Chapter 51: I took away Yeju's first love.
Tatiana felt a sense of futility in raising Daniel's affection, even to the point of shedding tears.
Moreover, the people around her were looking at her with strange eyes.
She recalled Daniel's words.
‘Karina said she wants that land.’
How could Karina remember the past?
Perhaps her bracelet has gained some power.
At first, she thought it was just a coincidence.
What she wanted, the sea, and Nivaya—all of it.
But after hearing Daniel's story, it didn't seem like a coincidence anymore.
‘I’m glad I secured the land in advance.’
However, the risk of just watching was too great.
Tatiana remembered that Raymond had been out of touch lately.
Could he have gone over to Karina in the meantime?
Suddenly, a wave of unease washed over her.
If he went to Karina too...
Tatiana jumped up from her seat.
She had to meet him right away.
She left the cafe and immediately got into a carriage, heading for Raymond's house.
She wanted a complete affection that would fill this endless unease.
Arriving at Raymond's house, she knocked on the door without hesitation.
Raymond, who opened the door, looked surprised to see Tatiana suddenly appear.
She threw herself into Raymond's arms.
He awkwardly raised his hand to pat her back.
“How’s everything going?”
Tatiana's straightforwardness felt strangely unfamiliar.
‘Maybe it’s because I’ve been exhausted from working on the cosmetics development for the past few days.’
She felt unusually uncomfortable, something she had never experienced before.
To the point where she even thought Karina, whom she met briefly earlier that day, was more comfortable.
“Huh? How’s it going? I... I’m so scared. You, Daniel, everyone seems to be changing.”
Tatiana's words snapped Raymond back to his senses.
Who was he comparing himself to?
“Of course, everything is going well as you wish, Titi.”
Moreover, he had put a lot of effort into preparing for this hunting festival.
He hugged Tatiana, who he hadn’t held in a long time, tightly and whispered.
“I’ll help you achieve whatever you want.”
Because that was the reason for his existence.
Finally, the interior decoration was complete.
I entrusted the interior design to Nivaya and the designer.
She wanted to expand and develop her boutique, which had been completely destroyed by fire.
“I thought everything was completely burned away.”
Fortunately, the sign was intact.
There were slight burn marks, but after sanding them down and repainting, it looked brand new.
Ding, the door opened, and a refreshing chime echoed inside.
Rella, who had been waiting at the door, stepped forward with a tense expression. She had been learning busily under her mother, so I rarely saw her face.
“It’s been a while. Rella.”
Rella smiled slightly and silently guided me through the store.
The first floor looked just like Nivaya's boutique that I knew.
The front was made of large glass windows to let in plenty of light.
The crystal perfume bottles sparkled in the light.
“The interior is treated so that it can’t be seen from outside, but customers can see inside clearly.”
The walls were painted in a warm ivory color.
The dark walnut display cases matched well.
Black iron decorations were added in various places to highlight the difference in materials.
The chandelier was also made of black iron, with marble stones used like light bulbs, emphasizing a modern feel.
“The chandelier is really beautiful.”
“It’s... my design. The designer helped a lot, though...”
I was surprised by Rella's words.
She was a very talented child.
Encouraged by the praise, Rella began to explain various aspects of the design.
After touring the first floor, we passed through the second floor, which was still under construction, and went up to the third floor.
“Phew... I’d be angry if I had to climb up in heels.”
As I climbed to the top floor, I thought we should install an elevator immediately.
An elevator that goes directly from the personal testing area to the top floor.
“I need to tell them right away.”
Arriving at the final floor where the test was held, I panted heavily.
Nivaya handed me a lukewarm glass of water and greeted me.
“Phew... Is everything ready for the test?”
“Yes. Here are the four candidates we will hire as attendants.”
To maintain exclusivity, we decided not to hire too many people.
We would limit the number of customers to a maximum of ten per day.
Lily would reduce this number even further when she needed to help me.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Karina Pioneira, the investor of this boutique. I will be conducting a test to see if you are qualified to serve customers today.”
Lily, standing in the middle, swallowed hard, her face tense.
All four answered in appropriately sized voices.
The first test was passed without any issues.
After exchanging glances with the interviewers who were playing the role of customers, they each entered their respective rooms.
By the time the longest treatment course was over, it was already evening.
I sat on a sofa in the lobby and drank a soothing tea to relax.
The herbal tea with honey made me feel like I could fall asleep right away.
I and the interviewers exchanged opinions on what was good and what was lacking.
But overall, the evaluation was perfect.
I gave Nivaya the feedback and called Lily over.
She stood in front of me, still tense.
As soon as I finished speaking, Lily let out a long breath.
Her shoulders finally relaxed as the tension eased.
“Perfect. How did you manage to control your usual personality?”
“There were many people who used to bully you. But you always held back and waited for the right moment to achieve great success!”
Lily clenched her fists and said with sparkling eyes.
“That’s when I realized. Those who wait for the right opportunity can take proper revenge!”
She had misunderstood a lot. But I decided to pretend I didn’t notice.
Lily didn’t seem bad at all.
I smiled and scanned the documents of the people she had shown me.
All the interviewers I had called in gave them passing scores.
Considering the tight schedule, it was an impressive achievement.
“Everyone seems to have worked hard. There was nothing to criticize. I’ll hire all of them.”
“Yes. But you need to study more in areas where you were lacking.”
Seeing Lily’s happiness, my mood improved.
“And I have a request for you.”
I invited Lily to sit and called Nivaya and Rella over as well.
“I called all of you here because there’s something I want to say before the store opens.”
The service industry is emotional labor.
It will be even more difficult and challenging when dealing with nobles.
Moreover, there’s Tatiana.
“We need to provide the best service to our customers. But remember, there are limits to everything. If you encounter something you can’t bear, try to endure it for the moment.”
They realized that this business wouldn’t be easy.
“But if it lingers in your mind, tell me.”
I couldn’t tell them to endure everything.
In my past life and this one, I had endured all kinds of emotional turmoil alone.
If someone had just listened to me back then, it might not have been so hard.
“I can’t solve everything, but I’m not so weak that I can’t do anything.”
Moreover, I now had the power.
The power to change a world where I couldn’t do anything.
So I wanted to protect my people.
I didn’t want them to suffer silently like I did.
Nivaya, who had heard this from me before, was the first to respond.
Rella followed with a grateful expression.
“Miss, I will stay by your side for the rest of my life.”
Lily’s reaction was more intense than I expected.
But I was happy just knowing she would be by my side, so I couldn’t help but smile.
“Let’s work hard until the opening.”
As soon as I finished speaking, the dinner prepared in advance at the mansion began to appear on the table.
It was specially prepared for today.
We started eating, laughing and chatting.
The day of the final battle was approaching.