Chapter 185 The Preparatory Meeting For The Hunt Festival, Or So-called Advertising Conference
After the turbulent dinner party had ended, leaving a gloomy atmosphere, Sara opened her mouth.
"About the Hunt Festival's whatnot, shall we discuss it internally?"
"I'm little tired, though..."
The moment Edward made a tired face and tried to decline with his words, Sara suddenly pulled out a single gold coin from somewhere and flicked it with her fingertip, hitting Edward right on the forehead.
"Ow!"
"What did you say, Uncle?"
Sara asked Edward with a big smile.
"Nothing, I didn't say anything."
Edward, who subtly sensed the underlying tone in Sara's words, obediently followed her to the living room. If the head of the family goes, the wife and children have no choice but to follow.
In the living room, the maids had prepared various types of herbal tea.
"This is the herbal tea from Sophia Merchant Guild, scheduled for sale. There are several types, but the one for Uncle has a blend of medicinal herbs that helps with fatigue recovery. For Aunt and Chloe, there's one that has a beauty-enhancing effect, and for Adam and Christopher, there's one that improves concentration."
"Huh, beauty-enhancing, you say!"
As expected, Elizabeth eagerly bit into it. It seems she's stopped pretending in front of her family.
"As for the effectiveness, please ask the maids from the castle. It was quite a struggle to get the samples."
Elizabeth turned to face the maids, who all nodded in unison.
'Ah, Aunt also has an Eagle Eye, huh?'
"Here, we have prepared various types of herbal teas and their effects, which are listed in this catalog. We'd like each of you to take a sample of one of our herbal teas home with you, and we believe that aunt and Chloe can help choose the perfect blend for each of you."
"I see."
"By the way, we also have products for men, but perhaps some ladies might be interested in them too. We'll prepare a few of them discreetly, just in case."
"For men?"
"Yes, we have blends that can help with fatigue recovery and alleviate hangover symptoms, regardless of gender. However, we also have blends specifically designed for men and women."
"Aphrodisiac, you mean?"
"No, our products only provide a boost to men's natural energy, without any effects that would alter their behavior."
"And what about the ones for women?"
"They help create a body that's more receptive to conception, but drinking them doesn't guarantee pregnancy. They can also help alleviate physical chill and reduce stress. Having an heir is a crucial issue for nobles, so some might be secretly worried about it."
Although the content might be a bit too mature for an 8-year-old, since Elizabeth has dropped her ladylike facade, Sara decided to prioritize the business aspect.
"Our catalog is available for sale at the Sophia Merchant Guild, but we'll prepare a simplified booklet for our tea party. Please remind our guests that aunt and mother are selling herbal teas from the Sophia Merchant Guild."
"Okay. And, can you prepare around 20 of the men's herbal teas as well?"
"I understand. By the way, which tea party will we be serving the herbal tea at, Aunt's or Mother's?"
Elizabeth and Rebecca exchanged a glance.
"My side is fine. It's only fitting that Lady Young Marquis, being the host, gets to decide."
Rebecca hesitated, but Elizabeth rejected her idea.
"Not everyone will be attending both tea parties, so let's just serve it at either one. Instead, we can give different herbal teas to those who attend both parties."
"That's a great idea, isn't it?"
"This time, the theme of my tea party is..."
After that, Rebecca and Elizabeth brainstormed ideas for their respective tea parties, making sure to prevent overlap and ensuring that each one would be enjoyable in its own way.
'I'll leave this to the two of them.'
A tray with Elma brandy and cider bottles was placed against the living room wall. Of course, Sara had prepared it earlier, and the cider was chilled in an ice bucket.
"Uncle Edward, this bottle contains the new Elma liquor made in Grandchester. We've named it 'Cider.' Grandfather plans to debut it at the hunting tournament. Would you like to try some?"
Sara couldn't open the bottle herself, so she handed it to Robert to open. Robert poured some cider into an empty glass and handed it to Edward. He also poured some for himself, and the Marquis looked at Robert with a hint of envy.
"Shall we have a toast, then?"
"Uh, yes..."
Edward's expression turned skeptical when he heard "Elma liquor", but he honestly tilted his glass and took a sip, coughing as if it were a habit.
"What's with this liquor!"
"This is the new Elma liquor. It's got a strong fizz, but that's what makes it taste even better, don't you think?"
"It's definitely delicious."
As Edward finished his drink, he poured himself another round.
"Ed, this is really expensive. If you drink too much, Father will get angry, I think."
"Yeah, I know."
Despite saying that, the two of them didn't change their pace of drinking.
"Father, Uncle, your words and actions don't match. Grandfather is glaring at you. And I think there's another taste test left, too."
But Marquis cut in at this point.
"Wait, Sara! If it's Elma brandy, share it with me too!"
"But isn't Uncle and Aunt supposed to be the ones leading the hunting tournament's hospitality?"
Sara handed the bottle of Elma brandy to Edward without hesitation.
"I'm sorry to make you pour it yourself, Uncle. This liquor is very strong, so please be careful and drink it slowly."
"Okay."
Edward poured the Elma brandy into his glass.
"Whoa. I can tell it's strong just from the smell. This is some liquor."
Then, he took a small sip and savored it slowly, just like he was used to tasting wine.
"This is... an unbelievable liquor. I can't find the words to describe it. But it's definitely delicious."
"Grandfather plans to offer this 'Elma brandy' as a gift to the royal family, it seems."
"It's incredible. This is truly amazing. But, is this really a new specialty product of Grandchester territory? It's impossible to create such a fine wine in just one morning and one evening."
"Without a doubt, this was made in Grandchester territory. The one my uncle is drinking now has been aged for about 20 years."
"What?! Does it really require such a long aging process?"
"That's why it's extremely valuable. Don't you think that there are many things you don't know about?
"Unexpectedly, there are many things you're not aware of."
Of course, he doesn't know. He wouldn't think that Sara is using fairy power to create it on the spot."
"This liquor is intended to be served to everyone at this hunting festival, but if we give out small bottles as souvenirs, we'll almost run out of stock. We can't reduce the amount allocated for the royal family's offering, either."
"I see."
Edward gazed at the amber-colored liquid with deep emotion.
"Edward, Sophia Merchant Guild is selling this liquor. That means we have to buy it at Sara's price."
"I see."
While Edward was lost in thought, Marquis casually poured Elma brandy into his own glass.
"To be honest, we're planning to put several bottles up for auction. However, I think it would be bad if only people who don't know the taste bid on it. We want to let the social circle know about this taste at this hunting festival. For now, it's a phantom drink, anyway."
"It's definitely delicious, but there will be people who can't drink it due to their constitution, I suppose."
"It's just the right amount. If we all gather and drink it all at once, it'll be gone in no time. I want to carefully spread the word about this 'legendary liquor known only to those in the know' among the nobility and the wealthy, so please stimulate their pride and tease them about it."
"That's interesting."
"There are many people who want it, but since it's hard to get, there will be plenty of people who try to suck up to you, uncle."
"Hah, that's great."
Sara and Edward exchanged a glance, their faces breaking into a sly, black smile.
"As the name 'Elma brandy' suggests, this liquor is also made from Elma. The Grandchester territory is known for its wheat production, but in reality, Elma cultivation has been thriving there for quite some time. I shouldn't have to explain this to you, should I, Uncle?"
"Of course, I know that Elma fruit is delivered to the royal family every year. But I thought Elma liquor was just something consumed locally."
"Elma liquor is a high-quality liquor, and it's not the kind of drink that just anyone would go out of their way to get from afar."
"Hmm."
"This liquor is the main product of the Sophia Merchant Guild. The cider we had earlier, for example, requires a lot of craftsmanship to bottle it. Since it's low-malt beer, if you put it in a cheap bottle, it'll break. I'm thinking of selling this liquor in the capital as well. It might be a bit difficult, but..."
"Is the cider also in short supply?"
"We've prepared 100 bottles for the upcoming hunting tournament."
"That's too few. We should at least prepare twice that amount. Ideally, we should have around 300 bottles."
'Hahahaha, no way...'
"We've prepared wine as usual, so I thought that would be enough..."
"Sara, the nobles are always after new things. II think this cider will be sought after by the royal family."
"For real...?"
"Yeah, for real."
"...I'll take care of it."
Sara's expectations were way too optimistic, it seemed. But making cider, or even Elma brandy, on the spot was quite a challenge.
'Ugh... The aging process is hopeless, but at least I want to automate the manual labor part... ......Mechanization? Ah! Golems!!'
Sara suddenly had an epiphany. If they used golems, they could move them like robots in a modernized factory.
And the moment Sara thought of robots, she also thought of something incredibly ridiculous (absolutely interesting).
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