22
The heart of the Grand Duchy—the city of Lafren.
This massive city, adjacent to the Luxior Grand Duke’s estate, boasted the most developed infrastructure and commercial district in the northern region.
And this was exactly the place where I had escaped from after being dragged off recently.
“Freshly baked bread, piping hot even in this freezing weather!”
Oh wow!
“We're having a sale on the latest trendy fabrics, imported directly from the capital! Come take a look!”
Oooh!
Tucked under Sion’s robe, I peeked around eagerly, admiring everything with amazement.
The last time I was here, everything was so chaotic I didn’t get a proper look, but now I could see it—the city square was a bustling and modern downtown area.
Along the main boulevard were all sorts of eateries, stores selling various goods, and even boutique-like shops.
'This is it. This is exactly what I wanted.'
I tapped confidently on the money pouch I’d previously prepped—Sion’s, of course—and asked him.
“Sion, is there a hair shop around here?”
“Hair shop? What’s that?”
He asked, glancing back at me as we slowly made our way through the crowd.
He had originally been about to flat-out reject my sudden, random request to go shopping—but then he paused. After thinking for a moment, he reluctantly agreed.
It was probably because he didn’t want to deal with whatever might happen if he let me go off alone again.
Thanks to that decision, Sion didn’t seem particularly happy at the moment, but I was simply overjoyed to be out shopping with my favorite character.
“A hair shop, is a place where professionals style your hair in various ways to make you look even more beautiful and dashing. Do you have anything like that up here in the north?”
“...You mean a salon?”
“Yes! That’s it, a salon!”
Excited, I reached up and played with Sion’s silky silver-gray hair.
“We’ve got time and money—let’s do something nice with this gorgeous hair of yours~!”
“……”
“No, wait, scratch that. If we mess it up, we might lose that wild, untamed feel — like a lone northern wolf, calm yet unyielding. That raw charm might disappear.”
“……”
“But… if we just trim the sides slightly, it might actually enhance that aloof and noble vibe!?”
“……”
Sion didn’t respond to my mutterings. He seemed disinterested from the start and quietly scanned our surroundings.
Then, something caught my eye.
It was a display from a jewelry store.
“Oh!”
Through the glass, I saw several men’s accessories that looked like they’d suit Sion perfectly.
Silver-framed rings with sapphires, bracelets, cufflinks, and more.
“Oh, I have to buy that!”
When I exclaimed in excitement, Sion clicked his tongue and said.
“Calm down.”
“But look at that—it totally matches your eye color!”
“I’ll say this now: I absolutely hate accessories. I wouldn’t wear them even if I died and came back. So drop it.”
With Sion's firm and unyielding tone, I smacked my lips in disappointment.
‘Well, yeah. Knowing Sion’s personality, accessories really don’t suit him. That’d be a stretch.’
And thinking about it more carefully, the original female lead wasn’t exactly into guys who dressed up flamboyantly with flashy accessories, either.
If I was going to win her heart, I had to consider her preferences too.
“Right, the best kind of tuning is keeping things stock... It might actually be better to keep things simple and let his looks and physique speak for themselves.”
As far as I knew, no one in this world could top Sion in terms of appearance.
I quickly deleted the “Accessories” category from my shopping list.
Then, as I looked around again, something else caught my eye.
“Sion! Look over there!!”
“…What now.”
I gently pushed his cheek to turn his head in the direction I was looking.
In front of us stood a fairly large fabric store.
“Evelyn Fabric Shop?”
“Oooh, is this a brand store!?”
“I believe they have branches all across the Empire.”
“Perfect! Let’s go in, Sion!”
I grabbed and shook his robe’s collar excitedly, and Sion let out a deep sigh before walking in.
“Welcome~!”
“Welcome, dear customer!”
As Sion stepped inside, two women—clearly staff—immediately approached and began attending to him.
Wearing wide, businesslike smiles, the two quickly scanned Sion’s body from head to toe.
Then, they exchanged discreet glances with each other.
‘A clueless country bumpkin, easy money.’
‘Yep, total country bumpkin. Easy target.’
The meaning behind the clerks’ rude stares was crystal clear, and I clenched my teeth as I whispered to Sion.
“Sion, from now on, just do exactly what I say.”
“What are you up to now...?”
“Those two are clearly trying to rip us off…!”
“……”
Sion seemed to catch on quickly and shut his mouth obediently.
My eyes sparkled with determination.
How dare they try to scam my ultimate bias?
They were so done for.
This was the moment when all the survival skills I’d built up doing part-time jobs from a young age in my previous life would finally shine.
“I’ll turn the tables and take you for a fool—buy it dirt cheap, practically for free. Heh.”
Truth be told, although we came out shopping, neither Sion nor I had a lot of money on hand.
All we had was a small amount of money Sion had been carrying and one month’s salary that Garen had lent us, totaling 25 Nir.
We had to make it work with that.
I scanned the store with a calculating eye, picking out a few fabric options I thought would suit Sion for his upcoming winter coming-of-age ceremony.
Then I leaned in and whispered to Sion.
“Those brand-new fabrics displayed on the center shelf—from there to there—tell them you want to see all of it.”
Sion repeated my words exactly.
And the moment he did, I saw the clerks flinch.
The contrast was obvious: a short young man in a worn robe suddenly speaking like a rich noble—it threw them off.
“U-um, did you mean all of them, sir?”
“Yes.”
Sion exhaled as if the inside was stuffy and pulled back his hood.
Right then, you could hear a collective gasp from inside the shop.
The clerks, and even the customers who had been shopping nearby, all turned with wide eyes to look at Sion’s face.
Even dressed in rags, his shockingly handsome face made him look like a prince of an entire nation. Everyone froze at the sight.
“…Why are they just standing there? They’re not bringing the fabrics.”
Sion looked at the stunned clerks with confusion and repeated himself.
Startled back to reality, the staff quickly sprang into action.
“Here are all the fabrics you requested!”
“These are the latest arrivals for this month, sir!”
Even a woman who appeared to be the manager rushed over, speaking politely and attentively to Sion.
Even at a glance, I could tell these were high-quality fabrics with excellent colors and textures.
But Sion only glanced over them with clear disinterest and muttered.
“…Are these really supposed to be impressive?”
The question was obviously directed at me, but to the clerks, it probably sounded like the grumbling of a noble young master out on a discreet outing, unimpressed by the shop’s selection.
“W-would you like to see other new arrivals, sir?”
The manager asked nervously, not wanting to lose a valuable customer.
I pointed to one fabric that had caught my eye from the beginning.
“Sion, how about that fourth black fabric? It’s elegant and smooth, and the subdued tone would go perfectly with your silver-gray hair!”
Sion picked up the black fabric I mentioned and examined it lazily.
“…I don’t know. They all look the same to me.”
“H-Huff!”
The manager, covering her mouth, muttered under her breath, “That’s our best premium fabric…”
‘Hehe, they fell for it.’
I leaned in again and whispered to Sion.
Playing his part, Sion said indifferently.
“…It doesn’t quite appeal to me, but I’ll try it on. If I like how it looks, I might place a large order in the future.”
At that, the manager and clerks’ previously anxious faces immediately lit up.
“Excellent choice, sir!”
The manager rushed off, quickly wrapped the fabric, and handed it to Sion.
“It suits you so perfectly, sir. As a special courtesy, we’ll offer this sample fabric at a special manager’s discount! Please do come back if you find it satisfactory!”
“…Alright.”
We paid only a quarter of the listed price.
‘Nice. What a win.’
Having accomplished our goal, we were about to leave the store when Sion suddenly stopped, staring at something.
“What is it, Sion?”
Following his gaze, I saw a soft, rose-pink silk fabric with a dried-rose hue.
‘Huh? But that’s for women…?’
At that moment, Sion looked back at the shop manager and quietly said.
“…Bring that one too.”
“As expected of your refined taste! That color and material are totally in this season—we can also take large orders for that one!”
“I don’t need much. Just enough for a handkerchief.”
“Yes, right away!”
Sion’s unexpected request prompted the manager to add a few lace trims as a bonus when handing over the fabric.
“These kinds of delicate lace details are very popular with the ladies lately!”
“……”
‘Ladies? What lady?’
I blinked in surprise and looked up at Sion.
The female lead hadn’t even shown up yet, so why was Sion Luxior buying women’s fabric on his own?
But without saying a word, Sion accepted the fabric and left the store.
I quickly caught up to him and asked.
“Sion. What was that about?”
“…Hm? What do you mean?”
Sion turned to me with a puzzled expression.
“That pink fabric. Why did you buy it? Who’s it for?”
My tone was sharp, filled with suspicion and shock.
At my question, Sion’s lips tightened slightly. Then, in a rather uncharacteristic display of awkwardness, he turned his eyes away and muttered.
“…It’s nothing.”
The sight of him acting that way made me feel like I’d just taken a punch to the gut.
In my head, I started going through every female character who had crossed Sion’s path up to now.
‘No way. Who could it be? Elda? One of Elda’s handmaids? Or that maid from the main estate? It’s not… the grand duchess, is it? Gasp—could it be the knight Diene!? No, they’ve only met like once!’
Consumed by an irrational sense of betrayal, I began to tremble.
“Sion… has fallen for another girl behind my back…….”
This was truly the worst possible plot twist.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
Support me on Ko-fi
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
1 Comments
Poor baby has NO idea
ReplyDelete