Chapter 22
The Unknowable Man
Among the maids who scrutinized the sample design book as if to bore a hole through it, Monica was particularly enthusiastic, recommending various things to Yuan.
"Madam, although your arms and legs are slender, you have some curves in your chest and hips, so if you wear something too loose, you'll look heavier than you actually are. Since you have black hair, any color will suit you, but if you wear something bright like pink or yellow, you can show off your figure a bit without it seeming excessive!"
Monica, who worked perfectly with the dressmaker Michelle, practically made decisions for Yuan before she could even say whether she liked something or not.
In fact, Yuan found it more comfortable that way.
It wasn't that she disliked dressing up in pretty clothes and shoes, but having lived without such things throughout her adolescence, she knew what was pretty but was clumsy at choosing.
Monica was a maid in her late twenties with a sophisticated appearance, who boasted that she had experience specializing in dressing up young ladies from wealthy noble families when she was younger.
Her stubbornness was like a bull's; if Yuan subtly suggested that something was too much, she would explain in great detail why it wasn't excessive and why she had to wear it, earning applause from the maids and surrender from Yuan.
The butler, who had been watching from a distance, also judged that if he only followed Yuan's wishes, it would be pointless to have brought an outsider into the Black Manor.
In the end, thanks to the collaboration between dressmaker Michelle, who wanted to make a good profit, and Monica, who wanted to be in charge of dressing the mistress instead of working in the laundry room, Yuan ended up ordering over thirty dresses.
"Th-thirty dresses..."
"Madam, it's winter clothes, so I ordered thick shawls, gloves with sheepskin lining inside the leather, and angora fur for the earmuffs and fur cloaks that you often use. It all adds up! Thirty dresses aren't just thirty dresses, you know?"
"That's right, Madam. The mistress of the Marquis Lev's family, whom I am in charge of, orders even more than this every year. We're not ordering fancy dresses for banquets, so we've made them more practical and lighter."
In the end, the drab dark green dress that Yuan always wore was immediately taken off by Monica.
Even as she took off the dress, Yuan stubbornly insisted that she wouldn't throw it away because Louise had mended it several times.
But then dressmaker Michelle said she would repair it neatly along with the new clothes, so she gave it up.
Yuan, wearing the lilac dress that Michelle had brought as a sample and altered on the spot, stood awkwardly and watched as her beloved green dress was ruthlessly packed into Michelle's clothing box.
"Is this okay, Butler?"
After seeing Michelle off, who was happily shaking her hips as she rode away in the carriage, Yuan asked worriedly.
Butler Gustav, who was newly admiring that the mistress's beauty was extraordinary, replied with a puzzled look.
"What do you mean?"
"This is a place where we don't have parties or guests. But I ordered thirty dresses."
The butler soothed her face, which was worried like a child who had done something wrong.
"Madam, this place may be quite poor, but doesn't the master always wear only gowns?"
Yuan rolled her eyes, thinking of Klaud, who always wore the same thing.
The butler reassured her again.
"So, it won't make us falter if Madam has one more set of 'normal' clothes. His Highness has also permitted it."
Yuan, whose face had been clouded with worry, relaxed at Gustav's joking words and put on a faint smile.
The mistress's bedroom, and the newly colorful clothes.
Butler Gustav hadn't paid for it with his own money, but he felt proud whenever he saw Yuan quietly happy.
Count Pellieresse's round shadow lingered in front of the First Imperial Prince's palace.
He had requested an audience in advance, but he didn't know what variables this capricious Imperial Prince would create, so he had entered the Imperial Palace as soon as the gates opened.
As expected.
The First Imperial Prince Bolonico, dressed in a spotless white uniform, was leaving the palace with at least 50 attendants.
His sharply cut golden bob sparkled as if sprinkled with gold dust every time it shook.
His somewhat sharply raised, handsome nose pointed upwards and then towards Count Pellieresse.
The plump flesh under his eyes curved slyly.
"Oh, who is this?"
"May there be endless glory to the great Euphris! First Imperial Prince Bo-lo-ni-co!"
"So noisy from the morning, Fatty Count."
That young brat!
Count Pellieresse gritted his teeth and lowered his head further.
He had been the first to pay excessive respect, but it wasn't to the point of receiving such an insult.
The First Imperial Prince Bolonico always resorted to childish personal attacks if he didn't like something. He only called him by his exact name, Count Pellieresse, when he was pleased.
Bolonico, who hated it but was an attention-seeking Imperial Prince with a terminal illness, needed this ridiculous play.
Count Pellieresse bent over in half as if he hadn't heard the words Fatty Count.
"Please, protect my nephew from the terrifying Deposed Emperor, Your High-ness!"
"Bolonico, I don't understand what you're saying."
"The Deposed Emperor Klaud Euphris, Your High-ness, has taken away two of my precious nephews! Without a wedding! I have never heard of such a marriage!"
It was Marquis Kompani who had taken them away under the Imperial Family's orders, but the Count reported it according to Bolonico's taste.
"Wedding? He's just an Imperial Prince in name only, listed only in the Imperial Family's genealogy, so a wedding is too much of a waste. Finding brides was also a waste of manpower. Isn't that right?"
Bolonico asked Marquis Kompani behind him.
Marquis Kompani had already frowned as soon as he saw Count Pellieresse's shadow, so he nodded without complaint and stepped to Bolonico's side.
"Even if there were a wedding, if Count Pellieresse had any shame, he wouldn't even think of showing his face at the wedding!"
"Bolonico, same thought."
The First Imperial Prince Bolonico tilted his chin primly.
"I overlooked the crime of not reporting that there were two nephews, and instead used the next bride. Bolonico, so severely generous. Isn't that right?"
"That's right. To dare to try to cover His Highness's eyes. It's a miracle that his head is still attached."
"Ah, since I've come all the way to Cielo, shall I give you a piece of news that you'll like as a gift, Fatty Count?"
Count Pellieresse, who was still bent over in half, only slightly raised his head. The short-haired Imperial Prince grinned.
"Even if there's no wedding, there will be an opportunity to see your nephew at that rumored Black Manor."
"Re-really?"
"Bolonico's beautiful and hideous cousin seems to have finally met his match. I told him to provide a Consummation Proof, and the answer came right away."
"Yes?"
"Bolonico, I was so happy. My brother has finally met his match. What a beautiful pair they must be? Bolonico, you like beautiful things, don't you?"
"You have the best aesthetic sense in Euphris."
While Count Pellieresse was completely distracted by the words Consummation Proof, Kompani carefully took care of Bolonico.
Normally, he would have thought of them as a well-matched pair of cockroaches, but the words "Deposed Emperor who has found his match. Consummation Proof" were running wild in the Count's head.
"Anyway, there will be something fun soon, so wait, you traitor Fatty Count."
"Wa-wait a minute! Imperial Prince, Your Highness! I am not a traitor! Two nephews..."
"Bolonico, I'll include Fatty Count in the fun. Whether he's a useful vassal or not will be confirmed then. Bolonico is generous, isn't that right?"
"I only hope that that shameless person knows how to be grateful."
"Bolonico, same thought."
The Imperial Prince Bolonico stroked the hilt of the rapier sword at his side, not caring how pale Count Pellieresse's expression was, and turned his head primly.
Following his seemingly elegant gait, the attendants, who had been giggling like spectators, passed by "Fatty Count" in turn.
Count Pellieresse, who would normally have been dwelling on the humiliation, couldn't move at all now.
"Con-sum-ma-tion-Proof?"
New clothes arrived early in the morning from dressmaker Michelle.
Since she had ordered thirty dresses, not all of them had arrived.
A fur cloak that covered the hips, knitted tightly with purple yarn, the Imperial Family's symbol, and with angora fur attached to the ends, and a scarf and earmuffs made of pure white angora fur, were packed in a box.
What made Yuan the happiest was the neatly repaired dark green dress.
The traces of Louise's repairs had not disappeared completely, but the same color had been neatly added over them to repair it.
At first glance, it looked like a new dress.
Yuan carefully put on the repaired dress, fur cloak, and earmuffs and left the bedroom.
As she passed Klaud's room, she walked slowly and made some noise, but he didn't call her.
It had been two days already.
He was a man whose thoughts were both knowable and unknowable.
Yuan was uneasy about why he wasn't looking for her, but she felt sorry for Louise with each peaceful day that passed.
It felt like she was the only one who had become comfortable.
She wished she could get closer to Klaud quickly and bring up Louise somehow.
Yuan thought about ignoring him whether he looked for her or not, but in the end, she wandered around the garden where he could look down.
She didn't have the courage to barge into the bedroom without a reason, and she hoped that he would find her in the garden.
She wanted to throw a small stone to call him out.
'Is he watching me?'
She wanted to look up at the window.
Recalling the curtains that had been quickly drawn shut as if rejecting her every time she looked up at that room's window, Yuan's head never turned in that direction.
Because if she did, the conversation would be cut off before she could even try to talk to him.
After wandering around for a long time, wondering if he would pick a fight, Yuan finally turned sharply towards Klaud's room window as the sunset began.
Surprisingly, the curtains were not drawn.
Klaud wasn't watching her.
Yuan felt a bit embarrassed for some reason, but she thought it was better this way and started jumping up and down in place to look into his room.
She also hoped that if she made some noise here, he might open the window.
Even though it was on the second floor, it was quite high in this huge mansion, so she couldn't see inside, but she wondered if she could see even a strand of hair if Klaud was standing nearby.
How long had she been jumping like that?
She was so out of breath that she bent over and panted, when a slow creaking sound poured down from above.
