Madame Bertin’s dressing room is located in the very center of the downtown area. Even though the rent was expensive, her dressing room took up the largest space in the building. Artistic hats and shawl fans especially stood out in the large, bright window made of glass. In addition, it was filled with fluttering lace, pretty colored ribbons, and various eye-popping accessories. Since Madame Bertin’s main customer base is high-class customers, luxury is evident throughout the clothing room. Portraits of members of the imperial family, who were the main customers of the clothing room, were hung everywhere, and the most expensive paintings by famous artists were displayed like an art museum on one side. Moreover, it is essential to have expensive furniture that even the most noble people would find difficult to buy. All of this made the dresses and accessories on display stand out even more. A lot of effort was put into the dress, and of course the price was the highest in the empire, so no one would buy her dress carelessly. However, her reputation and fashion sense were so unrivaled that all the ladies said it was her lifelong wish to try on her dresses. Madame Bertin, a self-made woman from scratch, was also famous for her confident and chic attitude. But that chicness was nowhere to be seen in Madame Bertin today. A few days ago, we announced to everyone that today was ‘closed’, and even hung a sign outside the door that said, ‘We will be closed today due to sudden circumstances.’ She gave her whole attention to her own attire, as if greeting her lover.
“Oh my god, he’s coming. He is really coming! My muse is coming, so maybe this is good. There must be not even a single speck of dust. You can’t have dust on the body of that noble person!”
Her maid, who was mopping her floor with her eyes wide open as if she could spot the dust that wasn’t there, said to her,
“Ma’am, if it flutters around like that, it looks like there will be dust that wasn’t there.”
“Oh, so? Well, no, we can’t create dust when our precious Muse comes. Oh, whatever.”
Madame Bertin, who could not contain her excitement, carefully sat down in her chair in her corner. She then looked back thoughtfully at her dress hanging on several mannequins.
“I hope he likes it…”
The person she is waiting for so impatiently is none other than Irwen Carlisle. She was the Duchess of Carlisle, whose activities have been heard recently. After seeing her once at her wedding, she was so captivated by her beauty that Madame Bertin took her as his own muse.
* * *
Pervin arrived at the mansion at exactly 2 p.m., and we took the carriage and headed downtown. He kept saying that her body was aching because of what he had been doing in the imperial palace, and he quietly put his left arm towards me. For some reason, it seemed like a hugging pose, which bothered me. However, I was more curious about the world outside the car window. It was her first time going anywhere other than the mansion since entering this world. Maybe she was excited without realizing it, but she kept shaking her hips and looking out the window. Pervin looked at me as if I was unfamiliar.
“Do you like going out like that?”
“Of course! When the weather is this nice, of course you should go outside, get some sunlight, and spend some money.”
“How could someone who loves going out so much have been stuck at home for the past four years?”
They’re going to start an argument like that again! She was about to hit him back, but the look in his eyes stopped me in place. Sharp eyes blinking lazily looked at me. Somehow, his attitude seems to have softened a bit. His tone of voice seems to have become kinder, and the way he looks at me seems somehow sweet. As she stared at him, he nervously tapped his right hand on his thigh. My gaze immediately turned to his middle finger. He seemed to have been injured by something and was wrapped in a large bandage.
“Where are you hurt? What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing.”
Pervin hastily covered his fingers. He was surprised and walked closer to me. I was worried without knowing that I was getting a wound on a body that didn’t seem to allow even a single wound.
“Look, I see you’re hurt a lot.”
“I said you don’t have to worry about it.”
As soon as he put his arm around me, Pervin began to run away from me. Hiding his fingers, he walked towards the window. I don’t know why, but his face turned pale. I walked closer to him.
“Let me show you. If you are seriously injured, you can go home and get some rest. I can go to the dressing room by myself.”
“That’s not possible, I have to keep my promise.”
The moment I approached him to snatch his right hand. He twisted his body and tried to avoid it. Shake! At that moment, the carriage shook violently, as if it had been hit by a rock. As I was reaching for his right hand, I lost my balance and started shaking. I thought I was going to fall backwards, but Pervin grabbed my waist and pulled me towards him. When he put pressure on the swollen middle finger of his right hand and pulled me towards him, he gritted his teeth as if he was enduring the pain. When the carriage regained stability, I straightened up and took his right hand.
“Look at this, it hurts.”
The bandage was tied so tightly around the middle finger that I couldn’t undo it, but when I lifted it up a little, I could clearly see the teeth marks inside… Teeth marks? Why? I came to the most logical conclusion I could.
“Were you bitten by an animal?”
He answered after a moment of thought.
“…no.”
“Are you lying?”
“I heard you weren’t bitten.”
“So you’re saying you bit yourself?”
For some reason, his eyes seemed to be shaking greatly, and he hastily changed his words. It was suspicious that he was embarrassed.
“Now that I think about it, I think I was bitten by an animal like you said.”
“If you subdue an animal, you subdue it, but I don’t think you’re the kind of person who’s going to get bitten.”
“It was an accident that happened without me knowing.”
He ended his sentence firmly, as if trying to end the conversation. Then he bluntly tried to take his hand away from me. But I was so worried that I couldn’t let go of his hand. What if you were bitten by a crazy dog? Are people in this world not aware of rabies? If you want to receive a vacation home as alimony in the future, this person must live a healthy life. As we walked closer to him, our thighs bumped close together next to each other.
“Are you sure this treatment was done properly?”
“I did it.”
When I gave him advice by fiddling with his fingers, he surprisingly stayed still. He was still clenching his teeth as if he was holding back something.
“You don’t want any germs getting into the wound, and you have to keep it clean at all times. By the way, are you really not going back home? I can go to the dressing room by myself.”
“Why do you keep thinking about getting rid of me?”
“That’s because I’m worried.”
“I’m fine, don’t worry. We’ll go together, so don’t even think about taking it off.”
“Then, after going to the dressing room, I take off the bandage at home and disinfect it again.”
Pervin listened quietly without answering, then looked at me intently. Suddenly he came closer to me. It seemed somehow unfair.
“Do you know that this is all because of you?”
“Why are you making excuses about me? “Tell me honestly, so I can know.”
I stepped forward as if to interrogate him. Pervin curled his lips, then dropped his gaze to my lips. He couldn’t find where the leisurely feeling he had felt when he first got on the carriage had gone. His friendly face soon turned red as if he were angry.
“I can’t tell you.”
“Tell me, what have you done for me? What did you do?”
“…It was ridiculous.”
He blushed and gritted his teeth. I couldn’t understand why I was so nervous. The area under his eyes darkened as if he was tired.
“You are the one who did something ridiculous. I know you are the best warrior in the empire, so it makes sense for you to be bitten by an animal… oh!”
In an instant, Pervin grabbed my hand and pulled it into his shirt. The shirt, which was slightly open, soon had its buttons ripped off. My hand entered the gap and met his very hot chest.
Kuk-kung, kuk-kung.
I retracted my fingers that were between his chest, but he instead clasped my hands and pressed them to his chest. Pervin stared at me with intensely bloodshot eyes.
“So, does this make sense? Irwen, does it make sense for your heart to beat abnormally like this? Do you know why I’m doing this right now?”
“How do I know that? I am not a doctor like Dr. Dompari.”
“This is all because of you.”
“Why is it because of me?”
Instead of answering, he lazily lowered his eyes and pressed me. It was as if his eyes were tying me down, and I felt a strong tension that made my heart pound. That time when I tried to release the tension that was constricting my heart over and over again. Pervin came out and made gentle eye contact.
“Isn’t it natural for a husband to be passionate about his wife?”
* * *
Pervin gazed intently into Irwen’s blue eyes. She finally said it. His heart for Irwen began to beat again. Although she wasn’t expecting a friendly response from her, she had already spoken her true feelings without even realizing it. She had no choice but to do so. Irwen felt new, as if she had become a different person, and at times, she was quirky, and she loved every moment of it. It was the first time he had shown interest in her, and the first time he was worried that her wounds were fading away. His heart was pounding so hard that his wife had changed everything about her. I wanted to tell you that I love you, but I wanted to save those words for now. Because she didn’t want to burden him and her new wife with whom she was starting a relationship. However, he could not hide that the more he thought about Irwen, the more affectionate and sweet her eyes became. That’s when I aligned my pale green eyes with Irwen’s walls. She asked him as if she was truly worried about Irwen.
“If… Arrhythmia?”
“What?”
“Is there something wrong with your heart?”
Pervin was taken aback by her thoughtful answer. Isn’t it too absurd to be absurd? How can you interpret that statement like this? She added, pressing his chest as if she was truly worried.
“Taking care of your health is also my duty as a wife, so tell me honestly. Is there any problem with your heart?”
“It’s a problem because I’m too healthy, and it’s a problem because I’m suffering at night…”
At that time, the carriage slowly began to stop, and suddenly someone stuck his face next to the window.
“Sir, please excuse me for a moment.”
It seemed like the coachman had come down to let us know that our destination was approaching. He quickly looked away, feeling like his throat was clogged and he didn’t know what to do.
“I’m sorry, master. We’ll be arriving at the dressing room soon… Just keep doing what you’re doing.”
Whoosh, the coachman climbed to his seat. Apparently, what he saw was her putting her hand into her own chest. Irwen’s eyes wavered as if she was embarrassed.
“Oh, really. Quickly let go of my hand.”
Pervin smiled gracefully at her and took her hand out of his embrace. But she still held her hand. Even though her wife was calm and resentful of her confession, she held her hand tightly for no reason. It’s weird, and it doesn’t have any tact. In the past, it was difficult to deal with because I was too sensitive, but now it seems difficult because every moment is new. How should I approach her to win her heart? I wanted to tell her right away that I loved her, but I was worried that she might be afraid of me and fly away. She was afraid of going back to her old relationship. I want to move on from her cold past to her future where I will love her. Irwen, who was holding her hand, opened her eyes round and waved her hand as if to tell her to let go.
“Yes? Why aren’t you letting go?”
The look on his wife’s face made him look like he was fine with the world, but he was only wronged by himself. Pervin lowered his hands to her own thighs.
“You said it was your job to check on my health, right? So can I just touch your breasts? Why don’t you touch other places too?”
“Pervin, what’s wrong? There’s a coachman over there. Is it really like this?”
“Well, what do you think?”
He said something shameless that had never been said before.
“Couples usually live by touching each other.”
* * *
Even though it got weird, it got really weird. They ask you to check if your heart is beating, and since you are seriously worried that it is an arrhythmia, you ask them to feel it in other places as well. slap! Finally, after I slapped his hand away, he let go of my hand. It clicked against the window far away from him. A heavy silence passed for a while. I could clearly feel Pervin’s gaze staring at me from behind. Outside the window, a large store that seemed to occupy an entire building began to appear. I deliberately exaggerated my admiration.
“…Oh my, look over there. It’s a really big dressing room.”
A large clothing room with full glass that provides a clear view of the entire store. The sight of gorgeous dresses displayed on mannequins in a row caught the attention of many ladies walking down the street. But it was really strange. There are no customers in such a large dressing room, and there is only one woman sitting there shaking her feet. Pervin looked over the carriage and told me. He, too, seemed to have regained her composure.
“There, that’s where we’re going.”
“Madame Bertin’s dressing room? But why is there no one there?”
“Well, seeing as Her Majesty uses it, it doesn’t seem like it’s unpopular. There are so many dresses like that. So, I rented out the entire store.”
I looked at him, surprised by his words. Lease out the entire store? That whole day? Eventually we got off the carriage. Pervin held out his hand for me, whose long dress was in trouble.
“No, I can get off by myself. Oh!”
The center of his body shook as he rejected his hand and tried to get off on his own. I had underestimated that I could handle the skimpy dresses here. But the man’s hand firmly supports my waist. Pervin looked at me with concern, but when I looked at him, his eyes instantly turned cold. It was as if he didn’t want to be caught worrying about me.
“So you should have listened to me.”
“I’ll admit that.”
Pervin withdrew his hand from supporting my waist. As we entered, Madame Bertin stood up like a spring and welcomed us.
“His Royal Highness the Duke of Carlisle, and the Duchess of Carlisle. Nice to meet you, I am Isabelle Bertin, usually called Madame Bertin. I am honored to hear from you.”
When I looked around, it was really full of dresses and all kinds of accessories. In particular, just looking at the dresses on the five mannequins gave off a strong feeling that they were expensive. A white dress with individual jewels embroidered on it, a purple dress with a delicate feel that took months to embroider, etc. Pervin glanced at me and then left the matter to Madame Bertin.
“Next week’s ball at the imperial palace will be her wife’s debutante. Of course, four years later, that word is no longer correct.”
“All right. Isabel Bertin, on the honor of my name, I will make the Duchess a society princess!”
“No, I don’t need to be a princess…”
“Then we’ll make you the queen of society!”
Madame Bertin swore to me with ecstatic eyes.
“Actually, there are clothes that I designed in anticipation of this day coming. The moment I saw the Duchess at the wedding, I was so inspired. “She was willing to show the Duchess if she were going to the ball, but she didn’t have the chance, so I was disappointed.”
An embarrassed expression naturally appeared. But Madame Bertin just looked thrilled.
“But as expected, whoever holds on wins! After holding on for four years, the day has finally come when your wife shows her face at her ball! Would you like to take a look at the dress, madam? No, should I get the Duke’s permission first? Usually when her husband comes with her, he looks at her clothes and shares her tastes.”
Pervin waved his hand as if he was tired of her momentum.
“I don’t have much interest or knowledge in women’s clothes, so you take care of it yourself.”
“All right. Then, Duchess, please come here.”
I was overwhelmed by her talkativeness and just nodded her head. Still, she couldn’t help the anticipation rising in her heart. Because she felt like she was a princess in a fairy tale.
* * *
The day of the prom. Amidst the nobles invited to the imperial palace ball, they enter one after another. Near the end, a golden carriage with ornate patterns engraved on it arrived in front of the imperial palace. Pervin, dressed in black uniform, stepped gracefully from her carriage. And then he firmly held the woman’s hand as she got out of her carriage. The woman in her golden shoes and long red dress with her arms out was so beautiful that she stole the attention of the servants who were organizing the surroundings. Of course, they all turned their eyes to Pervin’s harsh gaze. Pervin took Irwen’s hand and placed her safely on the ground. Irwen, who was wearing high heels to highlight her beautiful legs, stumbled slightly. Pervin indifferently held her waist tightly. He frowned at her, slightly displeased with her Irwen outfit. Against the bright red background of her newly bloomed roses, the dress, designed as if hanging around her neck, left her back open and part of her breasts exposed as well. Of course, the exposure of other ladies and ladies who attended the ball was even more severe than this, but Pervin ignored that. This dress, which she said she made only with Irwen in mind, was also in Irwen’s heart. While looking at Irwen with her black hair loosely braided to one side, Pervin’s eyes turned to her bare skin. Pervin tossed Irwen’s hair to one side.
“Do it like this.”
Irwen’s eyes sparkled as if asking why he was like this.
“Why do you care so much? At one point, you said you weren’t interested in my clothes.”
“What husband doesn’t care about his wife?”
Pervin blushed slightly and guided her hand. His back, as if he was heading not to the banquet hall but to the enemy camp, looked like a wolf with all its fur up.
—————————————————————
Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on December, 12.
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