Chapter 6
***
***
Diederik led her to the Grand Duchess’s office. The room was on the same floor as the Grand Duke’s study, though it was a place she had never set foot in, even though she knew it existed.
Even though no one was using it, the office was pristine and dustless. A soft carpet was carefully laid over the floor, and tapestries shaped like lions—similar to those in the Grand Duke’s study—adorned the walls.
Diederik, who had pulled out a chair for her, walked over to the shelf and retrieved some thick books. The leather-bound ledgers were worn from handling but clearly well-maintained.
He carefully placed the ledger in front of her.
“Until now, I have managed the mansion on behalf of the Lady.”
She opened the ledger.
As with everything in the mansion, the ledger was absolutely perfect.
Purchases of goods and their quantities were meticulously recorded, and the handwriting was so neat it resembled machine printing. As she read through the contents, she marveled repeatedly.
“It’s truly impressive. It could serve as a textbook for account-keeping.”
“Please feel free to use it, Madame.”
Diederik bowed his head politely.
However, the more she read, the less she understood.
‘Why entrust the books to an inexperienced person like me when you have someone as capable as Diederik? Even if I studied for another ten years, I doubt I could match this.’
Diederik noticed her nervous expression and hurriedly reassured her.
“You don’t need to worry about the details, Madame. I’ll continue handling purchases, calculations, and entries. You just need to make the choices. Summer is just around the corner, and we must change the curtains. What color would you prefer?”
For a moment, she was speechless.
“I… I don’t know about that.”
Her voice was stiff with embarrassment.
In Amari, curtains were an unimaginable luxury. Even the lord’s family couldn’t afford to hang a piece of cloth over a window.
When winter came, the Amari folk stuffed leather between window frames to block the wind, padded it with cloth, and nailed wooden planks over the glass to prevent it from shattering.
She had never seen curtains in her life.
Diederik quickly posed another question.
“Then what would you like to buy? Anything is fine. Food, furniture, jewelry… Surely something will come to mind.”
Her thoughts grew even more tangled.
She tried thinking from the perspective of an aristocratic lady.
Suddenly, she realized she had no clothes suitable for going out.
Didn’t ladies usually wear dresses when they went out?
But she didn’t want to seem spoiled right after receiving the ledger…
She glanced carefully at Diederik and asked.
“Can I buy a dress? I don’t have anything…”
“Yes?”
Diederik looked shocked.
Had she asked for too much?
She was about to tell him to forget it, but the butler questioned her in bewilderment.
“You don’t have a dress to go out in?”
She nodded awkwardly.
She had discarded the old dress she arrived in, and she usually wore a couple of indoor slips around the mansion.
At night, she wore the pants and shirt borrowed from the maids.
“It’s not really that important. It doesn’t matter if you don’t—”
“It can’t be helped otherwise, Madame. You are our hostess and the Grand Duchess.”
Diederik, still reeling from the shock, stroked his beard.
“I can’t believe I didn’t notice, even though you’ve been living in the mansion…”
After blaming himself, he straightened up.
“I will discuss this with Sumona and summon a tailor at once.”
***
Before she could finish a teapot, a tailor arrived at the mansion.
The tailor was a woman with beautifully oiled hair and an elaborate dress. She lifted the hem of her skirt in a splendid curtsy.
“It is an honor to meet you, Your Grace the Grand Duchess.”
As Amarion nodded awkwardly, the tailor set down her bag and, along with her assistants, began measuring her.
Amarion was embarrassed to expose her scarred and rigid body, but no one seemed to mind, methodically measuring every part.
“You have perfectly upright posture. And this hair…”
She lifted Amarion’s platinum locks in amazement.
“It’s a beautiful color. Few in the Empire have hair like this.”
Amarion’s face reddened at the unfamiliar compliment.
The tailor smiled warmly and mentioned that she handled all the Grand Duke’s clothing.
“Standing beside the Grand Duke, you’ll make a lovely pair.”
Amarion thought of the Grand Duke.
Dark hair, healthy tanned skin, and a captivatingly beautiful face.
But the mirror reflected a pale, stiff girl with dry, straw-like hair.
She didn’t think she matched him at all…
She looked down at the floor, wringing her hands.
Soon, the tailor finished measuring and launched into an animated discussion with Sumona.
Three house dresses and three banquet gowns, a tea party dress, a riding habit and extra shirts…
Unable to follow their conversation, Amarion flipped through the dress catalog instead.
The book brimmed with sketches of varied gowns, each elaborate and beautiful, with fabric swatches along the pages to convey the look and current fashions.
The dress she examined was lined with thick fabric, shoulders puffed like croissants. One such gown could yield three Amari dresses, and the embroidery thread alone could stitch hundreds of leather pieces. Seeing the prices in the corner, she slammed the book shut as if it were cursed.
‘No way…’
Suddenly, it all felt insane.
Gathering her courage, she called to Sumona.
“I… I don’t need this much.”
“It’s not possible, Madame. This concerns the Grand Duke’s prestige.”
Amarion had never seen her so firm. Restless, she eyed the elderly maid.
Sumona ultimately ordered everything discussed with the tailor. Amarion nearly fainted when Sumona urged haste, offering extra payment if needed.
As the tailor departed, Sumona bowed deeply to Amarion.
“It’s my fault, Madame. I was so focused on your meals that I overlooked what a proper lady requires.”
“Oh, no…”
She felt strange and awkward…
She was the one devouring meals like a starving beast three times a day—why was Sumona apologizing? And spending so much on dresses for her.
She felt rather upset, but Sumona was so earnest she couldn’t speak.
The warm afternoon sun set through the carved window.
***
As night fell, she entered the bedroom early. She told the maids she was tired, but really, she fretted over the excessive spending and wanted to tell Victor immediately.
Not long after crouching by the bed to wait, he entered. She greeted him, hiding her nerves.
“Welcome.”
He looked at her as he sat on the bed.
“Were you waiting for me?”
“That’s my job.”
The Grand Duke’s eyes narrowed, but soon he smiled enigmatically.
He poured himself wine and sipped it. She gazed up anxiously.
“I heard you ordered dresses.”
She startled, trembling. Victor set down his glass, frowning slightly. Her heart pounded.
She had spent too much. She should have stopped it. Could she cancel?
His voice pierced her dark thoughts.
“This is my mistake. When I returned to the Capital, I promised to buy you all new things… I even brainstormed gifts with Diederik.”
She blinked in surprise, glancing at his face. Remarkably, the Grand Duke looked truly apologetic.
“Even seeing you daily, I didn’t realize. From now on, I’ll have jewelers and tailors visit periodically.”
For a moment, the catalog flashed in her mind.
Gowns beautiful as flower petals, inscribed with gold coin sums. She’d never seen such things. Buying one was unimaginable, yet he’d keep providing them?
Excessive.
Truly too much.
After already spending so much, more would burst her heart.
Words tumbled out.
“Your Grace, I… grew up on the frontier. I ate cold food daily and skinned monsters for clothes.”
Victor’s eyes darkened instantly, though he tried to remain calm.
“The only things I ever paid for were pickled vegetables and metal cutlery. I don’t need or want more. What you’ve given me so far is enough.”
His amber eyes quietly held her. He regarded her piercingly, then sat beside her.
The mansion’s noblest man murmured.
“This is my mistake too.”
“…”
“I thought giving you the power to buy anything would make you happy. Was that just self-assurance?”
At a loss for words, she stared blankly.
His eyes scrutinized her face, her arms hugged around herself, her half-bare legs.
Suddenly, he smiled mischievously.
“Will you do me a favor?”
***
