The whole incident started with Garnet’s comment that, despite my wardrobe already overflowing with dresses, I needed to buy more for the upcoming social season.
The dress shop we entered was one I ducked into to avoid people who were beginning to realize that I was that Lady Rayes — the infamous one — especially since the Rayes family crest carved on our carriage had caught everyone’s attention.
The shop owner, dressed in a flamboyant outfit, approached us with dramatic flair and spent nearly ten minutes lavishing me with praise.
“May I have the honor of designing your debutante dress for your glorious debut into high society? Please?!”
In the end, I had simply fallen victim to his sales pitch.
But oddly enough, Miller, who was standing next to me, got along quite well with the shop owner.
“Well, our Ria does look like a doll, doesn’t she?”
“Ah! I was thinking the same thing! And aren’t her eyes just gorgeous?”
They both began admiring me together.
At some point, my forehead had started to sweat, and Serin unni gently wiped it for me, asking if I was okay.
The shop owner was, truly, a professional.
Before I knew it, I was being measured, draped in red fabric, then blue — not tissues, but dresses.
The shop owner clutched at his sparse hair, dramatically shouting things like:
“She looks good in both! What do I do?!”
And then Miller chimed in with:
“Why not just make both?”
I’d once heard someone joke that a debutante dress for a noble girl could cost as much as a villa. But when the shop owner cheerfully handed me the bill, it was no joke — the price really was that high.
I was about to nervously ask the owner if one of the zeros had been added by mistake, when Miller said seriously:
“Didn’t you say you loved Ria’s fresh green eyes? Then why haven’t you mentioned a green dress?”
With a startled expression, the shop owner nodded solemnly and brought over the thirty-second fabric swatch to hold up against me.
Thanks to that, I’d been standing on the platform for thirty minutes, unable to get down, watching the two of them lose their minds over my dress options.
Eventually, even Garnet and Serin unni joined in, bringing accessories from around the shop and excitedly imagining how they’d look on me.
“Well, this isn’t so bad,” I thought. “My legs are a little shaky, but everyone seems to be having fun, so it’s okay.”
The happiest of all was, of course, the shop owner.
And then, Miller noticed my trembling legs… and created a storm.
“Ria looks tired. Maybe we should just buy this entire shop.”
…Excuse me?
“What are you talking about? That’s not necessary! I’m totally fine!”
In my past life, I was an average citizen in South Korea. If I wanted something, I’d save money and buy it. But real estate? That was never going to happen, not in my lifetime.
In this life, I’d been locked up in an orphanage ruled by a hysterical tyrant. For twelve years, I’d never had anything of my own.
So when Miller gave me a sly smile and said:
“Just for today, let me buy it for you. It’s your first outing, after all.”
It wasn’t just a treat kind of tone — this was serious.
And indeed, Miller wore the most serious expression I’d ever seen on him.
“You there, shop owner. How much for this shop?”
The owner looked like someone who had never heard that question in ten years of business. Eyes wide, he named his price.
My gaze drifted to the open leather notebook next to him, filled with scribbles:
“I hate this… I want to quit.”
…What?!
“I’ll sell the shop and finally live my own life…”
He just hit the jackpot today…!
I spun around to face Miller, who said he’d add 20 gold coins on top of the price.
That’s when it all began. The owner fluttered into the back room like a butterfly, returning moments later with a contract that he must have prepared who-knows-when.
“Here, sign here… Laveria Zenne Rayes. Done!”
Miller smiled like the sun. I could’ve sworn I saw a halo over his head.
“Now, both the shop and the building are yours.”
Wait, what? Am I… a building owner now?
In my past life, I wished to be a rich, idle person. My friends had said, Then you’d need to become a landlord first.
I always laughed it off, saying that would never happen to someone like me.
Yet here I was, living the impossible.
Now I understood why the Rayes name carried such weight among nobles.
No one outside would ever guess that we just bought the most famous dress shop on the street.
While I stood there stunned, Miller asked if I preferred another shop and said:
“If you like that one better, we’ll just buy it too.”
“It’s okay, Ria. I was promoted to knight recently, and I’ve got a generous allowance.”
Just how much is that allowance, exactly?!
And with that, he sealed the deal with a stamp and shook hands with the owner. The owner suggested renaming the boutique to “Laveria’s Shop”, and Miller patted him on the back, calling him a genius.
So now, I had three debutante dresses reserved at Laveria’s Shop, and I was completely wiped out.
Just as I stepped outside to enjoy my newfound freedom, the crowd’s murmuring grew louder. A golden carriage came speeding in from the horizon.
It was clearly a royal carriage. Wait… could it be?
The golden carriage slowed gracefully to a stop right in front of us.
People gathered around in a circle.
The Crown Prince and the scandalous daughter of a noble — seeing the two of us together was probably the most exciting thing the townsfolk had seen in ages.
When the door opened, out stepped Luca — even more handsome than I remembered.
“Luca, it was you!”
Dressed in full regalia, he looked like the perfect royal.
Elegant black hair, eyes like the sun — he had every feature expected of royalty, and his beauty was extraordinary.
“Is that really the Crown Prince? He’s unreal…”
“Who cares how old he is? I’ll marry him and wear handcuffs if I have to.”
“Out of the way. I’m taking him.”
I can hear all of you! Loud and clear!
I scanned the crowd for Senia but didn’t see any violet hair like violets blooming.
Just then, Luca approached me.
“Ria, I missed you so much.”
And naturally, like always, he hugged me tight.
Miller tried to pry him off, flailing to loosen Luca’s arms, but Luca didn’t budge.
Behind Luca’s back, I saw the terrifying faces of the noble ladies, and with a sigh, I shelved my “Debut as Low-Key as Possible” plan.
Right. To Luca, I was like his comfort doll. For now, anyway.
Thinking about how hard it must’ve been for this child to adjust to palace life brought tears to my eyes. I did kind of raise him for two years, after all.
He had that atmosphere that made you feel motherly, even if you weren’t.
Luca, now taller than me, was someone I couldn’t help but hug back.
“What brings you here? I told your father you’re always welcome to the duchy.”
“Not the Duke — he’s your father now, not mine.”
Luca tilted his head with a soft smile.
“Your Highness,” Miller cut in, “unless you’re here to sabotage my sister’s future marriage, I suggest you stop. Though, of course, there will be no marriage anyway.”
When I asked what he just said, Miller ignored me and kept talking to Luca.
“This is our first outing in a while. Please don’t interfere.”
Luca took a step back and replied to Miller.
“I only came because I wanted to go out with Ria as well.”
“Do you think that makes sense? Look at all these people watching!”
“Don’t worry, I’ll return her safely before six.”
“What the hell…? Wait, Ria—!”
Luca snapped his fingers. In a blink, a soft smoke surrounded us and whisked us away from in front of Laveria’s Shop to the alley behind the building.
“YOU BRAT! PRINCE OR NOT, I’M GONNA—!”
We could still hear Miller’s screams echoing from the other side of the building.
Please, someone stop him before he gets charged with treason…
“Your brother has quite the temper,” Luca chuckled, watching my awkward smile.
“How could you enjoy your first outing surrounded by a crowd like you’re some zoo animal?”
Luca snapped his fingers again.
My green dress turned into a light spring-green one-piece, my hair tie loosened, and my hair color changed to brown.
Fairy godmother, who? Luca’s got it covered.
In the original story, Luca was proficient in basic magic. Not enough to be a mage, but enough to boost his already genius-level swordsmanship.
Just thinking about how overpowered he was made me dazed — until I heard another snap.
Luca’s hair turned the same color as mine, and his outfit transformed into that of a merchant’s son.
With his devastatingly handsome face, he reached out and took my hand.
As we stepped through a narrow alley behind the shop, a whole new street opened up.
Unlike the previous street lined with dress shops, this one had dessert cafés, tiny jewelry boutiques — all the things I’d imagined this world would have.
“Let’s go, Ria,”
Luca smiled softly, extending his hand to me.
