"Whatâs with all those carriages?"
Viese, who was dressing up to go to the Palace and coming out to ride a carriage, asked the servant dissatisfied.
"He, Herringa, and Dillardâs carriage."
"I know that! I mean, what are they doing at the mansion? We donât even have a weekly meeting today."1
The servant, who was the target of Vieseâs anger, cried and answered in a small voice.
"Th, theyâre going to meet Lady Florentia.
"What?"
The servantâs shoulders shriveled at Vieseâs harsh question.
"Being busy was all a lie! You came all the way to the mansion to meet a great person, after all!" (Sarcasm)
Viese huffed angrily.
The servant, who was waiting next to him to lower the carriage door and footrest, was anxious that the household of the vassal family would run into Viese while coming down to ride the carriage.
Fortunately, that did not happen.
Likewise, it was because Seral, who had finished dressing up, appeared.
"...Slow people, arenât they, honey?"
At a glance, Seral soothed Viese with a soft voice.
"I canât believe, youâre running straight away when a child calls you. They must have pride.â (Sarcasm)
"Huh. Everyone must have been curious about what was going on.â
Viese climbed into the carriage and said grumpily.
Saying something completely different from when he was angry.
However, Seral, who is used to that look, said peacefully as she got into the carriage and closed the door.
"Good day, weâre on our way to the Palace for good things. Donât worry about that, honey."
"Hmm..."
Viese nodded, coughing vainly at his wifeâs words.
"Yeah, I was a little sensitive. Whatâs wrong with that business thatâs going to fail and humiliate itself anyway."
"Yes, the Empress has already given her permission, so go and give her favorite gift and have a good time, letâs go."
Seral said, pointing to the carefully wrapped tea set placed on one side of the carriage seat.
"When people find out what youâve won for the Lombardy Construction, maybe in a few days everyone will be talking about you."
"Yeah, that kidâs business will be a laughing stock and forgotten."
With Vieseâs fishy words, the carriage departed to the Imperial Palace.
When the carriage running along such a well-polished road crossed the threshold of the Imperial Palace, Seral suddenly asked.
"But you donât have to talk to the Lombardy Construction in advance?"
Viese answered Seralâs question with a smirk.
"I donât have to tell them in advance to use the authority of the direct lineage. How can it be âauthorityâ if I ask for the understanding and push things forward?"
"Oc course?... "
Seral nodded in agreement with Viese.
"Oh, thereâs the Empress!"
As the carriage began to slow down, Seral looked out of the window and shouted with delight.
The corners of her lips rose slightly after seeing Empress Rabini waiting for her in front of the entrance to the Palace.
The appearance of the Empress coming to meet him in person made Viese shrug.
"Here you are, Lord Lombardy. Welcome Seral."
The Empress greeted the two with a very happy face.
In addition to the Empress who greeted them warmly, the Empressâs maids came out and climbed the stairs lined up side by side.
The Empress was very pleased with the tea set brought by Seral.
She thanked her and even made tea by herself using a new tea.
"Did Lombardy Construction want to take charge of Angenasâs development project?"
"Yes, it is."
She couldnât stop laughing at Vieseâs quick answers. (Laugh at vieseâs stupidity.)
"Certainly, if it an experienced Lombardy Construction Company, youâll be able to move forward quickly."
"Youâre right. In addition, buildings like a large number of luxury houses for vacation spots consume a lot of time and materials unless they are skilled workers. If you leave it to Lombardy Construction, you wonât have to worry about it."
But the Empressâs reaction was a little strange.
Apparently, his wife said, âthe Empress has already given her permissionâ.
Empress Rabini, who seemed to be agonizing, made Vieseâs back sweated a lot.
"Well, tell me what youâre worried about and I can explain."
"Ahh, cause you were Lord Lombardy, Seralâs husband, Iâd trust you to do the job. But thereâs one condition."
"What...?"
"I understand that when you start working, you will split the payment several times from the beginning, right?"
"Yes, usually after completing construction before starting, in the middle. Itâs divided three times."
âThen, can you adjust the payment to the latter half of the construction and after completion?â
"Yes..."
Viese rolled his head fiercely.
Due to the nature of the construction project, many people were paid in installments of four or five times, not three times.
It is not about building a few buildings, but about developing an estate called Angenas itself.
It was an unreasonable request to pay such a huge amount of money later in the construction and after completion.
Viese had to say no.3
But the moment he saw the Empressâs eyes as if to test himself, such courage disappeared.2
And a few days ago, Shananet said, laughing at himself.
"Donât think about stopping her, focus on making your own progress. Itâs the only way youâre gonna win."
How dare to think Gallahanâs daughter is comparable to me.
Heâll show them the difference with this Angenas business ticket.
Thatâs how Viese decided.
If this happens, no one will be able to ignore him again.
"I will do that, Empress." Said Viese.
"If I donât trust my wife, Angenas, who am I to trust?"
"Oh, thank God. Thank you for understanding, Lord Lombardy."
The Empress smiled broadly and offered another cup of tea.
"Th, thank you."
Empress Rabini and Seral exchanged glances quietly while Viese was drinking tea. (These 2 Angenas make fool of you Viese LOL)1
And there was a quiet smile on the lips of the two.
* * *
"...This is the rough explanation of the delivery business. Of course, if you want, I can send you a more detailed business plan to the Top."
I have completed a short but refined explanation to Romassie Dillard, the head of Lombardyâs Top.
"Thatâs a very... ingenious idea."
Romassie Dillard murmured, impressed.
I knew he was genuinely admiring it.
He has been surprised several times throughout my explanation.
Nevertheless, Romassie Dillard was still dithering.
"What are you worried about, Lord?"
"Huhm. I know itâs a good idea, but I wonder how practical it really is. How many aristocrats will actually use this completely unfamiliar delivery service..."
I shook my head and said.
"You misunderstood one thing. The target customer base of the delivery business is not just the aristocrats. Money is no longer the exclusive possession of nobles in the Empire, is it? Above all, the number of commoners who accumulated a lot of wealth through the green light of Imperial Palace is considerable."
"It is, but..."
"Iâm also suggesting that the âpracticalityâ of the Lombardy Delivery weâre talking about should be built together by the Top of Lombardy, which has the same roof. Eventually, in the early days of the business, the variety of items that can be purchased through delivery service would be âthe practicality of delivery.â"
"Hmm."
Romassie Dillard rarely made a decision.
I thought about it for a while, too.
The Dillardâs householder I know itâs not this indecisive person.
He was a man who knew how to jump in without delay when he saw the opportunity.
It was the same now in old age.
Then obviously thereâs a reason why heâs reluctant to hold my hand as the head of huge Lombardyâs Top.
I asked Romassie Dillard straightly.
"Is it the delivery business or me that concerns you?"
"Well, thatâs."
His embarrassed face was telling the answer instead.
Whatâs the point of asking? I am just not trustworthy.
I spoke in a calm voice.
"Iâd appreciate it if you could be honest, Lord Dillard."
"If you say so..."
Romassie Dillard hesitated for a while and soon opened his mouth as if he had made up his mind.
"Probably no one could ever think of a new type of transportation service called delivery. I knew you were bright from an early age, but I didnât expect you to have a business talent. I was really surprised. But..."
Thatâs the point now.
"Iâm a merchant. And merchants value experience more than anything else."
Romassie Dillard said cautiously.
"No matter how smart you are and how ingenious you are, you donât trust them if you donât have experience."
Itâs not surprising.
It was a merchantâs belief that considered the experience of running on his feet as the most valuable asset.
On the contrary, Dillard also meant that he trusted experienced merchants that much.
Itâs a very good thing for me.
"So, the only problem is that Iâm inexperienced?"
"Yes, to be honest, yes. This is directly related to the gains and losses of Lombardy, so please understand..."1
"Then there must be no problem."
"What?"
To the Romassie Dillard blank question, I told him one word at a time, word by word.
"Iâm not completely inexperienced."