Lark’s competent escort and aide, Ren, excitedly opened the door.
“Hey, famous person!”
Lark, immersed in contemplation on the terrace of his office, smiled.
Ren ran to him and chattered, “From yesterday, there’s no space to step on the boutique street. Even local residents came to watch your video, so the capital is overloaded.”
“That’s great.”
“It went amazingly well. Can’t you hear the merchants talking all the way here?”
The ripple effect of the video that the crown prince and <Blanc de Ruby> collaborated on was enormous. The distraught spectators became customers, and merchants in the capital benefited from the trickle-down effect. In two days, sales in the commercial district exceeded the average in three months.
“By the way, how did you get to know the boutique owner? She was said to be someone harder to see than His Majesty. How mysterious…”
“What? … Fuhahaha!”
For some reason, Lark held onto his stomach and laughed. Ren, who had tilted his head in doubt, spoke again, “By the way, you are a great guy. I’ll probably never meet someone smarter than you until I die.”
“Now that’s enough. It gives me goosebumps, so flatter just moderately.”
“I mean it.”
The crown prince had an image, so why would Lark help promote the clothing store out of the blue? It should be a political target. A thorough and strategic move aimed at the approval ratings of the merchant class and high-ranking nobles!
“The 2nd Prince must be shaking after taking a proper punch.”
The wealthy and high-ranking aristocrats dissatisfied with Lark’s welfare policy for the common people were the base of support for Nathan, the 2nd Prince, but…
‘Because of this, all the rich nobles saw Lark again!’
<Blanc de Ruby>, chosen by Lark, was an aristocratic boutique that operated mainly for heavyweight customers. In short, it was a clothing store attracting the most attention among wealthy aristocrats.
It was pretty surprising that this decision had come from Lark, who had been questioned about whether he would only embrace the commoners. Aristocrats were surprised by him, who promoted exclusive luxury goods, not to mention from a high-end boutique. It was a chance to put him in their eyes again.
‘It’s a good justification to openly announce that you helped with publicity to encourage commercial activities to permeate the nobles naturally!’
Ren could barely lower the corners of his mouth that had risen.
In addition, Lark had once again established himself as the perfect idol to the young generation of the Empire, who were enthusiastic about the image of famous and familiar celebrities.
The days of a lame leader who only worked quietly at the top were over.
“Raising approval ratings from small business owners, rich people, and high-ranking aristocrats. And image making that responds quickly to the changing times.”
Clap, clap, clap… Ren clapped with a moved expression and shook his head.
“You are amazing, Your Highness.”
“Okay, stop it. By the way, how’s Father?”
“Ah, His Majesty the Emperor!” Ren put his arms on the terrace railing and laughed, “At first, after watching your video, he immediately grabbed the back of his neck. I heard the sound of him shouting turned the Imperial Palace upside down?”
“Oh, dear.”
“But after hearing that the whole capital praised you, his mouth seemed like it would torn to the ears from smiling.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Did you know that His Majesty has not been able to sleep properly lately because of that ridiculous amendment to the Marriage Law?”
Tsk tsk. Ren smiled as he clicked his tongue and poked Lark in the shoulder.
“But since this ended well, he must’ve been relieved. Good work, man.”
“Well, it wasn’t really my intention, but…”
“Mm?”
“It’s a relief that I didn’t make him worry.”
Looking at Lark, who was satisfied, Ren tilted his head. “What are you talking about? What did you mean by this wasn’t your intention?”
“I am going to rebel against my father with great effort for quite some time from now, so there was no need to add one more load in advance. My father’s blood pressure is high, I’m afraid he’ll collapse.”
“… What?”
Lark said something incomprehensible.
“Since I’ve lived my whole life as a son who listens well, isn’t it time to turn my father upside down at least once?”
“…”
The puzzled Ren soon understood Lark’s words and opened his mouth.
“B-By any chance, you… Could it be that you will keep pushing that ridiculous agenda?”
“Mm.”
“You madman! Will that work?”
“I’ll make it happen even if it doesn’t work.”
An unconventional amendment to the Marriage Law that requires monogamy to be applied even to the emperor. It seemed that Lark hadn’t given up on that yet. Ren was dumbfounded.
“What on earth do you not like?”
Imperial Marriage Law, which only applies to emperors, requires them to have at least five consorts. This is an important issue directly related to the succession of the imperial family.
Lark was the heir to the imperial family who was well aware of this and judging from his actions so far, there was no reason to break the marriage law. So why…?
Lark smiled as he looked at Ren, who couldn’t understand.
“I think I should prepare a slightly bigger wedding gift in advance. For example, a revision of the marriage law?”
“W-What?”
Surprised, Ren opened his eyes wide as he brooded over Lark’s words.
“Are you seeing a girl?”
“Maybe?” Lark smiled slyly and shrugged his shoulders.
“What?! Will she only marry you if you change the law?”
“Mmm.”
“Hurry up and tell me! Who’s she?!”
“Wait. What time is it now? How long to start a meeting…” Lark exclaimed and lifted his left wrist to check the watch. “We have 30 minutes left. Let’s go. We’ll be busy from today. I have to fight with the aristocrats.”
“Y-You madman… Will you do that shit again in the conference room? Will the nobles listen?”
“If they won’t, I’ll keep doing it until they do.”
“Wow… T-This bastard. Is this really happening? Are you still the Lark I knew? You’re trying to do this crazy thing for a woman? Oh, who the hell is she…?!”
As he passed Ren and headed towards the conference hall, Lark’s face was filled with a mischievous smile.
***
Like a gust of wind.
That’s how people described the brand <Blanc de Ruby>
The prestige of this high-end boutique, which appeared like a comet and changed the game of institutional fashion in an instant, was increasing daily.
“Lady Valet, have you seen the new product video for <Blanc de Ruby>?”
“Of course. You mean the fur hat that will be in stock next week, right? I heard that a famous artisan of the Kingdom of Carta makes it himself…”
“That’s right. It’s a set with the new dress. They said they took reservations for hats, so I went right away, but my waiting order is already number 128.”
“Hiiiy!”
At the end of December, white snow piled up on every street.
All the aristocratic women around the capital were dressed in winter dresses with dyed wool draped over their shoulders.
This design, which was first introduced in <Blanc de Ruby>, naturally caused a trend, and the surrounding dressing stores rushed to create dresses with similar designs. However, the dress of <Blanc de Ruby> was a high-end product that was different from the existing ones in terms of wool and clothing fabric.
Even with the naked eye, there was a clear difference between ‘real’ and ‘imitation’.
Aristocratic ladies who had money but couldn’t order clothes from <Blanc de Ruby> cried and stomped their feet every day.
And…
It was not uncommon to see aristocratic men walking busily carrying long cravats.
“Oh, look. Have a look at this. I got it as soon as I heard it was stocked yesterday.”
“Oh…! You got it after waiting for so long! I envy you!”
An aristocratic man with a lot of strength on his shoulders showed off the watch on his wrist.
After Crown Prince Lark van Rashmagh Descarde personally promoted this ‘wristwatch’, men flocked like bees to the <Blanc de Ruby> store, which exclusively supplied wristwatches made in Lubon.
But there were only about ten people who owned it at this point because it was a product that took a considerable amount of time from ordering to handcrafted production.
“Woah… Look at the finely crafted diamonds. It’s amazing.”
“They said Hamilton Galacchio worked on it himself. His craftsmanship is already recognized abroad.”
The two men exchanged conversations and hurriedly lined up in front of the accessories store of <Blanc de Ruby>.
A few days ago, a new building was built across from the existing dressing store to separate the store, but it was still insufficient to accommodate all the overflowing customers.
In front of the entrance of the <Blanc de Ruby> building, a crowd of customers lined up every day.
“By the way, what kind of person was the president of <Blanc de Ruby> to recruit that prideful craftsman?”
“I don’t know, but they’re not an ordinary person. Didn’t His Highness the Crown Prince directly support them? Perhaps they’ve known each other before.”
“That’s true. The same goes for having Sarah Hugo as the exclusive model.”
As could be seen from the conversation between the two men, the interest of the capital these days was also focused on the identity of the mysterious president of <Blanc de Ruby>.
“I heard they’re a commoner. A man in his 40s who started the business with the money he earned from selling fruit.”
“W-What? Really? Not a woman? Didn’t they they started from dresses at first?”
“They must have started with the dresses of noble ladies because it’s a hot topic, but can’t you see the suit design that targets men’s hearts and their acute sense of selling watches as accessories?”
“Aha. I guess you’re right.”
However, there were only rumors, and no one knew the owner’s real identity.
A woman, a man, a wealthy commoner, a fallen aristocrat… Despite all kinds of speculation, the president of <Blanc de Ruby> never revealed their identity.
It was hilarious that such a mysterious aspect worked as an unintended business strategy by stimulating the curiosity of nobles.
The luxurious man’s secret—
[From the winter of Blanc de Ruby.]
The two chattering men were distracted by the prince’s promotional video on the video board in front of the building.
The clothes were pretty, and the models were great. But what caught people’s attention every day was this video itself.
The video of <Blanc de Ruby>, which imitated the latest editing technique that could only be seen when science develops and full-scale video technology appears, inevitably came as a shock to them.
The man who stared at the video board for a long time muttered, “What’s certain is that they’re born with an acute sense of business.”
Recruitment of Sarah Hugo, a prominent actress in the capital, the introduction of an unprecedented visual publicity strategy, the production of customized products targeting wealthy customers…
“They’re either a genius or a businessman who’s been around for a long time.”
“Well, I guess so.”
The two aristocratic men nodded with their guesses.
***
That time.
“What a nice day! It’s the perfect day for a morning workout!”
The president (15 years old, female) of <Blanc de Ruby> that everyone was curious about…
…was in Lubon, a territory at the foot of the mountain with nothing but good air. Still in isolation.