“I’m not in a position to intervene, but if I may say something. First of all, not everything in the mansion belongs to you, Lady. Even if you thought the clothes were discarded, you should have sought permission.”
“That’s… I really thought they were being thrown away.”
“Yes. That misunderstanding is your mistake. It was your poor judgment, Lady.”
“So, are you saying I should take off this dress right now? Then I’ll…”
“You can simply buy one here and wear it. This place sells ready-made clothes as well.”

When I pointed to the dresses on one side of the boutique, Chloe stopped crying and immediately looked at them. The clothes I pointed to weren’t dresses but simple ready-to-wear outfits suitable for casual outings or receiving guests at home.

“But buying unnecessary clothes is wasteful.”
“It’s not wasteful if you wear them multiple times. If you truly think it’s wasteful, I’ll gift you one.”
“Oh.”
“That one in the middle, the brown one. Let’s give her that. And make sure to repackage the dress she’s wearing properly.”
“How can a noblewoman walk around in such clothes? This shopping district is frequented only by nobles, so one must dress appropriately. If I wear something like that, I’ll be looked down upon.”

“……”

In other words, Chloe was implying that wearing those clothes would tarnish her image as a noblewoman. She seemed to believe that nobles should always wear extravagant custom-made dresses.

But not all nobles wore such elaborate dresses in every situation. Even now, I was dressed in light casual wear, and so was Flaria.

In fact, Chloe’s outfit—complete with an inconveniently heavy dress, high heels, and excessive jewelry—seemed strange to the people around her in the boutique.

“So, are you planning to keep wearing someone else’s clothes without permission?”
“That’s not it, but… if Flaria could just understand a little.”
“You made the mistake, Lady, and yet you expect Flaria to understand?”

How odd. The Chloe I had read about in the novel would have apologized tearfully and changed into one of those ready-made outfits. Why was she so adamantly refusing this time?

“Well… I’ve lived as a commoner, and this is the first time I’ve worn a dress like this. I didn’t know I was part of the Ducal Family, so I’ve never had the chance to wear such beautiful dresses until now.”
“Ha, so you stole my dress? Now that I think about it, I clearly saw that dress in the dressing room earlier today. But to say it was discarded? That’s ridiculous. Who would throw away a dress like this? Do you know how much the gems on it are worth?”

Finally, Flaria seemed to recall everything and stepped forward. She lifted the hem of the dress Chloe was wearing, revealing her shoes, which had been hidden under the long skirt.

“Even the shoes are mine. And this necklace, too. You’ve been using my dressing room entirely, like a sneaky little mouse.”

Unable to respond to Flaria’s words, Chloe suddenly collapsed to the floor and began sobbing loudly.

“Father told you to treat me well. So why are you doing this? Sisters can share clothes, can’t they? Isn’t this too much? Why won’t you acknowledge me as part of the family?”

Chloe’s voice grew louder, clearly intending for everyone to hear her grievances.

“You don’t like that I’ve come here, do you? That’s why you’re treating me so hostilely, isn’t it? What is it? Is it because Father loved my mother more? Or are you jealous because he loves me? But that doesn’t mean you have to humiliate me like this.”

Who was the one truly in the wrong?

Chloe didn’t seem to understand the concept of self-reflection. Instead, she was twisting everything to make it seem like Flaria was acting out of jealousy.

Now, the gazes of the people around us were blatantly focused on this scene.

“Ha. This is so embarrassing.”

Flaria turned her head, showing no desire to engage with Chloe any further.

Since Flaria was holding back, I raised my voice in her stead.

“Of course. For a noble lady, dresses, shoes, and jewelry are all considered property. No matter how close you are as sisters, those things aren’t shared without permission. And yet, you took them without asking, Lady. That’s a rude act. Even if you didn’t know, now that you do, you should apologize.”

Chloe looked at me with resentment in her eyes and subtly glanced around to gauge the reactions of others.

All the nobles in the boutique were glaring at Chloe with hostility, whispering amongst themselves.

“I’m sorry… I acted that way because I thought we were family. I’ll return the dress and shoes. You’ve worn such clothes since you were young, but this is all new to me. I hope you can understand.”

Noticing that public opinion wasn’t in her favor, Chloe stood in front of Flaria, bowed her head deeply, and began to cry.

Her behavior, asking for Flaria’s understanding while only justifying her own actions, sent shivers down my spine. I couldn’t believe this was the same Chloe who was the protagonist in the novel.

‘Was someone like her really the heroine?’

Well, the novel was always told from Chloe’s perspective, just as she only ever considered her own position.

***

After apologizing to Flaria, Chloe couldn’t suppress her frustration.

Her only dress had been dirtied after visiting the imperial palace yesterday, making it unwearable. She couldn’t very well leave the house in her nightgown.

That’s why she had borrowed an outfit she thought would suit Flaria the least.

But to be accused of theft and humiliated over something as trivial as property?

Chloe resented Espin and Flaria for criticizing her without understanding her situation. If she thought about it, everything here should have been hers. After all, she was the eldest daughter of the Ameron Ducal Family.

Flaria had been treated as the only noble lady of the family in her absence, receiving all kinds of privileges. Yet, they humiliated her over a single dress.

Unable to stop her tears, Chloe moved as far away from Flaria and Espin as possible.

Truthfully, she wanted to leave the boutique immediately, but this was the most popular boutique in the capital, and having a dress made here was her dream.

The embarrassment would only last a moment, but the dress would last forever.

Finally managing to stop her tears, Chloe was approached by a staff member.

“This tea will help calm you down.”

The staff member carefully placed a teacup in front of her, their gentle demeanor lifting Chloe’s spirits. This was the kind of treatment she hadn’t received until a few days ago.

“Are you here to look at dresses today?”
“Yes.”
“May I ask what occasion the dress is for?”
“For the imperial banquet.”
“Shall I show you some designs?”

The boutique staff brought over several catalogs and opened them.

“This one looks nice. Oh, this one too. Ah, and this one as well.”

As Chloe browsed through the dresses, her earlier tears seemed to vanish, and her excitement grew. She could finally choose the kind of dresses she had always dreamed of.

Her hand stopped on a page featuring a particularly extravagant dress. The intricate design, adorned with small gemstones across the shoulders, seemed perfect for showing off her neckline.

“I’ll go with this one.”

It was a dress that anyone would recognize as belonging to the main character.

Just as the Crown Prince had said, Chloe would be the star of the upcoming imperial banquet. As the Empire’s new noble lady and the Crown Prince’s partner, all eyes would be on her.

It was a design that suited her perfectly.

“Which color would you like?”
“This color. The yellow one.”

It was the same golden hue as the Crown Prince’s hair.