He let go of her hand, and only after that did she let out a quiet sigh and try to calm her startled heart.
“I’ll choose the one in the middle.”
The design had a modest frill, and the dress itself was quite ordinary.
However, the matching hat had a black veil that could cover half of her face, from her eyes to her upper lip.
Eugenia admired his attention to every detail. Even while performing, he was carefully inspecting the dress.
‘He has quite an eye for things.’
While Eugenia was lost in thought, the shopkeeper nodded enthusiastically.
“Understood. Is there anything else you need?”
He was cautiously trying to encourage them to purchase other items, wanting to make a bit more profit.
Though his intentions were obvious, but she didn’t feel any discomfort. Instead, it felt like he was probing for more.
〈When you make a lot of money, people’s guard becomes looser, and they become more friendly towards you. So I plan to spend a lot of money.〉
Before entering this place, the only thing he told me in advance was to never panic.
Eugenia glanced sideways.
“Hmm, something I need.”
As expected, Enrique hid his expression and looked thoughtful for a moment.
Eugenia pretended to choose her words for a moment, then opened her mouth.
“Honey, I need new shoes.”
“Great. Let’s buy them. Oh! And shopkeeper, do you have any other dresses prepared?”
“Yes, of course!”
It seemed as if they had prepared in advance, as with a single wave of the hand, the staff came in carrying several dresses.
The dresses were made from slightly more vibrant and fresh fabrics than the mourning dress she had seen earlier.
Under Enrique’s lead, the dresses were selected.
He occasionally asked for Eugenia’s opinion, respecting her taste.
But in truth, Eugenia didn’t care about anything and answered most of them dryly.
‘After all, the only dress I’ll wear is the mourning one.’
So she focused on responding appropriately to avoid looking awkward.
“Let’s stop here for now.”
They chose total six dresses and a set of accessories, including mourning dresses.
The shopkeeper couldn’t hide his delight at such a satisfactory transaction, clasping his hands together, he became even more polite.
“Then, I will take Madam aside for a moment to take her measurements.”
Eugenia hesitated.
If they took her measurements, she would have to remove her robe, revealing the commoner’s clothing she was wearing.
‘If they ask why I’m wearing such clothes, what should I say? That the maid accidentally burned all my clothes while ironing?’
Would they believe that she had burned not just one, but all her clothes?
No, if she spoke up first to explain, wouldn’t it seem like she was overreacting?
Eugenia’s mind raced rapidly.
At that moment, Enrique shook his head lightly and declined the shopkeeper’s offer.
“No, that’s fine. Just give them to me as they are.”
The shopkeeper’s eyes widened in surprise, then he frowned, looking troubled as he cautiously began to speak.
“Excuse me? But they will be quite loose. They are ready-made.”
“That’s what I want, so you don’t need to worry.”
The more Enrique spoke, the more the shopkeeper’s expression showed confusion over his decision.
Nobles preferred tailored clothing.
It was because of their culture that they liked unique things.
The shopkeeper surely knew that the upper class had such characteristics.
Yet, even so, Enrique stubbornly insisted on not having alterations, and the shopkeeper seemed unable to shake off his doubts.
At that moment, Enrique purposefully let some information slip, stretching out his words a bit.
“My wife is expecting our third child, so she can’t wear anything tight. It would be too much strain on her body.”
Eugenia’s eyes widened in surprise at this news she had never heard before.
‘……?! There’s something in my belly?’
She looked at Enrique with a shocked expression.
“Uh, Enrique?”
“Why, Honey? Is something uncomfortable?”
He looked down at Eugenia warmly, his eyes were twinkling.
Naturally, everyone’s attention turned toward them.
Eugenia bit her lip, then quietly spoke.
This was a kind of protest against him inserting an unapproved detail into their conversation.
“Ah, no. Why are you bringing that up here…?”
“Well, I’m just looking forward to the child we’ll soon meet.”
“Ah, a child, really…?”
With her face flushed, Eugenia lightly punched his shoulder.
‘This man!’
The shopkeeper, seeing her red face, assumed she was just embarrassed. What a naive person he was.
“Ah, I see… Congratulations! You two seem to be very blessed and have a good relationship.”
“It’s normal.”
“Ha ha.”
The shopkeeper laughed hollowly, lowering his gaze.
It seemed he didn’t want to witness any more of their lovey-dovey antics.
“Well then, please wait a moment. I will get everything packed neatly.”
The shopkeeper and the staff left, closing the door behind them.
She let out a sigh of relief.
“Ah, it’s hot.”
She gulped down the cold water in front of her.
“They say if you choke while drinking water, there’s no remedy.”
She pulled the cup away from her mouth and shouted playfully at the sound of Enrique messing around next to her.
“I won’t choke!”
After finishing the remaining water in one go, she placed the cup on the table.
“Enrique, is it really necessary to go this far?”
Worried that someone might overhear, Eugenia glanced towards the door and protested quietly.
Enrique replied leisurely.
“Of course.”
Eugenia shook her head lightly as if her head was pounding.
“I was just flustered!”
she protested.
But Enrique didn’t seem to pay her any mind.
“In the end, it worked out well, so you don’t have to worry too much.”
“This…! This…!”
Eugenia clenched her fists, trying to argue further. But the words wouldn’t come out.
Thinking about it, Enrique was right.
Anyway, if he hadn’t made a clever excuse there, she would have been caught wearing commoner’s clothes, and things would have become a little more awkward.
In the end, Eugenia gave up on asking more questions.
Letting out a long sigh, as if tired, she muttered to herself.
“Whew, it really was true.”
“What was?”
“That you can skillfully lie when necessary.”
A soft laugh escaped Enrique’s lips, parting them slightly.
She couldn’t understand why that silent laughter felt so annoying.
Four days later.
Albert returned to the inn, panting heavily.
“I’ve come back!”
He pulled out Eugenia’s identity badge from his arms.
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Translator Note:
This chapter was translated by Gon. Next post will be released on August, 18.
If you like my work please support Gon on Coffee.
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