How to Gather Donations
Dazzling rays of sunlight poured in through the windows, illuminating a fancy tea party. Several musicians—including Rosina—were playing peaceful music in the room adorned by the season’s flowers, as respectable ladies and their fine daughters conversed among themselves.
Today, I was the star. It was my first tea party as the archduke’s adopted daughter, and this was an important place for me to earn donations.
“Hello, everyone. It is oh-so nice to meet all of you,” I said, repeating the line I had memorized while putting on the fake smile that had been drilled into me.
The ladies and girls introduced themselves to me one after another, all wearing similar smiles, but... honestly, there was no chance that I’d remember any of their names.
In order to attract more guests, we had framed the tea party as an opportunity to personally meet the archduke’s adopted daughter. And not only were we serving the hippest tea party sweet of the season—pound cake—but also some Swiss rolls that Ella and Hugo had made. These were thin sponge cakes that were slathered with cream and in-season fruits before being rolled up, and had proven to be today’s main attraction. Elvira and Florencia smiled brightly as they watched the fine ladies widen their eyes at the treats they had never seen before.
“Rozemyne’s chefs made these,” they said.
They were speaking the truth, but the gathered ladies all interpreted that as Elvira and Florencia accrediting their own chefs’ work to me to establish my place as the archduke’s adopted daughter. It was normal for a mother to care about her daughter’s position in society, and I wasn’t crass enough to correct the ladies’ misunderstanding.
“I thank you all ever so much for coming,” I said, speaking in what was honestly a pretty robotic voice as Elvira and Florencia addressed the attendees to ask for donations.
“Rozemyne has been starting an entire new industry. We would greatly appreciate your support.”
“We are doing all we can to help her.”
The fine ladies looked at me with widened eyes, hands placed daintily over their mouths as they gasped in surprise, before smiling and warmly saying that they were impressed to see me working so hard as the archduke’s adopted daughter. Judging by the traces of amusement in their voices, I could guess that they assumed I wasn’t actually doing anything, and that my parents were just attaching my name onto someone else’s work.
“I could hardly refuse a request from Lady Florencia and Lady Elvira. I shall eagerly provide my support.”
“I, too, owe much to the both of you.”
Each woman who was approached readily made a donation, but not a single person asked me what kind of industry I was starting, nor did anyone ask how their money was going to be used. They were apparently just donating money because Elvira and Florencia had asked them to, and they owed the two women a lot. But even putting that aside, it would no doubt be hard for them to refuse since everyone here was a member of the same faction, and Florencia was the wife of the archduke.
Elvira and Florencia were casually going around and collecting money to show me how noble women earned donations, and I kept up my fake smile as I watched them. Before I knew it, our goal had been reached. That would be enough to complete the one orphanage, but if we were going to be spreading workshops throughout the entire duchy, a single round of donations wouldn’t be enough.
But my honest opinion was that I just didn’t have what it took to gather money at a noble tea party. I wasn’t built to do that kind of work at all.
Brigitte came to my bedside with a troubled look on her face. “Lady Rozemyne, Lord Ferdinand is here,” she reported.
I had been bedridden for two days since the tea party, so I was in no condition to accept visitors. In order to enter the northern building at all, one needed the permission of both the archduke and Rihyarda, the head attendant. The fact that Ferdinand was here must have meant that he already had their approval.
“Brigitte, where is Rihyarda?”
“Unfortunately, I could not find her.”
Under normal circumstances, it was the duty of attendants to deal with visitors, not guards, but Rihyarda was nowhere to be found. And since it was Ferdinand, the brother of the archduke, that we were talking about, Brigitte had come to report the situation to me.
“Now now, Brigitte. Why did you leave your post?” Rihyarda said, arriving out of nowhere.
“Rihyarda, I...” Brigitte fell silent, too surprised by the sudden appearance to say anything.
Rihyarda moved her hands from the tea cart she had been pushing and placed them on her hips, a clear sign of an upcoming lecture. I hurriedly called out to stop her.
“Brigitte came to report a visitor to me since you were absent, Rihyarda. She said that Ferdinand is here. Did you prepare that tea for his visit?”
“Why, yes I did. I asked Lord Sylvester to summon him.”
Rihyarda had apparently been so anxious about me being bedridden for two days that she had discussed the matter with Sylvester directly, who ended up directing Ferdinand to bring me a potion. I had asked her to wait another day, but she had apparently lost patience.
Two days of rest had already been enough to help me feel a lot better, so I was sure that another day would probably do the trick. But since the potion didn’t taste as bad as it used to, I was more than happy to drink it and get my recovery over and done with.
Rihyarda stripped off my bed garments and dressed me in some casual indoor clothing. They were loose clothes that I could even sleep in if necessary.
“That should do it. Brigitte, let Ferdinand in.”
Once Rihyarda had prepared the room for visitors and welcomed Ferdinand inside, we saw that he was accompanied by Elvira and Florencia for some reason.
“Oh my, Lady Elvira! And Lady Florencia! What brings you both here?” Rihyarda asked.
“I was planning on visiting Rozemyne after seeing Lady Florencia today, but we just happened to see you summon Lord Ferdinand,” Elvira said. She had apparently wanted to check up on me since I had fallen ill right after the tea party, but I had no doubts that her actual goal here was to spend time with Ferdinand. “You truly are quite sickly, Rozemyne. I never would have thought that you would end up catching a fever after something as small as a tea party.”
While her words were genuine enough, they were slightly undermined by the fact that her eyes were locked on Ferdinand and her voice was trembling a little with excitement. It was good to see her having fun, at least.
Rihyarda offered the guests seats, then pulled a chair over for me. The attendants must have been informed that Ferdinand would be arriving, and the young women who had been adjusting their makeup and clothes returned out of nowhere to make tea. It was funny, in a way, but I would have preferred them not all coming in at once and leaving the door unattended. If Ottilie hadn’t been on break today, she definitely would have gotten angry with them.
“I heard you collapsed after the tea party,” Ferdinand said, eyeing me carefully.
I nodded and took a sip of my tea, signifying that others could too.
While the tea party itself had been a pretty short event, it had taken several days of preparation to set up. Elvira and Florencia had only held it so that they could teach me how to gather donations, so I had spent most of my time just watching them, but that meant I also had to be present to witness everything that went into the preparations.
“I think I did a good job, all things considered. I made it through the entire tea party without collapsing. Why, is it just me, or have I gotten a lot stronger?”
“No, I do not believe the word ‘strong’ suits you in the least,” Ferdinand disagreed. It seemed that I was the only one who felt that way, as nobody else praised my growth at all. Ferdinand was even giving me an exasperated look. “If you are so weak that a mere tea party is too much for you, how can you ever hope to socialize at all?”
“Now now, Lord Ferdinand—this is not a matter that is up for debate. As a noblewoman she must participate in social events, no matter what,” Elvira said. Ferdinand had intended to just give me the potion and leave, but she was keeping him in place; he wasn’t getting away any time soon.
“Lord Ferdinand, how do you suggest we enable Rozemyne to socialize despite her poor health? I think she will need to gather yet more donations in the future, if she is to help the archduke with this new, budding industry.”
Our donation drive had been a success this time, but that was entirely thanks to Elvira and Florencia. The fact that she was indirectly suggesting I would be doing it on my own in the future was kind of a problem.
“I find it hard to rely on the goodwill of others. This donation drive went well since those ladies all trusted you and have known you both for a long time. I don’t have anything like that.”
“Relationships and trust are something you will have to build starting now.”
Apparently, it was standard practice for noblewomen to donate money to each other. They would say things like, “I owe you for all you’ve done for me,” or, “I owe you since you donated to me in the past.” If that was how things worked here, then I had no choice but to adjust.
“Indeed. Of course, I would like to build trust with everyone, but considering how quickly the printing industry will be expanding, I would end up doing nothing but asking for money day in and day out. There is nothing that I can give them in return.”
“Then what do you intend to do? You need this money, don’t you?” Florencia asked with a surprised look.
Tea parties and the like were apparently the only means through which donations were gathered here. I suggested that I carry a donation box and wander around the castle, but my idea was immediately rejected; a request from me would essentially be an order given my status. Donations needed to be given based on goodwill, so those you asked needed to have the capacity to say no.
“I need something else... Some way to make people happily give me money. And I would like for that method to be related to the printing industry. I don’t want people to give me money out of goodwill, I want them to give money to the printing industry itself.”
The phrase “public company” flashed through my mind, but I wasn’t familiar enough with economics to build one of those from the ground up. Besides, I didn’t want people to invest in stocks; I just wanted a convenient way to get money out of them. After a moment of thought, I remembered the bazaar that my preschool had used to hold for fun.
“I have an idea. What about a (bazaar)? It’s a place where you can bring things you don’t need and sell them for cheap.”
“But are there many things we own that we do not need? Anything that your family doesn’t need is simply handed down to your servants, no?” Florencia asked, having no idea what I was talking about.
I put my head in my hands. Yet again, our upbringings had been way too different. I had been raised in the consumerist society of Japan, but the culture here was to keep using something until it broke for good. If there was something that you didn’t need, then you just didn’t buy it in the first place. Even nobles used hand-me-downs since children grew so fast—any ripped clothing would simply be repaired, or given to attendants or lesser families when they truly weren’t needed anymore. Most households had very little that they didn’t need.
“Mm... What about a (charity concert), then?”
“What might that be?” Florencia asked with a puzzled hand on her cheek. “I’ve never heard the phrase before.”
“It’s a public music performance, and the money earned is all donated. Ferdinand, would you be so kind as to play several harspiel songs for me?”
Judging by how fervently passionate the women had been during the baptism ceremony, it was a safe bet to say that the tickets would sell like hot cakes, not to mention that I could also sell printed goods to make some extra money. Merchandise would have to wait a bit, though, since photos weren’t a thing in this world. We hadn’t even finished multicolored printing yet.
“Why must I play the harspiel?” Ferdinand asked.
“Because you’re the best harspiel player I know,” I replied. I was trying to hide my true intentions, but could tell that he’d seen right through me. His brow furrowed in an utterly disinterested grimace.
“No. I have no reason to help you here; there is nothing that I gain from this.”
“...Figures,” I sighed. Ferdinand would never help me out of goodwill. Whenever he did something kind, it was probably part of some manipulative plot.
I was ready to give up then and there, but there was a sparkle in Elvira’s eyes. She gave me a firm look, and ordered that I make the concert happen, no matter the cost.
Uh-oh. It looks like my small, seemingly harmless idea has created a monster.
As Elvira glared at me with a smile, I desperately racked my brain to come up with something. How could I make this work to Ferdinand’s benefit? What was he interested in? Sadly, he was an expert of all trades who generally had everything he wanted, so nothing came to mind. Up until now, there had only been two things I owned that Ferdinand wanted.
“Ferdinand, I’ll give you new songs if you promise to play them at the concert.”
Ferdinand cocked an eyebrow. I had caught his interest, but it wasn’t enough to get him involved in the concert... which meant I had to bait him with recipes, too.
“Erm, I will also provide you with recipes that I haven’t even taught Ella.”
He averted his eyes. It was a sign that he was tempted enough that he needed to look away to maintain his strength of will. One more push would probably make him fold, but, unfortunately, I couldn’t think of anything else.
Still, I could feel immense pressure coming from Elvira as she silently signaled for me to finish Ferdinand off. But no matter how hard I thought, I couldn’t think of anything else that would move him. He usually had me in the palm of his hand, but trying to manipulate him back was just beyond me. All I could do was shake my head.
“...I can’t think of anything else.”
“Then this discussion is over,” Ferdinand said with some relief.
I could see Elvira trembling in shock. I hung my head, wanting nothing more than to apologize for failing so hard, when someone stepped forward from beside me.
“Listen here, boy! This discussion is not over!”
It was Rihyarda, standing with her hands on her hips and her head held high. Her lecture mode was fully engaged.
“Goodness, Ferdinand! Do you have no heart? Milady has only just recovered from days of illness, and you’re turning down her one request?”
“But Rihyarda, I—”
“Milady did everything she could for you, did she not? She even offered you things that you want, my boy—not just any old rubbish. I can see right through you.”
Rihyarda exploded in a lecture, giving Ferdinand no room to interject. He glanced around at everyone seated at the table, then shut his eyes tightly in despair. Elvira’s eyes were gleaming with excitement; Florencia was observing the rare sight that was Ferdinand being scolded with great interest; and I was watching with my mouth wide open, overwhelmed by the sheer force of nature that was Rihyarda. Nobody could stop her.
“Don’t be stingy, my boy. At least play a few harspiel songs for her.”
“Rihyarda, I—”
“This is Rozemyne’s own industry, backed by Lord Sylvester himself! What are you here for if not to support milady in her times of need?! Lord Sylvester won’t hesitate to load even a young girl like her with work that she can’t do on her own.”
She knew him well, as expected of Sylvester’s wet nurse. Ferdinand, unable to deny that, frowned and let out a deep sigh.
“Your answer, boy?!”
“...I shall play the songs.”
“Good.”
Thanks to Rihyarda’s overwhelming victory, the charity concert had been set in motion.
“Do not expect me to do anything but play harspiel,” Ferdinand said spitefully before leaving. Once he was gone, Elvira could finally drop her fine lady façade, and emotions exploded onto her face.
“Rozemyne, when will we be holding the concert?” she said, her dark-brown eyes shining as she leaned forward with an eager smile.
“You truly are fond of Ferdinand, aren’t you?” Florencia asked.
“Oh, and are you not?”
“What I feel for him is largely companionship as someone who has also suffered the abuse of Veronica, but I must admit that he is quite the handsome man.”
The two giggled while starting to formulate their plans, which reminded me that there was stuff in the temple that needed doing. “There will be the coming of age ceremony at the end of summer and the baptism ceremony at the beginning of autumn, and I will need to leave for the Harvest Festival. It’s also possible that the Knight’s Order will request aid around the end of autumn. So, while it will be rushing things a bit, I think we should hold the concert during the summer,” I said, while mainly thinking that I wanted to save up money before winter preparations started.
And, most importantly of all, I could imagine Ferdinand coming up with all sorts of excuses to get out of playing when things got busy.
“In that case, we must hurry and prepare the invitations as soon as possible,” Elvira said.
“Not invitations, Mother. Please prepare (tickets) and sell them for a proper price.”
We were going out of our way to hold a concert, after all; it would be a waste not to sell tickets and make a profit off of them. It seemed that tickets weren’t a thing here, though, as Elvira gave me a confused look.
“Rozemyne, what is a ticket?”
“It’s similar to an invitation in that you need one to attend the concert, but it has a specific seat assigned to it, and one must pay to have one,” I said, taking out a pen and ink from my desk to draw a map showing how the concert might look. “There were twenty-two women at the tea party, so I predict that we will have thirty participants. That means we’ll need about five round tables. Ferdinand can play here. Where would you like to sit, Mother?”
“Where else but here?” Elvira tapped the center front-row seat; the expression on her face made it clear that she wouldn’t give it up for anyone.
“A reasonable choice. And that is why the front-row seats will be expensive, while the ones further back will be less expensive.”
“Oh? Visitors won’t be seated based on their status?” Florencia asked, her indigo eyes blinking in surprise.
“Since this is a concert providing a chance to see Ferdinand play rather than a tea party, I do not think there is any need to uphold such strict social standards. Some will just want to enjoy the concert with others, listening to the harspiel, so those not interested in Ferdinand may want to buy a cheaper seat to save money.”
“In that case, I will buy a cheaper ticket myself, and leave the more expensive seats to those who wish to see Ferdinand up close. That will make it easier for others to buy the cheap tickets as well, no?” Florencia asked with a refined giggle while looking at Elvira.
Normally, as the archduke’s wife, Florencia would take the best seat. But if she showed through action that there was no pressure to buy the most expensive tickets, then others would gladly follow her example.
“Beyond that... what if you sell the tickets to people in order of status and ask where they want to sit? If you do that, I don’t think there will be many complaints at all.”
“Letting them decide on their own, Rozemyne? I fear that Sylvester has already corrupted you,” Florencia said, peering at me with an incredibly worried look on her face.
...I’m sorry, Florencia. I’ve always been like this. You have a daughter who’s lazy at heart now.
We moved on to pricing the tickets. The best seat—which had already been sold—would cost one small gold, while everything else would range from five to eight large silvers.
“I suggest the tea and sweets we serve be Lord Ferdinand’s favorites,” Elvira suggested, her voice bright from having secured the best seat. My idea of a concert differed from how nobles viewed music recitals here, so I decided it would be best to let Elvira handle these details. All I needed to do was inject a little business acumen into matters.
Merchandise would sell the best during the concert, and while I couldn’t prepare any right away, I could have Ella and Hugo teach the court chefs how to make the cookies that Ferdinand liked the most, then have them mass produced.
“If we are going to be preparing sweets, I suggest we make extra and sell them after the concert as souvenirs to take home. I imagine those moved by Ferdinand’s harspiel playing will be driven to buy them.”
“Oh, I shall certainly buy one!” Elvira declared.
And so I already had one guaranteed customer. I had no doubts that there would be plenty more ready and waiting.
Once Florencia had decided on which room the concert would be held in, Elvira drew out the floor plan and made a chart detailing the seats.
“Please be sure to write who bought which ticket and where they will be sitting on the seating chart. That will minimize any chance of confusion on the day of the concert.”
I explained that there were all sorts of problems that could occur, like tickets being lost or stolen, and Elvira nodded in understanding before firmly writing her name on the seating chart.
“Speaking of which, Rozemyne—you said that you wished to involve the printing industry in this concert. How do you intend to do that?” Florencia asked, having maintained a cool and observant head while we discussed the tickets, in sharp contrast to Elvira, who had completely given in to her excitement.
“You may leave that to me. I will work my absolute hardest to show everyone how wonderful printing can be.”
...I’ll have Wilma draw an illustration of Ferdinand and make it the front cover of the program. That way, I’ll have the best marketing for printing that anyone could ask for. Eheheh.
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