🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 9
They were employees of Edwin, one of Castier’s most prestigious luxury fashion brands.
Originally, they were scheduled to meet Dylan in about two hours to finalize their department store contract.
However, wanting to inspect their assigned location before signing, they had arrived at the department store far earlier than planned.
Up to that point, it was something that could be tolerated as the arrogance of a top-tier brand. There were still employees available to assist them, and it wasn’t uncommon for major brands to show up unannounced to inspect the premises.
The real problem came afterward.
“This location is partially blocked by the clock tower, isn’t it? We’d like it changed.”
A dispute over store placement had broken out among the incoming brands.
Natalie Trenchard, Edwin’s deputy designer, was extremely dissatisfied with the location Everdare had assigned them.
In truth, she disliked everything about the store.
“This side barely gets any sunlight to begin with. And why are there so few lights?”
“It’s unavoidable because this is the store closest to the department store’s main entrance. The number of lights is kept consistent throughout all the stores.”
“I’m not talking about these gas lamps. Install electric lights instead. Do you have any idea how much they affect color presentation?”
After complaining about one thing after another, Natalie eventually demanded that they be given a different store.
Specifically, the one located directly across from the main entrance.
The problem was that the location had already been contracted out.
And not just to anyone—it belonged to Montfort, the foreign brand currently competing with Edwin for the number one position in the luxury fashion market.
When Natalie heard that, she exploded.
“How could you possibly assign Montfort a better location than ours? More importantly, how does it make sense that Edwin was invited after Montfort? We’re a domestic brand!”
“My apologies. However, the earliest date Montfort could arrange was at the beginning of this month…”
Meanwhile, Edwin had been busy preparing a new collection ahead of the upcoming social season.
As a result, their response to Everdare’s contact had been delayed.
That was why Edwin ended up being the last of the first-floor brands to visit the department store.
Strictly speaking, it was Edwin’s fault for scheduling the contract meeting so late.
But Natalie had no intention of accepting that.
From the beginning, she believed the brighter location, unobstructed by the clock tower, should have belonged to Edwin.
Roman, an employee from the sales department who had accompanied her, wasn’t quite as aggressive, but he largely agreed.
Under normal circumstances, we wouldn’t go this far in clashing with Everdare.
But with Natalie already furious, this was an opportunity to use her outrage as leverage to demand a better location.
Roman stepped forward.
“Mr. Hudson Redding, from our perspective, this situation is difficult to accept.”
“If we move into this location as-is, visitors to the department store will naturally assume that Montfort is the superior luxury brand.”
“But that’s—”
“At the very least, they’ll assume Everdare made that judgment. And Edwin finds that kind of slight unacceptable.”
“…!”
Hudson’s face darkened as he tried to formulate a response.
Because there was some truth to what Roman was saying.
The department store opening in Monders was Everdare’s second branch.
The flagship store in the capital had given Edwin a larger and better location.
However, Montfort generated slightly higher sales.
Wealthy customers loved exclusivity and naturally gravitated toward foreign brands over domestic ones.
Moreover, Montfort’s elegant, minimalist collection inspired by Eastern porcelain had become a sensation across the continent the previous year.
Ultimately, Everdare had decided to give Montfort the premier location this time.
Still, regardless of Montfort’s performance, Edwin remained the most influential luxury fashion brand in the country.
The president invested a fortune into this department store. Losing even one major brand would be disastrous.
If a major brand withdrew, sales would suffer immediately.
More importantly, the department store’s competitiveness would decline, resulting in enormous long-term losses.
The appeal of a department store was that it gathered famous stores from all over the city into a single building.
If a first-rate brand disappeared, customers would naturally begin looking elsewhere.
And that could eventually lead to the business failing.
Some might argue that with the flagship store thriving, a temporary setback at the second branch could hardly be called a failure.
But no matter what others said, Hudson’s boss, Dylan, would certainly see it that way.
And that was what truly terrified Hudson.
If the president sees this mess, he’ll tear me apart for letting things get this bad…
Hudson found himself wishing Dylan would arrive quickly, while simultaneously hoping he would be delayed as long as possible.
For now, all he could do was stall until Dylan arrived.
Letting Edwin walk away would be the worst possible outcome.
As Hudson silently swallowed his tears, Natalie finally stood up in irritation.
“Fine. I’ve had enough.”
“We’ve made our position perfectly clear. Contact us if you decide to change the store location.”
“W-Wait just a moment! Our president is on his way. Once he arrives, we can discuss—”
“Oh?”
At that moment, the sound of high heels echoed through the building.
Click. Click. Click.
Neither fast nor slow, the footsteps steadily approached.
Soon, their owner came into view.
A woman with violet eyes, her blonde hair elegantly braided, dressed from head to toe in expensive attire.
Upon spotting them, she offered a faint smile.
“Fancy meeting everyone here, Lady Natalie.”
“…Lady Evelyn? Oh my! What a surprise!”
Natalie’s face instantly brightened.
The woman who had been scowling only moments ago rushed forward without a second thought.
Ignoring everyone else completely, she greeted Evelyn with a radiant smile.
It was as if she had entirely forgotten the heated argument over the store placement.
Everyone present stared in bewilderment.
Yet both Hudson and Emma felt a powerful intuition.
The cancellation of Edwin’s contract—which had been moments away—had just been put on hold because of that woman.
Even Roman, who had been threatening to withdraw Edwin’s participation, couldn’t hide his astonishment.
Emma quietly whispered to Hudson.
“Director, what in the world is happening?”
“…Don’t know?”
Hudson replied blankly.
“It’s a miracle. A miracle.”
Years later, Hudson Redding would write the following in his memoirs:
That was the day I came to believe angels truly existed.
* * *
Fortunately, Edwin’s withdrawal from the department store was postponed.
The reason was simple.
The moment Evelyn appeared, Natalie completely changed her attitude.
Of course, Natalie didn’t immediately declare that Edwin would maintain the contract.
Natalie Trenchard, a daughter of the Trenchard family, already knew Evelyn through their shared political faction.
She was simply delighted to meet someone she genuinely liked.
“What brings you here, Evelyn? The department store hasn’t even opened yet. I never expected to run into you here.”
“I had some business nearby. Even though it hasn’t officially opened, people seem to be allowed inside, so I thought I’d take a look around.”
At that point, both Hudson and Emma exchanged puzzled glances.
It was true that Everdare had opened the building to prepare for the grand opening.
However, only people granted permission by security were allowed inside.
But because Edwin had shown up unexpectedly, access had currently been completely restricted.
At least until someone above Hudson’s authority—such as President Dylan himself—arrived.
There was no way that policy should have changed.
Director… don’t you think…
Yeah.
Looks like the president sent her.
The two of them were quick to catch on.
To be continued…
