“It’s been a while, Madame Louvre. As you can see, my brother came with me today.”

While she addressed Aisha with a warm familiarity, Madame Louvre greeted Edward with perfect formality. A few found this contrast curious, but her ability to adjust her manner and speech to suit each client’s preference was widely praised. As expected, neither Aisha nor Edward showed the slightest sign of displeasure, and they followed her toward a private room reserved for special patrons.

“Please, make yourselves comfortable. I’ve ordered tea to be brought in.”

The room she led them to was spacious, with multiple full-length mirrors for viewing dresses and plenty of open space before them. In front of the mirrors hung floor-to-ceiling curtains, so a customer could change and immediately step out to present the outfit to their party. Aisha’s gaze lingered briefly on the dresses hanging behind the half-drawn curtain before turning to the tea being set before her.

“Please, have some. It may not be what you drink at the count’s estate, but it’s a tea I’ve been saving.”

With a graceful gesture toward the cups, Madame Louvre brought over several swatches of fabric and sheets of design sketches. As Aisha lifted her tea, her eyes drifted to the sketches, prompting Madame Louvre to speak.

“I’ve been worried my sense might be slipping, since you haven’t visited for some time—but when I heard you’d be coming today, I was delighted.”

“It must have been rather sudden notice. Thank you for the warm welcome. I heard you’d received Levant’s blue fabric, so I thought I’d have a few summer dresses made.”

“I’ve already set aside pieces especially for you. But—might the young lord also be in need of anything? I was only told of the young lady’s dresses, but just in case, I’ve prepared designs for gentlemen’s wear as well.”

“I’m fine. I came today to see this child’s dresses, so there’s no need to bother with me.”

At Edward’s answer, Madame Louvre nodded and spread the dress designs across the table. The sketches showed not only the styles but also the fabric types, colors, and matching accessories in meticulous detail.

“You’ve put great care into these… There are so many, it’s hard to choose.”

“Your dresses are the pride of my shop, my lady. From myself to my junior designers, each of us creates designs just for you at least once a month.”

At that, Edward’s expression brightened more than Aisha’s. Loosening his previously stiff posture, he began to consider whether the shop might be worth investing in.

Whether her brother had such thoughts or not, Aisha continued reviewing the designs, stating her preferences as Madame Louvre carefully wrote them down and gave various instructions to the attendant at her side.

It was a full two hours before the order was finalized. Madame Louvre suggested that Aisha try on a few dresses already prepared, but Aisha only smiled faintly and declined. The dresses behind the curtain were cut for summer—baring the neck and chest—and she could easily imagine her brother’s reaction. She felt a twinge of regret at Madame Louvre’s crestfallen expression, but really, she had no patience for a lecture.

“I’ll send them over as soon as they’re finished.”

“Thank you for your attention.”

“Think nothing of it. Please visit again soon. Or if you prefer, I’ll come to your home myself.”

As the siblings rose to leave, Madame Louvre escorted them out with the same courtesy she had shown on their arrival. But just as they neared the door, she clapped her hands as though recalling something she’d forgotten.

“Ah! That reminds me—Levant has developed another variety of blue fabric, and I haven’t shown it to you yet. It arrived just this morning. Since you’re here, would you like to take a look? The color is lighter than the original, giving it a much cooler impression.”

“So there’s another kind of Levant’s blue fabric now?”

“You probably haven’t heard. Only my shop and a few others have received any. It hasn’t been officially released for sale, and the quality is so good that other shops are keeping quiet about it.”

“That’s valuable information. I’ll have to keep an eye on the Levant fabric market for a while. But why the sudden creation of a new product?”

“It’s been ten years since Levant’s blue fabric first came out… There’s still no other blue that can surpass it, but relying on the same product alone was bound to lose its edge eventually. Other places have improved their techniques, producing unique fabrics of their own, so Levant has felt the need to respond.”

A new fabric from Levant was well worth seeing. When Aisha nodded and turned toward the couch, Edward, who had been quietly waiting, called to her.

“Aisha.”

“Mm?”

“…I’ll go outside and check on the carriage.”

His sheepish expression made Aisha laugh before she realized it. Unlike their second brother Daniel, Edward hadn’t complained, so she hadn’t noticed he was bored—but even the patient eldest brother seemed to have reached his limit. Nodding, she told him,

“All right. I’ll be out soon. Just wait a little.”

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

‘It’s completely different from ordering at home. No wonder Daniel hated it.’

Seated in the carriage, Edward found himself shaking his head without thinking. Even for someone with his patience, sitting in a dress shop was tiring work. On top of that, the strong, distinctive scent of the fabrics was almost overpowering—different from the ink he smelled every day, but just as likely to bring on a headache.

‘Looks like lunch will be a bit late today.’

Checking the time with the watch he took from his pocket, Edward leaned back into the seat and closed his eyes. The street outside was noisy with the usual crowds, but he thought it might not be so bad to rest his eyes until his sister returned.

But just as he began to drift, the shop door opened, followed by the sound of several footsteps.

“Did you see? That was Aisha Parden inside, wasn’t it?”

“It was. Honestly, the nerve… If it were me, I’d be too ashamed to even show my face in public.”

At the sound of his sister’s name through the open carriage window, Edward’s eyes snapped open. The tone alone told him the conversation was nothing good. He moved to the curtain over the carriage window and peered outside.

Three young women were walking in his direction. Their chatter grew clearer as they approached, and Edward strained to catch their words.

“What are you talking about? Is there something I don’t know?”

“Oh, Lady Rena, you haven’t heard yet? It’s about Lady Aisha Parden—her engagement to the Marquess of Lloyd has been called off.”

“What? But they knew each other since childhood… Now that you mention it, they were always about to be engaged but never actually announced it. Something must have happened.”

“Since you don’t know, let me tell you… Apparently Lady Aisha Parden behaved disgracefully with several men. The rumor is that the Marquess found out and refused the engagement.”

“My, how scandalous.”

Edward’s face grew darker as he listened. The women, unaware that he could hear them, went on chattering, waiting for a hired carriage, their talk still centered on rumors about Aisha.

After leaving the dress shop, Edward took Aisha to a well-known restaurant. Yet throughout the meal, his expression remained oddly unsettled.

When the staff cleared their plates and brought out tea and dessert, Aisha, who had noticed, hesitated before speaking.

“Brother, is something wrong?”

“Hm? What makes you say that all of a sudden?”

“It’s just… your face looks a little dark.”

“Ah… I was just thinking about work for a moment. Anyway, they’ve brought your favorite—strawberry cake. Go on, have some.”

Edward shook his head with a smile, but inside, a blazing ball of anger sat heavy in his chest.

‘…So those kinds of rumors are going around, are they?’

The young ladies who had been spreading vile gossip about Aisha were people whose faces Edward didn’t even recognize. Serving at the crown prince’s side, he had naturally learned to identify many nobles and their families. If even he did not know them, it likely meant they did not belong to any prominent house.

‘If they’re from nameless families, finding where it started won’t be easy.’

Upon arriving at the restaurant, Edward had quietly instructed the coachman to deliver a note to Madame Louvre’s dress shop. In it, he described the three young ladies who had left earlier and asked who they were. Madame Louvre would hardly let such notable customers slip away without remembering them; she was sure to reply.

‘Whoever they are, they’ll pay for this.’

Watching Aisha eat her cake, Edward raised his teacup to hide the way his jaw clenched. Normally, he had little interest in whatever rumors might be circulating in the gossip-ridden world of high society. But if his own younger sister was the target of such filth, that was an entirely different matter.

“Aisha.”

After using the hot tea to swallow down a wave of anger, he called to her, and she lifted her face. Wearing a mask of calm, he asked,

“When you went to the Marquess of Lloyd’s estate the other day, did something happen?”

Aisha paused for a moment, then shook her head with a serene smile. The slight upward curve of her lips was natural enough, but Edward was not a man who could be fooled by the flicker in her eyes. At another time, he might have let her discomfort pass, even turned a blind eye to the lie. But not now.

Keeping his gaze fixed squarely on her lowered face, Edward continued,

“Tell me the truth. I don’t want to pressure you like Daniel does, but I’m worried about you.”

Aisha parted her lips, then closed them again. Her firmly pressed mouth held the Parden family’s characteristic stubbornness. Edward let out a quiet sigh, took another sip of tea that had cooled to a tolerable warmth, and set his expression into something stern.

But just as he was about to press her once more, Aisha’s face tightened, and her pale blue eyes began to tremble—far more than they had a moment ago.