A few days later.

Yvette was awakened by the sound of someone knocking on the mansion door from early morning.

Perhaps it was time for the flowers to start withering, as her whole body felt stiff.

Sure enough, when she looked at her neck in the mirror, she could see the edges of the flower petals turning black.

‘I should go see Noel before it gets worse.’

Yvette thought about contacting Noel later as she let out a long yawn.

‘……By the way, who’s knocking on the door so early in the morning? Don’t tell me it’s another invitation?’

Although less frequent than before, a large number of letters were still being delivered to her door.

Recalling the envelopes piled high on her desk, Yvette entered the bathroom with a tired expression.

Steam rose from the bathtub, which had already been filled with hot water.

Just as Yvette had taken off her nightgown and was about to enter the tub.

There was a knock on the door, followed by Philia’s voice.

“Count, may I come in for a moment?”

“I was just about to take a bath. What is it? Is it urgent?”

“Well, we have a visitor from the Averon Ducal family.”

“……The Averon Ducal family?”

Yvette furrowed her brow.

At that moment, she recalled the letter she had exchanged with Noel a few days ago.

‘That’s right. The designer was supposed to come today.’

She had almost forgotten about the appointment she had made.

“I’ll get ready first, so could you guide the guest to the drawing room?”

“Yes! I’ll be right back!”

No sooner had the words ended than Yvette heard Philia’s footsteps scurrying away with a ‘pitter-patter’.

By the time she returned to the room, Yvette had finished her bath and was standing in front of the mirror.

“How about this dress, Countess?”

Philia, moving busily, pulled out a deep navy dress from the wardrobe.

It had a slightly square neckline with lace trim, and a simple design with no other decorations below.

The thin, flowing fabric clung to the body just right, revealing the figure without being too tight.

“Yes, that should do.”

Yvette quickly changed into the dress with Philia’s help.

She only dried her hair neatly, thinking that styling it would keep the guest waiting too long.

After all the preparations were done, she checked her appearance in the mirror.

Sometimes, this face still felt unfamiliar to her.

Finally, Yvette, who had been staring at the mirror with a strange expression, turned her back.

It was time to meet Averon’s exclusive designer at last.

***

“Hello, Count Blanche. I’m Berry, Averon’s exclusive designer.”

Having finished her preparations, Yvette headed straight to the living room.

As she made her presence known, a woman sitting on the sofa rose gracefully.

The woman who introduced herself as ‘Berry’ gave off a somewhat brusque impression.

Moreover, instead of a dress, she was wearing an outfit closer to riding attire.

The neat, monochrome suit suited Berry so well that Yvette inadvertently let out a gasp of admiration.

“Your clothes are beautiful.”

Berry’s eyes widened in surprise at the compliment that came before the greeting.

Eventually, a voice as brusque as her first impression echoed in the living room.

“……Thank you.”

Yvette sat down and gestured for Berry to sit as well.

“I heard from Noel. He was full of praise, saying your skills are exceptional.”

“I always strive not to disappoint the Duke.”

Berry answered modestly.

Yvette instantly took a liking to Berry.

“Seeing the clothes you’re wearing today, it seems the praise for your skills wasn’t just empty words. Did you make that outfit yourself as well?”

“Yes.”

Berry nodded briefly.

‘It seems she’s not one for long conversations.’

Yvette made a mental note and continued with her questions.

“I like that design. Could you possibly make something similar for me?”

“You mean this outfit?”

Berry looked at Yvette with wide eyes.

It was the same reaction as when Yvette had said her clothes were beautiful.

“Yes. That outfit.”

As Yvette nodded, Berry muttered in bewilderment.

“The Duke said that the Count would be ordering dresses……”

“Of course, I’ll order dresses too. But I thought it might be nice to have at least one comfortable outfit as well.”

At those words, Berry made a peculiar expression.

However, she didn’t seem to be the type to easily voice her thoughts, so she simply nodded without saying much.

“If that’s what you want, I’ll make it for you.”

“Great. Then it’s time to decide on the dresses.”

“Do you have any designs in mind?”

“The most important thing is that they’re comfortable to wear. Ideally, they’d be both comfortable and pretty… but those two words don’t often go together easily.”

Berry took out a notebook and carefully wrote down her words.