Until then, Lark, who had been listening to the conversation, tilted his head slightly.
"Well, wouldn't it be more effective to actually verify it?"
As Navia blinked in confusion, Lark snapped his fingers with a mischievous smile.
Snap!
Suddenly, a burst of light enveloped Navia, and a white form began to grow.
"……!"
When the light disappeared, the eight-year-old Navia was gone.
In her place stood an adult Navia.
Erkin stood up in shock, and Ricardo also gasped, holding his breath.
Navia, puzzled by her suddenly heightened perspective, was handed a mirror by Lark.
"It'll last for 24 hours if it doesn't fade. You can revert to your original form anytime."
Navia covered her mouth in shock at her reflection.
'This is... me at twenty-two?'
Her dress had also changed to fit her adult body.
The magician Erkin and Ricardo were astounded by the unbelievable magic.
"Could it be polymorph magic?"
Polymorph magic! A legendary ability used by great wizards, now thought to be nonexistent, only found in stories.
Lark looked as if he couldn't understand the fuss.
"I am exceptional, after all."
"Ah……."
Erkin conceded in agreement.
"Ah, I can also change the color of your eyes to blue. Then you'll definitely look like Camilla."
Navia looked back at Lark, impressed by his amazing ability.
"My father is the best……."
With this appearance, she could personally manage various business matters while revealing her identity as Lark and Camilla's daughter.
'Of course, I'll need to disguise my appearance with something like a veil.'
"Your father has always been the best."
Lark strutted with a smug expression, as if asking for more praise.
"You really are the spitting image of your aunt."
Erkin couldn't take his eyes off Navia, repeatedly expressing his amazement.
Lark frowned deeply.
"Your eyes are deceiving you. She clearly takes after me too much."
"Yes, of course, Navia resembles you as well, Duke."
That wasn't entirely a flattery.
In fact, even Lark himself was somewhat surprised to see traces of his own face in his adult daughter.
Honestly, the eight-year-old Navia was just a replica of Camilla.
But he always insisted that she resembled him, secretly feeling a bit upset that she didn't seem to inherit any of his features.
'No, I was not mistaken. She definitely looks just like me.'
Especially when she was expressionless, the coldness in her face resembled his own.
Lark was in a very good mood.
Navia, looking into her blue eyes changed by Lark, quickly calculated how she could use this appearance to her advantage.
"There's nothing people love more than a tragic love story."
With this, she could smoothly establish a relationship between the two families while gaining popularity.
Navia explained her planned love story between the two families to everyone, and they all agreed.
"Then, let's start with the railway inauguration. Right, Mr. Ricardo?"
"……Yes."
Ricardo still looked unsettled by Navia's appearance.
It was no wonder, considering how much she resembled his master!
'Of course, they are related...'
His discomfort was akin to seeing a female version of Erkin.
Navia brought a pen and paper that were prepared in the drawing room and started writing something before handing it to him.
"Every place listed here is either bankrupt or on the verge of bankruptcy. They're all artisans we can acquire for our workshop."
Ricardo asked hesitantly.
"…Do you have some sort of informant?"
Navia smiled mischievously.
"I might have something similar."
Ricardo scratched his neck uncomfortably.
He found it very awkward to continually hear such formal speech from nobility.
"Please, speak more casually, Lady."
In fact, Navia knew that Ricardo was uncomfortable with the formal attitude of nobility, so she deliberately used formal speech.
'He's the type of person who finds it hard to warm up to someone who appears too authoritative.'
"Is it really alright?"
"Yes, please, just speak more freely."
Ricardo, with a look of utter distaste, made a request.
Navia laughed softly and replied in agreement.
"Anyway, starting with travel bags is just the beginning. I plan to operate a boutique that anyone with money can buy from."
Ricardo was skeptical.
"Do you really think they would want to use items akin to those of the bourgeoisie?"
Of course, at first, they would be displeased.
A noble with old-fashioned views might even declare they would never use such items.
But the world was changing, and the smart ones who had noticed this change were starting to emerge.
"It's an era where money is more important than lineage. Why else would Agnes be considered more prestigious than Lucia, which has even produced an empress?"
It was all because of money.
That's why the Empress annihilated the Eiles family and seized the magic train for the Lucia family.
"If you can't adapt to the changing times, you're only left behind."
It was a harsh reality.
Nevertheless, what Navia was trying to do was quite radical. It was akin to gambling, risky and unbecoming of nobility.
That's why Ricardo was very curious.
"So, who will be carrying the luggage on December 1st?"
* * *
November 30th.
The day before the long-distance railway inauguration.
Daisy Bonard, the cousin of Emperor Ulrich, was fuming endlessly.
In front of her was an overwhelming mountain of nearly eighty trunks.
Because the luggage was packed by servants and not professional packers, the count that should have been sixty had inflated to this extent.
"Are there no packers in the capital?"
The butler said with a look of death.
"All the packers in the capital are tied up with contracts until tomorrow..."
Lady Bonard already knew this, having heard it repeatedly over the past week.
However, knowing it didn't make her any less angry.
"To have fewer trunks than the Empress, how is that reasonable? I am a cousin of His Majesty the Emperor!"
The empire was a strict class society, with each class having its own permitted privileges.
Nobles could not have more estates than the royal family, nor more servants.
There were many things that nobles couldn't surpass the royals in, and this time it was 'having fewer trunks than the Empress'.
The Empress had planned to load fifty trunks on the train tomorrow. Thus, even if Lady Bonard managed to reduce her luggage to sixty trunks, she still had to cut down ten more.
"How can I reduce it further!"
It was already the result of meticulous reduction.
"The Empress employed all the packers on purpose to screw me over!"
Lady Bonard, though less beautiful than Diana, had a unique sense of styling her home and dressing herself.
With her noble lineage as the Emperor's cousin and her exceptional taste, she wielded as much influence in society as the Empress.
This was virtually a power struggle between the Emperor's maternal family and the Lucia Ducal family.
Lady Bonard wished she could just collapse, but she couldn't.
This was no ordinary trip.
The people boarding the train tomorrow were nobles from influential families. The first-day tickets couldn't be obtained with just money.
Among these selected few, she had to stand out even more. The train would be a social ground for seventy privileged individuals.
Just then, a servant rushed in, his expression indicating good news.
Sure enough.
"Madam! I've brought a packer!"
Lady Bonard thought the heavens were on her side.
But there was a slight problem.
The packer the servant had found was a novice named Ricardo.
"Ricardo? Why trust a newcomer with this task!"
But in her desperate situation, even a novice packer's help was welcomed. She had to reduce the number of trunks somehow.
Reluctantly, Lady Bonard called for Ricardo.
"Nice to meet you, ma'am. Please call me Ricardo."
'Oh my. He's quite handsome?'
Ricardo was tall like Erkin, well-built, and had a fierce but refined appearance.
'With looks like that, he could pass for a footman.'
Lady Bonard spoke sharply.
"Well, let's see what you can do."
"I'll do my best."
With her permission, Ricardo began packing the luggage accordingly.
Lady Bonard was distracted by the entirely new trunks he had laid out.
"What are these trunks?"
"I've designed these new trunks. They're lightweight and ideal for storing fine fabrics."
"Moreover... you don't need to tie them up with ropes, just stack them up, making loading easier."
"That's right."
"Did you make all of these?"
"Yes. These are bags that we plan to commercialize in our workshop. As my first customer, I would like to present one to you as a gift."
Mrs. Bonard felt an increased fondness for Ricardo, who seemed polite yet somewhat brisk and cool.
"My, how grateful I am."
Furthermore, his skills were genuine.
She was able to prepare exactly 49 pieces of luggage, just one less than the Empress.
And that's not all. It was easier to know which items were in which bag, and she could even pack items that she had forgotten to take in the trunks.
Mrs. Bonard repeatedly expressed her admiration and then asked subtly.
"What was the name of your workshop?"
Ricardo answered.
"It's 'Familie Workshop'."
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