ITIF Chapter 51

The Purpose of Operating the Upper Salon

The blonde noblewoman said, gently waving her feathered fan.

Then the young gentleman, who was sitting diagonally to her left, immediately opened his mouth.

“Since romance and marriage are separate matters anyway, there shouldn’t be much of a blow, should there?”

The Crown Prince’s unusual preferences were indeed somewhat shocking.

But that didn’t mean his charm completely disappeared.

The Crown Prince’s charm came from his right to succession to the throne.

Additionally, the power of the Empress and the forces supporting her was also one of the Crown Prince’s attractions. His handsome appearance was like a gift that came as a bonus.

“Well, that’s not wrong, but… still, for now, their reaction is what matters most, isn’t it…?”

The middle-aged nobleman sitting to the right of the noblewoman trailed off and lowered his gaze.

“Their reaction?”

At the noblewoman’s question, the middle-aged nobleman, who looked somewhat flustered, carefully began to speak.

“After all, everyone has their own preferences, don’t they?”

“That’s right.”

When the noblewoman nodded, the middle-aged nobleman added an explanation.

“If it doesn’t match their preferences, there are cases where they don’t react at all…”

Understanding what he meant by “their,” the young gentleman turned his gaze away and bit his lip, while the noblewoman pondered his words.

Then, soon realizing what he was trying to say, she let out a silent scream.

“…!”

The noblewoman froze for a moment with her mouth wide open.

Then she looked at the two men with eyes requesting confirmation of whether what she had thought of was correct.

The middle-aged nobleman nodded and added:

“What you’re thinking right now is correct, my lady. And this will lead to succession problems.”

Countess Tarel, who had been going around collecting various opinions from the nobles gathered in the salon, became interested in the conversation and walked toward these three people.

Dawn of the day when the imperial ball was held.

It was when Baroness Cypress had come to the salon to gossip about the big issue that occurred at the imperial ball, and not much time had passed.

Someone from the Radcliffe Trading Company came to Count Tarel’s estate.

He said that while transporting some hard-to-obtain Selvic Mountain wine, he noticed that the lights at Count Tarel’s estate were still on, so he stopped by.

Then he handed a parchment to Countess Tarel, saying he wanted to confirm once more the order he had placed previously.

The parchment listed luxury items such as perfumes, beauty soaps, and spices.

Countess Tarel took them and said she would think about it a bit more before sending him away.

Then she returned to her study and compared the contents of the parchment with the cipher key she had received from Giselle Grante.

The content was that Countess Tarel’s salon would regain its previous popularity, and she should listen carefully to what kind of public opinion the gathering nobles had and share her thoughts.

It was welcome news when the number of nobles visiting the salon had been decreasing.

Finally, there was also content asking her to give hints to the nobles in the salon to help them remember “past events.”

Countess Tarel began to act according to the advice of Lady Amaterasu.

“Not being able to react could indeed be a big problem.”

Countess Tarel added her voice to the conversation between the middle-aged nobleman, the young gentleman, and the noblewoman.

The three people turned their heads toward Countess Tarel. She met their gazes and continued speaking.

“If a situation arises where it becomes difficult to obtain legitimate heirs not just with the Crown Princess but in general, won’t there be another bloodbath in the imperial palace…?”

A bloodbath in the imperial palace.

At the words Countess Tarel casually threw out, the middle-aged nobleman furrowed his brow.

“By that bloodbath in the imperial palace, do you mean during the reign of the previous Emperor?”

“It’s too early to jump to conclusions, but the possibility isn’t entirely absent. If His Highness the Crown Prince doesn’t react to women, it would be difficult to see heirs…”

When the young gentleman asked carefully, the middle-aged nobleman nodded slightly.

The complexion of the noblewoman, who had only been listening to their conversation, also worsened.

Given her age, the noblewoman probably hadn’t directly experienced that period, but her family members would have lived through it sufficiently.

She would have heard about the terrible situations.

When the power structure changed at that time, nobles were divided into those who became more and more successful and those who didn’t, and judging by the noblewoman’s reaction, it could be predicted that her family had suffered losses.

The atmosphere became quite subdued when the story of the previous Emperor’s reign came up as a topic.

Just then, Philipo walked down from the second-floor stairs.

“Oh, Young Master Tarel is coming over there.”

The middle-aged nobleman, who spotted him first, brightened up.

“It looks like Weldenbell’s atelier’s handiwork. That ocean-blue jacket suits Young Master’s skin tone so well.”

When the noblewoman added a comment, the young gentleman, who had been gauging the two people’s reactions, eagerly joined the praise.

“That’s right! It feels like the refreshing sensation of a single drop of sweet rain falling on a scorching hot summer day under the blazing sun, wouldn’t you say?”

“…You flatter me.”

At the continuous praise, Philipo smiled shyly as if embarrassed.

The noblewoman brought the indigo scarf she was wearing close to Philipo’s face and made a fuss.

“Look at this. As expected, for Young Master Tarel’s skin tone…”

“Of course that suits him well too, but…”

The noblewoman and the young gentleman chattered about what color tones would suit Philipo’s skin color even better, while Countess Tarel watched the scene with a quite pleased expression.

“Madam. Someone from the Radcliffe Trading Company has come and asks you to confirm once whether they should deliver the items listed on this list.”

A maid handed a parchment to Countess Tarel.

Countess Tarel roughly skimmed the parchment she received and said:

“It will take some time to check and come back. Please serve tea and refreshments so they won’t be bored while waiting.”

“Yes, madam.”

Countess Tarel immediately headed to her study.

Then, looking at the cipher key, she rewrote the product list. Only after confirming that everything she needed to convey was properly included did she leave the study and head to the reception room.

The person from the Radcliffe Trading Company, who was just about to pick up the last cookie on the plate and put it in his mouth, spotted Countess Tarel and stood up from his seat.

She handed him the parchment and said:

“This is the next product list.”

“Thank you for the transaction, my lady.”

****

The Radcliffe Trading Company’s carriage stopped at several other mansions in the townhouses besides Count Tarel’s estate before heading to Duke Amaterasu’s residence.

The carriage briefly stopped in front of the massive iron gate. After the guard checked the carriage’s crest and gave permission, the massive iron gates immediately opened to both sides.

The carriage that entered the duke’s residence stopped, and a slender young man stepped out.

His steps toward the duke’s residence looked quite familiar.

The employees of Duke Amaterasu’s residence also welcomed him warmly.

Sitting in the reception room, he looked around the interior and quietly admired it.

It really was a space that made him want to visit again every time he saw it, as if it contained all of his preferences.

Click, click.

Just then, the clear sound of shoe heels hitting the marble floor could be heard.

Pratt immediately stood up from his seat and politely greeted her.

“Hello, Lady Amaterasu. It’s an honor to see you again. Today the wind is very cool and the weather is bright. I recommend taking a walk!”

“That’s quite good news. Thank you for telling me, Pratt.”

When Giselle Grante answered with a bright smile, Pratt blushed and handed her a parchment.

Giselle Grante immediately looked down at the parchment and checked the list.

The parchment listed the names and quantities of expensive luxury items such as perfumes, beauty soaps, and spices, all of which were codes.

Giselle Grante, who had recently acquired a small trading company, changed the company name to Radcliffe and began operations.

The Radcliffe Trading Company adopted a business method of quickly obtaining and safely delivering the items nobles wanted, regardless of time or weather.

Fortunately, the nobles who had used the Radcliffe Trading Company poured out favorable reviews.

Although the prices were set higher than other trading companies, it was perfect for satisfying picky nobles.

And Giselle Grante had established such a trading company to achieve her purpose.

In fact, she had wanted to build an intelligence network secretly by gathering information through a trading company like this from before.

After continuous consideration, she succeeded in coming up with a good idea, but before implementation, she hit a wall.

There were too many eyes in the imperial palace.

More precisely, eyes watching Trinity. It was because she realized too late that most of the people who had been by her side since childhood were the Empress’s people.

So after becoming an adult, she deliberately went out to avoid the Empress’s eyes and was eager to find people who would work for her.

Except for a few connections she had secretly built up independently, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the Empress knew everything about Trinity’s every move and everything about her.

If she hadn’t been given another chance to live her life, this idea would never have seen the light of day.

And Giselle Grante thought that perhaps the situation had become even better than before.

If she had built and used an intelligence network in the same way in the imperial palace, the Empress would have tried to figure out who the owner of the Radcliffe Trading Company was first. Then she could have quickly figured out what was being plotted too.

She wouldn’t have been able to use it as effectively as she does now.

“I’ll go check the items on the list once more. Could you wait just a moment?”

At Giselle Grante’s question, Pratt smiled brightly and nodded.

“I can wait as long as needed. Please take your time writing it up.”

Giselle Grante immediately went to her study and briefly wrote down the encrypted product list.

Then she handed the parchment to Pratt, who had been waiting.

Soon the Radcliffe Trading Company’s carriage, having left Duke Amaterasu’s residence, went around various mansions and headed toward Count Frederick’s estate.