He Opened A Matchmaking Agency In 18Th Century London [EN]: Chapter 115

< Simon's Transformation >

Simon Hughes found Theo’s offer to waive the interest tempting.

“What do I need to do?”

“My trading company will soon be established on the 4th floor below. It will oversee domestic and international trade operations, mainly related to coffee, and manage textile factories and various investments.

However, because of the matchmaking agency and cafe operations, I haven’t been able to establish the trading company yet. So, I urgently need someone to take charge.”

“······.”

“Once the trading company is established, I’d like you to take charge of it, Simon, at least for the time being. The debt will be repaid with your weekly salary.”

Simon was bewildered by the sudden offer.

“Take charge of the trading company? Me? I’ve never worked in a company like that before, so why suddenly…?”

“Frankly, I haven’t met anyone who knows as much about the tea and coffee industry as you do, Simon. In my opinion, you possess not only information but also practical and applicable knowledge related to the trading business.”

“······.”

“Wouldn’t you like to run a large business in a field you know so well and are interested in? It’s a waste to leave the knowledge you’ve studied as just thoughts in your head. Why not take this opportunity to properly apply that knowledge to the real economy?”

“······.”

Before falling into gambling, Simon had been very interested in the movements of the domestic and international economy and felt a great attraction to researching and analyzing related fields.

However, like many aristocrats, he lived his life believing that his only duty was to maintain the Hughes family’s estate while living leisurely without a job.

Theo’s suggestion made his heart flutter strangely.

Theo, reading Simon’s wavering heart, began to solidify his position.

“Simon, you must choose one of two options at this moment. Either work in the trading business on the 4th floor until you pay off the 700 pounds, or go to debtor’s prison.

If you choose to work for the trading company, I will appoint you as the vice president so that you aren’t ashamed of your aristocratic status, and I will give you most of the authority over the company’s operations. What do you think?”

“······.”

“You don’t have to worry about the Earl’s permission. He said that as long as you can quit gambling, it doesn’t matter if you get a job at a trading company.”

“······.”

Simon Hughes didn’t answer, but his choice was as good as decided.

* * *

With the vice president, who would practically lead the trading company, decided, the establishment of the trading company proceeded smoothly.

Contrary to his insecure appearance, Simon Hughes skillfully handled the work as if he had been in business for a long time.

Theo’s insight as the CEO of the trading company shone in the selection of company employees.

Theo hired five employees who had not only intellectual abilities but also optimal emotional harmony to form a team.

Simon led the five team members and faithfully performed the role of conductor in various tasks.

Thanks to this, the trading company, which had made no progress, began to take concrete shape in just a few weeks.

◈ A few weeks later. T&S Coffee Cafe, courtyard terrace.

Theo headed to the courtyard connected to the inside of the first-floor cafe.

There was a terrace decorated by the best gardeners and builders in London.

It was a wonderful cafe terrace created in the courtyard of the building solely for meetings of Theo’s matchmaking company members.

The first couple to meet using this cafe terrace was none other than Simon Hughes and Christina Mitchell.

Having met through Theo’s introduction ten days ago, the two were now seeing each other almost every day.

Simon had grumbled that he was too busy with work to date, but his attitude changed immediately after meeting the dazzlingly beautiful Christina.

Since their first meeting, he had been actively pursuing a relationship with Christina.

Moreover, Christina, who was usually interested in and knowledgeable about ‘tea,’ was even providing practical help to Simon, who was promoting the coffee expansion business.

Today, Theo, Simon, and Christina were drinking coffee and talking together.

Theo didn’t want to interfere with the two who were starting to fall for each other, but in this era, it was socially taboo for unmarried men and women to drink tea outside alone.

However, he couldn’t bring the parents of both families every time, so Theo had no choice but to join them.

Theo asked while drinking coffee.

“Ms. Mitchell, what do you think is the biggest problem with tea currently imported from Qing China [referring to China’s Qing Dynasty]?”

“Well… I think the problems with Qing China tea are high prices and counterfeits. Last time I was invited to a lady’s house, I smelled something strange in the tea, and when I looked, there were black iron filings mixed in. If merchants can make money, they don’t hesitate to do this even with tea that can directly affect health, so this will inevitably have a negative impact on the entire tea market.”

At that time, merchants were adding mud, iron filings, sand, and graphite to increase the weight of expensive Qing China tea, and these actions of British merchants were causing serious distrust of ‘tea’.

“Also, even if it’s not a direct counterfeit, the deterioration of tea leaves due to the long voyage from Qing China to England is also a problem. They mix poor-tasting tea leaves with good-quality tea leaves to sell them, but they keep the price high, so dissatisfaction is bound to accumulate.”

Simon agreed with Christina’s words.

“Oh, I see. Blending counterfeits and low-quality products in ‘tea’ distributed in the UK may be a big problem.”

Then, Christina took a sip of the coffee and exclaimed in admiration.

“However, the aroma and taste of this coffee bean are truly admirable every time. If it’s coffee that retains this aroma and smoothness, even people who liked tea like me will fall for it.”

Simon Hughes’ eyes sparkled as he asked.

“Ms. Mitchell, if this T&S coffee bean were to be released on the market, how do you think women would react compared to the various teas that are preempting the market?”

Women’s demand was as important as men’s in increasing coffee’s market share in the UK market.

In England, coffee was considered a drink that sharpened the mind and had a bitter taste, so it had long been avoided as harmful to women’s health.

Christina, who was enjoying the coffee scent emanating from the cup, exclaimed without hesitation.

“They’ll definitely like it! Definitely! If this aroma and taste are maintained as they are, it won’t be easy for even the existing high-quality black tea to beat this coffee.

No matter how fragrant the tea is, it can’t keep up with the sweet and mellow scent of T&S beans, and the taste is so smooth, so there’s nothing more to say.

However, to compete with tea, it must be possible to produce this quality of coffee in large quantities, right? I heard that the amount of green beans produced at the current Jamaican farm is also small.”

“Ah, in preparation for that, our Jamaica T&S Coffee is purchasing large-scale farms in the Blue Mountains area…”

The two young people continued to talk excitedly, and Theo sipped his coffee and watched them with a happy smile.

◈ Theo’s Matchmaking Company CEO’s Office

The people who were most pleased with the greatly changed Simon Hughes were, of course, the Earl and Countess of Hughes.

The eldest son, who had fallen into gambling and squandered his fortune, was not enough, and they were worried that he would tarnish the family’s reputation.

Such a son was leading a trading company at the recommendation of Sanderson and was transforming into a completely different person, and he was changing into a bright and energetic figure that he had never seen before.

Moreover, Christina Mitchell, whom Theo introduced and was meeting with the premise of marriage, was also very pleasing to the Earl and Countess of Hughes.

Christina’s parents, Baron and Baroness Mitchell, also seemed inwardly proud that marriage to the eldest son of a prestigious and wealthy Earl’s family was certain.

As the dark atmosphere of the house improved day by day, the Earl of Hughes invited Theo to dinner.

It was to express his gratitude for the dramatic change in his eldest son and for introducing him to a good marriage partner.

‘Hmm…’

As the Earl of Hughes’ dinner invitation time approached.

Theo had been carefully looking at the ‘Portrait of a Miner’ hanging on the wall of the CEO’s office since earlier.

Theo liked Charlie’s painting so much that he asked if he could buy the portrait of the miner.

Charlie was surprised and said he would just give it as a gift, but Theo firmly refused and bought it for a considerable amount of money.

Thanks to the painting price Theo gave him, Charlie was able to escape the terrible slum of St. Giles Rookery [a notorious slum in London] and move his whole family to a much better environment.

‘Looking at that painting really makes me feel strange…’

Every time he looked at Charlie’s painting, an indescribable emotion washed over him.

The face of the miner in the portrait was clearly tired of his hard life, but if you looked closely, you could feel the happy emotions hidden behind his deep eyes gradually blooming.

‘Maybe the Countess of Hughes has been psychologically healing herself through paintings all this time. Just like I react when I see Charlie’s paintings. But from some point on, that was blocked, and that may be the reason for her current state… Although rare, there have been patients who have had abnormal phenomena in their endocrine system because their artistic sense was not resolved.’

The Countess of Hughes, whom Theo had examined several times, certainly did not feel any significant physical illness on the outside.

Although the 18th century still had terrible medical standards, it was possible to detect a major illness in the body, but the Countess of Hughes had almost no such special signs.

It seemed that the disease of the mind was connected to physical abnormalities, but even Theo, who could read emotions, found it difficult to clearly identify the cause of the Countess’s illness.

‘Yes. Looking at the numerous paintings displayed in the house, it seems clear that she has been receiving comfort from the paintings all this time. It also seems to be the taste of an artist whose creative desire for paintings is abnormally large compared to ordinary people. If so, something like art therapy might be effective…’

Art therapy is a treatment method that combines depth psychology and art, and it is a treatment method that alleviates psychological disorders such as stress, depression, and anxiety through art.

These art therapy activities activate neurotransmitters from the nervous system and endocrine system, which play a role in treating psychological diseases.

Perhaps the Countess of Hughes, whose artistic desire is stronger than anyone else, has developed her current unknown illness because she could not properly handle that emotion.

However, Theo had never studied art therapy professionally, so it was difficult to judge and approach it rashly.

Theo got up from his seat and carefully took the frame containing Charlie’s painting off the wall and began to wrap it carefully in a cloth.

◈ London Westminster, Hughes Earl’s Townhouse.

“It’s a pity that Simon was too busy with work to have dinner with us, but it was a really great meal.”

As the dessert came out, Theo expressed his gratitude to the Earl of Hughes.

“No. It’s insignificant compared to the attention you’ve given our son, haha.”

The Earl of Hughes and even Simon’s younger siblings all enjoyed the dinner, but the Countess of Hughes did not show up in the end. She was still apparently having difficulty moving around.

“Has there been no improvement in your wife’s condition?”

The Earl opened his mouth with a bitter expression.

“Until a few days ago, she said she was getting better and was eating little by little, but since the day before yesterday, her condition has gotten a little worse again.”

It seemed that she had been feeling better because of her eldest son, who had completely changed over the past few weeks, but she had become lethargic again.

The third daughter opened her mouth worriedly.

“That’s because a few days ago, she called a painter she had been introduced to and had him paint her portrait. But after seeing the painted picture…”

The Earl asked with a somewhat surprised expression at his daughter’s words.

“That happened while I was away? Why did someone who said she would never look at paintings again suddenly call a painter to her house and have him paint a portrait?”

“That’s… Mother wanted to have a family picture drawn on her eldest brother’s wedding day.”

The Countess seemed to have tried again, thinking that her body had improved a little recently.

However, she seemed to think that her sick appearance in the painting still looked unhappy.

The disease, for which there was no clear reason, was making not only the person herself but also her family tired and exhausted.

“Earl. I would like to show your wife a painting, would that be possible?”

The Earl tilted his head at Theo’s unexpected words.

“A painting?”

“Yes. We have an employee in our company who is quite good at painting portraits. I bought a portrait that friend painted… I brought it with me in case she liked this painting and I could introduce her to that friend.”

The Earl was grateful but hesitant.

“You don’t have to worry so much… Anyway, thank you so much for your concern. But, as you heard from my daughter just now, she was so disappointed in her appearance in the portrait that she seems to have a lot of trouble even looking at the painting itself. I’m sorry.”

“Ah, yes… It’s okay. I guess that’s right. Then I’ll show it to you next time when she’s stable.”

Theo was about to put the frame he was taking out back in with an embarrassed expression.

But the Earl, who had glanced at the painting he was putting in, hurriedly opened his mouth.

“Wait, wait a minute!”

“?”

“Mr. Sanderson, if you don’t mind, could I see that painting for a bit? Since it’s a painting that Mr. Sanderson deliberately brought, I’m curious for no reason.”

“Yes. It’s not difficult to see, but I don’t know how to appreciate paintings, so I don’t know if you’ll like it.”

Theo unwrapped the cloth again and handed the painting frame to the Earl of Hughes.

However, the Earl’s face, who had received the frame with a smile, seemed to harden, and the wrinkles on his forehead narrowed.

His daughter, who was next to him, came over to see the painting at her father’s unusual expression.

“Oh, the painting is so good?”

“You think so too?”

“Yes! Wow – the expression is really… Father? Don’t you think Mother will like this painting?”

The Earl of Hughes, who had changed into a serious look, politely asked Theo.

“I don’t know much about paintings either, but I know roughly what kind of paintings my wife likes because I live with her. I want to show this painting to my wife right now. I think my wife will really like this painting. Mr. Sanderson, can I take this painting and show it to her for a moment?”

“Yes, of course. I hope your wife likes it.”

The Earl of Hughes, who bowed his head to express his gratitude, hugged the painting preciously and hurried to his wife’s room.