The villain is a man with a strong obsession for what he considers his.

‘Even after meeting the female protagonist, he might straddle both relationships and not break up with me.’

I glared at Kaien while cursing inwardly, but quickly lowered my gaze when our eyes met.

The carriage interior was quiet as Kaien and I sat facing each other.

‘Then I should make him want to break up.’

Though I don’t fully understand male psychology, I could act like a woman he’d want to avoid.

“Ah, I just realized I haven’t bathed for a week.”

I mumbled while scratching my head so Kaien could see clearly.

I sniffed my fingertips, wrinkled my face, and ostentatiously wiped my nails on the hem of my dress.

I put on a show as if I’d just noticed Kaien’s presence.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Kaien. I’ve been so busy studying lately. Do I smell?”

But this man was a formidable opponent. He responded with a gentle eye-smile and composure.

“Once demonic beasts appeared at the border, and I couldn’t change clothes for two weeks. I’m not sensitive to such things.”

‘He’s not saying I don’t smell.’

Kaien had just returned to the capital after three years of exterminating demonic beasts at the border.

A little filthiness might not bother him.

“Thanks for understanding.”

I slightly lifted my dress hem and scratched my calf.

Even if it doesn’t work immediately, if I keep doing it, it will accumulate and eventually explode.

‘He wouldn’t accept an uncultured person as the Grand Duke’s bride.’

Looking outside for ways to appear uncultured and make him ashamed of me, I spotted a café.

“Kaien, coffee! I want coffee!”

As soon as I spoke, he tapped the wall, and the carriage slowed down and stopped.

When the Blemer Grand Ducal family’s carriage suddenly stopped on the main road, people paused and showed curiosity about what was happening.

‘You can do this, Ivy.’

My face was already burning even before ordering. I got out of the carriage and approached the café’s takeout counter to place my order.

“Iced coffee, hot please.”

“Would you like it iced? Or hot coffee?”

The employee’s skillful handling made my first attempt fail. I had anticipated this, so I tried again.

“Iced, please. Lots of cream, and sprinkle plenty of cinnamon on top.”

After paying and waiting briefly, the coffee was ready. All this time, Kaien never left my side.

I was about to drink the coffee but set it down and complained to the employee in front of Kaien.

“This smells like cassia. I don’t drink cassia.”

The employee’s eyes widened.

“I sprinkled plenty of cinnamon as you ordered, ma’am.”

“Yes, I added cinnamon, but it smells like cassia. I didn’t ask for cassia.”

The expressions of both the employee and onlookers contorted. Yes, I must look like a difficult customer.

“Ma’am, cassia and cinnamon are the same. So…”

“Listen, this is cassia, I tell you.”

As I tried to emphasize my ignorance again, Kaien took my coffee and smelled it.

“It’s cassia.”

“What?”

“Ivy, you’re not someone who would say such things without reason. Make it again. This isn’t cinnamon; it’s cassia.”

“What?”

Why is even the perfectly normal-looking Kaien acting this way?

When the extraordinary Kaien agreed with me and insisted it was cassia, the employee’s eyes wavered.

“Though cassia and cinnamon are from the same Lauraceae family, their scents differ. Cassia has stronger spicy and bitter tastes and is used as medicine—this scent is cassia, not cinnamon.”

Someone who appeared to be the manager approached after hearing the commotion. After smelling the cinnamon container, he bowed deeply and apologized.

“I-I’m so sorry! We suddenly ran out of cinnamon, so I sent an employee on an errand, but it seems they bought the wrong thing. We’ll remake it for you.”

After the manager admitted it was cassia and apologized, the watching customers applauded us, saying, “Wow! Amazing!”

“As expected, you have high cultural knowledge.”

Kaien looked at me with satisfaction.

……This wasn’t what I intended.

Though it didn’t go as planned, I didn’t give up.

‘What else could I try?’

As I rolled my eyes thinking, I noticed a servant following a noblewoman. The servant carried several stacked hat boxes, and the noblewoman looked quite satisfied with her shopping.

“Get new dresses and jewels as gifts from His Grace!”

At that moment, Love’s words came to mind.

“Kaien, where are we going?”

“Is there somewhere you’d like to go?”

I looked back at him. Even you wouldn’t be able to handle this.

“I’m worried about what dress to wear when meeting you. Since I have so few, I keep wearing the same clothes. We’re going to get married, but people will gossip if I stand beside the Grand Duke in these clothes.”

No matter how wealthy the Grand Ducal family is, wouldn’t he reconsider marriage to a woman who spends money like water?

The theme of this act is ‘a woman who changed after learning the man is rich.’

When the carriage with the Grand Ducal family’s emblem stopped in front of a dress shop, customers inside clung to the windows to watch.

I want to spend money recklessly, but I don’t want to spread rumors.

“Kaien, I don’t want to be disturbed by others……”

“Send them away.”

The people in the dress shop were simply driven out, and a sign saying ‘Closed for the day’ was put up on the door.

“I haven’t had many dresses before, so I don’t know what to choose.”

“Choose. I’ll buy them all.”

Sitting beside him looking at the dress book, I was shocked by the prices.

I’m the crazy one, but why are the prices also crazy?

I expected it to be expensive since it was the most famous dress shop I’d only heard about, but this was extreme.

The prices were high enough that the madam rushed over at the mention of the Blemer Grand Ducal family and kindly explained the dresses.

‘W-what should I do? My heart is racing.’

I might get addicted to power and money.

“The young lady has a cute face and a figure……”

The madam’s eyes lingered briefly on my chest.

“Well, you have a figure that would suit any size dress, so choose according to your taste. This madam will alter them to give more volume, exclusively for the young lady.”

I liked the word “volume” the most.

When I had my debutante dress fitted before, the apprentice of the apprentice of the master tailor attended to me and gave a long lecture on why the dresses didn’t suit me, but the madam was different.

Money is indeed nice.

Should I just take this man for myself?

Dangerous thoughts entered my mind as I drank the fragrant tea offered only to special customers.

Kaien quietly looked at the dress book beside me and smiled with his eyes when our gazes met.

He was already handsome, but somehow his beauty seemed to have increased since we broke up. Like a carnivorous plant luring insects—not that he was a plant at all, but if I were to make a comparison, that’s the feeling.

A life-threatening charm that makes you unconsciously step closer even while knowing the danger.

The madam sitting across from us flinched and shuddered when she looked at him, then averted her gaze with a pale face.

‘No, Ivy. Don’t forget your purpose. Today I need to be extravagant enough to turn him off.’

“What do you think, Kaien? I like the yellow one. Hmm, the purple is pretty too. Oh, isn’t the blue one elegant and nice?”

After I spoke in succession, Kaien nodded at the madam.

“Can she try them on now?”

“Yes, I’ll prepare the dresses for fitting.”

Is it possible this quickly?

I heard from Isilla that the samples for sale must be kept in pristine condition, so only special customers can try them on.

‘The Grand Duke really is impressive.’

***

Putting on a dress requires many hands.

When wearing a dress, it takes over an hour at banquets to reattach frills, tighten strings, fasten buttons, and tailor it to fit the body perfectly.

During that time, I have to stand continuously.

If that’s the case with dresses tailored to my body, sample dresses made for standard sizes required even more work and took longer.

After trying on one dress, I collapsed exhausted onto the sofa.

“The purple one looks good too, try it on.”

You say that while watching me lie exhausted on the sofa?

I glared at Kaien in annoyance, and he was unusually amused.

He enjoyed tormenting me.

“B-boring, isn’t it? It takes a long time to change dresses. You must have many other things to do, Kaien, so go ahead. I’ll look by myself.”

“Don’t worry about me. I should be the one to see, since I’ll be seeing you the most.”

I’m the one suffering!

I gripped the sofa tightly.

No, the suffering is temporary. Remember the goal. Spending spree! Extravagance! My objective is overconsumption!

“Th-then I’ll order all the dresses I’ve seen. Is that okay? There’s no need to try them on now, right, Kaien?”

“Indeed, there’s no need to waste time. Let’s do that.”

Kaien nodded and gave his permission.

Is this really okay?

“Oh my! Yes! Then come here. I’ll take your measurements.”

“Ah, measurements……”

After expressing my intent to purchase and getting measured, it didn’t end there.

The madam clapped her hands happily and said:

“Now we need to decide on the fabric, buttons, frills, lace, and so on for the dresses. What kind of petticoat would you like?”

Good heavens, I bought a total of six dresses.

Do I have to decide all those details for all of them?

“P-please make them exactly as shown in the dress book. I’m sure they represent the madam’s best choices, and I respect your opinion. Please let me wear the finest dresses.”

“Oh my, you really know quality! How wonderful it would be if all customers were like you. Some people insist on unsuitable fabrics and then complain to me afterward.”

Having experienced some emotional distress dealing with nobles, the madam was moved to tears.

“What about shoes? You can have them made with the same fabric as the dresses at the workshop next door.”

This isn’t the end.

Since shoes are often hidden by the dress, I had never purchased them as a set with a dress before.

Though tempted, my mental strength was already depleted to ashes.

“Get the shoes too.”

“No! It’s fine! It takes too long, and I’ve already wasted too much of your time, so……”

“For you, Ivy, no amount of money or time is wasted.”

“Oh my, Your Grace! How considerate! To think you’re such a sweet person! I’ll call someone from the workshop!”

He’s just teasing me!

Look at that smile! He’s not the type of person who smiles like that!

“And we should choose jewelry to match the clothes.”

Gasp! I just want to lie down in the dress shop; I don’t want to go!

Why is spending money so exhausting!