Melanie adored.
Melanie, meanwhile, was a loser playing childhood games with Damian, who had been pushed aside by Polyus.
‘So she was acting so high and mighty, and all she’s doing with the Mage Tower is some digital performances?’
Melanie wasn’t even running a theater troupe herself.
In the end, it looked like she was clumsily following what the Beldert Troupe was doing.
Josephine, who had previously accompanied Mrs. Mila to visit Melanie, thought she could completely crush her.
She wanted to prove that standing next to Mrs. Mila, she was far superior as a prospective daughter-in-law than Melanie.
“Hohoho. I’ve been well taken care of, thanks to Josephine here.”
Mrs. Mila, who also disliked Melanie, complied exactly as she wanted.
At that moment, Josephine truly thought she had won.
But…
“I’m sorry I’m late. I hope waiting didn’t tire you.”
Everything fell apart when Damian appeared.
In hindsight, Melanie Clotilde, that cunning woman, had not been idle.
She wasn’t being passive; she was waiting for the right moment.
‘Damn it!’
Mrs. Mila was shaken by Damian’s words and even vented her frustration on Josephine.
“You insisted I come out, and now look at this mess!”
Damn, does she really think I served her because I liked her?
“No one dared touch me when I was next to Young Lady Clotilde!”
She only thought that by pleasing Polyus’ mother, Polyus would think positively of her.
‘I hate it. That Clotilde!’
It irritated her that Melanie had the man she loved, was treated as high-class, and attracted attention in society.
This time, she would trample the pride of Clotilde and the Mage Tower master.
Let’s see how far she could succeed while doing whatever she wanted.
‘I have the upper hand in society.’
Since Melanie claimed she was unwell and rarely attended social gatherings, she didn’t understand the workings of high society.
‘There are places where the Clotilde family’s influence doesn’t work, huh.’
Thus, Josephine decided to seize this opportunity.
Before attending the gathering, she conspired with her close friends and deliberately belittled the digital performance project.
“There’s the atmosphere of watching in a theater; why bother with a small digital screen?”
“Yes, I agree.”
“Being satisfied with such low-quality plays… honestly, isn’t that a bit lacking in taste?”
“Yes. I heard that even the Beldert Troupe hasn’t signed any contracts for digital performances.”
Of course, Melanie hadn’t even approached the Beldert Troupe, but who would know?
“The Beldert Troupe only wants to showcase proper works in theaters.”
“Oh my…”
Even though Josephine was called a social butterfly, she didn’t have absolute authority.
The other young ladies didn’t automatically agree with everything she said.
However, there were very few who knew enough about digital performance services to argue…
…and very few of Melanie’s friends were around to defend her.
Compared to before, things had improved, but Melanie’s image in society had been that of a foolish, clingy, bad-tempered young lady obsessed with Polyus.
Despite being a duke’s daughter, there were essentially no young ladies who admired Melanie.
“Miss Ingda may be right.”
“Indeed, Young Lady Clotilde doesn’t exactly have a refined image.”
Some young ladies who had been told not to get close to Polyus were displeased with Melanie.
And Melanie knew this well.
“Since digital performances are still unfamiliar, the priority is to let people experience the service first, rather than focus on profit.”
So, Melanie decided to focus on renting digital performances rather than selling them initially.
“We’ll create a trial service allowing people to borrow a digital performance for about two weeks for free.”
“Huh?”
“And we’ll deliver the next day so they can watch it immediately.”
It was a plan to familiarize people with the service.
‘Society is curious about my project.’
Since it was a venture with Damian, people would naturally be interested.
‘I can’t miss this moment when all eyes are on it.’
However, those around Melanie seemed uneasy.
Unlike the previous matters, even her employees expressed concern about this plan.
“So, people can watch a digital performance for free for two weeks? That’s basically no profit, isn’t it?”
