Bella stood Charlotte before a total of six waiting mannequins and hurriedly swept the curtain shut. It would be troublesome if Raymond, who had unnecessarily discerning eyes, interfered.

“Just look at this green dress. It’s a splendid, classical dress densely embroidered with gold thread. It will bring out your elegance even more beautifully. Ah, and this blue dress suits the color of your eyes wonderfully!”

Bella explained each dress Charlotte glanced at, one by one.

No—she boasted about them.

After examining the dresses with an indifferent gaze while giving light responses for a while, Charlotte asked, “Are there no other dresses besides these?”

The muscles of Bella’s face froze into the shape of a smile.

“Ohoho… Why? Are these dresses not to your liking? These are considered the finest in our shop…”

“The dresses themselves are beautiful. But I think they feel a little too heavy for me to wear.”

“They certainly may be heavy for a delicate young lady to wear, but winter is almost here, isn’t it? If you wear a dress made from thick material like this, you’ll be able to spend the winter both warmly and beautifully.”

Charlotte’s eyes curved slightly as she said, “That isn’t what I meant. I meant that if I wore one, I would look like a child who had stolen the clothes of an elegant noblewoman.”

“Ah? I-is that so?”

Bella smiled awkwardly.

She had thought Charlotte would have no eye for such things at all, but apparently, that was not the case.

Unfortunately, getting rid of old stock was now out of the question.

But there was still a chance to sell an ordinary dress at an expensive price.

She absolutely could not let this opportunity slip away.

“Do you have a particular design in mind? I think a style that leaves the shoulders completely bare would suit you very well.”

“I’d prefer a design that doesn’t expose my back. Ah, and here too.”

Charlotte said this with her cheeks slightly flushed, placing a hand over her chest.

Bella tilted her head.

She could understand the back or shoulders, perhaps, but why the chest?

These days, dresses that cinched the waist and revealed the soft curve of the upper chest were in fashion.

“I think something a little more revealing would suit you better, miss.”

Bella said this while staring intently at Charlotte’s chest.

Charlotte answered with an awkward expression.

“I don’t like that sort of thing. I’d prefer a dress that only shows up to the collarbone.”

Since Charlotte had an innocent-looking face, that kind of dress did seem as though it would suit her.

Ha, when I see things like this, she really does seem to know nothing about fashion.

Well, preparing that sort of dress would not be difficult.

What mattered was selling it for more than its original price.

Bella nodded and brought over several dresses in the design Charlotte had requested.

“This dress was made with foreign silk. Isn’t its glossy sheen truly beautiful?”

“It is.”

Charlotte responded lightly, as she had earlier, and examined the dresses.

Among them was a dress so ornate it made her eyes ache.

The neckline is packed full of jewels, isn’t it?

My goodness.

She had never seen a dress like this in her life. She could not even begin to guess how much it cost.

But something feels strange. The sparkle of the jewels is oddly tacky and out of place.

Charlotte did not know much about jewels, but she could tell at least this much: jewels that gave off such an excessively cloudy shine were not normal.

“Beautiful, isn’t it? If you wear this dress, you’ll become the star of any party.”

“…Are these real jewels?”

Bella’s lips, which had been curved into an exaggerated smile, twitched.

She had expected the same obvious agreement Charlotte had been giving until now, but now she was asking if they were real jewels?

If she asked like that, Bella had no choice but to answer…

“They’re artificial jewels from Grasian. They sparkle like the real thing, but they are still a little lacking, aren’t they?”

“Ah… So there are things like that. I’ve never heard of them before.”

Wait, she did not even know about artificial jewels, yet she asked whether they were real?

This young lady does have an eye for goods.

Unfortunately, selling cheap goods at an expensive price seemed impossible.

In that case, Bella had no choice but to sell a high-quality dress for more than its proper price.

“Let’s go with this silk dress! Only one was made this season. No matter where you go, you won’t meet anyone wearing a dress similar to yours.”

“So it’s a special dress that stands out.”

“Of course. It’s very special!”

Charlotte turned her head and touched the simplest beige dress.

“I’ll take this dress.”

“What?! What about the silk dress?!”

“I think there will be someone who suits that one better than I do. And I don’t particularly like standing out.”

When comparing selling something splendid at a high price and selling something ordinary at a high price, the former naturally earned far more money.

Bella forced herself to swallow the urge to tear at her own hair and said, “This dress is too simple… If you insist on choosing this one, how about adding some decoration? For example…”

She hurriedly brought over a basket filled with various kinds of lace.

“How about this? It’s vertical lace. Just adding this to the hem or sleeves will bring the whole atmosphere to life.”

“Oh my, how pretty. Then how much would it be?”

“It would take about three yards, so around three hundred cell?”

“Three hundred cell?”

Charlotte’s eyes widened.

Bella assumed she would naturally say it was expensive or something of the sort.

But then…

“Is that all?”

Bella’s eyes trembled.

That all?

Three hundred cell was the price of most dresses. It was by no means a small amount of money. Could this young lady, contrary to her appearance, be tremendously wealthy?

“A dress with lace of this quality for three hundred cell…”

“Ah, you misunderstood. No. That is only the price of the lace. Including the dress, it would be six hundred eighty cell.”

“Ah…”

Charlotte gave a small exclamation and gently stroked the fabric of the dress.

“Of course it couldn’t possibly be three hundred cell. It’s such a beautiful dress. But six hundred eighty cell is a burdensome price.”

“Oh my. Don’t worry about money. That gentleman said anything you wanted would be fine!”

“I see. But by my sense of finances, I can’t understand spending three hundred cell on lace.”

Charlotte lowered the ends of her brows and looked troubled.

“The vertical lace I’ve used when having dresses made until now was about forty cell per yard. Ah, of course, the lace here must be more expensive because it uses a special technique.”

The price Charlotte had just named was exactly the market price.

“And I thought the dress itself would be around two hundred cell…”

That, too, was exactly the market price.

Because her face was unfamiliar, Bella had naturally assumed she was from elsewhere. So how did she know the local prices so well?

“I’m sorry. I don’t think I’ll be able to make a purchase.”

Bella hurriedly said, “You’re worrying about the gentleman’s pocket, I see. That is a fine virtue. But there’s no need to worry about the price. As I said earlier, Mr. Bayen said he would indulge you in anything you wanted. He rented out our entire dress shop, so would a purchase of this amount really be a problem? I’m sure he’ll be satisfied as long as you accept it happily!”

“Mm. The problem is that I’m not confident I can accept it happily. Because it isn’t my money being spent, I feel even more conscious and cautious about it. I suppose you could say I’d feel too weighed down to accept it.”

“Ah…”

“You kindly advised me, so I’m sorry to leave without buying anything. Still, since Mr. Bayen paid the rental fee for today, I suppose I’m not simply causing trouble and leaving empty-handed, am I?”

Just as Charlotte said, Bella had already profited because Raymond had paid the rental fee.

But if she let Charlotte leave empty-handed like this, Raymond would never come to Bella’s dress shop again. He would rent out another dress shop and make his purchase there.

That absolutely could not happen!

“I-I’ll give it to you for three hundred cell.”

“Oh! No, it’s all right. There’s no need for you to take a loss because of me!”

“What loss? He even paid the rental fee. Ohoho.”

“Still, there is the original selling price…”

“Please, miss. I simply feel sorry sending you away like this!”

In the end, after Bella’s desperate pleading, Charlotte was able to have the dress made for three hundred cell.

“Thank you so very much. Please be sure to visit our Madame Bella again next time!”

Seen off with Bella’s utmost hospitality, the two of them left the dress shop.

“That ended faster than I expected.”

“Did it? I thought it took a little while.”

“How about going to a café for a cup of coffee?”

“That sounds nice.”

The two of them slowly made their way toward a café.

Raymond walked with an expressionless face and asked,

“Have you ever had a dress made in this region before?”

“Oh my, so you heard after all.”

Charlotte had thought that although Bella had drawn the curtain, it would not block out sound. That was why she had spoken carefully when discussing the dress designs earlier.

“I haven’t had one made myself, but I had Elena beside me.”

Since Charlotte had been in charge of organizing the Spencer family’s ledgers, she knew the approximate prices of the items purchased by members of the Spencer family.

“Prices for clothes vary greatly depending on the designer, but still, selling that dress for six hundred eighty cell was too much.”

Charlotte said this with a faint smile.

Earlier, while listening to the two women’s conversation, Raymond had thought this:

It seems the reason the dress is expensive lies not in its quality, but in that mouth.

He could sense it in the dress shop owner’s voice.

She was looking down on Charlotte.

Raymond regretted choosing this place without looking into it more carefully. Even if he had been short on time, still…

For now, however, he had decided to wait.

If it seemed Charlotte was being forced to buy a dress she did not want, he would step in then.

But Charlotte, whom he had expected to be flustered, maintained a gentle attitude and ultimately created the situation she wanted. When price was discussed, it was common for someone’s pride to be wounded or their mood to sour, but nothing of the sort had happened.

“Surely you aren’t upset because I lowered the price, are you? Since you had already paid the rental fee, I felt upset about making a meaningless purchase.”