“Perhaps. Mrs. Hedes was the first to arrive, holding the newspaper, wasn’t she?”

“The first to arrive?”

“When she came to work. She asked when the representative would be coming as soon as she found out we were the employees.”

‘The contracted sales volume is only 100…’

If it were a regular customer’s purchase, it wouldn’t be strange, but it seemed unlikely that someone owning a big business would come early to wait just to receive that.

However, a very favorable deal seemed to have been made with Mrs. Hedes, and a refreshing smile naturally appeared on my face.

“Right. Thanks for letting me know. Open on time, and limit the number of customers in the firstfloor store to forty. Also, open the external stairs on the second floor to make it convenient for the customers to use the cafeteria.”

“Forty people? Then won’t the sales be slow?”

I looked at the waiting line at Milga’s question.

The line had gotten longer since I last checked, and it seemed like many would have to wait quite a bit to enter the boutique.

However, there was no need to worry.

The operation policy was just established.

If those people entered at once, the boutique would soon turn into a crowded market.

“Yes, limit it to forty. Then we can deal with them the same way we did with the nobles yesterday.”

“Deal with them the same way? Most of them are commoners.”

“It’s not like we charge more for nobles and less for commoners, is it? Treat all buyers the same.”

“I understand, Representative. But…”

Milga questioned my policy with a troubled tone.

“What if they can’t wait and leave?”

Her face was anxious that we might lose customers.

“What about it? If they don’t like waiting, they can leave.”

“Really? Then we will lose them forever?”

“No, they’ll come back when it’s less crowded.”

The article made it clear; to me, it’s a simple candle, but to them, it’s innovation. So if I pay a little more attention to marketing, I can create even more of a boom than originally expected.

“They won’t come back. They’ll need it. I’ll make it that way.”

Only then did Milga nod.

“I understand, Representative.”

“Good, open when it’s time. Manage the inventory well.”

After finishing the conversation with Milga, I went upstairs to the secondfloor cafeteria with Blanche and Mrs. Polter. Upon arriving at the second floor, Mrs. Polter asked,

“Representative, what kind of tea would you like?”

“Make it warm with marigold. Also, prepare the tea Mrs. Hedes will drink and bring some snacks for Blanche.”

“Yes.”

Mrs. Polter went into the kitchen. I went upstairs to the third floor with Blanche.

I lightly pushed the elaborately crafted double doors and found myself in a foyer with marble flooring.

To the left of the foyer was a beautiful wooden kennel by the front window, and there were two doors in the front and to the right.

The right one was my office, and the one in front led to my living quarters.

“You can rest now, Blanche.”

I went into the kennel and patted Blanche’s head as she wagged her tail obediently.

Thanks to the window occupying one entire wall, the office was very bright even without turning on the lights.

First, I stood by the window and looked outside. The wellmaintained square was in full view.

The water droplets from the fountain, sparkling like jewels under the morning sun, were still beautiful.

The street musician who had performed at the opening ceremony was about to start playing in the same attire.

I hadn’t noticed at the time of the opening ceremony, but now that I looked closely, his performance seemed quite elegant. Somehow, he also looked dignified.

Although the office was soundproof, and I couldn’t hear the violin, I felt that sponsoring him might not be a bad idea.
“That street musician seems talented enough to be a member of an orchestra… Why is he on the street?”

I thought I needed to find out more about the musician and turned my gaze down towards the window.

People orderly lined up following the staff’s guidance and were entering the boutique.

Even with a brief observation, the line seemed to grow longer. Some were holding newspapers with the boutique featured on the front page, which was quite intriguing.

“Awesome. I don’t know who the journalist is, but I’m thankful.”

I laughed naturally, pulling the line stretched across the storefront window.

Whoosh! A sound accompanied the red curtain falling from above, covering the window as wide as an office desk.

This way, the overly bright midday sun wouldn’t shine in and heat the back of the chair.

No one would be able to see in here either.

“Okay. Time to start work.”

I dusted off my hands and sat down at my desk.

On the desk was a document reporting yesterday’s sales and inventory situation.

I briefly glanced at the document when, with a knock, Mrs. Polter came in with tea.

“Mrs. Hedes is outside, Madam.”

“Bring her in.”

Soon, Mrs. Hedes came in and bowed politely. I sat facing her, and we both had a cup of marigold tea.

The faint and sweet scent from the wellbrewed marigold lifted my mood.

“Did you look at the products enough?”

“Yes.”

“How was it?”

“I was genuinely surprised.”

“I told you, you’d be surprised. Would it compete with Linoar’s top tier?”

Not a chance. Obviously, I’ll win.

I had even told Mrs. Hedes that she would regret the contract if we did it this way.

“Ah, ah… That’s right.”

Mrs. Hedes’s face flushed as our eyes met. But she soon pulled up both corners of her mouth and regained her composure.

Of course, it was a forced smile for business.

“But we’ve seen this for a year or two, and you’re a bit too much, Countess.”

“What is?”

“If you had shown me this candle when writing the contract, the conditions would have been very different.”

“Candles are difficult to expand into more outlets, you say? I thought it was meaningless to trial display about 100 pieces for three months.”

Mrs. Hedes’s smile turned unnatural at my nonchalant response.

“My goodness, please forgive me, who didn’t even know this.”

As if the attitude when writing the first contract never happened, Mrs. Hedes chuckled softly. I let out a small laugh at an attitude not even shown when selling the goods.

‘I could slap a traitor’s cheek back and forth and still have some left.’

She praised the scented candles and my ideas she saw in my boutique while I finished my cup of tea.

Then, she subtly brought out the previous contract.

“So our boutique wants to prominently promote and advertise your scented candles. What do you think?”

Without hesitation, I nodded, as it was undoubtedly good news.

“Of course, that’s fine.”

Mrs. Hedes’s expression brightened at my agreement.

“But even if we do that, will there be a margin left with 100 pieces for three months?”

She grinned wistfully again.

“Oh dear, that’s why we need to adjust the quantity, don’t we?”

“Hmm… Quantity adjustment…”

As I folded my arms and frowned, Mrs. Hedes cautiously made a suggestion.