CHAPTER 3 – First Date (Part 2)

“Welcome.”

The store they entered had their lead displayed a variety of items, from ordinary to peculiar. Excited upon hearing the word “magic items” from Kahin, Ria eagerly began to browse.

“What are you looking for?”

“A potion to change hair and eye color.”

“Please wait a moment.”

Upon hearing Rune’s words, the shopkeeper headed towards the counter and briefly skimmed through the ledger before returning.

“I’m sorry, but all the long-lasting potions are currently out of stock and need to be custom-made separately.”

“How long will it take?”

“Since making potions with longer durations requires more ingredients, it will take a bit of time. However, if you need something immediately, we do have potions with shorter durations available. How about those?”

“How long do those potions last?”

“Magic potions are recommended to be consumed once a day, so with shorter duration potions, the maximum is about six hours.”

It was a shorter time frame than expected. It was certain that time would pass quickly if she were to eat, and purchase dresses, and jewelry. However, they couldn’t just skip what she wanted to do. If a situation just now occurred again where her hood was blown off by the wind and her appearance was fully revealed…she had to drink a potion.

Ultimately, he had no choice but to purchase the six-hour option.

“If you’re going to drink it now, I’ll prepare it for you.”

“Sure.”

As the employee went inside to prepare, Rune called Ria over. As Ria, who had been engrossed in the merchandise, turned at the sound of her name, Rune approached and handed her a cup containing the magic potion the lady had prepared, explaining carefully.

“Just drink this while thinking of the colors you want. What color for your hair, what color for your eyes, like that.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes. But you have to drink it all at once.”

Ria nodded as she gazed at the liquid shimmering in the cup. A potion straight out of a fantasy movie. Who would have known the day would come when she would drink it?

Feeling a sense of excitement and novelty, Ria chuckled softly and closed her eyes, quickly downing the potion.

Once she set the cup down, a faint light shimmered from the direction of her hooded face. As the light faded and she removed her hood, her hair flowed in a rosy pink hue. Slowly revealing, her eyes were also tinted the same color.

For a moment, the three men were speechless.

“……What’s wrong?”

As they stared blankly without any reaction, a bewildered Ria, stroking her hair, finally managed to speak.

“No. It’s… it’s so beautiful.”

“It’s like a pink bunny.”

“I think I saw the same color in one of the flowers in the garden.”

“Yeah, it must be the flower I mentioned. You thought of that, didn’t you?”

Blushing at their straightforward comments again today, Ria nodded at Kahin’s words. Kahin smiled proudly. It was worth studying the flowers in the mansion diligently for her, who loved flowers.

“Can I take off my robe now?”

“No. You need to keep it on more. People will stare because you’re so pretty.”

“What… what did you say!”

Red to the ears from the constant barrage of directness, Ria lightly hit them with her fists and hurriedly walked out of the store.

“Come on, let’s go look around. I’m hungry.”

Completely removing the slightly suffocating robe and taking a deep breath, the fresh air filled her lungs. With her mood considerably lifted, Ria looked back at the others following her and smiled brightly.

＊ ＊ ＊ ＊

Located in the heart of the Empire’s downtown district, in the most prime location of all, the La-Dianc Couture, this dress shop was currently the most popular place in the Empire.

To have a custom-made dress fitted, one needed to make a reservation at least six months in advance, and even the ready-to-wear items displayed in the store could quickly be sold out if not visited early enough.

Primarily due to the exceptional skill of the designers, the value of a single garment they created or a single ornament often surpassed several times the value of a typical wardrobe. 

Ennen Roeta, the chief designer, was the most skillful of them all, and it was said that ‘all fashion’ in the empire began with his hand.

As a result, it was a standard to make reservations not six months in advance but a year in advance to have a dress custom-made by him. However, due to his obstinate and arrogant yet firm belief that he would only make clothes for the person who inspired him, many reservations were often declined.

Nevertheless, knowing Roeta’s outstanding ability, people couldn’t help but feel regretful but couldn’t say anything. Some aristocrats even said he should be more demanding, as they were overwhelmed by the envious glances they received when they finally received their clothes from such a designer and the sense of superiority it gave them.

However, despite the necessity of reservations for custom-made items, the nobles visited the store every day, even if just to try ready-to-wear items, and before they knew it, the dress shop had naturally become a social hub. The atmosphere was more casual and accessible than a tea party or banquet, which required elaborate arrangements, and information could be shared more quickly, so some people took the time to drop in on purpose.

“Is it true that you’re going to hold an engagement ceremony this year? Congratulations.”

“Thank you. I’ll make sure to send you an invitation.”

“Did you hear that Count Figo changed his wife again?”

“Don’t even mention it. There’s already a lot of talk because of that. It turns out all the wives he changed were either commoners or slaves, anyway, it’s a bad rumor.”

“Oh, I don’t know about commoners, but if they were slaves, they were bought, weren’t they?”

“That’s right. It’s strange to say they had love marriages when all the wives die so quickly.”

“I’m sure everyone thinks that way.”

Today, as always, the first-floor hall, where ready-to-wear items were displayed, was bustling with noble ladies. The murmuring voices were only loud enough to be heard by those in the same space.

It was at that moment when the people’s conversations were at their peak. When the sound of the bell rang, people naturally turned their gaze towards the door without stopping their conversations. However, when they saw who had entered, their chatter stopped abruptly.

“Did you like the food?”

“Yes. The mashed potato and steak combination was excellent.”

“I’ll talk to the chef about it when we get back.”

“Let’s go have some dessert after buying a dress.”

The silence of the first-floor hall was not broken until the group was escorted by a staff member to their private room on the second floor. Even after a while, the only words that broke the silence were a lady’s whisper-like murmurs.

“That was the Duke of Astina and the Duke of Carlisle…, wasn’t it?”

The question solidified the uncertainty everyone had, whether what they had just seen was truly the two dukes, or if they were mistaken.

“That’s what I thought, too.”

“But they were making expressions I’ve never seen before.”

A few people denied it but were silenced by what came next.

“Blonde hair and silver-haired with red-eyed are the characteristic colors of the Dukes of Astina and Carlisle. There’s no doubt about it.”

“So… what about that affectionate expression… We’ve never seen such a face from the two lords before.”

The two dukes had always shown only emotionless, cold expressions, so it was understandable to be surprised. The faint-hearted were already trembling with fear.

“But who is the woman they came in with?”

“I’ve never seen her before.”

“Isn’t this the first time the two dukes have brought a woman to a dress shop like this?”

Their attention now turned to the woman who was with them, the pale pink woman the two dukes had been so fond of.

“It seemed different from usual when they were fooling around with women, it’s like they were in love or something…”

Hmm. One young lady, who had been rambling on dreamily while recalling sweet glances, pressed her lips shut with her hand. There had been occasions when the noble ladies here had spent nights with the dukes. The lady awkwardly let out a laugh and quickly opened her fan, covering half her face.

“But still, since the two lords seem smitten, she must be a noble, right?”

“Or perhaps royalty from a foreign land?”

Fortunately, the momentarily paused conversations soon resumed. Though no one spoke, everyone seemed to share the same thoughts as the lady earlier, so the conversation continued circling around the same topic.

Then, a lady who had been quietly listening spoke up, holding her fan to her lips mockingly.

“I wonder if the Lady Peune knows about this.”

Along with laughter from some of the ladies, the sound of fans opening was heard.

“We shouldn’t let her be unaware, so we should tell her right away.”

“Of course.”

The gaze of the lady who first spoke quickly followed a maid hurrying out of the dress shop.

“She might need to come down from that place soon.”