/
The lips opened and closed repeatedly, trying to say something, but what she saw in Cesare at the end—.
“[Aike].”
There was a white rose on the white palm.
There was no hesitation, and Cesare, who had been silent for a moment as if choosing his words, slowly opened his mouth.
“I’m sorry to make you tired because of these idiots. If you sleep with this flower next to you, you can have your dreams come true. You will also be able to meet your deceased mother. If you just want it, it can be used for a long time, not just one day.”
“For how long?”
“Until the end of my life.”
It means that she will not lose for the rest of her life.
“And, Catherine. I almost forgot the most important thing.”
“How many more words do you have left? Why don’t you go to sleep at my house tonight?”
“I really want to do that. To be honest, I want to keep you in my sight and hold you around my side whenever I go out.”
“—It’s the first time I’ve heard of such a thing. You’re not really falling in love with me, are you?”
With a bright smile like a flower in full bloom, Cesare answered.
“Are you kidding? I don’t know where to laugh.”
Embarrassing.
While coughing a little, Cesare took something out of his arms and handed it to her. When she lived in Orléans, it was a correspondence on the finest paper she often saw.
“What is this?”
“It’s nothing fancy, just an invitation to a banquet.”
“Why are you giving this to me?”
“Of course—. I’d like us to attend together. Please read it within today. I hope that you don’t reject the offer. It is not a meaningful banquet, it is just a social gathering place for eating and playing.”
She didn’t even have time to answer. Cesare, who turned his back on her, disappeared from her mansion without a trace.
“You should say goodbye and go.”
Did he go back to the Duke mansion? Or, she wondered if he had visited the Vatican as he had been warned.
「Catherine, what is that black bag?」
“This? I think it has cash in it. We went there to get money in the first place.”
「Ah. Do you consider yourself lucky to have received a bag and a handful of cash? Catherine is really a pushover. If you want to get anything from the devil in exchange for your soul, you should get something greater. A giant rice bowl made of diamonds, or human meat made of diamonds—.」
“It must be very easy to satisfy your needs.”
Meows seem to feel great when they have diamonds attached to them.
Catherine, who went straight back to the bedroom, opened her bag while speaking. Looking at the thickness, which is thinner than she thought, it seems not to be the amount of money she expected.
It’s different from my wish, right? She’ll have to check it out tomorrow when they meet. Right now, she thought she should distribute the amount appropriately and use it to hire a maid.
But her plan went to nothing as soon as she spilled the contents of the bag.
Clink!
Meow, who was walking around the contents with its little front paws, quickly returns to its original shape and shows its fangs. She heard the sound of a glass bottle breaking, and wondered whether it had been crushed by a huge body and wings.
Grrrrr!
「Cesare is really bad! A bad scammer! He only gave you a strange piece of paper when he should give a money!」
“Calm down, Meow. This isn’t the strange piece of paper you think it is.”
It’s a blank check. It was a bundle, a hundred sheets to put it simply. It was an unrealistic situation.
She can’t believe there are hundreds of blank checks guaranteed by the Imperial Bank. Even half of the checks were guaranteed by Queens Bank, so they could be used in countries where Imperial Bank bills were not accepted.
Catherine pinched her cheek once, wondering if she was dreaming. Seeing it hurts, it’s definitely real.
「If it’s not weird, what is it? He’s saying an unpleasant thing, right? Look at this! He even sent you a piece of paper to tease Catherine!」
“It’s not a paper with a picture on it.”
「Hng? Then what is it? Sniff sniff.」
Meow reduced its body size and brought its nose closer to Catherine’s paper. The identity of the paper was none other than a ticket to board the luxury passenger ship of Jenon Fahenrichin . It is also a ticket exclusively for VIPs with the seal of the shipowner.
Oh, crap.
She has no option but to go to the ship in this case.
Catherine was fascinated by the furniture exhibition.
*****
The next day, noon.
It was when the dry wind and brownish leaves began to fall one by one. Meow, who was rolling around on the tree, came up to her bedroom.
「Catherine.」
“Hmm?”
「I’m telling you because you don’t seem to know, but~~ Cesare came a while ago.」
“Again?”
When she slowly went down to the drawing room, Cesare, who came without a sound today, was drinking tea.
“It took about 20 minutes.”
“If you’re here, tell me you’re here, Cesare. Are you enjoying your time waiting for me?”
“That’s pretty romantic. Let’s say so.”
For some reason, he was wearing the most appropriate outfit for the position of ‘Grand Duke Christopher‘ among all the appearances she had ever seen.
A neat three-piece suit, a reddish brown tie, and stylishly pulled back hair. With that face and silver-rimmed glasses, which are the trademarks of the Grand Duke, he would be the perfect Grand Duke Cesare.
Catherine didn’t hide her exclamation that exploded spontaneously.
“Do you have a banquet? You look so handsome today.”
“Hmm. I’m glad you can see that. Because I’m going to the theater with you now. It’s been a while since I’ve paid attention to it.”
“—What?”
He didn’t even give Catherine time to be dumbfounded.
“Do you have any clothes? Of course, I don’t mind if Miss Catherine goes out in that condition.”
“What theater are you at all of a sudden? There can’t be clothes to wear in places like that.”
“I can’t believe you don’t have it. What about the money I gave you?”
“I’m busy budgeting with that money. I was going to take a little more time to get clothes and stuff.”
Cesare smiled kindly.
“Don’t worry. I knew that would happen, so I prepared everything.”
What?
Instead of opening his mouth, a familiar woman’s voice came in with a smile outside the drawing room passage.
“Lady Catherine!”
“Lady, let’s go and decorate it nicely! We’ve prepared everything on the second floor.”
There were hands clasping Catherine’s arms in a noisy chatter. It was the maids who brought the tea every time she visited Cesare’s mansion.
“Wait, where am I—”
“Hurry up and come!”
The pulling power was so strong that she couldn’t even struggle. She wondered if only the arms and legs were joined together with the muscles. The maids leading up the stairs laughed quietly.
“It’s the first time His Highness has taken care of a woman.”
I guess so, because I’m his contractor.
“We’re so nervous right now. When you become the Duchess, you must call us! Did you know? Christopher’s Annex is so stuffy.”
Apparently, these maids seemed to be doing the right thing, even if they were mistaken.
The maids bring Catherine into the room on the second floor and lock the door. In the middle of the room where there was some kind of cool energy, Rose was standing with a needle and a thread.
“Lady, go ahead and try it. How can clothes be so pretty?”
In addition to Rose, who believed so, the three maids began to strip her and put the clothes on her.
‘I didn’t agree to go—.’
As for the clothes, the design was second to none, and the material of the fabric was very good. Except for tightening the waist, the feel of the arm or shoulder was surprisingly soft. She doesn’t know how long it has been since she has worn these kinds of clothes.
“What do you think?”
“It fits perfectly.”
“Haha, we have a good sense of vision. We found out exactly when we only saw the Lady twice!”
“Ah, next time, please come to me before you see the Lady. I’ll give you more perfect measurements.”
“Oh my. I will, Miss Rose.”
The three of them looked so happy, so she couldn’t say that there would be no such thing in the future.
After she finally pulled up her long-brimmed hat, she cautiously left the mansion. Perhaps thanks to her long training in the social world, she didn’t feel uncomfortable wearing high-heeled shoes after a long time.
「Wow! Catherine smells disgusting! My nose hurts!」
Meow didn’t run to Catherine, but rolled over the grass.
“It’s a perfume. It’s a scent that other people use to make them feel that they’re attractive.”
「Ugh.. It’s not attractive but painful
 I’m taking a break today.」
Covering its nose with its front paws, Meow disappears into the garden. Catherine looked at the adorable back and went out into her path. In front of her front door, Damian was talking to Cesare with a large carriage and a sullen face. As she approached his side, Cesare turned his head. Surprised, the eyes that opened wide for a while soon folded pleasantly.
“The green color suits you very well.”
Cesare’s face was contemplating whether to believe it or not.
‘Really.’
Rather than explaining every word, she turned her gaze to Damian standing next to him.
“But why are you harassing Damian again?”
As if waiting, Damian opened his mouth.
“Lady, talking about the shipboard party. I thought I didn’t have to go?”
What is he talking about all of a sudden?
From what he said, Cesare seemed to have already decided that Catherine would accompany him and ordered Damien to follow her.
“How much work do I have to do now? In a week, when the Lady is on a cruise, the garden will be perfectly trimmed. I don’t have to look at that little piece of construction board anymore.”
If Damian had pretended to care about gardening, she might have understood. However, seeing Damian’s shameless face changed her mind. Why does he pick a garden when he’s just playing around all day?
“Don’t think about running away. You have to tak! stick to me—. But Cesare, when was the day we got on board?”
Cesare, who was leaning against the carriage, checked his watch. As she was wondering why he was checking the time, he made a thunderbolt-like sound with his mouth.
“Today. Three hours left.”