“Honey.”

The woman looked at me with a confident expression, holding onto the man’s arm.

‘Yes, isn’t it nice to have a husband?’

I have a husband too, although he’s completely useless.

“Madam…”

Suddenly, Lily, who was standing behind, timidly tugged at the hem of my dress. She seemed scared.

I smiled at Lily, as if to assure her. If this man even laid a finger on me, I would report him immediately. There would be enough evidence with the customers inside the store as witnesses.

I glanced discreetly at the window, where the warm spring sunlight was streaming in. Hmm… It’s a good day to extort money.

“Hey, I don’t know who you are, madam, but your words are quite harsh. It was the waiter who spilled the drink, so why are you picking a fight with us?”

“What?”

What? A fight?

“Isn’t that shop assistant the one who didn’t move aside when a person was passing by? That’s the store’s fault for not training their employees properly. Giving such a hard time to someone like that is unacceptable. Apologize immediately.”

“Ha.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at their audacious attitude.

“I made a mistake. It wasn’t a matter of accusing you two, but rather a matter of accusing the families who failed to educate you properly.”

“What?!”

The man’s face turned red. He raised his hand, as if he was about to slap me fiercely.

“How dare you insult our family?”

“Hey! Do you even know who we are?”

The woman glared at me with an angry face.

“If you tell me which family you’re from, I will write a letter right away. I’ll tell your family to educate you properly.”

“This… this…!”

The man’s hand trembled.

“As for you, which family do you belong to? We’ll send a letter immediately!”

The woman shouted, and then Lily, who was standing behind them, exclaimed with a trembling voice.

“T-This person is Duchess Wheaton”

“Ah!”

The man’s eyes widened, and the woman covered her mouth in surprise.

“We… we greet the Duchess of Wheaton.”

The man who was holding his hand lowered it hurriedly and bowed.

‘Ah!’

It was only then that I realized I was currently Roeni Wheaton. The Wheaton family was a prestigious family in the Empire, and their influence was not weaker than that of the royal family. So it was only natural that the man’s demeanor would change when he realized my identity.

In a momentary pause of realization, the man glanced up. His eyes were filled with doubt, as if asking, ‘Is she really Duchess Wheaton?’

Suppressing my expression in a moment of realization, I straightened my back. With my chin lifted, I looked down at the viscount and spoke.

“What is your name?”

“I-I am Viscount Norman Weston.”

Viscount Weston squared his shoulders and quickly lowered his eyes.

“Ah, Lord Weston. I should apologize as well. Since I have caught a reputable person.”

“No, absolutely not!”

Viscount Weston quickly shook his head, even placing both hands desperately in front of him.

“We have been ignorant and committed a great blunder. Please show us mercy.”

Just a moment ago, Viscount Weston seemed as if he could devour a person, but now he prostrated himself. After realizing that I was Duchess Wheaton, he apologized with great difficulty, pouring out an apology that was equally difficult to hear.

“Then, are you admitting your mistakes?”

“Yes. We failed to see ahead properly and brought disgrace upon the Madam. It is all our fault.”

“We apologize. We will make sure such a thing never happens again.”

Viscountess Weston also apologized with a polite attitude completely different from before. I could see that she was trying her best to ease my mind.

But I can’t be satisfied with such a lukewarm apology. Moreover, I couldn’t help but feel extremely annoyed at the thought that if I were not Duchess Wheaton but a commoner or a noble with a lower status than them, they would not have come forward in such a subservient posture.

I held Lily’s arm behind me and pulled her forward.

“Our Lily seems very surprised. It’s disheartening to see our beloved child, who I cherish like a younger sister, caught up in such contemplation.”

The Western couple, who understood the meaning behind my words, hesitated. It seemed inappropriate to apologize to the commoner Lily. But as I stood beside them, they helplessly lowered their heads.

“I… I’m sorry.”

I think I can hear the grinding sound from up here. Swallowing my laughter, I called the waiter who was looking at me with a helpless expression,.

“You should apologize to this person too.”

“What?”

The faces of the couple slightly frowned.

“In fact, he was the most surprised. Oh, by the way, are you okay when you collided?”

The stammering waiter quickly nodded.

“I-I’m fine.”

“But just in case, it’s better to go to the hospital. Look at your pounding heart. You were really shocked.”

Under my pressure, the Western couple bit their lips and apologized.

“I’m sorry.”

“Oh, no, it’s okay.”

The bewildered waiter quickly lowered his head. I smiled inwardly and raised my hand, holding up my dress.

“By the way, the Duke gave me this dress with great care. This dress was a gift from the Duke, and now that it’s ruined, I don’t know what to do with it…….”

It was a lie. Diart certainly had no idea that I had such a dress. However, the face of the Western couple, as they heard my words, became utterly miserable.

“I, I apologize. I will somehow get the exact same thing.”

“But it’s made to order, so can you really get the same thing? Besides, even if you get the same dress, you can’t convey the same meaning. The dress chosen by the Duke himself, there’s only one.”

“Well, then…”

“Well, since it can’t be helped at this point, I’ll explain it to the Duke.”

I pretended to be considerate and spoke.

“But if we go back like this, the Duke will surely ask what happened…”

“If it’s alright with you, how about visiting the Remedia’s Tailor Shop in front? I heard they have many great new arrivals, and I really want to give my wife a set as a gift.”

The viscount pleaded with an eager face. It seemed as though he was afraid of the penalties he would suffer for being disliked by the Wheatons. I nodded my head as if I couldn’t resisst.

“If Lord Weston says so, I gratefully accept. Oh dear. My hair is soaked too…”

“I, I heard the hair salon next to the tailor shop is good, why don’t we visit there too?”

“Oh, by the way, Lily’s dress also got a splash of iced tea…”

“In that case, let’s buy one more outfit for her.”

“Oh, and the shop assistant’s shoes here are also sticky.”

“I will buy the shop assistant’s shoes too.”

“All the desserts got wet… I didn’t even have a bite, it’s a shame.”

“I will order new ones.”

“Come to think of it, we caused trouble for the customers in the cafe as well.”

“I will pay for all the tables here.”

“Are you sure?”

I grinned. The Viscount let out a small sigh, as if it was finally over. I looked at his face and added lightly.

“The floor and chairs were soaked with iced tea. Will you compensate for the damage caused to the store?”

Life is a battlefield, you bastard.

* * *

“Sorry, ma’am.”

I turned my head at Lily’s small voice, humming a tune and looking out the carriage window.

“Huh? What is it?”

Contrary to my excitement that hinted at satisfying my own desires, Lily had an utterly dejected expression.

“I should have stepped forward first, but I didn’t think about it in my confusion. I inadvertently caused you trouble, ma’am. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. It could happen. It’s the fault of the insolent viscount couple who tried to pick on people in the first place. No need to worry about it.”

“But I couldn’t properly protect you as your personal attendant.”

I laughed bitterly as I looked at Lily, who was barely seventeen. It pained me to see her like this, constantly being cautious like an older person, at an age when she should be playing with her friends.

“It’s okay. Instead of that, think about where to wear the new dress.”

When I gestured towards the dress box resting on Lily’s knees, she caressed the box with her hands. Lily pursed her lips for a long moment, as if she wanted to say something, but then she spoke cautiously.

“During the past few days, the madam has been a bit unfamiliar.”

“Yes?”

“You don’t seem like the woman I’m used to seeing. It’s like I’m seeing someone else.”

Cough. I desperately held back the urge to cough here because it feels like my leg would go numb if I do. Lily was looking at me with confused eyes.

“W-Wha-What’s wr-wrong?”

“Just now at the café, I naturally thought you would scold the waiter. But you scolded the viscount and viscountess instead. Then you made them apologize to me and the waiter. You even used a polite tone with the waiter.”

“W-Why is that?”

“If you were your usual self, you would never do that. So, I mean…”

Lily paused for a moment, pondering her words.

“Because you’re sensitive to hierarchy.”

…In other words, there was no difference between me and the viscount couple?

“And when we were leaving the café, you told the owner not to fire the waiter.”

Both the café owner and Lily seemed to have understood my words: ‘The waiter is kind and serves the tea well, so I hope to see him again.’

“You didn’t scold me properly either. Just a few days ago, you scolded me for a similar incident…”

“Well…”

I couldn’t think of any excuses to make. What if I’m strangely suspected of suddenly becoming a different person?

“You really seem like a different person.”

This maltese, who was trembling like a leaf, surprisingly has sharp instincts, doesn’t she?

I snapped my fingernail in anxiety.

“I’m already twenty, so I should be more mature.”

“……You’re twenty-two.”

Ah, right. I quickly corrected myself, remembering age was one of the few things I didn’t care to recall about Roeni.

“Yeah, twenty-two. It was just a slip of the tongue. Anyway, now that I’ve reached an age where I should grow up, maybe I should change a bit.”

Lily silently stared at the dress box for a moment. I was anxious about what she would say. After a while, her trusting gaze reassured me.

“I like you much better as you are now. You’re very kind.”

Her expression held affection toward me. I wondered what I had done to deserve such kindness, but for now, I was relieved. I looked at Lily, who was smiling brightly at me, and smiled back.