The men’s quarrel was starting to feel tedious. I just sipped the tea Cedric had brought while watching their fight.

‘What’s this? Fight like men with fists or something. Both of them just have sharp tongues.’

I’m not promoting violence, but my ears are getting tired, so if they’re going to keep fighting, I wish they’d leave.

“Are you disrespecting me now!”

Jeffrey’s fist twitched. He tried to raise his arm but ended up just scratching his head, intimidated by Cedric’s imposing presence despite Cedric being taller than him.

I wonder if it would affect department store sales if our precious Cedric’s face got scratched. Is Gabrielle enjoying her shopping by now? When should I start the department store expansion construction with the recent investment? I should visit the architecture office tomorrow.

While I was lost in these thoughts, the office door quietly opened.

“I’m sorry. Our young miss kept asking for the boss, so……”

“Laura! I want to draw next to Laura!”

Gabrielle ran over and snuggled into my arms. The maid was carrying something heavy in both hands.

‘Paint, palette, brushes, and even a sketchbook. I sent her to look at accessories, but she only bought these things.’

Well, coming from the wealthy Paine family, she must have used all sorts of luxurious items, so it made sense that she wasn’t interested in accessories.

Jeffrey, who had been focused on the argument, widened his eyes.

“Wh-who is that beautiful young lady?”

True to his nature of playing around with all sorts of women, he immediately showed interest in the pretty Gabrielle.

“None of your business.”

“Ignoring a beautiful flower is not a gentleman’s virtue. Miss, what is your name?”

Jeffrey extended his hand to Gabrielle. She turned her head away, buried her face in my chest, and ignored him. Misinterpreting this action as shyness, Jeffrey let out a good-natured laugh.

“Hahaha. My name is Jeffrey Danvers. I’ll soon be a baron. I also run the Danvers textile factory.”

He always introduces himself like that whenever there’s a woman he wants to impress. Even though the textile factory is run by Jeffrey’s father, not him.

I hugged Gabrielle and waved my hand at Jeffrey, telling him to leave.

“We’ll talk again next time. I’m a bit busy now.”

When I spoke with annoyance, he misunderstood my intention again.

“Charlotte. Are you jealous now? Do you know how much I cherish you on a daily basis? All other women are insignificant compared to you.”

Yet why does his gaze keep flicking toward Gabrielle’s golden blonde hair while saying that? His words and actions don’t match at all.

“Anyway, you received the money I sent, and you personally signed the contract, so the 2% stake you had is now mine. Don’t say otherwise later, and if you want to sue, go ahead. I won’t just sit back either.”

“It seems our pretty one is upset. Anyway, since you’re busy, I’ll come back later. I’m not so narrow-minded that I can’t understand my woman’s social life. Haha.”

He laughed heartily and then winked at Gabrielle.

“Little doe, see you later.”

Cedric pushed Jeffrey’s back to send him out and closed the door. Only after confirming that Jeffrey had left the office did Gabrielle separate from me. She received the items she bought today from the maid and showed them off to me.

“These are all mine!”

“Wow. Gabrielle, you really like drawing, don’t you?”

“Yes! But paint is forbidden at home. The scary monster will scold me.”

“Monster?”

Gabrielle didn’t answer my question and hummed a tune while preparing to draw.

Maid Olive approached and whispered to me quietly.

“Miss Gabrielle hasn’t had lunch yet.”

“We’ll eat together here. If you haven’t eaten either, please eat at our cafeteria and wait while looking around the department store. Come back here around three or four o’clock to pick up Gabrielle. Cedric, please guide her.”

Cedric made a kind smile and gestured to the maid.

“The Liv Department Store cafeteria is tastier than you might expect. Let’s have a meal together and then enjoy some shopping. I’ll give you the boss’s business card, so please hand this to our employees instead of money.”

“Oh my, really?”

“Yes. Except for jewelry, clothes and various other items can be processed with the boss’s business card that has a special signature. Of course, the boss will take care of the bill later, so don’t worry. As you know, Liv Department Store aims to bring happiness to women.”

No, I just said to look around, not that I would buy things for her.

Is Cedric too good at his job, or is he high-handed and trying to get back at me?

‘Did he get upset because I didn’t take his side when he was fighting with Jeffrey?’

After glaring at the back of his head for a moment, I just sighed. Yes, I’ll be spending time like this with Gabrielle often from now on, so it would be good to make a good impression on that maid too.

I struggled to pull an object I had placed beside my desk and set it in front of Gabrielle. When I pulled off the purple velvet cloth covering it, a white mannequin was revealed.

“Big doll!”

Gabrielle clapped her hands in delight.

“Gabrielle. Would you like to draw clothes for this doll to wear? I’d like clothes that would look good on me too.”

“Laura wants to wear doll clothes?”

“Yes. I want to wear clothes that you draw.”

She grinned and busily moved her hands. Though her speech was awkward and her intelligence slightly lower, her concentration was very good. I briefly left the office and asked an employee outside.

“Could you go down to the cafeteria now and bring meals for two people? I’d also like sweet drinks and dessert.”

The kind employee complied with my request, and I thought I should quickly hire someone to be my left arm.

‘It’s really inconvenient without Cedric by my side.’

When I returned to the office, I saw Gabrielle squatting on the floor. She squeezed paint onto her new palette, mixed it, and drew with a truly joyful expression. She didn’t care that paint was getting on her hands and dress.

“Gabrielle. Doesn’t your legs hurt drawing like that? How about drawing at that desk over there?”

Gabrielle looked at my desk and shook her head left and right as if she didn’t like it.

“I’m comfortable like this.”

Peeking over her shoulder, I thought she was just roughly sketching, but surprisingly, the quality was high. With this level of quality and speed, she has tremendous talent as a commercial designer. Why did Michael keep his sister hidden away at home?

Since she seemed like she would be focused on drawing for a while, I spent time handling documents from the department store while Gabrielle drew several clothing designs. Meanwhile, an employee brought in food for two people.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

I took the food from the employee and placed it on a low table near the sofa.

“Gabrielle. Let’s have lunch. Come here.”

I sat on the sofa and patted the seat next to me, and she scurried over to sit beside me.

“Wow. Chocolate cake.”

“Do you like chocolate?”

“Yes, yes.”

Gabrielle nodded her head rapidly, but a flash of disappointment crossed her eyes for a moment.

“But I don’t deserve to eat it.”

“Why?”

“Because I haven’t done anything good. If I touch chocolate as I please, the monster will appear again and scare me.”

Her hands clutching her skirt on her knees began to tremble slightly. Yesterday and today, it’s the monster story again. I’ve heard that young children create imaginary phantoms, but I wonder what she’s so afraid of.

“You know, Gabrielle, when I was little, I was afraid that shadow monsters would come out from under my bed.”

“Has Laura seen monsters too?”

“No. I just naively believed stories my friends told me to scare me when I was young. Monsters don’t exist in this world.”

“My monster is real. It said it would come back to me for sure.”

Did she have a dream about monsters? Gabrielle’s face had turned pale.

“Then shall we make a bet?”

“A bet?”

Gabrielle’s face, tilting her head, was quite adorable. The Paine family’s looks are truly remarkable. For a moment, she looked like a very cute rabbit, and I felt the urge to put my hands on her cheeks and stretch them.

“Even if you eat this chocolate today, no monster will come to you in the evening. If one does come, I’ll buy you delicious food every day from now on. How about that?”

Gabrielle, who had gulped down her saliva, glared at the chocolate cake for quite a long time. Anyone watching would think the cake was the sworn enemy who had murdered her parents.

“Okay. I’ll trust the new Laura.”

New Laura?

Does that mean Gabrielle actually knew I wasn’t the real Laura?

She picked up the slice of cake with both hands and stuffed it into her mouth. She swallowed so urgently that I worried she might choke.

“If you want more, just say so. You can have mine too. You should chew slowly and thoroughly.”

In between bites, I wiped her hands and helped her drink fruit juice.

‘Did they restrict food in the Marquis’s household?’

I had slight suspicions of abuse. But without showing it, I smiled at her.

“Gabrielle. My name is Charlotte. Would you call me Charlotte instead of Laura from now on?”

I didn’t want to be called by my dead friend’s name anymore. Moreover, when I learned that the friend I thought was kind and on my side had actually stabbed me in the back, I became depressed remembering how I had been used.

Yes. Truth is always painful. With just one statement from Countess Roland, I felt like I was covered in dust. I went to meet angel-like Gabrielle to shake off that unpleasant feeling. Being excessively materialistic and looks-oriented, seeing pretty things calms my mind.

“……I was told I’d be punished if I forgot the name.”

“By whom?”

“The monster.”

Was this girl’s imagination excessive, or was it fear forcibly instilled when Laura was alive? Perhaps Michael himself was oppressing his sister.

“It’s okay. You can forget it now. Laura is dead, after all.”

“No she’s not……”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Gabrielle hung her head low and chewed on her chocolate-covered fingernails. I protected her hand while changing the subject.

“Let’s talk about our work now? I’m thinking of making clothes based on these designs you drew and selling them at the department store. What do you think?”

“???”

“I’m saying I’ll make these so everyone can wear them.”

“Not for dolls?”

“No. They’ll be for people to wear, not dolls.”

I gathered and tied her hair while explaining what she could do in the future.