Chapter 39. The Principality Of Bertino, Part XX

Seeing Killian agonizing, Adam turned his attention to the maid standing next to him, as if trying to change the mood.

"How did it look to you? Compared to the Austern jewelry stores, it's not much different here, is it?"

Julietta had been listening to the two men, in a relaxed mood after she had apologized for what had happened in the carriage earlier. While imagining that she could do this while listening to them, she was surprised by the sudden question of the Count.

She wanted to answer his urgent eyes, but she couldn't have known what Austern's jewelry store looked like. Furthermore, as she had firmly vowed not to wag her tongue beyond her station, she had to keep her mouth shut even if she had something to say.

Julietta lowered her head to the Count and tried to say that she knew nothing. But a stuffy feeling that she didn't know blocked her mouth.

Even though she had never visited a jewelry store in Austern, she had seen the luxurious shops of world-class jewelry brands indirectly in various media and magazines in the past life. She wanted to talk about the questions she had had earlier, so she was burning to speak; her hopeful ambition to live a slim, long life as a passive, gentle lady was constantly falling apart.

Adam smiled, seeing that Julietta wanted to say something and moved her lips, but closed them as if she had made up her mind.

"Again, His Highness has told you not to hide anything and be honest, so don't worry and try to speak your opinion without hesitation."

Julietta stealthily looked at her employer after the Count winked, as if not to worry. The Count encouraged her, so she studied the mood of her employer, wondering if she could speak what she had thought.Killian had his thoughts occupied all day because of what Julietta had said in the carriage. He had simply accepted the disguise itself, but it struck him as odd to think that she might have had a man. She had clearly said she had lived in disguise to protect herself, but he could not help but wonder if she had been dressed up as she had because of something bad, or if she had really liked someone.

As his strangely low spirits did not improve, he was angry that he was preoccupied ahead of such an important business, as the past of the maid was not important.

Moreover, he had intentionally changed his route and visited a jewelry store in Beopash. He didn't like the way he was so unsettled by the mere words of the maid.

Killian decided to erase the happening with the maid from his head and focus on his business, wondering how to differentiate his shop from other jewelry shops. However, when Adam winked at the maid and flirted with her, he felt bad again, not realizing that he had decided to stop paying attention to useless things and focus on his original purpose.

Adam, who pretended not to see Killian's face, smiled even more affectionately at Julietta. "I wonder what it looked like in your eyes, as a woman."

Julietta stared at the side of the frowning Killian's face, then carefully spoke...

"... I grew up in a theater, before working as a maid in the Bertino mansion. So I had a lot of opportunities to see the actresses' jewelry and fancy dresses. Because they were the actresses of the best theater on the continent, the things that were presented to them were very expensive. Compared to those jewels, I don't think the jewelry I saw at the store I visited was lagging behind or missing anything. I can't compare it to an Austern jewelry store, because I've never been there before. There's just one thing that I thought was strange."

"Strange?"

"Well, I don't understand why jewelry stores, as well as all the shops, don't show off what they are selling, but keep them hidden."

"What does that mean?"

"I think we should put the goods on display in front of the window and give those passing by the urge to buy them since can see them. If we keep them hidden like that and show them only to the visitors, we'll have to sell them only to the people who come. I wondered how he made any business like that."

She added after bringing up what she had wanted to say, "I think we need to tempt people to buy non-essential luxury items with a more aggressive strategy that makes people want to buy them."

Julietta talked about her many ideas, thinking of many modern advertisements and marketing.

"It's amazing. I've never thought about things so deeply. The way we've been selling things has been by the people who need them to come to the store and buy what they want. But we have to encourage people who don't really need them?..."

Adam did not spare any admiration after he got some unexpected information from his throw-off question. Killian looked at Julietta in surprise, too.

"How did you come up with that?" he asked.

Julietta happily replied to her employer's first eye-to-eye question since arriving at the hotel, "I just felt sorry that such a pretty thing was hidden. The hidden beauty that no one knows is worthless."

Julietta recalled the reality that she had been ignored and condemned for her disguise. No matter how beautiful she was, it was of no use if her real beauty was hidden.

'When diamonds are just raw materials, they are just stones. Therefore, even the most beautiful things are hidden away, they are no different from trivial things.'

Julietta looked at Killian with a touch of emotion as she thought of that.

Even with such an ugly and repulsive look, her employer had never been mean or ignored her because of her appearance. He was the only one who didn't judge her by appearance, though he was picky, nasty and ill-tempered.

"Yes, you're right. Beauty that no one knows is worthless. No matter how good a thing I have, what good is it to people if they don't know?" Killian looked ingeniously at Julietta, forgetting about ignoring her. "How do you think we should show things off?"

"I would lighten up the dark interior of the store at once. I'd put glass on the front so that passersby can look inside. Is glass very expensive and difficult to secure? Is that why other stores can't use it? Looking at the glass thermos, it won't be difficult for us to have a secure glass window."

Julietta continued after Killian nodded that it was possible. "If it can be installed, I'd make a display case in a window close to the street and display the items. Let passersby think they must buy that stuff. It may be expensive, but I think we can accomplish as much as we invest. Jewelry is the best luxury. I would like to change the decor of the room in a luxurious and colorful manner, and let the staff treat the guests with very kind and courteous behavior. It's a high-end strategy that distinguishes us from other stores, so that the customers who buy things in the store can feel the most special in the world."

Killian admired Julietta's words. "To make them feel the most special in the world..."

"There's a saying I know; to sell dreams. By buying things from the store, they feel like they've become the most precious, beautiful, and attractive person in the world. I think they should not be arrogant like the shopkeeper we visited today. I'd like to open a store, where buying things from it can be someone's lifelong dream."

Before she knew it, Julietta was talking about a store she wanted to open one day.

Her appearance as she made an impassioned speech about her dream was glistening and lively to the point that her wild broom-like red hair and unsightly, heavy-looking body were not seen, as she raised her glasses that had dropped down to the tip of her nose.

The eyes of the two men, who listened to Julietta's story in a whirlwind, met. They exchanged glances and tacitly agreed that the opinion of a humble maid should not be ignored unconditionally. Adam smiled meaningfully at Killian and said, "This new maid of Your Highness seems very capable. Not only was she liked by Your Highness, but she also gave us such a good opinion."