Chapter 154 A Proposal To Cordelia
"I apologize. I've been talking about myself too much. Now, I'll call for Miss Cordelia."
Fran went out the door and came back a few minutes later with a woman.
The woman looked to be in her 40s, but her posture was excellent, and despite her simple attire, she was impeccably dressed. It was clear she was a noble lady, and likely Cordelia.
Sara and Rebecca stood up, showing their respect to Cordelia with a curtsy.
"I'm Rebecca Orson. Despite the sudden request, I'm grateful for your time today."
"I'm Sophia. It's an honor to meet Miss Cordelia, who has sent many talented individuals out into the world."
When the two of them looked up, Cordelia returned their curtsy with an even more elegant and refined gesture, her posture lower than theirs. Even Rebecca, who had received direct guidance from a queen, thought it was beautiful.
"I'm Cordelia. I'm not a noble, so please, don't bow to me."
"No, Miss Cordelia is a person worthy of respect. Please, take it as a sign of our admiration."
Rebecca smiled and rejected Cordelia's words.
"I understand. But please, refrain from doing that in front of others. If it gets out that the esteemed Lady Orson bowed her head to me, I'll lose my place in society!"
"Hehe. You knew that, didn't you?"
Once again, Cordelia offered them seats and elegantly brewed herbal tea.
"I've heard that you want to employ my students..."
While serving the herbal tea, Cordelia asked about their business, and Sara decided to plainly state their purpose.
"To be honest, I've started a new merchant guild. Since we haven't registered with the Commerce Guild yet, we haven't received any personnel referrals from the guild, so we're looking for someone who can help us with various miscellaneous tasks."
"If it's a new merchant guild, shouldn't you be hiring experienced people?"
Cordelia raised a question. Indeed, that would be the case for a normal merchant guild. However, since the purpose of this merchant guild also involved secretly storing embezzled goods, Sara was afraid that information might leak to other merchant guilds or shops.
"The establishment of our merchant guild also involves the intentions of the Grandchester family, so it's difficult to employ people who have connections with other merchant guilds or shops."
"I see."
"We haven't opened an actual store yet, so we're looking for someone who wants to start something new with us."
'It feels like I'm writing a help-wanted ad...'
"Could I introduce you to someone who can do simple reading and writing and calculations? However, my students are mostly local children, so they've only learned the bare minimum of manners. Would that be okay?"
"That area is something I plan to teach at the merchant guild as well. We can't entrust actual work to someone who hasn't received occupational training."
Cordelia was surprised at this.
"Are you going to provide education at the merchant guild?"
"I think it's more reliable to educate them at the merchant guild if we're looking for talented individuals."
Then, Rebecca, who was standing beside her, flashed a mischievous smile.
"I've known about Ms. Sophia's plan, and I've been wanting to start doing something I've been wanting to do since a long time ago."
"Is it something you've been wanting to do, Lady Orson?"
"It's about establishing a school that opens its doors to girls. I used to think it was frustrating that girls couldn't attend the Academy when I was a child. I want to create a place where they can receive higher education, not just simple reading, writing, and arithmetic. Even if it's just a small-scale institution like a private school for now, it'll be a start..."
This way, Sara and Rebecca explained to Cordelia their plans for the new educational institution, which would teach new accounting methods, Grandchester-style document writing, training for office staff like maids, and etiquette lessons.
"I see. So you're saying you want to create an institution that can support not just the merchant guild, but also the bureaucrats in the territory in the future?"
"Yes, that's what I'm thinking."
Cordelia thought for a bit, then looked straight at Sara.
"How do you plan to handle tuition fees?"
"It can't be free, after all. Those who belong to the merchant guild will have the guild pay for them, but others will have to pay tuition."
"Then it's impossible for kids from poor families..."
Cordelia let out a sigh. Her expression looked so sad that Sara started brainstorming, recalling memories from her past life, and presented a few ideas.
"How about making elementary education free, where we teach basic reading and writing? And if they perform well, we could exempt them from tuition fees for higher education?"
"That sounds like a great system, doesn't it?"
"We could also provide free lunches. If they can eat their fill with just one meal, their parents would be more willing to send them to school."
Sara's proposal inspired Rebecca to chime in.
"If we're going to provide meals, why not set up a facility to train cooks as well? Even if they mess up and burn the bread, it's still a free meal, so they won't get scolded."
"If it's the Grandchester castle's cooking apprentices, we can consider it. Of course, we need to have formal castle cooks come to supervise and teach."
Cordelia, who had been watching the two, let out a small, amused laugh.
"You two get along really well, don't you?"
At Cordelia's comment, Fran, who was watching from a distance, said,
"Just like Lady Lia and my mother."
"Hehe. Yes, we've been together with Nia for a long time, after all."
'Ah, Fran calls Miss Cordelia 'Lady Lia', doesn't he?'
"Lady Lia, Lady Sophia's merchant guild is going to handle various products developed by Miss Sara, who's supposed to become Sir Robert's adopted daughter. Embarrassingly, I and Teresa are also helping with product development."
"That's right, Mr. Fran is a collaborator! As for Elma Brandy, I'm not exaggerating if I say he's the manufacturer. Of course, Ms. Tonia, his mother, is also."
Sara knows that Fran quietly helped with distilling Elma liquor. Alicia the Alchemist Girl is probably working on it today. And above all, Sara is grateful to Tonia for providing the delicious Elma liquor.
"Are you making Elma liquor into a product?"
"Exactly, we're processing Elma liquor into a drink."
"That's definitely going to be delicious!"
'Ah, Miss Cordelia is an absolute drinker.'
"And so, I have a request for Miss Cordelia..."
"Do you want me to take a teaching post?"
When Sara spoke up, Cordelia immediately understood her intention.
"That's correct. Since we're short on staff, we don't have anyone suitable to be a teacher. Would you please take charge of elementary education?"
"There's one condition..."
"If it's something I can do..."
"Also, please let the students here enroll. I want to continue teaching them."
"That's fine, but we still haven't decided on the facility's location. Can you commute from afar?"
"I'll bring them in a horse-drawn carriage."
"Might there be students of Miss Cordelia's who require higher education?"
"There is student who want to take the Academy's exam. However, I don't have the means to send them to a prep school. I think that child has the potential to become an excellent bureaucrat in the future."
'Oh, they might become Mr. James' junior!'
"If they're that talented, please bring them along by all means. The new accounting method I teach has been adopted by Grandchester this year. If they aim to become a bureaucrat in Grandchester, I can confidently say that learning it won't be a waste."
"Well, isn't that just amazing!"
It seems Sara has come up with a proposal that has convinced Cordelia. Sara let out a sigh of relief, stroking her chest.
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