Chapter : 10

Disgracing her own family?

She couldn’t tell if this was a high-level strategy or if she was being sincere.

Again.

They had all been caught off guard once more.

‘What the hell?’

While they were left speechless, Serentia continued cheerfully like an ‘iron wall defender’ with her next words.

“I’m serious though… Anyway, since you’re both here, let’s start the presentation now.”

But despite her smile, Serentia’s heart was also very, very slightly troubled.

Feeling the two pairs of eyes watching her…

‘My chocolate flirting got rejected.’

…she was just a little bit nervous.

‘I’m sure he liked chocolate before my regression.’

She felt the gap between the past Raphael and the present Raphael, and memories of sharing sweet treats in the past made her feel bitter.

‘But he’s still the Raphael I love! Stay strong, me!’

She gripped the blueprints tightly and looked around.

She was definitely confident in the blueprints themselves.

But even so, her past of always living in the shadows briefly held her back.

‘Oh no, I might sound like a mosquito…’

But!

‘I have the presentation skills of that master from my past life who worked me like a dog!’

She had watched his brilliant presentations dozens of times!

Serentia equipped herself with 0.1g of courage in her heart again.

Gripping tightly the blueprints with her signature at the bottom.

Serentia courageously opened her mouth with determination.

“Then! Let’s begin.”

Finally, the presentation of the 【Epinettia Salon】 blueprints began.

***

“Everyone, what should a salon be like?”

“At least it shouldn’t be as ordinary as your blueprints.”

Isidel’s sharp words were on point.

At first glance, the blueprints Serentia showed were just ordinary.

Serentia nodded.

“That’s right. Then let me talk about something else! First, the recent philosophy of salon construction is ‘guests should be comfortable.’”

Isidel snorted briefly.

“That’s a philosophy anyone would know.”

Her attitude seemed to have already lost interest, as if she found it bothersome to listen.

But right then.

Serentia lightly knocked on the upper part of the blueprint.

“But I thought the opposite. Would you please look at these blueprints?”

With the silence, Raphael’s eyebrow raised.

“The most important person in a salon is not the guest.”

In a tone that was neither interested nor indifferent, but precisely businesslike, he asked.

“Then who?”

“It’s the madam.”

Isidel gripped her folding fan.

“Hmph, are you flattering me?”

“No. It’s not flattery, it’s the truth. In a salon, guests stay briefly and leave, but the madam stays for long periods preparing parties. I first considered what such a madam would need. So…”

Serentia pointed to a mysterious small room at the very end of the 3rd floor blueprint and smiled slyly.

“This room is the madam’s room.”

“Putting a madam’s room inside the salon? Nonsense. No salon has that.”

“But listening to countless people’s words, having conversations with them, keeping your senses sharp, and quickly handling social circle matters is difficult even for veterans.”

Isidel’s fingertips stiffened for just a moment.

But the lady’s shell wasn’t easily broken.

“So, is that pathetic thing your secret weapon?”

“…No. Let’s move on to the next part. Do you happen to know how the ‘maid and servant call bells’ in the manor work?”

“Do you think I’m a child? Call bells are transmitted through mana circuits inside the walls.”

“Correct. Then, ding, di-ring. You know what this sound is, right?”

“Ha. You’re even crudely imitating the call bell sound.”

At Isidel’s words, Serentia nodded.

“Yes! It’s crude, right? But you understood. That’s great. As you said, normally in salons, no matter which room the bell is pressed from, the same ding, di-ring sound rings in both the maid’s room and servant’s room. So both maids and servants have to go around all the rooms to find which room called for them.”

“That’s obvious…”

“But I designed the mana circuits so each room’s bell rings differently. Room 1 goes ding, Room 2 goes di-ding, Room 3 goes ding-dong-dang!”

Serentia’s bell sound imitation was still crude.

Unlike before, Isidel’s eyes widened.

If done this way, everyone visiting the salon would use a faster and more convenient system.

Her capable head maid, whose voice had become hoarse, would also be more comfortable.

But…

“Ha! You, right now…”

She asked with a twisted expression.

“…are you joking?”

The design Serentia showed had the most fatal problem.

The moment Isidel glared fiercely at Serentia.

Raphael’s eyes narrowed as if detecting something.

And Serentia’s lips curved up slightly, just slightly.

“What do you mean?”

“Make a design that can be realistically implemented. That’s impossible. Wake up from your delusion, last place.”

When she sharply emphasized being last place at the Academy, the color drained from Serentia’s face…

“You even know I’m last place and show such interest!”

…it didn’t.

‘Just how low are her expectations of others.’

An opponent completely immune to attacks.

Just as Isidel was about to shout again that it was ‘impossible to realize,’ the answer came from elsewhere.

It was Raphael.

“This design can be realistically implemented.”

“…Grand Duke, what do you mean?”

“Here.”

The document Raphael pointed to was filled with equations.

It seemed he had checked the equations while they were arguing.

If the Grand Duke himself had proven the mana circuit equations, there was no way they could be wrong.

‘Even that young architect who visited the North recently, Vero Anzen, couldn’t design mana circuits this way.’

While Isidel just blinked, Raphael organized the blueprints at a precise pace.

“Aunt, do you have any objections.”

This meant it passed Raphael’s standards for now.

Meanwhile, Isidel was staring wide-eyed. Even until coming here, Isidel had definitely intended to raise objections.

But Serentia’s design…

‘It couldn’t be this perfect.’

She narrowed her eyes and looked at Serentia.

Then whispered quietly.

“Objection.”

“…?”

When Raphael and Serenthia’s gazes focused on the center, Isidel let out her next words like a sigh.

“There isn’t. But….”

Her eyes were shining clearly.

“There’s no guarantee that the building will be constructed perfectly according to the design plans. If I don’t like it, I’ll tear it down even after completion. And I plan to charge you for all the construction costs as debt. Will you still do it?”

A passage that someone might even feel malice from.

And Serenthia spoke seriously.

“Black panther, no, Isidel. I’m not a fool.”

So she’s concluding she won’t do business that puts her in debt?

At that moment, Serenthia’s eyes sparkled.

“Of course I’ll do it!”

***

No way, how could this incredibly prickly black panther say such a thing!

‘She won’t be able to help but be satisfied!’

I slightly tilted my head toward Isidel with half excitement, half pride in my heart.

Looking into the eyes of the adorable baby black panther who resembled Raphael, no, Isidel, I said.

“However, I have a condition too! You’ll be in charge of my wedding, won’t you, Isidel?”

“If that’s the case.”

“If I properly construct the salon, please prepare my wedding perfectly and magnificently too!”

Isidel stared intently at Serenthia and raised the corners of her mouth.

“…Fine, I understand. I’ll make it on a scale that even the princess would envy. If you do well, that is.”

“Oh…!”

“But, a head full of flowers yet competent? That’s impossible. I don’t trust you.”

She passed by me coldly.

Soon after, the most emotionless man in this world.

Raphael spoke to me indifferently as if all conversation was finished.

“Regarding the construction of that annex, I’ll explain through documents later. Go back. To the guest room.”

I received the contract.

But there was a very big problem here.

‘…Wait, then is this the end of my meeting with Raphael?’

My eyes shook violently.

‘Thinking about the construction process…. I might not be able to see Raphael for a while?’

This time, I really needed some kind of powerful impact.