Chapter 22
The day after that absurd incident.
The revelation that Viscount Weatherwoods’s true identity was <Dian Ket’s Relic> threw me into no small amount of confusion as well.
‘If only it had been a real egg.’
Of all things, the Viscount Weatherwoods that the Head Maid had cherished and tended so carefully… no, the egg… no, the magical artifact… had turned out to be one of Dian Ket’s relics.
‘This makes it hard to sneak it away or even borrow it on the sly, doesn’t it?’
According to the magical analysis that Lu had shown me, one of Dian Ket’s relics, <Dian Ket’s Eyeball>, possessed a clear directive.
Namely, the protection of the Weatherwoods Family.
To be honest, I had no idea exactly what kind of protection that entailed. It had so graciously granted entry to assassins—what exactly was it supposed to be guarding?
Still, there was one definite advantage.
‘The relic exists for real. Just discovering that fact is a huge gain for me.’
Hmm. But I had to collect five of those things to have any hope of healing my shattered soul?
‘That’s… way too complicated.’
Hadn’t they said that Dian Ket’s Eyeball alone contained a variety of wide-area attack spells?
How could something like that be used to heal someone on the brink of death? It didn’t mean killing them outright and letting them be reborn, did it?
‘They say genius mages are usually a bit crazy. Dian Ket was a demigod, after all, so there must be some profound reason behind it.’
At the very least, I needed two relics to come together. Only then could I start speculating on how Dian Ket’s relics functioned and could be utilized.
“Haa.”
I stretched out my crouched knees and shifted sideways.
As I sprinkled water on the row of flower bed Lus peeking out brilliantly in a line, a sense of peace settled over my body and mind.
Watching their tiny leaves glisten with droplets always quelled my worldly desires, lightening both body and soul.
‘Yeah. I might not be able to gather all of Dian Ket’s relics anyway.’
If I couldn’t, then I’d just die.
What was the point of living a long life?
But if I died, what would happen to Potted Lu and the flower bed Lus…?
“You planning to drown the cotyledons?”
A long shadow fell over the cotyledons and me.
I looked up at the tapping on the crown of my head, and there was Lu, for once without his apron and with a brown fedora pulled low over his eyes.
With a dark jacket layered over his vest, he looked like he was heading out.
“Too much moisture will rot the leaves. If you understand, get up, change your clothes, and come out.”
“Why?”
“There’s a place we need to stop by. I’ve already told the Head Maid, so hurry.”
The Head Maid had approved slacking off?
No way that woman would do that. She was surely planning to pile on even more annoying errands than usual.
‘In that case, I might as well slack off even more under the pretense of running those errands.’
I changed into my one and only precious outfit and came out, and Lu handed me a women’s wide-brim hat tucked under his arm.
What was this? Errands or a real outing?
“This is the Head Maid’s?”
“No. It’s the only women’s hat in this mansion, practically.”
It must have belonged to the late viscountess.
It was quite old, but well-maintained—the color hadn’t faded, and it was perfectly usable in every way.
I awkwardly plopped the hat on backward. The only hats I’d ever worn before were military helmets, uniform caps, and straw hats.
‘The hole’s so small, but my head fits right in.’
Women’s heads are just smaller overall! An astonishing fact I’d only realized a month and a half after waking up.
I followed a step behind Lu.
He headed toward a square on the opposite side of the market—a bustling area, but quieter and lined with more upscale shops.
For the nearly ten minutes we walked, Lu didn’t turn to check if I was keeping up or say a word. It was all so natural that I didn’t feel the slightest awkwardness.
‘Is this how he always walks?’
The habit of walking straight ahead without swaying. The leisurely pace. The relaxed composure that didn’t bother trying to break the ice first.
You could tell a lot about a person from how they walked.
Lu was someone accustomed to being attended to, rather than attending to others.
‘His status is definitely high. Not nobility, though. A mage powerful enough to be acquainted with Dian Ket…’
Who could it be?
‘An Imperial Mage?’
Huh. That actually seemed plausible.
Imperial Mages received knighthoods, but knights weren’t nobility.
But high-ranking Imperial Mages had attendants and secretaries trailing them, and with requests pouring in from all sides, they could amass wealth rivaling the nobles’.
‘At least a division head, probably. Given his skills, even minister wouldn’t be—’
Oof.
I rubbed my forehead where it had bumped into his back and looked up.
But even craning my neck, Lu was so tall I couldn’t see anything. Fortunately, he stepped aside himself, letting me check our destination.
This was the entrance to a women’s clothing tailor shop.
“Why are we here?”
“We need to have some clothes made. The Weatherwoods Family doesn’t have proper attire for the viscount and his wife. All the fine garments and jewels were sold off and donated to help refugees, apparently.”
“……Ah, the Noble Assembly.”
Of course—a family head and his wife of good repute couldn’t go around in plain clothes.
Besides, the Head Maid had mentioned this Noble Assembly was happening alongside an upper-class gathering.
They’d be enjoying a luxurious trip on a massive airship with commoner tycoons, too. The nobles were sure to dress more extravagantly than ever.
“But the Weatherwoods are poor.”
They’d even sold off the manor. What if buying a couple outfits led to our pay getting cut?
Lu pushed open the tailor’s door with an expression like he was worried about the silliest things.
“But I’m wealthy. Let’s go in.”
As expected of Lu. A man with nothing but his looks and money. Practically the world’s strongest.
As we stepped into the elegantly appointed interior, a neatly dressed young woman greeted us.
The clerk’s friendly smile cooled a bit the moment it swept over my shabby attire, then stiffened abruptly upon taking in Lu’s sharp jawline and fantastically sculpted nose.
“Welcome, customers.”
But that sort of reaction was none of my business, so I made my demand boldly.
“Order.”
But how exactly should I order?
I sidled back a bit, and Lu, standing beside me, spoke up as if he’d been waiting.
“We’d like to have some clothes made. A ball gown, a banquet dress, two everyday dresses, a spring coat, two sets of hats and gloves, two nightgowns, four sets of stockings and undergarments. Oh, and tea party attire too.”
I stared at Lu in bewilderment.
For a Noble Assembly we’d only attend once—did we really need that many?
‘Is this the bare minimum basics for noble ladies?’
Or was this some secret desire of his I hadn’t known about…?
The clerk, who had whipped out a notepad to jot down the order, now smiled with extreme politeness, unlike before.
“These are trousseau items, aren’t they? Getting married? It’s the first time I’ve seen a husband come in person to place an order like this since I started working here.”
Mistaking Lu for my husband. Bleh. The thought alone made me want to hurl.
Lu, unperturbed either way, said what he needed to.
“Please have it all ready within a fortnight.”
“Yes? A fortnight? I’m sorry, but that’s absolutely impossible within the timeframe you mentioned. We’d need at least two or three months.”
Lu looked down at her with eyes that said, ‘If you can’t even do that, why bother running a tailor shop? Incompetent. Close up.’
The clerk, who had been sneaking peeks at his body, fidgeted anxiously and backpedaled.
“However, there’s a tailor shop nearby run by the owner’s cousin. If we split the production… we could finish within a month and a half.”
“I’m not sure Viscountess Weatherwoods would wait that long.”
‘……Can you even say that?’
The clerk froze, eyes widening in shock as she asked,
“Weatherwoods… Viscountess? Of the Weatherwoods Family?”
“What other Weatherwoods Family would there be? The viscountess’s destination is the capital Ragal. If the timeline doesn’t work, we’ll go to another tailor.”
“Please, just a moment.”
The clerk spun around and dashed into the back of the shop.
She soon returned, dragging a middle-aged woman with heavy makeup—the owner, it seemed.
The owner faltered at Lu’s beauty before finally managing to speak.
“We’ll have it done within a fortnight. Just leave it to us.”
Lu shrugged lightly.
“If you can manage it. Sure.”
Raw joy and excitement lit up the owner’s face.
Viscount Weatherwoods had been a figure shrouded in mystery for a long time.
For someone whose very survival was in doubt to show up with his wife in tow—and for the viscountess’s travel attire for the capital to be her own handiwork—could be a major turning point in her career as a dressmaker.
“Then we’ll take measurements right away. For the viscountess…?”
“The viscountess is busy. She left word that her measurements are identical from head to toe to her companion’s, with similar skin tone as well, so please make them based on the companion.”
Who decided that?
“Understood. This way, miss.”
But a poor maid like me had no right to refuse.
If Lu was covering it with money, I’d have to make up for it with my body. What choice did I have? I meekly followed the owner.
