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Chapter 12:
“Come on, come inside. Oh my! What an adorable young master! He looks exactly like his mother.”
“…We came to buy a dress. Do you have any ready-made dresses?”
“Oh! You came to the right place. We actually have a dress looking for a new owner. There’s nothing wrong with it! The young lady who ordered it simply changed her taste…”
In the end, we brought Lu with us.
Lucian’s round eyes sparkled like stars as he looked around the dress shop.
He seemed fascinated by the measuring tapes, the boxes placed everywhere, and the neatly displayed ribbons and lace samples.
Leon was dressed unusually simply today.
He also came in a carriage with no sign of the Voltane family.
Even if someone recognized his face, they would probably be smart enough to keep quiet after seeing how carefully he had disguised himself.
Rita was already discussing things with the owner of the dress shop.
“This dress won’t work. It doesn’t match the lady’s hair color.”
“I agree. But this one might work. If we change the lace around the chest and add a ribbon here…”
“Oh! That’s a great idea. Wait, I’ll get something to sketch with…”
Hmm.
This was a pleasant sight.
Leon didn’t seem interested in the dress shop at all.
After getting my measurements taken, I became absorbed in looking at the fabrics.
Fashion now was completely different from the fashion ten years later.
The clothes currently in style looked a little old-fashioned to me.
But I couldn’t fall into that trap.
If I wore clothes that would be fashionable ten years from now, people today would think they looked strange.
But what about the fabric itself?
I touched several fabrics in the shop and thought carefully.
Anyone would prefer soft fabric, especially when it touched their skin directly.
There was someone who introduced an important technology to the Oker family in my previous life.
Maybe I should try to recruit that person early.
While I was deep in thought, something lightly touched the back of my neck.
Leon had quietly approached me from behind.
“Your neck looked empty.”
I felt something cold and heavy around my neck.
It was a beautiful necklace with a large green gemstone that perfectly matched my eye color.
Brilliant diamonds surrounded it like drops of water falling from a fountain.
“Oh my! It’s so beautiful!”
Rita rushed over excitedly.
Leon handed her a small box.
When Rita opened it, she almost screamed.
Inside were matching earrings.
She immediately put one on each of my ears.
I narrowed my eyes and looked up at Leon.
We had come directly from the Otreha mansion to this dress shop.
There hadn’t been any time to buy jewelry like this.
“Where did you get this?”
“I found it on the way.”
“You found this? Where? Did you rob a dragon’s nest?”
“Something like that.”
What a ridiculous answer.
I lightly hit his waist with my elbow.
His firm waist didn’t seem to feel the attack at all.
The dress shop owner blushed and exclaimed,
“Having jewelry like this changes everything! We can make the dress much more daring, and it will still look perfect.”
“I already have an idea!”
“Why don’t we make a completely new dress to match these jewels?”
Before I could answer, Leon nodded.
“Make three or four.”
He took a check from his pocket, signed it, and handed it to the owner.
“Write whatever price you think is appropriate. Send the finished dresses to the Voltane estate.”
“The Duke of Voltane?!”
The dress shop owner almost screamed.
She quickly bowed respectfully.
Silence filled the room.
The employees and customers looked back and forth between Leon and me.
They were just about to start whispering when Lucian came running from the corner.
He had been playing with some ribbons.
The child suddenly hugged Leon’s leg and cheerfully shouted,
“Dad! My legs hurt. Carry me!”
Silence again.
I closed my eyes in complete resignation.
The Duke of Voltane had come to buy women’s clothes.
And there was a little child calling him Dad.
How long would it take for this news to spread throughout the capital?
One day?
Two days?
Leon casually picked Lucian up.
“Sure. Let’s go with Dad.”
He held Lucian comfortably and looked around the shop.
His frightening beauty and cold gaze immediately silenced everyone.
I shouldn’t have come out.
But this was going to happen sooner or later.
The news that the unmarried Leon Voltane had an illegitimate child spread through the capital like wildfire.
Leon simply said,
“I told you we should have rented out the entire dress shop.”
Then he calmly added,
“Actually, this worked out well. Now annoying people won’t approach us.”
I attended Countess Chastang’s gathering while preparing myself to be questioned and attacked by gossip.
“The Duke of Voltane has an illegitimate child?”
“Oh my…”
People had completely misunderstood the situation.
Let’s say Leon Voltane really did have a child.
Who would know who the woman standing beside him at that time had been?
The entire party became focused on discussing who the mysterious mother of the child was.
Nobody paid attention to me.
Yes.
I was completely ignored.
Should I consider that a good thing?
The party continued smoothly.
Eventually, Countess Chastang, who had spoken with every guest, finally approached me.
I straightened my back even more.
“Countess Chastang.”
I greeted the countess, who had a few strands of gray hair.
Then I greeted each of the noblewomen standing beside her by name.
I was confident that my manners were perfect.
After all, I had trained extremely hard after being criticized by Countess Chastang in my previous life.
Countess Chastang spoke.
“Lady Otreha, you’re different from what I heard.”
“I’m simply honored and nervous to meet you, Countess.”
“That will do. Rumors aren’t always worth believing.”
“Would you like to look at the flowers with me?”
“Your glass garden has been something I’ve admired for a long time.”
Countess Chastang seemed satisfied with my flattery.
She didn’t smile at me, but she gracefully gestured for me to follow her.
Honestly, my legs were trembling.
The Countess’s garden was a greenhouse.
Since winter hadn’t arrived yet, the temperature inside wasn’t much different from outside.
There were many kinds of flowers I had never seen before.
But the thing that truly captured my attention wasn’t the unusual flowers.
It was the elegant metal framework covering the ceiling and the thin glass panels fitted between it.
“My goodness. This greenhouse is a masterpiece of magical engineering.”
“The way it maintains the temperature is both elegant and ingenious.”
The words escaped my mouth naturally.
The metal framework curved irregularly like vines.
The glass panels fit perfectly between the framework without gaps.
They were smooth and evenly curved, forming a beautiful dome without noticeable differences in thickness or impurities.
It was a magnificent piece of architecture that could only be created through magic in this era.
This is amazing!
I was secretly applauding as I looked around the greenhouse.
Then a noblewoman’s voice suddenly came at me.
“Come to think of it, Lady Otreha, you’re getting married soon, aren’t you?”
“I suppose I should send you a wedding gift.”
She couldn’t be talking about Leon.
It had to be about Pascal.
