Chapter 16
Chapter 16. What is Marketing? (4)
For the past few days, Penelope had been moving busily.
The process of renovating the top floor of The Richfield Hotel into a luxurious suite to welcome Bellaby.
Penelope had taken charge of the entire process.
"I didn't know you would step forward this much, Miss."
"Manager Ritz doesn't need to be grateful. I just did what I had to do. How's the VIP's reaction?"
"Lady Bellaby seemed quite satisfied as well. You have good sense."
While unexpectedly taking on the work skillfully and receiving Manager Ritz's flattery.
Penelope had her own plan.
It wasn't particularly because she had attachment to the hotel that she was pursuing this work.
As mentioned before, this hotel was as good as Sister Clarisse's.
The more she accomplished great feats and raised The Richfield Hotel's reputation, the higher the probability that her sister would take over management rights.
Her sister didn't trust her.
Her sister was already helping their eldest brother, the heir, while managing the family business.
The troublesome younger sister who got expelled from the same university and failed at everything she touched afterward.
There was a clear difference between the two that anyone could see.
There were times when sticky inferiority complex and feelings of inadequacy, along with cold treatment, had festered inside her.
But contrary to what she had told Manager Ritz, Penelope didn't truly hate Clarisse.
She couldn't hate her.
Prioritizing the family's future over familial affection.
That too was probably the burden her sister carried.
Now that Father couldn't manage the family due to his long illness, her sister had simply made the best choice for the family.
Anyway.
The reason Penelope was running around busily at the hotel was ultimately because of Cola.
Bellaby's final request.
—Every evening after dinner, fill an ice bucket with ice and place 6 bottles of Cola in it.
From this single sentence, she glimpsed infinite possibilities.
Penelope held a 30% stake in Cola.
She had helped establish Cola's recipe, and it was compensation for the considerable investment she had given to Jurgen, who was struggling with lack of funds.
Though the amount might be small, it was an achievement she had accomplished on her own without the family's help.
If, as Jurgen boasted, the Cola business achieved impact equivalent to a culinary revolution.
And if Penelope also came to have a proper business.
Then wouldn't her sister acknowledge her too?
Wouldn't she recover her position in the family and be able to become close sisters again like before?
Such expectations lay beneath the surface.
For that, she first had to firmly grasp this opportunity.
To show how serious she was about this opportunity, Penelope even put down her pride.
Roll roll roll.
"Ugh, this is heavier than it looks."
Penelope personally delivered the Cola that Bellaby had requested, rolling the tray along.
Originally this would be work to assign to servants, but she planned to meet Bellaby directly and ask her to promote Cola.
"I'm coming in."
When she opened the suite door, Bellaby was standing with her back turned.
The moment she turned around, Penelope couldn't help but hold her breath for a moment.
The elegance possessed by Britannia's greatest actress seemed impossible to capture in black and white film.
Against the backdrop of the luxuriously renovated suite, blue-tinted hair and cool glass-colored eyes.
Even though there was nothing particularly inferior about her own social standing aside from fame, she found herself overwhelmed by the atmosphere.
"I am Penelope Rosemore. It's an honor to meet you."
"I am Bellaby Blancville. I should thank you for the hospitality."
The two exchanged greetings, holding their skirt hems and bowing their heads slightly.
"......"
"......"
Penelope wasn't good with words.
Should I say her naturally unsociable personality had become twisted once more after experiencing various mockery and criticism.
Since Bellaby also didn't seem to have much intention of actively building friendship, an awkward silence lingered.
"......"
What should I do in this situation?
Should I say I'll pay her to promote Cola?
No. That might unnecessarily scratch her pride.
An actress of her caliber would probably have various legal contracts involved in product advertisements, so rather than that, I should win her favor and approach her humanly...
"Excuse me, is that Cola?"
"Ah, yes. That's right."
"It's an interesting-looking bottle. Very elegant."
"Didn't you already know about Cola?"
"I'd only heard rumors. I was interested."
Fortunately, Bellaby's eyes showed interest when she discovered the Cola, and the conversation progressed.
As a bonus, she seemed to be showing interest in Cola.
Brightening up, Penelope awkwardly offered Cola like a new salesperson.
"Would you like to try some?"
"I'd like that. I was interested anyway."
The Cola, chilled enough to make one's head tingle, was poured into a crystal glass.
Bellaby elegantly tilted the glass like a bird moistening its lips with dew.
"Huh?"
And soon her eyes widened.
"My goodness......"
"Amazing, isn't it?"
Penelope, who had been timidly watching the reaction, also smiled slightly.
She felt a sense of kinship.
Cola tasted for the first time was innovation.
Even if it was uncertain whether Bellaby would grant her request, Cola's taste was guaranteed.
Wasn't it the bewitching drink that had made Penelope herself lose her senses and become enchanted?
"It's mysterious. The sweet taste that goes down as smoothly as velvet, and this fizzing carbonation is like..."
"Doesn't it feel like stars exploding?"
"Exactly! That seems like the perfect expression."
"Shall I pour you another glass?"
"Yes yes, please."
Bellaby, who had only shown businesslike demeanor, agreed with Penelope's words and finished the rest of her Cola.
At this rate...
There might be a chance!
Penelope cleared her throat softly and tried to continue with the product's PR.
"It wouldn't be inferior to any drink in Britannia. It's a beverage I made together with my business partner. So, what I wanted to say is..."
But she soon froze with a start.
Bellaby's atmosphere, which had been dreamy as if having a happy dream, changed completely.
She was looking steadily at Penelope.
The smile lingering at her lips scattered like cotton clouds, and a seasoned gaze penetrated through Penelope.
"Why are you looking at me like that..."
It was bewildering.
Was she giving advance warning to stop obvious schemes since it seemed like she was going to make an unreasonable request?
Or had she committed some great discourtesy?
"You said you made this product together with your business partner?"
"Yes? Yes."
"Is your business partner perhaps a gentleman?"
"I don't know if he's a gentleman, but he is a man... Is there some problem?"
Penelope answered foolishly without realizing it in the unsettling atmosphere.
Penelope had no experience with the delicate tightrope walking of business in the first place.
The pressure that she couldn't fail this time as well made her body especially stiff.
"Hehe."
Bellaby, who had been looking expressionlessly at the stiffly tense Penelope, let out a low laugh.
It was a detached smile that seemed both self-deprecating and bitter, and like she was letting go of lingering attachment.
"You want to ask me to promote Cola, don't you?"
"Yes? Yes. If it wouldn't be a burden to you, Lady Bellaby..."
"Fine. I'll do it."
"Yes?"
"I said I'll do it. Cola promotion."
A refreshingly clear answer when all Penelope had done was say 'Yes? Yes.'
"Would you tell your business partner that I'm grateful for making such an excellent beverage?"
"That's not difficult, but..."
The conversation afterward wrapped up well.
Bellaby had promised to promote Cola without receiving any compensation.
After exchanging appropriate greetings and coming out of the suite, Penelope found it difficult to follow the situation until the very end.
She couldn't understand the atmosphere that had suddenly changed completely, which could be called actress-like.
She also didn't know the reason why she had looked at her with what felt like hostility but then readily accepted the request.
"Was it really that delicious?"
Though bewildering, it was really good news anyway.
"Jurgen will be surprised if he finds out."
In the future, when Jurgen realizes Penelope's identity, won't he be grateful to learn that she had been so active?
Penelope's steps became lighter for no reason.
***
Large chandeliers and the mysterious air mixed with various perfume scents.
Servants serving alcohol while carrying silver trays and the brilliance of sparkling accessories.
The Richfield Hotel's ballroom, which had finished its renovation for the charity event, was filled with dreamlike splendor.
It was as if it perfectly embodied commoners' aspirations and longing for high society.
There's a reason why ballrooms are chosen when movies and novels want to show the luxurious lives of the upper class.
However, there was an ironic point.
In reality, very few nobles truly enjoyed social events.
Because the essence of this place was a battlefield.
A stage where one's family dignity, personal prestige, and possessed abilities were constantly questioned.
A dance on a blade's edge where the slightest mistake in manners or etiquette would immediately lead to gossip.
A place where secret agreements and schemes were exchanged while somehow having to prove 'I'm better than you'...
...but today the atmosphere was somewhat different.
"When will Lady Bellaby arrive?"
"To think we can see Britannia's jewel right before our eyes. I'll have no regrets in this life."
"I heard she rarely attends events like this..."
"That shows how special she regards Nortaris!"
Because people who would normally bicker saying 'My suit is more luxurious' or 'Your dress looks like grandmother knitted it herself' had agreed to an implicit ceasefire.
When you think about it, the power struggle within social gatherings was to prove that I was the most successful.
But who could beat Bellaby?
"Britannia's most brilliant jewel! Lady Bellaby Blancville is entering!"
After a long wait, Bellaby appeared with a servant's announcement.
"Wow, it's really Bellaby Blancville."
"My goodness, how can a person's head be that small?"
"But she has all her features—eyes, nose, mouth!"
A presence that naturally seemed to own this stage.
Bellaby, wearing a lavender-blue silk dress, captured everyone's attention as soon as she appeared.
"...Would you like to try talking to her?"
"Ahem, maybe the oysters I ate today were bad..."
"Didn't you say you'd ask Lady Bellaby to dance earlier?"
"Hey now, when did I ever say that?"
Despite waiting so eagerly, no one actually stepped forward to strike up a conversation.
To understand the reason, one must understand the psychology of social circles.
According to rumors, Bellaby was like a lofty flower.
Not only did she rarely show herself in public settings, but even when she occasionally appeared, she politely declined all communication.
If you carelessly tried to talk to her first and got rejected, you might spend some time hearing the friendly greeting 'Oh ho ho, hello! It's Mr. XX who got shot down trying to pester Bellaby.'
So everyone was blinking their eyes and watching each other's reactions.
***
For Bellaby, it was a scene with nothing particularly new.
Because such rumors themselves were Bellaby's intentional way of conducting herself.
Though she was now a famous actress, since she had been of commoner origin, the ground beneath Bellaby's feet was always unstable.
If Bellaby had been intoxicated by fame and wielded it around, even one small variable would have brought everything she had built crashing down.
She had dreams.
She didn't want to lose the career she had worked so hard to build.
She exercised several rounds of consideration and caution with each step.
Even the connection with one person she wanted to cherish preciously, she had kept at a distance and only occasionally glanced at.
Bellaby thought of Penelope.
Business partner—the pretty young lady who had made Cola together with probably Hanbin.
The fleeting imagination that if she had lowered her dreams just a little, perhaps she might have been in that position drew itself.
Such an innocent game of 'what if.'
It was Bellaby herself who had chosen to give up that possibility and pursue her dreams.
Bellaby headed toward the cocktail bar table in the corner of the ballroom, carrying everyone's gazes like a spider web.
"Lady Bellaby seems to want to drink something."
"That Bellaby?"
Bellaby's other nickname was 'The Bird That Doesn't Drink.'
For unknown reasons, she was also famous for not touching any food, alcohol, or beverages during gatherings.
Since such a person had headed to the cocktail bar, murmuring spread.
"What will she drink?"
"Wouldn't it be the finest wine?"
"Maybe Nortaris' specially iced strawberry liquor?"
When she had contacted him after several years with the ridiculous request to promote Cola.
When she had even earnestly asked him to proceed secretly so that Hanbin's identity wouldn't be discovered, she had been quite angry.
When she realized that Cola was connected to Penelope, she even felt a bit of jealousy.
To think he would make such a request to Bellaby of all people.
How could he be so clueless?
Wasn't it marvelous?
But what could she do?
A promise was a promise.
Though regret and lingering attachment remained, a severed connection was only a connection that went that far.
Since things had come to this, let's prepare a grand farewell gift that would leave that foolish man with regrets.
Let him regret to his heart's content later.
Bellaby ordered in a gentle voice toward the bartender as if acting.
"One Cola. With finely crushed ice and a slice of lime. Please."
He would soon witness it.
Why Bellaby Blancville was called the most brilliant jewel.