129. Bertang Dress Shop (3)

It was their usual sales pitch, but the dress the Grand Duchess had ordered suited her so well that the employees didn’t need to embellish their compliments.

Her appearance was so beautiful that even Caitlyn momentarily lost herself in admiration. But she soon remembered that she was in the middle of choosing clothes and shook her head.

“Clothes really do make the person. Wearing that dress completely washes away your Northern country bumpkin look.”

Caitlyn snorted and pointed to the pile of Bertang dress shop clothes she had selected while Anette was in the fitting room.

“Look. These are the clothes I chose today.”

“You’ve got expensive taste.”

Anette replied lightly, then changed back into her original clothes to leave. Caitlyn gave the dress shop employee a look as if to say, why aren’t you giving me the receipt yet?

“The total amount for all the clothes you’ve selected comes to…… this much. Would you like to write a promissory note?”

“Obviously I’ll pay in gold coins. A promissory note? That looks cheap.”

Anette looked at Caitlyn for the first time since entering the shop when she quickly added this after the employee finished speaking.

“You’re talking nonsense. As if I’m going to buy your clothes for you.”

“What? Of course you’re buying them, sister?”

“Why would I?”

“Then should I buy them?”

“They’re your clothes, so you should buy them, shouldn’t you?”

“My goodness! Isn’t it natural for an older sister to be generous to her younger sister? After ordering so many clothes for yourself! And you can’t even do this much for me?”

“I promised to declare my support for you, but nowhere in that promise did I say I would fund your extravagance.”

The Inkheart Grand Duchess’s gaze toward her younger sister was emotionless and dry. People could see Caitlyn’s face gradually turning as red as a carrot.

Caitlyn pressed close to Anette and whispered nervously.

“Are you trying to humiliate me? What an embarrassing situation in front of all these people! Stop talking and just pay. If you weren’t going to buy them, why did you let me choose clothes? You should have told me from the beginning that you weren’t going to pay!”

“You followed me to the dress shop on your own and chose clothes, and now you’re blaming me? I didn’t ask you to come. I didn’t tell you to buy anything either.”

“Sister!”

“Please stop calling me sister only when things don’t go your way. It’s unpleasant. I’m leaving now. We came in separate carriages from the start, so I trust you’ll find your way back. Actually, I’d prefer if you didn’t come back at all.”

The Grand Duchess left without dealing with Caitlyn any further. Caitlyn hurriedly grabbed Darius as he was about to follow Anette.

“Brother-in-law!”

“Oh dear.”

This is troublesome, Darius thought.

Although Anette had told him not to think of Caitlyn as a sister-in-law, if he told Caitlyn not to call him brother-in-law in front of so many people, it might create strange rumors about the grand ducal couple.

“Just because my sister is acting like that doesn’t mean you have to as well! Everyone is watching!”

“Well, I’m a good husband who listens to his wife. I’m just following Anette’s wishes.”

Darius responded with a blank face and turned to Bertang.

“Bertang, the dress you made for my wife looks wonderful. If you have anything to recommend ‘for my wife’ while our family is staying at the townhouse, feel free to visit anytime.”

“I-I’ll see you out to your carriage.”

Bertang quickly excused himself and left the dress shop in the awkward atmosphere.

Caitlyn hung her head low. The remaining employees nervously looked at Caitlyn, unsure what to do with all the clothes they had taken out.

“Um, miss. What should we do with these?”

“……”

“Excuse me, miss.”

But the princess who had been so arrogant until just moments ago had turned into a pitiful Cinderella, clenching her fists and trembling.

“……I understand. Put everything away.”

People’s sympathetic gazes fell on Caitlyn’s hunched back. Among them were quite a few annoyed looks from those who had endured her arrogant demands only to end up with no sales.

“Sigh, she was incredibly picky but turned out to be all bark and no bite.”

“Those sisters must really not get along, huh? To act like that in front of everyone.”

“Didn’t they say she came to the capital to support her younger sister as a crown prince’s bride candidate? Looking at this, they don’t seem close enough for that.”

“They must not be as close as we thought.”

“It’s probably because of the younger sister. The Grand Duchess seems very dignified, but that young lady was nothing but trouble. I haven’t seen much, but if my sister had that temperament, I would have fought with her already.”

“Right. Do you know how many hat boxes I had to take out for that young lady today? She even threw things when she didn’t like them! As if she would pay for damages if the shape got ruined!”

“Did you see how she got upset when someone mentioned Miss Margarita earlier?”

“For them to have such a bad relationship, yet the lady still came to the capital to support her candidate—the Grand Duchess must be very generous.”

And so, stories about the newly arrived Inkheart Grand Duchess and her sister began to spread through the mouths of the dress shop employees.

It was an interesting rumor that despite coming to support her younger sister Caitlyn Pochet, the Inkheart Grand Duchess didn’t seem to like her sister very much.

* * *

Anette, who had boarded the carriage, pouted when she saw Darius following a bit later.

“Why are you coming now?”

“I came out right after you left?”

“You didn’t…”

“Didn’t what?”

“You didn’t buy clothes for her because she asked, did you?”

Darius couldn’t help but laugh at Anette’s concern that he might have kindly bought clothes for her sister-in-law.

Anette realized her worry was unfounded from his laughter that suggested such a thing would never happen, but this time her face reddened with narrow-minded jealousy.

“I told them I have a terrifying wife who would scold me if I went around buying clothes for other women.”

Anette turned her head away with a “hmph” at Darius’s playful teasing.

“Say that next time too. Just try letting me hear that you bought even a single flower for someone.”

“What would happen then?”

“I’ll sharpen my nails and scratch your face so badly you won’t be able to show your face in public!”

“How frightening. I’ll have to be very careful not to earn my lady’s displeasure.”

Darius’s face was smiling as he said this. Anette gently pushed him as he told her to lower her raised eyebrows now, since that would never happen.

“Just a moment, I have something to say to Bertang.”

Anette spoke to Bertang, who had come out to see them off, through the carriage window.

“Bertang, when you bring the completed dress with today’s adjusted measurements to our townhouse, add a little extra to the dress price. I’ll consider it compensation for Caitlyn’s unreasonable behavior.”

“Oh no. That’s not necessary, Grand Duchess. Young ladies are naturally capricious. They often want to buy things only to lose interest soon after. It’s a common occurrence, so please don’t worry about it.”

Bertang was pleased with Anette’s offer of a tip but outwardly protested that he couldn’t possibly charge the Grand Duke’s family such money.

“It’s fine, so bill us a reasonable amount. If it makes you uncomfortable, think of it as my appreciation for the craftsman who made such beautiful clothes.”

Anette glanced at Darius, who was visibly delighted, and added:

“The Grand Duke seems very pleased with the clothes you made as well.”

Anette wasn’t particularly inclined to apologize for Caitlyn’s wrongdoing, but she had business she wanted to pursue with Bertang, so she readily offered compensation. It wasn’t bad if she could earn his goodwill with a small gesture.

After completing this eventful visit to the dress shop and returning to the mansion, they saw Caitlyn again in the evening.

Anette had inwardly prepared for another confrontation, certain that with Caitlyn’s personality, she would make a scene as soon as she returned to the townhouse. Surprisingly, however, Caitlyn stayed pale-faced and shut in her room.

‘What happened?’

Of course, whatever happened to Caitlyn was none of her business, so Anette soon lost interest.

For some time after that, Caitlyn remained unusually dejected.

* * *

Some time later, the dress production was completed. I asked Bertang, who brought the clothes to the mansion, if he would consider opening a branch of Bertang’s dress shop in the North.

“A second shop?”

“If you have a cherished apprentice, how about helping them become independent through me? My proposal might seem sudden, but as the mistress of the North, I’m willing to provide sufficient support if you decide to open a shop.”

Since opening a branch would require leaving the capital and settling in the North, I was prepared to offer not only rent exemption but also free interior construction work as compensation.

“With those terms, I certainly wouldn’t lose any…… Ah, no, that’s not what I meant.”

Though attracted by the exceptional conditions, Bertang, true to his merchant nature, delayed giving a definitive answer.

“Hmm hmm hmm! I’ll think about it carefully and let you know.”

Ann had mentioned that seamstresses secretly pocket money when making each garment, and that Bertang’s dress shop was no different, but at least the clothes Bertang made were beautiful.

He was an excellent designer with skills ranking in the top three in this dress shop district, which is why I wanted to borrow his name.

‘I’d like to bring Bertang himself to the North, but it’s unreasonable to expect a renowned capital designer to abandon all his clients and start over in the North.’

So I proposed as a compromise that he send his head designer to run a branch shop.

It would benefit Bertang’s apprentice by gaining independence, benefit Bertang by reducing the burden of supporting an independent apprentice, and benefit me by opening a branch of the capital’s prestigious Bertang dress shop in the North. It was a proposal advantageous to everyone.

If I missed anything in this good proposal, it was only that Bertang was even more money-obsessed than I had thought.

Bertang went on at length about how hard he had worked to make his dress shop the best in the capital and how pleased he was that my proposal recognized his efforts, but then he asked for more conditions.

“Trademark usage fees and guaranteed profits for the branch?”

Rent-free, free interior design, and on top of that, a guarantee of half the main shop’s sales revenue.

A thief with needle and thread sat before me.

“Just as you said earlier, I’ll also think carefully about your proposal.”

What careful consideration? These were terms I could never accept.

I was annoyed by his attitude of trying to take advantage when I had only offered to set up a dress shop if he sent someone.

I saw Bertang off with a smile until the end, then contacted Ann afterward.

“Ann, during your time at the dress shop, was there any designer with good skills who hasn’t caught people’s attention yet? Someone you thought deserved success.”

Yes, romance fantasy female leads ultimately work with unknown rookie designers. They never work with already famous designers.

“Well, I do know a designer who recently became independent from our dress shop……”

Ann, who said this person had no talent for sewing but had such a pleasant personality that Mr. Bertang couldn’t fire them and always wondered what to do with them, soon recalled a name.

“She’s a lady who learned quite a bit under Mr. Bertang, but she’s probably struggling without customers now. They didn’t part on good terms when she left.”

* * *

Hhhhhsigh. Mera, a rookie designer who had recently become independent from Bertang’s dress shop, let out a deep sigh.

〈Mera, do you really think you can survive on your own after becoming independent now? Does the fashion industry look that easy to you?〉

〈Ha, ha, but I can’t work here anymore because of personal circumstances…… I’m, I’m, I’m sorryyyy!〉

In the apprenticeship system, when disciples become independent, it’s customary for the master to refer clients and look after them until they establish themselves.

But Mera had earned Bertang’s resentment by going against his wishes—he had wanted her to work as his seamstress for a few more years—and had been struggling since opening her shop.

“Hiyuuuu, no customers today either…… Ah, a customer! Welcome……”

The bell chimed, and Mera’s face, which had brightened at the rare sight of a customer, froze when she saw who entered.

“Aaaah, miss! No, no! How could you come here!”

“What kind of shop turns away customers like this? Mera!”

“Cu-cu-cu-customer? No! I’m sorry, but I cannot accept you as a customer!”

“You! Do you know how many outfits I’ve bought from you since your Bertang dress shop days! Are you really going to treat me like this too? When you’re just catching flies here!”

“I-I-I may just be catching flies now, but if I accept you as a customer, m-m-my dress shop is finished forever!”

Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling!

The bell attached to the shop door rang loudly as the “miss” tried to enter while Mera resisted.

“I-I-I bet you’ve come to have a wedding dress made for when you marry him!”

“That’s right. I came to you because no one else would take me.”

“I knew iiiiit! I-I-I can’t accept you either!”

Mera was wailing because the “miss” wanted to order a wedding dress from her.

The miss, Lady Georgiana, daughter of Baron Rockfield, was in love—with a commoner-born young man her father opposed.

Despite her father’s opposition, Georgiana had eloped, and Baron Rockfield, grinding his teeth at his daughter’s publicly revealed romance, had declared:

Whether my daughter elopes or not, as a father, I will never recognize Georgiana’s marriage without my permission!

Baron Rockfield was an influential nobleman.

When Georgiana approached priests she knew at the temple and asked them to approve her marriage to her lover, they all shook their heads.

If even the priests couldn’t help her, asking for a wedding dress was even more unreasonable.

Anyone who helped Georgiana would incur the wrath of her father, Baron Rockfield, and suffer greatly.

And for a newly opened dress shop like Mera’s? She might as well close her doors.

So Mera desperately clung to the shop door. But Georgiana was equally desperate.

“If not here, I’ll have to get married in regular clothes! Everyone refused!”

“I-I-I’m refusing too!”

“Excuse me, is the dress shop not open today? Ann, is this the rookie designer’s shop you mentioned?”

Anette, who had taken a hired carriage to avoid rumors about the Grand Duke’s family visiting a newly opened rookie designer’s shop, asked as she watched the two people arguing at the door.

Ann nodded with an awkward expression.

“Ah, don’t worry. We’re open. Um…… hello, Miss Georgiana. First time seeing you since you rejected clothes from our dress shop. I’m glad to see the person next to you looks…… um, healthy.”

Ann awkwardly nodded at the quiet young man beside Georgiana.