NRAL | CH 38

~Chapter 38~

A Dress for the Debutante

“It’s been a while, Lady Eleanor.”

A familiar-looking woman stood next to Karsian and greeted her.

Dark brown hair decorated with a long, fancy hairpin, a neat yet unique dress, a face that looked younger than her age, and beautiful silver-gray eyes.

After taking it all in, Eleanor muttered blankly,

“Madam Corcos?”

The head seamstress of Corcos Atelier.

 Poby Corcos, the leading trendsetter whose name was known not only in Juvenile but also overseas, was really standing in front of her.

“How did you come all the way here…?”

“I came quickly after receiving word from His Grace. I’m glad I made it in time.”

“Don’t you have a long waiting list?”

Nobles both in the country and abroad made reservations for her dresses years in advance.

 There was even a joke that if you wanted Madam Corcos to make your debutante dress, you had to book it the moment you were born.

Even back when Eleanor was the only duke’s daughter, before Nora became real, she only managed to get one appointment with Madam Corcos.

Not that Eleanor had much interest in fashion, and that one lucky appointment had ended badly thanks to Nora, so she never tried again after that.

The dresses Eleanor had worn since then were made by other seamstresses working under Corcos Salon.

Even those were hard to book for most nobles.

But it seemed none of this mattered to Karsian.

“I’ve canceled everything on today’s schedule. I owe His Grace a favor.”

Eleanor glanced toward Karsian, who stood with his usual expressionless face.

‘Does he just like making people owe him?’

He had called Madam Corcos over and didn’t even try to take credit for it.

If it were Arlo, he would’ve bragged about it for at least a month.

“And I wanted to meet you too, Lady Eleanor.”

“Me?”

“Yes. I heard my atelier staff were rude to you. I wanted to apologize in person. I’m sorry, Lady Eleanor.”

She must be referring to the time they rejected the reservation.

Eleanor shook her head lightly.

“You don’t need to apologize, Madam. Anyone else would’ve done the same.”

“I won’t deny it. It’s reality—we have to be careful to keep operating in the capital of Juvenile.”

Eleanor didn’t need to ask how much pressure Arlo and Damian must’ve put on them.

For a business that relied on favor from the imperial family, it was a natural decision.

“But I’m not someone who can live with unpaid debts. I think I’ve been given a chance to repay two debts at once, so I dropped everything and came.”

Madam Corcos smiled warmly at Eleanor.

Clap, clap!

She clapped her hands, and maids brought in all kinds of dresses and fabrics into the drawing room.

There was so much that the townhouse’s parlor instantly transformed into something resembling a high-end boutique.

“I heard you need the dress within two weeks. I’ll make it for you.”

Ah…

Hilda, standing behind Eleanor, let out a soft moan.

 She looked like she was about to cry from joy.

 Her deepest wish—no, something even better—had come true.

 It couldn’t get any more wonderful than this.

“Madam, please reconsider. If people find out that I wore a Corcos dress, it could cause you serious loss.”

Unlike Hilda, Eleanor couldn’t just be happy.

 She was worried that Corcos might suffer consequences after this.

But Madam Corcos didn’t seem the least bit concerned.

“Well, then we’ll just make sure no one finds out.”

“Even if I don’t go around telling people, it’s hard not to recognize your craftsmanship. It’s just too distinct.”

“Hohoho, thank you for the compliment. Hearing that in such a serious tone makes me even happier. But really, you don’t need to worry. Lady Eleanor, I never take on a deal that I’ll lose from.”

That didn’t make much sense.

 Instead of explaining further, she simply gave Karsian a meaningful glance.

Did she mean he was going to pay a high price to make up for the risk?

 Even if Karsian paid a huge amount for the dress, it still seemed too risky.

 This wasn’t the kind of loss money alone could fix.

As if reading Eleanor’s thoughts, Madam Corcos added,

“A true businessperson sometimes has to take a gamble even when they know it’s risky. This is one of those moments for me. It’s an investment. I made the decision, so you don’t need to worry.”

“If you say so… I understand.”

After thinking it over for a while, Eleanor slowly nodded.

At the same time, Hilda let out a cheer she could no longer hold back.

“Kkya-ho!”

“Hilda!”

“I’m sorry, my lady! But I’m just so happy!”

It was a good thing Eleanor stopped her in time—otherwise, Hilda might’ve started dancing on the spot.

“Hohoho, it’s nice to see such energy! Now then, shall we get started? Gracie! Bring me the fabric samples over there!”

“Ah, Madam. Could you wait just a moment? I have something to say to His Grace.”

“Of course, I’ll be getting things ready.”

When the conversation ended, Eleanor turned and made eye contact with Karsian.

Even from where she stood, he would’ve heard her just fine. Still, Eleanor moved closer to him. This wasn’t something others needed to hear.

The closer she got, the more Karsian’s expression darkened.

‘And he says he doesn’t dislike me.’

Eleanor held back a snort and stopped at a reasonable distance.

“Your Grace, I have a favor to ask.”

“…Go ahead.”

“Would it be okay to spend a bit more? About twice as much as you expected.”

It was as direct as a request could be.

Anyone overhearing might think she was shameless, but Eleanor fluttered her lashes calmly.

‘Since I’m already indebted, I might as well use the opportunity to its fullest.’

Hadn’t he said it himself?

 To not refuse his help and to feel free to use what he had.

It wasn’t pleasant, but she intended to accept that offer.

“Of course. But… may I also ask a favor in return?”

“Yes, of course.”

She truly welcomed that. A relationship with give and take was always better than one-sided support.

“…Not now. I’ll tell you later, when the time is right.”

Unfortunately, Karsian left her hanging again. Eleanor crossed her arms and looked up at him in disapproval.

“If it turns out to be something outrageous later, that’ll be a problem.”

“You can refuse then, if it is.”

“…Your Grace, I don’t think business is your thing.”

You’d only lose money and fail.

 She gave him sincere advice.

“…Well, my only customer rarely visits anyway. I’ve been thinking of closing my boutique.”

Eleanore’s eyes widened at the sudden comment.

It took her a few seconds to understand what he meant.

[Do you not have any use for my services?]

[“No, Not right now. I’ll contact you again when I need a dress.”]

He was talking about the letter they had exchanged.

‘So he can make jokes.’

To think he could joke with such a serious face. It really didn’t suit him.

“Haha. Yes, go ahead and close the shop for good,” Eleanor said, unable to hold back a small laugh.

The man she had always found difficult suddenly seemed a little cute for the first time.

After the short conversation with Karsian, Eleanor returned to Madame Corcos.

Her face, now up close, seemed somewhat flushed—similar to Hilda’s.

“I’m glad that maid from last time isn’t here today.”

That maid. The one Madame Corcos was referring to was none other than Nora.

From the casual way she mentioned her, it seemed she didn’t know the rumored “real noble lady” was actually Nora.

“That day… There were many issues. I’m sorry about that, Madame.”

“No, not at all. The one who had it the hardest was you, Lady Eleanor. Neither I nor that maid were willing to back down.”

That was certainly true.

It happened a few years ago, on the day Madame Corcos had luckily accepted a booking and visited the duke’s mansion.

Even in front of the nation’s top dressmaker, Nora stubbornly insisted on her opinion.

She claimed that Eleanor, as a noble lady, shouldn’t follow trends like everyone else and should wear dresses with big shoulder volumes to balance out her slim figure.

Madame Corcos, however, wasn’t easy to sway.

“There’s no need to blindly follow trends, but there’s also no reason to stick to styles from fifty years ago.And a dress with that much volume won’t make a slim body look better—it’ll just look ridiculous.Is your maid trying to make you look like the clown of high society?”

Looking back now, it seemed Madame Corcos was the only one who saw things clearly.

But unfortunately, Eleanor had never doubted Nora back then.

Nora raged, saying it was an insult for a mere dressmaker to mock the noble Lady of Astria.

Madame Corcos, in turn, criticized the maid for acting like she was the noble lady.

Eleanor was left trying to mediate the situation.

In the end, the dress they made was one of the most elegant and vibrant in Eleanor’s wardrobe.

But she rarely got to wear it, because Nora always acted upset when she saw it.

Eventually, the dress was found with its skirt badly torn and had to be thrown away without ever being worn properly.

It was obvious who had done it.

“I always regretted it. I couldn’t make the perfect dress for you that day, Lady Eleanor.But I’m sure that when you wear a dress I make, you’ll look more beautiful than anyone.It makes me happy to finally have a chance to make up for it today.”

“Thank you for saying that, Madame.”

Eleanor took her words as the kind of polite flattery ladies in high society usually said.

More beautiful than anyone? That wasn’t something she’d ever hoped for.

Besides, she knew her limits.

Dull and unappealing Lady Eleanor—that’s what people often said about her.

“Do you have any specific design or style you want?”

“Ah, yes. I do.”

When Eleanor nodded, Hilda’s expression darkened.

She was worried that her lady’s unusual taste would show itself again.

“What I want is…”