Chapter 16
Thanks to Him
“Your Grace?”
A bad man—Cedric Dayton?
Behind Cedric stood five or six boutique employees. I didn’t remember this boutique having so many staff. Their faces kept turning pale, then flushing red.
The employee who had guided me from the first floor spotted me, trembled all over, and rushed toward me to bow deeply.
“Your Highness! I’m terribly sorry for not recognizing you! Please forgive me!”
“I’m royalty from Lundra. How could citizens of Owen possibly recognize me? It’s all right.”
I smiled more gently than usual to reassure her—yet her face turned white this time. This wasn’t helping her nerves at all, and that troubled me.
In the Kingdom of Lundra, whenever someone saw a member of the royal family, they were required to greet first. Other nations might find that rule cumbersome, but in Lundra, royals hardly ever walked the streets, so it was fine.
By contrast, Damon once told me that Owen had no such formal etiquette about greeting imperial family members.
So I thought even if they learned I was a princess, the boutique staff wouldn’t feel overly intimidated. But the woman before me was shaking far too much.
“Your Grace, did you tell them I’m a princess?”
“I did not reveal your title. I merely asked where Your Highness was.”
“That’s basically the same thing. Oh well. I was trying to pretend I wasn’t a princess, but I’ve been found out.”
“Is that so?”
Cedric neatly returned the dress he was holding to its hanger.
“Did you come because you had something to say to me?”
“Madam Knox said it would be best if I assisted Your Highness, since you went shopping alone.”
When I said I would go to a boutique, Madam Knox had been worried—offering to summon a designer or send along several maids. I refused and only brought two knights. She must have told Cedric in the end. She really was a good head maid.
“I didn’t want to trouble you, Your Grace.”
“I don’t consider it trouble. Would it be acceptable if I escorted Your Highness today?”
“Of course. Do you know Owen’s fashion trends well?”
“I do not know the trends, but I believe I can at least help judge what suits you.”
“Assistance from an Owen gentleman will be very useful. Thank you, Your Grace.”
“It is an honor.”
Cedric gave a light bow.
“Have you seen everything here?”
“I think so. Unfortunately, I didn’t find anything I wished to purchase.”
Cedric turned his head, scanning the boutique.
“I see. Then we should move on to another.”
At his words, the boutique employees exchanged glances.
“Madam Knox recommended several boutiques to me.”
“I see.”
“You should brace yourself, Your Grace. It doesn’t seem easy to find the clothes I want.”
“I will gladly assist.”
Cedric extended his hand to escort me. As I placed my hand on his, I was reminded that today’s outing was essentially me running away from embarrassment after asking about his love life.
Sensing my gaze, Cedric met my eyes. I gave him a small smile. His calm, emotionless cherry-colored eyes were the same as always. Since he didn’t seem uncomfortable being with me, that was fine!
His usual impassive manner let me avoid feeling embarrassed as well.
While returning to the corridor, I discovered another entrance on one side. It had been hidden behind a curtain earlier, so I hadn’t noticed it. I assumed it was the designers’ workspace.
The second boutique wasn’t far from the first. Before entering, Cedric paused.
“Your Highness, would you like to pretend to be a commoner again this time?”
“No, it’s fine. Honestly, it wasn’t intentional. I simply hadn’t introduced myself as a princess before.”
“Is that so.”
Cedric opened the boutique door for me. Since he had come alone, without attendants, he told Sir Mathis and Sir Diego they didn’t need to follow inside.
“Welcome. Do you have a reservation?” the staff greeted brightly.
“No reservation. I’d like to see the ready-made dresses for outings.”
“If you give me your family name or your name, I’ll confirm and guide you.”
I glanced up at Cedric. I don’t want to say I’m a princess. Would you please?
“Cedric Dayton.”
Ah, he understood.
The staff member froze momentarily with her pen hovering above her notebook, then quickly wrote something.
“I will guide you to the fourth floor.”
This boutique’s women’s section was quite high up. The fourth floor consisted of several rooms on either side of a long hallway. The staff led us to the innermost room.
She offered us a sofa, brought a thick catalog, and then left. It seemed this boutique didn’t display everything openly. I felt a bit disappointed.
“The interior is lovely. But it seems they can’t hang all their clothes due to space.”
“Does the small space inconvenience you?”
“No, I just enjoyed walking between the racks earlier and browsing dresses.”
Cedric hesitated, then said,
“Do you mean you’d like to hold dresses up to yourself again, as you did with your knight?”
“With Sir Mathis? Ah, yes. Being able to hold the dress physically was nice. But Sir Mathis isn’t my knight—he serves the kingdom.”
“I see.”
As a royal knight, his loyalty was sworn to the royal family, including me, but he had never pledged personal loyalty specifically to me.
In Lundra, a knight’s oath was his honor. For Sir Mathis’s sake, I clarified that he was a knight of the kingdom, not my personal knight.
“This is my first time in a boutique. I thought choosing clothes was done standing, looking at racks.”
“This is also my first time visiting a boutique, so I’m not certain, but I believe more places have customers sit and browse catalogs.”
“Then perhaps the previous boutique is famous because you can stand and see everything directly. It was fun taking the dresses out to look.”
I giggled. Remembering the earlier shopping made me cheerful again.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Cedric said with a smile.
“Oh my, Your Grace. Your smile is very precious, you know!”
I lightly covered Cedric’s mouth with my hand as he smiled.
Just then, a knock sounded on the partition wall near the entrance. A young woman entered, hair pinned up, apron on, cheeks flushed with freckles.
“Greetings. I am Mia Grace, owner and head designer of Shop Memetir. It is an honor to meet Princess Daisy of Lundra and Duke Dayton.”
She bowed in Owen fashion.
“A pleasant afternoon to you.”
Seeing Mia reminded me of Mary Grace—the girl I’d met at the café a few days ago. They looked very similar, though Mia had lovely freckles that Mary didn’t.
“You’re the daughter of Count Grace?”
“I’m honored Your Highness remembers the Grace family. Mary Grace is my older sister.”
“I knew it!”
I clapped quietly. I’d guessed correctly!
“Please call me Designer Mia.”
I had heard Owen valued one’s profession more than noble rank in some cases. Mia seemed to be one of those.
“I heard you are searching for a ready-to-wear dress. Would you like recommendations?”
“Perfect timing. I’m looking for a dress to wear to the Grace family’s tea party.”
“In that case…”
Mia approached me.
“Is it possible to bring out and display all the designs you recommend?” Cedric asked as she flipped through the catalog beside me.
“All of them? Does Your Highness not need just one?” Mia looked at me.
I nodded—yes, just one.
“If they are all displayed together, it would be easier for the Princess to find what she wants, wouldn’t it?”
Mia thought for a moment, then nodded.
“You’re absolutely right. Please wait a moment.”
Soon afterward, staff members entered, straining as they pushed in multiple racks overflowing with dresses. The room became pleasantly crowded.
I walked between the racks with Mia, searching for something suitable. Mia truly loved clothing. Her eyes sparkled the whole time she moved beside me. She browsed more enthusiastically than I did and pondered each dress more deeply. Thanks to her, I had even more fun—and found a dress that suited me perfectly.
While Mia and I moved around selecting dresses, Cedric sat with his usual calm expression and gentlemanly posture. He didn’t even pretend to look at a men’s catalog. When I asked if he was bored, he answered that he was not.
A dress box was loaded into the carriage returning to the duke’s residence. When I thanked Mia, she insisted the honor was hers.
Thanks to Cedric, I discovered an excellent boutique.
