Chapter 151: A big order
Unedited Chapter. It will be edited soon.
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Louis stared at her for a few seconds and then nodded.
"I suppose you’re right."
Even though she used him as an example, something that should not be done with a customer, the reality was that he agreed with what she was saying, and the girl had enough charisma to always appear docile, which was a good thing in the customer’s eyes.
"Oh." Even though he didn’t say it, she realized her mistake and couldn’t help but feel afraid. She immediately bowed to him to apologize. "I’m sorry, sir, I didn’t mean to use you as an example like that!"
Louis waved his hands to indicate that he didn’t mind.
"It’s okay, I agree that these new traditional outfits need more promotion. But old businessmen and people who like to keep traditions should be frequent customers, right?"
Seeing that he wasn’t really taking his previous mistake seriously, she sighed with relief. A customer complaint could cost her her job, after all, maintaining appearances in this type of high-end establishment is essential.
And even though he was asking questions unrelated to clothing, she answered him patiently.
"We have many frequent customers among the bigwigs, that’s true. Even those who are only looking for traditional clothing come frequently and buy, it’s just that traditional clothing isn’t used as much, so sales are lower. But the investment is also low, so I think it all balances out nicely?"
Louis nodded.
"Good. From the beginning, we knew that attracting traditionalists was more complicated than the rest. After all, these designs, although traditional and following that particular type of embroidery stitching, have new shapes and more peculiar designs." He smiled.
Jessy had done an excellent job, not only creating the designs herself, but also teaching the designers the correct way to make these designs.
In addition, he had been listening to her for a few minutes and could clearly see that she was handling herself very well. She had good conversational skills, good etiquette (something that surprised him, but was to be expected from a spy), and also good negotiation skills.
The man who came to her was one who was organizing a medium-sized party in the Upper District. Although he owned businesses and was known as an entrepreneur, the reality was that he was a mid-ranking nobleman (a viscount), who was organizing a party where there would be other viscounts and lower ranks of nobility, with some important counts from the south.
He was a man of high social standing, so he sought out specialized designs for the noble organizers, including his family.
In addition, Jessy was invited to the party as a VIP guest, as several nobles wanted to meet her.
Although nobles in the current era do not have as high a status as they did in the past (given the presence of Castles and Great Noble Houses that take all the attention and also because they have been forced to bow down to those great houses or castles), they still manage pieces of land.
They have status. They have power and they have money. Furthermore, most importantly, they have connections.
Jessy did not plan to turn down this offer, but they were asking for a fairly large number of garments with specialized designs. The money they were offering was fair, but the problem was the raw materials they had in their warehouses these days.
"It’s not enough," she thought.
Right now, they are handling different deliveries, which they have been working on for days. One more, with so little time left, would be complicated.
"Should I use the Casas’ capital to hire temporary workers? I don’t think it’s a good idea to fill up with permanent employees, and I already have enough," she thought.
In this case, she had to keep in mind that her mission in creating this company, in addition to fulfilling a dream, was also to be able to gather contacts among the nobility and high-level people in order to carry out her work as a spy. Therefore, the more successful deliveries she made to noble houses, the better.
And likewise, the fewer employees she had, the better. That’s why she had to think about it that way.
After thinking it over, she decided to postpone that information for later.
"Lord Louis should be back soon anyway. I’ll ask him for advice," she thought and looked at the nobleman.
"Mr. Scott, recently..." She began to speak, when suddenly she saw out of the corner of her eye a figure too familiar to ignore.
He had his back to her and she couldn’t see anything that would give her any information, but she knew him very well. She had seen him save her before and he always stood in front of her, so she had his back engraved in her memory.
’Lord Louis!’
She immediately stood up.
"Excuse me for a moment, Mr. Scott," she said, apologizing, and walked over to where Louis was standing.
Scott looked at her from behind, puzzled. ’What’s with this way of treating customers? All her good manners suddenly went out the window,’ he thought, but decided not to judge her for it.
Instead, he stood up and followed her, though at a considerable distance so as not to bother her. He knew that people like her had countless clients, so perhaps she was on her way to meet one.
In fact, she could see some well-known businesspeople out of the corner of her eye.
Louis was still talking to the saleswoman, who gave him useful information about several things that had been common knowledge in recent weeks, but which he had no idea about, as he had been away.
While they were talking, she noticed Jessy walking toward them, so she immediately straightened her back and looked at her respectfully.
She came up behind them and smiled, not looking at the saleswoman, only at Louis.
"Lord Louis, why didn’t you tell me you were coming here? I would have canceled work today," she said as she reached his side.
Louis smiled and shrugged before turning around. "How can you recognize me from behind?" he said, removing his hat, which revealed his milky white hair.
The woman who was serving him tensed up, and the nobleman who was coming from behind immediately stopped.
Jessy was the only one who acted normal. "It’s very easy to recognize your back, Lord Louis." She was sincere.
Louis shrugged. "Good. I didn’t want to bother you either, I was just curious to know how the company was doing, since I just got back and heard good news in town."
Jessy nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, Lord Louis. Everything is going well and under control."
"Are you sure?" Louis looked behind her and focused his gaze on the nobleman watching from there. "I think this man is waiting for your answer. It’s not good to keep customers waiting," he said.
Scott immediately smiled and stepped forward. "Mr. Carwine, right? I’ve heard a lot about you. I didn’t think I’d be lucky enough to meet you today." He said and introduced himself, extending his hand. "I am Marcus Scott, Viscount of Línnava."
Louis nodded, slightly surprised, and extended his hand. "So you are the Viscount of Línnava, I have heard of you. It is said that your territories hold ancient secrets." He said.
Marcus Scott smiled. "Rumors and stories that people tell, but they have their reasons. If you ever feel like visiting Línnava, I’ll give you a tour of our Ancient Mountains."
Línnava is part of the southern region and it has been said that it should be part of the territories of Velharthe, but this is not the case. It is simply the whim of the Duke of Velharthe, who wants to bring almost the entire southern territory under his own rule.
Perhaps it is even a whim of the Castle to which it belongs.
But Linnava is an independent region that appears in history books. It is one of the oldest regions in the empire, and there are even historical sites dating back more than 500,000 years, before the Lockwards appeared in the world!
It is a territory that Louis would certainly like to visit, but he must strengthen himself first. Although he plans to go, it will not be soon.
"Mr. Carwine, I don’t want to interrupt your meeting with your ambassador. So, I can come back later," he said, looking at Louis and then at Jessy, hoping they would agree.
Jessy had no problem nodding in agreement, but Louis shook his head.
"It’s not necessary. You can talk and come to an agreement right now. Anyway, I just stopped by to see Mr. Gon," he said and looked at Jessy. "I have a request for him. Is he nearby?"
"Yes, Lord Louis, I can take you to him..."
"All right, take care of the customer. I’ll talk to him, and after you’re done, we’ll go home."
Although Jessy was reluctant, she finally nodded. "Very well, Lord Louis. See you later, then," she said.
Louis entered the company, leaving her in charge. During that time, the young lady who was attending to him tried to blend into the background to avoid being noticed, because she was really afraid to face Louis.
Fortunately, it worked.
Louis headed for the adjacent building and entered through the back, where, as always, Mr. Gon was working nonstop.
That man didn’t seem to know fatigue. His hammer moved over and over again.
’Now that I think about it, why do they call him the Cursed Blacksmith? Does he have some kind of curse?’ Louis thought, watching him from the side.