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Chapter 38.
“I really did lose my property over that incident and I truly did go under, but… it’s hard to endure people openly pointing fingers and saying I’m ruined. And if we advertise that the future Archduchess bought something here, I think even this shop—where flies are buzzing—might somehow pull through…”
“Ahem…”
Clearing his throat, Mio glanced around the shop for no particular reason. Come to think of it, quite a bit of time had passed since they’d entered, yet the bell hanging at the entrance hadn’t rung even once.
So there really are no customers.
At this rate, it might even be difficult to pay the clerk’s wages. As the image of the particularly listless-sounding employee came to mind, Mio made a decision.
Yeah. In any case, the only person I could entrust this to was the count… and better for things to work out smoothly.
If, in the process, she could also get her hands on Tararia—something akin to a direct express train—it would be icing on the cake. Mio shifted her cheeks slightly, then spoke.
“Count. Are you interested in interior decorating?”
“Interior… decorating?”
“Yeah. Actually, I’ve taken charge of furnishing Moro Manor. With that budget, I think it should be manageable.”
“Yes, yes! Interior decorating—I’m really very interested!”
The count clasped his hands together, his eyes shining. It looked as if several tails were flapping behind him.
“Good. From today on, Count, you’re the general supervisor in charge of furnishing Moro Manor. I’d like the items you purchase to be rare ones, if possible—things surrounded by rumors, the kind people would say they’d even enter a haunted house just to see.”
“Yes, full of rumors…! A haunted house…!”
Count Duon diligently wrote down Mio’s words in a notebook he pulled from his pocket.
“Let’s process Tararia as one of the purchases made in the course of that. I’ll go back right away and send over the butler. Of course, I’ll make sure to leave a generous fee for the general supervisor’s efforts.”
“Lady Mio…”
The count looked at Mio with deeply moved eyes, but Mio avoided his gaze. She couldn’t help but wonder how he could look at her like that even knowing that the very reason his smuggling business had been exposed before was none other than Mio herself.
Anyway, this repays the debt of having ruined his business.
Thinking that, Mio stood up—then turned back again. Alletheia’s mind reading suddenly came to mind.
“By the way, you remember the warning I gave you last time, right?”
“A warning…?”
“The one about not running into the Archduke.”
“Ah, yes. I remember it very well.”
“That wasn’t a joke—it was serious. And if he finds out that we were working together behind the scenes like this, it might not end with just prison this time.”
“I—I’ll keep it firmly in mind!”
Count Duon replied in a thoroughly frightened voice. That should be enough of a warning. Mio turned away without hesitation.
After returning to Moro Manor and checking the dress, Mio could truly appreciate Count Duon’s keen eye.
He even added ties to the ambiguous parts so they could be adjusted.
Once the interwoven strings were tied into knots, it looked like a perfectly tailored dress. Just in case, the count had urgently stopped Mio as she was about to leave and taken her measurements, but that seemed to have been unnecessary.
“Ahh! P-please don’t move, mistress! It’s not fully tied yet…!”
Rosa, completely focused on the clothing, scolded Mio as she kept turning her body this way and that in front of the mirror.
“Okay. Sorry.”
The only drawback was that it was absolutely impossible to put on alone. It was a good thing she’d brought Rosa along—otherwise, she would have had to borrow Jamie’s hands. Mio crouched down to make it easier for Rosa to tie the strings and examined her reflection in the mirror.
Is it because it’s completely different from what I usually wear? It feels a bit awkward.
Caleb had always preferred flashy dresses, so this was her first time wearing something that pared down the decorations and lace to a moderate level. In other words, it was a slightly more refined style than usual.
Still, the count’s claim that it was a top-tier item was true. Even a stranger could tell at a glance: instead of flamboyance, this white dress exuded an overwhelming sense of luxury. It must be because of the incredibly soft fabric. That was exactly what she liked about it.
Fiddling with the hem of the dress, Mio murmured,
“I had no idea Count Duon’s taste was like this. I thought he only liked flashy styles.”
“I—I’m almost done…!”
Rosa, reflexively shouting while concentrating on tying the knots, blurted out. Mio shut her mouth for a moment, then added softly,
“Don’t rush. Take your time.”
Otherwise it might end up not being tied properly. Yet Rosa was so focused that there was no reply. After some time passed—
“It’s done…!”
Rosa cried out in a voice filled with emotion, sweat beading on her forehead. Mio sprang to her feet.
“Amazing, Rosa. If it weren’t for you, I’d never have been able to wear this dress.”
“Then what should I do next?!”
Rosa said, looking around eagerly. The room Mio had designated as the dressing room was the one Alletheia had previously filled to the brim with gifts, so the items from then were scattered about somewhat haphazardly—of course, all the packaging had already been removed. Rosa darted back and forth among them, saying,
“Um, which of these would go well with the dress? When I saw the maids working at the Duke of Celt’s household, they did things like this all the time…”
“Rosa. It’s fine—no need for anything else.”
“Really…?”
Yeah. Everything here reeks of ‘wedding gifts,’ and it makes me uncomfortable. Hiding her true thoughts, Mio simply smiled. Rosa gloomily set down the small handbag she had been holding.
“All right, then…”
But seeing Rosa so clearly disappointed, Mio quickly changed her mind.
Ah, whatever. If the owner of the manor never even touches or uses the household items, what kind of owner is that? The various luxury goods spread out before her weren’t wedding gifts—they were simply parts of the manor.
“Oh, but that bag you’re holding right now is nice. Bring it over.”
“This one?! Yes! Here you go, mistress!”
“Is Caleb still angry? I told you the shipboard party involves business matters, so it’s not something I can change lightly.”
“……”
“Instead, you can decide the location of the next banquet. Even if you say you want it at the Imperial Palace, I’ll definitely agree.”
But no matter what he suggested, Caleb only sat there with his head bowed. Wyden kept trying to draw a response.
“More importantly, let’s decide what to do for my birthday next month.”
“……Birthday……”
Caleb murmured quietly.
“Is there anything you want to do? Maybe this year we can spend it quietly, just the two of us. The Grand Duke of Moro is in the capital, and there’s a wedding coming up soon. It’s unfortunate, but I suppose we’ll have to yield this birthday to the Archduke.”
Wyden joked about the shared sorrow of having the same birthday.
“Let’s take a trip while we’re at it. Just this once, Mother and Father won’t say anything—somewhere really far away. How about the Carnian Forest? You said you wanted to visit those old ruins there sometime. You wanted to see how they’d changed.”
“……”
“Caleb. Please, say something. What do I have to do to make you stop being angry?”
Faced with the continued silence, Wyden began to plead, saying he’d do anything. At that, Caleb slowly turned his head to face Wyden.
“…Will you really do anything for me?”
Wyden nodded immediately, saying he would.
“What is this? Mio Northam didn’t copy Miss Caleb’s dress!”
The hottest topic igniting the start of today’s party was Mio’s attire.
Some said it was the bride-to-be’s belated image management before the wedding; others said Mio had finally stopped her childish harassment of Caleb.
“So the absurd love triangle comes to an end like this.”
“It was about time she gave up. Unless the young duke had wavered even a little—which he clearly hadn’t. It’s good for everyone.”
“More importantly, which atelier is that dress from?”
No matter what people were saying about her, Mio busily darted her eyes around, searching for Caleb. Having come here, she’d learned from the previous banquet that the best course of action was to resolve her business quickly and leave.
No matter how you dress it up, of all things—to ask me to be your partner right there.
Honestly, she hadn’t expected someone who claimed to have been sick all week to so readily agree to attend a banquet together, and she’d spoken without thinking.
