Chapter 8 – Part 1

They rode in Winston’s carriage for over an hour to reach the capital city.

Kristin and Lenci returned to Sharon Boutique, while Winston had to report all the recent events to the Emperor. He still had to present evidence of the crimes committed by Liam Morrison and the Merchants’ Association.

The Emperor entrusted most of the affairs happening in the Empire to Winston, the head of the Zenon family, whom he considered his loyal servant.

“I’ll head to the palace now to report everything that happened,” Winston said.

“Thank you for today, Marquis Winston. If you revisit our boutique, I’ll serve you some tea,” Beatrice expressed her gratitude.

“Thank you for your kind words. But it was something I had to handle anyway.”

Winston looked at Kristin silently for a moment before speaking to her.

“I hope we meet again, Lady Kristin. I hope today’s events at the Levi Mine spread throughout the Empire and restore some of Kristin’s honor.”

“What I did was nothing compared to your help, My Lord.”

“Lady Kristin, you were the one who saved those miners. If you hadn’t stepped up, not a single person would have taken the initiative, and they may have lost their lives.”

“But still…”

“Lady Kristin, you accomplished something significant today. Now that you’re the mine owner, please let me know how things turn out. I would like to hear about it.”

“I’ll make sure to tell you next time we have the chance.”

“I do hope we’ll have the chance to see each other again.”

After bidding farewell, Winston boarded his carriage. As Kristin watched him, she briefly reminisced. The current Winston was the same as he was back then—always thinking of her.

However, she couldn’t accept his feelings. The Edith family itself would only be a burden to the Zenon family.

That’s why Kristin wanted to keep her distance from him as much as possible.

“Take care, My Lord,” Kristin said.

With that, his carriage gradually picked up speed and left.

“Kristin, shall we return to Sharon Boutique as well?” Beatrice suggested.

They headed back to the boutique. Upon arrival, Kristin and Lenci could finally admire the numerous dresses.

For Lenci, visiting Sharon Boutique was a once-in-a-lifetime dream. Despite being a commoner, her love for beautiful things was no different from that of the nobility.

Seeing dresses adorned with ribbons, silk, and various gemstones left Lenci in awe.

“Lenci, I’ll buy you a dress. Consider it a reward for today,” Kristin said.

“Oh, My Lady. This is too generous a gift for me.”

Lenci’s face lit up with gratitude at Kristin’s words. However, she also seemed saddened, unable to fully accept Kristin’s kindness.

She knew her social status was different from the lady she served.

And the Sharon Boutique reflected those differences.

“Kristin, come over here,” Beatrice called.

“Lady Beatrice, while the dresses here are lovely, I’m planning to take Lenci with me to the debutante ball this time,” Kristin said.

“The debutante ball, you say…”

“Yes, it’s been a year since I first met Duke Raphael at the debutante ball.”

“Speaking of which, I heard you invited other noble ladies to your mansion.”

“Yes, I did,” Kristin replied.

Isabella, Venice, and Ellen—she thought building connections with them would be helpful in the future.

“Was there a special reason for inviting the noble ladies to the mansion?” Beatrice asked.

“Well, I felt that I couldn’t remain alone in society forever. As a noble, I need the support of many people and can’t live ignoring them,” Kristin explained.

“That’s a wise decision. I don’t want you to live in loneliness, Kristin. I’m sure Elesia also truly wishes for your happiness,” Beatrice said warmly.

“Yes,” Kristin replied, looking at Beatrice.

Her current goals were simply to live without being taken advantage of, to become the head of the Edith family, and to continue its legacy.

“Now then, Kristin! Shall we start picking out some dresses?”

* * *

Beatrice Charlotte showed Kristin the dresses she had made over the past six years. Each dress was crafted with Kristin in mind, tailored to fit the average size of noble ladies but made to reflect how Kristin might have grown.
” Try this one on as well,” Beatrice suggested enthusiastically.

“This one suits you so well, Kristin. How about trying this one next?”

Seeing Kristin trying on her creations filled Beatrice with joy and nostalgia, making her heart swell with emotion.

Just then, Kristin noticed Lenci standing nervously with her hands clasped together. Turning to Beatrice, she said,

“I think I’ve tried on enough for now. Could you help my maid, Lenci, find a dress?”

“Oh, right, Lenci,” Beatrice remembered.

Normally, noble ladies did not provide dresses for their maids to wear to the debutante ball. The higher nobility would bring their maids, but lower nobles tended to avoid having their maids join them, as they came from completely different worlds.

However, Kristin was different.

“I don’t want my maid to wear shabby clothes just because she’s serving me. I want others to see her as beautiful too,” Kristin insisted.

“That may be true, but there will surely be some disapproving gazes,” Beatrice cautioned.

“As you said, there will likely be those who are envious,” Kristin agreed, looking at Lenci.

Lenci shook her head and spoke up, “If it would harm you, My Lady, then I won’t go.”

“No, Lenci. I feel more comfortable having you with me than going alone,” Kristin reassured her.

“Wouldn’t it be better if Lenci stayed by Kristin’s side as a companion? Other nobles will bring their maids too.”

Beatrice suggested, holding Lenci’s wrist and showing her dresses that would suit her.

The mere act of having dresses recommended to her brought a bright smile to Lenci’s face. Her beaming expression and rosy cheeks made her look even more endearing.

“Well then, shall we show Lady Kristin how you look?”

Lenci stepped out of the fitting room and approached Kristin. As she revealed the dress she was wearing, Kristin couldn’t help but be surprised.

Until now, she had always thought of Lenci as cute, but the frilly dress highlighted her charming appearance even more. She looked absolutely lovely in the dress, not appearing like a maid at all.

“You look truly beautiful, Lenci.”

“R-Really?”

“You should wear that dress to the ball.”

Lenci shyly nodded at Kristin’s words.

But at that moment, the door of Sharon Boutique opened, and the sound of footsteps echoed. Both Beatrice and Kristin turned their eyes towards the entrance to see who was coming in.

It was none other than Raphael.

How on earth does he know to come here?

Every time he appeared so suddenly, Kristin felt a surge of frustration.

“I heard you met with Marquis Winston?”

Kristin glanced at the clock and saw that it had been two hours since she returned to the capital. Within that time, rumors about Kristin’s actions would have spread throughout the Imperial court and the noble circles.

She knew that word about her deeds would get out, but she didn’t want to face Raphael because of these rumors.

“I heard you took care of the incident at Levi Mine.”

Kristin hesitated to respond to his continuous statements, as his face was contorted with anger.

“But you weren’t alone at the mine, were you? Marquis Winston was with you? In that dangerous place?”

Kristin was taken aback by Raphael’s words. She couldn’t understand why he was suddenly worrying about her. Since when did he care about her?

Listening quietly, Kristin calmly said to him, “How did you know I was here, Your Grace?”

“Is that important right now?”

“Why do you keep following me? I don’t understand.”

“Kristin.”

Raphael’s face grew increasingly stern at Kristin’s unwavering tone.

Kristin was becoming increasingly frustrated with her constant encounters with Raphael.

From the time he had abruptly taken her in his carriage to the Begonia Café, to today, demanding to know if she had met the Marquis of Winston.

She couldn’t understand him.

“What exactly is your relationship with Marquis Winston? And what were you thinking in trying to resolve the Levi Mine incident?”

“As I’ve already mentioned, Marquis Winston and I have been childhood playmates, and you were already aware that the Zenon family does not want me.”

“So that means…”

Raphael could not continue his words.

It seemed his mind was tangled with the thought that Kristin might have feelings for Winston. His mind raced with countless thoughts.

But what was curious about this situation was why Kristin, who had never been interested in such a business, had suddenly traveled to a mining region and become a mine owner.

Rumors about Kristin and Winston were already causing a stir throughout the Empire. It was said that if it weren’t for them, the innocent miners would have been buried alive, and many people were suffering due to the actions of Liam Morrison.

The thought of Winston being close to Kristin for even a moment was torturous for Raphael.

“So, you had feelings for that man all along. That’s why you avoided me at the wedding?”