< 5.Lil Evans Costume Shop >
Elaine, who was living happily as a perfect couple with Sergey, recently heard some surprising news from Debbie.
“By the way, did you hear? Damon Newt opened a costume shop.”
“Really? I only heard that he was working as an assistant at another costume shop.”
“I heard he got quite a bit of recognition there. Anyway, I was really shocked when I heard that. No matter what, he’s a nobleman, but he’s a costume shop assistant…”
Elaine was just as surprised.
She never imagined Damon would decide to start working so soon.
“But I heard the process of him becoming independent from that costume shop wasn’t smooth.”
“Not smooth? How so?”
“<Hector’s Costume Shop> didn’t want to let Damon go. After all, he would be their competitor, so they were not happy about him becoming independent.”
“So?”
“I hear they have subtly sabotaged Damon Newt’s shop. He must be having a hard time.”
Debbie, who knew of the bad relationship between Elaine and Newt, giggled as if she was pleased, but Elaine was a little worried.
‘Was that the reason why we didn’t contact each other often?’
Elaine had occasionally exchanged letters with Damon.
After he first started at the <Hector’s Costume Shop>, it seemed he faced a lot of difficulties, dealing with hostility from the existing staff and noble pride.
However, Damon, who loved clothes and had a natural talent, was quickly recognized by the shop’s owner, Rubin Hector.
Elaine had been supporting him in her heart as she received those updates in letters. But at some point, their communication stopped.
‘He probably thought that contacting me would seem like he was asking for something. After all, he’s the type of person with a lot of pride.’
Although Damon had cut ties with the Newt family, he was still a noble.
In fact, before Sasha’s fall, the Newt family had been quite an influential count family. Even now, the Newt family is still one of the wealthiest in the capital, despite their title being downgraded.
‘It doesn’t look like he asked Newt for help….. Hmm.’
Elaine looked at the calendar. In two months, a banquet was scheduled to be held at the imperial palace.
* * *
—Ting, Ting
The bright sound of a bell rang as the shop door opened
A young man with a pin on his wrist and a measuring tape slung over his shoulder, who was making a sample dress, turned his head and greeted cheerfully.
“Welcome… Huh?”
The customer who entered smiled brightly at him.
“It was real. Lil Evans Costume Shop….”
“Elaine!”
“It’s been a while, Damon.”
Damon, who had been standing there dumbfounded, quickly smiled and walked over to Elaine, giving her a light hug.
“How did you know?”
“I heard the rumor and came here. I already knew the name of the store, so it shouldn’t be hard to find.”
Elaine clearly remembered Damon’s words from a while ago, telling her to come to visit when he opened his own shop.
Damon remembered, too, but he was a little embarrassed to show Elaine the shop, which was not very busy and didn’t have many dresses in progress.
“It hasn’t been long since I opened, so I haven’t received many orders yet.”
In fact, there wasn’t a single order.
The dresses being made were just samples to hang in the shop window.
But Damon didn’t want to reveal all of his circumstances to Elaine because he had already told her so much.
That’s why he hadn’t sent her an invitation when opening the shop.
‘I was planning to contact her once I became a bit more famous…’
Damon swallowed a bitter laugh and offered Elaine a seat.
After all, Elaina was his first customer in his humble shop, and being the wife of one of the empire’s top noble families, Damon was determined to give her the best treatment.
He had spent almost all the inheritance he’d received on renting the building, buying good fabrics and supplies, and only had a small emergency fund left.
Despite that, he didn’t give up and finally brought out the expensive teacups and tea leaves he had bought.
And then he made the tea himself. He didn’t have any employees.
“I’m not sure if it will suit your taste, Countess Lindell.”
“Why are you acting so awkward, Damon? I’ll drink well.”
While Elaine drank her tea, she didn’t look around.
When she first stepped into the shop, she immediately understood Damon’s awkward situation due to the somewhat empty atmosphere.
She didn’t want to make Damon uncomfortable by aimlessly looking around.
In fact, even when deciding to stop by today, she had been worried countless times about whether it would hurt Damon’s pride.
‘But it’s not a lie that I need a dress.’
Elaine got to the point when her teacup was half empty.
“Actually, the reason I came today is because I wanted to order a dress.”
“Huh? You want to order a dress?”
“Yes. The Emperor’s birthday banquet will be held at the palace in two months.”
That was true. Thanks to that, the famous costume shops in the capital had been busy for a month.
Damon asked hesitantly.
“But… doesn’t the Lindell family already have a dress shop they work with? Like <Lorazie>….”
“But I’ve been busy lately and forgot to order the dress. The costume shops I usually deal with are all fully booked.”
“But if it were your request, they would have made it for you even if it meant staying up all night.”
Elaine made a fake pout, pretending to be disappointed.
“Why? You don’t want to make my dress?”
Damon, surprised by the change in Elaine’s attitude, waved his hands in panic.
“That’s not what I meant! Honestly, I’m not anywhere near the level of <Lorazie>. I think you heard the rumors that I don’t have any work…..”
“Huh? You don’t have any work to do?”
“Ah… well… no, nothing like that…”
Elaine tilted her head as if hearing it for the first time.
After living with Sergey for a few years and “training” him, she had become that bold.
Even Damon seemed completely unaware that Elaine was acting.
He sighed deeply and confessed.
“Well… actually, when I left <Hector’s Costume Shop> to start my own business, I had a huge fight with the owner.”
“You fought? Why?”
At Elaine’s question, Damon clenched his fists as memories of injustice and resentment came flooding back to him.
“Rubin Hector, that bastard is a real piece of trash! He used my name and my abilities, and yet he’s still not satisfied…!”
Early in his career, Damon was bullied because he was the son of the famous Newt family.
At first, it was because he came from a different background, and later, when it was revealed that he had cut ties with his family, they considered him worthless.
The more they looked down on him, the more Damon gritted his teeth, studying hard and sewing clothes during every free moment.
And Rubin Hector, the owner of the costume shop, quickly noticed Damon’s abilities.
“Damon. From now on, you will work as my direct assistant.”
When Rubin acknowledged him, Damon was overjoyed, as if he could fly, especially because it was a result of his own effort.
But that joy was short-lived.
Rubin started to work Damon hard.
“My salary barely increased, but the amount of work tripled. Staying up several nights became common, and the clothes I made went under the name ‘Rubin Hector’ instead of ‘Damon Newt’…”
Damon has often done everything from designing clothes to making them.
Damon became increasingly confused as to whether he was Hector’s assistant or a substitute designer.
“Not only that. Whenever he went out to meet clients, he would brag that the son of the Newt family was his assistant, that he was the one raising me.”
Even though he had cut ties with his family, he was distressed because it felt like his family’s reputation was falling into ruin because of him.
At the same time, he was constantly on edge, fearing that Lark would come after him, saying, ‘Did you leave home just to do this kind of work?’
“So… honestly, I ended up becoming independent before I was fully ready. When I first said I was leaving, he tried to persuade me by offering a raise and asking what I was dissatisfied with. But when I insisted on leaving, he started cursing me out.”
At the time, he thought that was the end of it.
But Rubin sabotaged Damon’s business by spreading false rumors about him in the industry and stealing customers who wanted to go to him.
This was the exact opposite of the customary practice in the costume shop, where when an employee becomes independent, they would be allowed to take their previous clients with them.
“Thanks to that, I haven’t been able to get any work until now.”
Damon calmly confessed the shame he didn’t want to reveal.
He wouldn’t have been able to say that to anyone else, but he could talk to Elaine.
Still, he didn’t want her pity.
“If you’re giving me work out of pity, then don’t. I still have a lot of money left over from my inheritance.”
Elaine didn’t doubt for a second how hard Damon had worked.
Damon, who had never been plump before, was now so thin that his cheekbones were prominent.
The shadows under his eyes, his rough skin, the countless tiny needle pricks, and the calluses on his fingers from handling scissors—it was hard not to feel pity for him.
“Damon.”
“Hm?”
“You’ve really… become an amazing person.”
For a moment, Damon felt like he was going to cry.
He gritted his teeth, unable to say anything in response.
It felt as if the past few years of hardship—years in which no one had comforted him—had finally been acknowledged.
“But I didn’t come here out of pity. I came because I wanted to be Damon Newt’s client.”
“Elaine….”
“You haven’t forgotten, have you? I was the first one to recognize your talent.”
Damon chuckled and nodded.
Even when his own family showed no interest in him, his cousin—whom he had once resented—had seen his potential.
“So don’t doubt my judgment even now. I believe you will soon become a famous designer.”
“Really?”
“Of course! That’s why I came early to claim you first.”
Only then did Damon’s face brighten.
“Then I must live up to those expectations. I will make you more beautiful than anyone else at the palace banquet, Countess Lindell.”
“I’ll be counting on you, Sir Newt.”
“No, from now on, please call me Lil Evans.”
Damon finally decided to blossom into a fashion designer, abandoning the name Damon Newt and becoming Lil Evans.
And the fact that it was all thanks to Elaine… felt like a twist of fate.
* * *
