Chapter 2.3
Just then, Aiden spoke.
“Lady Irene. This is sudden, but may I go into that nearby shop?”
“Pardon? I don’t mind, but……. Where?”
“Any place that deals in clothing.”
Aiden pointed to a shabby shop.
Through a window that looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in ages, I could see lace and fabric. It appears to be a shop selling fabric and materials.
I followed him inside, but.
“Why are we here?”
“……I know it might be rude to Lady Irene, but I’d like to remove some of the embellishments from the clothes you had made for me. They seem too conspicuous. Would you permit it?”
“They’re not that flashy of clothes, though.”
“But people stare too much, it’s uncomfortable.”
No, it’s not the clothes.
It’s Aiden Freier’s face.
When he was in military uniform, the ‘intimidating’ impression was strong so I didn’t notice, but now that he’s wearing different clothes, it’s clear he’s a handsome man rivaling his brother. If Ernst is a soft-featured handsome man, Aiden is a firm-featured handsome man, like a statue of a military god brought to life.
As proof, even the clerk who should be attending to us is staring only at Aiden’s face.
When I looked at the clerk, she started glancing at me and turned away.
“Well, the lady is right. It’s a good outfit, but it’s not extremely flashy. Wow, but this is really high-quality fabric! You must have had it made at a good shop. Oh my, these buttons are so lustrous too……. The craftsmanship is exquisite.”
Seeing her more interested in the clothes than the person, she must be a seamstress indeed.
The clerk clung to Aiden’s frock coat. Her gaze seemed like it would bore through the fabric.
“What would you like to do? If you want to remove the decorative buttons, I’ll do it for free.”
“Oh my, for free?”
“……Yes. It’s nothing major.”
The clerk shrugged, her eyes still fixed on the frock coat.
But I sensed something suspicious from that back view that absolutely wouldn’t turn to look at me.
This might be a way to raise some cash, perhaps?
I spoke to the back of the clerk’s head.
“Craftsmanship involves the valuable resource of time. Removing embellishments would be no different. Would you really do that for free?”
“Oh my. Of course, if you’re offering to pay, I’ll take it. But compared to the seamstresses you usually see, I’m not very skilled, so I was just going to do it quickly…….”
“Aiden, let’s go. There’s no point in removing the embellishments.”
The clerk spun around to face me. Her eyes are quite sharp, but as I shot her a glare, the corners of her eyes immediately drooped in a pitiful act.
Aiden, not understanding the situation, followed me out.
But he seems to have a fair bit of perception.
“Lady Irene. Did something unpleasant happen?”
“It almost did. That seamstress was definitely planning to pocket a few of the buttons she removed.”
“Pardon? Why would you think that?”
“Because nothing is as expensive as free.”
An empty shop. Display cases full of dust.
There’s no way such a place would do something for free for the first customer who happened to come in.
Aiden still seemed unconvinced.
“If it was consideration meant to encourage repeat business…….”
“That woman realized we were nobles. From the high-quality clothes and from you calling me ‘Lady.’ Nobles wouldn’t become regulars at a place like that. And if they are nobles, even if they realize some buttons are missing, they wouldn’t bother coming back……. She probably calculated all that too.”
“……You thought of all that in such a short time.”
“I’m a bit paranoid. Ah, were you disappointed?”
I looked at Aiden. I didn’t force a smile.
The end of my past life made me this way.
Suspect everything.
My uncle, who raised me for eight years without ever having any affection for me, and swallowed my father’s inheritance.
My husband, who pretended to maintain an ideal relationship except for love, only to ultimately sell me out for love.……Of course, even Aiden cannot be trusted to the end.
I don’t know what he was thinking when he ran towards me on the execution ground in my past life, but in this life, he’s just a distant acquaintance.
But.
Aiden’s expression changed in a direction I didn’t expect.
He rested his chin on his hand, nodded, and said.
“……That’s admirable.”
“Pardon?”
“I used to think of Irene as just a quiet lady, but it seems I need to reconsider. You are a commander with a clear sense of self-direction, a self-sufficient master of your own life.”
A self-sufficient master of your own life.
My face flushed bright red the moment I heard those words. What’s wrong with me?
Ah…… come to think of it, I hadn’t received any compliments since I started living with my uncle.
At best, it was only ever about my appearance.
“Th-thank you. Th-that is, u-uh, Mr. Aiden is handsome too!”
“Pardon?”
Aiden seemed flustered too.
Could it be he’s never been told he’s handsome before? Why is he so flustered?
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