C15
When he worked for the intelligence guild, Isidor used a magical bracelet that transformed his appearance and voice.
That's why no one other than Miguel knew that the master of the secret organization was the heir of the Visconti family, one of the founding families of the country.
"How will I get close to her? Do I need to worry about that when I have this face?"
Isidor responded curiously, pointing at his beautiful face with his finger.
Miguel, whose mouth trembled with an expression of wanting to curse, immediately lowered his head in acknowledgment.
"I apologize. I asked the most unnecessary question in the world."
He felt bitter, but he couldn't help it. Using that beautiful face to lure his opponent was a dirty game.
Isidor had a beauty that was difficult to describe in words.
Only the portrait artists who ran away, crying, saying they couldn't dare to capture his remarkable face with brushes and paintings numbered over ten.
That's not all. Hundreds of wigs could easily be made with just the hair torn from the heads of ladies who fought face to face for Isidor at parties.
Even his legs were overwhelmingly long, and his shoulders were broad, so he had both delicate beauty and strong masculinity at the same time.
Due to Isidor's presence, which made the men around him invisible, Miguel only felt sad because it was as if he were hidden in the shadows even when he wasn't.
"Miguel, you look disdainful. Do you seem to have something to refute?"
"No, I don't, sir."
"Good. So, prepare to go to the academy as well."
Faced with the threat of being classmates again, Miguel nodded, dejected.
"Ah."
Isidor, who had reverted to being the Visconti heir and not the guild master, suddenly hesitated and put on the bracelet again.
"I need to modify the grade and amount of the diamond color."
He planned to slowly introduce a total of three colored diamonds to the market.
Pink, blue, green.
Among the three, pink was the one that was going to be released in smaller quantities.
However, the moment he received Deborah's second request, he quickly changed his plans.
While unconsciously remembering her purple hair, falling like the night sky over her face as white as a full moon, he lightly tapped the table.
"Miguel. I'm adding a diamond color, so call the guild manager."
"What color is it?"
With his hand on his chin, he slightly squinted his eyes.
"A color like lavender."
------------------------
"Time flies."
It's been ten days since the deal with the Master of Blanchia.
In the meantime, everything has been peaceful.
Duke Seymour left the capital for a while because something happened in his territory.
Belreck, who was pushing for his marriage, was stuck in the Mage Association to see if there was a setback in his research, so he didn't even enter the house.
Meanwhile, I spent some time in the capital's commercial district to conduct market research.
Conducting market research was no different from taking my father's credit card and wandering aimlessly.
"Desserts like cake are already a known market space."
While eating a cake with lots of custard, I crossed out the non-competitive elements one by one.
"This alley is so isolated that people don't come here. Next."
I also checked the transient population while lounging on the terrace like a sloth.
It was a tour of delicious and healing restaurants disguised as market research.
"The weather is nice."
The weather is getting warmer day by day, as if announcing the arrival of spring.
The increasingly warm weather means that the opening of the Imperial Academy is just around the corner.
Here, too, spring means the beginning of classes.
"Ugh..."
The good news is that I don't have to obsess over my grades like in my previous life.
As an "academy," it may give the impression of a prestigious educational institution, but the Imperial Academy is a place where socialization takes precedence over education.
Most aristocratic children received their education from a private tutor and only attended the academy for personal connections.
To find out why the academy became a social place rather than a place for studying, we have to go back to the distant past.
In the early days of the establishment of the Azutean Empire, because local lords had a weak concept of the country, there were frequent disturbances in regions outside the control of the Imperial Family.
To control the local lords and influential aristocrats who behaved recklessly, the second emperor called his children to the academy in the capital and took them as hostages, increasing their sense of belonging to the Empire.
The problem is that, although the reign of the Empire is in a stable condition, the laws enacted at that time have not been revised and remain unchanged.
Even now, the daughters and sons of families appointed by the Imperial Family were required to attend the academy.
Still, it was a lenient place for high-ranking nobles, so they could graduate if they only reached the required attendance days.
For those who belonged to poor families or had little to inherit, in order to enter government service or attract the attention of high-ranking officials, they had to excel at the academy; but that has nothing to do with me.
Furthermore... I feel uncomfortable about having to meet the heroine sooner or later.
"I don't want to get involved."
Mia Binoche's nickname among readers was the "Crazy Magnet."
Of course, one of those crazy girls is Deborah.
"In that regard, the Master of Blanchia is trustworthy."
Although the novel was not finished, the Master, who did not flirt with Mia in over 100 chapters, is the person with significantly lower odds of doing something foolish.
Thinking about it, I have to stop by Maisond.
Since the maid always goes to Maisond to buy desserts, I haven't visited until now.
But after 10 days have passed, I wanted to check on the progress of the requests.
I got up from my seat and adjusted my hood.
As it was uncomfortable to wear a corset while visiting delicious restaurants, I walked in a hooded robe.
Arriving at Maisond, I sat on the terrace and examined the menu.
Seeing the "Sold Out" sign next to the cake made by the master craftsman of the Imperial Family, I suppressed a laugh.
"The master's business skills are really different from others."
After looking around dozens of dessert shops, only Maisond was doing modern marketing.
"Limited quantity, time-limited marketing."
A method to limit the quantity of the product, even though it can be increased, and pretend it's sold out even when it's not.
People are naturally obsessed with items that are scarce and hard to come by.
Aristocrats with a sense of privilege must be even worse.
Maisond is destined to succeed because it makes good use of the psychology of its main target audience.
"Oh?"
Having been clicking my tongue, I rejoiced as I looked at the menu.
The commercial item I was looking for was right here.
Coffee!
However, it was tucked away in a corner of the menu as if it wasn't popular, and there was only one variety.
"Bring me this drink."
When I pointed to the coffee with my finger, the employee immediately showed disapproval.
"Madam, I apologize, but this drink has a strong bitter taste and may not be to your liking. It's a beverage made from beans imported from a warm region, but as the response hasn't been good, we'll be taking it off the menu soon."
"I don't mind. Bring it with the whipped cream cake."
After a while, the friendly and handsome employee returned and placed a cup of coffee and a cake on the table.
As expected, the Master is onto something.
With a feeling of warmth, I took a fork and reached for the whipped cream cake. Now it's time to neutralize this sweetness with bitter coffee...
"Yuck!"
Why is it so bad?
The bitterness was basic, and the smell wasn't good, so I almost spit it out as soon as I drank it.
"Did they roast the coffee beans carelessly? It's a complete mess."
It was no different from bitter medicine because it hadn't gone through a proper manufacturing process.
Even the color was very dark; it must have felt like poison to people accustomed to transparent teas.
"No wonder it's not popular."
I left the nearly unsellable coffee and started thinking.
I stumbled upon the foundational item that ruled the 21st century, but it didn't seem easy to build it to be able to sell.
It was a big problem, but my concentration was disrupted by the young ladies who came running and settled near the terrace.
It really is spring there.
Four aristocratic ladies in beautiful pastel dresses sat around the table and ordered cakes and drinks.
"Have you heard the rumor?"
My ears perked up instinctively when someone said those words in secret.
I felt interested because no maids were gossiping about society matters in front of me.
"What kind of rumor?"
"Charles Orge will be entering the academy this year."
"Oh my God. Those are good news."
I don't know if they are good news, but I've heard of the Orge family before.
Like Seymour, Orge was one of the founding families of the country, a well-known family for its sword skills.
Furthermore, the heir of the Orge family, Diery, was one of the heroine's targets.
Diery Orge was only 19 years old, but as he was born with natural talent, it was predicted that he would soon be on par with the Crown Prince, who was a swordsman.
"If I enter the academy, I'll be able to watch the Knights' training from a distance, right?"
The youngest-looking girl among the ladies asked timidly.
"I guess someone here admires the Knights?"
"Because it would be great to see Diery. I saw him last Thanksgiving, and it was amazing."
As expected, as one of Mia's targets, Diery is also extremely popular.
"I want to talk to Philap at least once. A spiritist, he's so amazing."
"That's right. That red hair that looks like it's on fire is so cool."
They chatted excitedly.
Gossip related to high-ranking aristocrats was by far the most important topic of conversation among the nobility.
By analogy, it could be said that they were idols among the nobles.
If commoners longed for nobles, nobles longed for high-ranking nobles and royal families.
So, when Mia Binoche, the daughter of a fallen noble family, appeared alongside Philap Montes at the academy, wearing a pink diamond around her neck, the impact was even greater.
"It was an impressive appearance as a heroine."
I recalled the first part of the novel and nodded slowly back and forth.
"I wanted to see Belreck Seymour, so it's a shame he has already graduated."
"Belreck. So elegant and smart."
Elegant? Smart?
There's only one word you can mix with that bastard Belreck.
"Everyone is being deceived by his appearance."
Suddenly, I lost my appetite and put down the fork, and the voices of the young ladies suddenly went up three octaves.
"To be honest, the one I want to see the most is Isidor Visconti."
"Kyaaa!"
"Isidor! He's extremely handsome!"
The sudden scream pierced my eardrums, and I almost spat out the cake that was in my mouth.
