Chapter 78

Sei’s Conviction

(Iris’s POV)

“… This time was truly difficult, wasn’t it?”

While we were drinking tea, I heard such words . Mimoza, who was reclining in front of me, expressed her condolences . We are currently in the villa of Duke Armelia… in other words, my home in the royal capital .

“Well, that is true… I almost did become a heretic, after all . ” [Iris]

“Your life is too hectic . ” [Mimoza]

Hearing those words, I gave a bitter smile… truly, it surfaced quite involuntarily .

“So, you didn’t reply to my letter…? Or meet with me because of your stay in the capital after publicly proving your innocence…?” [Mimoza]

A week has passed since the audience . Although I craved to return home, I cannot yet .

In the first place, I need to resolve the chaos of our employees resigning from our royal capital branch store left and right t; and then I need to see if the firm can be exempted from tolls . .

To be frank, because the fief is surrounded by people from the second prince’s faction, the efforts regarding the tolls are not going well .

Everyone forced me to take a break since I had been working non-stop for the week after the interrogation, so my meeting with Mimoza today was the first of us meeting in a while .

“I am genuinely sorry about all the hardships you have suffered . ” [Iris]

“There is no need for an apology The way I spoke was too harsh . I have also heard that you have been pushing yourself without rest… I should be thanking you for giving some of your valuable time to me . ” [Mimoza]

“The same goes for me . Even if you were to stop caring about me, it couldn’t be helped . You have my sincere gratitude for always taking care of me . ” [Iris]

Despite my expulsion from the academy, she still kept in touch with me . Even when I was interrogated before, she also sent a letter that full of concern . And even when I was going through the interrogation, she sent a letter full of concern for me .

… I truly appreciate her remaining my friend .

“Come to think of it, the branch store in the capital has resumed business, right?” [Mimoza]

“Tentatively, however . Right now, people from my fief are operating the store, but once the new employees get used to the work, they will take full responsibility for running the store . ” [Iris]

More than half of the people who came from the fief to help were focused on product development . I tried to let them experience the flood of a business, because I thought that it would be a good idea to give them the feel of an on-site environment . If the new employees got used to the hard work, I will give the workers from the fief a raise and send them back home to do their usual business .

“Yes . The store became quite crowded since e we were closed for such a long time . ” [Iris]

“Oh my, did you go there yourself?” [Mimoza]

“Not quite . I was considering going but… I gave up halfway, due to the crowds . It seems that it will settle down within a week . ” [Iris]

“Oh… while I am happy about that, will it be okay? If I’m not mistaken, Melida has come home dead tired every day . ” [Mimoza]

Indeed… even if I were to go, there wasn’t anything I could do . However, I want to see the situation with my own eyes…

“…… Shall we go to the firm?” [Iris]

“Would that be alright?” [Mimoza]

“Yes . The store is open again, yet I haven’t witnessed the situation first-hand before… I wonder if I would ever get another chance to see it I could . Tanya, prepare fruit juice for the employees to enjoy . ” [Iris]

“… Are the employees allowed to drink something like that?” [Mimoza]

Tanya quietly acknowledged my order by nodding, but Mimoza tilted her head in curiosity .

“Yes, as a refreshment . A reward for their labors . ” [Iris]

“So you also do things such as that…” [Mimoza]

Her eyes rounded in surprise .

“I am not aware if other firms act in such a manner, but a store cannot function without its employees s, right?” [Iris]

… The incident this time was truly scathing .

“Especially because the store seems so busy as of late . ” [Iris]

And then, Tanya, Mimoza, and I departed from the mansion with many trustworthy guards to escort us .

“It has been a while since I went outside like this . ” [Iris]

I dressed in an inconspicuous manner, similar to when I did my inspections, and also dyed my hair . My hair is now a reddish brown, instead of its usual silver . This dye was also a new product from the Azuta firm . The dye is made from various plants, and will wear off in two to three days .

This new product from the research and development department left me in awe . This product was naturally a part of that . Will they become ecstatic when they eventually can make a black hair dye that can mask grey and white hairs?

But with how colorful the natural hair is in this world, white hair isn’t deemed a problem . Rather, if I were to think of a grey haired old man… mhm, perceived to be elegant and striking . That being said, there wasn’t a high demand for that anyway…