161 – Repairing Legacies and Embracing Change

“That’s right, although the accident was caused by the company’s head, Abel Crimson, we have to ensure that Scarlett Crimson, the right person, does the repair.”

Scarlett laughed at his words.

“The boss will devour the main branch.” Andrei continued.

“…Oh yes?”

“I believe this is all a fraction of my bigger plan. As I walked by, the main store was breathtakingly beautiful. My gut told me that this store was where I belonged.”

As expected, keeping up with his ambition is surely difficult.

Just as Sacrlett let out a deep sigh, a customer appeared by the door before the store even opened.

“What should I do? He’s already here.” Scarlett said with wide eyes and an embarrassed face.

“What do you mean? The store is yet to open, so you can take your time while drinking a cup of coffee.” Andrei nonchalantly said as he glanced at the clock.

“Pardon? But the customer is waiting already…”

“It’ll be troublesome if you open the store before it’s set schedule, madam.”

“Really?”

“That’s right. This is how luxury items work. The more you wait to have them, the more precious they become.”

Although Sacrlett found it difficult to keep with Andrei’s ambitions, hearing him refer to her watches as luxurious items without a hint of hesitation made her feel content.

♔♔♔

Andrei took his time drinking coffee and cleaning the store, and didn’t open the store until ten o’clock. As soon as the store opened, the customers rushed in.

“Here is my watch.”

“Thank you. This is the right model.” Andrei took the watch and bowed, “Apologies for the inconvenience.” 

“No, in all honesty,” the lady sighed, “it was my fault for knowingly buying a watch from Abel Crimson, who wasn’t the rightful owner of the company.”

The other customers who entered the store nodded in agreement.

Andrei was aware that historically, the Crimson family’s succession was based on skills. Now that Scarlett Crimson is putting effort to prove herself in her generation, she can prove that the watch store was rightfully hers.

“Miss Scarlett Crimson is the legitimate heir to the Crimson watch store, who is currently recognised by Earl Isaac Crimson.” Andrei spoke in a slow and natural manner.

“How unfortunate. I can’t fathom how you’ll fix all the watches that you sold for the past ten years, all free of charge…”

 

Andrei remembered that the lady previously visited the store alone, where she requested a Scarlett Crimson watch in advance. After he remembered this, he didn’t hesitate to fulfill her order even though he informed her that the watch won’t be available until next summer.

Since most of the customers came for the same purpose, the last customer’s watch won’t be ready for another three years. The customer had no objections.

Scarlett Crimson’s efforts swayed the hearts of the people who were complaining about the Crimson watches. Moreover, according to the people of Salantier, watches became more precious and were of equal value to jewelleries. 

Over time, the number of watches being fixed surpassed the number of new watches being made. All the artisans in Factory 1 decided to offer a helping hand, but they immediately retreated.

Factory 1 had an ongoing battle, and it would’ve been helpful if the other four factories, which were owned by the Crimson family, offered to help. However, the family that owned these factories was uncooperative.

Because of Abel Crimson’s abuse, the other factories refused to help Factory 1 in fear of being punished by the Crimson siblings. However, Scarlett knew of a way to change their minds.

During the time Andrei was relaxing, Scarlett was busy working on a watch that she recovered from a store on the second floor. However, she decided to postpone her work for later, and place the Crimson Aqua 6 that was bought from Factory 1 on the workbench.

The Crimson family was a distinguished aristocratic family that obtained its honour from technical skill. If Scarlett was able to produce the Crimson Aqua 6 that was first developed by her parents, the Crimson family will have no choice but to accept her.

Scarlett wanted to reminisce about old memories, but she was internally in pain.

“If the symptoms worsen, will my condition further deteriorate? She muttered to herself.

Everytime she remembered her divorce, she was filled with great fear and shame just from visiting Viktor’s house.

Scarlett felt her condition gradually worsen, so she decided to build the Crimson Aqua 6 and the aircraft’s engine before completely losing her mind.

♔♔♔

For some time, Scarlett was swamped with work, so she daily buried herself with tasks until dawn.  Scarlett belatedly opened the window when it began to snow.

“It’s snowing…” Scarlett gazed outside, mumbling to herself.

This year, it snowed relatively less compared to last winter. 

Scarlett shuddered from the cold and shut the window. In the meantime, she looked outside with a hot coffee in hand.

She heard a knock on the door, and when she went downstairs to the first floor, she saw Viktor waiting.