ushernet Chapter 424: Harvest Festival (9)
Chapter 424: Harvest Festival (9)
Chapter 424: Harvest Festival (9)
"Hm~? Ah, look! That's the storefront for Domus Stella, Astra! I had a feeling that the redirected traffic would do us some good..."
The Duchess pointed down the street and smiled, her features bathed in a wonderful gold that only made her hair seem more fiery and her eyes all the clearer, something that threatened to steal my breath away as I looked at her from the side, not thinking about Domus Stella whatsoever and instead drinking in her beauty.
Though, when she began to look back at me, I cast my gaze towards the location she was pointing at so that I wouldn't get caught ogling her gorgeous features, though I have a feeling she knew anyways, especially since she squeezed my hand and was grinning.
The storefront was a simplistic dark red brick face, with a large panel of glass on the left side of the storefront and the rich chocolate wooden door on the right, and painted above the window and door in elegant, flowing white letters was 'Domus Stella', with a spattering of white 'stars' that were shaped like +'s surrounding the letters.
Walking through the crowd and stopping at its entrance, we both looked up at the store while Shelur stood behind us, the Orc continuing to protect us especially now that we were outside with people.Nôv(el)B\\jnn
"It's not the most stunning storefront ever, but the location is excellent and the display window is a tad larger than normal. I figured we could use barrels as stands behind the glass and do a display of the wine bottles, perhaps? And if I recall correctly, your daughter... Camara, correct? She carves and paints, no?"
"She does... Is there a wine Goddess, perhaps? Or should we just do stylistic things like bunches of grapes and flowers?"
She frowned at that, before sighing as she glanced towards Shelur, who was looking at us both with her ever present serious expression.
"Shelur? Which do you think would do better?"
I looked towards the Orc as well, watching as she blinked twice at this sudden inclusion before she spoke, her voice once more contrasting her muscular appearance and otherwise 'barbaric' visage.
"I agree with Miss Astra, Duchess. Nobles won't visit a store themselves, and the merchants you would be catering to have their own connections. That leaves the middle and upper middle class to entice, and while an elegant store would make the wine feel like its a higher quality, Miss Astra's point is a strong one."
The Duchess let out a sigh as she looked between us, her sky blue eyes 'defeated' as she nodded her head, before staring at me in surprise as I added "That doesn't mean we can't have a section of the store dedicated to wine of a higher quality. That corner there could be where we display some of the better wines, which we would store entirely in the back for safety. It would draw interest and curiosity after seeing all of the cheaper or average wines throughout the rest of the store. Something for a special occasion, something for those with a bit more coin to spend?"
She blinked a few times, before she smiled once more as she said "That's a compromise, is it not? Aw..."
Pushing off of the counter, the Duchess approached me and grabbed my hands, smiling at me still as she caressed the back of each hand with her thumbs, all while her eyes sparkled with both mischief and something else as she added "How sweet, Astra... and a good idea~! You continue to impress me, truly."
I smiled happily beneath my veil as we stood together for a few moments more, before the Duchess glanced towards the window and said "How about something to eat? I know a good cafe that we could stop at before we head to the last two stores? Then we're free for the day."