Chapter 22
“Tell me about your daughter, Geston. I want to know what she dislikes, what she finds awful, what she’s afraid of.”
At his lover’s question, the Marquis Klein, lying next to Julia, paused with a contemplative expression.
“Well… I wasn’t all that close with Elinor either.”
Julia frowned in disappointment at his answer, and the Marquis Klein made a face as if squeezing his brain to think harder.
“Ah, she was afraid of being hit by me.”
“…That’s nonsense. Who likes being hit?”
Julia’s expression turned incredulous as she snapped at his foolish answer.
“So now you’re telling me to bring Elinor here and beat her?”
“Yeah, I understand. Um… she is—”
After thinking a little more, the Marquis Klein finally gave Julia an answer she would be satisfied with.
“She’s afraid of being trapped in dark, narrow places, and also…”
The Marquis Klein whispered into Julia’s ear as if sharing a secret.
Hearing the rest, Julia looked at the Marquis skeptically. He shrugged his shoulders as if to confirm the truth.
“Even just seeing something similar can trigger quite a reaction.”
“Oh?”
An evil smile appeared on Julia’s lips.
“That’s very useful information. I feel a little closer to Elinor now.”
“I’m glad to hear that, my Julia.”
At the Marquis Klein’s exaggerated voice, Julia quickly smiled like a young girl and kissed him. That day, the Marquis Klein did not return home.
“This is the space the young lady will be using from now on. Traditionally, the Crown Prince uses the east side of the palace, and the Crown Princess uses the west side.”
After Elinor was confirmed as the future Crown Princess, Renatus instructed that she stay in the Crown Prince’s palace until the marriage.
The official reason was that the Marquis Klein had confined and abused Elinor.
The Marquis Klein opposed it as unlawful, but because Elinor actively agreed, it was of no use.
Elinor quietly looked around the western wing of the Crown Prince’s palace, guided by Lady Peretto, and asked,
“Did the late Crown Prince’s mother also use this space?”
It was an innocuous question, but Lady Peretto suddenly furrowed her brows, as if this were an insult to Empress Julia.
Elinor realized belatedly that it might have been an unpleasant question, like a thief feeling guilty for their own misstep, but she shrugged and didn’t care.
“…Yes. The late Dowager Helen also used this space when she was Crown Princess.”
“Then it’s a symbolic place. It’s an honor that I get to use it.”
Elinor casually added, then smiled as if satisfied.
No matter how much the Empress’s aides controlled the Crown Princess’s quarters, the palace couldn’t neglect maintenance, so it was quite clean and elegantly decorated.
“You cannot continue wearing that dress, so I instructed that a few new dresses be brought in, tailored to your measurements.”
At that moment, Lady Peretto changed the topic. Elinor slightly frowned.
Considering the state of the dresses Lady Peretto had brought on the first morning, she had no expectations.
“Lady Peretto has a terribly bad sense of fashion. You’ll suffer from that starting tomorrow.”
“Should I just wear whatever they tell me?”
“Of course not. That’s why I…”
Elinor recalled a conversation she had with Renatus last night.
“I will take you to the dress room so you can choose yourself.”
Following her, the dress room had several dresses displayed on mannequins.
At first glance, Elinor had to fight back a laugh.
Renatus’s description that Lady Peretto’s fashion sense was “terrible” was not an exaggeration.
‘Being able to make something look this awful is a talent.’
Perhaps they had only brought out dresses that had been long buried in the wardrobe. They were outdated, old-fashioned designs, yet strangely free of dust.
Elinor frowned at the crude lace on the hems. The colors were so dull that she realized for the first time that white could look tacky.
‘It wouldn’t be wise to make a fuss before the wedding.’
Even though Julia had permitted the marriage, it wasn’t smart to openly confront her already.
After all, she wasn’t officially the Crown Princess yet. Overhauling the dress room could wait until after the wedding, if such a problem occurred again.
“Thank you for your consideration, Lady Peretto.”
“Not at all, my lady.”
“But I really cannot wear these.”
Lady Peretto calmly faced Elinor, as if she had anticipated the answer, daring to see what excuse Elinor would give.
“Upon reflection, all of these were brought with the Crown Prince’s palace budget, right?”
“Yes.”
“Even more reason this is difficult. I’m not officially the Crown Princess yet.”
Elinor shook her head, embarrassed, trembling slightly.
“Just staying here until the wedding is already enough reason to thank His Highness. Receiving dresses as well feels excessive.”
“Then…”
“Send them all back, Lady Peretto. And please prepare me for going out.”
Lady Peretto’s eyes widened. Elinor smiled and added,
“I will have dresses made directly at the city boutiques before the wedding.”
“…You mean, you’ll go yourself?”
Lady Peretto tried to hide her displeasure, clearly irritated.
“Why not call a designer here? It’s unusual for a future Crown Princess to come herself…”
“That’s fine. I will naturally do so once I am Crown Princess, but before that, I want to enjoy a little more freedom.”
Of course, it wasn’t just for leisure. Anything she did under Lady Peretto’s watch would be reported to the Empress.
“You don’t need to accompany me. I cannot trouble you with such things while you are busy.”
“Pardon? Even so…”
“I will take my attendants, so don’t worry.”
Naturally, a male attendant could not enter the boutique with her.
Seeing Lady Peretto’s face wrinkle in frustration, Elinor smiled brightly.
There are countless boutiques in the imperial capital, but Elinor decided her destination easily.
“Welcome… Oh my, Miss Klein?”
Madame Lenoir looked surprised as Elinor entered the boutique alone.
And understandably so—who was Elinor? She was the woman who spent the night with the groom’s half-brother on the eve of her wedding and disrupted the ceremony, currently the hottest topic in the capital.
The fact that she came today alone could fuel gossip for two hours straight. Seeing Madame Lenoir’s eyes sparkle, Elinor smiled.
‘That’s why I chose this place.’
Madame Lenoir’s boutique was the fastest place for rumors to spread, because Madame Lenoir herself was a chatterbox with a loose tongue.
She was addicted to knowing all the gossip about noblewomen, and considered herself at a loss if she didn’t know everything.
If Elinor could make her an ally, swaying public opinion in her favor would be easier than eating soup.
“No appointments this afternoon, right?”
“An hour from now….”
“One hour? Ah, one hour is too short.”
Madame Lenoir expressed regret but nodded in acknowledgment.
“I didn’t expect you to visit our boutique, my lady.”
“I’m actually staying at the Crown Prince’s palace right now, and I have no dresses to change into.”
“Oh, I see. I heard… Marquis Klein has been….”
“Yes. Since I and His Highness the Crown Prince are in love, I asked to cancel the engagement. Then he locked me in a room and didn’t even give me a sip of water.”
Elinor briefed Madame Lenoir on her love story with Renatus, following the script she had prepared in advance.
Madame Lenoir listened enthusiastically, as if she might take notes at any moment.
“Oh, it’s so romantic that your hearts matched. But I heard Her Majesty the Empress was extremely furious…”
“This is a story only for you, Madame.”
Elinor whispered a line that gossip lovers would go crazy over, subtly but enticingly.
She gestured as if this were truly a secret, and Madame Lenoir leaned closer, tense, eager to hear more.
