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Chapter 36
“I know this isn’t really my place, but if I may say a word. To begin with, not everything in the mansion belongs to you, my lady. Even if you thought the clothes had been discarded, you should have asked for permission.”
“That’s… I really thought they were clothes meant to be thrown away.”
“Yes. That misunderstanding is your mistake. Your judgment was wrong, my lady.”
“Then are you telling me to take this dress off right now? Then I would….”
“You can simply buy something here and wear it. This shop also sells ready-made clothing.”
When I pointed at the dresses displayed on one side of the boutique, Chloe stopped crying and immediately looked in that direction. What I had pointed to was not a formal gown, but simple ready-made clothes suitable for going out casually or receiving guests at home.
“But buying clothes unnecessarily is a waste.”
“If you wear them many times, it won’t be a waste. And if you still think it’s wasteful, I’ll gift you a set myself.”
“Ah.”
“Over there—give her that brown outfit in the middle. And please repackage the dress she’s wearing.”
“How can a noble walk around wearing something like that? This shopping district is a place only nobles frequent, so I was told one has to dress properly. If you wear something like that, people will look down on you.”
“…….”
In other words, Chloe was saying that wearing those clothes would be unbecoming of a noble. She seemed to believe that nobles must always go around in extravagant custom-made dresses.
But not all nobles wear such flashy dresses in every situation. Even now, I myself was dressed in light outing clothes, and so was Flaria.
If anything, Chloe’s attire—wearing a cumbersome dress, high heels, and heavy jewelry that made it difficult to move—looked far stranger to others as she walked into the boutique.
“Then are you planning to keep wearing someone else’s clothes? Clothes you took without permission?”
“That’s not it, but… if Flaria would just be a little understanding—”
“You’re the one who made the mistake, yet you’re asking Flaria to be understanding?”
It was strange. The Chloe I had read about in the novel would have apologized through tears and put on the ready-made clothes. Why was she so desperately refusing to wear them?
“That’s because… I lived as a commoner, and this is the first time I’ve ever worn a dress like this. I didn’t even know I was part of a ducal family, so until now, I’d never had the chance to wear such a beautiful dress.”
“Hah, so that’s why you stole my dress? Come to think of it, I definitely saw that dress in my dressing room before I left today. There’s no way it was thrown away. Who would throw out something like this? Do you have any idea how much the jewels on it are worth?”
Only then did everything click for Flaria, who stepped forward and lifted the hem of the dress Chloe was wearing. Her shoes—previously hidden by the long skirt—came into view.
“Those shoes are mine too. And this necklace—this is mine as well. You used my entire dressing room. Like a rat.”
At Flaria’s words, Chloe, who had been unable to say anything, suddenly collapsed to the floor and burst into loud sobs.
“Father told you to treat me kindly! So why are you being like this? Sisters can wear each other’s clothes too! Isn’t this too much? Why won’t you acknowledge me as family?”
Chloe shouted even louder, as if she wanted everyone around to hear her grievance.
“You don’t like that I came back, do you? That’s why you’re treating me so coldly. Why? Is it because Father loved my mother more? Or because he dotes on me and you’re jealous? Even so, you didn’t have to humiliate me like this!”
Who, exactly, was in the wrong here?
Chloe seemed like someone who knew nothing of reflection. She was framing everything as Flaria’s jealousy.
By now, people’s gazes were openly fixed on us.
“Hah. This is so embarrassing.”
Flaria turned her head away, clearly unwilling to deal with this any further.
Taking Flaria’s place as she held her tongue, I raised my voice.
“Of course. To a noble lady, dresses, shoes, and jewelry are all assets. That’s why, no matter how close sisters may be, they don’t share them. Yet you took them without permission. My lady, this is rude behavior. If you didn’t know, that’s one thing—but now that you do, you should apologize.”
Chloe glared at me resentfully, then furtively scanned the reactions around her.
Every noble in the boutique was whispering while looking at Chloe with hostile eyes.
“I’m sorry… I acted that way because I thought we were family. I’ll return the dress and the shoes. You’ve worn clothes like these since you were young, but for me, everything is new. Please try to understand.”
Realizing public opinion was against her, Chloe stepped in front of Flaria, bowed her head deeply, and let tears fall.
The way she kept insisting on her own position to the very end while asking Flaria for understanding sent a chill down my spine. It was an attitude unimaginable for Chloe, the female lead of the novel.
That girl was supposed to be the heroine?
Then again, the novel had always been told from Chloe’s perspective—just like now, when she spoke only of her own circumstances.
After apologizing to Flaria, Chloe still couldn’t suppress her sense of injustice.
The only dress she owned had become dirty after visiting the imperial palace yesterday, so she couldn’t wear it again. But she couldn’t go out in her nightwear either.
So she had merely borrowed the outfit that suited Flaria the least.
And yet they had cornered her like that, going on about assets and property.
She resented Espin and Flaria for criticizing her without even understanding her situation. When you really thought about it, everything should have been hers in the first place. She was the first daughter of Duke Ameron, after all.
They had enjoyed all sorts of privileges as the empire’s only ducal lady while she was absent, yet now they were humiliating her over a single dress.
Unable to stop her tears, Chloe headed as far away from Flaria and Espin as she could.
In truth, she wanted to leave the boutique immediately. But having clothes made at this most popular boutique in the capital had always been her dream. Enduring the embarrassment, Chloe had no choice but to stay. The shame would be temporary—but the dress would last forever.
Once she finally managed to stop crying, a shop employee approached her.
“This is a tea that helps calm the nerves.”
The employee carefully set the teacup in front of her, and Chloe felt her mood lift. It was treatment she hadn’t received until just a few days ago.
“Did you come to look at dresses today?”
“Yes.”
“May I ask where you plan to wear the dress?”
“A dress for an imperial banquet.”
“Then shall I show you a few designs?”
The employee brought several catalogs and opened them.
“This one’s nice. This one’s good too. Oh, this one’s nice as well.”
As she browsed through the dresses, Chloe gradually grew excited, as though she had never cried at all. She could finally choose, to her heart’s content, the kind of dresses she had always admired.
As she examined them carefully, Chloe’s hand stopped on one page.
It was a dress that looked splendid at first glance. Small jewels adorned the shoulders, radiating elegance, and it seemed like it would beautifully highlight her shoulder line.
“I’ll take this one.”
Anyone could tell—it was a heroine’s dress.
Just as the Crown Prince had said, she would be the star of the upcoming imperial banquet. As the empire’s new ducal lady and the Crown Prince’s partner, all eyes would be on her.
It was the perfect design for her.
“Yes. And what color would you like?”
“This one. I want it in yellow.”
A color reminiscent of the Crown Prince’s golden hair.
