"Disgusting," Rutili had no intention of hiding her disgust before moving away from Hilda. Yet, Hilda continued to move towards her.

“What are you doing?” Rutili inquired with a frown on her face.

"I'm putting on some clothes," Hilda responded innocuously. "Or do you prefer to remain naked on such a cold day?"

Hilda couldn't help but smile as she looked at Rutili, who had already turned the other way. She did, after all, do it to tease her. And she was pleased. She put on everything she needed to wear and exited the bedchamber.

Rutili was perched on the ledge of a window, gazing out at the city below. Everything from the previous night's workout had already been changed. They had changed the tub water and cleaned the mess on the floor. They even put new fruit on the table.

"What does the guardian of the Tonew family want with me?" Hilda asked as she bit into a fruit that tasted similar to an apple. " I believe I've already stated that I don't want to meet anyone from the Duke family. Or had the Duke found a new purpose for me?"

“This.” Rutili pulled a letter from her robe.

"What exactly is it? Does it come from the Duke?"

“Olanna.” With a deep frown on her face, Rutili stated. However, she couldn't understand why she would write a letter to Hilda.

“Olanna? Fifth sister?” Hilda was equally perplexed. She was supposed to be celebrating her tenth birthday this week.

However, because the number of imperial heirs was so large, they were not allowed to celebrate their birthdays unless it was their coming of age ceremony. Olanna was no exception, even though her mother was one of the emperor's favorites.

However, Olanna was the only half-sibling with whom she had a good relationship. Maybe she was too young to understand, but no matter what people said to her, Olanna never looked at her strangely.

The imperial palace constantly neglected Hilda. Whether it was her food, clothing, or medicine, not was at the level of other imperial heirs.

Even if Wolfy had managed it, it would be Olanna who would appear in front of her with what Hilda required from time to time. She was also the only one who would remember Hilda's birthday.

Hilda was, by nature, a person who cherishes the goodwill of others. So, after leaving the imperial harem and earning some money, she sent various gifts to Olanna on her tenth birthday, claiming one for each birthday she had missed.

The first line of the letter, as expected, stated how much she enjoyed the gifts. She smiled as she looked at the slightly crooked writing of blatant praise.

And she was so happy with the emerald-encrusted silver hair accessory that she mentioned it seven times in a two-page letter. 

She also inquired about Hilda's well-being, when she would return and if she could write her back. As she read the letter, Hilda couldn't help but think of her.

"Why do I have the letter of Olanna?" Hilda inquired as she carefully tucked the letter inside her dress.

"She is my sister's daughter." Rutili stared at Hilda, despite her dissatisfaction. "No matter how much you don't want to be involved in the throne war, it is your fate."

"I understand."

"If you know that much, you should keep your distance from her. Olanna is a sweet little girl. Even if you are this..." Rutili's gaze lingered for a moment on Hilda's crotch before adding, "Stay away from her. She won't be able to live a peaceful life otherwise."

"I know what I'm doing. You don't have to say anything."

That's what Hilda was going to say but didn't. After all, she knew Rutili was telling the truth. And when Hilda remembered Olanna's innocent expression, all she could say was, "I will."

Rutili was dazed as she watched Hilda leave the room. After all, she didn't expect this arrogant prince to accept her option. She couldn't help but wonder if she had misunderstood.

Hilda, on the other hand, exited the entertainment complex. Everyone she passed on her way out had given her a respectful bow. Hilda sped down the road until she arrived at the business district.

Although the address Hati had given her was right in the center of the business district, it was still on a back alley. Members of Hilda's pack appeared to lead her as she neared her destination.

It appeared to be a warehouse rather than a shop. A large number of barbarians were loading and unloading carriages. 

Hilda had no plans to start a business. She does, however, still own a few shops in the capital. And the silver mine gifted by the first imperial prince was not far from Principia.

As a result, this location serves as a supply station. The silver is mined and extracted near the mine, then brought back here and distributed to those in need. 

It was the first prince’s property, and he used to sell the silver to the emperor for silver coins production. Hilda, on the other hand, had other ideas.

"Greetings, my lady. My name is Bishoo. I am the company's business manager. How can I assist you?" The old man was the first one to come and greet Hilda. Under his guidance, they were led to the office.

"Is this the one?" Hilda examined the empty silver pendant. It would be more accurate to refer to the pendent as a small silver twist cage pendant.

Hilda opened the small silver cage that hung from the simple silver chain. A small hinge connected two parts of the pendant. It was simple to open.

“Here.” The old man pushed a small cloth bag in front of Hilda.

There were a few small stones in it. They weren't perfectly shaped, but they were similar to the byproducts formed during the mining of valuable stones.

"According to the chief's orders, we brought a large number of scarp stones shards from three different mines. We didn't pay much, but we have enough to produce nearly 7,000 items." Hati provided specifics.

"This is an excellent product," the old man said to Hilda, who was inspecting the silver necklace. "To think that the customer could change the stones in the cage pendent on their own... I've never seen anything like it."

Hilda looked at the old man, Bishoo, thinking, ‘Of course, you haven’t seen anything like this. After all, this is something popular on Earth.’

Hilda wasn't particularly interested in fashion. However, she did have something she liked. The twisted silver cage pendant was one such piece of jewelry.

"That is insufficient," Hilda stated. "At least 10,000 pieces of the product are required.  Otherwise, there will be too little profit."

Other than Hilda, only Hati and Bishoo were in the room. Bishoo was one of those who had agreed to sign a confidentiality agreement. 

Naturally, that was the reason for his high authority. Hilda had no qualms about explaining her plan in front of them.

Bishoo: Based on my previous experience, I can assure you that we will have no trouble selling this product. We currently have enough material for 1,100 products. It would be at least a few weeks before we could have them all. It could take a month.

Hilda, how many artisans do we now have?

Bishoo: I'd say around 21.

Hilda: Increase the amount.

Bishoo: But, my lady! The artisans would require intermediate-level skills to complete the project. It isn’t as simple as it looks.

Hilda: Are you saying that there are only 21 artisans in the entire city with intermediate skills?

Hati had replied, "Yes, chief. I went out of my way to track them down. They were the only people we were able to hire."

“Good.” Hilda took a breather before inspecting the cage pendant. "This silver wire isn't very refined. Is it necessary for the artisan to be of intermediate skill level to make it? What about this link chain? It appears to be a simple task.”

"The chains and silver wires are easy to prepare," he quickly explained, "but binding it and making a caged pendant that can be opened easily is a sophisticated work."

"All right, then hire 50 more artisans," Hilda spoke as if it were a simple solution. Bishoo, on the other hand, was too shocked to speak. With pleading eyes, he looked at Hati.

"Chief, we have signed every independent artisan with intermediate level jeweler skill," Hati sighed. " All of those who remain have already signed contracts with other parties or nobles."

“Who is talking about the intermediate ones? I'm referring to the one with basic skills."

"However, your Majesty, they will be unable to produce a complete product.  Even if they could, the product would be subpar. They would simply be a waste of resources." Even if Hati didn't express his displeasure out loud, he nodded in agreement.

"Does producing silver chain and silver wire necessitate intermediate skill?" They were taken aback by Hilda's unexpected question but shook their heads in response.

"Then hire 50 of them to make chain and silver wire. The person with the most skill could only produce the final products. They wouldn't have to do those minor tasks."

“Oh!” Hati realized it would increase the speed, but Bishoo was skeptical. "the artisans will not agree," he said

Seeing Hilda's deep frown, Bishoo quickly explained, "They won't agree. They will not agree to use material created by others."

Hilda could understand this way of thinking. In a world where jewelry is considered noble, the artist took pride in creating jewelry from the ground up.

They will, of course, disagree. But Hilda wanted to mass-produce it, and she had no intention of agreeing.

"How many do they produce in a single day?"

"Roughly 14-15."

“Tell them to produce 50 per day," Hilda smirked. " If they are unable to do so, reduce their wages."

"Your Majesty!" Bishoo couldn't believe Hilda was saying such a thing. After all, Hilda was the person who was willing to pay more money for their work in exchange for signing the contract, and now...

Hilda realized what Bishoo was thinking, so she said, "I am willing to pay their workers, not to feed their pride.  They would be paid as long as they completed the work."

"However, 50 necklaces per day is still excessive."