Chapter 088. What on earth is the problem?
The reason Madam Mariella, uncharacteristically, let her words trail off was that—no matter how much she thought about it—there didn’t seem to be anyone present who would wear the dress she was going to make.
Of course the duke himself wouldn’t be the one wearing a dress, and it certainly wasn’t going to be the maid who had followed behind him.
It was a question asking for whom, exactly, he had personally come all this way.
At that question, Raymond’s gaze finally shifted to Mariella standing right in front of him.
The expression on his slightly tilted head looked as though he didn’t understand the question she had just asked.
Mariella slowly repeated what she had said moments ago.
“Today, which lady’s dre—”
“Here.”
But the words that were coming out were abruptly cut off mid-sentence.
With a slight flick of his eyes toward the back and a step to the side, Deborah—who had been completely hidden behind his large frame—was suddenly revealed right in front of Madam Mariella’s eyes.
In that instant, her eyes twitched as if in spasm.
The same went for Deborah.
While she stared blankly at Raymond with a confused gaze, wondering what on earth this situation was—
From the mouth of the man who was smiling lightly came words she had never expected at all.
“The customer getting a dress made today.”
The man who dropped that bombshell-like statement acted as if nothing had happened, while the two people who heard it fell into near-total chaos.
To her—who only dealt with noble and prestigious clients—ordering her to make clothes for a lowly maid like that crushed her pride in an instant, and her expression visibly stiffened.
Although the reason was different, Deborah was just as shocked.
It was already strange that he had suddenly brought her to a place like this without a word, but a dress?
Her mind was a complete jumble because of the man’s incomprehensible behavior.
Of the two people who had fallen into panic, the first to regain composure was Mariella.
No matter how wounded her pride was, she couldn’t possibly refuse the Duke of Cheister now and say she wouldn’t do it.
Swallowing the surging anger, Mariella forced the biggest smile she could manage.
“…What kind of dress would you like? Do you perhaps have a design in mind?”
At those words directed toward her, Deborah—completely at a loss—looked back at Raymond again.
“I… Your Grace…”
As her words trailed off and she glanced at him uneasily, Mariella quickly interjected.
“I’ll wait for a moment, so please call me again when you’re ready.”
After smiling brightly and leaving, only the two of them remained in the parlor a short while later.
Toward the man who had been standing silently until then, Deborah finally opened her mouth.
“Are we… here because… of a dre— no, really because of clothes for me…?”
Even though she had heard it clearly with her own ears, it was so absurd that she had no choice but to ask again.
Looking at her, he calmly nodded.
“Of course. Did you think I came here to have clothes made for myself?”
“…”
“Why.”
“…You could have told me in advance. If you had…”
“Then you would have said you wouldn’t come.”
“So… that’s why you brought me here without saying a single word?”
As if that was the correct answer, the man remained silent this time, and Deborah let out a long sigh.
“I don’t need a dre… Let’s just go back, shall we?”
She had almost said she didn’t need it, but fearing she might upset him, she roundaboutly suggested they return instead.
She honestly didn’t understand what he was thinking by doing this.
Had he perhaps forgotten what her status was in the meantime?
Deborah was a poor low-rank maid employed at Elfengreen.
What occasion could someone like her possibly have to wear the luxurious dresses worn by ladies and noblewomen?
Even if it was given as a gift, it would surely just rot away in the wardrobe.
While she forcibly kept her sinking feelings in check and pressed her lips together, the man who saw her finally seemed a little put out.
The words that came out next were noticeably colder than before.
“What on earth is the problem.”
At those chilling words, the lock she had so tightly fastened on her heart finally snapped open.
“What is the problem?”—the way he asked back as if questioning her in return completely twisted her heart.
Right now, the one who really wanted to ask was Deborah.
Why on earth was he suddenly doing something so nonsensical?
But even if those thoughts rose, she couldn’t just blurt everything out.
No matter how much closer they had become compared to before, he was still the Duke of Chayster, and she was nothing more than a mere maid.
There were still lines that had to be observed.
Moreover, they were not even at Elfengreen right now, so she had to be even more careful.
Deborah slowly drew in a breath and swallowed her emotions down her throat.
“…It’s just… feel burdened, that’s all.”
“Burdensome?”
“Yes.”
She wished it would just end here.
No more wasting time or emotions on something pointless.
She wanted to return to Elfengreen like this, pretend nothing had happened, and let everything flow quietly as usual.
But unfortunately, the man seemed to have no intention of letting that happen.
His next words and expression clearly said so.
“What kind of burden is something like this? If you’re going to feel burdened, at least do it after properly receiving something worth it.”
“…”
At those sneering words, Deborah’s face visibly hardened.
Everything she had been desperately holding back felt like it was being ripped apart inside her chest.
The gaze Deborah directed at the man instantly turned ice-cold.
“…Why?”
“What?”
“Even in a moment like this, am I supposed to just follow without complaint? Bow deeply and say thank you for whatever you order?”
She knew she was crossing the line right now, and she knew she should stop here… but once the words started, they poured out uncontrollably.
“What exactly am I supposed to do wearing a dress like that? Dress up prettily and clean? Or maybe wear it at night?”
There was no way the man didn’t know what even she herself knew perfectly well.
He obviously knew everything, yet he had forced her to say these things—it made her feel so wronged and resentful toward him.
A glare shot toward him, and for a long while, suffocating silence flowed between them. At the end of it, the one who spoke first was Raymond.
“I’d almost forgotten, apparently.”
“…”
“That you have this strange talent for making people feel utterly awful.”
In the tone that chewed and spat out each word, undigested anger was rising like blue smoke.
* * *
At the woman’s pale-faced, accusatory words, the anger he had been holding back finally exploded.
He didn’t know exactly what she had misunderstood, but he certainly hadn’t come all this way just to dress her up in some flashy, peacock-like gown.
If it were only for something like that, he wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of preparing a carriage and moving discreetly.
Even without all that decoration, from the very beginning she had been the only one who ever caught his eye.
Even when she was wearing nothing but a worn-out maid uniform.
Yet the reason he hadn’t minded the trouble was—
He simply wanted to do something for her.
Not one of those inconvenient dresses that were hard to move in alone, but bright, pretty outing clothes she could wear nicely on a fine holiday.
He had taken this one step because he wanted to buy her a few pieces that would go well with those mysterious golden eyes.
Since she couldn’t possibly know that, he had expected her to be a little surprised or flustered, but he had never once imagined she would react like this.
Every time he heard her say things that scraped at his insides, only one thought came to mind.
If she hates it that much, why bother at all?
If they just left this place as she wanted and returned to Elfengreen, everything would simply be over.
But…
For a moment, Raymond’s gaze drifted away from the woman in front of him to somewhere else.
Ha—dragging a hand down his face and exhaling deeply looked exactly like someone suppressing boiling anger.
After keeping his gaze averted for a long while, when it finally returned, the waves churning in those blue eyes had calmed somewhat.
“Come in.”
A low, heavy resonance came from Raymond’s mouth.
The body of the woman standing silently flinched for a moment, but Raymond’s gaze was still directed beyond her.
Toward the direction where the owner of this boutique had disappeared a little while ago.
She had considerately vacated the space on her own, but in this limited room, she had probably heard most of what was said.
As if proving that guess correct, a moment later the woman wearing a white dress approached them again.
“Have you finished your conversation?”
Her brightly smiling face looked exactly as if she had heard nothing at all.
As expected of a merchant who only dealt with high society—she was quick on the uptake.
With a soft scoff, Raymond opened his mouth toward Mariella.
“Take her measurements.”
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Hiiiiiii! I hope yall doing well . I have some bad news 🥲 So yes, my exam schedule has been released. It will start from December 20 and go until the end of January or it might even extend into the first week of February don’t worry Before the exams begin .I’ll prepare some chapters, and in my free time, I’ll make sure to translate several chapters for you but I can’t promise a lot.
I still have at least 12 chapters left to release before December 20
I talked a lot, didn’t I? 😂😂 Anyway I hope you’re all doing well when you read my words stay safe 😭💓🫶
