“Lady, I think it would be better to have the knight wait outside. I’m uncomfortable, and wouldn’t that be better for you too?”

“……Me?”

“Yes, there’s no reason for an unmarried lady to bring a young male knight along when choosing clothes.”

Is, is that so……?

My heart wavered rapidly because the head priest had pointed out something I had never been conscious of before.

When he put it that way, it seemed like he was warning that Carl and I might be misunderstood.

“……Carl, wait outside.”

In the end, I decided to follow the head priest’s advice.

“Master.”

Carl called me as if in protest, narrowing his brow. His black eyes looked at me like a puppy begging not to be abandoned.

Sorry, I don’t want to exclude you either, but I have no choice.

When I didn’t change my mind in the end, Carl reluctantly left the room.

“Call me if anything happens.”

Leaving only these words behind.

The head priest spoke with a relieved face as if the troublemaker had disappeared.

“Well then, shall we look at your clothes first, Lady?”

“Yes.”

An employee brought us a catalog. Since the customer age range was there, the designs were definitely classical.

Wow, this really looks like actual medieval dresses.

“How is it, is there anything you like?”

“Umm…… this one?”

I chose the cream-colored high-neck dress, which felt the most youthful among the options.

The neckline was covered with lace, and navy ribbons were attached to the waist and hem.

“Would you like to try it on?”

The employee who brought the dress asked politely. I glanced at the head priest and he smiled and gestured.

“Go ahead.”

“Yes.”

Leaving only the head priest behind, I moved to the fitting room with the employee.

With her help, I changed into the dress and checked the mirror.

Hmm, not bad.

I judged it would be okay to show the head priest and went out.

He, who had been sitting on the sofa leisurely drinking tea, curved his eyes smoothly when he saw me.

“It suits you well without feeling stuffy. You’re pretty, Lady.”

“……Really?”

Why doesn’t it feel soulful unlike when Carl said I was pretty?

I was even slightly embarrassed then, but now I was calm to the point of being confident.

Well, this face would be pretty in anything, wouldn’t it?

“How about this dress next?”

“I’ll try it on first.”

I returned to the fitting room to change into the clothes the head priest recommended.

As the employee was unfastening the hooks at the back of the dress, she suddenly made a flustered sound.

“Huh, huh? Why is this like this……”

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, that…… the clothes were slightly big for you, Miss, so I hooked it on the inside, but this won’t come undone.”

Huh? That’s troublesome.

The employee who had been struggling alone to somehow unfasten the hook said.

“I’m sorry, Miss. Could I call another employee?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

“I’m really sorry. I’ll be right back, so please wait just a moment.”

The employee who had bowed her head several times left in a hurry.

I sat on the simple bench and just waited for her to return.

But even after quite a long time had passed, the employee didn’t appear.

‘Ah, when will she come……’

Because the hook was fastened too tightly, the pressure on my chest was severe and I gradually became uncomfortable too.

As I was reaching back and fumbling around the hook area…..

Knock knock.

“Lady Sharofe, it’s me.”

Along with the knock, the head priest’s worried voice came from beyond the door.

“Did something happen inside? The employee left a while ago but you haven’t come out, so I’m worried.”

“Actually…… the hook at the back of the dress broke. Thanks to that, it’s a bit hard to breathe right now.”

The head priest, who had been quiet for a moment at my explanation, soon spoke.

“If it’s a situation where I can come in, may I open the door and help?”

“Uh……”

I rolled my eyes around.

Actually, it wouldn’t matter if the head priest came in. I was fully dressed, and there wouldn’t be any particular problem.

I got up from the chair and opened the door first with a click.

The head priest, who was tall like a bean sprout despite his delicate appearance, looked down at me through the open doorway.

“You can come inside.”

“Thank you.”

He pushed the door further and entered, closing it quietly. I stepped back to create distance and turned around.

“The hook is around the shoulder blade area. Thank you for helping.”

“It’s too early to receive thanks, isn’t it? What if I can’t unfasten the hook because I lack strength?”

The head priest who slowly approached behind me replied with a voice full of laughter.

Delicate hands gathered my flowing hair and swept it over my shoulder.

I felt some inexplicable tension from his presence felt through my back. Was it because I was conscious of him being close?

Before the atmosphere could become awkward, I brought up small talk.

“Head priest, is your naturally easygoing personality like this?”

“Well, I don’t have memories from when I was young, so I don’t know if I was originally like this.”

“You don’t have memories from when you were young?”

When I asked back in surprise, he answered in a gentle voice.

“I have some scattered ones. I went on pilgrimages frequently for training and suffered, so my head forgot the difficult memories on its own.”

“Ah……”

Just as I was about to offer words of comfort feeling slightly sad, a hand that approached coldly like a snake gently grasped the back of my neck.

“……?”

I felt him applying pressure with his fingers directly.

What is he doing right now?

If he had done this from the front, it would have felt like he was trying to strangle me.

“Head priest?”

“Don’t move.”

“Ah, I understand. But why……”

“Lady, you said we didn’t first meet at the party last time. Then where did we first meet?”

Why is he suddenly asking that here?

I blinked in confusion, then slightly frowned as I remembered the outrageous thing he had done then.

“Would it be okay if I told you?”

Would it be okay if I exposed how you meanly left without helping me?

“……”

The head priest didn’t answer immediately. It was the moment I felt the grip on my nape become slightly stronger.

Snap.

“There, it’s done.”

Using my neck as support, he cleanly tore off the hook clasp.

Ah, so that’s why he grabbed it.

At the same time, my stuffy chest became comfortable and my breathing became free.

Whew.

“Thank you.”

I faced the head priest while holding the torn part with my hand.

He, with his hands behind his back, smoothly lifted the corners of his mouth.

“Lady Sharofe, I like you. So let’s only bring up those words when it’s really okay.”

For the first time, his violet eyes gazed at me without smiling.

‘This gives me goosebumps for no reason.’

Since purple wasn’t a warm color, I felt like there was a mysterious coolness in his gaze.

“……Ah, yes.”

I nodded somewhat reluctantly.

This guy, he actually remembers not helping me and running away, but he doesn’t want to apologize or is embarrassed, so he’s acting like this, isn’t he?

Whether he knew my suspicion or not, the head priest smiled like sunlight, befitting a priest who serves the sun god.

“You’re good.”

And when the employees who arrived late entered the fitting room, he obediently stepped aside.

“I’ll go out now.”

Leaving only this gentle greeting behind.

***

In the end, I returned home today without achieving any particular results.

Of course, including the boutique where I met the head priest, I did visit a total of three places to introduce myself to the owners, have light conversations, and make an impression.

But somehow they all had a bat-like feeling, so I couldn’t find a boutique I could trust and frequent regularly.

It felt like they would secretly spread rumors if I told them secrets.

‘Is that how it is when you run a boutique? Isn’t there anywhere with an upright person as the owner?’

I even had the fleeting thought that it might be better for me to open a boutique myself.

But then I’d need a trustworthy designer again, so it’s just going in circles.

When I trudged into my room and flopped face-down on the bed, Mandy, who had followed to attend to me, asked.

“Miss, did you find a boutique you liked?”

“Not particularly……”

Among the places I went today, the first one was relatively okay, but the age range didn’t match and I was also concerned about the head priest frequenting there.

That guy has the face of a male lead, but strangely gives off a chilly feeling too.

“Among all the places you’ve looked at so far, wasn’t there a single shop you liked?”

“Hmm……”

I rolled over and lay down, lost in thought.

“I’m not sure about the boutiques themselves, but there was a place with a person I liked.”

“Oh my, then you can go to that place. Originally people frequent boutiques based on the owner anyway.”

That’s right, but the person I liked wasn’t the owner but an employee.

‘Still, wouldn’t that matter……?’

Although I did receive advice that it would be better not to come back.

For a base to manage my false rumors, that boutique was actually perfect.

Cream Rose.

The dress designs were the prettiest, and the employee had the best eye for fashion.

‘Should I go there with thick skin? Actually, I didn’t do anything wrong.’

Since there was nowhere else to go or that I wanted to go, I decided to be shameless for once too.