With the sample garment finalized, Auntie Martha was taken aside for a background check.
In less than a quarter of an hour, Mason's intelligence department sent back word.
Martha's family had been tailors native to Mason for three generations. Her background was clean, and she even held a reputation in the neighborhood for having 'precise needlework'.
Sophia sat on the soft chair, nodding slightly, her gaze falling upon Martha, who was still trembling somewhat with fear.
"Martha," Sophia's clear and cold voice rang out.
"Present!"
Martha shuddered violently, rubbing her hands together in a cramped manner.
"This Queen is very fond of your aesthetics."
Sophia's fingertips tapped lightly on the armrest.
"From now on, you do not need to take scattered work outside. Move into the Palace's Royal Wardrobe Bureau. In addition to being responsible for finalizing the Black Rose uniforms, you will also be responsible for This Queen's daily clothing."
Auntie Martha was stunned. Her eyes, somewhat cloudy from years of labor, instantly widened into circles. Immediately, her knees went soft, and she knelt down, almost weeping with joy.
"Thank... Thank you, Your Majesty, for your profound grace!
This old woman... even if this old woman has to crush her body and shatter her bones, I will sew Your Majesty's clothes to be more beautiful than the clouds in the sky!"
She had never imagined that her amateur skills would garner the Monarch's pity.
The moment she thought about how someone recognized her at such an old age—and that person was the Queen of Mason—she couldn't help but feel a sourness in her nose.
Victor stood to the side, watching yet another subject ascend to the heavens in a single step due to gaining His Majesty's favor, feeling extremely reassured in his heart.
This is Your Majesty co-opting the spirit of craftsmanship.
She taking Martha away is not just for the clothes, but to grasp the highest peak of Mason's Aesthetic Hegemony.
Your Majesty has already realized that aside from martial force and wealth, a 'sense of luxury' is also a ruling power. In the future, Mason's fashion trends will be completely grasped in Your Majesty's fingertips; this is simply the centralization of authority in the fashion world.
Victor thought to himself, If Her Majesty Sophia had been born a few decades earlier, would there have been more talented people who wouldn't have been humiliated and buried?
With Martha taking over the mess of clothing matters, Irene was finally able to pull her legs out of that pile of fabric. This made the Inventor Miss, who had been running between several places, so happy that she spun three circles on the spot.
"Phew—finally, I can rest a bit!"
Irene stretched a long stretch, then leaned close to Sophia with a face full of mystery.
"Your Majesty, since Auntie Martha has gone to get busy, shall we go take a look at that place? The things over there... have borne fruit! Just treat it as us taking a walk together!"
Sophia had wanted to return to the Bedchamber to lie paralyzed, but hearing the words 'borne fruit', that soul belonging to a foodie within her heart awakened instantly.
"Let's go take a look."
Accompanied by Willow and Delilah, the group passed through the Palace corridor covered in accumulated snow and arrived at a corner of the rear garden.
When Delilah pushed open that heavy, extremely well-sealed wooden door, a heatwave carrying the fragrance of moist soil rushed over their faces, forming an extremely intense shock against the minus-ten-degree cold wind outside the door.
"Mmm..."
Sophia couldn't help but hum lightly, feeling the warm air instantly wrap around her slightly cool fingertips.
What entered her vision was a patch of emerald green that violated common sense.
In this season where all living things withered, the plants in the 'greenhouses' were lush and green.
Those new types of wheat seedlings, cultivated using the geothermal circulation system invented by Irene, had already grown to knee height.
But what made Sophia's heart beat faster were those few chili plants; the chili peppers were growing faster than the wheat seedlings.
The slender branches were hung full of fruits half the length of a finger. Some were still emerald green like jade, while others had already turned into a soul-stirring fiery red.
They were like small gunpowder kegs, quietly accumulating spicy power under the cover of green leaves, only waiting for the last bit of sunlight to completely ignite the tongues of the Mason people.
Compared to the liveliness above ground, the three crops underground appeared exceptionally low-profile.
The broad leaves of the potatoes had already begun to turn slightly yellow; this was the signal that nutrients were sinking and the tubers were swelling.
The tube-like green leaves of the onions stood tall and straight like swords; the bases had already pushed out of the ground, revealing purple or white rounded curves.
And the slender yet tough long leaves of the garlic were emitting a spicy fragrance, declaring the maturity of this King of Seasoning.
"Your Majesty, look!"
Irene pointed at those crops, her azure eyes full of the light of pride.
"This is the temperature of civilization!
As long as the energy is not exhausted, even in the polar night, Mason can grow the most delicious food!"
Sophia took off the heavy black fox fur and handed it to Willow at her side.
She walked in front of that row of oily green crops and gently touched a thick leaf.
"Truly good..."
Sophia let out a long sigh from the depths of her heart.
These are not grass; they are This Queen's future fries, delicious food, money, and the true trump card for This Queen to establish a foothold in this world.
As long as the technology of the 'greenhouses' can be promoted, or even without promotion, just needing every piece of land in Mason to be planted with the new variety of wheat seedlings next spring, then Mason will completely bid farewell to the primitive era of relying on the heavens for food.
Willow stood behind Sophia, watching the side profile of her own Majesty softening amidst that greenery, and couldn't help but sigh in a low voice.
"Staying in this kind of place for too long, this servant is about to forget that it is still snowing heavily outside. Your Majesty, you are like the cornerstone of this greenhouse. As long as you are here, Mason will forever be spring."
Sophia was already accustomed to Willow's sentimentality. She turned her head, looking at Irene, revealing a rare seriousness in her eyes.
"This Queen wants to reward you. What reward do you want?"
"Reward?"
Speaking of this, Irene was no longer sleepy.
The hand that was originally rubbing the tip of her nose paused abruptly. Those large azure eyes seemed to have two burning little suns stuffed into them in an instant, shockingly bright.
Her genius brain spun rapidly; countless possibilities flickered crazily in her sea of consciousness.
Request a batch of more pure, expensive crystals that can be used for precision experiments?
Increase the funding for the West Tower more and more?
Or... let Your Majesty personally make a delicious dessert for her, to try the feeling of being served by Your Majesty in reverse!
What to do? I really want this one!
But in the end, Irene took a deep breath. Her originally jumpy expression surprisingly held a rare trace of solemnity named ambition.
She remembered when she had just inexplicably arrived in this world, guarding a dilapidated small house, pinching the first piece of crude soap in her hand, and the great vow she made in her heart—she not only wanted to change Mason, but she also wanted to let this era be carved with her name.
"Your Majesty, if you really want to reward Irene..."
She raised her head. Her pink twin-tails swayed gently in the slightly humid hot air, and her smile carried a brilliance that disregarded everything else:
"I want, when the spring is warm and flowers bloom, and the wheat waves roll, for Your Majesty to personally hold a ceremony for me.
At that ceremony, you must confer upon me the title of 'Mason's Chief Great Inventor' in front of all the subjects of Mason.
I want all the bards to sing that it was Your Majesty who discovered Irene, and it was also Irene who assisted Your Majesty in opening the dawn of civilization!"
Although this wish didn't sound as domineering as commanding thousands of soldiers and horses, and even carried a childish sense of showing off, in Irene's eyes, this was heavier than any real gold or silver.
She believed that as long as this Girl Tyrant was present, Mason's territory would sooner or later swallow the entire continent.
And at that time, her title would not just be Mason's Great Inventor, but the forerunner of the world's Truth.
Sophia faltered slightly.
She hadn't expected this little girl to still be thinking about showing off even now.
However, Sophia felt no aversion to this. Firstly, this was just a small matter; it was just a conferment ceremony. By the time spring warmed and flowers bloomed, business would have picked up, and they wouldn't lack the money to hold a ceremony.
Secondly, Irene was indeed a person of great ability and brains. Even if she didn't mention it, Sophia intended to give them a formal conferment later.
Sophia gently patted away a bit of soil remaining on her fingertips. Her eyes remained clear and cold, yet when looking at Irene, there was an extra touch of indulgence difficult for others to detect:
"Permitted.
On the day when spring warms and flowers bloom, This Queen will personally put the Rose Laurel Wreath symbolizing wisdom on you in the square of this Royal City.
Irene, as long as your marvelous ideas are unceasing, This Queen can make you not only a legend of Mason but also a myth looked up to by this continent for ten thousand generations."
By then, when Irene's inventions are sold to other countries, people of other countries will also know of Irene.
But Sophia's words fell into the ears of others with a different meaning.
Victor, hearing this dialogue from the side, was so excited that he even held his breath.
His inseparable quill pen rubbed against the notebook until sparks were almost about to fly.
Your Majesty is announcing to the world by conferring a title upon Miss Irene.
In Mason, bloodline is no longer the only ladder; wisdom and creativity are the tickets to the peak of power.
This move of the 'Great Inventor' directly disintegrates the monopoly on honor by the old-school nobles!
Your Majesty, every chess move you make walks upon the spine of the era. I, Victor, even if I exhaust my entire life, can only glimpse the tip of the iceberg of your wisdom!
And if the whole world knows, what does that indicate? It indicates that Your Majesty's national map will sooner or later open up all the maps! What ambition and strategy is this!
Willow pursued her lips in a light smile. Watching Irene's appearance of being so excited she was about to take off on the spot, she walked up and gently organized her slightly askew collar:
"Lord Irene, then in the future when this servant sees you, must I first address you as 'Your Excellency the Great Inventor'?"
"Hehe, Sister Willow, you can just call me Irene anytime!"
Irene said with a smile, turning her head to look at Sophia, her azure eyes full of reliance.
"Your Majesty, it's a deal!
We must turn this world into that kind of magical place together—where it can glow even at night, and where one can eat watermelon even in winter!"
Sophia pulled the clothes draped over her shoulders closer, looking at those red chili peppers and oily green wheat seedlings in the greenhouse, and the corners of her mouth hooked up extremely lightly.
"There will be such a day."
She spoke softly, as if it were a promise to Irene, and also like a tribute to some memory from her past life.
In the back, Delilah's head was full of question marks. What is a watermelon?
Irene's new invention?
Also, conferment... Your Majesty seems to have never formally conferred upon me the title of General either.
Otherwise, should I also perform some great merit later, and when Your Majesty wants to reward me, I'll bring it up then?
But wouldn't that be suspected of imitating Irene? Delilah doesn't want to be like that.
She was somewhat conflicted.
Walking out of the greenhouse, the biting cold wind rushed over their faces again, but the hearts of everyone at this moment seemed to be carrying a ball of fire.
"Since the reward has been set, then gather your focus."
Sophia put the black fox fur handed over by Willow back on, her eyes instantly recovering their sharpness and coldness.
"Tomorrow, the Black Rose flagship store will formally begin trial operations. Irene, don't let your title gather dust on the first day of opening."
"As you command! Your Majesty!"
*
The next morning, the streets of the Royal City, where the accumulated snow had just begun to melt, welcomed a long-lost clamor.
Since gunpowder was currently classified as the Empire's highest-level strategic controlled material, Irene wasn't extravagant enough to use it to make celebratory fireworks, but this didn't hinder this genius inventor's marvelous ideas.
"Ready?
Prepare... Start!"
With Irene's command, several strong soldiers swung heavy wooden mallets, smashing fiercely onto piles of specially roasted, extremely dry thick bamboo tubes.
Crack! Crack-crack!
Boom!
A series of crisp and extremely penetrating bursting sounds exploded abruptly. The air locked inside the bamboo tubes by high heat burst out instantly. The sound reverberated back and forth in the narrow Black Rose district, startling the white doves on the distant clock tower into flight.
The onlookers shrank their necks collectively in fright; some even thought a neighboring country had launched a surprise attack.
Only Sophia stood on the steps in front of the shop, feeling this familiar yet strange vibration. Although her eyes remained clear and cold like a glacier that wouldn't melt in ten thousand years, the peripheral vision of her gaze unconsciously swept toward that pink figure who was so excited her face was completely red, jumping and hopping about.
This kind of physical firecracker that tricks little children... only Irene could think of it.
However... it does indeed sound a bit like a grand opening.
Seeing this girl busy all night for this bit of noise, if This Queen doesn't give her face at this time, it would be too discouraging to her enthusiasm.
In the eyes of bystanders, Sophia's expressionless gaze was automatically interpreted as the steady-as-a-mountain majesty of a King.
But only Irene captured the doting on His Majesty's face, so she blinked happily at Sophia.
The entrance of the flagship store had long been blocked by water-tight crowds.
The fanatical subjects held the few copper coins they had saved with great difficulty recently in their bosoms, staring at that bright show window they had never seen before, their eyes filled with yearning for a civilized life.
Interspersed sparsely in the crowd were a few figures wrapped in heavy cloaks, covering their faces.
These were the old-school nobles who had survived in the Royal City. After witnessing with their own eyes Sophia's iron-blooded purging of those rebels, they were now as well-behaved as docile house cats. They even had to queue personally to buy a bottle of shampoo, deeply afraid of being labeled as overstepping the rules.
Irene stood on the temporarily erected steps at this time.
She wore the black-grey uniform jacket urgently sewn by Auntie Martha. Her pink twin-tails flew in the cold wind, and in her hand, she held an Irene-brand specially made tin megaphone:
"Fellow brothers and sisters of Mason! And those Lords and Ladies hiding in the crowd who dare not show their faces!"
As soon as Irene opened her mouth, that unique aura honed by staying in the laboratory for a long time instantly suppressed the whole venue.
"Today, the Mason · Black Rose flagship store officially opens!
Here, we do not sell those moldy old grains, nor do we sell those inferior lye waters that rot people's skin.
What we sell here is—Civilization!"
Irene turned around, extending her hand with flying spirits to guide everyone's gaze to Sophia behind her:
"As everyone can see, the Big Boss of this shop is our greatest Queen Sophia!
And I, Irene, as His Majesty's Chief Partner, am responsible for turning those magical concepts into reality!
Here, even if you can only afford a small box of tooth powder, you are practicing His Majesty's decree of civilization!"
When the sentence "His Majesty is also the Boss" fell into the crowd, the entire venue fell into a deathly silence, followed by an eruption of discussion like a tsunami.
The surrounding human voices were thunderous. Victor and Valery, the two old fellows, stood to the side chuckling; this was a scene they had never seen in Mason before.
A stroke of genius! A wonderful Public-Private Partnership!
His Majesty, through the name of a partner, has completely bound Royal Power and commerce together.
This is not just a shop; this is telling everyone that supporting Black Rose is supporting the Royal Power.
Consuming these products is pledging loyalty to His Majesty!
This method of using brand value for political mobilization is simply ground-breaking!
Your Majesty, you aren't doing business; you are reshaping the loyalty concept of the Mason people!
Those nobles mixed in the crowd were sweating cold sweat even more.
"Buy! We must buy! We have to buy by the crate!
How is this shampoo? This is clearly His Majesty's loyalty test!"
"Heavens, look at that wall surface; it's actually smoother than my family's bowls. Is this the Cement His Majesty spoke of?"
"A shop opened by His Majesty personally?
Then this soap must surely wash away not just dust, but the poverty on our bodies!"
"I saved copper coins for a month. Today I simply must buy a box of tooth powder to also taste what it's like to be a decent person."
"Did you hear that?
Lord Irene said clean people are Mason's backbone. I'll go back and wash that tattered cotton jacket three times!"
"Look quickly at those Lords who are usually arrogant; aren't they also queuing obediently behind us now? Your Majesty is truly mighty!"
"That Black Rose signboard is truly magnificent. I feel that just by looking at it once, I have enough strength to go out and work."
"This is the life His Majesty brings to us. Not only must our bellies be full, but we must also live like human beings."
"Even if just to save enough money to buy shampoo next time, I have to work hard on the tasks for the start of spring. I absolutely will not lose face for His Majesty!"
Sophia looked at Irene's little appearance of giving directions and guidance at the front of the stage, and she couldn't help but want to laugh in her heart.
"Delilah," Sophia spoke softly.
"This subject is here." The General, who had been gathering momentum in the shadows, flashed into existence immediately.
"Watch the main gate. Later, when it opens, if anyone dares to trample on order just to snatch a bottle of shampoo..."
Sophia paused, her tone recovering that clear and cold domineering air.
"...Let them know that the beginning of civilization is often accompanied by iron laws."
"Yes."
Delilah's face was also stained with joy; she looked to be in a rare good mood.
This was His Majesty's first shop; it was His Majesty's career.
If anyone wanted to cause trouble, then Delilah would definitely strangle all signs of it before that person could cause trouble.
Her gaze flowed onto the pink figure jumping and hopping in front of the shop door, then shifted slightly downward to place her gaze on Irene's fair back of the neck.
Delilah shook her head.
No, this one can't be strangled.
____
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