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"Aaaaargh!"
I think I'm going crazy...
I desperately clung to Idris's arm like a lifeline, my eyes squeezed shut.
I couldn't see anything, but the horse shaking as if it would throw me off at any moment and the wind fiercely hitting my cheeks told me how fast we were going.
'Damn it, Idris... I'm not letting you off easy when we get off this horse, seriously!'
I wanted to smack him in the back right then and there, but I was afraid of falling off, so I just gritted my teeth.
Then, through the loud wind noise, I heard a familiar voice.
"Where did the Leticia who always acted tough go?"
...I really want to hit him.
Terrified, I was overwhelmed with anger, but I couldn't bring myself to answer, keeping my eyes and mouth tightly shut.
Then, a strong arm wrapped around my waist.
"It's okay, open your eyes, Leticia."
"..."
"I want you to see this scenery too."
At the same time, the shaking of the horse and the wind hitting my face gradually weakened.
Only then did I cautiously open one eye.
Before I even saw the scenery, the first thing I felt was the smell of the summer breeze carrying the scent of water.
The warmth of the sun shining down.
The sound of birds chirping in the distance.
And finally...
"Wow..."
A vast, green meadow stretching endlessly along the river came into view.
Feeling nature with my whole body as I rode the horse, I felt an overwhelming feeling as if I had become part of the scenery myself.
The fear from before and the anger at Idris for starting to ride the horse as he pleased were forgotten in an instant.
As I was captivated by the scenery, Idris's voice landed in my ear.
"How is it? Beautiful, isn't it?"
From that question, I could feel his heart wanting to show me this scenery, wanting to help me overcome my fear.
I couldn't help but burst into laughter and nod.
"Yes, it's beautiful."
At the same time, I was certain.
This beautiful scenery he had gifted me, the emotions of this moment, and... this person who was with me in this scenery.
I would never forget it.
The opening day of Feadan's boutique, .
Perhaps because of the reputation of Farnese, even though it had fallen, the boutique was bustling with customers.
However, the atmosphere fell far short of Feadan's expectations.
"Why are there so few people? At Mariposa, they were lined up all the way from here to there."
Feadan, who parked his carriage in an alley near the boutique and secretly observed the situation, clicked his tongue with a dissatisfied expression.
Lockherd cautiously spoke to calm his mood.
"Maybe it's because it's still morning? I think more customers will come after lunchtime."
"No, no. We didn't promote enough."
As he said that, Feadan's gaze fell on the newspaper lying at his feet.
He had read it on the way to the boutique and crumpled it up and thrown it away.
The newspaper featured a photo of Leticia and Idris wearing matching equestrian outfits, looking affectionate.
Feadan ground the photo under his heel once more and ordered Lockherd.
"Hire more newspapers and have them publish promotional photos."
"But, Your Highness. Hiring more newspapers will cost a lot of money..."
Lockherd was negative about Feadan's plan.
Of course, spending money on promotion would yield immediate results, but wasn't this just the beginning?
He judged that investing recklessly in a business that was still uncertain was too risky.
But Feadan thought differently.
"Is a few pennies a problem right now? Whether we spend more or less money here, it's over if this business fails!"
The Farnese Dukedom had already run out of liquid funds and borrowed money from Deon.
There was no going back now, no promising for the future.
They had to bet their lives on this.
"Being cautious in this situation is just being a fool and going bankrupt."
When Feadan spoke as if scolding, Lockherd could no longer argue.
Feadan's words weren't entirely unreasonable.
"Go immediately and hire actors from the theater troupe to dress up and spread the articles."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Lockherd obediently followed the order.
Now that it had come to this, there was no choice but to bet on this business.
The promotion effect was immediate.
People who saw the advertisement in the newspaper came to the boutique.
As per Feadan's instructions to 'make sure we don't run out of clothes to sell,' the clothes that had been made in advance sold quickly.
Thus, the boutique seemed more prosperous than before.
'See? The Farnese Dukedom wasn't built by Leticia, that woman, but by my power.'
Intoxicated with a sense of victory and confidence, Feadan decided to go to the boutique officially today.
Until now, he had only secretly observed the situation from the carriage, worried about losing face due to the boutique's poor performance.
But now there was no need to do that.
The carriage stopped conspicuously in front of the boutique's main entrance, where several customers were waiting in line.
When Feadan got out of the carriage, all the waiting customers recognized him and greeted him.
"Oh my, the Duke himself has come?"
"But... isn't that outfit from another boutique?"
People were puzzled when Feadan, the owner of , appeared wearing other clothes.
Did that mean that the quality of the products he made himself was not very good?
Ah.
Only then did Feadan realize that he had been complacent.
Of course, he also felt disgruntled.
'How dare those low-ranking nobles try to wear the same clothes as me?'
But for the sake of promoting the boutique, he belatedly thought that he should wear the store's clothes, even if only on the day he went to work.
'Anyway, what are these guys doing that they don't come out to greet the boss?'
Feadan clicked his tongue at the staff's negligence and entered the boutique.
At the same time, he realized why the staff hadn't come out to greet him, or rather, couldn't.
"Are you calling this kind of thing clothes and selling them?"
A sharp woman's voice flew straight and stabbed into his ear.
Feadan frowned at the unexpected situation and started to assess the situation.
Two noblewomen and the staff were facing off in the center of the store.
And at the noblewomen's feet, a dress that looked small enough for a child was ostentatiously thrown down.
"I'm sorry, madam, but the shrinkage may not be a problem with the clothes, but with the washing process..."
"I thought so at first too! So I blamed an innocent maid. But look at this."
The noblewoman threw two more dresses at her feet, which the maid next to her was holding.
"It's not just my dress, but the dress purchased by Countess Rosheren is the same, isn't it?"
That dress was also shrunk to the size of a child.
"Is this a coincidence? Are you still blaming the customer's negligence? Huh?"
The customers inside the boutique were so engrossed in the situation in front of them that they didn't even notice Feadan had entered, and began to murmur.
"No, the dresses aren't cheap. What if they shrink like that after washing them once or twice?"
"They said it was made from fabric brought from the Eastern Continent... Could it be that squeezing into shrunken clothes is also a trend in the Eastern Continent?"
"Hmm, I was curious and came because they said it was an Eastern Continent trend... I think I came for nothing."
The murmuring people slowly turned towards the entrance to leave the boutique.
At that moment, they saw it.
Feadan with a face boiling with anger.
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