Chapter 15
Chapter 15. What is Marketing (3)
The prime location in the frigid city of Nortaris that gets the most sunlight.
Despite expensive land prices, various company buildings were clustered together, and among them was one company.
Polar Suns Corporation.
Originally a small company focusing on brewery operations and liquor distribution, it successfully commercialized lemonade and expanded its business to non-alcoholic beverages.
This also became a huge hit, and they even succeeded in listing on the stock exchange.
And Edwin Blyton, the company's representative, was an ambitious man not satisfied with that level of success.
Originally from commoner origins, Blyton sought out nobles to sponsor him after going public.
It wasn't uncommon for nobles to sponsor specific companies or become political backers.
The era when everything was decided by the height of titles had ended decades ago.
In Britannia, a poor count had to grovel before a wealthy baron.
In that sense, Blyton was also an attractive option for nobles.
Blyton's business had always walked the precarious line between legal and illegal since long ago.
In exchange for bearing risk, he could generate high returns on investment, and could also serve as a fixer handling difficult matters behind the scenes.
Meticulous power plays, lobbying, backroom dealings.
Amid the complex web of interests and political strife, Blyton came to receive secret sponsorship from Clarisse, the eldest daughter of the Rosemore Count Family.
It was natural that Polar Suns Corporation, having drawn the ace card, came to monopolize the city's beverage market.
"Boss, how is it?"
"Wow, this is something else."
Blyton exclaimed in admiration after drinking the Cola that his lawyer had obtained.
Despite being in his sixties, his eyes overflowing with vigor rather than senility scanned the empty glass.
"What do you think? Compared to Polar Suns' lemonade."
"Frankly speaking, it's the Cola. Our company's product taste isn't that great, is it?"
"Right?"
Even at his lawyer's sharp response, Blyton wasn't offended.
Instead, he grinned until his healthy teeth showed.
"I've decided. We need to get Cola."
"I thought you'd say that."
An ordinary businessman might consider this a crisis.
But Blyton hadn't led his company relying on mere luck.
Had there really been no new products challenging lemonade until now?
Had everyone left their heads completely empty, allowing lemonade to monopolize the non-alcoholic beverage industry?
There were many.
So very many.
New products made by that candy store in the corner of the square, some eccentric Alchemist, or small-scale trading companies.
Products that, judging by taste alone, overwhelmed Polar Suns lemonade.
"Anyway, they're such naive fools. Believing that good products will lead the market."
Blyton was a businessman.
'Excellent businessmen don't compete fairly' was his philosophy.
When he saw competitors, he trampled them from the sprout stage.
Whether by applying external pressure to acquire them for pennies, or disrupting their work through lawsuits and accusations.
This way, there was no need for products to be particularly outstanding, nor to run around busily for product development.
Just steal the product rights and never produce them again.
As long as Blyton existed, Nortaris would love lemonade forever.
"Did you do some background investigation?"
"Yes, well. It was made by some general store owner named Jurgen. However, there's one concern."
He snorted.
"What concern could there be dealing with a petty merchant?"
"Looking at it, Penelope Rosemore seems to be connected to this petty merchant. It might be a business she directly invested in."
"That could be."
"Wouldn't Miss Clarisse be displeased if we stirred things up unnecessarily?"
Blyton bit a thick cigar diagonally and burst into hearty laughter.
"Clarisse wouldn't care about such trivial matters."
"How can you be so sure? She's still a member of the Rosemore family."
Someone at the level of Polar Suns' legal counsel would be well-versed in social circle news and upper-class dynamics.
Even though Penelope was the official outcast of social circles, an unofficial illegitimate child of the family, stealing her business was a completely different story.
"What are you so worried about?"
"Either way, it's the picture of a dog you've been raising biting the family."
If Clarisse condoned this, it would be tantamount to a social death sentence for Penelope.
The family not providing even minimal protection meant giving her a certification mark saying 'this kid can be bullied.'
Even fairly vicious nobles didn't go this far with blood relatives.
"Kekeke."
"What?"
"You know the social circle rumors about Penelope, right?"
"She was expelled from Royal University for poor grades and everything she touched afterward failed. All the marriages the family arranged fell through... You mean those kinds of rumors?"
"How do you think those rumors spread?"
"Well... huh?"
Come to think of it, that was right.
Though Britannia advocated meritocracy, that didn't mean all noble children were competent.
They just covered things up appropriately.
If the family hushed things up, and you deliberately looked for them, there would be plenty of nobles more incompetent and brutal than Penelope.
The lawyer rolled his eyes around and then opened them wide.
"Don't tell me..."
"That's right, Clarisse directly instructed me. She even added a request. Make it so Penelope can't establish herself in Nortaris."
"...It's because of inheritance."
"Right, the smaller her position within the family, the less of the pie she'd need to be given."
To think all the stigma attached to Penelope was caused by her own older sister Clarisse.
And the reason was merely inheritance.
The lawyer sighed.
"...I'm grateful I wasn't born into a noble family."
"Please handle it as usual."
"Understood."
"Well, it should provide adequate entertainment."
Blyton enjoyed the afterglow while burning the remaining cigar.
The lawyer who received instructions immediately got to work.
It wasn't particularly difficult.
No matter how great a new product you made, there were plenty of ways to 'legally' steal it.
Filing prior trademark applications to make it unusable, claiming product similarity to enter patent invalidity lawsuit battles, exploiting loopholes in patent registration, and so on.
"Let's see..."
The lawyer was a professional in this kind of fight.
Though trademark and patent rights were all registered with the patent office, there was no way the legal defensive power of a young lady ignorant of worldly affairs and a mere commoner could withstand organized legal offensive.
"This much should be enough in an hour."
Originally, law belonged to those who possessed it.
There would be plenty of loopholes.
"What is this?"
The lawyer's complexion gradually hardened as he confidently reviewed the thick bundle of documents.
"This can't be..."
Perfect.
This wasn't simple trademark and patent registration.
It was a model case of patent and trademark defense through thorough legal review and strategic design.
It didn't just protect the product's manufacturing method with patents.
The unique bottle design was also registered as an industrial design patent, making even unauthorized copying impossible.
The trademark rights also had no gaps.
The name 'Cola' itself was filed for protection with specific combinations.
In other words, even if Polar Suns tried to circumvent this, they couldn't even use similar names.
From early morning until dusk, he tried to widen the legal net somehow to find gaps, but it was futile.
Rather, there were parts he should learn from this case.
The lawyer sighed deeply and went back to Blyton.
"Boss, taking this to a legal battle has no chance of winning."
Blyton spoke with the most absurd expression he'd ever seen.
"...Are you an idiot?"
The lawyer felt wronged.
***
On the day of Bellaby's long-awaited visit.
Unprecedented crowds reportedly gathered on the road connecting from the northern Airship Dock to the city center.
Perhaps because of this, not even an ant could be seen on Brellum Shopping Street.
Even Penelope, who had been so busy lately, wasn't coming to the shop.
Making Cola early in the morning and watching the shop alone, sighs kept leaking out.
Recently, Jurgen had been immersed in intense regret.
Regret about what?
"I should have kept in contact more..."
Regret about neglecting relationship building with Bellaby in the past.
He could give reasons.
During his days as Minister of Internal Affairs Hanbin, work was mountainous enough that private contact or meetings were impossible.
Also, wasn't Bellaby already quite famous?
He worried that exchanging private contact might cause trouble for her future path.
Perhaps because of this, Bellaby, contacted after a long time, was as prickly as a cactus.
Though she agreed to the request, how she'd fulfill it depended entirely on her motivation.
Maybe she'd casually drink a Cola, then say 'It's delicious' with a reluctant expression and be done with it.
Since it was that Bellaby and no one else, even that would cause considerable ripples, but...
Looking back, he wondered if he'd wastefully consumed a really good opportunity.
"Can't be helped. I have to trust Miss Bellaby."
Right, what else could he do but trust?
Somehow, it reminded him of when he first arrived in this world.
Back then too, things didn't go smoothly like now, but there was satisfaction in achieving things one by one.
Someday, he would completely transform Britannia's cuisine, starting with Cola.
―Ding-a-ling ding-a-ling
Feeling signs of people outside the window, two men entered.
A middle-aged man with a stern impression wearing a thick coat, and a relatively young-looking youth.
Jurgen, who had met many types of people, sized them up at a glance.
The middle-aged man who wore confidence and arrogance along with his coat was a businessman who had succeeded from the bottom up.
The young man beside him would be an attendant.
"Are you Jurgen?"
"That's right."
"...I'm Blyton, representative of Polar Suns. I came to talk about business."
"Please sit and wait a moment. I'll serve coffee first."
It's about Cola.
Polar Suns lemonade had virtually monopolized the existing beverage market.
If their president came all the way to such a shabby shop, there could be no other reason.
Taking a sip of espresso and frowning, Blyton pushed the cup aside and immediately got to the point.
"I want to buy Cola's manufacturing method and exclusive sales rights."
When Blyton flicked his fingertips, the lawyer opened a small bag.
Inside were gold coins shining with dazzling brilliance.
"I'll buy it for 50 crowns."
"Here's the contract. Please look it over."
Though there were some differences due to different culture and history, one gold coin, 1 crown, was about a typical craftsman's monthly wage.
To explain in more relatable terms, it could be converted to about 1 million won.
"I appreciate the offer, but I'll decline."
The 50 crowns Blyton proposed was, frankly speaking, an ambiguous amount.
Even if Cola continued selling steadily like now, it was an amount achievable within a few months.
Even if Jurgen's goal wasn't a culinary revolution, he would have refused the contract.
"Listen, young man. You don't need to worry about Penelope's feelings."
"Why are you suddenly bringing up Miss Penelope?"
"Oh come on, don't play dumb."
Blyton patted his shoulder in a friendly manner.
"The business itself is probably being led by Penelope anyway, right? You just need to take this money and quietly hand over the patents and trademark rights. I confirmed they're registered under your name."
"There seems to be some misunderstanding."
"How could there be a misunderstanding?"
Both Blyton and the accompanying lawyer thought so.
A mere commoner couldn't have prepared that level of legal defense.
They concluded that Penelope had noticed her sister's interference and was proceeding with the Cola business after setting up Jurgen as a figurehead president.
In other words, if they gently cooked and boiled the nominal owner Jurgen, they could devour the entire Cola business at a bargain price.
"If you're afraid of the Rosemore name, you don't need to worry. The Rosemore family will pretend not to see it too."
Jurgen, having been proposed betrayal, realized there was some misunderstanding.
Moreover, Blyton wasn't a very virtuous businessman.
An indescribable stench emanated from those people.
"You gain practical benefits, we get Cola. Where could there be a better contract than this?"
In the distant future, when Cola was sufficiently established.
He might entrust the business to someone else then.
He couldn't cling to Cola forever, and someday he'd have to return to the Minister of Internal Affairs position.
But no matter how much money they brought, he wouldn't hand over Cola to people like these.
"Sorry, but I'll decline again."
"You're thoroughly bewitched."
Blyton clicked his tongue in reproach.
"Haven't you heard the rumors? Penelope is like a viper in late autumn. She's mercilessly backstabbed everyone who trusted and followed her so far. She's a venomous woman with no ability but overflowing greed. What makes you trust her enough to let her use your name?"
"Choose carefully."
Jurgen reached for the bag emitting brilliant golden light.
"Now you're talking sense. Good thinking."
And with a smile, he closed the bag and pushed it toward Blyton.
"Sorry. I have a policy of not doing business with people who can't judge character."
Blyton, who had been preparing to laugh heartily, saw his complexion rot.
"Let me give you one piece of advice. It's better not to put on petty pride in front of people you can't handle. It's bad for your health."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"...Fine, our conversation ends here."
"I won't see you out. Take care."
Blyton silently put on the coat his lawyer handed him and left the shop.
"Well, this is..."
If Penelope found out, she'd jump in frustration, but he had learned not long after meeting her.
The fact that she was the second daughter of the Rosemore Count Family.
That's why he had Bellaby stay at The Richfield Hotel, which was owned by Penelope.
It was his way of showing gratitude to a business partner who had worked hard together.
But he was learning about the complicated circumstances for the first time.
He had only thought of her as an immature young lady who liked to show off money.
"Is this why she didn't tell me about her family..."
While Jurgen was worrying about Penelope, who hadn't been seen for several days.
"I am Penelope Rosemore. It's an honor to meet you."
"I am Bellaby Blancville. I'm the one grateful for your hospitality."
Penelope was meeting with Bellaby.