47 - I Got Engaged to the Blind Duke
Engaged to the Blind Duke Episode 47
“All the western nobles.”
“Yes, understood.”
Butler Sebas answered with a slightly overwhelmed expression at the unexpectedly large number of people.
The head maid, who had been listening to the conversation, bowed her head even deeper to conceal her surprised expression.
“You may leave.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Only after the two left the office did Marin finally exhale the breath she had been holding deeply.
“Prepare to go out by noon tomorrow.”
“Go out?”
“We need public activities to avoid suspicion.”
“Ah, a date?”
At the word 'date,' his shoulder flinched and trembled slightly, but Marin failed to notice it in time.
“We'll start at that dress shop where we had your dress made last time.”
Marin swallowed a laugh as she simultaneously pictured the dress shop full of ribbons and ruffles and the Duke.
A dress shop and the Duke. They were surprisingly mismatched.
“Yes, Your Grace. But... there's one problem.”
The Duke gestured with his chin as if to tell her to speak.
“As Your Grace likely already knows, I cannot ride in a carriage.”
If the Duke, who had already completed his investigation into her family, knew about her background, he probably could guess why she couldn't ride in a carriage.
“……How difficult is it for you?”
His voice, different from his usual tone, seemed hesitant. Seeing him lean slightly towards her, it seemed he was gauging her reaction.
“When I get into a closed carriage, I feel trapped and become very scared.”
Marin closed her eyes with a bitter expression.
The whinny of a horse echoed in her ears. As red blood spread before her eyes, Marin's eyes snapped open.
“I see.”
Marin hurriedly offered her opinion to shake off the painful memory.
“So, would it be alright if I ride out on horseback first and we meet at the Bloria Dress Shop? If I don't arrive with Your Grace, people won't pay me any attention.”
“Do that.”
As the words of permission left the Duke's lips, Marin felt somewhat relieved. Someday she would have to ride in a carriage, but if she could postpone it, she wanted to delay it as much as possible.
Then, the Duke took a piece of paper from his desk drawer and handed it to her.
The Engagement Employment Contract.
Marin skimmed the densely written contents with her eyes and only checked the amount section.
10 Gold per day.
Marin's pupils sparkled brightly.
Countless plans of what she could do with this money unfolded in her mind. She needed to quickly save up money and buy land in a good location. Build a house, hire a maid or two...
“Aren't you going to sign?”
The Duke's cool voice pulled her out of her imagination.
“Yes! I will! I'll do it!”
Marin quickly signed the contract.
“Starting today, I'll do my best to be a good fiancée!”
She said cheerfully, clenching both fists determinedly.
“An excellent attitude.”
“Then I will visit you at your bedtime. I shall take my leave now.”
Marin bowed to the Duke and left the office with lively steps.
\ \ *
In the large display window of the Bloria Dress Shop, new dresses for each season were always on display.
However, this time, they were so busy with the dresses commissioned by the Duke's Castle that they couldn't produce new season dresses.
However, they couldn't dress the mannequins in last season's dresses, so they had temporarily dressed them in the dresses meant to be sent to Marin.
Idre was humming a tune as she adjusted the ruffles on the golden dress she had put on a mannequin and turned around.
Her assistant, Juri, looked at her with a curious expression.
“Designer-nim, you always seem to be in a good mood lately.”
“What would there be to feel bad about? I have a patron—no, a customer who trusts me and lets me work freely, and the person who wears the dresses is also very kind.”
Idre said in a voice tinged with laughter.
“Just who are they? Who are they that it's even a secret from me?”
Juri was a commoner who had been hired as an assistant when Idre first opened the Bloria Shop.
“A secret.”
Idre's eyes twinkled mischievously as she entered the workroom.
“Wow! Really, you're going to be like this...”
Ding-a-ling.
At the sound of the bell hanging on the door, Juri stopped speaking and headed towards the door.
“Welcome.”
A woman with a cute appearance entered—elegant platinum blonde hair tied up, fresh light green eyes, and soft pink lips.
“Oh my! Miss Marin!”
Hearing that a customer had arrived, Idre came out of the workroom, spotted Marin, and beamed with delight.
“Hello, Designer-nim.”
“What brings you here? If you needed anything, you could have just called for me.”
Unlike her usual demeanor with customers, Idre greeted her excitedly, causing Juri to observe the customer with curious eyes.
The white embroidery on the customer's subtle, shimmering blue dress caught her eye immediately. It was the embroidery she had painstakingly stitched, working through the night just a few days ago.
Juri opened her brown eyes wide and stared intently at the secret customer Idre had been hiding all this time.
“I have a dress I need to request urgently.”
“We're still making dresses for Miss Marin, more?”
Idre couldn't hide her happy heart, the corners of her mouth twitching.
“Yes. I'd like to request this one before the other dresses.”
“Oh my! What kind of dress is it that you're requesting so urgently?”
Marin's face flushed slightly.
Somehow, she felt shy about mentioning her engagement to someone other than family for the first time.
“Well...”
BANG!
Just as she was about to part her lips to speak, someone burst through the shop door.
Startled by the loud noise, Marin's shoulders shot up high before settling down.
“Who's the designer here?”
A plump middle-aged noblewoman with scarlet hair fixed high like a three-tiered cake, and a beautiful young noblewoman with tangerine-orange hair and magenta eyes, stormed in together.
“Miss Marin, just a moment.”
With an embarrassed look, Idre asked for Marin's understanding and stepped forward.
Marin nodded slightly and quietly stepped back.
“Hello. I am Idre Smile, the designer of this shop. How may I help you?”
The middle-aged noblewoman flung a light pink dress onto the floor with a displeased expression.
“How on earth do you do your work, making and selling dresses with such low-quality fabric like this?”
Idre picked up the light pink dress from the floor with a calm face. At a glance, it was indeed a dress she had designed.
“This is a dress I made.”
“Hmph. Of course it's a dress from here, I bought it here.”
“But what seems to be the issue?”
“My beautiful daughter wore that dress to a tea party and was humiliated. How poorly must a dress be made, tsk tsk. How are you going to take responsibility?”
Upon inspecting the light pink dress, the seam at the waistline was torn messily. It didn't look like it had torn from wearing it, but rather as if it had caught on something sharp.
Idre clenched the light pink dress tightly in her hand and looked at the young noblewoman.
The young noblewoman met Idre's gaze and smiled provocatively.
“I don't recall selling this dress to you, Miss.”
“Really, this is why I said we shouldn't buy from these low-quality shops. Didn't you just say you made this dress a moment ago?”
The corners of the middle-aged noblewoman's eyes sharpened as they rose.
Idre swallowed a sigh and spoke to the young noblewoman.
“Miss. I clearly told you I wouldn't sell this dress to you. I said it didn't suit you. So I recommended other dresses to you instead. I believe this dress was purchased by your friend. Why are you wearing this dress, Miss?”
“This is truly absurd. What are you doing right now?”
The middle-aged noblewoman cut in.
“I am informing you that I did not sell this dress to your daughter.”
“I bought it from a friend. Therefore, this dress is mine.”
The young noblewoman said with a haughty expression.
“It's really low-quality, I don't even want to deal with this.”
Mother and daughter simultaneously poured salt on Idre's wounds.
Idre barely managed to swallow the swear words itching in her throat. Troublemakers like this showed up once or twice a year.
She had hoped to get through this year smoothly.
