‘Great!’

Selena praised herself inwardly and gave more strength to her arms, which she embraced around Kalcion. Even when his waist seemed thinner than his manly chest and shoulders, it was actually quite thick when she hugged it.

She had met various male actors with attractive physiques during her acting career, but it was her first time to have such a thick and solid body within her arms.

‘Whoa.’

Selena exhaled and moved her face deeper into his chest.

“I’m cold…..Duke. I’m so cold.”

Every time she shifted, Kalcion’s body became stiffer. Almost like a stone pillar.

“…….What? I can’t stay here. I don’t want to be here anymore.”

Finally, Kalcion moved at Selena’s subsequent entreaties. He wrapped his cape around Selena’s neck, the hand resting on her shoulders.

Kalcion strode back the way he had come. Selena did not forget to take a last glimpse at Rosalyn and tease her, who was standing fixated on her place.

‘Bleh.’

Even such childishness sometimes made the opponent very angry.

***

“Well done. Excellent!”

Selena was lavish in her praise.

She was deeply concerned about how to put her sense of wit when she suddenly hugged this man and started to whine at Rosalyn aggressively.

After letting her sit on the sofa, Kalcion raised his eyes at her smiling face.

“You’re very satisfied that I acted according to your wishes, aren’t you?”

Selena’s face was much brighter than usual.

“Yeah, something like that. But, to be honest, Rosalyn was trying to start another fight. It feels good to screw her up, doesn’t it?”

“……Ah, was that it?”

His face looked somewhat sullen, drained of the little light it was radiating.

“Why? Were you expecting a different answer?”

“No.”

“Hmm……?”

She stared at Kalcion, who coughed uncomfortably, cleared his throat, and averted his eyes elsewhere.

“First of all, we’ll need to take care of your clothing.”

“Yes, I heard you called for a tailor.”

Kalcion called in a servant.

“The tailor?”

“He will enter as soon as you’re ready, Your Excellency.”

“We’re already prepared. Send him here this instant.”

“……As you wish, Your Excellency.”

He sounded intimidating. The explanation of what would happen if they didn’t hurry was omitted, but it was more effective than any other threat.

As ordered, the tailor soon rushed in clumsily.

“huff…This is…huff…Tailor Devin…huff…Your Excellency…huff. Greetings….huff…Your Excellency.”

The tailor, who just came in running on his two thin feet, had no time to catch his breath. Behind him, decorative fabrics and tools were piled up.

“Start it right away.”

Kalcion didn’t even care to greet him formally. People usually say words like ‘I’ve heard of your great talents…….’ But Kalcion didn’t even consider giving him a compliment.

The tailor quickly rose at his command, afraid of his impatient nature.

He managed to wipe some sweat on his face with his handkerchief and spray perfume as he took cautious steps towards the sofa where Selena sat. Then, he took out his tools.

“Well, let’s get started right away.”

He walked towards Kalcion and stood in front of him.

“……? What is it?”

“I-I need to take off your coat to take the required measurements, Your Excellency.”

Kalcion’s eyes sank coldly as if piercing into the tailor’s soul.

“Did I not mention that I was ordering a dress?”

“That is exactly what you said, Your Excellency.”

The servant replied with a nod.

“…….Ah, I thought he was ordering a dress for His Excellency?”

“Who asked you to call a crazy tailor.”

His voice sounded very identical to the time when it seemed as though he was about to pull out his sword.

“We only considered the skills of the tailor that your ancestors often looked for, not the state of his mind. I beg for your forgiveness, Your Excellency!”

“N-No! I’m not crazy, Your Excellency! I didn’t give it a thought!”

The servant and the tailor fell at his feet and whined at the same time.

“I thought it was an occasional order for men’s clothing!”

The tailor’s desperate excuses followed.

“Please believe in my ability to make everyone beautiful clothes! Please don’t disrespect my principles!”

Well, Kalcion did not have much respect for others. He waved his hands as if he was swatting away a fly. The servants rushed in and tried to grab the tailor.

“Crazy people are often very artistic, Duke. Can’t we at least have a look at his designs?”

Selena stepped in. The servants faltered in their act of dragging away the tailor despite Kalcion’s orders.

“I don’t have anything to wear right now. How many days do I have to wait this way?”

She glimpsed at the cape she was draped in.

“…….Very well. Prepare a dress for her with the finest material.”

Kalcion growled. In the end, however, she did what she wanted.

The servants hurriedly let go of the tailor’s arms so that he could search his luggage with ease. She began to wonder what he had brought with him, but in no time, a curtain and a mirror were installed on one side of the room. In a flash, it turned into a dressing room.

“Usually, they prepare a room to reflect your taste, but it’s your first time here, so please keep in mind that it’s temporary.”

Even the dressing room seemed to be the basis for judging the discretion of the tailor. This was a new concept of luxury she had never seen in her world.

“Here, Lady Selena.”

The tailor was respectful even though he didn’t hear Selena’s exact introduction. His level of being self-conscious was great.

Selena climbed onto a shadowy platform.

“Do you always have to take measurements every time you make clothes?”

“Yes, that is correct. The human body always changes little by little, so it’s a necessary process for me to be able to prepare clothes that fit the best.”

The tailor moved the tape measure with a skilled hand.

“There isn’t any dress that you can make beforehand and sell, is there? I think it’ll be more convenient if you just make a dress of standard proportions.”

The tailor gave Selena a vague look at her words.

“Mm-hm……it’s not possible to set a standard for one’s body shape, Lady.”

“Ah.”

Again, it was a foreign fact to her. Everyone had their own size in this world.

“However, I am certain that Lady Selena has the most beautiful body shape among all the customers I’ve served.”

The tailor smiled brightly and didn’t forget to insert a little compliment.

At least, it was better than saying the words ’44 left!’. Selena chuckled without any pretension. Meanwhile, the tailor blankly stared at her face, forgetting that he had to move the tape measure.

“Are you done?”

However, the cold voice of Kalcion, who was keeping watch, whipped him on the back.

“N-No, Your Excellency! Just a little–”

“Your hands are free now, aren’t they?”

“No!”

The ecstasy that was seen in the tailor’s face evaporated in an instant as it was driven away by the cold wind of the Northern Duke. He was seen sitting on the sofa throughout the entire time.

“Don’t you have to go to your office?”

“Yes.”

‘Then, please proceed.’

“I can choose the dress by myself. It’ll be much better if you don’t—”

“What about it?”

‘Just go, I can take care of this alone.’

He was acting like a mountain leech who was stuck to her and couldn’t be chased away. If Kalcion wasn’t there, she would have burst into a fit of laughter.

After all the measurements were taken, they went on to choose the design and the fabric. One of Kalcion’s arms was resting over the backrest of the sofa behind Selena while the other was holding a document.

“This fancy ruffle on the shoulder can make you look more beautiful.”

“It’s a bit messy, but……is this trendy in the capital these days?”

“The capital……? Oh, that changes the story. You must be going to the capital city. ”

“Well, that could be the case…..but, it depends on the Duke’s mind, doesn’t it?”

Of course, it did. Still, Selena leaned her head against Kalcion’s shoulder.

Plop.

The document fell from his hands. The servant beside him quickly picked it up and held it towards him. Kalcion took the papers expressionlessly. His gaze was fixed on the document.

‘Sheez. Your gaze will burn a hole in it, you know.’

“It’s more convenient to participate in a grand banquet without a partner.”

“Even if you say that…..”

Selena grumbled, nuzzling her head on his hard shoulder.

Meanwhile, as Kalcion stiffened up as if he had been stabbed, Selena swallowed her laugh.

“This is the latest design in the capital. Please give it a look.”

The tailor quickly brought another catalog and lined it up beside the previous one.

“Do your best to not discredit the Duke of Renbird.”

“That won’t happen! I’ll make sure to craft the most gorgeous dress to radiate Lady Selena’s beauty in the capital!”

“The Duke said I look the prettiest when I don’t have my clothes on though.”

She jokingly said.

“Pardon?……Ah, yes, of course! Oh, I made a slip of my tongue. I’ll make the best dress for Lady Selena!”

The tailor sure had the art of being heavenly hospitable. It made her laugh and be at ease.

“Why is such a talented and entertaining person in the far north, and not in the capital city?”

“Wherever I work, the number of dresses I can make is always the same, so wouldn’t it be nice to be at a place where I can easily make a lot of money?”

The tailor answered with a smile. However, she did not miss the hidden secret behind that smile.

“Do you want this design to be made of five kinds of fabric?”

“Why? The fabric is different, but the design is still the same.”

“Ah……that’s what the Duchess once did.”

“So as to be able to wear it on a daily basis?”

“No, depending on how you’d feel. You’d choose your favorite and discard the rest.”

“…….”

“Okay…..Should we just do one for each design, then?”

A part of her wanted to spend Kalcion’s money blindly, but she couldn’t answer such things when she found herself in that situation.

Selena had never saved money on her clothes or accessories, but she didn’t waste this much. A waste of resources and manpower does not mean luxury to her.

She was going to tell him to do it one by one, but Kalcion stepped in.

“What did you say? Are you ignoring the Duke now?”

“Oh my, that’s not true, Your Excellency!”

“Make it seven.”

Chapter 21
  • 14
  • 16
  • 18
  • 20
  • 22
  • 24
  • 26
  • 28
Select Lang
Tap the screen to use reading tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.