In this long
update:
Shiori's
talent (I'm not even kidding) and slight angst (if you can detect it, it's
kinda obscure for now) regarding Shiori's position in the country.
But let's
see how it goes, shall we?
Things to
know:
What is the
difference between champagnes and wines?
The easy and short answer is that
sparkling wine can only be called Champagne if
it comes from the region of Champagne, France,
which is just outside of Paris. Further, champagne can only be made using Chardonnay,
Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. (Copied from Google)
PS I have not confirmed Kurosaki's first
name hahahah need to find my bro's kanji dictionary.
Disclaimer:
I DO NOT OWN THIS WORK, ASUMA
RISAI (the author) DOES.
PS. Nobody owns Shiori either.
For any re-posts or re-uploads,
please credit this blog!
And
now, on to the real stuff.
Previously
on the Royal Fiance... http://blacksoulz.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-royal-fiance-white-prince-chapter-1.html
The adjacent
room boasted of a wine cellar, along with air-conditioning set at the optimal
temperature for wine storage. A table with six wine glasses was already placed
in the centre of the room.
It seemed
that after the long-winded and selection process by Shiori's subordinates, there
were on six candidates whose champagne made the cut this year.
Amongst the
several hundreds of vineyards, only seventeen brands which boasted the usage of
ingredients of the highest quality in their wine-making process were
shortlisted for this prestigious selection process. Another round of selection
was made amongst these brands, leaving behind the six champagnes that were
aligned neatly on the tabletop.
Which
champagne, out of these six champagnes, would have the honour of being branded
as the well-sought after title of 'royal champagne'?
Although
some champagnes had been shortlisted every year and made it to the final
tasting stage carried out by Shiori, some were never approved of and given the
royal branding by Shiori. Needless to say, this exemplifies Shiori's stringent
standards with regards to the wine's quality and the overall quality control.
Upon Shiori's
arrival, his subordinates immediately stepped forward and filled the
wineglasses with the with the six short-listed champagnes individually. The
brands of these champagnes was kept an absolute secret from Shiori to prevent
any sort of bias.
"I
wonder what sort of quality these champagnes can offer to its consumers?"
Even though
the champagnes' quality might be higher than those selected for the previous
year's tasting, it does not necessarily mean that the champagne is qualified to
carry the royal branding. With the royal branding being something so elusive
and hard-to-get, champagne producers had been clamouring for and relentlessly
fighting to produce a champagne that can attain this seal of quality. Shiori
sipped the champagnes glass by glass. Most of the champagnes featured a bright
yellow coloured body, while a few of them had a slight pinkish tint. A
continuous stream of fine and long-lasting bubbles in these champagnes made
them look much more luxurious.
"This
uses Western Pears as a key ingredient, and places much emphasis on the fruity
flavour. The moment it enters one's mouth, its deep and strong warm flavour can
be tasted, and it has a pleasant aftertaste that lingers. "
Champagnes
that have a fruity emphasis, champagnes that were centered upon roses, violets,
or other similar types of flowers, champagnes that adopts a candy-like taste
for emphasis. There was a wide variety of champagne in this round of testing,
and all of them had rich and complex personalities.
The perfect
amount of balance between acidity and its own distinct flavour, a strong yet
refreshing and light taste upon the first sip, a sublime appearance... Most
people would be satisfied with just a champagne that tastes good. However, paying attention to the hard work that
the wine-makers had put into the wine-making process - from the selection of
ingredients to the fermentation was equally important.
Shiori is
someone who is able to point out minute discrepancies in the champagnes that
even his helpers could not spot - this very talent of Shiori was the value and
place that he has in Ecuratol. Although the champagnes in front of him has
already been through several rounds of inspections by his subordinates, some
champagnes' acidity levels would still leave some consumers unsatisfied, some
champagnes tasted too delicate and refined, making them feel dull, while some
other champagnes simply tasted too shallow, making them overly refreshing. In
particular, the second champagne from the right had a rough aftertaste that would
linger on the tip of its consumer's tongue.
After the
selection is over, I will give my subordinates a good lecture. How could they
even think of allowing this sort of thing to run as a royal champagne
candidate? Are they not afraid of shaming the royal family's name?
This
champagne simply lacked depth. had a sharp aftertaste, and could only leave a
slight hint of a banana's fragrance. Furthermore, the intensity of the
champagne upon entering the mouth was too much, making the consumer feel as if
one's tongue had gone numb.
Just like a
tongue that had been sucked, and willfully being pursued and intertwined with
another's tongue.
Just
like...what had happened with that man.
Shiori
placed that wine glass down, and lifted the wine glass that was beside it.
"Your
Highness, are you not feeling well?"
Upon seeing
Shiori being in a trance and not moving upon picking up another wine glass, his
secretary could not help by crease his eyebrows. Realising that his secretary had a face
plastered with worry, Shiori hurriedly gave a small cough. He placed the wine
glass he was holding back onto the table, on the right side of the
terrible-tasting champagne instead of its original position. (Which was the left
side of the terrible-tasting champagne.)
"My
apologies. I was merely deep in thought." Shiori did not like to cause
trouble for others when he was working.
"I
would like you to paste the 'royal branding' seal onto the champagne that is
the third from the right. Following that, do distribute this champagne to the
importers in Japan.", ordered Shiori while gesturing to the wine glass he
was referring to.
"Yes,
Your Highness."
"Your
Highness, this evening's work has already be completed. I will be rescheduling
the assignments that were originally lined up for the rest of today to another
day. Please take a good, short rest."
Although Shiori
insisted that he did not need to rest, his secretary remained adamant about Shiori
taking a breather. The secretary immediately cancelled Shiori's remaining
engagement for the day, and made sure that he returned to his room to get a
good rest.
To Shiori,
work was a distraction. When he is alone, he could not help but recall the events
that day... Shiori shook his head in disdain.
The remnants
of the heat simply could not be cooled down. The secretary most likely mistook Shiori's
gesture when he was reflecting as an indication that Shiori was running a
slight fever.
Shiori reclined
on the long sofa and absentmindedly browsed through a book with a warm, thick
blanket rested over his legs.
However,
nothing went into Shiori's head.
Shiori
looked up to take a quick glance at the gold clock nested above a chest of
ornate drawers.
It was now
six in the evening.
The champagne
that would be served at the banquet in Japan should have already been shipped
over, hasn't it?
All of a
sudden, Shiori heard a disturbance outside of the room that broke the tranquil
atmosphere.
"His
Highness is not feeling well currently. I do not think it is very appropriate
to inform His Highness of the news now......"
"This
is a very urgent matter. We are in no position to settle this matter. Only His
Highness can make the judgement call."
Shiori
abruptly turned his whole body to face the direction where the hushed voices
came from.
"I am
afraid that, should the report be made at a later time, it would greatly increase
the burden on His Highness." The speaker sounded terribly panicked.
Shiori's
heart felt uneasy. He stood up from the sofa, and opened the door.
"May I
know what is happening?"
" Your
Highness......!"
Both his
secretary and a clerk were standing at the doorway of his room.
"Your
condition......" Shiori's secretary was visibly concerned about his
health.
"I am
fine. I overheard that something urgent has cropped up. May I know what has
happened?"
"Er......"
Upon Shiori's
inquiry, his secretary looked uncomfortably in all four directions.
Is this
about a sensitive matter that should not be accidentally overheard by others?
Shiori
allowed his secretary to enter his room and closed the door behind him.
Although it
was Shiori's room, his actual bedroom was further in, in a separate room altogether.
There was a small sitting area near the entrance of his room, and that was
where he usually gives instructions to his subordinates.
Shiori sat
at the window-side table while his secretary and clerk remained standing.
"Speak."
Both the
secretary and the clerk swallowed nervously. The secretary took the files from
the clerk and produced a document from the file.
"Just
this evening, Your Highness, you carried out the selection for this year's
royal champagne......"
"Yes."
Shiori even
ordered the clerk who was standing beside the secretary to paste the seal of
approval onto that champagne's bottle personally. His secretary, who was had a
few bottles of champagne on hand, went pale.
"Your Highness,
it seems that you had selected this champagne to be a royal champagne. Before
we shipped the stocks to Japan, we sent one bottle of it as a gift to an
important client of our country. According to his testimony, the champagne
was......hard to stomach."
"What
did you say?"
Shiori felt
wronged and at the same time, had a very stern expression on his face. He had
absolute confidence in his own abilities to select grape wines that has the
best quality and taste.
This very
quality of Shiori was the only value that Shiori had in this country.
As this very
allegation was denying the very reason for Shiori to exist in this country, Shiori
simply could not afford to speak up against such slander.
"Was
the other party merely being picky in order to gain an upper hand in an
agreement with the Royal Family? Or was the other party simply not willing to
pay for this champagne?"
"But......Please
have a taste of this champagne, Your Highness."
The
secretary took a wine glass and poured the golden-bodied champagne...... Shiori
had a bad feeling about this.
With the
champagne that was just approved by him in the wine glass, he hurriedly raised
the wine glass to his lips. Almost instantaneously, a burning sensation that
made one's tongue numb and taste a slight burnt flavour spread through his
mouth.
"This
is......"
Impossible.
Shiori could
not believe it - he took another sip.
The flavour
remained unchanged. With the air bubbles
being too large, the taste of the champagne comes across as lacking refinement
and gentleness.
Shiori
rinsed his mouth and drank the champagne that was placed beside the low-quality
champagne during the taste test in the evening. This time, a gentle and bright
fragrance spread through his mouth. There was nothing to pick on regarding this
champagne's appearance and impeccable taste.
"I am
very sorry, Your Highness. This is an honest mistake on my part - I
misunderstood that this year's royal branding would be awarded to the champagne
that was placed the third from the right."
This
taste......No.
The
champagne that was placed second from the right had the worst quality amongst
all the champagnes that evening, and Shiori even remembered that he wanted to
admonish his subordinates for allowing
such a champagne to make it into the final round of tasting. The champagne that
was the third from the right was indeed, if Shiori remembered correctly, a
champagne worthy of attaining the royal branding.
(Ah......!)
A flashback
to the obscene incident that had occurred during the banquet dominated Shiori's
thoughts when he was doing the wine-tasting. Flustered, Shiori placed the
champagne back into the wrong position. That was, to place the good champagne
which was originally third from the right......onto the right-hand side of the
terrible-tasting champagne.
"The
champagne placed third from the right is this year's royal champagne."
The two
champagne's position had then been unconsciously switched.
As the
champagne needed to be shipped out that afternoon, making time really tight on Shiori's
side, the secretary unquestioningly followed his orders.
This mistake
was the fault of Shiori's order.
The table
clattered loudly as Shiori stood up.
"This
is a mistake on my part." Shiori's face was a deathly pale white as he
admitted his blunder to his crestfallen secretary. Not many people are able to
admit their own mistakes without putting the blame onto others first. That is
the reason why Shiori could not betray the trust that his subordinates had put
in him.
"The
champagne that was placed on the right-hand side of this bottle of champagne
was the champagne that I had intended to label as a royal champagne. What is
the status of the export to Japan?" Shiori could not afford to sit still
with the status of the shipment unknown to him.
The
champagnes had already been packaged and air-flown out of the country."
"Is it
still possible for us to recall the exports and immediately exchange it with
the actual champagne that has the royal branding?" Without hesitation, Shiori
offered an alternative.
"Even
if this champagne were to be air-flown, it is not possible for it to arrive in
time for tomorrow's banquet in Japan."
"I
understand. However, it is unbecoming of us to allow such a champagne to be
branded as a royal champagne and be distributed to the world. Are there any
updates from the champagne's company?", Shiori hurriedly questioned.
His
secretary hung his head low and replied, "The other party has told us
that.......we had utterly embarrassed him. He has already contacted a Japanese
wine importer and ordered a large amount of top-quality French wine to provided
for tomorrow's banquet. In total, this has cost the other party several
thousands in damages......"
Shiori
boarded the limousine driven by his subordinate, and headed to the hotel that
the champagne's wine-maker, who was also a major importer of Ecutatean wines,
was staying at.
It seems
that this exporter makes frequent trips to Ecuratol, and as such, had bought
the Presidential Suite in this hotel and converted it into his own personal
office.
It was
rumoured that the entrepreneur and director of this champagne's company is a
young man in his late twenties. Although the company is a relatively new
establishment and has been set up amidst a slowing economy, the year-on-year profits
that this company earns has been steadily increasing.
Even in the
wine industry, this man's ability to make wise and well-informed buiness
decisions was well-known.
Oki Kurosaki.
A Japanese.
Page 40 something-ish
Wewew
updates! Took me a damn long time to translate the whole part about Shiori
doing wine tasting. But it was worth it heh.
Went into a
sudden overdrive in wanting to translate again. Burnt out from studying I guess.
The next
update will take really, really long (Although I did do up some offline
translation.) All I can say that the next update is finally going to feature
some action that Kurosaki (?) has been desperately waiting for ahahah
Till next
time
Cheers!
Note:
This is just a one person thing, so there's no proof readers or grammar checks
and the like. Pardon any errors! Do feel free to point out any mistakes you
spot.
thank you so much for translating the novel! it's really interesting and i enjoyed the manga so it's really great to read this novel on the brother who didn't play much of a role in the manga (and good luck for a levels though it's already so late!!)
ReplyDeleteAw thank you! My A levels will be ending next Monday so will probably start translating offline first then :3
DeleteHello! As a reader, I needed to let you know that the photo that was on this page before isn't showing anymore. Whatever the problem might be it's not letting the readers see the photo. I just wanted to let you know because I'm sure other readers (like myself) who have seen the picture before it disappeared would like to see it come back. Also, the new readers may not know there is a photo here therefore are missing out on the picture that shows Kurosaki and Shiori kissing (which is a good picture) ^_^
ReplyDeleteNoted! Thank you for notifying me :D
Delete