“Ayame, the earrings you made were extremely well received in the capital,” I told her.
“Really?!” Her face instantly lit up.
“I’d like to discuss that topic with you, so why don’t you take a short break?”
She glanced at her work and nodded. “Understood.”
Relieved that she’d agreed, I softly exhaled, my hand placed on my chest. Ayame liked crafting raden pieces more than eating three meals a day, so if she were left to her own devices, she would become so engrossed in her work that she would forget to eat and sleep. Her concentration is astounding, but I wish it didn’t compromise her health.
I returned with Ayame to the room Hiiragi and Sir Leonhart were waiting in. They already had tea ready for us. When she saw Sir Leonhart, her body tensed, but she quickly composed herself.
I sat down next to Sir Leonhart, and Ayame sat across from me. Then, Hiiragi took a seat beside her. We snacked on sweets with our tea and engaged in friendly chatter, but even then Ayame was restless. I had wanted to delay jumping into the main topic to let her rest longer, but since she was too curious to settle down, I decided to hurry up and move on.
“I unveiled the raden accessories at a soiree, and they were quite popular.”
“Thank goodness.” Ayame sighed in relief.
When I had commissioned her, she had been awfully worried. Although she adored crafting raden pieces, she hadn’t been confident that they would be appreciated in a foreign country. She had even fretted that I might get odd looks for wearing raden accessories to a party.
“Your work garnered much attention from fashion-minded noble ladies, and I’ve already received many inquiries. I’m certain you’ll be getting busy from now on.”
“Yes!” Ayame nodded energetically.
“Oh, but don’t overdo it, okay? It defeats the purpose if you ruin your health.”
“Y-Yes.”
“Please tell her that more,” Hiiragi said. “She doesn’t listen no matter how many times I warn her.”
“Urgh...”
“Duchess, Ayame has neglected her sleep and meals ever since she met you,” he continued.
It sounded like a roundabout way of saying it was partly my fault, and it made me shift uncomfortably. I laughed dryly and averted my gaze.
According to Ayame, my appearance stoked her creative urges. She had happened to see me one day when I’d visited Lord Julius’s shop, and that encounter had inspired her to create piece after piece with such fervor that it was almost as though she were possessed. Our collaboration had begun after she had presented one of her creations to me.
Ayame’s art was exquisite and breathtakingly beautiful. She used a wide range of motifs—butterflies and the moon, flowers and little birds—but according to her, they were all crafted with me in mind. Many of her works featured a striking usage of blue, so perhaps she’d taken a shine to the color of my eyes.
“It seems I’m not the only one captivated by Rose’s charm. I’m proud but, at the same time, a bit conflicted,” Sir Leonhart said.
My face flushed red from his sappy words. “Leon, stop. It’s embarrassing.”
Hiiragi’s gaze was piercing. “Thank you oh so much for the lovey-dovey display,” he seemed to be saying. His eyes were clearly filled with exasperation. It was very similar to when my father had said, “Do this elsewhere.”
“Th-That was just the preface—let’s move on to the main topic.” I cleared my throat with an exaggerated cough, trying to dispel the lax mood. I knew my chagrin was apparent in my voice, but I didn’t care. I also ignored Hiiragi’s tepid stare. “We discussed the sales model and pricing briefly last time, but are you still of the same mind?”
Hiiragi looked at Ayame. When she nodded at him, he returned his gaze to me. “Duchess, before you left for the capital, we discussed a purely made-to-order model, correct?”
“Yes.”
At present, Ayame was the only person in Prelier who could make raden crafts. Whether she took on apprentices and trained them or recruited other artisans from Osten, it would require years to expand her team. With that in mind, high margins and low sales were preferable over low margins and high sales. I had envisioned a made-to-order sales model by which each piece was one of a kind and sold at a premium price. The downside was that each piece would have a lengthy production period, but fortunately, her work had already been premiered by members of the royal family. Now there were many people willing to wait as long as they needed.
“We would like to proceed in that general direction, but I have an additional proposition,” Hiiragi said.
“And what would that be?” I asked.
“We would like to offer a simple, multichoice order option along with the made-to-order one. What do you think?”
Multichoice order? What does that mean?
Almost simultaneously, as though he’d read my mind, Sir Leonhart asked, “Multichoice order? What is that?”
Hiiragi placed a square wooden box painted with black lacquer on top of the table. He opened it, revealing cuff links of different designs and shapes evenly lined inside. “First, the customer will select the type of accessory they want to order. Then, they can mix and match the metal fittings, base, design, and so on to their liking.”
I nodded. I see... So Hiiragi wants to offer two options: fully custom-made and semi-custom-made. Compared to a fully custom-made order, a semi-custom-made order would reduce the burden on the manufacturer since they don’t need to come up with a design from scratch. In return, the piece would feel less unique, but the customer’s originality can still shine through depending on the combination, and it would lower the price, so there are still merits for the customer.
“I think that’s a good idea, but won’t Ayame become too busy?” It would increase their sales and clientele, but also their workload. We decided on a fully custom-made order model because we have a shortage of artisans, so wouldn’t this new model be putting the cart before the horse?
In response to my concerns, Hiiragi smiled wryly. “As I mentioned earlier, Ayame can’t suppress her love for you, Duchess.”
“Hiiragi!” Ayame tugged on his sleeve in protest, her face bright red.
However, he continued to speak, completely unfazed. “As it stands, Ayame is overflowing with love for you to the point where she’s throwing herself into her craft and forgetting to eat and sleep. As you can see.” Hiiragi pointed at the cuff links. “Yes, a greater workload will burden her mind and body, but crafting pieces in your image is no longer work for her.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Yes. It’s now a relaxing hobby or, better put, her reason to live. Crafting pieces exactly in accordance with a customer’s request would be more stressful for her.”
“I-I see...?” I said, my tone a mixture of understanding and uncertainty.
Come to think of it, in my past life, an illustrator I was a fan of once said they were taking a break from working on their draft—then proceeded to drop a huge number of illustrations of their favorite character on social media. I wasn’t the artistic type of nerd, so I didn’t quite understand why they would draw even when they were supposed to be relaxing, but maybe it’s something creators understand. I suppose there’s a big difference between making something a customer requests for work and making what you like, even if they’re technically the same activity. Though, when I think about how the “thing she likes” is my appearance, I feel rather embarrassed...
“It would be a waste to stow all of her overflowing love away in a storeroom,” Hiiragi continued. “If we sell them to those who wish to buy, then it’ll be killing two birds with one stone.”
I wanted to tell him, “Don’t turn your childhood friend’s overflowing love into a commodity,” but I didn’t since Ayame didn’t seem upset by the prospect.
“What do you think?” Hiiragi asked.
“Hmm, I think it’s a good idea,” I replied. I have no reason to oppose him if Ayame is on board. I glanced to my side for Sir Leonhart’s opinion.
He carefully scrutinized the cuff links before opening his mouth. “You said you’ve been designing pieces in Rose’s image, but do you mean...all of these?”
“Y-Yes,” Ayame answered quietly. “That goes for everything you see here.”
“And for nearly everything in the other room too,” Hiiragi added.
“In that case, why don’t you give those pieces a name to distinguish them from fully custom-made items?” Sir Leonhart suggested.
“A name?”
“Yes. Many of these pieces have a striking use of blue, but there will be customers who like a different color. I think it would incite those customers to opt for the fully custom-made option if you labeled this series in a way that makes it obvious that the motif is blue.”
“Good point.”
If you name it something like “Blue Series” or “Sky Series,” you can preemptively prevent complaints and those asking for other colors. And if Ayame becomes obsessed with something else, she can give that series a different name. I very much approve of Sir Leonhart’s input. As expected of my husband! He’s great at coming up with angles like this precisely because he’s attentive to the finer details.
“Superb insight, as always. I am thoroughly impressed.” Hiiragi’s eyes narrowed into a smile.
The way his eyes get thin like a fox’s is awfully shady. It makes me suspect that our entire conversation has gone in accordance with his calculations. I reflexively became guarded. Next to me, Sir Leonhart smiled wryly.
“On this subject, I have a request,” Hiiragi said.
“A request?” I repeated suspiciously.