38
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Originally, the dressmakers were going to come to Aileen's house. But Aileen desperately refused. The thought of being surrounded by people in her small brick house while trying on a wedding dress made her feel like the house would explode.
She couldn't invite them to the Grand Duke's Residence either. There was a superstition that it was bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her dress before the wedding. To completely eliminate the possibility of Cesare seeing her, the Grand Duke's Residence was quickly ruled out.
'Of course, His Excellency wouldn't care about such superstitions.'
Aileen was secretly concerned. So, she concluded that she would go to the dress shop herself.
'What kind of dress will it be?'
Aileen knew nothing. She had only been told that a wedding dress was already prepared at the dress shop, and that today's fitting would involve tailoring it to her body and adjusting the decorations. She was curious and excited about the wedding dress. It was because of a magazine article.
[…Grand Duke Erzeht began preparing for the wedding with a bolt-from-the-blue announcement and an absurd schedule. In just one month.
(What do men think marriage is anyway! Any man reading this article should never follow the Grand Duke's recklessness. Only a man with the looks, wealth, and power of Grand Duke Erzeht can pull this off!)
To make the impossible possible, the three best dress shops in the Empire have joined forces.
The dress shops, usually bitter rivals, are working together to create the Grand Duchess's wedding dress. No one knows whether this alliance will produce a masterpiece or a disaster….]
Lately, there had been so many stories about Cesare and her that she usually avoided newspapers. But after buying a magazine for the first time in a while, she found such an article and couldn't help but read it all the way through.
Actually, the reason she bought the magazine was Ornella. Celebrities like her usually have every little detail of their lives published in magazines.
Aileen wanted to know about Ornella, but the magazine didn't have a single snippet about her. They were all too busy talking about the Grand Duke's wedding.
After reading the entire magazine, Aileen only learned a lot of gossip about herself. She would have to find another way to learn about Ornella.
"Lady!"
Diego, who had been waiting under the orange tree, waved vigorously. He looked very happy in his uniform.
It was a huge opportunity to see Aileen in her wedding dress beforehand. Everyone was clamoring to go. Even Senon volunteered, saying he would stay up all night until the wedding day if he had to.
In the end, the four knights sat around and drew lots, and Diego won and got to accompany Aileen.
"Shall we depart?"
He closed the door of the military vehicle and hummed as he drove himself. He had deliberately come without a driver so that Aileen could talk comfortably.
Thanks to this, Aileen was able to ask Diego what she was curious about on the way to the dress shop. She first brought up the dowry, which was the most concerning but also the safest topic.
"Sir Diego."
"Yes, Lady."
"I told His Excellency about the dowry."
As soon as Aileen started speaking, Diego immediately began to laugh.
"Ha, I'm sorry. It's just, haigo, I can't help but laugh."
He tried to stop laughing, but he kept chuckling, so it was no use. He finally managed to speak after laughing so hard that tears welled up in his eyes.
"I never imagined you would worry about that. It's a forced marriage in the first place. Of course, His Excellency should take responsibility."
He clenched his teeth for a moment, suppressing the rising laughter.
"Come to think of it, His Excellency was wrong. He should have talked about the dowry earlier so that you wouldn't be anxious. But, really, how could you have such a thoughtful idea?"
Diego stopped talking and cleared his throat. He was trying to refrain from treating Aileen like a child.
But Aileen, who was too used to being treated like a kid, simply replied that she would forget about the dowry and moved on. She wanted to ask about Cesare too, but they arrived at the dress shop so quickly that she had to postpone it.
The dress shop was on Venue Street. When Diego and Aileen got out of the military vehicle in their uniforms, people's attention was drawn to them. Aileen instinctively hunched her shoulders, but Diego didn't seem to care at all, as if he was used to being the center of attention.
'I heard that soldiers are very popular in the capital these days.'
Aileen recalled what she had read in the magazine and followed behind Diego, looking only at the ground. She finally raised her head after entering the dress shop.
The air in the dress shop was a bit stuffy. Mannequins in fancy dresses were placed here and there, but they were spaced out so that the clothes could be fully appreciated.
As she went inside, she saw three women in very distinctive outfits. They were arguing over a large board with various fabric scraps attached to it. The debate was so intense that they didn't even hear the bell on the door.
She wondered why no one came out to greet them, but all the employees were anxiously trying to stop them. One employee bravely tried to mediate.
"Lady Elrod will be here soon… Please stop arguing now…"
"Does it look like we're arguing?"
A woman in a bright primary-colored outfit snapped in a shrill voice. Then, the woman opposite her immediately retorted.
"If not, at least pretend to. Don't act without manners."
The woman dressed in monochrome clothes snapped back, and the woman next to her laughed sharply.
"Manners? Manneerrrss?"
The woman in the fancy Damask Pattern dress mimicked the words of the woman in monochrome clothes and continued to sneer.
Aileen recognized who they were. They were the owners of the dress shops who had gathered for the wedding dress. They were supposed to be working together in harmony, but they looked like they were about to throw punches.
Diego interjected in a loud voice.
"Are you not open for business?"
The people in the dress shop all turned to look at him at the very rude tone. The women who saw Diego first smiled brightly. The woman in the fancy pattern dress clasped her hands together and exclaimed.
"Oh my! The Archduchess of Erzeht has come…"
When Aileen peeked out from behind Diego, the woman's face, which had been beaming, gradually hardened. She looked at Aileen with disbelief before finishing her sentence gloomily.
“…has come.”
The dress shop, which had been noisy until just now, became as quiet as if cold water had been poured over it. The three women, who had been fighting like enemies, suddenly looked at each other with desperate eyes.
No one said anything, but their true feelings were revealed in their despairing expressions. As soon as they saw Aileen, they all thought they were doomed. Even the oblivious Aileen could feel it.
Aileen awkwardly touched her face. In the meantime, the three women whispered and roughly finished their discussion.
"F, first. First…! Should we do something about that bangs first? And the glasses."
"Let's do that."
"Right, if all else fails, we can cover it up a bit with a veil."
They were discussing it so seriously that Aileen felt guilty. She lowered her head and thought.
'If it were Ornella, this wouldn't have happened…'
She shook her head at the sudden negative thought. She was constantly making unnecessary comparisons. While Aileen was chasing Ornella out of her mind, the women, who had regained their elegance, approached and greeted her.
"Lady Elrod. Thank you for coming. It is a great honor to be making the wedding dress for the Grand Duchess."
"Would you like to come this way? We will show you the dress. Before that, just a little, we, just a little, um…"
"How about we tidy up your bangs a little?"
"Let's just leave it as it is."
Diego interjected abruptly. He looked down at the women with a blank face. The dress shop owners were not easily intimidated, even by the gaze of a burly soldier.
"His Excellency the Grand Duke personally requested the best wedding dress, how can we not touch a single strand of hair?"
"Shouldn't we at least do a hairstyle that matches the dress?"
Then Diego chuckled and spat out words that were no different from a threat.
"You'd better just do what you're told."
The faces of the dress shop owners hardened again. Aileen quickly stepped in front of Diego.
"Sir Diego, stop it."
Aileen took off her glasses and put them down next to her. Then, she neatly pinned up her bangs with a hairpin that an employee had discreetly handed her.
Aileen carefully looked at the dress shop owners and asked in a timid voice.
"Will this do…?"
