Ariadne had previously arranged a deal with Mrs. Marini of the Ragione tailor shop.

Initially, Mrs. Marini rejected Ariadne’s request to establish a business relationship with Lucrezia, provide a rebate as per Lucrezia’s demand, and then hand over the account statement to Ariadne.

“Miss! That’s a bit…! If word gets out that we did such a thing, it could damage the reputation of our tailor shop.”

Ariadne persuaded Mrs. Marini with unwavering conviction, as if she had anticipated the response.

“This is a disgrace to the de Mare Cardinal’s family. At least on our end, there’s no way the story will leak out.”

“But even if that’s the case, wouldn’t the Cardinal de Mare sever our business relationship with the de Mare family if your plan goes through?”

The picture Ariadne painted was to receive evidence of Lucrezia receiving a rebate from the Ragione tailor shop and to accuse the Cardinal de Mare. It was embezzlement.

Naturally, from the Cardinal de Mare’s perspective, the Ragione tailor shop would be thought of as rotten participants in Lucrezia’s embezzlement.

“We have an exclusive clothing contract with you for two seasons, do we not? It would be problematic if that were to end. Thanks to you wearing our clothes, our shop receives quite a few orders from the young ladies in San Carlo’s social circle.”

That was the truth. Although she had attracted some negative attention when her dress tore at the debutante ball, as the old saying goes, “infamy is just another form of fame.” That incident had sparked explosive interest in the Ragione tailor shop.

Those who thought the dress was beautiful at the time had placed orders at the Ragione tailor shop in droves.

Just when the rush of orders due to the trend of the debutante ball dress seemed to be subsiding, the greenstriped dress she wore at the hunting party became a major hit.

That fall in San Carlo, if Ariadne had worn it, the fabric of that dress would have sold out. Lately, the skilled workers at the Ragione tailor shop had been busy making hunting dresses from similar fabric.

At Mrs. Marini’s words, Ariadne gave a slight smile.

“What do you think will happen after two seasons?”

Mrs. Marini could not answer Ariadne’s question. While Mrs. Marini was at a loss for words, Ariadne asked again.

“Do you think I’ll still be doing business with the Ragione tailor shop two seasons from now?”

Mrs. Marini straightened up with a start.

Ariadne was currently San Carlo’s socalled ‘it girl.’ She was the ‘most notable newcomer’ and, according to Camellia de Castellione, the ‘wealthiest in all of San Carlo.’

While it was unusual for the position to change frequently in recent years from Camellia to Isabella, and from Isabella to Ariadne, this position typically lasted for 23 years at the minimum, and some even held it for more than 15 years.

It was indeed very strange that Ariadne, who was enjoying such a position, was having her clothes made at a tailor shop instead of a fashion house.

“I know very well that you have no intention of moving to a fashion house.”

The Ragione tailor shop was a family business run by a family from a small village in the suburbs. They employed their relatives and longknown village neighbors as seamstresses, providing them with work.

They were not the best seamstresses, which caused the Ragione tailor shop to struggle to produce products above a certain level of quality.

However, the Marini family considered coexisting with their village people to be more valuable than becoming the best fashion house in San Carlo.

“You can’t always have it good, and you can’t avoid the unpleasant and only enjoy the good. Once the twoseason contract ends, I’ve fulfilled all my promises and will move my business to a fashion house. That’s the natural course. Then the Ragione tailor shop will return to its previous state.”

“……!”

Although surprised, it was not an astonishing story. The Ragione tailor shop couldn’t produce the quality of a fashion house, so it was a natural progression.

“But making money isn’t only possible through the tailor shop, right?”

“Excuse me…?”

“If everything goes according to my plan, the business dealings between the de Mare family and Razione Tailor Shop will indeed cease. My father will see to that. But what if we establish a second shop under a different name? Instead of women’s clothing, we can deal with servants’ uniforms, maids’ clothing, and home linens such as curtains and bedding.”

“……!”

“When I take over the housekeeping of the de Mare family, I plan to reduce the number of servants. Then, we’ll need a place to take care of all the clothing and linen used by the de Mare family.”

When it came to the serious power struggle within the family, it was necessary to weed out some of Lucrezia’s people. Instead of hiring new people, they intended to outsource to Razione Tailor Shop, no, to Razione Linen.