After overcoming the walls in the development process, everything proceeded smoothly.
The blacksmiths in Tarkan’s palace were thrown into mass production of the scalpel. It was more efficient than recruiting new manpower.
Tarkan’s blacksmiths and the blacksmiths Aristine chose would use one forge so that there was no conflict.
Moreover, since they were all proven talented people, Aristine was able to acquire the best manpower without much effort.
The blacksmiths were also happy to receive more money. Since they were getting paid by both Tarkan and Aristine, their mouths were about to tear from smiling so hard.
‘Wait, is it right to say they’re happy because of the money?’
Aristine tilted her head.
When she showed them the scalpel and told them it needed to be mass-produced, their reaction was definitely…
《Y-You’re entrusting us with something so incredible!》
《This is an honor, Princess Consort.》
《My goodness, it really doesn’t rust.》
《A scalpel, huh…I’m ashamed of myself for looking down on it and never making one.》
《 As expected of the Princess Consort; you have no preconceived notion and you think about what is best for the people.》
She was reminded of the blacksmiths who sounded emotional and looked at her with sparkling eyes.
Like the typical Irugoians, they were tall and huge because they carried iron every day. For some reason, they refused to get close when they were talking to Aristine and kept a distance.
When she said it was okay to come closer,
《W-We wouldn’t dare…!》
《How can we dare to approach a Goddess, I mean, Princess Consort; that is absurd…》
《 If gnarly guys like us stood next to the thumb, I mean, the Princess Consort, it will be a sight for sore eyes. 》
They waved their hands, sounding startled.
Irugoian had the tendency to consider her as very petite. They even took a step back, worried that their large frame might feel overbearing.
The huge blacksmiths humbly put their hands together with bright eyes.
《…》
Aristine decided to think of it as some sort of flattery for their new boss.
Apparently, this was the effect money could have on people.
Thankfully, the blacksmiths were friendly towards Ritlen as well. That was only natural.
After seeing the scalpel Ritlen made, they couldn’t help but admire his skills.
《I heard he was the shame of Catallaman forge…ah, that’s what the rumors said. 》
《After seeing him working, we immediately knew that the rumor was wrong. 》
《Seeing him like that, anyone can tell he is a blacksmith with a great soul.》
The blacksmiths slapped Ritlen’s shoulder with their iron-like hands and laughed boisterously.
Ritlen denied it, feeling embarrassed, but he looked happy.
Aristine felt proud to see this unfold.
Imagine how great it must feel for Ritlen, who was always disregarded, to have his skills acknowledged by his fellow blacksmiths?
There was definitely a difference in getting praised by someone like Aristine or Umiru, versus getting commended by other blacksmiths.
With such a good atmosphere going around, the scalpels were made smoothly.
An appropriate amount of stock was secured, and sales began.
Finding a retailer was also pretty easy.
‘Because my dear husband owns a merchant group.’
She had found herself one amazing business partner.
As mentioned before, the corpse of a demonic beast was money.
Tarkan decided it would be better to own a merchant group through an agent rather than managing a few major accounts.
Of course, the fact that Tarkan had a merchant group was a secret. It was only that Tarkan mainly dealt with the merchant and had a good business relationship with them.
‘The reason for that is obvious.’
Cash becomes political funds.
If it was known that Tarkan owned a merchant group, who knew how much trouble would arise from the Queen and the nobles alike.
A demonic beast’s corpse was an irreplaceable, major item so it would remain unshaken. However, nothing good would come out of making the nobles grow nitpicky when they controlled the current money flow.
Even now that the merchant group was run by an agent, they looked down on it. Because it had a good relationship with Tarkan.
‘Will they hate it even more now that I’ve been added to the list?’
Aristine chuckled.
Like that, she secured a distribution channel nationwide and the medical scalpel truly caused a storm.
Not just the money storm that Aristine so longed for but another storm.
* * *
“Just what is this scalpel!”
The Queen screamed, boiling with rage.
This scene had gone on for a few days. If anything annoyed the queen even slightly, a whirlwind of blood would follow.
All the court ladies fell to the floor, hoping for the storm to pass.
“Why, why! How can there be no problem!”
She thought the Princess would only get slapped with a malpractice lawsuit if she made something as stupid as a medical scalpel.
The Queen ridiculed Aristine for choosing something so controversial even if it was just business. The Princess acted all smart but apparently, she was nothing much.
She was excited at the thought of using the malpractice suit to condemn Aristine.
She was looking forward to Aristine releasing the scalpel more than anyone else.
But the actual results were…
~
A Sword That Saves Lives, From the Princess Consort’s Hands
The Goddess of Salvation Stretches Her Hand To The Sick
Surgery Mortality Rates Drop Significantly
The Angel of Peace Saves the World
~
Fire raged in the queen’s eyes as she scanned the newspaper on the table.
Articles like this were pouring out every day.
Unable to give up, she opened the newspaper every morning, hoping to see if there were any stories of malpractice that she might have missed. She even searched through third-rate gossip magazines that she usually despised.
But everything was praising Aristine.
“It hasn’t even been that long since the public was gushing over her because of her maids!”
Clatter–!
The queen fiercely swept everything off the table.
The newspaper fluttered to the floor and the vase rolled and shattered.
The Queen stepped on the fully bloomed Persian buttercup with a crunch. The soft petals were crushed with a silent scream.
The Queen’s gaze turned to the trembling court ladies.
The court ladies nervously held their breaths.
It seems the bloodbath today was unavoidable. A deep sense of resignation fell over them.
But at that moment,
“Your Majesty the Queen, His Highness Hamill is back!”
A voice appeared to save them.
