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The long-awaited message from the Magic Tower finally arrived.
'There is currently a mage conducting research on the matter you inquired about. If you're interested, we can connect you with them.'
Along with that reply came a brief research report and an investment guide. Upon receiving them, Letticia went straight to find Lenard.
"Do you think this is what we've been looking for, brother?"
"The best way to know for sure is to ask the mage directly. If possible, it would be good to bring a perfumer along so you can hear the explanation. Maybe it's time you started looking for one?"
"A perfumer… where on earth would I even find one?"
As Letticia fretted, Lenard answered nonchalantly.
"Why not try asking Lady Eskis? The Clarence honey perfume is famous among the old nobility."
"Oh, right. Lady Eskis uses that perfume too. I forgot since I don't use it myself."
"I figured. Also, for distribution, it might be worth talking to Lady Hayley. Since you've already started that social club, you could frame it as a joint business venture. That would also help show off your connections publicly."
"I was thinking about that too. But thanks for the reminder, brother."
Letticia smiled brightly and flipped through the pages of the investment guide. Lenard's suggestion gave her a possible solution to the problem she'd been mulling over.
'First, we'll plan the business around the four of us, and then I'll figure out how to bring in the rest of the March Blossom members.'
She did take her friends' concerns, voiced through Dayna, to heart. While Letticia had grown close with Seraphina and Ariette, that didn't mean she was willing to throw away her long-standing friendships with the March Blossom members, with whom she had shared more than five years of ups and downs during their academy days.
Her initial plan was to soothe them over the summer by meeting up often, but now that a business opportunity had arisen, she thought it might serve as a useful card to play.
If she could involve all the social club members in the business, those who could contribute would help directly, while others could participate as investors, it would naturally build trust between them as business partners.
And if she could establish that Seraphina and Ariette were people worth associating with regardless of faction, that might resolve her friends' complaints and make her own position between both sides more comfortable.
As Letticia hummed a cheerful tune, imagining this optimistic scenario, Lenard suddenly asked.
"So, did you dump all the business planning onto Lady Averil? You haven't said a word about doing it yourself."
"How was I supposed to plan anything before hearing back from the Magic Tower? Besides, I've been busy with the new recipe for Faymont. I still need to finish all the fruit cream éclair recipes for Mother's upcoming tea party."
Letticia protested, as she had genuinely been quite busy, but Lenard didn't let it slide.
"Still, at the very least, try studying some basic business management. Lady Averil contacts me almost every day to ask questions, she even works a regular job and still puts in that much effort."
"Every day? You're in touch with Lady Averil every day?"
Letticia asked in surprise, turning toward him. Lenard replied casually.
"Well, not every day exactly, maybe every other day. She's got her own work too, so one day she studies and organizes what she doesn't understand, and the next she asks about it."
"And you've been answering all her questions so kindly? Since when have you been so sweet?"
"There's no reason to be harsh to someone who's genuinely trying. And she doesn't ask me everything, she puts in the effort to understand things on her own first and only asks what she truly can't figure out. If you're going to be business partners, you should at least show that level of commitment."
"Fine, I'll start now, okay?"
Since Lenard's point was valid, Letticia only pouted without arguing further.
Despite herself, Letticia couldn't help but feel uneasy about how frequently Ariette was contacting Lenard. If her overprotective brothers were to find out, she couldn't even imagine the hell they'd raise, especially toward Lenard.
"Is that all? Then I need to get back to work, so you should go now."
Before Letticia could voice her concerns, Lenard pulled out some documents and effectively dismissed her. Left with no choice, Letticia got up from her seat, tossing out one last remark out of sibling concern.
"Brother, just in case those crazy brothers of hers try to make contact, let me know if Lady Ariette reaches out."
"Don't worry. If that happens, I'll just pretend you were out and say I answered on your behalf. I've prepared at least that much."
Seeing his matter-of-fact expression, as if he was already taking every possible precaution, Letticia just shrugged and left the room.
When she thought about it, there really was no need to warn him. Lenard was more than capable of handling danger on his own.
***
When Letticia passed along the Magic Tower's response, Ariette was visibly delighted.
—So we just need to meet with that mage and discuss things?
"There's no need for us to go in person. We can send someone in our place. But since they recommended bringing a perfumer along, let's focus on finding one now."
—A perfumer… hmm…
"One of the specialties of Lady Eskis's territory, Clarence, is honey-scented perfume. If we ask her for help, she might be able to connect us to one. The perfumer industry is small and known to be quite closed off."
Hearing Letticia's explanation, Ariette nodded in understanding. Since it wasn't her area of expertise, she seemed content to follow Letticia's lead.
"On that note, I was thinking of suggesting this business to the other two members of our group as well. What do you think about inviting Lady Averil?"
—I think it's a great idea! The Eskis marquisate can provide the perfumer and their skills, and the Hayley viscountcy can handle distribution. That way, everyone has a clear role.
"You read my mind."
It seemed Ariette had gained some insight after recently studying business management books. She looked relieved to hear Letticia's thoughts aligned with hers.
Then, standing up, she fetched a notebook and held it up to the crystal sphere. When Letticia saw the contents, filled with erased and rewritten lines of a rough business plan, she was taken aback.
'So she really had already started working on it. She's putting in a lot of effort.'
The left page, marked with large Xs in pen, was filled with crossed-out details, plans for business operations, future development goals, and more. It showed clear signs of having been written and rewritten multiple times.
In contrast, the right-hand page contained a simplified business outline and core technologies, with certain parts underlined in red.
It looked like she had initially copied examples straight from a business textbook but later changed it under Lenard's guidance to be more concise and to the point.
No wonder Lenard had scolded Letticia to study more.
—Then, how should I revise this if I want to include what we just discussed? Should I list the perfumer's skills under core technologies? And where would distribution fit in?
"…Well, instead of trying to fit everything into the formal format right away, maybe just make notes for now? Nothing's been finalized yet, we should only include confirmed details."
Letticia awkwardly gave that advice, slightly regretting that she hadn't taken Lenard's suggestion to read business books more seriously.
Thankfully, Ariette agreed, nodding and closing her notebook.
—Then… would this plan be necessary when we talk to the other two?
"You should show it to the Duke first. Before we approach people from other families, we'll need his approval."
—Ah…
Ariette looked down at the notebook with an awkward expression. She clearly wasn't confident enough in the plan to present it to her father yet.
—Could we wait until we've made more decisions before bringing it up with him? I feel like if we ask now, he'll go ahead and invest just because we asked… Even though Lord Sharon helped me revise it, there's so little actual content that I really can't show it to him.
"Then next time, we'll polish the plan together. I'll write it for you, so when you talk to him, just say you were offered a spot in a new business and wanted to know what he thought."
—Oh, that's a great idea! I didn't think of that!
Ariette's face brightened as she nodded vigorously at Letticia's suggestion. Seeing that, Letticia suddenly grew curious about how the Duke and her brothers had been behaving lately.
"How have the Duke and your brothers been? Have their attitudes changed at all?"
—Yes! When I told Achilles about the club, he told me to have fun with my friends. And Father even said he wants to send some Elrey strawberry candies as thanks.
"…That's a pretty big change from how opposed they were before."
—It's because they realized, thanks to you and Lady Seraphina, that I truly want to learn proper etiquette.
Letticia smiled warmly at Ariette, who was clearly happy. But she chose not to bring up Alexander.
She figured asking would only make things awkward, especially with Seraphina's earlier comment echoing in her mind, that he seemed like someone from a closed-off world.
—By the way, I was told I'll need a new dress for the gathering, so I'm having the atelier visit. May I ask what fabric your dress is made from, Lady Letticia?
Just in time, Ariette had shifted the topic to dresses. Letticia, also unwilling to continue the prior discussion, was happy to follow her lead.
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