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alpindale

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light-novels

like 20

On the day of Rishe’s deadline, Tully and four other managers assembled in the main palace’s parlor. All of them were people she remembered fondly from her previous lives. She sat across from them, outlining her business idea.

“Women use this product to decorate their nails.” Rishe gestured to the seven maids arrayed behind her. They each wore different colors of polish—from pink to bright blue to light green, all glossy and vibrant. “I have written down a brief summary of Galkhein’s economic situation. Many common families have money to spend, but beauty products are very dear. Gowns and jewels are out of their reach, but my polish won’t be.”

She presented the document to Tully. The names of the ingredients were redacted, but she’d included their individual costs and the retail price for the finished products. Pulling out another document, she said, “This is a transcript of visitors to the city. As you can see, many are men in the prime of their lives.”

Tully squinted down at the paper. “Right you are. And I presume these fellows have homes and families to return to.”

“My product will make the perfect gift,” Rishe assured him. “The bottles are small and compact.”

That meant they would be easy to distribute abroad as well. Perfect for a company like Aria, which made most of its sales in storefronts.

“So, what do you think, Mr. Tully?”

Tully didn’t take his eyes off Rishe as he spoke to his managers. “Chester, Melvin, Neal, Russel. What are your thoughts?”

In turn, each offered his opinion.

“I think it’s sound. I don’t know if I trust her cost analysis, but I foresee no problems with mass production.”

“A bottle would sell for about two thousand gold? That’d be quite the profit.”

“She must be using flowers for the dyes. If they’re rare or regional, then we’ll need to add an import tax for other countries.”

“Tch. Uncouth, the lot of you.” Tully pressed his brow and shrugged in exasperation. “Is it only about cost and profits to you?”

“Th-then what do you think, sir?”

“Do I have to spell it out? We need to go to the consumer.” Tully turned his customer-service smile on the girls arrayed behind Rishe. “My dears, what are your opinions on your nails?”

“Oh, um…”

Tully had a devilish smile, and as he turned it on her maids, Rishe solemnly prayed that all of them could see through it—and every other good-for-nothing man who’d try the same, for that matter.

The girls hesitated, a bit flushed, then spoke cautiously. “We have to look at our hands a lot while we work. It helps my morale, being able to look down and see such pretty nails.”

“I feel like they’re helping me do a better job.” Another maid giggled. “I know that’s silly, but…”

“It’s hard to paint both hands on our own, so we help each other. It’s fun! We were even talking about how we’d like to try our hand at doing little designs when we get a bit better at it.”

Elsie, ever shy, added her opinion last. “I love it. It makes me so happy.” Her nails were a coral-red from the gerberas. When Rishe had asked which shade she wanted, Elsie didn’t even hesitate in answering, “The same as your hair, my lady.”

“See, what did I tell you?” Tully leaned back in his chair. “The looks on their faces alone tell me this product will be a hit, production costs be damned.”

“Does that mean Lady Rishe passes your test, Boss?”

Tully’s eyes took on a dangerous glint. “Now that’s a completely different question.”

The maids murmured among one another, confused at the sudden change in his demeanor.

Tully picked up the documents Rishe had laid on the table, glancing back over them. “Production cost involves an array of factors, not just the price of ingredients or whether it can be mass-produced.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” one of his men agreed.

“The demand for this product will be high. It’s unique. If I’d invented this, I would have jacked up the price and sold it to aristocrats.” Tully watched Rishe with an openly searching gaze. “I’m sure the thought occurred to you, my lady. So my question is—what are your motives?”

Rishe smiled demurely. He’d seen through her again. “Mr. Tully, since you find my product so pleasing, could we get down to business?”

“Down to business?” asked one of Tully’s men. “Weren’t we already doing that?”

Rishe and Tully ignored the confused staff members, squaring off across the table. “Shall we open the negotiations?” she pressed.

The maids took their leave. The only people remaining were Rishe, the trading company representatives, and Rishe’s guards. The air was tense. Tully’s staff exchanged uncomfortable looks.

“With your permission, I’ll start off with some advice.” Tully raised a hand with a self-deprecating grin, perhaps to keep Rishe from taking it personally. “Do you really want to discuss this further? This is a marvelous product. If you agree to my proposed strategy of putting this on the market as a luxury product for the rich, I’d pass you in an instant.”

“I really do.” Rishe leveled her gaze at him. “The discussion will continue, Mr. Tully.”

“Then please, say your piece.”

Rishe passed another document to Tully. “This is a copy of a recently instated policy. Three years ago, Galkhein established a nationwide minimum wage.”

“Interesting.” Tully glanced over the document. “I see now. Employers must pay their employees at least this stated amount, no matter who they are. Lest they break the law.”

“Ever since this policy was passed,” Rishe went on, “deaths by overwork have gone down—as has poverty. It’s easier to make a steady income. Quite frankly, this is the policy that has jump-started Galkhein’s economy.”

“However, the only people benefiting from this are people with jobs,” Tully said, catching on.

Arnold’s law increased workers’ income. But because of that, the burden of the higher wages was placed on their employers. So, while overall income had increased, and some people had comfortable hours and food on the table, employment was down. The ones who couldn’t find jobs were still starving.

“Next, I would like you to direct your attention to this document.” Rishe showed him the next sheet of paper. “Supplies for the ingredients and manufacturing workshops. This is all the information you need for mass production, including channels of distribution. Your manufacturing costs will be low. But this does not include the cost of labor.”

“Oh dear.” Tully bent forward and propped his elbow on his knee. “I think I know where you’re heading, but let me ask anyway: What do you want me to do?”

“Employ from poor areas who are at their wits’ end, the ones hit worst by deprivation.” Rishe straightened up. “I will give you the recipe if—and only if—you agree to this condition.”

The gleam in Tully’s eye was snuffed out in an instant. “What a noble request.” He gave a deep sigh. “I’m disappointed in you, missy.”

“Kaine Tully!” snapped one of the guards. “Watch your tongue! You will address the crown princess by her title.”

“No, it’s all right.” Rishe called off the loyal knights and kept her eyes on Tully. “I believe that even with this proposal, this product will bring in sufficient profits. It is, admittedly, less than you’d make selling it as a luxury good.”

“Now, now. Sufficient isn’t enough for greedy merchants like me. If you want to run a charity, go talk to a priest.”

Rishe had been expecting this reaction. Tully wasn’t a cruel man, but he appreciated the aesthetics of a good deal. “I’m not asking you to run a charity—I’m asking you to strike a bargain.”

“What?” Tully frowned. His other staff gave her confused looks too.

“A long time ago, a man told me that the very best merchants choose their own customers.”

The man who had told her that in the past had given her a very shrewd look. He was doing that now.

Rishe didn’t let it trip her up. “A few days ago, I learned of a recent allocation of funds to the poor—a large stimulus, postwar.”

“I know about that, yes,” Tully said. “I believe it was a policy introduced by the crown prince. Even us cutthroats can appreciate a decree meant to save people and help a country flourish.”

“Exactly. The citizens would have starved without those measures. And they will again, if the royal family and nobility think only of lining their own pockets.”

During her life as a merchant, Rishe had traveled to many different places. Galkhein’s allies in the war had emerged victorious as well, but not nearly as well-off. Some of them were even worse off than countries on the losing side.

“When spending goes down, the economy stagnates. When that happens, workers have nowhere to work and grow poor again. If the cycle continues, even the wealthiest families would be destined for collapse. They live off the taxes their citizens provide, after all.”

Tully gave a dry laugh. “You’re trying to tell me that a country can’t become rich if they hoard all their wealth in one place. That wealth should be redistributed.”

“No, I prefer to think of it in a different way,” Rishe said, and then she smiled. “I daresay you’d agree. Let us not choose our customers but rather create our customers with our very own hands.”

Tully sucked in a breath, his eyes widening. She had him now.

“Most merchants don’t see those in poverty as potential customers, right? They can’t afford anything besides basic necessities, after all.” Elsie had told Rishe exactly that the other day. “But I’d like you to imagine for a moment—what would the market look like if all those people found jobs tomorrow, and they no longer had to scrape by?”

“Hmm…”

“All of those people would become potential customers. By increasing your customer base, you’ll sell even more than before. That kind of cycle is self-sustaining.” Rishe drew a circle in the air with her index finger, and her smile grew. “That, in turn, would mean great things for the products that the Aria Trading Company has to offer, would it not? By expanding your customer base, your company will be raking in the highest profits possible.”

Tully, who had been eyeing her coldly, suddenly burst into a full belly laugh. “Ha! I like it. I like it a lot! You’re not suggesting I pick my customers so much as raise them from the ground up.”

“The profits may be modest at first, but the growth will be exponential. As a result, Galkhein’s revenue will increase as well. And as I am the future empress, this concerns me.” She’d said it quite bluntly, but she was being honest.

At first, Rishe had looked at her deal from the point of view of a merchant. She’d operated from the standpoint that her task was to design a product with a high profit yield. However, once she learned of the policy Arnold had put into place, she’d had doubts about her plan.

After hearing Elsie’s feelings, she’d realized how thoughtless she had been. Rishe shouldn’t be thinking as a merchant but as a crown princess. Profits and prosperity came from a country’s people. And to prosper, to thrive, people needed more than just food and shelter. They had to live without throwing away their dreams and aspirations. They needed hope.

“I doubt this is ideal for you,” Rishe said. “But it’s all I can offer at this time.”

“Actually, I think this is a pretty good plan. You’re excellent at picking up on my own thoughts and beliefs. I’ve rather enjoyed this.” Tully’s look of glazed boredom had become one of delight. “However, Miss Rishe, you’ve still got much to learn.”

She recognized that smile. It was how he’d look at her back in her first life whenever she made a mistake.

“Remember what I told you before? You conduct yourself too earnestly—you’re transparent. Someone unscrupulous could take advantage of that.”

“I…appreciate the warning,” Rishe said.

“I haven’t the faintest idea why, but clearly you want me and my company. And I’m planning on using you to the full extent of my ability.

Tully’s people gave him more exasperated looks. “C’mon, Boss. This is the crown princess you’re talking to here. Quit it.”

His lips curled, sly and savoring. “So, what will you do? I can poke a hundred holes in this deal you’re offering me. I bet you’d come up with something even better if I reject it.”

Rishe closed her eyes for a breath. “Oh? And I suppose you won’t allow me to take my business elsewhere.”

“See? You do understand me! Even though we’ve only spoken a few times.”

“I wanted to avoid this, but you’ve left me little choice.” Rishe turned over her final document.

“What have you got for me this—” Tully’s eyes went wide and his back straightened. “What the…?”

“What is it, Boss?”

Shock was written all over his face. His aloof affectation evaporated, panic threading his voice. “Miss Rishe, how the hell do you know about this?!”

“Apologies. I admit I took the liberty of investigating you in my own way.” The truth was that Rishe had seen it with her very own eyes, but she couldn’t say that. “As I have written here, I am currently in the process of cultivating some rare herbs. Together, they can be used to make a medicine that hails from the country of Renhua to the east.”

The knights who accompanied Rishe to her work in the garden gave her wondering looks. Rishe nodded gravely. “Mr. Tully, do you recognize the symptoms of this disease?”

“This is what Aria is…” He trailed off.

Rishe knew Aria Tully very well. She was Kaine Tully’s only living family member. Right about now, she would be a bright and happy ten-year-old girl. Her character was slightly more scrupulous than her older brother’s, but she was no less curious. Fitting, for the namesake of the trading company. He loved her dearly, and that was why he was gathering information from every corner of the world.

“Exactly. This medicine will cure your sister’s disease.”

Aria had struggled with respiratory infections since she was very young. Rishe had seen it happen in her previous lives. Her older brother traveled the world, peddling his wares as he searched for a way to cure her.

Tully’s breaths were ragged, his voice hoarse. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that you know of Aria’s illness. I speak to doctors wherever I go. But how do you know about herbal medicine from Renhua?”

The eastern country of Renhua had its own tradition of herbalism that went back centuries. Doctors from all over the world traveled there hoping to gain their knowledge, but it was fiercely guarded. Having spent a life working for Tully, Rishe knew he was among one of the supplicants denied access.

“The apothecary who served my family came from Renhua. She taught me herbalism.” That specifically was a lie, but Rishe did know an herbalist from Renhua. Before meeting her, Rishe had been entirely self-taught; her education went in bounds after that. One of the things she’d learned was the medicine she was offering Tully now.

“I did a little bit of digging into Miss Aria’s symptoms. If she takes this medicine for a year, she will make a full recovery.”

“Why should I believe you?” Tully snorted. “You’re not a doctor or an apothecary.”

Rishe had anticipated this, so she’d taken measures a week ago. She turned her attention to Tully’s staff. “Gentlemen, what do you think? You’ve already had a sample.”

Tully’s men looked momentarily shocked. “Do you mean the stuff we took the morning after you drank us under the table?”

“Yes, that’s what I’m referring to.”

The night one week prior, when she’d followed his men to the inn and challenged them, knowing she would be the only one sitting sober when Tully arrived. On her way out, she had given Tully packets of medicine, saying: “When your employees wake up tomorrow, be sure to give them this.” It was, of course, a hangover cure.

“Well, when I woke up, I felt pretty bad… But the medicine helped, for sure!”

Rishe nodded. “It has a number of effects. It swiftly expels alcohol from your blood and reduces inflammation in the stomach. I made it myself.”

“You did?!” Tully’s staff stared at her with matched looks of shocked admiration.

Rishe hadn’t chosen a drinking game by chance. By giving them an opportunity to try her medicine in advance, she’d hoped to increase her credibility in Tully’s eyes. To convince him to take a chance on her.