Chapter 39
Not long after, the designers came panting back into the drawing room one by one.
They had appeared faster than expected, which puzzled me, but they said they hadn’t gone far.
‘…Since Grandfather summoned them, they couldn’t just leave lightly, so maybe they lingered around nearby out of fear of Charlize’s retaliation or mischief?’
It was a reasonable guess.
The designers each wore expressions filled with hope upon learning that I had called them back.
I sat with my legs crossed, tapping my lips with my finger.
My eyes curved seductively.
Someone swallowed hard—I could hear it.
“You can make anything, right?”
“Yes, yes! That’s right!”
“Please use our atelier, Biark!”
“We can do anything, even the most outrageous designs!”
“Shh.”
I gazed contentedly at the now-silent room.
Then I beckoned to a nearby knight with a flick of my hand.
Jet was nowhere to be seen today, so another knight approached hesitantly.
“You, go catch the designer from the Remute Duke’s household.”
“…Pardon?”
As I spoke, I realized my mistake.
…Would that duke’s family even have an exclusive designer?
Would that man allow such a thing?
No, he’d probably spend any money for hiring one on Aria’s treatment instead.
‘But no duke’s family would go without using designers entirely.’
I rolled my eyes.
I quickly retracted my previous order.
“Ah, cancel that. Find out who makes clothes for Duke Remute and bring them here.”
“…L-Lady.”
“Now.”
The knight started to say something but caught my fierce glare and bowed his head hastily.
I felt no pity for him.
He was one of the ones who had forcibly dragged me away.
No, everyone except Jet had been involved in dragging me off against my will, hadn’t they?
‘The only usable knight among the escorts is that one guy….’
Perhaps because the knight ran off pale-faced, it didn’t take as long as I’d thought for another ashen-faced designer to be shoved into my drawing room like a knight.
I checked the clock and was quite surprised.
‘I thought it would take half a day at least….’
My fiancé had unusually and gratefully agreed to attend the banquet with me, but there was a problem.
That man clearly wouldn’t care about his clothes.
Of course, no one said he dressed sloppily.
He was always neat and refined, so he’d probably dress cleanly in a way that suited him.
But the standards set by my tyrant brother weren’t just any standards; he must have tailored them to my fiancé’s circumstances.
So if my fiancé wore whatever he usually did and got kicked out of the banquet due to the tyrant’s petty tricks?
The whole thing that seemed promising would come crashing down.
And it wouldn’t just be a failure—it would be death.
‘That can’t happen.’
Besides, would that man just sit still if he got thrown out?
He’d probably cheer at the chance and shout even louder for a breakup.
Oh, my poor fate!
I tossed my head back.
“You have all your clients’ measurements memorized, right?”
The designer in charge of the Remute Duke flinched the moment our eyes met, as he was about to bow in greeting.
He nodded frantically. “Yes, yes, yes!” His trembling voice came as a bonus.
“Good. Tell them Duke Remute’s measurements.”
“…Yes. Yes?!”
The Remute Duke’s dedicated designer was a man with a frail impression.
He trembled, at a loss for what to do.
But when I stared at him pointedly, he finally squeezed his eyes shut and approached the other designers, spilling all the measurements.
“You all are the amazing designers Grandfather acknowledged, right?”
“….”
I smiled prettily.
“Then making one set of men’s clothing should be no trouble at all.”
“L-Lady…!”
“You heard the size too.”
I crooked my finger.
“Make it.”
The designers turned pale.
They couldn’t refuse my order, nor could they leave the spot, so they were caught in a dilemma.
I nodded to Susan beside me.
“Bring ‘that’.”
“Yes, Lady!”
While the knight was off fetching my fiancé’s designer, I had given prior instructions to Susan and the maids.
Soon the door opened, and Anna and Beth entered, followed by attendants carefully carrying something in.
As soon as it was arranged, I spoke again.
“This is the dress I’ll wear to the Goddess’s Blessing Banquet. Make men’s clothing to match this.”
Even to me, with Charlize’s memories and knowledge, the dress was stunningly beautiful and exquisitely made.
So how much more would experts think?
I could feel the designers scanning the dress with astonished eyes, some even laced with envy.
‘Charlize leads the trends.’
Like it or not, notoriety was fame; the young ladies gossiped enviously behind closed doors while admiring her.
Grandfather’s intentions in summoning so many atelier owners and designers—and having them bring piles of clothes—were clear as day.
And I could see exactly how to make use of it.
“Grandfather would order only from the atelier I choose. From now on, consistently.”
“…I-If we make the men’s clothing and get chosen… you’ll only order from our atelier from now on?”
Someone mustered the courage to ask.
I smiled without answering, but it must have looked like affirmation to them.
“Well, it wouldn’t be bad to settle on one for a while with this opportunity.”
At my words, stars practically shot from the designers’ eyes.
Gasp, that startled me.
I calmly averted my gaze from them swallowing hard like puppies eyeing a bone or fumbling with their hands.
“Any precautions for making clothes for my fiancé?”
“Yes? Yes? Ah… well.”
“Tell them.”
My fiancé’s designer nodded awkwardly.
The moment permission was given, the designers swarmed the man.
He looked at me like prey being dragged off by a pack of three-day-starved ghouls.
Sorry. But they won’t eat you….
Fight….
Soon after, I slipped him a pouch of gold coins as payment for his trouble—or to seal his lips up to this point. His expression changed.
Just use him!
Then I informed the designers, who were stripping the man of every last bit of info, of the deadline.
“Yes? L-Lady, but that schedule…”
“Hmm?”
They all seemed to think it was tight, but when I crossed my arms and stared, no one stepped up.
They apparently thought it was rushed but not entirely impossible.
Truth be told, I didn’t want to give such a tight deadline either…
But this was all because of my tyrant brother’s inexplicable whims.
I no longer wanted to face more people and ordered everyone to withdraw, and the designers—who had wanted the same—packed up as if they’d been waiting for it and left.
In the now-empty space.
Amid the luxurious items, I stared fixedly at the table without glancing at any of them.
Soon I picked up the letter on the table. I fiddled with the missive.
Even looking at it, I still couldn’t believe it.
Who would have thought that man would reach out first, saying he’d attend with me.
‘Is he finally showing an opening?’
Joy and pride welled up inside me.
It felt like those adorable coins I’d never once used and lost to death were dancing before my eyes.
The countless glamorous, luxurious items filling this room felt like they could unfold even in the world I’d returned from.
Yes, finally, the winds of fortune were turning.
‘As long as I block my tyrant brother’s whims and Grandfather’s wild words….’
I was beaming at the letter for a good while when I suddenly looked up.
The items filling the room were still there.
Every single one was of a caliber that would be called ‘luxury’ in my old world.
But for some reason, they looked a little different now.
With so many—no, too many—luxuries piled before me, instead of greater happiness, I strangely felt my interest waning. An odd experience.
‘…Maybe because Charlize’s things don’t feel like mine?’
* * *
The next day.
Unlike the previous two days when I’d risen late, I got up early today.
“Lady?”
“I’m wearing this.”
The maids were not only surprised to see me up early but naturally trailed after me to the wardrobe, nodding eagerly at the outfit I pointed to.
The three of them nodding in unison somehow reminded me of baby birds, and I stifled a laugh inside.
“I have somewhere to go; you don’t need to come along.”
“Ah! So… it’s all right if we accompany you?”
I hadn’t said that?
Because of the memories, perhaps.
Before I knew it, Charlize’s speech patterns had seamlessly become my own.
I frowned slightly but said, ‘Do as you like.’
With the clothes draped over me, I boarded the carriage.