Chapter 234: This is an Adult Shop, Not a Motel (4)[R-18]
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 234: This is an Adult Shop, Not a Motel (4)[R-18]
“Here! This salon! You are the owner of ‘Le Jardin des Roses’!! Do you understand now!?”
Helen shouted, her excitement boiling over, but...
“...?”
I still found it hard to process.
I’m the owner of this salon?
Where was this coming from all of a sudden?
“...What’s with that look? Why are you reacting like that? Don’t just stand there looking dazed; shouldn’t you at least pretend to be happy?”
Helen crossed her arms and stared at me, her voice laced with dissatisfaction.
“It’s just so sudden. To be honest... I’m not even sure if I should be happy.”
“...What did you say!? Of course you should be happy! Anyone else would be shedding tears of gratitude right now!!”
“No, I mean, I appreciate the thought, but... why so suddenly?”
“Hmph, you need to start caring about your social status! Or were you really planning on living as a gigolo for the rest of your life!?”
Helen snapped, her brow furrowing.
Well... that wouldn’t be so bad, actually...
In truth, Helen wouldn’t have minded if Ian spent his whole life doing nothing but receiving an allowance from her...
Still... it would be better if he were a father Harini could be proud of, wouldn’t it? Don’t you think so, Harini?
Gently stroking her lower abdomen, Helen nodded to herself.
Indeed, for Harini’s sake, it seemed best to give Ian a respectable title.
After all, when Harini grew up and asked, “Mom! What does Daddy do?” she couldn’t exactly answer, “Well... your father is a gigolo who leeches off your mother.”
“I wasn’t planning on that, but even if you tell me to run a salon all of a sudden, I wouldn’t know the first thing about it...”
“Hmph! Do you think I didn’t consider that? There’s no need to worry. Professional managers will handle the actual operations!”
“...Then what am I supposed to do?”
“What do you think? As the owner, you just need to show your face here once in a while and cater to the whims of our VVIP clients.”
Snap.
Helen flicked her fingers and pointed toward the massive wardrobe behind her.
Click—
The wardrobe doors swung open on their own, revealing high-end suits and formal wear custom-made for Ian.
“Change into those. Just laugh and play along with the women who have too much money and time on their hands. See? Easy, right? It’s what you’re best at.”
“...Honestly, I’m not that confident... Can I really do it?”
“Ha! I don’t know anyone better suited for that kind of hospitality than you, so don’t worry. More importantly... did you do something strange in the Disciplinary Committee behind my back? You know... like a ‘case investigation’?”
“...What? I’m not sure what you mean.”
Seeing Ian’s bewildered reaction, Helen clicked her tongue inwardly.
As I thought, the records for his activities as a ‘Special Inspector’... it doesn’t seem like he did them himself.
While handling the paperwork to make Ian the owner of the salon, Helen had discovered a suspicious document.
It was a record of activities as a ‘Special Inspector’ submitted under the name of the Disciplinary Committee.
So the Second Princess has been pulling strings behind the scenes. ...Tsk, was that woman doing this kind of thing in secret?
Achievements that were significant enough to be impossible to ignore, yet not so flashy as to draw unwanted attention, had been meticulously packaged and submitted under Ian’s name.
At this rate, if Ian continued to accumulate such results until graduation, he would easily qualify for a noble title.
Well, I’m doing something similar right now, so I’ll let that slide... but what is this about him carrying out secret missions for the First Princess starting from a certain point?
Information regarding the First Princess, Valentine, was classified at a level far beyond that of the Second Princess. Even Helen couldn’t dig any deeper.
It wouldn’t be impossible if I pushed it... but it’s likely just a mission for padding his resume anyway. No need to go looking for trouble.
It would be a lie to say she wasn’t bothered at all...
But no matter how out of his mind Ian might be, surely he wouldn’t lay a hand on the First Princess—a ‘married woman’ and the ‘Next Emperor’!
Logically, it was highly probable that the Second Princess had asked the First Princess for a favor to secure the mission.
Hmm... still, he’s quite something. Just how much did he charm them to get this far...
Slide—
Helen placed a finger against her cheek, her eyes sparkling sharply.
Before she knew it, Ian was becoming a figure with considerable influence not only in the Church but also within the Imperial Family.
And he seems to be adapting to noble life without any issues.
Usually, when a commoner suddenly enters high society, the biggest hurdles are etiquette and refinement. After all, those are things built up over a lifetime.
However, in Ian’s case, that wasn’t an issue.
Thanks to spending his childhood in the Marigold family, he possessed more than enough grace.
Then... with looks, connections, wealth, and even a title... once he has the actual track record, he’ll be the perfect son-in-law... wait?
Something was strange.
At first, he was just a man with nothing going for him except his face and his skills in bed...
But now that she looked closely, he had powerful connections and influence spanning both the Church and the Imperial Family.
He had a brilliant track record as a ‘Special Inspector’ for the Holy Academy’s Disciplinary Committee.
And now, he even had the prestigious background of being the owner of an ultra-luxurious salon.
Before she knew it, Ian had become a groom that anyone would covet!
“...I-I didn’t want things to go this well...? Should I just change the name on the deed now? ...No, if I do that, what if the Imperial Family snatches him up? ...In the worst-case scenario, would there be a civil war in the Empire? Ugh...!!”
While all sorts of political power struggles played out in Helen’s head...
Ian, the man at the center of it all, asked with pure curiosity, completely unaware of her turmoil.
“By the way, Helen, how did you finish the salon so quickly? Hardly any time has passed.”
“Ha! You... that’s not what’s important right now, but...! Since you asked, it’s only natural for me to answer!”
Hearing the question, Helen puffed out her chest and spoke proudly.
“Under the command of Helen Redrose, every bit of manpower and resources was poured into the construction 24 hours a day! Without a single minute of rest! With that kind of effort, this much time was more than enough to finish!”
“...Working 24 hours a day without a single minute of rest? ...Isn’t that a bit much?”
“Hmph! You... what do you take me for? While it’s true the work never stopped, we ran six shifts of four hours each to manage it.”
Helen shrugged and continued.
“We did get some complaints from the neighbors about the 24-hour construction... but we settled those cleanly by providing ample compensation and vouchers for the luxury hotels operated by our Red Rose Commerce. It caused the budget to exceed expectations a bit... but that couldn’t be helped.”
Still, it was a small price to pay.
She was certain that if the construction period had been dragged out, those bastards she called brothers would have surely bought up the surrounding land under borrowed names and started sabotaging the project with all sorts of petty excuses.
If that had happened, the construction would have been delayed indefinitely...
In the worst case, the hard-won construction permit could have been revoked.
It was a truly petty and dirty tactic, but she couldn't blame them.
After all, if the roles were reversed, Helen would have done the exact same thing.
That was how much the successful construction of this salon meant—it was an achievement significant enough to solidify her position as the Red Rose Heiress.
Beep—! Beep—!
It happened then.
One of the [BIG SISTER] screens flashed a red exclamation mark, showing a woman with blue drill-shaped hair.
[Ohohoho~! It is I, Salome~!! I’m only doing two autographs per person~!]
“Sigh... honestly! Why is she always so quick to catch wind of these things...”
Helen let out a deep sigh and pressed her temples.
It was a headache.
If it were any other nuisance, she could just kick them out, but...
The opponent was Salome Bluetulip of the Blue Tulip Family, one of the Three Primary Colors Families.
Of course, unlike Helen, she was a woman with absolutely no interest in or qualification for the position of family successor.
However, true to the Blue Tulip reputation for living off political maneuvering...
She possessed a formidable influence in social circles that no one could ignore.
I knew she’d show up eventually... but of all times, she has to have no tact and come now. Tsk.
Even if she wanted to kick her out, Salome’s brazen and selfish personality meant she would surely persist and throw a tantrum...
And though she hated to admit it, was it because they had bickered since childhood?
If she were being extremely, extremely generous, Salome was one of the few people Helen might actually call a ‘friend.’
“...Sigh, you. Just wait here for a moment. I’ll be right back.”
Helen spoke to me with a face full of exhaustion and irritation.
“Huh? Where are you going?”
“I have to go chase out a cat that wandered in without an invitation. So stay here quietly. Don’t cause any trouble.”
As Helen sighed and left the room, I began to watch the screens on [BIG SISTER] as if I were eating popcorn.
[Customer? If you’re already paying, why not add a little more to reach Diamond tier? The benefits are on a completely different level compared to Platinum members...]
[How about a subscription for a Salon Plus membership for only 1,490,000 Eris? If you pay for a year now, we’re running an event where the first month is free...]
As expected, I couldn’t understand a word of it.
Just as I was worrying whether I could really manage such a complicated place...
[....]
In the corner of a screen, a beauty with long, flowing sky-blue hair walking alone through the salon corridor caught my eye.
For some reason... she’s catching my attention... Can’t I see her in more detail?
Whir—!
When I touched the screen, it zoomed in, and various ornaments and accessories appeared next to it, much like the emoticons in the Gallery.
“...Oh. What’s this?”
Without much thought, the moment I pressed the fox tail icon on the side...
“...!”
Belatedly realizing the identity of the woman on the screen, my eyes widened.
...Why? Did she show up to steal something?
There was no mistake.
The person on the screen right now was...
Ninetail III, Chloe Robelia.