Chapter 33
I thought Daisy was the only loud and scatterbrained noble in this world, but it seemed there was someone else of a similar caliber.
Of course, she wasn’t mocking or picking a fight; she was just honestly expressing her admiration, saying the dress was beautiful. It wasn’t unpleasant at all.
On the contrary, it was nice.
I was in a situation where either Sophia or I would have had to start a conversation, but thanks to her fussiness, it naturally opened a way to talk.
Serena approached the girl’s table, holding her skirt lightly, and bent her knees in a polite greeting.
“This dress is from another store. It’s my first time here today.”
“Ah…! I knew it! I come here all the time, so if such a pretty dress existed, I definitely wouldn’t have missed it.”
The girl’s fingers hovered near Serena’s dress, admiring it repeatedly.
It wasn’t entirely rude; unlike Daisy, she seemed to be making an effort to keep proper boundaries.
Compared to older sisters who could make even demons cry, she was simply cute.
Serena smiled.
“You can touch it if you like.”
“Really?!”
No sooner had she been given permission than the girl began to smooth the fabric of Serena’s dress.
“Oh my, how can it feel so soft…! Now that I’ve touched it, I can tell. This must be a very expensive dress made by a famous designer, right? Where did you get it? Who made it? How much did it cost?”
The girl’s companions intervened, telling her to moderate herself.
“Amelia, what are you doing? You haven’t even introduced yourself properly.”
“Yeah, calm down. You startled her… I’m sorry. She’s a bit impatient by nature.”
The women apologized as if this happened often.
Now was the perfect opportunity. Serena shook her head.
“It’s okay. It can happen. Honestly, I was surprised myself because clothes here are pricier than I expected.”
“Huh?”
The women exchanged glances, confused as to why Serena, wearing a dress that looked far more expensive than anything sold here, was talking about surprise at the price.
“Was I mistaken? There was a small price tag attached to the sleeve…”
“A price tag on the sleeve?”
“On the dress?”
Their eyes widened.
Serena nodded.
“Yes. I wasn’t planning to buy it; it was attached to the dress my sister liked.”
Serena gestured to Sophia.
Since their conversation echoed through the garden, no further explanation was needed.
Sophia, holding the dress Daisy had chosen, approached Serena.
“Here. I’m embarrassed, but I’ve never bought a dress outside, so I assumed this was normal… Isn’t this a price tag?”
The women who saw the dress Daisy picked were momentarily speechless.
The price tag was placed in a visible spot, so no detailed inspection was necessary.
“Seven hundred gold?!”
Amelia nearly jumped out of her skin. Unlike when she touched Serena’s dress, she roughly grabbed it and even turned up the sleeve to inspect the stitched areas.
“Wait. How are we supposed to remove this with the thread sewn like this?”
Sophia bowed her head to the panicked Amelia.
“The staff said it wouldn’t be noticeable, so it’s fine.”
“How can it not be noticeable?! Is it okay just because it’s not noticeable? My one-and-only dress will have sewing marks, and that’s okay?! And why is it so expensive?!”
Amelia was furious.
A staff member, who had been nervously biting their lip while watching the situation, intervened.
“Oh, I think there’s been a misunderstanding! The dress you chose happens to be made of the finest fabric with a lot of decorations…”
“What fabric? The color is gaudy, the only decoration is lace and ribbons, no jewels crushed on it, no embroidery… How is it seven hundred gold? And what about this!”
Amelia thrust the sleeve in the staff member’s face while ranting.
“What’s with this price tag? Why is it attached? You said it’s fine to remove it? Who decided that? Are you paying for it?!”
“If you don’t like it, you can go somewhere else.”
Sophia quietly intervened again, and Amelia shouted in disbelief.
“What?! That’s what you call saying something?!”
“Um…! That’s a misunderstanding…! That’s not what I meant, we just couldn’t meet the customer’s request…”
“Shut up! And you call this a boutique?! How is this different from a clothing store in the market?”
Amelia raged as if she were the victim.
The woman who seemed to be her mother took a sip of tea before speaking.
“Still going on, huh.”
Unlike her initial shock after hearing Serena’s story, she was now quite calm.
“Someone did the same to me at first. Back then I didn’t know better, so I just let it slide.”
“What?! Even you, mother?! Then why didn’t you say anything?!”
“It was embarrassing. If I, a nouveau riche, had that happen to me, people would just laugh. How could I say anything?”
Her sharp gaze turned to the staff member.
“But seeing someone else go through it makes it hard to ignore. Actually, it’s not the victim who should feel embarrassed—it’s the person doing the wrong thing.”
“Uh….”
The staff member turned pale. Usually, one could just act ignorant and brush it off, but now that someone else had experienced the same, there was no excuse.
“I-It seems there was a mistake….”
“A mistake? Is that so? I have no problem telling others. So, if someone gets caught trying to sell a dress with a high price tag, I can just say ‘mistake,’ right?”
Serena calmly asked, summarizing the situation, and the staff member nervously bit their lips.
“Ah… um… well…!”
“Can’t you apologize properly?!”
Lianna, having grasped the situation, ran up and grabbed the staff member’s arm.
She had also felt something was off, but, like the middle-aged woman said, she had been too embarrassed to show it. Now that a proper moment had come, Lianna’s fiery temperament couldn’t hold back.
“I-I’m sorry…!”
Overpowered by Lianna’s intensity, the staff member reflexively apologized.
Lianna shook the staff member’s arm roughly.
“How dare you try to cheat someone! Do you think you can just get away with it?! If you don’t compensate properly, I won’t forgive you!”
On her chest, a rose brooch gleamed at the top of Lianna’s dress.
As she thrust her chest forward shouting, the golden rose caught the staff member’s eye.
A badge made of gold. Seeing only her modest outfit before, not asking for her name had been a mistake. Whoever she was, letting this slide could have caused serious trouble.
“I-I’m truly sorry…! I’ll take full responsibility and make amends…!”
As usual, she had intended to assert herself and pocket some money quietly, but somehow things escalated like this.
Lianna, satisfied with the anticipated response, called Daisy over. Daisy, still unsure of what was happening, hesitated before approaching.
“What are you waiting for? You said you’d compensate her, right?”
“Ah, yes…!”
The staff, realizing what kind of compensation Lianna wanted, moved toward the garden exit. Lianna and Daisy followed.
It was clear the staff would provide excessive compensation without further involvement. Serena, turning her gaze from the garden entrance, thanked Amelia’s group.
“Thank you for your help. It was a difficult situation, but thanks to you, it ended well.”
Serena had noticed they were being used to stage the situation, but she wasn’t displeased.
On the contrary, the middle-aged woman seemed relieved to have aired a long-held grievance.
“I’m the one who should thank you for creating this opportunity.”
“Would you like to sit if it’s okay?”
Amelia, smiling, gestured to the seat beside her.
It would take a while to receive the full compensation, and it wasn’t bad to build a connection from this rare encounter.
Serena introduced herself as she sat down.
“I’m Serena Rosegold. Pleased to meet you.”
“…Rosegold?”
The woman’s eyes widened. Not because it was unfamiliar, but as if she recognized something.
