My Will Did Not Mean This

Aslan couldn’t stand Vivian’s rejection for even a moment. The moment the word “no” came out of those small, cute lips, an eerie goosebump ran through his mind.

Vivian, unaware of this, carefully selected the chocolate and narrowed her eyes.

“Because I want to show Aslan only his prettiest appearance. I want you to look perfectly prepared on the day of your coming-of-age ceremony. Never before.”

The dangerous glare in his eyes softened a little at her words.

“You’ll be pretty no matter what you do.”

“Those lip-service words are useless.”

Vivian picked up the newly selected chocolate and smiled. In fact, she knew that she would be pretty even if she wore only rags. However, she was targeting Aslan’s weakness.

‘Today is the day I’m supposed to meet Jesus.’

It was hard to move comfortably when he followed her.

At that moment, Aslan asked, as if he had read her mind.

“Is there a guy like that parasite brother?”

“Parasite brother?”

“The tailor’s assistant who measured your dress last time.”

“Ah, Miguel.”

Anyway, the intuition was good. Of all the people, how could he have picked that guy out?

Vivian cursed inwardly, but at the same time, her face smiled brightly, showing off her amazing skills.

“Unfortunately, I heard he went on a business trip today.”

“I see.”

Aslan nodded, his face looking subtly satisfied.

‘Well, I guess something good is going on.’

Vivian didn’t think for long and quickly turned her gaze.

＊ ＊ ＊

A high-end carriage with the Blackford emblem engraved on it stopped at the residence of Duchess Eleonora.

Iris, who was waiting at the entrance of the mansion, waved at Vivian.

“Sister, have you been waiting long?”

“No. I just got out! I couldn’t sleep last night because I was so excited to be a coming-of-age ceremony attendant.”

Today’s schedule was to visit Madame Scarlett’s tailor shop with my sister. Of course, there might be other coincidental encounters along the way.

“Get in quickly. Dylan, escort my sister.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Today, Dylan was in charge of escorting-surveilling again.

After receiving etiquette training(?) by hanging upside down on the parade ground, his escort skills had noticeably improved. Just like now.

“Lady, please, please, hold my hand.”

“Thank you, Sir Dylan.”

…What was this?

Vivian quickly withdrew her assessment of Dylan.

The corpse, who was three inches away from his tongue, was trembling so much that it seemed suspicious. The arm escorting Iris was also awkwardly right-angled, like a tin woodcutter who moved exactly.

Iris blushed, covering her mouth, as if she was embarrassed by Dylan.

Soon, she got into the carriage and fanned herself slightly.

“It’s a bit hot.”

“It’s fall? You didn’t even put on your coat, sis. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I feel a bit hot.”

Iris looked away and smiled awkwardly.

Vivian didn’t realize it, but her gaze was on Dylan, who was riding alongside the carriage.

＊ ＊ ＊

Madame Scarlett was the best designer who led the fashion in the capital. Furthermore, she did not rest on her current fame and did not hesitate to try bold things like combining fashion and magic.

Even a noble would have to wait a year to get one of her dresses, but this was not the case for Vivian at all.

‘Power is good after all.’

Even if she ran away after finishing all her plans, it seemed like it wouldn’t be easy to forget the taste of power.

The madam and the servants waiting at the entrance of the tailor shop all bowed their heads.

“The two princesses of Eleonora have arrived.”

“Thank you for taking care of their coming-of-age ceremony dresses, madam.”

“You are the future grand duchess. It would be an honor for me to take care of your dress for that important day. You will also take care of your wedding dress later, right?”

Of course, as a grand duchess, she would never wear a wedding dress, but Vivian nodded out of courtesy. Nevertheless, the madam was very satisfied and guided the two upstairs.

The first floor of the tailor shop was filled with gorgeous dresses and accessories, but the second floor seemed like a completely different world.

Even Dylan forgot his duty for a moment and was shocked.

“Ma, madam, the dress is glowing on its own?!”

“Oh my, glowing. The escort has such an interesting expression.”

Madame gently swept the wide hem of her skirt as if showing off her dress.

It was the dress that Madame had recently been most ambitiously wearing, one that used magic to emit a soft light on its own.

Since a very high level of magic was needed to make the fabric, it was a dress that no other tailor could possibly imitate.

‘It was worth telling Jesus in advance.’

There was a reason for Vivian’s pleased eyes.

During the hunting festival, Vivian had been thinking about a way to break through Aslan’s ironclad surveillance. Then she came up with the dress that Madame had created in the latter half of the original.

Madame had been thinking about the fusion of fashion and magic for a long time, but commercialization was always put on hold because it was impossible for ordinary people to meet a magician who had reached a high level. So Vivian sent a letter to the magician’s guild and arranged for a suitable magician for Madame.

Both sides benefited greatly, and Vivian gained a convenient window to contact Jesus at any time in return for her mediation.

‘I never thought Jesus would disguise himself as a mere assistant… … .’

Dylan muttered with a troubled expression, saying that the residual magic was vibrating everywhere.

It was as expected.

“Princess, this fabric would be good for a coming-of-age ceremony dress, right?”

“I don’t know if it’ll be too flashy. Madame’s dresses are always the best, but I’m thinking of having a small coming-of-age ceremony.”

“Well, what do you think? Any fancy flower would be intimidated by your dazzling beauty.”

Madame’s favor toward Vivian was sincere.

She didn’t receive a single penny in return for granting Madame’s lifelong wish.

She was already one of the wealthiest people in the empire. Even if she called it a fee, it was nothing more than a small sum. However, Madame was very grateful for Vivian’s decision, and promised that she would be the first noble to wear this wonderful dress.

This was nothing short of a declaration that Vivian would be at the forefront of the latest fashion. Of course, Vivian, who had no interest in such things, nodded thoughtlessly.

“Then shall we follow Madame’s suggestion? Instead, there is a necklace that has been decided in advance to be worn that day, so I would like the color and design of the dress to match it.”

“Oh, what kind of necklace is it?”

At Vivian’s nod, Dylan quickly opened the box he was holding.

There was the drop-shaped diamond necklace that Aslan had gifted her. The finest diamonds hung like grapes.

“Oh my…!”

Not only Iris, but even Madame, who was accustomed to luxury, was wide-eyed.

“Is this the engagement necklace that we’re talking about? I heard that the Grand Duke bought it at an incredible price.”

“This is truly amazing! His Majesty must really cherish Vivian.”

“Not that much. It’s just political understanding…”

Vivian glanced at Dylan and changed her words.

“Thanks to Aslan, my shoulders are so proud. I’ll have to show him off when I go to the mansion.”

“You’re an excellent choice, Madam!”

Dylan looked pleased for some reason after hearing her answer. It wasn’t even about praising him.

Anyway, he was a strange guy.

“Choose the design from this lookbook. It’s the hot new design from this month.”

Vivian and Iris opened the booklet Madam had brought.

It contained all the information related to fashion, from dresses to accessories, hair, and makeup.

Madam, who was about to sit down on the sofa across from her, paused for a moment.

“Princess, have you lost a little weight?”

“It’s because of tuberculosis…”

“You seem to have lost more weight than last time. I’ll have to measure you again.”

“Vivian, are you okay?”

Iris, who had heard the conversation between the two, asked cautiously. Dylan, who was standing a step behind, also had a bitter expression on his face.

Vivian gently patted her sister who was clinging to her.

“Then, it’s okay. Don’t worry too much.”

“Madam…”

“I’m really okay?”

The more she laughed, the darker their expressions became.

Vivian got up and followed the staff’s instructions to the inner room. Dylan followed as if it was a given.

“Where are you going?”

However, she was immediately stopped by the madam.

“You’re not trying to spy on the lady’s secrets, are you, sir?”

“What does that mean, madam? As the madam’s escort, I have to protect her…”

“Even like this?”

The madam, who had been holding back, gestured to the sign hanging in the hallway.

[Dressing room]

“Wow!”

It was a place where if you entered without permission, you would definitely be torn to pieces by your master. Dylan was startled and took a step back.

“Haha, First Princess and the Knight, please have a chat with me.”

The further you went into the hallway, the farther away Madame’s loud voice became.

Today, Dylan did his job as a footsitter well.

And Madame’s acting was also excellent. As we had agreed beforehand, Vivian came wearing a slightly loose dress that made it look like she had lost weight.

‘I don’t know about anything else, but I’m a little worried about my sister. I’ll explain it to you later.’

Her body shape had remained the same since the moment her lung disease stopped progressing due to the imprint.

In any case, she didn’t have time to think for long. Vivian hurried her steps.

The door at the end of the hallway was wide open as if to welcome her.

“It’s been a while, Princess.”

Her long silver hair fluttered in the wind.

Jesus, who discovered Vivian, opened his eyes brightly.

 

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