Since Claudia had memorized the geography of the world, he naturally had heard about Cardina before. That country was a popular tourist destination, but its agricultural wasn’t that advanced. It had lots of greenery with beautiful mountains and rivers landscape. Unfortunately, visitors would have to face a lot of inconveniences when visiting the country.
Claudia never went there before, but from the information he had received from other people, he had never heard of Cardina producing anything that would make the students in this academy satisfied.
Probably, Violette sensed Claudia’s puzzlement. She nodded once and started explaining from the beginning.
“Cardina’s local products are certainly not famous. It can’t even hold a candle to Markt in the general evaluation. They also don’t export much of their products, so I believe it will be impossible to prepare the tea for the whole school. Even so… the student council is only managing the salon, right?”
“Yeah. The dining hall and item purchase are under the jurisdiction of the academy, not the student council.”
Perhaps because most of the students at this academy are nobles, this academy values autonomy and entrust various decision-making rights to its students and their representative, the student council.
That’s why the student council handles the fixtures of the salon. But naturally, the academy’s staff would manage the dining hall and the item purchasing since the scale was too different.
But how did it relate to Violette’s remarks?
“Actually, it’s currently the best season to pick tea leaves in Cardina. The harvested local products from Cardina will be sold over the course of one year. But naturally, they have to process the leaves again to make sure they can preserve it for a long time. That’s why the taste dramatically drops.”
This was something common. To make sure the preserved products wouldn’t deteriorate, the producer couldn’t just keep it in the storage. That’s why they had to give something up to make up for it.
And the quickest way to extend the storage time was sacrificing the taste.
Still, the product was salable, probably since it was the mainstream tea among the commoners. But the students in this academy were particular about their food and drink. Of course each people had their own preferences, but they most likely rated a cup of tea not from its value, but the quality of the product.
“Then why do you recommend Cardina?”
Not only that Claudia didn’t find Markt’s price to be a problem, but he also couldn’t find a reason why Violette wanted to change the brand if the taste didn’t exceed the current one.
“It’s true that the taste will drop once they are processed, but there are exceptions. Currently, they will sell fresh tea leaves, and the taste is on its best. But the sales period is pretty short.”
“…Violette, did you ever drink it?”
“Several times in the part… This is my personal impression, but I remember that it tasted than Markt.”
“I see…”
Knowing what’s good was also mandatory to stand on the top. Everyone could have their personal tastes, but having the eyes to judge the good and bad of things was essential.
No matter how cheap and good the products were, what they had to learn was whether the value was proportional to the price. That’s why first and foremost, they had to try a lot of good products.
Whatever Violette’s preferences was, her tongue deserved a credit. Her position was even more excellent than a noble lady. Not even Claudia was confident that he had better taste than her.
Maybe I should try it once…
As Claudia pondered in silence, Violette’s expression gradually became clouded with anxiety.
Violette wondered whether she went out of line. Maybe she shouldn’t say anything. She was too focused on her tasks and rushed headlong to make a clear solution, but in the first place, Violette wasn’t an assertive person.
It’s because she was used to being scolded, no matter if she had an opinion or not.
“Um… As I thought, let’s just stay with Markt. Cardina’s local tea is only available in this season and the sales period is also limited. I’m sorry, please forget it.”
For Violette, Claudia not saying anything like this was like a calm before storm. Thinking that she had wasted the prince’s time, she reached out to take the paper on the table to get back to the work immediately.
But before Violette’s fingers could touch it, the paper was already in Claudia’s hand.
“…Thank you for your valuable opinion.”
“Eh… but,”
“I can’t burden you with the procedure to change the brand. Leave the rest to me.”
Changing the name of the product already exceeded the typographical editing frame.
For a moment, there was clearly a surprise on Violette’s face, but she immediately hid it. Claudia noticed that, making him feeling somewhat awkward. He averted his eyes.
Claudia didn’t know yet how he should act to Violette. His impression towards her had improved a lot, but there was still a barrier between them. He couldn’t forgive her just yet.
But every time Claudia saw a glimpse of Violette’s side that he didn’t know, his heart would make a noise. Even himself didn’t know what was the meaning of his pounding heart.
“E-err… Thank you very much.”
“It’s me who should say thank you.”
“Then that makes us even, right?”
Was it only his imagination that Violette sounded a bit cheerful? Did he misheard how she sounded like she had relaxed her tension?
From the corner of his eyes, Claudia could see Violette covering her mouth with her hand…
When he saw that she was smiling, was it just his wish?
“Um, Vio──”
“Eh… Claudia, you’re here?”
“…!!”
“Oh, are you alright…!?”
“Eh? Miss Violette? Why are you here?”
Surprised at how the door suddenly opened, Claudia immediately stood up. His knees hit the table at the abrupt movement, but he suppressed himself from yelping out of pain. The furniture in this room was very sturdy, making it very tough. Naturally, the softness of the prince’s skin couldn’t protect his bones and they screamed in pain. Filled with pain and dissatisfaction, Claudia glared at his close friend who just entered the room.