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"Shall we go to that boutique run by Duchess... no, Miss Chloe?"
It all started with a casual remark from a young lady.
"I heard you have to wait in a huge line to get in. And most of the items are sold out, so there's hardly anything left."
"That's right, you can't buy anything even if you have the money. But I met a lady who bought a dress there, and she was very satisfied."
"Really? I didn't think a male designer could make women's clothes well."
"I thought so too, but she said it's very comfortable and of good quality. And pretty too. Of course, it's expensive as well."
"Hmm, well, yes. He's a designer recognized by Grand Duke Delua himself, isn't he? He wouldn't have chosen a designer without skills."
When Idris's name came up, everyone nodded in agreement.
Even though he's a grand duke with all sorts of bad reputations.
The fact that his presentation is outstanding is undeniable.
"Then, since we're talking about it, shall we really go and take a look? They say almost everything is sold out, but we might get lucky and find something newly made."
"We've finished our tea, and we don't have anything else to do anyway, so it wouldn't be bad to look around. Then..."
The two ladies who were on the same page quickly put down their teacups and got up from their seats as if they had been waiting for this.
At that moment, a lady next to one of them poked her friend in the side.
"Ahem, ahem!"
"Ah, why?"
The lady who looked back at her friend in confusion paused.
Because in the direction her friend pointed with her eyes was Elise, quietly sipping her tea.
'She's been acting like the leader of the group, but she's so quiet today that I didn't even realize she was here.'
In the end, the two ladies who had gotten up from their seats as if they were going straight to the boutique gave awkward smiles and sat back down.
"Well, if we have to wait so long and can't buy anything, there's no need to go, right?"
"Y-yes. The weather is nice, so shall we go for a walk near the lake instead?"
The ladies belatedly checked Elise's reaction and hurriedly changed the topic.
In fact, they didn't need to be aware of Elise's mood.
Most of them were daughters of counts, and even the daughters of viscounts or barons were from wealthy families.
This meant that there was no need to be aware of Elise, who was in debt and had even been deprived of her viscountcy by her uncle.
Nevertheless, the reason they treated Elise as the leader of the group was...
No one had ever mentioned it, and Elise herself had never mentioned it either, but they believed the rumor that she was Feadan's mistress.
If that rumor was true, there was a high probability that Elise would become the next duchess.
Even if her personal conduct was unpleasant, they couldn't help but consider where the future power would lie.
So they were trying to maintain a friendly relationship with Elise as much as possible...
'Did I upset her?'
All the ladies sitting around the table were on edge, paying close attention to Elise's reaction when she finally spoke, having been quietly drinking her tea today.
"I think it's not bad to go and take a look, as Miss Florence said."
The ladies' eyes widened at Elise's unexpected words.
"It's the most talked-about place these days, isn't it? It's also run by the hero who saved His Highness the Crown Prince."
"Y-yes, that's right."
"I think it would be good to go and boost their sales this time, I do."
Is it really okay?
Even after hearing Elise's words, the ladies checked her mood for a while.
"Come on, let's go quickly."
Then, they were relieved and followed Elise as she got up from her seat first.
Elise and the ladies sent back the carriages they had each come in and decided to ride in one carriage.
Unlike the ladies who were excitedly chattering about the stories they had heard about the boutique, Elise's eyes looking out the window were cold.
'There's no reason for me to be aware of that woman and avoid her.'
She didn't particularly want to run into Leticia, but she felt her pride was hurt if she avoided her.
Leticia was the one who took Feadan away from her, who was his first love, so it felt like she was the one who had done something wrong.
'And surely, she wouldn't kick out a customer who came to boost sales right in front of her face, would she?'
After waiting for a long time in front of the boutique, it was finally Elise's group's turn.
Elise confidently stepped into the boutique first.
No, she was about to step in.
"I'm sorry, Miss Fran. You are not allowed to enter this place."
Until what she had thought was impossible actually happened.
"I-I can't enter? Why?"
One of the ladies, surprised by the unexpected situation, asked.
Then the employee smiled and politely guided them to the door next to her.
"Ah, the other ladies can enter according to the guidance."
"Huh? No, that's..."
Wasn't it too clearly targeting only one person?
The ladies could only watch Elise's mood and couldn't bring themselves to enter the door.
Elise, amidst the gazes pouring down on her, asked, stammering as if she was flustered.
"Are you saying that only I am not allowed to enter?"
"Yes, I am very sorry, but that is the case."
The employee only politely agreed with Elise's words, without adding anything else about the reason.
However, that rather induced all sorts of speculation from the people who were watching this situation.
"That must be the owner's instruction, right?"
"It must be, right? Oh my gosh, they said they weren't in a relationship at all... So the rumor that she's in an affair with Duke Farnese must be true."
"Well, if it were me... I wouldn't want to bring my mistress into my store."
Elise's face began to flush at the people's murmuring.
'Is she revealing her hostility so blatantly in a public place?'
She had never expected it.
That's because, in the conservative social atmosphere, it was considered undignified.
A noble lady, who should always be chaste, becomes agitated because of a mistress?
That in itself would give the social world something to latch onto. That there must be something lacking in the wife as well.
Of course, she had guessed that she would no longer care about appearances since she had accepted the divorce and stormed out of the house...
Elise felt wronged.
'That woman was the one who took Feadan away, so why am I feeling this humiliation?'
It's called a mistress, but that woman snatched Feadan away first!
But now was not the time to show anger.
Elise quickly composed herself and subtly raised her head.
"...I see that the duchess still misunderstands that I am in that kind of relationship with the duke."
The murmured voice was filled with bitterness and resignation.
Elise quickly turned her head away as if she didn't want to show people the tears welling up in her eyes.
Her trembling movements, unable to overcome her shame, even looked quite frail.
At that sight, not only the murmuring people but also the resolute employee hesitated.
Elise took advantage of that momentum and asked the employee.
"Could you call the duchess for a moment? I don't mind being misunderstood, but I'm worried if the duchess will be hurt and live with that misunderstanding for a long time..."
Of course, she didn't really mean to meet Leticia sincerely.
Now that she had thrown away all pretense and even banned her from entering, she was afraid that she would really start a mud fight if she met Leticia.
'But, if I accept and turn around here, it feels like I'm admitting that the rumor is true.'
Anyway, she heard that Leticia was recovering.
She would never come to the store.
"I'm sorry, but Leticia-nim is unable to come to the boutique due to circumstances."
'Just as I thought!'
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