Celebrity Lady

Despite Nora’s vicious momentum, Becky didn’t blink.

“Excuse me, Young Lady Nora, it is our <Blanc de Ruby>’s rule of thumb not to adjust the order of reservations for extra money.”

“Madame, you are a really tight-knit person. You’re the boutique owner, so it all depends on what you mean!”

“Um, no,” Becky said with a smile.

“<Blanc de Ruby> operates under the rules set by ‘Lady Ruby’, who is the designer, sponsor, and the owner of the entire stake of this store.”

“There’s a separate boss?”

“Yes. Following Lady Ruby’s will, reservations are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis only for customers who can pay for the dressmaking in advance, regardless of their status. Do you want me to make a reservation for next August? “

“Ha…”

While Nora was beating her pitiful heart out of frustration.

Ringing—

The bell on the glass door of the store rang.

Becky and Nora’s heads turned towards the timidly opened entrance.

‘The 5th Princess Lisbeth?’

Nora’s eyes widened as she recognized the guest’s face.

“Oh, aren’t you the 5th Princess?”

“Oh, Young Lady Pelkan?”

Nora was the best friend of Lillia Diollus, who was said to be the swan of the Diollus family.

Naturally, she was also close with Ricky, Lillia’s twin, and she knew the story of Lisbeth, the docile and immature princess who followed Ricky around.

Nora crossed her arms and glared at Lisbeth with a smirk.

“Long time no see.”

“Yes.”

She was quite cheeky, but Lisbeth, who knew Nora’s personality, which was already well-known among the aristocrats, turned a blind eye.

“Are you also here to fit a dress?”

“Ah, mm. Something like that.”

Nora, who laughed and snorted at Lisbeth, who was coming in, looked back at Becky.

“Then I’ll talk to the boss. Call the boss.”

“Lady Ruby is not someone anyone can call personally.”

“Wh-what? Did you just address me as ‘anyone’? Lady Ruby is a name I’ve never heard of, but she’s so cheeky-”

“Next guest, what brings you here?”

Becky simply ignored Nora and gave Lisbeth a broad, business smile.

Lisbeth, watching the two of them with a tense face, sat next to Nora.

‘It has nothing to do with status? Then let’s see if you can ignore a royal’s orders.’

Nora clenched her teeth and watched the two.

“I’d like to order a dress…”

“Yes, guest. It is impossible to place an order immediately, so if you leave your name and contact information, we’ll contact you as soon as the reservation order is back.”

Nora, who was listening, was startled.

‘There’s no exception even for the imperial family? You’re so cocky?’

Becky, who opened her book, took a pen and said to Lisbeth.

“If you book now, you can order in August of next year. Would you like to make a reservation?”

“That-”

Lisbeth, who noticed Nora sitting next to her, carefully took out something and held it out. What she put on the table was a classy black business card.

“Oh.”

Becky picked up the business card.

“Excuse me, may I ask how you got the invitation card?”

“My brother gave it to me. Ah, my older brother is… I don’t know if you know he’s the crown prince.”

Flustered, Lisbeth added.

“I don’t know how he got this. He only said that if I showed it, I could order right away…”

“I see. I see. Then we’ll help you place your order right now. Let’s measure first, then go through the catalog slowly.”

Becky got up and guided Lisbeth inside with a gentle smile.

“Hey, Madame!” shouted Nora, her eyes wide open.

“What is this now? Didn’t you say there’s no exception? Now you’re saying it’s okay if they’re at the level of the crown prince?”

“No, Young Lady Nora. Even if the crown prince’s father’s father’s father comes to our <Blanc de Ruby>, he won’t be able to order immediately.”

Becky showed a black business card and smiled.

“However, it is a different story if you came here as a recommendation by our boss. We are taking orders from customers who’s been shown Lady Ruby’s preferential treatment first.”

“What? There’s no such thing as-”

“Young Lady Nora, I have to serve our guest now. If you want to place an order quickly, please bring an invitation card, and if you want to make a reservation, please visit again tomorrow.”

Becky, who was a little displeased with the endless war of words with Nora, walked over, opened the glass door of the shop, and said, “Well then, goodbye.”

***

Tumble.

Becky, who’d barely closed the shop after receiving the order from Lisbeth, the 5th princess, went up to the second floor with a weak step.

<VIP reception room>

She saw the room with a sign that Lady Ruby, the president of <Blanc de Ruby>, had ordered.

Becky burst out in helpless laughter and opened the door to the room, and the already waiting guests welcomed her.

“Oh, our Madame Becky!”

“You worked hard today.”

The president ‘Lady Ruby’, Rubetria Diollus, and her exclusive model Sarah Hugo.

They were slightly excited, and three cool-looking dark beer glasses were on the table.

Becky pursed her lips and sat beside Rubette, hugging her waist.

“Haa… Princess… I thought I was going to die of exhaustion. As you told me to, I acted like a high-nosed madame, but it was so awkward and scary.”

“Well done. Nora Pelkan was here, right? Her voice was so loud that it pierced the ceiling.”

“No matter how young one is, how can an aristocratic lady be so uneducated? You worked hard, Becky.” Sarah comforted Becky, who looked pitiful.

“Hic. This poor Becky couldn’t sleep last night because she was making menswear samples…”

“Still, it’s a gratifying pain. Today’s sales are-!”

“148 million marks!”

When Rubette heard Becky’s words, the reception room was quickly filled with the laughter of three women tainted with capitalism.

“Hehe, by the way, Princess.”

Becky, who tilted her beer glass once, suddenly looked worried.

“Have you heard of Madame Susan’s boutique?”

“Ah, about Madame Susan copying my design?”

Rubette gave a slight retort.

“Yes. Madame Susan’s boutique doesn’t have a strict reservation system like ours, so ordering is much easier. The twenty people who’d canceled their reservations today went to Madame Susane’s boutique.”

“Oh, isn’t that a bit of a difficult situation?”

Sarah, who was listening, was worried.

“Why don’t we loosen the order standards a little? Let’s lower the price.”

“Mmmm.”

Rubette lightly flicked her index finger.

“My iron rule of accepting only reservation guests will not change. And starting tomorrow, the unit price for the reservation will also be raised by 500,000 marks.”

“Whaaat?” Becky was terrified.

“But then the guests will leave. It’s still very expensive-”

“Price competition is only for cheap clothes stores.”

Chak! Cross-legged and leaning loosely on the sofa, Rubette continued, “What I want to create is not just a clothing store, but a luxury brand for a wealthy customer base. It’s not to make a lot of money; it’s to prove its value. So, of course we will sell at a high price.”

Becky and Sarah listened to her, said, “Oh…” and nodded with a sigh.

“Insects are inevitably attached to plants that want to grow well. Of course, some people will copy popular designs, but they mustn’t sway us.”

“Then, more and more stores are going to copy your design. Should we just wait and see?”

“Well, right now, our shop’s sales may be stagnant. If the design is the same, customers will want to go to a place where ordering is easy, and the price is lower. However.”

Rubette smiled and gestured to the palm-sized fabric on the table.

A well-crafted diamond-shaped fabric embroidered with red thread. It was the trademark of <Blanc de Ruby>.

“If my brand itself becomes a symbol of ‘luxury’, the story is different. The pride-conscious aristocratic ladies and young men will wonder about every store, even though they have the same design.”

Rubette tapped Becky’s shoulder and played a childish voice.

“Miss Becky? The dress you’re wearing must be fitted at <Blanc de Ruby>, right?”

And soon, her face returned to a blank expression.

“Oh? Yours isn’t from <Blanc de Ruby>, but from Madame Susan’s boutique, right? No wonder something seems to be missing…”

“Aha.”

While watching Rubette’s solo performance, Sarah intervened with a smile.

“In short, the design of the dress is pretty, but rather than buying it because you like it, you buy the symbolism of the dress from <Blanc de Ruby>.”

“That’s it.”

Ttak! Rubette, who snapped her fingers, added with an arrogant smile, “<Blanc de Ruby> will become a luxury boutique famous enough to secure a buying base just for its name alone. I’m going to make it so.”

“Oh, oh, oh…”

“Wow.”

Rubette, watching the admiring Becky and Sarah with a pleased smile, stood up.

“At the end of the day, trash counterfeits are bound to be eliminated from the competition. So, my grateful business partners, Becky and Sarah, don’t worry.”

Rubette approached the safe on one side of the waiting room and opened it.

Many banknotes were filled to the point where space was scarce.

With a capitalist smile, Rubette took a handful of it and brought it to the tip of her nose, and inhaled.

“Hmm…”

Pararak—!

Soon, a bundle of banknotes flew from her hand and fluttered beautifully in the air.

“Enjoy this moment!”

***

On a roll.

That word fits perfectly for the rising prestige of the boutique <Blanc de Ruby>.

Is there anything in the world that doesn’t go her way?

As someone had once said back in the day, Rubette, or Juliet Karenina’s first move was cruising like a sailing boat strolling on a calm sea.

Of course, as her life had always been, this was not by chance or coincidence.

A fashion sense superior to others.

An eye for selecting talented partners.

A sense of business faster than anyone else.

And, even the bloody effort of running with her own feet…

“Brand luxury marketing strategy, the second.”

Rubette, standing in front of the mirror, raised her chin with an arrogant expression and murmured.

“Promotion on a different scale.”