TVPTL 31

Chapter 31

“Nom.”

The acting was so awkward that reading from a textbook would’ve been more natural.

Right behind me, the Archduke straightened his posture and wiped the corner of his mouth.

It felt like he was reluctantly playing along with my poor performance.

‘For some reason, my fingertips are tingling.’

I subtly lowered the hand holding the fork beneath the table.

“Now that I think about it.”

The Archduke, having wiped his mouth, initiated the conversation.

“Have you decided where to spend the money?”

“Ah, no.”

I shook my head while absentmindedly feeding a piece of meat to Belroa.

“I still have no idea where to use it. Honestly, the number is so unbelievable.”

I’d only ever imagined such a number.

I never even dared to wish for it to come true.

“Hm.”

The Archduke made a thoughtful sound, as if pondering something.

“Let’s go downtown together.”

“Downtown?”

“Yes.”

Leandro nodded and looked at me.

“Let’s buy the things Miss Tekins needs.”

“Uh.”

I rolled my eyes. What did I even need?

Clothes? I already had a few in the wardrobe, even if just a handful.

Groceries? No need to worry about that.

Heating, maintenance, or utility bills? Not my concern anymore.

Honestly, there was nothing I needed to spend money on.

“I don’t really need anything.”

When I quietly said that, Leandro’s eyes narrowed.

“You don’t need anything, hmm. As far as I know, you only have a few sets of clothing.”

“A few sets should be… enough, shouldn’t they?”

Maybe not?

One padded jacket, a couple of long-sleeved outfits, a couple of short-sleeved ones, a couple of pants to rotate, one cardigan, and pajamas.

Isn’t that enough?

“Miss Tekins.”

Apparently not.

I shrank back slightly. It was only now I started to feel that feeding him meat earlier was less crazy than what I had just said.

“Do you have time tomorrow?”

He looked like he’d make time no matter what my answer was.

“Y-yes, but why…?”

“In that case, let’s schedule a trip to town for tomorrow.”

Maybe it was just my imagination, but it seemed like the Archduke was smiling wickedly.

“I shall teach you how to spend money.”

***

“Now this is how you spend money well!”

It wasn’t like I’d never heard such a phrase before.

The problem was, most people who said that were either shady investors or con artists.

‘But for a guardian figure in a childcare story to say that…’

I quietly stared at Archduke Leandro, who was sitting across from me in the carriage with his gaze still fixed on some documents.

He looked so busy—so why was he wasting time on something like this?

It’s not like I needed anything.

“Your Grace.”

When I called him, he only lifted his eyes to glance at me.

“Where are we headed right now?”

“You’ll see when we get there.”

He flipped through the documents as he answered.

“Have you thought about what you’d like to buy?”

After dinner last night, I had been given something like a homework assignment:

To make a list of things I wanted to buy.

“Hmm.”

I patted Belroa, who was snuggled close to my side, and tilted my head.

“I’d like to buy some clothes for Belroa. And some toys.”

“Your niece’s clothes and toys.”

“Yes. Ah! And handkerchiefs and some ribbon strings too. I want to buy several of them.”

Not for me, but for the servants.

I felt a bit bad since they flinched every time I moved even slightly.

Surely, they wouldn’t be scared if I gave them gifts, right?

“Oh! I also want to buy a pair of gloves for Lady Salisbury and a bottle of liquor for Lady Annette.”

“Hm.”

The Archduke closed his documents completely and looked at me.

“Understood.”

What’s with that strange gaze?

“Your Grace, we’ve arrived.”

Before I could say anything more, the coachman announced our arrival.

The carriage gradually slowed to a stop in front of a store. The Archduke stepped out first and held out his hand toward me.

I guess that meant he wanted me to take his hand as I got down.

‘He’s so considerate in moments like this.’

No, he’s considerate in general.

‘Like the time with the Preston gold coin incident.’

He took the coin hit himself and only sliced the one that was about to hit me.

Carefully, I placed my hand on top of his. His large hand supported me steadily as I stepped down.

As I descended the carriage steps holding his hand, a massive store came into view.

Unlike the other wooden buildings, this one was made of marble.

I recognized it immediately.

‘This is Eddi!’

The clothing store, Eddi.

Started by six siblings with natural talent, this small shop grew rapidly.

Now, it had branches across the entire continent.

‘I heard this is the main store.’

It was the fastest place to get the latest fashions, so everyone wanted to come here.

People even crossed the continent just to visit this store.

“Your Grace, Your Grace.”

Whether or not he knew all this—

I picked up Belroa and grabbed the Archduke’s hand as he headed straight for the entrance.

“You can’t just go in like this! Look over there!”

I gestured frantically. A long line of nobles was waiting to get into Eddi.

“You need to line up and get an entrance ticket to go in.”

And the one standing in line had to be the person themselves or an immediate family member.

How do I know this so well?

‘Because I used to wait in line for the trash collector…’

Since people started sending servants to hold spots and then sell them at high prices, Eddi implemented a rule: only the actual person or their immediate family could stand in line.

Thanks to that, even the haughtiest nobles were now waiting in line.

“You can’t get in at this hour. We’ll have to come back tomorrow. Come early in the morning and—”

“Welcome.”

Before I could finish speaking, Archduke Leandro had already reached the entrance.

Just how long are his legs?

“We’d like to enter.”

“Y-yes, of course.”

The staff member barely looked up from their checklist and nodded mechanically.

“Sorry, but could I see your entrance ticket? We require a ticket for—”

The employee stopped mid-sentence, eyes widening before they quickly bowed their head.

“I apologize. We didn’t know you were coming today. Please wait just a moment!”

They bowed repeatedly as if they had made a grave mistake and then ran inside.

What…?

“I thought we had to stand in line to enter.”

As I blinked, unsure of what just happened, the Archduke spoke in a friendly tone.

“You didn’t know the Leandro Duchy is an investor in Eddi?”

Our eyes met, and he gave me a gentle smile.

“Miss Ermia.”

“…!”

I nearly froze. I almost asked, Why are you calling me that?

‘Oh.’

Behind us stood a line of nobles.

Only then did I remember what the Archduke wanted from me.

To attract attention away from Belroa.

To avoid rumors about an engagement with the Archduke.

And most of all, to act like someone he was genuinely infatuated with.

“Aha, haha.”

I laughed awkwardly and shut my eyes tight.

I’m a villainess. The villainess Ermia Tekins. Socially ruined radioactive waste…!

“Isn’t it fine if I don’t know something like that?”

I shamelessly lifted my chin and smiled.

“Honestly, knowing that Eddi’s dresses are pretty is more than enough, isn’t it?”

Looking him straight in the eyes, I smiled again.

“Tejer, back me up. It’s embarrassing with everyone watching.”

As I lightly brushed his collar, I heard gasps from the nobles behind us.

“Yes, that’s right.”

Archduke Leandro took my hand.

“Shall we go in, Miss Ermia?”

“Let’s.”

Hand in hand, we slowly walked inside.

“Y-Your Grace…”

I held my back as straight as possible, but I couldn’t stop the trembling.

“Did I do well? Was that really okay?”

Was that truly the right thing to do?

I couldn’t stop the swarm of question marks popping up in my head.

“Very.”

The Archduke smiled, gripping my hand tightly.

“I’m very pleased, Ermia.”