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"Ah, perfect timing, Duke!"
A noblewoman who had been protesting to the staff discovered Faydan and approached him.
"What on earth is going on? Tell me. Are you, Duke, who usually have such great taste, the one who chose this cheap fabric?"
"Oh, so the Duke is wearing clothes from another boutique? And selling us this cheap stuff!"
Even if the noblewomen were old enough to be his mother, Faydan was a duke.
That meant they couldn't treat him carelessly.
But the noblewomen, having experienced all sorts of hardships, were blinded by their losses.
Faydan, who had never been treated like this by noblewomen, couldn't help but be swept up in their pace.
"Th-that's not what I chose, madam. It seems our staff made a mistake, but the dress will be remade soon―"
"Then what am I supposed to wear to the appointment in three days?"
"Do you know how tight it is to get a new dress now? How are you going to take responsibility!"
"What about my reputation when everyone else is wearing the latest clothes and I'm wearing old ones? What about my reputation!"
Each time the noblewomen rebuked him, the shrunken dresses they held fluttered violently.
At the same time, everyone in the boutique turned their gaze to Faydan.
Some were sneering and whispering, some were intrigued, and some were filled with anger.
These were emotions he was experiencing for the first time.
As he met their gazes, he felt suffocated.
Frozen amidst the pouring gazes, Faydan eventually turned around and fled out of the boutique.
When I came down to the dining room for breakfast as usual, Idris wasn't there.
'Hmm, he seems to be a little late.'
I drank the prepared tea and opened the newspaper next to me.
[Mariposa's riding clothes are in vogue, causing a new wave in noblewomen's culture...]
[Boutique <Blanc>, ambitiously started, is its painstakingly built tower collapsing due to ongoing quality issues?]
Two articles, one of joy and one of sorrow, occupied the front page side by side.
Of course, both were good news for me.
'Is this what they call killing two birds with one stone?'
I smiled contentedly and made my next plan.
'If <Blanc> goes bankrupt like this, it wouldn't be bad to buy it at a low price.'
Of course, Faydan's petty pride might not let him sell it willingly.
But if I did happen to buy it, I would get a boutique at a low price, which would be a definite gain.
Even if he didn't sell it, it would be enough to scratch his pride one more time.
I put down my teacup with satisfaction. Just then, the dining room door opened and Idris entered.
He was still in his gown, as if he had overslept, but his handsome face was shining just as much as ever.
"Good morning, Idris."
"Did you sleep well? How's your body?"
"My body?"
"You were suffering from muscle pain for a while after riding."
"Oh, I'm fine now."
"Shall we go again soon? You need to keep training when you have muscle pain."
……I think I know why the knights of the Imperial Knights were afraid of Idris?
But I nodded obediently.
"Okay."
I had to learn properly since I had already started, and more than anything.
'That scenery, it was really beautiful.'
I also had a desire to experience the scenery that Idris had shown me that day by moving my own body.
In that sense, his method of education (?) was a success.
"How about the day after tomorrow? Are you busy?"
"Hmm... I don't really have any plans except for visiting the boutique briefly in the morning."
"Then we can go in the afternoon."
As we were setting a date, a simple brunch was served.
Just as I was about to pick up the cutlery, a letter arrived for Idris.
'What is it? Is it important?'
I looked at Idris with a curious gaze, and Idris, who was reading it with an inscrutable face, looked up.
"Hmm, it seems I have to cancel our appointment the day after tomorrow."
He said, waving the letter.
"It's an imperial order."
The letter was stamped with the imperial seal.
A few days later, I visited the Imperial Palace with Idris.
To be exact, the Crown Prince's Palace.
Because the person who sent the letter a few days ago was none other than Ludian.
"His Highness the Crown Prince says he has something to show us?"
A maid of the Crown Prince's Palace greeted us as we got out of the carriage.
"His Highness the Crown Prince is in the backyard."
Following her to the backyard, I heard a familiar voice.
"Uncle! Aunt!"
……Huh?
I was about to wave back at Ludian, who was waving his hands with a bright smile, but I paused at the unfamiliar title.
I looked at Idris in surprise, and he was also surprised by the title.
"Who taught you the title 'Aunt,' Your Highness?"
"I asked my teacher. What should I call the person who will marry Uncle?"
The culprit was Ludian himself.
"But I think His Highness's future aunt would prefer to be called Leticia rather than that title?"
"Really?"
Ludian looked at me, as if asking for my opinion, after hearing Idris's words.
'After all, there is someone else who will become his aunt…….'
I agreed with Idris's words.
"Yes, please call me by my name. It makes me feel closer to Your Highness."
"Then, Leticia! Come with me."
Ludian took my hand and Idris's hand in each of his hands and headed somewhere.
"Ta-da!"
The place where Ludian took us was a small open space located in the backyard of the Crown Prince's Palace.
There was a graceful brown horse with a golden mane.
"It's my horse!"
It seemed that His Highness the Crown Prince had called us to show off his horse, which he had gotten for the first time.
Even though he tried to act mature, Ludian's childlike appearance at times like this was so cute that I burst out laughing.
"Did you name him too?"
"Yeah. It's Brandon, and he's a boy."
"Riding is a basic skill for a dignified emperor. Congratulations on being one step closer to being a great emperor."
When Idris praised him, Ludian became proud and began to boast.
"I'm learning how to ride these days. I'm going to ride with Father and Uncle at the hunting festival."
"Is Your Highness also attending the hunting festival this time?"
"Yeah!"
Usually, children don't attend social events, but it seemed that they had decided to allow children to attend the hunting festival because it was an outdoor event.
But the moment I heard that story, the anxiety that I had temporarily forgotten came back.
'I haven't caught the mastermind who tried to kill Ludian at the founding festival yet.'
Since they failed to kill Ludian then, they must be looking for an opportunity to deal with Ludian even at this moment.
Of course, Idris and His Majesty the Emperor were also suspicious of Deon, but there was no evidence.
'If I arrest him without evidence, the nobles on Deon's side will make noise.'
So I was watching Deon's movements, but there were no suspicious activities.
In this situation, should Ludian attend the event again?
However, I couldn't bring up the story in front of the child who was excited about showing off his riding skills, so I kept my mouth shut.
"Heeing, I don't want to sleep... I want to play more... I want to play more..."
"I'll wait until Your Highness wakes up, so don't worry and wake up after sleeping."
"You promised, Leticia..."
When it was nap time, Ludian, rubbing his sleepy eyes and whining that he didn't want to sleep, finally fell asleep after receiving a promise from me.
As I looked at the child who was sleeping like an angel, I yawned myself.
Idris, who saw this, teased me in a low voice.
"How about you take a nap with Ludian, since I'll be waiting for you to wake up?"
He was repeating the words I had said to Ludian.
I chuckled at his words, which treated me like a child, and shook my head.
"It's okay. More than that, I have something to talk about, shall we go out?"
We quietly left the room, leaving the sleeping Ludian behind, and headed to the drawing room.
Just as we arrived in front of the drawing room, an unexpected visitor appeared from the opposite side.
"Your Majesty the Empress?"
"Ludian boasted that you two would come, so I came for a moment."
Her Majesty the Empress looked out the window for a moment, estimating the time, and then continued.
"Ludian must be napping by now. Then shall we have a tea time for a moment?"
We followed Her Majesty the Empress into the drawing room.
Her Majesty the Empress looked at us, who were sitting side by side in front of her, and then opened her mouth as if she had just remembered something.
"Come to think of it, this is the first time I've seen you two together."
"It's because Her Majesty the Empress only adores Leticia and neglects me."
Her Majesty the Empress laughed at Idris's banter as if she was used to it.
"Since the Grand Duke is so upset, I must call you two together from now on. And……."
Her Majesty the Empress looked at us with a pleased expression and continued.
"Seeing you two together like this, it's like seeing newlyweds, which is good to see."
If I thought there was a hidden agenda in the Empress's eyes as she looked at us and smiled... would that be my misunderstanding?
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