A tall, blonde man dressed in a fine suit naturally struck up a conversation as he approached. As if they had arranged to meet here.

“What brings you here?”

Instead of answering, Diez hesitated with a confused expression. No matter how she looked at him, his face was unfamiliar. He could be an overly friendly local resident, but for that, he too clearly had the speech of the upper class.

Why is he talking to me?

“You don’t seem to be here to buy anything.”

He said after glancing Diez up and down.

“Could it be you’ve come to sell something?”

“……What business do you have with me?”

“Just concerned. It’s obvious you won’t even get half your money’s worth if you sell things in a place like this.”

“I can handle my own affairs.”

Diez answered in a small voice before quickly opening the door and entering the shop. The interior was decorated in a more luxurious atmosphere than expected. To Diez, who had once been a member of high society, it still showed obvious signs of imitation, but……

“You’re a lady I haven’t seen before.”

A middle-aged woman who appeared to be the shop owner emerged from inside. Diez could feel the merchant’s sharp gaze quickly scanning her.

However, she seemed unable to make a confident assessment.

‘She doesn’t look like a maid sent to fetch something for her master.’

She was wearing a dress and cloak that looked quite valuable. It was clearly something beyond what a maid’s salary could afford.

So had she come to buy something? The woman before her was wearing an expensive dress that only daughters of noble houses would wear, but that was all. She showed none of the attitude one would expect from a haughty young lady.

She literally looked like a maid wearing a young lady’s clothes. Her cautious demeanor and habitually hunched shoulders spoke to that fact.

But still unable to be certain, the shop owner maintained a respectful attitude and asked,

“May I ask what brings you here?”

“I came to sell handkerchiefs.”

Upon hearing Diez’s answer, the shop owner silently let out an “ah” of exclamation.

‘Now the picture is becoming clearer.’

The young woman before her was clearly the daughter of a declining family. She must be selling valuable items to make a living. And that’s how she ended up here.

“I’ll need to take a look at the items.”

The shop owner rather preferred this type of customer. Young ladies ignorant of the market prices. They would accept without complaint even if the price was cut by more than half the actual value.

In the end, they were entities who helped her buy quality goods at very cheap prices and sell them for profit, so they could only be welcome customers to the shop owner.

The shop owner led Diez to a standing table and watched as she took handkerchiefs out of her bag. Soon, Diez placed each hand-embroidered handkerchief on the table.

The shop owner’s sharp gaze examined the handkerchiefs as if scrutinizing them. Feeling like an artist presenting work before a critic, Diez tensed up unnecessarily in front of her.

Though disguising it with a perfect poker face, the shop owner was inwardly admiring Diez’s handkerchiefs.

‘Although the design is a bit outdated……’

Both the material of the handkerchiefs and the embroidery adorning them—elegant but not excessive—were excellent. They were undoubtedly handcrafted by a professional.

Despite the design being several years out of fashion, Diez’s handkerchiefs were as clean as if new. While the good condition was one thing……

‘It’s as if they directly transferred the taste of upper-class young ladies.’

This seemed sufficient to conclude a satisfactory deal. Convinced of this, the shop owner, contrary to her inner thoughts, strangely hardened her expression and fabricated a troubled voice.

“It might be difficult to offer you a high price.”

“……Is that so?”

“There are no visible defects, but that’s all. These days, handkerchiefs of this quality can be easily found in the market. Still, the material is good, so some customers might like them.”

After appearing to consider for a moment, the shop owner soon said,

“I’ll give you 20 gillings per piece.”

“20 gillings…… you say.”

“That’s already offering you a lot. You’d struggle to expect this price elsewhere. Especially these days, when handkerchiefs that everyone wants to sell are piling up.”

It was a pathetically small amount, almost embarrassing to call earnings. Of course, she hadn’t expected to make impressive profits from embroidery, but was it really this little?

Diez bit her lip, feeling somewhat disheartened. What if she returned to the Duke’s mansion with money not even worth a single gold coin? Just imagining it made her feel dejected already.

Jürgen would surely mock her. If even to her eyes it was a meager amount, how much more so would it be to him?

As she hesitated, unable to make a decision, the shop owner’s silently urging gaze suddenly shifted beyond Diez’s shoulder.

Diez could feel it too. The sound of a man’s footsteps grew closer, and soon a familiar voice spoke from nearby.

“What are you doing here, my lady?”

It was none other than the same man she had encountered outside. The blonde gentleman who spoke with a perfect upper-class accent. Standing beside Diez, he asked nonchalantly, then looked down at her with a gaze full of affection, as if addressing a cherished lover.

“I’ve been looking all over for you, wondering why you were taking so long. I never expected to find you in a place like this.”

He was clearly acting. Is he trying to help me? But why? She wasn’t even sure if she should play along.

What reason could this stranger have for pretending to know her?

Whether Diez responded or not, the man smiled smoothly, lightly embraced her with one arm, and carefully examined the handkerchiefs placed on the table.

“These, didn’t you embroider them yourself?”

How does he know? Surprised, Diez raised her head and met his eyes again. Deep eyes resembling absinthe were looking at her from close proximity.

“How can you bring such precious items to a place like this? Things others can only wish to have.”

“……I—”

“What if they take advantage of your ignorance and offer you a pittance? What would you do then?”

Even as the man spoke in a joking manner, the shop owner’s complexion, which had turned pale, showed no signs of improvement. The man’s gaze, holding Diez preciously like a lover, turned toward the shop owner who had lost her composure.

“At least this place is known for its good reputation, so I’m somewhat relieved. At a glance, you don’t seem like an outright scammer.”

At that moment, the shop owner completely froze.

“I’m curious.”

The man, who obviously held the position of a high nobleman or perhaps even higher, stared penetratingly at the shop owner and asked,

“So, how much did she offer? For your handkerchiefs.”

Overcome with dismay, the shop owner struggled to maintain her expression. If she completely lost her composure here, that would truly be the end.

The shop owner’s small hope hung on the incredibly naive young lady before her. By now, she might have used the gentleman beside her as a shield to attack her, but it was rather fortunate that she showed no signs of harboring resentment.

‘She doesn’t seem like the type to make a fuss even if I try to gloss over this.’

She managed to feign an unconcerned voice and even succeeded in displaying a calm smile.

“I was just in the process of pricing the items the young lady brought. Even for me, who has handled many precious items, it’s almost the first time receiving such excellent handkerchiefs.”

“Is that so.”

“But since you said it’s an item personally embroidered by an esteemed person, I’m hesitant to put a price on it. It seems too precious for our establishment to handle. I apologize for not being able to give you a proper answer after you came all this way.”

By now, the shopkeeper thought the gentleman would be somewhat satisfied and move on.

Just as the shopkeeper was breathing a sigh of relief, Diez completely shattered her expectations.

“But you just said you’d pay 20 gillings per piece. Was that just…… a misunderstanding?”

“Huh. 20 gillings?”

At that, Leopold let out an incredulous laugh. Well, from his perspective, it wasn’t particularly surprising. It was entirely predictable that someone trying to sell handkerchiefs would get thoroughly swindled.

Sending out such a naively innocent woman without even providing an escort. Watching this ridiculous farce unfold before his eyes, Leopold thought that perhaps Jürgen’s apparent disinterest in Diez might actually be genuine.

Of course, it was still too early to be disappointed.

Keeping her in the mansion would only tarnish his reputation. Several weeks had passed since the former Duke’s death, yet Jürgen still kept Diez Schleicher by his side.

Despite his claim that she was no longer connected to the Klaus ducal family, there was no reason for him to do so.

While Leopold quietly observed the situation, the shopkeeper’s gaze remained fixed on Diez, looking as if she had nearly suffered a heart attack.

Glancing down at Diez, Leopold couldn’t help but snicker. Her expression showed no signs of betrayal or anger whatsoever. Instead, Diez seemed genuinely pleased that her handkerchiefs weren’t 20-gilling trash.

So, she hadn’t brought up the 20 gillings to get revenge on the shopkeeper. She had mentioned it to confirm whether she could receive a higher price.

Even if she got completely fleeced, she’d probably just shed pitiful tears.