Chapter : 58
Mias’s boisterous shout made me blink for a moment.
Then, I set down the flowers I was holding and smiled wryly.
“Paradise… You really do have excellent taste~.”
Of course—after all, it’s an island someone chose.
Meeting someone who truly appreciated the value of Tadibna naturally lifted my spirits.
Mias gave a small, sheepish smile at my words.
“So…! You… will accept me…?!”
“However, I’m a bit concerned about trusting only your pure intentions, Mias. Your history makes me wary.”
“!”
Her career as the head perfumer at Quind certainly piqued my interest, but it also gave me reason to be cautious.
This was inevitable, considering my past experiences with industrial spies in my previous life.
“I know you are an excellent perfumer, Mias, but since you spent so long with a rival company… I hope you understand what I mean~.”
At my words, Mias visibly slumped.
She lowered herself further and muttered softly.
“Indeed… I was one of the founding members of Quind Hotel….”
Still… she was sincere…
Mias looked dejected and fiddled nervously with her fingers.
I observed her for a moment, then shifted slightly.
“May I ask you a few questions?”
“Y-yes…”
“First, I heard that you left Quind Hotel. Could you tell me the specific reason?”
“Ah….”
Mias’s eyes widened, and her fingers fidgeted at a pace far faster than before.
After a moment, as if she had collected herself, she stopped her restless movements and clenched her fists.
“It’s because… Quind Hotel changed too much…”
“Changed?”
“At some point… too many incompetent external staff were hired… constant meddling… ‘Do this, do that’… internal politics got worse…”
Mias sighed heavily, staring at the floor.
“Especially, those friendly to Matop… rose through the ranks at lightning speed… and the atmosphere at Quind… completely changed… The Quind I devoted my youth to… wasn’t like that…”
“If they were friendly to Matop, what kind of people exactly?”
“They were the ones who changed all of Quind’s operational systems to favor Matop… It felt like Matop was running the hotel. The marquis… couldn’t stop Matop’s excessive interference at all….”
“Hmmm.”
“My colleagues… disappointed by this, left the company… and I… got caught up in internal politics… couldn’t endure it, and chose to resign….”
Oh dear, it’s following the exact path of a company getting swallowed by investors and failing.
Listening to the internal situation of Quind that Mias was sharing, I paused at her next words.
“The marquis… seems to have no time to pay attention to hotel operations… Maybe he’s too busy preparing for a divorce….”
“Divorce?”
“Gah, you didn’t know yet?!”
Mias flinched and quickly scanned the surroundings.
Then she lowered her voice and whispered.
“In the capital’s social circles… those well-informed had a rough idea… The Quind couple were often seen arguing loudly…!”
“Hmmm~. Still, the fact that the capital’s elites had anticipated it, and that this information comes from Mias, a close aide of the marquis, carries a different weight, doesn’t it?”
At my words, she flinched again.
Watching her reaction, I chuckled softly and spoke.
“The way you casually bring up a divorce, Mias, it seems you really know something.”
“Th-That’s… well… I… just… overheard the marquis talking to his lawyer about a divorce…! I don’t know the details…!”
“So, the marquis discussed it with a lawyer~.”
Then it was clear.
The empire still viewed official divorces unfavorably. It was considered a major flaw, so people usually tried to maintain the marriage.
‘Yet they chose divorce…’
I wondered what kind of problem had occurred between the marquis and his wife.
It seemed likely it was deeply related to Matop.
I recalled when I stayed at Quind Hotel after finding the magic core in the Rocktabia Gorge.
Including the man with the elegantly groomed mustache I had met back then.
‘So, it came to this.’
I had a feeling something interesting involving them would happen soon.
I leaned back in the sofa with a satisfied smile.
“Alright. I think I can trust you to some extent now, Mias~.”
“Y-yes…?”
“You’ve shared such deep insights about the marquis, and I briefly doubted you. I apologize.”
“Eh, eh? Eh… eh…?”
“Let’s start with the contract immediately. Since a talented person like you approached us first, we’ll try to meet your desired conditions~.”
“Gah…! So just now… by hinting at the marquis’s weaknesses… my employment was confirmed…?”
I smiled gently.
At my response, Mias broke into nervous sweat and muttered softly.
“Lady Nasel… such a terrifying person… My brother’s words… were true…!”
Oh my, did Yeldo Agehatov really say that?
I decided to take it as a compliment~.
One of the major promotional elements of the early Quind Hotel was Quind Amenities!
Recruiting Mias Agehatov, the head perfumer who created those scents, was certainly great news for our resort.
Bellin, upon hearing this, shed tears of joy.
- “Amazing! Right after saying we must endlessly improve instead of resting on our laurels, you immediately recruit new talent! Eani, you are truly remarkable! I respect you!”
‘Hmm~. Honestly, I didn’t do much; she came on her own~.’
Still, it was true she joined our resort.
Even the perfumer colleagues who had resigned before Mias would all be hired by us!
This meant our Tadibna could now create amenities as remarkable as Quind’s, unique to Tadibna.
‘Oh wow~. This is going to make us even more popular~!’
It would increase my resources, but it would also take a toll on my body…
I couldn’t collapse from a lack of magic while things were this busy.
I knew too well what might happen if that happened again.
‘I need to hire a personal magician quickly.’
Recruiting more staff was the best solution.
Still, Mias’s arrival revealed a new path for me.
“The marquis has close ties with personal magicians, huh-.”
I tapped my desk while thoroughly reading the materials Crow had compiled on the marquis.
Quind Hotel had relied on personal magicians’ help in its early days before receiving investment from Matop.
Even after securing Matop’s investment, they managed to maintain connections with personal magicians.
‘Right now, the only person who can introduce personal magicians to me is probably the marquis.’
After pondering for a moment, I wrote a letter to the marquis.
I assumed he would want to meet me at least once.
‘During the founding holiday, Quind Hotel’s Weina branch completely lost to our resort.’
Newspapers and magazines constantly featured Quind Hotel Weina branch and our resort as rivals.
Any businessman in this situation would want to meet the rising new company owner.
Putting personal feelings aside.
‘Alright, let’s approach him formally~.’
I sent a letter asking for a meeting to the marquis’s personal magician mailbox that I had found in advance.
I couldn’t help but feel a little excited to see what reply he would send.
A few days passed—.
I had to reconsider my expectations.
‘How could I not get even a single reply?’
Am I… being ignored?
