“It seems you’re treating practice as if it’s the real thing, my lady.”
His voice was as calm and flat as ever, but I could tell.
He was deliberately trying to tease me.
As proof, Ian Cloud’s face looked subtly displeased, quite the opposite of his indifferent tone.
‘So, should I really go on a date with you? I’m not even Diana.’
I wanted to say that, but…
It was true that I had gotten carried away on this outing after such a long time, so instead of arguing back, I awkwardly cleared my throat.
“Ahem, should we head back now?”
I glanced at the servants, who looked rather tired, and asked Ian.
However, instead of the expected agreement, Ian just stared at me with an unreadable expression.
It seemed like his gaze briefly fell to my feet.
“Let’s stop by one more place.”
He handed the bags he was carrying to the servants and instructed them to load them into the carriage.
Then he approached me and extended his hand.
“Where to?”
Now? Just the two of us?
Despite my puzzled reaction, Ian didn’t seem to think any further explanation was necessary; he just kept holding out his hand.
Why was he acting like this all of a sudden after just trailing behind like a keychain?
In confusion, I took his hand, and Ian led me somewhere.
We walked a bit away from the central square, and I came to a sudden stop in front of a shop.
“…Why here?”
It was a large shoe store.
Seeing the flashy shoe-shaped sign hanging in front of the three-story building, I realized immediately.
This was the very shoe store that had led the fashion trends of the Levant Empire until Diana established herself in the capital.
It was said that the store had been passed down through three generations of master craftsmen.
Maybe that’s why there was an episode in the latter part of the story where Diana engaged in friendly competition with this store.
‘But why are we here all of a sudden?’
Could it be because he noticed my shoe decoration had fallen off?
Still confused, I alternated my gaze between the shoe store and Ian’s face.
Ian, fully taking in my questioning look, tilted his head.
“Do you have a habit of asking questions you already know the answers to?”
…Huh?
Before I could react, he led me inside the store.
Ting, the bell chimed as we entered, and everyone’s eyes turned toward us.
“Welcome… Oh my!”
The clerks, who were mechanically smiling to greet customers, all froze at once.
The customers trying on shoes did the same.
‘You’d think a monster had shown up, looking at them.’
Some of the clerks gasped in surprise, while others quickly exchanged glances and ran off to fetch someone.
The remaining clerks exchanged looks among themselves, and then, as if making a decision, approached us with a nervous air.
“Greetings, Your Grace the Duke, and Your Grace the Duchess. What brings you here…?”
“Why do you think people come to a shoe store?”
Ian’s curt reply made the clerk flinch.
To me, Ian sounded no different than usual, but to the clerk, it must have come across as quite intimidating.
While the clerk was sweating bullets in front of us, someone came rushing over from the back of the store.
It was a man in his mid-thirties with a thick brown beard covering his chin.
Judging by the shoe hammer in one hand and a shoe tree in the other, he must have been the owner and shoemaker of this store.
“Greetings, Your Grace the Duke, and Your Grace the Duchess…!”
He hastily tidied his clothes and bowed.
‘I don’t think there’s any need for such a grand welcome….’
Honestly, most of the stores we had visited today reacted similarly upon seeing us, but this place felt particularly extravagant, maybe because of its size.
Ian seemed to be thinking along the same lines.
“……”
“Y-Your Grace?”
Still, that’s a bit much.
If you just stare at someone without saying a word, they’ll naturally get scared.
Unable to bear the tense atmosphere any longer, I stepped in with a smile.
“We’ll just have a quiet look around, so there’s no need to worry.”
I nudged Ian in the side, prompting him to finally turn his head to look at me.
Taking advantage of the moment, I quickly linked my arm with his.
“You said we should take a look around together, didn’t you? Right, Your Grace?”
Ian briefly had a look of disbelief at my coy question.
He seemed astounded that, just a moment ago, I was asking why we came here, and now I had already changed my attitude.
‘I’ve always been good at navigating situations like this.’
Smiling brazenly, I clung even closer to his arm.
“Your Grace, I’m right, aren’t I?”
“…Yes.”
I pointed at Ian, who reluctantly responded, and smiled brightly.
“You heard him, right? So go do your business.”
Only then did the shoemaker, with a look of realization, bow his head.
“Then please feel free to look around…!”
As the shoemaker turned and signaled to the clerks, they understood instantly and scattered with a swish.
The scene, so perfectly coordinated, felt like something out of a musical, and I almost let out a chuckle.
Once everyone had disappeared, Ian led me to a plush sofa.
“Please sit, I’ll go pick something out.”
I sat on the sofa, looking up at him blankly.
“Your Grace, you’re going to pick them out…?”
“Didn’t you say earlier that one should consider the recipient when choosing something?”
Ian looked at me sideways, as if asking, “Didn’t you say that?”
‘So this is how you’re going to use what I taught you?’
I couldn’t decide whether to praise him for quickly applying what he learned or to feel taken aback, considering how indifferent he’d been all day while we wandered around the bustling streets.
He seemed like a good student, but… this suddenly?
“Well… I’ll leave it to you, then.”
“Yes.”
Ian turned and left, and I was left sitting alone on the sofa, feeling awkward as I slowly looked around the store.
I hadn’t realized how large it was when it was just briefly described in the novel, but seeing it in person, it was truly impressive in size.
There were just as many customers to match.
The problem was that all of their gazes were now directed at me.
‘Just go ahead and stare….’
I had planned to attract some attention, but being left alone like this and being the center of everyone’s attention was not part of my plan.
Just as I was starting to feel uncomfortable with all the eyes on me, Ian returned, holding a pair of shoes in each hand.
“Here they are.”
One pair was canary yellow slingback shoes that matched my bright yellow dress, and the other pair was ankle boots in a slightly darker brown color.
I thought he would just grab anything, but these were better choices than I had expected.
I widened my eyes.
“You have better taste than I thought.”
“I know.”
“Ah, right.”
Honestly, even when I try to give him a compliment, he just has to act annoying.
Ian casually dropped the shoes in front of me and said, ignoring my unimpressed expression.
“Try them on one by one.”
However, instead of putting on the shoes, I just stared at him.
“Your Grace, you should put them on for me.”
He gave me a look as if to say, ‘Why should I?’
This man had no idea.
If you brought me here, you should go all the way with it.
“Traditionally, the man helps put them on. You kneel on one knee, too.”
I looked at him with an expression that said, ‘You didn’t even know that?’ and Ian squinted his eyes at me.
Well, what are you going to do, stare at me like that?
“……”
“Hurry up.”
As I urged him again, he glanced between me and the shoes before letting out a light sigh and kneeling on one knee. Since his head was bowed, all I could see was the top of his head.
“Which one do you prefer?”
He asked, still looking at the shoes.
“I like these, the canary yellow ones.”
As soon as I answered, he picked up the shoes and placed them in front of me, removing my current ones.
At the same time, the decoration barely hanging onto the toe of my shoe fell off with a soft plop.
At that moment, a thought crossed my mind, and I opened my mouth to speak.
“By the way, do you know…?”
♧♧♧
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