Chapter : 10
Inside the shop, two women so beautiful your eyes might pop out were glaring fiercely at each other.
I froze.
Every single one of my senses was screaming that I absolutely should not go in there. I looked at Madam Riemann and said,
“Shall we look around somewhere else first?”
“Hm? Oh no. This is the most fashionable place these days.”
Madam Riemann paid no attention to the commotion and calmly surveyed the shop.
Near the counter inside, someone was peeking out from a small door. Madam Riemann brightened.
“Oh, there you are. Miss Selene, would you sit on the sofa for a moment? I’ll go speak with the madam.”
I sat down awkwardly on the sofa.
Thanks to that, a live performance of what had to be the most entertaining fight in the world unfolded right in front of my eyes.
‘I can tell at a glance.’
An outrageously beautiful face and hair so colorful it made my eyes hurt.
These two were definitely the leads.
Pink hair, pink eyes, a pure and adorable face—she must be the original story’s heroine.
“Are you sure that dress would even fit you, Lady Viviana?”
And this one—red hair, blue eyes, sharp and aloof-looking—clearly the villainess type.
“Do you even have the money to buy that, Miss Eloy?”
Every word they exchanged seemed to spark flames.
I had a powerful urge to never get involved with them. I quietly tugged at my dress hem and curled in on myself.
‘I am invisible. I am furniture… Please don’t notice me…’
Madam Riemann, who said she’d be right back, disappeared entirely into the back.
Naturally, the argument between the two women drifted straight into my ears.
“Even if you buy it, you’ll just leave it hanging in your closet, won’t you? That poor dress!”
“And wouldn’t it be even more pitiful for you to buy it and wear it every single day?”
Neither of them backed down an inch.
‘Wow, this is vicious. But…’
I tilted my head without realizing it.
‘What are they even fighting over?’
I carefully examined the dress lying between them.
It was… bad.
I’m not particularly knowledgeable about dresses, but I do have eyes. And bad is bad.
It was made of dark brown fabric, with horizontally pleated lace across the chest.
The sparsely placed white jewels were unbalanced, and the skirt was far too puffy.
‘Why are they making such a fuss over that…?’
At this point, I should probably confess my secret hobby.
I love leaving comments on online “Help me choose” posts.
Lying down and picking out pretty clothes or accessories other people posted was ridiculously fun.
All that accumulated “help me choose” experience was screaming at me now.
‘I want to pick something else for them…’
But I wasn’t completely clueless. There was only one thing I should do here.
‘Lower your gaze.’
I desperately kept my eyes down, but I started worrying—what if all the clothes in this shop were like that?
No matter what, wearing something that looked like tree bark was a bit much…
‘Just a quick look.’
I discreetly rolled my eyes and scanned the dresses hanging on the wall. Thankfully, they were much more normal than I’d feared.
Phew. I let out a sigh of relief.
But maybe lifting my eyes was a mistake.
The two women who had been bickering turned to look at me at the exact same time.
“Then let’s ask this young lady.”
“Sounds good.”
“What do you think, miss?”
Huh? About what?
“……Me?”
Eloy smiled kindly. She’s really pretty… Yeah, this is what a heroine should be like.
“Miss, listen. The moment this dress was put on the mannequin, it caught my eye. I told the madam I wanted to try it on.”
“Ah… I see.”
“But while I was in the fitting room! This person just grabbed the dress without a word!”
“Oh dear…”
As I gave my best reaction, Viviana slightly tilted her chin and cut in.
“She was obviously going to try it on and not buy it. Why go through the trouble? I paid first. Doesn’t that mean I own the dress?”
“Oh…”
I hesitated. Wouldn’t it be better to just send them on their way quickly?
I cautiously opened my mouth.
“Um… this is really just my personal opinion…”
“Please, go on.”
Their sparkling eyes turned toward me simultaneously.
They were so beautiful it was a little overwhelming.
I swallowed hard and finally spoke.
“This dress… isn’t it kind of not very pretty?”
Both of them looked at the dress once, then back at me.
“Well… the color is a bit…”
Cold sweat trickled down my back as I fumbled through my thoughts.
“You—your hair is pink, so something in a softer shade, or maybe a similar pink, would make you stand out more. Like that one over there…”
When I pointed to a hanging dress, Eloy walked toward it.
“And for you—matching your eye color with a blue dress might be good. Your features are striking, so it’d look beautiful… Or is that not good?”
Before I’d even finished speaking, Viviana had already picked up the dress I suggested and looked around.
“Clerk. Where are you? I’ll pay.”
Judging by how quickly things quieted down, she must have liked it quite a bit.
I let out a sigh of relief.
‘Good. They’ll leave now, right? Then I can hurry up, buy my clothes, and go home…’
Talking to the main characters made me a little nervous, but this doesn’t count as getting involved, right?
Please say it doesn’t.
Once the shop became quiet, the staff who had been hiding finally came out to help the two women with their purchases.
The shop owner and Madam Riemann also appeared.
“Shall we take your measurements?”
Someone holding a measuring tape approached me.
“We’ll measure you inside the partition, then have you try on a few ready-made dresses.”
Clutching a pile of clothes in my arms, I trudged toward the fitting room.
After changing and coming out, I saw the two women sitting side by side on the sofa, watching me.
“What is this situation?”
Eloy smiled at me like sunshine.
“You chose a dress for me, so I’ll choose one for you.”
“Two opinions are better than one.”
“You don’t really need to listen to Lady Viviana’s opinion. If Madam Riemann and I choose, it’ll be perfect.”
“No, Madam Riemann and I will choose.”
Strangely enough, every time I came out wearing a new dress, the two women reacted exactly the same way.
You’d never guess they were fighting just moments ago—they worked together flawlessly.
Thanks to that, choosing clothes went quickly.
“Thank you.”
When I bowed slightly, Eloy asked,
“By the way, what is your name, miss?”
“Selene Weddon.”
‘Weddon? Worden…? I always mix it up.’
The two exchanged glances, then gracefully spread their skirts and greeted me.
“I’m Eloy Calat, daughter of Baron Calat.”
“I’m Viviana Erilleon, of the Marquess Erilleon family.”
I wanted to go home as soon as possible, so I stepped outside, leaving their whispered conversation behind.
As I approached the carriage, I heard someone calling me from behind.
“Miss Selene!”
“Yes?”
Eloy ran up and clung to my arm.
“Since we’ve met like this, let’s go have some tea together!”
I awkwardly smiled and tried to pull my arm free.
“Oh ho ho… I already had tea before coming out.”
Then Viviana grabbed my other wrist.
“Then you can have dessert. Let’s go somewhere with good desserts.”
“Oh my, perfect! Viviana, you know places like that well, don’t you? You always spend money so impressively.”
Um… I’m not going?
Neither of them listened to my refusal at all.
To make matters worse, Madam Riemann said she had another appointment, left me with the two of them, and hurried off.
I was dragged away by the arms. They kept chatting at me nonstop.
“I don’t think I’ve seen you in the capital before.”
“Y-yes. I only recently came up from the countryside…”
I tried to speak as little as possible, afraid my possession would be discovered, and said I was from the countryside, but—
“Oh my! I came from the countryside too! Let’s go explore new places together!”
“I was born and raised in the capital. I’ll guide you.”
“If you’ve lived here all your life, wouldn’t you be bored? Why don’t you just stay at your estate?”
“Miss Eloy, isn’t exploring your own mansion already exhausting enough? You should stay home.”
The two began glaring at each other again, with me stuck between them.
I want to go home…
While I was being dragged along like a paper doll, a brilliantly gold-adorned carriage stopped beside us.
The carriage door flew open, and a neatly dressed man stepped out.
“So this is where you both were…”
“Tch.”
Both women clicked their tongues and turned their heads away. What? Who is that?
“Please get in quietly.”
They boarded the carriage at the man’s direction.
Wait—hold on.
Why am I getting in too?!
Swept along, I climbed into the carriage and hurriedly shouted,
“I need to go home! I have bunny-like—!”
Pillows and blankets waiting for me!
My desperate cry was swallowed by the sound of horses neighing.
After some time passed, I found myself sitting in a reception room so luxurious that “splendid” didn’t even begin to describe it.
Across from me sat a breathtakingly handsome man with golden-thread-like hair.
“I didn’t expect to meet you like this, Lady Weddon.”
Me neither.
“I am Noel Bradford, Crown Prince of the Empire.”
