Chapter 3
If I wear this to the debutante ball, the villainess’s eyes will surely blaze with fury.
Just imagining it sent shivers down my spine, but to break off my engagement with Alferen, I had no other choice.
After all, even if something wasn’t that important to begin with, once you feel like it’s been stolen from you, it becomes all the more regrettable.
Especially since the Third Princess Ainluk was a woman with an intense possessiveness and competitive streak.
An ordinary person might just think our tastes happened to overlap by coincidence, but Ainluk would never see it that way.
By now, she’d had plenty of time to blow it out of proportion and assume I was deliberately provoking her.
Of course, that was exactly my intention.
The dress was already custom-made, so she couldn’t snatch that away, but when it came to accessories, I had the wealth and means to claim them first.
I felt a swell of satisfaction as everything proceeded according to plan, and I prepared to head out.
“If I’ve set my mind to it, I might as well do it properly.”
There were still items I needed to secure.
* * *
Upon arriving at the shopping district, I headed straight for the department store.
“I’ve come to pick up the item I ordered.”
The moment the employee spotted me, her face lit up with surprise.
“Oh my, Lady Rodellia. Could it be that you’ve come to collect it yourself? We just received the notice this morning and were preparing it for delivery…”
It’s true that not many young ladies came to fetch their items in person. Most had them delivered.
Moreover, this particular item was a brand-new release that had just launched today.
I’d placed the order right at opening without even glancing at the pamphlet, so she must have been even more astonished.
I settled onto the sofa and flashed a bright smile.
“I couldn’t wait a moment longer to see it, so I came myself. I wanted to check its condition in person too.”
“Yes, I’ll bring it right away.”
As the employee disappeared and I lightly sipped the welcome tea, a familiar voice drifted in from the next room.
“Was the urgent matter that required you to come all the way to the training grounds just to pick out a shawl?”
Alferen?
His voice carried a hint of displeasure, and my ears perked up instinctively.
What was he doing here? Shouldn’t he be in the middle of training right now?
Just as I was about to greet him out of sheer delight, Ainluk’s sharp, ringing voice followed.
“Loosen up that expression, will you? It’s for my debutante ball, after all. Since we’re already near the training grounds, stopping by for a moment is hardly any trouble.”
Gasp! It’s Ainluk!
In that instant, I ducked low on the sofa, holding my breath.
Alferen’s dry, emotionless response came next.
“I was in the middle of important military training.”
“And who exactly is that military protecting? Isn’t it me, a member of the royal family? Honestly, Duke, you’re far too rigid and inflexible sometimes.”
It seemed she’d dragged Alferen here against his will while he was working.
For someone as dedicated to his duties as he was, it must have been quite uncomfortable.
But she didn’t seem to care in the least.
‘If I get caught here, it’ll be a disaster.’
If Ainluk caught sight of what I was buying, we might end up in a full-blown confrontation even before the debutante ball.
I’m not mentally prepared for that yet!
I buried myself deeper into the sofa and carefully scanned for an escape route.
Fortunately, the lounge area was divided into several sections, so if I played it right, I could slip away without being noticed.
“Lady Rodellia, your item…”
“Shh, hand it over here.”
I took the item from the employee and crouched low.
She gave me a puzzled look but wisely held her tongue.
Moving with the stealth of an agent on a secret mission.
Of all times, my eyes locked right onto Alferen’s bored expression.
“Rodellia?”
Spotting me, Alferen approached with a pleased look on his face.
Startled, I frantically waved him off with signals, but he was already right in front of me.
It was a complete contrast to the stiff, formal way he’d been responding to Ainluk.
‘Ugh, why is this guy acting like this?’
Cold sweat poured down my back.
Thankfully, the villainess seemed utterly absorbed in examining fabric samples.
I quickly pulled him behind a clothing rack, out of Ainluk’s line of sight, and only then let out a sigh of relief.
‘This nonsense will all end once the debutante ball is over.’
At that moment, a straightforward voice came from above my head.
“Why are you hiding?”
“Huh?”
“Are you scared of the princess?”
I let out a hollow laugh at Alferen’s innocent question.
The Third Princess’s tyrannical behavior was infamous throughout the Barnard Empire.
From treating lower nobles like her personal servants to finding ways to torment even high-ranking nobles if they crossed her—that was her.
Up until now, as a member of one of the four great ducal families, I’d managed to avoid her clutches…
‘But from now on, I’m set to become her prime target, so I have no choice but to lay low!’
I shot Alferen a resentful glare and muttered.
“Scared? Who’s scared? I just had something urgent come up and got caught while trying to leave.”
“Really?”
Alferen smirked and shifted his gaze to my shopping bag.
Since the employee had brought it out for inspection and I’d stuffed it right in, the contents were plainly visible.
Feeling inexplicably guilty, I hid the bag and slowly inched toward the exit.
“Are you here to buy a shawl too?”
If only he hadn’t stuck to my side and started chatting, I could have escaped quickly.
Aren’t those long legs meant for times like this?
Cold sweat trickled down as I hurried to bid him farewell.
“Yeah. I came to pick up my order. I’m heading out now, so stop following me. Your fiancée is waiting. Bye!”
“You were singing about breaking off the engagement just the other day.”
“Eek! Lower your voice…!”
This brother, really! What if the villainess hears us!
My heart was pounding wildly.
It was one of those moments where I fidgeted like a rat cornered in a trap.
“Duke? What is it? Where did you disappear to in the meantime?”
The instant Nanael called out to him, my heart plummeted to the floor.
What if Nanael discovers me like this?
Ha, I’m done for…
It was a moment when I froze solid like ice, unable to do a single thing.
Alferen yanked me toward the changing room.
Then, after lightly pinching my cheek, he drew the curtain and muttered.
“Wait here.”
Thanks to his quick wit, I managed to avoid running straight into Nanael.
But as a result, I was essentially trapped in here until the two of them left.
I leaned against the changing room wall and let out a sigh.
Still, I doubt Alferen would just tell me to wait without some reason.
What on earth is he thinking?
* * *
“What were you doing? Are you going to keep being so uncooperative?”
At Nanael’s irritated words, Alferen shrugged his shoulders.
As he naturally positioned himself with his back to the changing room, Nanael held out the pamphlet.
“I think this one looks good.”
Alferen’s gaze naturally shifted to the pamphlet.
Whether by coincidence or fate, it was the same item that Rodellia had bought.
When Alferen showed no reaction, Nanael called over the employee.
“Has anyone bought this before me, by any chance?”
“Ah, that item was just purchased by Lady Peris…”
“What?! This is clearly a new release today! You’re saying it was bought when it hasn’t even been half a day since it arrived?”
The moment the words “Lady Peris” came out, Nanael spat a sharp, biting retort.
At that instant, the changing room curtain began to tremble faintly.
The employee wore an awkward expression as they explained.
“That’s because she placed the order as soon as the store opened today…”
“You didn’t secretly give the pamphlet only to the Peris Dukedom first, did you?”
“It’s a misunderstanding!”
Alferen kept his gaze fixed on the changing room, paying no mind to whether the two were arguing or not.
The curtain was shaking as if an earthquake had struck.
When his eyes landed on the silhouette of fists clenched tight like a lifeline, he couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“Pfft.”
At that, Nanael asked with a face like a wrathful demon.
“Are you seriously laughing right now?”
Even at Nanael’s fierce counter-question, her nerves frayed to the limit, Alferen couldn’t immediately rein in his smile.
Judging that if he left the situation like this, Rodellia might just faint, he decided to wrap things up quickly.
He barely suppressed his laughter and said.
“On second thought, it doesn’t seem to suit Your Highness very well. Let’s buy something else.”
