Chapter 61
“…W-Well, still, there’s a saying: if you come to Hersen, you should follow Hersen’s laws.”
“Is there such a saying…?”
Ah, that was something used only in my previous life.
Helene felt a bit embarrassed.
Even though she understood his reluctance to use magic in a world where magic was commonplace, she couldn’t help but feel a bit sympathetic.
It was also her own reminder to herself, coming from the memory of Han Yena, that she still hadn’t fully adapted.
It’s good to stick to your own principles, but maybe it was time to accept this romance fantasy novel world.
Blaine repeated Helene’s words in his mind, trying to infer their meaning.
“No, I mean… don’t make it too complicated.”
“…….”
“…Are you angry?”
“No, I’m listening.”
Helene glanced at Blaine’s face, wondering if she might have spoken out of place, but fortunately, he didn’t seem angry at all, as he had said.
If you looked closely at Blaine’s expression, the corners of his lips were slowly lifting.
It seemed he had at least begun to understand the meaning of “following Hersen’s laws” a little.
Helene stubbornly continued.
“Looking for other resources here would waste an enormous amount of time and money. I don’t like using mana stones either, but if it ultimately saves time, wouldn’t it be worth trying at least once?”
“…Ah, you said ‘ultimately.’”
“Yes, ‘ultimately!’”
Helene found it a little amusing to see such a stubborn man, who prided himself on his principles, repeat words like a child.
Of course, it would be ideal if everything went perfectly according to plan from start to finish, but after living two lives, she knew that was nearly impossible.
‘Perfection.’ That was something only possible for the protagonist.
Her previous life had ended miserably, and this one seemed messy too, but she still hoped that it might improve even slightly in the end.
It was Helene’s heartfelt advice, shaped by having lived two lives.
Ever since deciding to make cars purely through engineering and science, Blaine hadn’t paid attention to anyone in his company.
Yet, unconsciously, he found himself persuaded by Helene’s optimistic words, despite them having no basis or hypothesis.
As Helene said, it was impossible to create everything exactly as planned from start to finish with the resources he had.
Blaine loosened the ribbon tie around his neck.
Before long, the car entered Blanc Street in Lepia.
Helene shook Liriana awake, who had fainted from motion sickness.
Liriana staggered to her feet.
She appreciated her godfather accompanying them, but perhaps a regular carriage would have been better.
After getting out of the car, Liriana looked around and took a full turn.
“Wow…”
An involuntary exclamation escaped her.
The shops on Blanc Street were more sophisticated and luxurious than any other shopping district.
Every passerby seemed stylish.
Modern buildings had glass walls, proudly displaying the latest dresses, shoes, and jewelry.
Among them, the largest and most dazzling building, entirely white, was “Oscar,” and Blaine led them inside.
“Welcome!”
As soon as he stepped in, all the staff of Oscar split into two lines and bowed.
Oscar himself stood at the center to greet Blaine.
Eight years ago, Oscar had been a royal designer for the empire.
After the Empress passed away, and his muse left, he saw no reason to stay in the palace and resigned to open his own atelier.
His dresses were not only beautiful but creative and trendsetting.
Oscar’s atelier quickly became one of the most sought-after in Lepia.
Even if you booked now, you might only be able to wear a dress there two years later.
For some reason today, the building owner, who had been nearly impossible to meet for five years since opening the atelier, requested to rent the atelier.
Thanks to this, they could briefly free up a day to show the autumn collection to the aristocrats who had made reservations.
It was only the second time Blaine had seen him since signing the building contract, yet he still possessed a perfect appearance. Oscar greeted Blaine warmly.
“Welcome, Representative Blaine.”
Oscar briefly admired Blaine’s face before turning his attention to the two women behind him.
Although he had seen countless debutante girls each social season, he had never seen anyone like these two.
One had vibrant, bouncy red hair, captivating red eyes, and full lips. The other had neat, light brown hair and clear, large green eyes. Oscar couldn’t take his eyes off them.
Like all artists, Oscar adored beauty.
His creative drive was unexpectedly awakened.
“May I take care of outfits for these two ladies?”
Blaine jumped straight to the point.
Oscar remembered that Blaine was merely a polite man in appearance.
With the debutante ball season approaching, he was requesting two dresses at once.
Normally, it would be proper to refuse unless it was a royal order, but Blaine was, in some ways, scarier than the palace, and he couldn’t send away a perfect muse who had appeared before him.
Oscar sighed lightly and continued.
“…Understood. Shall we start by measuring their sizes?”
Liriana glanced at Helene hesitantly. Helene smiled, and Liriana nodded before following the staff into the sewing room.
Blaine asked Oscar something that seemed to occur to him.
“Have the items I sent arrived?”
“Yes, we’ll prepare them immediately.”
At Oscar’s words, male staff carrying jewelry boxes lined up.
Helene couldn’t understand the situation.
“It turns out I had these collections already. There isn’t time to craft new jewelry now, but you can use these.”
When Blaine finished speaking, the male staff opened the jewelry boxes.
A flood of light poured out.
The boxes were filled not with ordinary gems, but precious, rare stones.
Blaine wasn’t interested in jewelry, but one of his estate managers had told him these were works of art whose value would rise over time, so he had bought them as an investment.
Helene was surprised at how many rare gemstones he had amassed.
Thanks to Butler Fael’s guidance, she understood.
At the front was a ruby necklace from a distant country, once cherished by the queen of the now-extinct Elks Kingdom.
The king had given it to the queen as a token of promise before going to war.
The tragic story behind it was unnecessary to recount.
Blaine picked up the ruby necklace.
Tiny, coin-sized teardrop rubies were strung together, with a fist-sized teardrop ruby at the center.
It was said the Elks queen was a red-haired beauty, like Helene, and this necklace enhanced her beauty even further.
“…Would you like to try it on?”
Blaine thought the necklace would suit Helene perfectly.
“Oh… Is it really okay to lend something so precious to me?”
Helene, like with the Emeldia tiara, seemed to assume he was just lending it.
Blaine had no intention of lending.
However, unused to showing kindness without expecting anything in return, and afraid that his first attempt at generosity might be refused, Blaine gruffly said:
“It won’t wear out from being worn… Didn’t you want to make an impression at the ball? If a good model showcases the necklace, it won’t be a loss on my side either.”
Helene finally decided to wear the necklace.
‘So… basically, I’ll be like the ambassador for this ruby necklace?’
She recalled how celebrities in her previous life were sponsored and advertised clothing or accessories.
Displaying such a beautiful ruby necklace at a ball attended by many Lepia nobles would attract plenty of attention.
Using her beauty to showcase the necklace and entice nobles to purchase it could be her way of repaying Blaine’s kindness.
Helene nodded and looked into the mirror in front of her.
Her neck looked oddly bare without anything on it.
Blaine stood behind her, lifting her hair with his hand.
He brought the ruby necklace close to her neck.
‘But… isn’t this something a lover should do…’
However, Liriana had gone to get her dress measured, and it might have been weirder to ask Oscar or the staff to help.
Helene tried to dismiss the feeling but couldn’t help feeling strange.
She couldn’t tell whether it was because of Blaine’s long fingers or the cold metal.
Click—the necklace locked, and Blaine carefully withdrew his hand.
Helene fiddled with the ruby necklace.
