/
But the employee’s face immediately turned casual after seeing Valentia’s peaceful expression, looking as though she hadn’t heard their conversation.
Thinking she didn’t hear a thing, she assumed it was a rather kind smile, and she completely overlooked the fact that her expression stiffened for even the briefest moments after she entered the room.
[ Staff ] ’Did you choose a dress?’
Should Valentia get angry? If she did, then they definitely would apologize immediately. It wouldn’t look good for them if they were caught speaking badly about a customer behind their back.
But after carefully calculating the outcomes in her head, Valentia decided not to. Even if she got mad, though she’d obtain momentary satisfaction, it would not end in a good way for her.
If she got angry, her outburst would reach the ears of the Baroness, and considering her current volatile nature, she was extremely unpredictable with her reactions.
And the shop would not be punished for slighting her or ignoring her despite being a member of the family’s direct line. Instead, she would be more likely to earn the anger and punishment of the barony for causing an unnecessary disturbance.
Getting revenge and getting angry were privileges meant only for those with the capabilities to obtain them. And it was clear that if Valentia lost her head now, things would quickly turn against her.
Whether it was the Baroness or the owner of this shop, it didn’t matter which of them had more power. The Baroness wouldn’t want to cut off the longstanding relationship she had with this shop.
Seeing the outcome clearly in her head, Valentia took her hand and selected a random dress from the page. She didn’t have any kind of motivation to pick any dress in particular.
[ Staff ] ’Did you like that one? Then I will measure you and make some alterations to the dress.’
When she went to La Vie en Rose with Lexus, the staff there treated her very well.
They were meticulous and thoughtful in everything they did, down to the number of measurements they took. And perhaps it was because she had that experience under her belt that she realized how many corners this shop was cutting with her.
They did the bare minimum of measuring the length from her shoulder to her elbow down to her wrist, but the circumference of her wrist was ignored entirely.
[ Staff ] ’We will prepare it and send the dress to the mansion.’
Ordinarily, she would have thought this was normal and never noticed that they were conveniently passing over the fitting stage.
However, she remembered the process from when she was at La Vie en Rose, and the employees there told her that even premade clothing looks best if it’s fitted beforehand. They even lamented that they did not have the time to do so.
But though she came here in a carriage from the barony, it was obvious they were passing her off as an unimportant guest because the Baroness did not come here with her.
She already calculated this. Nothing good could possibly come from stirring up trouble here. It wasn’t worth it.
But she didn’t want to put up with it.
[ Valentia ] ’This was a very unique experience.’
[ Staff ] ’Excuse me? What are you talking about?’
[ Valentia ] ’I didn’t realize the people here gossiped about their customers’ personal histories like that. I suppose this must be that kind of establishment. Tell me, you must speak about other nobles as well. I’m quite curious, won’t you tell me about them?’
[ Staff ] ’……You heard that?’
[ Valentia ] ’Didn’t you want me to?’
[ Staff ] ’Dear customer, it’s not like that…..’
[ Valentia ] ‘Not like that?’
[ Staff ] ’No, I just made a mistake.’
[ Valentia ] ’A mistake?’
Their shameless attitude was almost impressive. So, they think they can just pass this off as a mere blunder and move on quickly?
[ Valentia ] ’A mistake, how?’
[ Staff ] ’T, that…’
The employee was hiding her expression so skillfully that Valentia was actually quite shocked seeing how quickly her face twisted. Apparently, she was even more surprised because she didn’t expect to be caught like this.
[ Valentia ] ’This place is one that opens its doors so that it may freely badger and taunt its customers based on purely personal affairs. What an entertaining experience, I must say.’
[ Owner ] ‘Please, my lady.’
When even the owner appeared to answer to this, the employee immediately fell to her knees, and that made Valentia immediately frown. She didn’t want to see this person, but now that she was here, the employee fell to the ground right away.
[ Staff ] ’I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! Please forgive me.”
[ Owner ] ’Forgive? Did you do something wrong?’
[ Valentia ] ’I think it’s very interesting that this establishment doesn’t even have a fitting process. I’ll need to tell others about this unique place.’
Though, obviously Valentia didn’t have others she could tell this to.
[ Owner ] ’Dear customer, would you mind telling me what happened?’
And so Valentia conveyed exactly what she heard the employees saying.
Thanks to her mind like a steel trap, she remembered every bitter detail, conveying things nearly verbatim. And her story was all the more convincing as she spoke with a calm and steady voice, without even a hint of anger mixed in.
The owner felt her annoyance building up inside her. She knew her employees enjoyed their gossip, so she told them to take it down a notch, but then they went off and caused such a mess.
But on the bright side, at least the customer they insulted was not influential enough to cause any real damage to their establishment’s reputation. If it had been the young lady of a different noble family, things could have gotten far worse.
So though she was irritated, the owner apologized with the sorriest looking expression she could muster.
[ Owner ] ’My apologies, dear customer. I will apologize on her behalf.’
[ Valentia ] ’Yes.’
[ Owner ] ’So please, keep this a secret from the Baroness….’
[ Valentia ] ’I shouldn’t have to say this, but you should do a better job keeping the mouths of your employees in line.’
If it were any other employee, the owner would have fired her quickly, but this employee in particular was the most talented seamstress this boutique had to offer. Actually, she was even more talented than the owner was at designing and tailoring clothing.
So she couldn’t fire her. Instead, the owner apologized, saying she would make amends by paying special attention to the dress with the promise of correcting this kind of behavior in the future.
Valentia could also easily tell just how annoyed the owner was with this, but she didn’t press any further.
Everything happened so haphazardly that she couldn’t even remember what she picked. Valentia wasn’t even certain if the dress she was wearing looked good on her.
Her hair was roughly done by one of the house maids, who quickly trimmed her ends. It was true that it looked nicer than when Valentia normally had it tightly tied back, but it was barely good enough to escape embarrassment.
[ Valentia ] “I wouldn’t lie for a dress.”
[ Baroness ] “Well, who knows what a woman is capable of if it means obtaining a nice dress and some jewelry.”
[ Valentia ] “I……”
[ Baroness ] “I bought you a dress because you said you would be attending the banquet with the Prince, and yet you haven’t heard a whisper from him since.”
Valentia bit her lip at those words—a clear representation of her frayed nerves.
Maybe she heard him wrong. Maybe he forgot he asked her to be his partner. His act of not contacting her once since asking her might be a clear sign of his rejection, so maybe she just wasn’t understanding it correctly.
Is that what this meant? He was incessant with how he bothered her with his visits before, but now everything had gone quiet. Did that mean she was no longer appealing to him? He could have already lost interest in her, and she was the only one foolishly holding on.
Those thoughts wouldn’t leave her, no matter how she tried to ignore them.
I suppose I’ll find out for certain once I see him at the banquet.
If he didn’t speak to her, then she would let go. She would not keep any vain hope in her heart.
[ Baroness ] “If you lied, then be prepared for what comes next once you return.”
[ Valentia ] “Yes.”
The sound of light and quick footsteps could be heard just outside in the hallway when suddenly, the door to the Baroness’ parlor room opened up.
[ Selina ] “M, mom!”
It was Selina, the daughter of the Baroness. It was then that Valentia noticed that Selina’s casual dress looked more expensive than the one she was wearing for the Banquet, which was meant to be worn once for an annual event.
[ Baroness ] “That’s not very ladylike, Selina.”
The Baroness’ voice was soft and kind, even as she pretended to scold her daughter. Even if a total stranger were to hear this in passing, they would’ve been able to feel the warmth in her words.
It wasn’t as though she wanted the Baroness to speak to her like that, but it was hard to ignore the slight pang of envy. Valentia’s existence was not one that ever earned such affection, nor did her name evoke a desire in anyone to call it with love.
Perhaps my mother spoke to me like that.
Though the Baroness was a terrible and unkind stepmother to Valentia, she was a sweet and kind mother to her daughter, and that gap just made everything hurt all the more.
[ Selina ] “That’s not the problem right now. A carriage has arrived!”
[ Baroness ] “A carriage?”
[ Selina ] “An Imperial carriage arrived in front of the mansion!”
With those words, the Baroness glanced at Valentia.
Did the Imperial Prince come in person? It could’ve just been one of his runners, but he came in a carriage bearing the Imperial crest, so they couldn’t exactly tell him to come inside just in case it wasn’t him.
But if the Prince was here, this would be the perfect opportunity to show off her daughter to him.
The Baroness stood up from her seat.
[ Baroness ] “Then it would be polite of us to go out and greet our visitor.”
Unfortunately for her, it wasn’t Lexus, but rather an unknown man who was waiting in the courtyard in front of the main mansion.
Though he was a handsome looking man, the Prince’s appearance was so well known that everyone could recognize him easily from a distance. Even just from the lack of the Prince’s iconic and brilliant blond hair, the Baroness knew it wasn’t him.
[ ??? ] “Hello, Madam Baroness.”
The man greeted her politely.
His respectable stance, his speech, his clothing—everything indicated that he was no mere servant. He must be someone rather close to the Prince as an aide, if not a nobleman himself.
[ Baroness ] “Hello. It is an honor for the Imperial family to stop by our humble mansion. May I ask what is going on?”
[ ??? ] “I was sent here to inform you that your precious daughter’s presence has been requested as a partner for a little while tonight.”
The Baroness had to bite back the thought of how unfair it was that it wasn’t her own daughter that was chosen rather than that useless woman’s daughter. Still, she nodded, skillfully managing to hide what a shame she thought it was.
[ Baroness ] “I trust you will escort her well.”
[ ??? ] “Of course. Oh, and this is a gift for you. My master sent it with a sorry heart that he must take your precious daughter without contacting you beforehand.”
There was, in fact, not one but two carriages waiting outside the mansion; one of which was filled to the brim with a myriad of gifts, sitting behind the first.
[ Baroness ] “Oh my, this was unnecessary.”
[ ??? ] “Please think of it as an apology for our rudeness and accept it with ease.”
[ Baroness ] “Then it cannot be helped. We accept.”
She gestured towards the head butler, who started the process of moving the gifts inside.
[ ??? ] “Now then, Lady Syner.”
[ Valentia ] “…Yes.”
[ ??? ] “My master ordered me to bring you to him.”
And that was when the man produced a ring from his pocket. The very same ring that Lexus had showed her before, saying anyone he sent for her would have this ring with them.
With a hesitant hand, Valentia took the ring from him. She could not bear to put it on, but she held it preciously in her hand.
She did not forget her place or who she was. But still, her heart wouldn’t stop pounding, and that once crushing gloom disappeared at the mere thought of seeing him for just a little bit longer.