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Chapter 7
The boutique was quiet due to the lack of customers, but the interior and the quality of the products looked quite good.
The owner, Aurora, came out with a bright smile.
“Welcome.”
“We’ve come from the Lewin Ducal House.”
At Eva’s words, Aurora looked at me in surprise. No high-ranking nobles frequented her boutique yet.
“What are you looking for?”
“The young lady needs clothes to wear at home and outfits for going out.”
Eva answered again on my behalf, and it made me strangely emotional, reminding me of living with my manager in my previous life.
“Certainly. Please wait a moment.”
Aurora went inside and returned with a catalog of illustrated outfits, handing it to me.
When I selected around twenty indoor outfits and twenty outdoor outfits, Aurora’s eyes widened so much I worried they might tear apart, and her hands trembled. No, it looked like her entire body was shaking.
The only clothes I currently owned were worn-out maid uniforms, so I needed a lot, and urgently.
So I picked a few more outfits that I could take and wear immediately.
“Aurora, I have a favor to ask.”
“Yes, my lady. Please tell me anything.”
While flipping through Aurora’s design book, I pointed out parts I wanted altered.
At first she only wrote down my opinions, but eventually she began adding her own ideas.
Her sense was even better than I had expected, which made me like her more.
“My lady, you are truly incredible. Even as someone who professionally designs clothing, these are ideas I never would have considered. I’ll work hard to make sure the final products satisfy you.”
I smiled faintly and nodded.
“I need a debutante dress, and I already have a design in mind. Would you like to try making it?”
Aurora’s eyes rounded before she nodded vigorously.
“If it’s your design, then I absolutely want to try.”
I handed her the design book I had drawn at home, and Aurora studied the dresses with fascinated eyes.
The current trend in the Perlin Empire favored girlish styles with frills and ribbons, but that wasn’t my taste at all.
“My lady, this is astonishing. I’ve never seen dresses like these anywhere in the Empire.”
In my previous life, I had been known as a fashionista, a sold-out queen, and a best-dressed celebrity at award shows.
So I had recreated more than ten dress designs I used to wear in my former life.
‘Thank you, Dior, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Valentino. Since this is another world, please forgive me.’
I silently thanked—and apologized to—many other brands as well.
I would need countless dresses to attend parties in the future, and there was no reason I shouldn’t have what I wanted when the Lewin Ducal House possessed more money than it could spend.
“They’re simple, yet not lacking in elegance. It’s a strange feeling. Every single design is something completely new. I want to make them with my own hands. Will you truly entrust them to me?”
“They’ll be one-of-a-kind dresses, so I’m counting on you.”
“Yes. I’ll do my utmost not to disappoint you.”
After deciding that she would begin creating the new dresses after delivering the ones I had ordered first, we left the shop.
Once outside, I gave Eva some free time and wandered around the shopping district alone.
In truth, I was conducting market research, trying to figure out what kind of business I should start in order to become wealthy enough to gain power.
There was a difference between reading about things and seeing them firsthand.
Of course, I already knew which products would become trends in the future from the novel, but I wanted to go one step further.
I first visited stores run by large merchant guilds. I figured there had to be a reason they became so successful.
The moment I entered the first store, the spacious interior and neatly organized merchandise caught my eye.
As expected from the number one merchant guild, it felt like walking into a giant supermarket.
Among all the perfectly arranged products, I searched specifically for items with only one left in stock.
‘There it is.’
Just as I reached out to grab the ornament, someone suddenly grabbed my hand along with it.
Startled, I looked toward the owner of the hand.
Standing before me was an extraordinarily handsome man with blond hair and violet eyes, looking equally flustered.
“My apologies, my lady.”
Without realizing it, I found myself staring at his face, and he didn’t avoid my gaze either.
His confident, upright eyes were striking.
‘How can someone possibly be that handsome?’
Even though I had spent my entire previous life surrounded by attractive faces, this was the first time I’d ever been genuinely stunned by someone’s appearance.
And his physique was absurdly perfect too.
‘Who is this person? Was there someone like him in the novel? Blond hair and purple eyes…’
I was curious about his identity, but no matter how hard I thought, no character came to mind.
While I was deeply absorbed in studying the man standing before me—
“Ahem.”
The sound of him clearing his throat finally snapped me back to reality, and I spoke coldly to hide my embarrassment.
“If you’re sorry, then perhaps you could let go of my hand now?”
“Ah!”
The man hurriedly released my hand, visibly flustered.
“My apologies once again.”
“It’s fine.”
Since it seemed to be an honest mistake, I said nothing more and turned my attention back to the ornament.
But I could still feel his persistent gaze following me.
I had been accustomed to looks like this since my previous life, but I hadn’t expected to receive them already.
I hadn’t even begun my appearance-improvement project yet.
Of course, the base itself was excellent, but right now I was far too skinny, pale, and hollow-cheeked to look truly attractive.
‘Were my standards just too high? Maybe this is already enough?’
As I was pondering that, I saw a hand reach for the ornament in front of me.
‘Huh?’
Startled, I quickly turned my head and met the man’s eyes once more.
I asked sharply,
“What exactly are you doing?”
“Trying to buy this item.”
“Didn’t you see that I grabbed it first? I was trying to buy it, but you grabbed my hand and interrupted me.”
“Ah, after that you simply stood there silently, so I assumed you no longer intended to purchase it.”
When I held out my hand expectantly, the man reluctantly handed the item over.
“My apologies, my lady.”
I gave a slight nod, paid for the ornament, and left the shop.
Then I entered another store and reached for another item with only one left in stock—
—but instead of the item, my hand touched a firm human hand.
Startled again, I turned my gaze and found the same handsome man from earlier.
This time I was the one who panicked and pulled my hand away first.
An awkward silence passed between us, somewhere between pretending to know each other and pretending not to.
Then the man spoke.
“I reached this one first, so if you’ll excuse me, my lady.”
With perfect manners, he carried the item toward the counter.
I quickly asked the clerk whether there was more stock, only to hear that the item came from the Eastern Continent and would take over a month to arrive.
A whole month.
I couldn’t help feeling disappointed.
And then, in the third shop I visited, I ran into the man yet again.
‘Meeting three times like this… is it fate?’
The moment I saw him standing before a display shelf, my heart began racing.
‘Fate my ass!’
I hurried over, convinced he would go for the same item again, but I couldn’t match his speed.
He moved ahead of me lightly and smoothly, like flowing water.
The feeling of defeat was devastating.
‘I hate losing so much I’ve never once lost first place right in front of me. Not just on music shows—even at idol sports competitions.’
When I looked up at him, his expression strangely seemed proud and triumphant, like a victor.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but it sparked an odd sense of competitiveness in me.
‘Who the hell is this guy?’
Having my desired items snatched away repeatedly by the same man ruined my mood rapidly.
And astonishingly, after that, I encountered him two more times.
‘Is it even possible to run into someone five times by coincidence? At this point, is he doing it on purpose? Wait… is he stalking me?’
If I were still Ha-yoon, the answer would definitely have been sasaeng fan.
But now, I couldn’t be certain, which made it even more frustrating.
Still, no matter how I thought about it, I felt like the reason had to be me.
Unless someone was gathering information through market research like I was, there was no reason for a single person to shop for such a bizarrely wide variety of items.
It was shopping on a scale that transcended age, gender, nationality, and even social status.
And since I couldn’t remember him from the novel at all, he was definitely not a noble.
Because I hadn’t grown up in a class-based society, I didn’t hold prejudices like that.
But the Perlin Empire was not an equal world.
And because of that, not just anyone could start a merchant guild here.
The Empire was enormous, and accordingly, countless merchant guilds existed.
In the beginning, commoners had run most of them, but when nobles saw the immense wealth those merchants accumulated, aristocrats with sharp business sense jumped into the industry as well.
The nobles, armed with superior connections, rapidly expanded their merchant guilds.
As a result, the Empire’s major merchant guilds were now divided between high-ranking nobles and the commoners who had pioneered the trade industry in its early days.
