Isekai: Princess Marquess Becomes Entrepreneur of Tempe

Chapter 31. Invitation

A few days before.

"Art, is this really enough?"

Elona asked the man in front of her. Right now they were both in the courtyard of the Locke mansion, at a very early time, when not even the sun had risen. The two of them, assisted by the servants, had finished making 20 liters of soy milk. That much milk is put in two wooden drums with a tap at the bottom of each.

Art and Elona and a handful of waiters have stayed up late to make these milks. They were in the courtyard of Locke's mansion right now to transport the two drums onto the oxcart.

"Yes, this is enough." replied Art while helping the wagon driver carry a drum.

"But, where are you going to do a market test for nobles?" ask Elona. The girl looked puzzled, as Art was intending to help her, but she did not give the slightest details.

"Let's tell you everything's done. What is clear, the test results will be very reliable." explained the man with a smile.

"OK..." Elona tried to understand. "Didn't I need a contract or something?"

"No, that's later. If the cafe is interested in selling your products, it will definitely be made a contract letter." said Art. Then he prepared to go up to the back of the ox cart.

"Cafe?" Elona asked not understanding.

"Err, yes. The cafe. I know the owner, hehe." said Art.

"For now, let's just say we leave a free sample product, like a market test on the citizens the other day" he continued. Elona also nodded. And after that Art left while directing the way to the driver.

*****

A few days after leaving Elona to do a market test, Art aka Arthur is now in the workspace at his residence, holding the financial statements of his family's One Sesapan cafe. It is stated there that the sale of soy milk made by Elona is not as good as expected.

"Why is this so?" arthur did not understand.

"Well, I told you, didn't I?!" His mother, Nania Eckart, stepped out of her chair and approached her son, and handed him another piece of paper.

"That's what Hansen noted, about the customer's message and impression, every time someone ordered your soy milk" her mother said.

Art grabbed the paper and slowly read it. It says there, if the nobles praise the soy milk drink and say it is delicious, but they are reluctant to drink it again once they hear the milk is made of soy. Plus at a cheap price, even cheaper than cow's milk.

"What's wrong with soybeans?" Art asked with a huff.

Hearing that, Nania sighed and said, "Because soy is common folk food. The nobles won't want to be equated like most people out there."

"Well..." Arthur was at a loss for words. He thought about how it would be best to report this to Elona without making her moody.

"Elona must be sad to hear this." he murmured.

"Who? Elona's? What does this soy milk have to do with the girl?" mother asked. Arthur can't be confused anymore.

"Er... Elona made this soy milk, ma'am." replied Arthur. His mother's eyes were wide.

"What's? My son-in-law's candidate made it?!" Nania was half screaming. Hearing that, Arthur's face immediately flushed.

"Prospective menan.we haven't got there yet!" arthur replied embarrassedly.

"Elona Locke who invented this delicious drink?" ask Nania. Arthur nodded too.

"Yes, he said that if you sell raw soybeans, the profits cannot capitalize on the second harvest cycle. So he thought about making food products from soybeans, then selling them." explained Arthur at length.

Nania narrowed her eyes. "Oh, smart girl. So what else but soy milk?"

"Say there's a lot he can do, only the others need more capital. Only this soy milk is small in capital and easy to make."

Nania thought for a moment, "Then, we should make the image of soy milk in our cafe exclusive. So that the nobles will buy it at whatever price we offer."

"Hmm. I think I need to talk to your lover. Mom would write him a letter, invite him to tea in the afternoon with me." said Nania, then returned to her desk and took a piece of linen paper from the desk drawer.

Hearing that, Arthur immediately panicked, "What?! Do I have to invite him all?"

"certain. Even if he's your girlfriend, it's our cafe business. Business affairs. I want to talk to her directly." Nania said calmly as she wrote.

"Can't I just pass by and say it? Why did I have to be invited here, anyway?" Arthur is getting restless. And his mother was getting annoyed to hear it.

"What is this, anyway?! She's your boyfriend too, so what's wrong with me wanting to see her?!"

"When do you want to go there? You already expressed your love, right?"

"Um.. it's..." Arthur answered him. David who had been silent in the corner of the room immediately advanced to the front of the table of the great madam.

"Not only hasn't declared her love, Madam, but Miss Elona doesn't even know the real identity of the Young Master" David said guiltlessly. Arthur looked at me with annoyance.

"David! Your mouth can't be closed, can it?!"

"Yes yes yes." said the secretary while whimpering away. Then, David retreated again to a corner of the room, as if his presence just now was just to annoy Arthur.

Hearing what her son's secretary said, Nania was immediately startled, "What?! What did David mean? Elona didn't know you were Arthur Eckart?"

"Eh, i-iya.he only knew that I was a young man in the village named Art." he replied.

"Then, can I introduce you guys, right? Surely he will fall in love with you immediately once he knows you are a member of the Eckart family, the prospective duke." said Nania smiling sumringah, which was immediately prevented by her son.

"No, Ma! Elona is like no other girl! Instead of falling in love, she'll hate me later!"

"Hating you?" Nania asked not understanding. Arthur explained everything. About her first encounter with Elona Locke at the lake, about how the girl did not recognize her, about her stubbornness, and about the psychological illness she suffered.

"If Elona finds out about my identity from someone else, I don't know what she'll do." Arthur closed the explanation.

"Hoo..haha!!" Nania laughed out loud after hearing her son's explanation. "It's a pity for my son to fall in love with a girl who doesn't know his identity!"

"Mommy's noisy!!" Arthur half-shouted with a embarrassed face.

"Yes, okay. I would invite her to tea together. But I'm not gonna talk about you, okay?"

"okay!"

*****

The day after at Locke's. Elona is quite surprised to hear an explanation from Arthur about the market test among his nobles that is not so successful. But the girl was even more surprised once she received a tea invitation letter from the man.

"It... Nania Eckart invited me to tea together? Duchess Nania Eckart??"

"Yes" replied Arthur briefly.

"This... I didn't read it wrong, did I? Art, why did you deliver this letter to me?"

"Ah, that's because I did a market test by putting your product as a new menu in the One Session cafe." the man explained. Elona was surprised to hear the name of the cafe.

"Cafe One Sip?! That famous cafe, which is number one in the entire country?!!"

"Err, yes."

"You did a market test there? Why not say!!" Elona looks riled up. "I just packed the milk with an ordinary ugly wooden drum! If you know it will be marketed there, I can beautify it even more!"

"Have it, it doesn't really matter" Arthur said casually. Elona smacked his chest as soon as she heard the man not take her words seriously.

"Don't relax that way! It's about first impressions! You've destroyed it, ah!"

Arthur dodged with a little pain, "Oh! Yes, yes, sorry!! But it doesn't matter, does it? The proof is that the owner of his own cafe is now inviting you to meet!"

"But how can you do a market test in such a famous cafe?" ask Elona again.

"Eh, that's.I've known the Eckart family for a long time, so I can do it." Arthur went back to the corner. Elona was getting confused.

"Near familiar?"

"Aahh. My father used to work at the Eckart residence as a horse keeper. Yeah, that!" Arthur lies back, apologizing to his father inwardly.

"O-oh..." Elona nodded her head. To be honest he was still confused by the explanation of the man before him.

Since when can a horse keeper get permission to add a new menu to a cafe owned by a noble family?

"That's it, don't think about it too hard!" Arthur prevents Elona from thinking about investigating him. "The important thing is, later in the afternoon come to the location in the letter. Get ready, okay?"

*****