Luckily, the tea seemed to have cooled down enough to not burn his skin off. Kalcion wiped the stain with a towel handed over by an employee and turned back to Selena.
Catching the look in his eyes, she became confident. Kalcion did not know how to react.
âAs long as he doesnât screw up, Iâm good. Should I try?â
It had been less than an hour since she said he no longer needed to act, but a humanâs greed could never be satisfied.
Just as Kalcion wanted her to learn swordsmanship even though their limited relationship would end someday if she returned to her world, there were times when Selena yearned for his acting.
âWhat do you think, Duke? Iâm wearing it.â
âHmmâŠâŠâ
He hummed in thought. The more he delayed, the higher her expectations rose.
âPretty.â
However, the answer did not meet her expectations. Even if it was hard for Kalcion to say more, Selena could not give up.
âWhich part of it looks pretty?â
âAll of it.â
âYes, so, where?â
When she repeated her question, he noticed it. This time, he strained his eyes to study Selena.
Needless to say, he always felt weird to look at her neck, even worse to look at her front, embarrassed to look at her waist and the curves down her thighs.
Therefore, he couldnât take his eyes off her face.
âI seeâŠâŠ. only your face.â
He believed it would not be such a wrong answer.
But as he had guessed, Selenaâs eyes grew wide and she burst into laughter.
âWhat, Duke? You have to say if it looks good on me.â
âHahaha.â
The staff standing next to her also chuckled.
Contrary to what the rumors described him as a brutal man, the Duke of Renbird rather had an innocent heart. Thatâs what their eyes interpreted.
After calming down, he quickly ran his eyes up and down Selenaâs body.
He decided to get an overall image. He didnât need to count or admire the number of jewels.
âYou look like a flower.â
âYouâre not cursing, are you, Duke?â
âDoes a flower mean a curse to you?â
Surprised, he asked immediately.
Selena was also taken aback. How could she forget that he tended to take things seriously when she tried to make fun of him?
âNo, like, thereâs no explanation. There are many kinds of flowers.â
âYou areâŠâŠâ
He tried to recall. She was different from the flowers seen in the field. She did not resemble the unknown wildflowers.
If he had to be precise, Selena looked like a flower that was grown with much love and devotion inside a greenhouse.
âDifferent from wildflowers. Like someone devoted his heart to growing a flower so very colorful. Like those unusually large flowers, we see in a greenhouse. You remind me of such flowers.â
Kalcion averted his gaze again, wandering somewhere on the ceiling above Selenaâs head.
âIs it hot?â
Selenaâs face was bright red. Kalcion had no clue that it was because of him. His eyes awkwardly landed on the chandelier above to see if it was hot.
âIâll buy this.â
Selena decided with no further thoughts.
âWhew.â
She was finally able to breathe after the curtain closed behind her. She tried to cool down by covering her burning face with both hands.
She didnât expect Kalcion to say such sweet words. What made her heart pound was that he sounded like he really meant it.
âOh, I swear itâs not my first time hearing compliments.â
She couldnât count how many silly compliments she heard in her life. Like, âa beauty that had the power to destroy the worldâ or âa beauty to make all living things breathlessâ.
âUnnie, donât swim! Because the fishes will not be able to breathe and the marine ecosystem will die!â
âYou are an angel sealed on Earth for the universe to breatheâŠâŠâ
Those compliments sounded all the same, so she just laughed and passed them over. Her being compared to a flower was what embarrassed her from head to toe.
âI was so surprised. Should I say itâs just an exclamation for the achievement of my disciple? Well, it canât be because I feel something special. He was just serious because he said I have too good sword lifting skills to waste.â
Selena explained to herself, calming down her heart.
âHe was just expressing my beauty. No need to be surprised, no need to be moved. Letâs be proud that he could say that.â
She felt like she was making more excuses.
She changed back to her clothes and came out to see a stranger bowing constantly next to Kalcion.
âWhat happened? Who is this?â
âSomething very amazing! Oh, Iâm Randy, the chief designer of Lumera!â
Randy failed to hide his excitement.
âThere werenât many people who matched my design that was hard to pull off, but I had to rush here when I heard someone was born to finally wear itâŠ..!â
âAhâŠâŠ yes.â
But, why was he bowing to Kalcion?
âHis Excellency said that he likes the dress you wore earlier and that heâs buying all of my designs!â
âOhâŠâŠâ
From the designerâs point of view, it was awesome. Selena was sad that the designs were all bought because there werenât many people to wear them and that the world lost a chance to recognize them.
However, she was not surprised. It was not the first time Kalcion did it. So, she reluctantly nodded her head.
âDid the Duke order 10 colors this time, too?â
âI thought you wouldnât like it because it would be a waste, so I ordered only one.â
âWell done.â
Randyâs mouth fell open at their conversation.
âI know some people work a lot, but ten per design?!â
There was a famous rumor that said the previous Duchess of Renbird ordered seven colors, wore only one, and burned the rest.
He never saw the previous Duchess but it seemed to be a family tradition handed down from generation to generation.
âThen, Iâll be back with a better design next time!â
âFair enough.â
âAh, if you need someone to help you dress up, our staff is always ready to help!â
That was also good service.
âThen, can you help me prepare for the founding party at the palace?â
âOh! Oh, my! Are you wearing our dress at the founding party? Then, of course, Iâll be there!â
From the looks of it, his dress had never been shown off at an important party. Selena smiled and stepped out toward the door, snuggling her arm around Kalcionâs.
âCanât change his words later, can he?â
After the imperial banquet, the store was bound to explode in popularity.
After leaving the store, Selena got on the wagon and stretched her shoulders.
âWhere to next?â
âNext timeâŠâŠ. some jewelry.â
She was out of her stamina.
From the experience at Lumera, she thought there would be much better places to shop, even if it was not the store Juna recommended. The jewelry store that Juna recommended was Laranta. However, Selena didnât want to fight again after such a pleasant shopping trip.
âJust not today. I think we should go back and rest for the day.â
Kalcion nodded calmly.
The sun was already setting. A street lamp maintainer was seen lighting a street lamp.
One side of the sky was looming red, while the other was growing dark blue. Underneath it, the city was being lit with the dim yellow glow of streetlights one by one.
But none of those lights were great enough to frighten away the oncoming night.
Still, the busy streets were living up to their name. It was proved when the carriage was repeatedly stopped before crowds.
âIt seems the boulevard wonât be cleared anytime soon. I think itâll be faster if we turn around.â
An escort delivered the message through the carriage window.
âRight.â
They had no urgency.
âIt sure is different from Renbird.â
âIndeed.â
âCome to think of it, Iâve never walked around the night streets of Silenza.â
She was always stuck in the castle because she had no reason to go outside. Adding to that, it was a time when she knew better rather than having a sword slicing down her neck. It wasnât even a time to hang out leisurely.
âYou can see it when you go back to Silenza. Itâs different.â
âHow is it?â
She remembered seeing the streets of Silenza to be neat in the daylight. But, she was curious about what it was like at night. She wondered if it shined like this place.
âHmmâŠâŠ.â
He hummed.
âWellâŠâŠ. I donât know how to describe it. If you look at it in person, you can see the difference.â
âAw, I wonder when we will go back.â
She grinned in delight. The day Selena would return to Silenza would be after she found the criminal safely, finished her job, and found a way to return to her original world. She didnât know when it would arrive.
âYou can take a break to visit Silenza for a while.â
âThen itâll get too long. And how would I be able to use up all the extra money you gave for shopping?â