Chapter 14
“You say the dress suits me well.”
It was the very dress she had worn despite Marie’s attempts to stop her. Precisely so that Cedric would not like it.
Cedric’s taste… was surely toward something refined and elegant.
To the confused Ines, Cedric’s voice came once again.
“If I ever gift you clothes next time, I’ll keep this in mind. The greatest advantage of this color is that it stands out even from afar, making it easy to spot. And it suits you very well too, Lady Ines.”
“T-That can’t be…”
It must not be…
Ines’s murmur was so small that Cedric could not hear it. Cedric naturally continued the conversation.
“I came early, yet you arrived first. I’m sorry for keeping you waiting. It’s our first date; I should have come even earlier, but the road was a bit congested.”
“No, it’s not like that. I’m the one who came early.”
At Ines’s words, Cedric smiled lightly and threw a small joke.
“Then you mustn’t say you’ve already found my flaw just for making you wait a little. Shall we go now?”
Cedric, offering his arm, displayed a perfect posture as if he had stepped straight out of an etiquette textbook. Ines cautiously placed her hand on Cedric’s arm.
Like a true gentleman, Cedric had Ines walk on the inner side of the road. No matter how close the destination was, her leg had only recently healed, and this was a place where public carriages sped by quickly. Moreover, unlike the western city district lined with high-end shops frequented by nobles, the road here was rather uneven, making it unsuitable for Ines, who had only recently recovered, to stroll.
Yet there was a reason they absolutely had to come here.
“We’ll have to walk a little,will you be all right?”
“Yes.”
“I received many recommendations for date locations from people around me, but there weren’t many places suitable for this weather.”
The lake was frozen for boating, and visiting the glass greenhouse at the botanical garden bothered him because Ines would have to walk a long distance.
“So I wanted our first date with you, Lady Ines, to be here. I truly hope you like it.”
First date.
The words that had tormented her all week reached her through Cedric’s voice, and Ines suddenly felt her chest tighten.
“Just a moment…”
“What is it?”
“I think I tied the ribbon too tightly.”
Ines blamed the tightness in her chest on the ribbon and tried to untie and retie it. However, with Cedric right in front of her, her hands kept slipping from nerves, making it difficult to tie properly.
Cedric, who had been silently watching her, spoke.
“Would you like me to help, if that’s all right?”
“Pardon?”
When Ines looked up in surprise, he smiled and pointed toward his own chest area with his hand.
“I mean the ribbon. Your hands seem to be slipping.”
With that, he slightly bent his knees to meet Ines’s eyes. Then, taking the ribbon from her hands, he deftly looped and knotted it with his long fingers. The green satin ribbon soon became a perfectly proportioned bow in his hands.
“Do you like it? If not, I can tie it again.”
His face was too close. Barely the distance of a single fist. Ines shook her head without even breathing.
“I’m glad. Then let’s go.”
Cedric, who had been looking at her with affectionate eyes, straightened up again.
Because Cedric naturally placed her hand back on his arm and began walking, Ines took two deep breaths. She was so nervous that if she didn’t breathe deeply, she felt like her arm and leg on the same side would step forward together.
Ines had no idea that her trembling was being transmitted directly through the arm they were linked by. Thus, she also did not notice the arc forming at the corner of Cedric’s mouth.
Cedric and Ines slowly walked along the southern city streets. Before long, they arrived at their destination.
“Ah.”
The place Cedric had brought her to was a shop Ines already knew well.
“You seem to know where this is. I deliberately didn’t tell you the destination because I wanted to surprise you.”
“I’ve heard of it. It’s famous these days.”
“I heard you like teacups and tea sets.”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“I’m relieved. Since it’s our first date, I wanted to bring you somewhere you would enjoy, Lady Ines.”
The teacup shop that first opened in the southern district had done so well that it opened a branch in the western square the following year. Though it had only recently opened, the fact that it carried many high-quality luxury teacups had already spread widely among those in the know.
“W-Well… now that we’ve arrived, isn’t it all right to unlink arms?”
It meant that now that they had reached the building, the escort could end. However, Cedric flatly refused Ines’s earnest request.
“No, it’s not all right.”
“Pardon?”
“Lady Ines, your leg has only recently healed, and the floor inside the building might be slippery. Moreover, you must be tired from walking all the way here, so wouldn’t you need something to lean on? Therefore, no.”
“That doesn’t make any sense…”
“Rather, let’s go inside quickly.”
Cedric shamelessly cut Ines off mid-sentence and led her straight into the building. He even pressed her hand more firmly onto his arm, just in case she tried to pull away. Having no choice, Ines swallowed the words she was about to say and followed Cedric into the shop.
* * *
The shop certainly deserved its reputation as the most luxurious in the southern district.
The floor was laid with dark, rich teak wood, and display cabinets were built into every wall of the building. Inside the showcases were expensive tea sets that cost dozens of gold coins each.
“Hm?”
But something was strange. This was currently a famous shop that was the talk of the town. It was even said to be the only place in the southern district visited more by nobles than commoners. Yet right now, it was far too quiet.
“Why are there no customers?”
She looked around, but the only customers were herself and Cedric. Soon, however, a woman dressed in gorgeous clothes appeared from somewhere in the empty shop and warmly greeted them.
“I greet His Excellency Duke Angel and Lady Greenwood. It is a great honor that two such esteemed guests have visited our shop.”
The woman already knew Ines’s name.
Ines blinked several times. She was clearly seeing this person for the first time.
“How do you know my name…”
To the flustered Ines, the owner smiled broadly and answered.
“Of course, it is because of His Excellency the Duke’s special instructions. He sent word in advance that he would be coming with his prospective fiancée, Lady Greenwood, and asked me to select only the finest items.”
Do not accept any other customers, and display only the very best items.
When the surprised Ines looked at Cedric, he grinned and spoke.
“I thought it would be better if there were no people so we could look around comfortably. I was also worried you might feel uncomfortable, Lady Ines. Did I do something unnecessary?”
“No… Thank you.”
She definitely disliked crowded places. She hated being seen together with Cedric, and she hated shrinking under people’s whispers.
At crowded balls and the like, there were always people everywhere who disapproved of her. The more noticeable she was, the more criticism she received. That was why, even when she attended balls only because her father strongly insisted, she always occupied a corner and simply killed time before leaving.
“Moreover, I didn’t want anyone else to snatch away something that Lady Ines might like.”
The eyes that delivered the playful words were dripping with tenderness. Seeing the intimate atmosphere between the two, the shop owner knew it was time for her to step aside.
“Well then, I shall be over there. There are more types of teacups than you might expect, so please call me if you need any help. I sincerely hope the items in our shop will please both of you.”
Teacups.
Only then did Ines look around.
Indeed, as the rapidly spreading rumors claimed, extremely luxurious and beautiful teacups were elegantly displayed in the showcases, on tables, and in the cabinets.
Opportunities to leisurely browse a famous shop that normally had no room to even step were rare.
“Wow.”
Ines forgot even the goal she had so firmly resolved for today and began to be completely captivated by the teacups.
‘I did well to come here.’
Cedric watched with satisfied eyes as Ines admired the teacups.
Ines, who had been looking here and there, eventually fixed her gaze on one particular spot.
“You can’t take your eyes off it. Do you like this teacup?”
Cedric’s voice reached Ines, who could barely tear her eyes away from the cup. Startled, she quickly took a step back and shook her head.
“No. I was just looking. The pattern is unique.”
Even as she said that, her gaze remained on the teacup.
The owner was quick-witted. Noticing that the look in Ines’s eyes as she gazed at the item was anything but ordinary, she hurriedly approached the two. She could not easily let go of the chance to sell one of the shop’s most expensive items with several hundred percent profit.
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