47. The Invitation to the Patronage Event (1)

After Edward’s birthday banquet, this was the first event Larael would attend as empress consort.

Genderi Salon was a place Larael had saved for a special occasion, intending to have a dress made there when she was invited to an important event in the future.

Normally, after becoming empress consort, Larael’s dresses were either custom-made by the palace’s designer upon her request or designed and produced by famous designers from the capital, who were invited to the palace. She had never actually gone to a dress shop herself. So, when Larael said she was going to pick out a dress, Sasha and Joanna immediately thought of Genderi Salon, which Larael had mentioned before.

Genderi was on the verge of closing its doors for good. Although it was called a “salon,” it was really no different from a neighborhood tailor shop.

Not a single dress that Genderi had painstakingly designed and crafted by hand over the years had sold; they all disappeared from the display racks and ended up in storage. People didn’t even come to look at the dresses, let alone buy one from an unknown designer.

Genderi’s husband, unable to work due to a serious back injury, had spent his severance pay and all their savings to set up the shop for his beloved wife.

But when the business didn’t do well, her husband apologized, saying it was because the shop was in such a remote location.

Then, something remarkable happened in Genderi’s life.

A carriage bearing the imperial seal stopped in front of her shop, and a dazzling silver-haired beauty, flanked by royal guards, stood outside, looking up at the sign.

The strength left Genderi’s hands, and the basket of vegetables she was carrying fell to the ground. At the commotion, everyone in front of the shop, including Larael, turned to look at her.

Blushing, Genderi didn’t know what to do. She crouched down and began hurriedly picking up the scattered vegetables.

“Sasha, Joanna.”

Sasha and Joanna quickly ran over to help Genderi gather the vegetables into her basket. As she collected them, Genderi tried to make sense of the situation, but she just couldn’t grasp what was happening.

Larael had paid quite a few gold coins to Four Seasons to find Genderi. If she did her job well, the gold would be worth it. Larael’s eyes sparkled with expectation as she looked at Genderi.

With the basket tucked under her arm, Genderi walked over to Larael.

‘A stunning beauty with silver hair and red eyes, and the imperial seal… She must be Her Highness the Empress Consort.’

Genderi approached Larael, carefully set her basket down beside her, and greeted her with the utmost formality she knew.

“It is an honor to meet Your Highness, the Empress Consort.”

She wobbled nervously as she bowed, but it was fairly convincing. Satisfied with herself, Genderi glanced up to see Larael’s expression.

Larael was smiling brightly at her greeting. She looked so beautiful, it was as if she absorbed the world’s light and shone on her own.

“Do you know who I am?”

Larael’s question came out unconsciously after receiving Genderi’s greeting, but she quickly realized it was unnecessary—everyone in the empire knew her. Genderi couldn’t even nod and looked away, blushing. She knew exactly what that question implied: that she was aware of all the rumors about Larael as well.

“I’m here to see some dresses.”

Larael went straight to the point, not actually expecting an answer.

“…Dresses, you say?”

It was Genderi, the salon owner, who was more flustered.

Her dresses had long since disappeared from the displays. She couldn’t understand why the empress would come to see her dresses.

“Oh my! Where are my manners? Please, come inside.”

Only then did Genderi realize she was welcoming the empress on the street and quickly led them inside. Because she hurried to open the door, her basket was left behind, so Berser, one of the guards, picked it up and brought it in.

Seeing her basket in the hands of the empress’s guard, Genderi let out a short cry and quickly took it, putting it away in a corner.

“I’m sorry. I’m not myself right now.”

“Before I became empress consort, I once saw your dresses while passing by.”

Larael looked around the shop as she spoke.

Genderi remembered then. It was a time when she was still full of passion for dressmaking. She was briefly lost in the memory, then snapped out of it and hurried to find a place for Larael to sit.

Scraps of fabric were strewn about, old chairs and tables, and a sewing machine on top—that was all there was in Genderi’s shop.

Genderi pulled out a worn chair and placed it in the center. Because her back often hurt, she had tied a roll of fabric to the backrest for support.

The guards frowned. They almost preferred offering their own backs to letting Larael sit on such a shabby chair. But Larael sat down without hesitation.

“I don’t see any dresses. May I take a look?”

“…”

Larael tilted her head at Genderi, who was staring blankly at her.

“Y-yes, of course.”

Genderi hurried into the storage room and brought out a few dresses.

As Larael’s eyes fell on the dresses draped over Genderi’s arms, her gaze grew sharper.

‘Those are the dresses.’

They were the dresses that had been put up for auction and sold for unimaginable prices. Of course, the buyers had adorned them with flashy jewels, but those decorations only diminished the original value of the dresses.

After those dresses sold for such high prices, the capital was abuzz with people trying to find the creator. But by then, the designer had already died in poverty.

Every dress shop in the capital tried to imitate those designs, but the complex seams and unique pleating made it impossible to perfectly replicate them.

In the end, the value of Genderi’s few dresses only soared higher. Larael couldn’t help but frown, remembering the ugly things people did to get their hands on them.

Unfortunately, Larael herself had never managed to own one.

“I didn’t display them for long. I don’t know how you saw them, but I was embarrassed to put them out.”

Genderi said shyly as she hung the dresses on a rack. Despite her words, her affection for the dresses was clear in her tone.

“Did you study design formally?”

Larael got up and approached the dresses.

“No, I only worked at a dress salon for a while and picked up what I could by watching others.”

Genderi answered modestly. Larael reached out to touch a dress she had never been able to before.

She had once offered a high price for one of these dresses, but had not even been given the chance to buy it. Back then, she had been angry, but now she understood. She knew how ridiculous she must have looked to others. Things hadn’t changed much, but it no longer mattered. The only thing important to Larael now was Edward.

As Larael ran her fingers over the hem of the dress, her eyes filled with emotion. Genderi watched Larael’s every move, tense.

“This is the dress I was looking for.”

Larael beamed at Genderi. At those words, Genderi felt all the emotions she had held back for so long well up inside her. Even her fingertips trembled. She wanted to say something, but her throat was tight, and no words came out.

“…”

Larael looked at the silent Genderi and thought back to how she had died fighting poverty before her regression. She couldn’t fully understand Genderi’s feelings, but she could empathize.

“I’ll buy all the dresses you’ve made.”

At those words, Genderi’s legs gave out and she sank to the floor. Tears welled up in her eyes and streamed down her cheeks, unable to contain the rush of emotion.

“And if you’ll allow it, I’d like to hire you as my exclusive designer.”