Meanwhile, around the same time, in the boutique ‘Esdil’s Garden,’ which has been gaining word-of-mouth popularity on the streets of the capital recently. In the deepest part of the boutique lies a secret parlor. There, Diana and Mizel, both cloaked, were sitting across from each other at a table.
Mizel handed a stack of documents to Diana and said, “I have sold the jewels discreetly removed from the Guild Master’s dress and completed the purchase and investment with the companies you mentioned. This is one of those companies.”
“Thank you.” Diana nodded lightly and began to review the documents with a careful eye.
Mizel, watching Diana work while eating what looked like a sandwich bought from a street vendor, tilted her head in puzzlement. “By the way, Guild Master didn’t have a meal with the third prince today either?”
“Well… He said he had an appointment. I asked Bella to tell others that I was taking a nap. He’s been very busy lately.”
Diana chewed and swallowed her sandwich, then gave a vague smile. Seeing her face, Mizel wrinkled her nose.
“No matter how busy he is, it’s not like he can’t find time to have a meal with Guild Master for several days. If he really wanted to, he could make time—”
Mizel starts to complain about Kayden but chooses to keep quiet instead. It was because the more she spoke, the darker Diana’s expression turned.
Diana’s hand holding the sandwich slowly lowered. She bit her lip, her head hanging low.
He said we were friends…
In fact, Diana also felt quite troubled and hurt by the fact that Kayden was avoiding her.
“From the first time we met, I didn’t get a bad impression from you. Actually…”
“I liked you. I wanted to be friends.”
Of course, Kayden doesn’t have memories from before the regression, but to Diana, who remembers him calling her a ‘friend,’ Kayden was very special. He was the first friend she ever had…
Diana clutched her chest, feeling a sharp pain in her heart. Why do I feel so… hurt?
Before and after the regression, the only person Diana considered a ‘friend’ was Kayden. So she couldn’t understand. Whether this disappointment she felt was natural, or if…
Ding— At that moment, a faint bell sound was heard from outside, indicating someone had arrived. Though they were in a parlor deep inside the store, far from the entrance, and there was no worry of their conversation being overheard, Mizel and Diana instinctively held their breath.
The owner of the boutique, Esdil, seemed to be greeting a customer, and the sound drifted through the crack in the door. “Oh my. Welcome. What brings a gentleman here…?”
“Ah, that… I wanted to buy a gift, and I heard this place was highly recommended…”
Diana tilted her head slightly as she listened to the conversation outside the door. That voice… For some reason, it reminded her of Kayden.
Diana glanced at Mizel, wondering if she was thinking the same thing. Mizel, with a slight frown, seemed to share her thoughts and looked back at her.
“Esdil isn’t interested in gossip magazines, so she probably wouldn’t recognize imperial family members’ faces. Should we check?” Mizel whispered faintly.
Diana nodded in agreement.
Mizel carefully moved to slightly open the door to the parlor. The sounds of the conversation and movements became clearer. Diana peeked outside through the crack in the door, following behind her. Her blue-purple eyes widened in surprise.
“Would you like to sit here first? I’ll show you the catalog.”
“Thanks, I mean, thank you.”
‘Customer,’ Kayden nodded awkwardly. It was his first time visiting a boutique, so he sat on the sofa with his knees neatly together, feeling a bit awkward.
Kayden looked around with a curious expression. It was a bit of a hassle to find this place, but it definitely doesn’t look bad.
Before leaving the imperial palace to buy clothes for Diana, Kayden had asked Fleur if there was a good boutique around. Fleur had answered immediately.
“If it’s a boutique… Madame Deshu’s shop is the most famous, without a doubt. Diana’s wedding dress was also made by Madame Deshu.”
Kayden didn’t know much about Madame Deshu, but hearing that she made Diana’s wedding dress swayed his decision. So, as soon as Kayden left the imperial palace, he went to find Madame Deshu’s shop. It seemed her reputation was well-deserved, as he easily found Madame Deshu’s boutique by asking just one passerby for directions.
However, Madame Deshu was a woman who was firm even with the imperial family.
“I’m sorry, but my boutique is fully booked at the moment. Did Your Highness make a reservation?”
Kayden had come to the boutique quite impulsively, so he didn’t have a reservation.
After looking him up and down for a moment, Madame Deshu offered an alternative.
“Instead, if Your Highness doesn’t mind, would you like to visit my apprentice’s boutique? I’m telling Your Highness this specially, considering the person you’re gifting to.”
Madame Deshu seemed to have guessed that Kayden was planning to gift clothes to Diana, so she told him about the boutique run by her apprentice. That place was none other than ‘Esdil’s Garden.’ Contrary to Kayden’s initial concerns, it turned out to be an excellent boutique.
Kayden relaxed and leaned back on the sofa. As Esdil set a simple tea and catalog on the table, Esdil asked, “Who are you planning to give this to?”
“I’m planning to give it to my wife.”
Kayden answered Esdil’s question with an unintentional soft smile. Even Esdil, who usually showed little interest in anything other than clothes, was momentarily taken aback and exclaimed, “Oh my,” at the sight of Kayden’s beautiful smile.
Mizel and Diana, who were hiding in the parlor, also witnessed his smile. Mizel grinned mischievously and looked at Diana. She poked Diana’s shoulder lightly with her index finger. “Guild Master.”
“…What?”
“For someone who tries so hard to avoid Guild Master, he’s quite the romantic, isn’t he? A surprise gift, saying, ‘I’m planning to give it to my wife.’ Wow.”
“Don’t imitate Kayden, Mizel.”
As Mizel mimicked Kayden’s words, Diana, trying to hide her embarrassment, nudged Mizel’s side with her elbow. However, Diana’s cheeks were faintly tinged with red. It was a rapid change, almost unbelievable for someone who had felt disappointed just moments ago.
I feel strange…
Is this an emotion she feels because they’re ‘friends’? Or is it guilt?
“How about this? I made it based on the latest trendy design…”
“Oh, it’s nice.”
Diana couldn’t take her eyes off Kayden, who was flipping through the catalog with a shy expression, like a spring bud, with the sunlight behind him.
* * *
However, that feeling didn’t last even half a day.
“…Sir Remit?”
After returning to the imperial palace, Diana waited, thinking Kayden would come to her with a gift. She planned to thank him for the gift and confess that she felt hurt by his avoidance of her until now. But when evening came, it was not Kayden who appeared, but Patrasche.
“Wow, there’s a lot.”
Patrasche placed the boxes he was carrying onto the bed and rotated his shoulders. Behind him, attendants came in one by one, each carrying large boxes, and stacked them neatly in the room.
Patrasche gave Diana, who was looking at him with a somewhat blank expression, a big smile. “Ta-da-!”
“…”
“A surprise gift from the master, Your Highness!” Patrasche exclaimed cheerfully.
Diana frowned, unsure whether to laugh or cry and asked. “Where is Kayden?”
“Um, that, he’s been really busy meeting nobles who wish to offer their support lately. He said he feels like his body is stiffening. He’s at the training grounds… probably.” Patrasche awkwardly rolled his eyes and stammered in response.
At the hesitant ‘probably’ he added, a vein finally popped on Diana’s forehead. With a chilling smile, she made a resolution. I need to ask him.
She had to find out why he was avoiding her.
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