2

Fortunately, Lady Rozenne came to see me with a pleasant expression, suggesting my excuse had worked well. This was two days after the debutante banquet.

Moreover, Rozenne didn’t come alone. She brought along young ladies who followed her like a queen bee, strung together like a line of sausages.

Rozenne, who reigned over them like a queen, lowered her fan.

Then she smiled sweetly.

“I was a bit disappointed that day, Iris.”

“I’m truly sorry, Lady Rozenne.”

“But after hearing your story, I understood the situation. How flustered you must have been. As a woman, I thought I could understand.”

“Thank you!”

I sincerely breathed a sigh of relief. If she had remained upset, who knows what she might have done to my precious shop.

“In truth, it was quite regrettable that Her Majesty the Empress couldn’t introduce Iris’s dress shop that day. But the Empress hasn’t forgotten all your hard work. That’s why she sent me here. The ladies here are among those the Empress is particularly keeping an eye on from the recent debutantes.”

As Rozenne stepped aside, the young ladies who had followed her like a line of sausages introduced themselves. They ranged from daughters of Count families at the highest to Viscount families at the lowest.

And.

Among them was one exceptionally beautiful young lady.

“Hello, Madame Iris. I am Daisy from the Railroad comital family.”

Daisy.

Daisy Railroad. The moment I heard that introduction, I felt as if lightning had struck the back of my head. I swallowed hard.

That name had been mentioned countless times in the original story. Daisy Railroad was one of the villains who tormented the female protagonist in the original work.

I glanced at Rozenne, who was smiling sweetly.

In the original story, Daisy had joined hands with Ires, who was the villainess, to torment Rozenne. They pushed Rozenne down stairs, tore her dresses, and spread malicious rumors about her—typical villain behavior.

But now, Daisy was with Rozenne.

No, what’s going on here? The original story has completely fallen apart……? I confirmed it once again.

Hiding my confusion, I quickly greeted her. Act professionally.

“It’s…… nice to meet you.”

Daisy smiled sweetly.

What if Rozenne’s fate had truly changed and she had become the villain? Is that why she was close to the Empress and Daisy now?

It’s possible if the original story had collapsed.

If so, in this situation…

Am I receiving the favor of the villain?

Rozenne, completely unaware of my confusion, spoke with a lofty expression. As if she were bestowing great mercy.

“Iris. Considering your effort and sincerity, let me make a proposal.”

You really don’t have to.

“I’d like you to take charge of the dresses these young ladies will wear this social season, Madame Iris. Her Majesty the Empress wishes to help these ladies form connections with good families and establish themselves in the capital.”

It was the Empress’s scheme to increase her influence. It was the same in the original story. The Empress married off young ladies who seemed likely to follow her orders to the children of officials in key positions. That way, she increased her power to become the backing for the young Imperial Prince.

Rozenne continued.

“And Her Majesty the Empress believes that you can do great things for Her Majesty in the future, Madame.”

Rozenne smiled sweetly. Why do my bad premonitions always come true?

Am I being scouted by a villain right now?

I don’t want to be a villainess anymore!

“Of course, you won’t refuse, Madame Iris. This is a very honorable opportunity.”

As if. This is the shortcut to ruin.

I should have packed my bags yesterday!!

But my mouth moved smoothly.

“It’s an honor.”

Refusing here would be like saying I want to die. From a distance, Laurel was watching me with a pale face.

How about it, do you want to escape first, Laurel……?

※※※

Rozenne left after ordering a total of thirty-five dresses—five each for seven noble ladies, including Daisy.

I couldn’t help but bow my head before such a big-spending customer…….

“You accepted that? Huh? You actually accepted?”

“What else could I do? What can a small fry like me do!”

Laurel beat her chest. I’m the one who feels like crying, so why is she acting like this?

Still, with the advance payment we just received…….

“……I think we’ve paid off all our debts.”

“Right now, debt is a problem…… it is important.”

Laurel sighed.

“I think we can hire more staff too.”

“That’s also important…… I suppose?”

“Right?”

Laurel nodded with a gloomy face. Having a big spender like Rozenne meant we could pay off our debts and even afford to hire staff. Now we could leave behind the life of staying in a tiny room with Laurel and sewing all night.

If the sewing machine, that great invention, didn’t exist in this world, I might have already died as a slave to the needle.

“……Then we should post a job advertisement. I’ll look into reputable newspapers.”

“Good.”

And the result came back in a not-so-beautiful form.

※※※

[Looking for the owner of these shoes. Reward: 200,000 gold.]

Insane.

That was the headline on the newspaper Laurel threw onto the dress shop table as she rushed in looking like she’d been hit by a storm.

All five newspaper companies had the same article as their headline.

“Those shoes look familiar, don’t you think, boss?”

“……I think so too.”

They were the very shoes I had kicked off and left behind like Cinderella. I thought no one would try to find the owner of the shoes—it’s not like they had an identification chip attached.

I wondered who would act like Cinderella’s obsessively devoted prince.

Vairen was doing exactly that.

“Why did you leave your shoes behind!”

“That’s not what happened! They fell off while I was running! I almost fell and hurt myself!”

“You should have gotten hurt instead!”

“That’s too harsh!”

After bickering and huffing with Laurel, I returned to reality. The 200,000 gold reward for the shoes was an amount I could only earn through backbreaking work. In other words, it was enough money to completely turn someone’s life around.

“……What’s the mood like among people right now?”

“I don’t know either. I just grabbed all the newspapers as soon as I saw them.”

“……Want to go get a coffee?”

Laurel nodded with a grave expression. I checked my eye and hair color before firmly pressing a veil and hat onto my head. Though I didn’t like leaving the dress shop unattended, that wasn’t the important issue right now.

Two hundred thousand gold.

And those particular shoes were handmade. I had designed them myself and even engraved Iris’s symbol inside the sole!

It wasn’t engraved somewhere easily visible, but people who knew shoes might recognize it immediately.

The only fortunate thing was that Iris’s dress shop wasn’t famous yet.

How is that fortunate at all!

Finding the shoemaker would be difficult. They were made in Lorentz.

I entered the coffee house I had first visited after returning to the capital.

This was where I had heard the unbelievable news that Ires Liberk had become the crown princess.

I took a seat first, then Laurel paid and sat down. Being a famous place, it was packed with people, and every group had newspapers in hand.

Laurel and I listened quietly.

“My goodness, 200,000 gold. Even my husband is going crazy trying to find the owner of those shoes.”

“Has His Highness the Crown Prince gone mad? I mean, why suddenly those shoes……”

“Who can understand the intentions of those in high positions? But what matters is the money at stake. Whoever owns those shoes…… shouldn’t we find them before they come forward themselves?”

“Oh my, oh my. That’s right! I think I saw my neighbor Sandy wearing those shoes.”

“No way!”

Everyone was obsessed with the shoes. Laurel stared at me with a pale face.

We seem to be thinking the same thing, don’t we?

We’re completely doomed.

※※※

It seemed necessary to investigate more thoroughly. Laurel abruptly stood up and approached the next table.

After taking a deep breath, she tapped the neighboring table.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes?”

“Those shoes… That article seems popular?”

“My dear. Have you been living in the mountains?”

“……Haha. Something like that, perhaps.”

I had been trying to avoid going outside the shop as much as possible. The same was true for Laurel.

She had said that even walking around the capital was frightening. Someone might come up and say, ‘You’ve been hiding Ires Liberk!’

The woman’s eyes sparkled as she spoke to her.

“The entire country is in an uproar over those shoes.”

“Not just the capital…… the entire country?”

“Of course.”

The woman talking with Laurel opened her newspaper.

“This is a newspaper read throughout the country, isn’t it? Even my niece living in the southern region is searching through shoe workshops like she’s hunting for lice! People are going crazy.”

The woman added with a sweet smile.

“Soon they’ll be able to find the owner of the shoes. I wonder who His Highness the Crown Prince is looking for?”

The woman laughed brightly.

“I’m thinking of trying to squeeze my foot into them.”