Heh. Some laugh, half scoff, half amusement, escaped him.
She really was a strange woman. Trying to bribe a duke with something like this.
“A-and, while I’m at it, if you could just forget about the little incident earlier…!”
Her hurried voice, tacked on at the end, kept echoing in his ears.
Forget it, she says. Was she talking about how she’d held out food to him and said “ahh~”?
Dragonbloods generally had far sharper memories than ordinary people. There was no way he could forget such a vivid memory.
Even without a Dragonblood’s nature, it was the kind of moment that would be hard to forget regardless.
In fact, today’s outing as a whole had been much the same.
When Viola had first suggested going out, he’d never expected things to unfold quite like this.
In truth, Cain had almost never gone out on personal business.
The only times he’d ever crossed the residence’s threshold were to subdue monsters or to fulfill his duties as head of the house.
Especially since inheriting the dukedom three years ago, monsters had increased exponentially for reasons unknown, so until recently, he’d had no opportunity to spend personal time at all. He’d barely spent any time in the residence, for that matter.
Though even if he hadn’t inherited the dukedom, nothing would have been different.
Even given free time, he would never have gone out simply for his own amusement.
Because Cain had never had that kind of desire to begin with.
An absence of any sense of wanting to do something, or of enjoying something.
Cain’s life had been little more than a dry repetition of days, fulfilling his duties as Duke and as a Dragonblood.
Which was why today’s outing had felt like an experience oddly detached from his everyday life, and strange.
…The meal had been like that too.
Having inherited the Dragonblood strongly, Cain’s senses were unusually sharp. His sense of taste was no exception.
A constitution that perceived flavor dozens of times more sharply than others.
Perhaps that was why, if anything, every food tasted flat and dull to him.
Being an unfeeling Dragonblood, he had no particular preference for any flavor.
But…
“Wow. I think this is the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten!”
He remembered Viola’s face, beaming brightly with a bite of steak in her mouth.
The moment he’d seen that expression, Cain had reached some kind of realization.
Ah. So this is what deliciousness feels like.
To him, food had only ever been a means of survival.
But watching Viola eat happily in front of him, for the first time, some flavor seemed to reach him from the food itself.
I wonder if that woman even ate properly herself.
He remembered how she’d been too busy feeding the children to enjoy her own meal at all.
Not even noticing her food had gone cold, too preoccupied with feeding the children. No wonder she’d ended up holding out a fork to him, too.
…Next time, I should make sure that doesn’t happen.
So the food wouldn’t go cold.
So she could fully enjoy her own share.
For that to happen…
Viola instinctively looked after the children first, without fail.
Perhaps next time, he ought to go out with just the two of them. Cain found himself thinking that.
He himself hadn’t quite noticed that he was already picturing the next outing with her.
The next morning.
I rubbed my eyes at the sight of clothes pouring into my room out of nowhere.
So… what exactly was this situation?
Blouses and skirts I’d never ordered, in every variety imaginable.
But something about this seems familiar.
It didn’t seem to be simply because the style resembled what I usually wore.
That luxurious design and fabric… I’d definitely seen it before.
Don’t tell me…
At the sudden memory of yesterday flashing through my mind, I clapped my hands. That blouse. The one I’d seen at the boutique yesterday.
I was fairly sure I’d properly refused when Cain offered to buy it for me, so why was it here now?
And it wasn’t only the blouse and skirt—as if the entire boutique had been transplanted here, there were banquet gowns, outing dresses, even hunting attire.
And what were those shoes and accessories doing here too!
As if to answer my confusion, Conrad smiled, his eyes curving behind his glasses.
“His Grace the Duke sent these. I hope they please you.”
A refreshing smile. But receiving this gift, I was anything but refreshed.
“Wait, Sir Conrad! This is far too sudden, isn’t it…?”
“Do they not please you? In that case, we should book a different dressmaker’s shop at once…”
Why on earth would I need that… At the ridiculous misunderstanding, I waved my hands frantically.
“No, that’s not the issue at all! It’s exactly as sudden as it sounds. The gift of Melody’s clothes alone was more than enough, and now even this much more…”
Looking at the pile of clothes, I swallowed hard. Even wearing a new outfit every single day, it seemed like it would take more than a month to work through them all.
But Conrad remained perfectly composed.
“This much is only natural treatment for a benefactor of Asheln. If anything, I feel it’s much too modest, and I apologize for that.”
How on earth was this modest? Be modest twice more and he’d probably buy me an entire residence.
“Please accept it comfortably, Miss Viola. It’s His Grace’s way of trying to repay even a small part of his debt of gratitude.”
Conrad said it with a slight smile.
But…
Hearing that, I felt even less able to accept it.
When I’d first stepped forward to treat Jayden’s Tamutar disease, I’d certainly staked a price of my own on it.
There had been no other way to ask Cain to protect Melody and myself.
But by now, I’d already given Jayden so much genuine affection.
Everyone calls me a benefactor, but…
Wishing for Jayden to recover wasn’t something only the people of House Asheln wanted.
I too wanted that child to stop suffering. Which meant, in effect, that I’d been doing this because I wanted to as well.
I can’t accept payment for something like that…
I spoke again, in a firm, clear voice.
“I really mean it, Sir Conrad. I’m grateful for the thought, and that’s all I need.”
Seeming to have finally understood my intent, he nodded at last.
“Understood. If you truly don’t care for them, there’s nothing to be done. I’ll have all the clothes sent back.”
More precisely, I only felt bad accepting them, but—
Well, at least that’s resolved.
I was about to hurry to ask him to do exactly that, before he could change his mind, when—
“I’ll have these clothes sent back and call an entirely different dressmaker’s shop here instead. While we’re at it, it might be good for you to pick out everything yourself, from the dresses to the accessories.”
Hup. I closed my mouth right back up.
“Can… can I refuse that too?”
“Of course. We never force anything on you, Miss Viola. If you don’t care for that either, please tell me freely. I’ll call the next candidate. Until you’re satisfied.”
There was something in that firm voice that felt like a touch of genuine madness.
Hmm…
Faced with true madness, I finally surrendered.
“I… I’ll just gratefully accept these clothes…”
“Wonderful, I’m so glad they please you.”
Conrad flashed that particular smile of his again, his glasses gleaming, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at him.
He really is a subtly terrifying man.
Unable to handle the sudden mountain of clothes on my own, I ended up asking Marie and Becky to lend me a hand.
“Wow, Miss Viola! Look at this! I think this would suit you so well!”
Being young women themselves, the two of them didn’t forget to admire the clothes even while sorting them carefully.
“Won’t you try it on? Please? It’s not every day you get a gift like this!”
“Th-that’s right.”
Worn down by the two of them, their eyes shining, I ended up having no choice but to change clothes.
Becky shot a meaningful glance toward an elaborate dress, her face full of anticipation.
Ugh. But something like that is still too much for me.
I’d barely worn a dress even back when I was living as a marquis’s daughter.
Maybe I’ll try this plainer blouse and skirt instead.
This much, at least, wouldn’t get in the way at work.
I changed clothes right away.
Really, it was a combination of a blouse and a long skirt similar to what I usually wore.
But maybe because the fabric was so fine, it felt soft to the touch.
“Um, I put it on, but…”
I stood before the two of them, self-conscious.
Fine fabric or not, the style was similar enough that I doubted it would make much of a dramatic difference.
I was wondering whether it would live up to their expectations when—
