Chapter 3 – Ladies Alighting from the Carriage (2)

Of course, neither Chloe nor Mirabelle had any way of knowing whether what they heard was correct or not. It seemed to roughly match the explanations overheard at the atelier, but the truth wasn’t important. They just wanted to confirm what kind of background knowledge he had and how he judged and spoke.

Perhaps because there was no response, Ryan tried to say more in his flustered state.

“Ah, and, um, it seems like the hat was custom-made at another tailor shop. It’s the trendy style this winter, but no shop has released such a design… so I think it might be custom-made. Andrea doesn’t do custom accessories…”

And the gloves… 

Just as Ryan was stammering to continue, Chloe interrupted.

“That’s enough. How do you know such things?”

“I’m the son of a tailor shop. Ah, of course, you already know that…”

“Not all sons of tailor shops have an eye as good as yours, do they?”

“Ah, hehe, people say I have a keen eye. I also have a lot of general knowledge because I’m interested in women’s clothing.”

Chloe, observing Ryan’s answers, suddenly asked.

“Did you do that job because you needed pocket money?”

Faced with the sudden question, Ryan, who had been chattering after receiving praise, clammed up. He had come knowing he might be asked about it, but hearing the question made it hard to speak. He knew it wasn’t something to be proud of…

“You don’t know, but I saved you from getting a criminal record.”

It was true. He was destined to be dragged to the guards by some lady’s report. Hearing that, he tried to act nonchalant, but seeing his lips pout like a child’s, it was clear that despite seeming mature, he was still a boy.

“I was wondering if there’s something I could help you with. Your keen eye intrigued me.”

Half of it was true. Chloe was actually coaxing him because she wanted his help, but she hid that intention well.

“Well, actually……”

Ryan hesitated for a while, then, deciding there was nothing more to lose, closed his eyes tightly and revealed his situation. It was indeed an opportunity for him too. It was obvious that a noble from a prestigious family taking an interest in his circumstances was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

“Our shop only does men’s clothing, but I’m more interested in women’s clothing. But there’s a limit to what I can learn at home, so I wanted to learn elsewhere…”

Ryan pleaded his case as he had prepared in advance. He seemed to have a natural talent for evoking sympathy, as the words flowed smoothly.

In short, he wanted to inherit the tailor shop and turn it into one that also did women’s clothing, so he was saving up to learn the skills from a designer at a tailor shop.

“You’re going to take lessons? Wouldn’t it be better to become an apprentice or assistant? That way, you wouldn’t have to pay for lessons even if you didn’t get paid.”

“I have to work at my parents’ shop on weekdays. It’s hard for them to find a tailor who can do as much as I can now…”

“So you tried to make a quick buck back then…?”

“Ah, well, it just happened that way… I was also saving money by helping out at taverns or inns in the mercenary district on weekends.”

Ryan grumbled, as if feeling wronged.

For someone who had pulled off an outrageous scam, it was surprisingly earnest. Although his trembling voice seemed to have a spoonful of sympathy mixed in.

Chloe looked at Mirabelle. Her gaze asked what she thought.

Mirabelle, who had remained silent throughout Chloe’s conversation with Ryan, shrugged her shoulders when she felt Chloe’s gaze.

‘Why is she being so uncooperative today, this lady?’

Mirabelle had kept her arms crossed and her expression unchanged since arriving at Yega Cheff, as if she couldn’t understand why Chloe was trying to recruit that impudent boy.

Chloe had no choice but to think alone. She wasn’t particularly talented at detecting lies, but it sounded believable enough.

‘The jeweler didn’t seem reluctant to introduce him, and Mirabelle hasn’t said anything, so…… if there were any suspicious parts, she would have said something.’

Aside from her disapproval of trying to recruit the boy.

‘As I felt when I first saw him, he’s surprisingly timid, so if he finds out I’m from Lacroix……’

It was just a matter of reconfirming the answer she had already decided on alone, but Chloe, having made up her mind, brought up the prepared story.

“I’m thinking of starting a very small business, and I need someone to help.”

Ryan’s eyes sparkled with excitement, a stark contrast to the earlier nervousness about why he was here.

“As you might guess, I’m not someone who can go around showing my face everywhere. So I was looking for someone who could represent me.”

Rather than looking, she was able to devise a specific method because she saw how Ryan acted that day. Even Mirabelle, who had been sulking because Chloe hadn’t explained her scheme, nodded knowingly and listened in.

“I’m going to buy undervalued gems and sell them at their proper price. While I can pass off buying items at antique shops as a hobby, I need an agent to negotiate and find new buyers when selling.”

As Chloe said this and rang the magic stone bell, coffee, cocoa drinks, various breads, and cakes filled the table. These were ordered in advance before Ryan arrived. Mirabelle had wondered why she was going to such lengths for that boy.

‘Let’s see. If he’s strange, we’ll send him away and eat it ourselves.’

That’s what she said, but she was glad he seemed useful enough to bribe with food. Sweet things were said to be good for coaxing people.

“I thought of you as the person to help. You’re familiar with the artisan district and the capital’s geography, and you have a discerning eye.”

Chloe pushed the cocoa drink, chocolate croissant, cheesecake, and eclair toward him.

“Think about it while you eat.”

Ryan, who seemed to be drooling at the feast before him, pledged his loyalty without much thought.

“You saved me from committing more wrongdoing, so I will follow you! M-master!”

Perhaps he trusted more in Chloe’s wool silk, the Andrea atelier that tailored her clothes, and the financial power to reserve the most popular café in Gotiue and order refreshments at will, more than Chloe herself……

“But Master, um… how should I address you?”

“Master?”

“Well, you’re the one who trusts and hires me. Or maybe B-boss?”

Ryan’s quick-wittedness in attaching titles quite pleased Chloe. When she thought about it, ‘Master’ was something only her father could hear, a title Chloe would never hear in her lifetime if not now.

Chloe, hiding her excitement with the poker face of a three-year veteran of the social scene, or rather an eight-year veteran, replied nonchalantly.

“Work with me, and if you please me, I’ll tell you then.”

Chloe immediately took Ryan to their next destination. To explain what she intended to do, she needed to show him the process of purifying gems tainted with magic, so she had arranged a meeting with the Mage Lagu. It would be better to show him once than explain a hundred times.

Lacroix’s small carriage stopped at a quiet spot at the end of Angela Boulevard, a little away from Alezio. To hide her identity from Ryan, she had covered the crest on the carriage walls, but she was being extra cautious just in case. After all, employing mages was forbidden, and it wouldn’t look good for a noble family to be involved.

As Chloe and Mirabelle, wearing robes with hoods pulled low, got out of the carriage, Ryan, who had alighted first, spoke cautiously.

“Are you wearing these robes to hide your identity? Anyone can see it’s cashmere…”

Not everyone had Ryan’s keen eye, but it was true that it looked luxurious even to commoners. Chloe was quite surprised by something she hadn’t considered.

‘I could be seen as someone ignorant of worldly matters.’

She had always been told she was clever wherever she went. Chloe hid her embarrassment and put on a haughty expression.

“Just follow me.”

If things went well, she wouldn’t have to come all the way here herself in the future, so she had some justification.

For a noblewoman to personally visit the Mage Guild was quite unusual. Of course, separate from being cautious, Chloe also knew that such actions wouldn’t significantly affect her reputation now.

The place known as the Mage Guild was located in a makeshift building attached to a shop behind Alezio. The messenger who left Count Palatine’s office with Chloe’s letter yesterday had whispered that it was hard to find, only reaching it after asking around, as it was a place hard to recognize at first glance.

‘To think I’d come to the Mage Guild, this is something I couldn’t have imagined before.’

Thinking so, Chloe glanced at Mirabelle again. On a usual day, Mirabelle would have expressed Chloe’s sentiments with something like, ‘Wow, I’ve even come to the Mage Guild,’ but she maintained a dissatisfied expression, as if her sulkiness hadn’t faded.

At Chloe’s nod, Ryan pulled open the rusty iron door, revealing a dimly lit shop set up like a general store. The ceiling of the makeshift building was so low and the interior so narrow that it felt cramped with three people inside.

An old woman sitting behind the counter squinted at the light seeping through the door and spoke gruffly.

“Close the door quickly. What brings you here?”

“I have an appointment with Lord Lagu.”

Chloe lowered her head to whisper in the old woman’s ear, making sure Ryan couldn’t hear.

“I’m Chloe of Lacroix.”

The old woman stared at Chloe’s eyes for a while, then muttered something into a small magical device she held.

“Please wait a moment.”