<23>
Rowena recalled the contents of <The White Birds>.
[“Valentin, you interfere with me at every turn. From the time of Eden until now, nothing has gone right because of you.”]
In the original story, the ill-fated relationship between Seymour and Valentin was described in quite some detail. The same was true for the clothing brand that served as its starting point.
Seymour was not the only one trying to take advantage of the fact that rural life was a trend.
Valentin, the male protagonist of the original story, also utilized it.
Instead of the current ornate and extravagant garments, he brought a somewhat classical style called the Empire Dress to the forefront.
The greatest advantages of the Empire Dress were its simplicity and mobility.
It was a rather unconventional move that did not fit well with current trends, but the aristocrats, tired of flamboyant clothing, quickly jumped on the bandwagon.
‘Above all, it was said that the Queen liked that design.’
The fact that it was a classical style worked well. It was an element that could further emphasize legitimacy.
After that, it was truly like a boulder rolling down a slope.
Bolstered by the fact that it was an outfit chosen by the Queen, the trend spread in an instant.
There was no way Seymour’s brand, which had a similar concept and target, could withstand this.
Especially since, in the original story, Seymour eventually failed to even request the pictorial work from Ober.
‘But this time, I was able to make the pictorial.’
Even now, Rowena was at Ober’s studio acting as a model.
“So cute! Shall we try a slight smile? Yes, very good!”
Thanks to Ober’s flowing praise, the production of the pictorial was proceeding successfully.
Furthermore, the fact that Seymour learned about the launch of Eden because of the quarrel with Donna was particularly important.
‘The current situation is better than in the book.’
However, that did not mean the situation was completely resolved. The most important problem remained.
Rowena recalled the conversation she had heard in Seymour’s office a few days ago.
“We must avoid overlapping the brand launch period as much as possible, Your Grace.”
“But all the occupancy contracts have already been completed. We cannot delay the timing now.”
It was truly an unavoidable situation.
Because of this, opinions within the company were divided.
Derrick, the general manager of this brand, was insisting that the timing should be delayed regardless of any losses incurred.
“Your Grace, there is no chance of winning in a head-on confrontation. We fall behind in everything in terms of impact and topicality.”
It was an unavoidable story. Seymour was not a clothing company.
Seymour’s side was entering completely anew, while Eden’s side was a new brand from a company that had already established its foundation. There was no need to even compare the impact.
“Furthermore, they are using famous models. Even if it isn’t Miss Donna Devon, they will be able to replace her at any time.”
The reason Seymour could not use a famous model was strictly because of the concept.
It was dreadfully difficult to find a model that met the conditions set by Ober.
However, Eden only had an unconventional design, and the concept itself was nothing special.
Finding a new model would not be a very difficult task.
Seymour, who had been listening in silence, lightly massaged his brow as if he had a headache.
“If we truly cannot change the timing, it means we need something to boast about in some aspect. Is the method of putting effort into promotion difficult?”
“It is difficult. It will cost too much money.”
The pictorials and flyers being produced now were strictly for the purpose of being placed in the shops.
Since everything was being handmade, the number that could be produced was limited.
Of course, nothing would be impossible if money were spent, but doing so would likely result in a deficit.
“Or if we change the clothing design unconventionally….”
“At this late stage?”
As if unnecessary unrealistic opinions were not needed, Seymour’s gaze turned coldly toward Axel Portman.
“The production of the clothing is already almost finished. If we change the design now, we would have to discard all that volume. Even putting aside the loss, does it seem like a possible story to newly manufacture all the garments with a new design in the remaining time?”
“……I am sorry.”
“That’s enough. It has become a headache.”
Seymour’s expression as he said that looked no different from when Rowena first met him.
It felt as if she could see the shadows under his eyes, which Rowena had painstakingly erased, settling back down in real-time.
‘If this business fails, the Duke will return to how he was before.’
Then the cure will fly far away forever!
‘That cannot happen!’
But what should I do? She had kept thinking about the contents of the book after hearing that conversation, but no sharp solution came to mind.
As it happened to be break time, Rowena came down from the stage gloomily.
‘Rowena, you dummy! What’s the use of knowing the future!’
It isn’t even as helpful as an ant’s antenna!
If there were a mouse hole, she felt like going in and asking what she should do.
However, in the corner where Rowena trudged toward, there were people who had arrived first.
‘Eh?’
The people standing in front of her were familiar.
They were Ober’s disciples who had been working until their arms were ready to fall off while she was modeling. But the one behind them was….
“A mere handyman, you dare lay a hand on the work?”
“He must have been trying to steal something. We have to search this fellow’s body!”
A handyman boy who looked to be about fifteen or sixteen. Perhaps because he couldn’t cut his hair properly, his curly hair was covering even his eyes.
“I-it’s not like that. I just wanted to see the sketches….”
“Don’t make me laugh. Even if you look at the sketches, what would you know? Hand over what you stole right now!”
Watching that sight, Rowena tilted her head.
‘That’s strange.’
That boy looks like he has nothing.
Rowena blinked her eyes and suddenly shouted.
“Uh? Over there, Teacher Ober is asking who knocked over the paint pot!”
“What?”
At those words, the disciples turned around in surprise.
“He seems very angry! I think you should go quickly!”
“Ugh, that’s why I told you to organize it well!”
“I organized it well enough, damn it! Just run!”
The terrified disciples ran away quickly, and the handyman boy was finally released.
The boy approached Rowena hesitantly and spoke cautiously.
“Y-you’re that model, right? T-the one the teacher liked.”
“Yes!”
“Th-thank you for helping me. This…… it isn’t much, but I’ll g-give it to you.”
What the boy held out was a piece of paper the size of a palm.
Judging by the messy back, it seemed he had picked up and used a discarded piece of paper.
Rowena’s eyes widened upon checking the contents.
“Wow! Is this me? You drew it so well!”
“Y-yes. I could only draw it with a pencil though…. And it wasn’t even drawn while you were modeling.”
At Rowena’s praise, the boy’s face, not covered by hair, turned bright red. The boy seemed to be naturally shy.
However, Rowena had no time to worry about such things.
It was because she had realized an incredible fact from the boy’s drawing.
‘This is a chemise!’
The boy’s drawing had been made while Rowena was changing clothes.
Since it was difficult to change completely every time, Rowena changed clothes by wearing a chemise used as a petticoat or nightgown and adding an overskirt on top of it.
Perhaps because of that, the boy’s drawing depicted Rowena wearing only the chemise, but there was something else that was important.
‘The nightgown dress!’
It was that this style of dress would become a huge hit a few years later!
‘It’s hard to make a new design now. It’s also hard to make new clothes.’
But what if it’s a method of taking away what was already there?
This could also be another unconventional move.
Furthermore, since it was certain that it would become a trend, if it just worked well, success was as good as guaranteed!
However, there was one problem with this method.
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