CH 12

“If I bought too much, will the Grand Duke get angry?”

“I’m not sure, will he?”

Lucas suddenly muttered in a serious voice. I was depressed to hear that. I’m sure he will. Let’s not forget how Mary ended in the original. Lucas burst into laughter as I was shaking my legs while showing signs of discouragement.

“Oh, I can’t even tell a joke to our Miss Kitty.”

You were joking? 

“It’s fun to poke Mary because her reaction is big.”

“I might explode if you poke me too much.”

“Oh, that’s scary.”

After talking with Lucas about this and that, the carriage stopped and arrived at the village. Since the store is located in a narrow alley, I agreed to Lucas’ explanation that we had to get off at the entrance of the village and walk a little.

When I got off the carriage holding Lucas’ hand first, I could feel the villagers looking at me.

Is this how it feels getting off a fancy carriage? 

I think there was something more eye-catching, my black hair and black eyes. Curiosity and interest were read in the eyes of passers-by. It was hard to take a step because I was intimidated for no reason.

“As expected, I’m so handsome that people look at me so much. I’m sorry.”

“Haha.”

“Oh, are you laughing at me?”

Maybe it was because he noticed that I was intimidated. I smiled at Lucas’ consideration of trying to soothe me with his characteristic smirk. They say Lucas is a handsome guy, but I don’t think people will look at him like this. 

No matter how much Lucas comforted me, I felt awkward because it was my first time in such a crowded and lively place ever since I was reincarnated as Mary, so I didn’t want to let go of Lucas’ hand.

“Shall we hold hands? You’ll be in trouble if you get lost.”

I nodded quickly at Lucas’s words. He’s a little playful, but he actually cares about me.

“Okay, not because you’re afraid of places like this.”

“Where is the dress shop?”

Cancel. I thought his expression was trying to tease me again, so I canceled my words quickly.

Lucas smiled at me, pointed ahead with a wink and dragged me along.

“Giefroy is the most prosperous city in Conler territory. It’s also the second most prosperous place in the Britina Empire after the Capital.”

“Wow….”

“You look amazed.”

“No, I’ve always been in the corner of the mountain, so I don’t know…….”

“Next time, I’ll take you to the Empire Capital.”

Lucas made a silly face and said affectionately.

Empire Capital…

If Giefroy has flourished like this, how much more is the Empire Capital?

Can I meet Astina if I go there later?

When I left, I remembered Astina, who was crying as if the world ended. I fiddled with the necklace around my neck.

You must be doing well, right?

The streets were really well organized. It was true that it was the most prosperous city in Conler territory. When Grand Duke Estin was planning this city, he must have put a lot of thought into it because his office had this vibe, too.

Lucas, who had been walking for a long time, finally stopped at a dress shop that read De Elle.

I thought it would be quite fancy because it was a dress shop, but it was more modern than I thought. The store seemed to have been decorated in order to highlight the clothes more than the interior. Let’s use this as a reference when I do business later.

“We’re not going to sell today, Lucas!”

A man wearing a light silk shirt and neatly tied gray long hair behind him ran happily to Lucas.

But I think you just said you’re not going to sell today, is it okay?

The man who had a brief greeting with Lucas looked at me with a surprised look on his face.

“Is she the lady……?”

“That’s right. This kitten here is the youngest lady in the Conler family.”

Lucas grabbed my shoulders with both hands and moved them forward. The man looked at me and crouched down to make eye contact with me, he looked quite surprised.

I felt relaxed because I could feel his gray eyes that looked cold at first glance looking at me more affectionately than I thought.

“How can you…….”

“Right? A black kitten suddenly appears in the Jaguar family.”

What jaguar…

The elegant yet strong-looking atmosphere of Grand Duke Estin seems to resemble a jaguar. But a baby cat and a baby jaguar look similar.….

“I’m Gille Carlinne, De Elle’s owner and chief designer.”

As he introduced himself, I suddenly felt dumbfounded by Gille Carlinne, who raised my hand and kissed it carefully.

Even after I became Mary… No, even when I was Sohee…… I don’t think I’ve ever been treated like a lady.

Lucas’ face turned white and hid me behind him.

“What are you doing to a little girl?”

“But she’s a pretty lady.”

I was blinking because I couldn’t grasp the situation, but Gille winked at me.

Is there something in his eye? No, did he just wink at me?

Maybe it’s because he’s a designer…. He must be very sociable. I looked around the shop thinking nonsense even though I thought about it myself.

“I’d like to see some clothes for the lady. And a party dress.”

“Oh… I guess you’re having a party in Conler soon?”

“I think so.”

“Oh, I’ll be busy again. Maybe I should shut down for a while.”

The shop, which I looked at while listening half-heartedly to Lucas and Gille’s conversation, was full of colorful dresses that were highlighted thanks to the neat interior.

They were dresses that looked big for me, who was still young, but they were so beautiful that I couldn’t take my eyes off them.

Mary in the novel would buy it without much thought. Ah, you only live once anyway.… Am I supposed to live a short life like the ending of the novel?

No, Mary. Get a hold of yourself. Let’s make good use of the gold spoon that was born with you and live happily ever after.

“Lady, you have to come over here and get your measurements.”

But, wait.

“He’s not doing business today…….”

“It’s just his way of talking.”

I whispered to Lucas in a very small voice, and Lucas responded in a fairly determined voice.

No, does it make sense that a person who runs a store does that?  Come to think of it, if he really didn’t want to do business, he would have just closed the shop.

Gille grabbed a tape measure and flicked her index and middle fingers to make a gesture, and Lucas tapped me on the back telling me to go take my measurement.

As I stood in front of Gille awkwardly, he looked at me and sat down

“How old did you say you were?”

“I’m nine years old.”

“You’re much smaller than your peers.”

Gille sighed softly, lowered the tape measure that was measuring my body, and stood up.

“You looked like about… about six or seven years old

“Oh, that small?”

“I can tell just by looking at you.”

“I didn’t know I was that small…….”

Two handsome men looked down at me with worried faces, I was so embarrassed that I was sweating from behind.

Under their faces, I felt like I could see subtitles saying, “What the hell have you been up to.” 

Ha… I should have grown and ate wild ginseng in the mountains. But I didn’t get sick during my growth process and grew up healthy. Deep down I promised myself that I would catch up with their height sooner or later.

“I’m still nine years old, so I’m sure I’ll grow.”

“Your wrists look like willow branches, too. I think I’ll break it if I touted it.”

“The Grand Duke said he couldn’t touch her because he thought he would do the same.”

“That might really happen.”

“People with great strength tends to be careless”

Is it my misunderstanding that Lucas’ words sound distorted, that the Grand Duke is so strong and doesn’t know how to take care of things carefully? 

I didn’t expect Grand Duke Estin to think so.

It’s not that easy to break a human bone…….

Is he being a daughter’s fool manifested already?

“I remember the last time Lucas broke a bone in his fight with Duke Estin.”

“That’s right. I was turning around after the competition, and then he grabbed my wrist.”

Well, what do you mean daughter’s fool? I have to be careful. As expected, the Conler family. You break adult male bones easily, too. I should try not to get in the way of Grand Duke Estin.

I felt my wrist cold for no reason, so I rubbed my right wrist with my left hand.

“Silver would look good on you for the party. I put an orchid pink ribbon on it to highlight it.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but…… Gille will take care of it.”

“I can’t believe the day I will be sending a woman’s dress to the Grand Duchy of Conler will come again…….”

“I look forward to your kind cooperation.”

“The other dress is…….”

What Gille’s clerks put on me was a light pink dress with black velvet ribbons. Elegant cuteness was felt. When I look in the mirror with a light pink ribbon, Mary looks pretty cute, I felt proud of it.

Lucas’ eyes, who were waiting for me, grew bigger as he changed his clothes and went out of the fitting room.